STEVE D’APOLITO INVADES TRI-CITY SPEEDWAY AND WINS CSONLINE APPLEFEST 100; CODY MANNERS CAPTURES THUNDERCAR APPLE CORE 20; STEVE HOLLABAUGH WINS FASTRAK LATE MODEL RACE
by Brian Spaid

September 16, 2007

   FRANKLIN, PA  …  Tri-City Speedway concluded its 2007 season with cool and crisp weather on Sunday evening as Steve D’Apolito of Boardman, Ohio, invaded the Venango County half-mile oval and captured the 11^th Annual CSOnline Applefest 100 for the E.F. Rogers Plumbing & Heating Pro Stocks.

   D’Apolito collected $1,985 in prize money in the finale of the William R. Karns Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning Detroit Iron Pro Stock Series. Bobby Whitling of Seneca, Pa., was declared the series champion for 2007.

   In other action, Cody Manners of Oil City, Pa., won the 5th Annual Apple Core 20 for the Klapec Auto Body Thundercars, and Steve Hollabaugh of Guys Mills, Pa., captured the 15-lap FASTRAK Late Model exhibition feature race.

   Sharon Speedway track champion Steve D’Apolito was in the right place and the right time when early race leaders Jason Reagle and Doug Iorio II both suffered terminal engine problems with less than 25 laps to go. As a result, D’Apolito scored the win driving a General Motors Crate 602 engine under the hood of his Utsinger Towing/Brad Hibbard’s Race One Chevrolet No. 84 for his first career victory at Tri-City. As a race rookie, D’Apolito also earned the Atkinson Fire Safety Equipment Rookie of the Race honors. He became the first rookie to ever win the Applefest 100.

   “This is the biggest win of my career,” said D’Apolito, who is the first Ohio driver to win the race since Rick Prosser Jr. captured the 1997 inaugural event. “I thought I was running fourth, and I couldn’t believe it when I was the leader. I have to thank my entire crew and all the people that help me. There is a $3,000 crate engine under the hood. We’ve done well with it all year. We’re thrilled to be here.”

   Pro Stock rookie Bobby Sutley of Cooperstown, Pa., completed a stellar run to finish second for his best career finish at Tri-City. During the race, Reagle, Iorio and D’Apolito put a great deal of distance between themselves and the rest of the field.  That included a number of lapped cars. In the end, Sutley was 6.229 seconds behind D’Apolito.

   “I can’t believe this,” said Sutley. “I didn’t realize that I was running second until that last caution and I looked at the scoreboard. We were lucky tonight.”

   Defending race winner Dave Ferringer finished third and was the last car on the lead lap. He was almost two seconds behind Sutley, but it could have been worse. On the 39^th lap, while battling Don Kramer for fourth on a restart, the two collided and lost several positions on the track. Ferringer was able to race back through the field to take third.

   “That was a close one,” said Ferringer about the incident. “I’m more upset about all of the lapped cars on the final restart. I think they should move all of them aside and let us get up there to race for the win.”

   Whitling and Reagle started on the front row, and Reagle jumped out to the lead at the green. He was on a rail and set a fast pace for the field at the start. Behind him, 2007 Pro Stock track champion Iorio moved from sixth to third by the fifth circuit. He then raced by Whitling for second on the eighth circuit. The first caution flew on the 11^th circuit for a double spin in turn two. Under caution, the transmission locked up on Whitling’s car and he was forced pitside. He returned to the track three laps down, and was no longer in contention for the race win.

   After another quick caution, Reagle still paced Iorio with 20 laps in the books. Kramer was in third followed by D’Apolito and Ferringer. D’Apolito raced by Kramer for third on the 22^nd circuit, but a third caution slowed his pace. The fourth caution of the race came out on the 34^th circuit, which continued to hamper the frontrunners because they were unable to establish a good pace. On the ensuing 39^th lap restart, Kramer and Ferringer collided and fell back. This allowed race rookie Randy Wyant and Matt Thomas to move into the top five. Thomas fell out of the race five laps later and Danny Exley now ran fifth.

   After that restart, the race ran nonstop for the next 53 circuits. This allowed Reagle, Iorio and D’Apolito to pull away from the field. As they raced away from the pack, the battle for fourth was tremendous. At times, three to four cars were racing side-by-side for the position. At the halfway point of the race, Reagle led Iorio, D’Apolito, Wyant and Butch Lambert.

   As Reagle continued to collect lap money, Iorio mounted a charge. The leaders entered lapped traffic just after the halfway mark, and this allowed Iorio to make several attempts to race under Reagle. The leader was up to the challenge, however, as he held off Iorio every time. D’Apolito remained within striking distance, but was no match for the lead duo.

   With 70 laps in the books, Reagle and Iorio still led D’Apolito. Way back in fourth was Wyant while Sutley finally entered the top five after a stirring battle with Lambert. Also in the mix was Whitling. The three-time race winner was the fastest car on the track as he drove through the field to the front of the pack and nearly caught Reagle and Iorio. Then, on the 71st lap, Wyant’s fantastic run ended with mechanical problems foretelling of things to come.

   On the 76^th lap, coming off turn four, Reagle’s car suddenly slowed as he crossed the start-finish line. Reagle finished 20^th, but still collected $2,185 with his race purse and lap money, which was more than D’Apolito made. When Reagle dropped out, Iorio blasted by him to take the lead. Then, two laps later, Iorio’s car came up lame, and he too crossed the start-finish line underpowered. With the two leaders stationary in the infield, D’Apolito was the new race leader on the 79^th circuit.

   With 20 laps to go, D’Apolito was way out front. Sutley ran second followed by Ferringer, Kramer and Lambert. Then, Kramer’s car failed in turn two on the 82^nd circuit, and he nearly collected Lambert while driving into the infield. Lambert was knocked off the track, but he recovered to make it back out.

   On the 92^nd lap, the final caution of the race waved when rookie Chris Haines blew an engine and watered down the third and fourth turns. The laps stopped ticking off with five circuits left, and the field took several laps under caution to run the downed fluids from Haines’ engine into the track surface. For Sutley to win, it was obvious that a miracle would have to occur because there were many lapped cars between him and D’Apolito.

   D’Apolito was able to cruise home the winner after the final restart. Sutley finished second over Ferringer. Lambert recovered for fourth while Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Motor Speedway racer Craig Kamicker finished fifth after an early spin put him to the rear of the field.

   Whitling finished 12^th for only his second finish outside the top ten in this event. It was enough for him to capture the 2007 Detroit Iron Pro Stock Series crown. He topped Reagle, Ferringer, Iorio and Rod Laskey in the final point standings.

   Terry Wheeler raced from 23^rd to sixth, and received the $100 Hard Charger Award from Crick’s Mini Storage.

   The Eagle Hoist & Winch 17/17 Prize was won by Kamicker and Haines. Kamicker was running 17th on the 50th lap and Haines finished 17^th on the 100^th lap, which earned each driver an extra $50.

   A total of five cautions slowed the race for a total of 15 laps.

   D’Apolito set fast time in the time trials at the beginning of the night at a time of 21.791 seconds, which equated to an average speed of 82.603 mph. D’Apolito collected an extra $50 from Dale Woodard Law Firm and Atkinson Fire Safety Equipment for fast time. Jeff Lockhart of Oil City, Pa., collected $50 courtesy of Seigworth Road Supply for the Best Appearing Car.

   D’Apolito, Reagle, Whitling and Kramer won the Pro Stock heats for the 41-car field. Exley and Russ Coyne won the B mains.

   Whitling also won the Sunoco Race Fuels Dash, which paid a purse of $300. The dash event consisted of the heat race winners and determined the starting lineup of the race.

   Stacie White of Pittsburgh, Pa., won the 12-lap E.F. Rogers Plumbing & Heating/R.K. Virgile Scrap Metals Non Qualifiers B Feature. White dueled with Andy Thompson over the last five laps of the race. Coming off the final turn side-by-side, White beat Thompson to the line by 0.001 seconds. White collected $500 for his race win. Veteran Les Myers finished third followed by Tim Folmer and Nick Kocuba.

   In the Thundercar Apple Core 20, Cody Manners took the lead on the ninth circuit from track champion Bill Myers, and then held off all challenges from Myers to score the biggest win of his career. It was the second win of the season and career for Manners at Tri-City. Driving his Tarr’s Motorsports/Jerry’s Auto Chevrolet No. 16, Manners joined his father, Jeff, as the only Tri-City regulars to ever win this race.

   “Wow!” was all the 17-year-old high school student could say in victory lane after the race. “I want to thank my dad and everyone on the team for this win.”

   Myers started on the outside pole position for the race and immediately jumped into the lead. With cars racing all different grooves around the track, it was hard to keep track of positions with the multitude of passes. However, Myers led Manners, Chad Ubber, Curtis E. Bish and Craig Koteles by the fifth circuit.

   When the caution flew on the eighth lap for fluid on the speedway, the ensuing restart produced the wildest wreck in Tri-City history. After taking the green, the cars were racing nearly four-wide in turns three and four. Koteles, who moved into third after the restart, tried to make a move under Myers and Manners, but his car shot up the track in turn four. Coming off the corner, Ubber raced under Koteles, but the two cars touched sending Koteles and Ubber into a double spin.  Below them, Bish started to turn around after contact from another car. At that point, the track became blocked as cars piled into the high speed wreck. In the end, the 16-car pileup resulted in a red flag for nearly a half hour while the carnage was removed from the track. Thankfully, no one was injured in the melee.

   Missed in all the wrecking was the fact that Manners took the lead from Myers as they crossed the line. Manners survived two more cautions to hold off everything that Myers threw at him. At the finish, Manners was the winner over Myers, Charlie McMillen, Ubber and Joe Blake. Both Ubber and Blake returned to action after the wreck and produced good finishes despite their involvement in the melee. In fact, it was a career best finish for Ubber. Bill Winters, Eric Goldberg and Ed Deloe won the Thundercar heats for the 26-car field.

   Steve Hollabaugh won the 15-lap exhibition feature for the FASTRAK Late Models, in the debut of the class at Tri-City. Taking the lead from former Pro Stock racer Scott Myers on the sixth circuit, Hollabaugh raced home to his first win at Tri-City since 1997. E Mod track champion Carl McKinney finished second over Myers, former Thundercar track champion Chad Myers, and Dave Ferry. McKinney won the lone heat.

   At the end of the night, Thundercar driver Bill Winters of Cooperstown, Pa., won the 13-car Lowry Auto Wrecking Compact Car Demolition Derby.

  With the racing season now concluded, attention shifts to the 12th Annual Tri-City Speedway Banquet, which will take place on Saturday January 5, 2008, at the Rocky Grove Fire Hall. Ticket information will be announced in the coming weeks. In addition, news will be released about Tri-City’s 2008 racing season.

   11th ANNUAL CSONLINE APPLEFEST 100 DETROIT IRON PRO STOCK SERIES RACE SUMMARY

   Heat 1: Steve D’Apolito, Rod Laskey, Danny Rich, Larry Root

   Heat 2: Jason Reagle, Doug Iorio II, Chris Haines, Butch Lambert

   Heat 3: Bobby Whitling, Dave Ferringer, Willie Aley, Craig Kamicker

   Heat 4: Don Kramer, Randy Wyant, Bobby Sutley, Matt Thomas

   Dash: Bobby Whitling, Jason Reagle, Steve D’Apolito, Don Kramer

   B Main 1: Danny Exley, Jackson Humanic, Jim Keith, Terry Wheeler

   B Main 2: Russ Coyne, Charlie DiLoreto, Bill Robertson, Gerry Bruce

   Provisionals: Jeff Manners, Bob Sloss

   Past Champion Provisional: Darrell Bossard

   Non-Qualifiers B Feature (20 Laps): 1. STACIE WHITE, 2. Andy Thompson, 3. Les Myers, 4. Tim Folmer, 5. Nick Kocuba, 6. Pat Hanley, 7. Jamie Brown, 8. Jake Simmons, 9. Bob Schwartzmiller, 10. Jeff Lockhart, 11. Mitch Wattelet. DNS: Rusty Kellogg, Leigh Wheeler, Jeff Christy.

   CSONLINE APPLEFEST 100 (100 Laps): 1. STEVE D’APOLITO, 2. Bobby Sutley, 3. Dave Ferringer, 4. Butch Lambert, 5. Craig Kamicker, 6. Terry Wheeler, 7. Charlie DiLoreto, 8. Willie Aley, 9. Larry Root, 10. Rod Laskey, 11. Jackson Humanic, 12. Bobby Whitling, 13. Russ Coyne, 14. Bill Robertson, 15. Randy Wyant, 16. Jeff Manners, 17. Chris Haines, 18. Don Kramer, 19. Doug Iorio II, 20. Jason Reagle, 21. Danny Exley, 22. Jim Keith, 23. Danny Rich, 24. Matt Thomas, 25. Darrell Bossard, 26. Bob Sloss, 27. Gerry Bruce.

   THUNDERCARS APPLE CORE 20 (20 Laps): 1. CODY MANNERS, 2. Bill Myers, 3. Charlie McMillen, 4. Chad Ubber, 5. Joe Blake, 6. Josh Seippel, 7. Curt Bish Sr., 8. Craig Koteles, 9. Pat Fielding, 10. Curtis E. Bish, 11. John K. Miller II, 12. John K. Miller, 13. Kenny Alcorn, 14. Dave Phillips, 15. Bill Winters, 16. Curt Bish Jr., 17. Jon Huff, 18. Ed Deloe, 19. Everett Wade, 20. Davy Lee, 21. Eric Goldberg, 22. Bill Hale, 23. Mark Perry, 24. Greg Myers, 25. Mike Dobrick, 26. Bill Baker. DNS: Joe Sloss.

   FASTRAK LATE MODELS (15 Laps): 1. STEVE HOLLABAUGH, 2. Carl McKinney, 3. Scott Myers, 4. Chad Myers, 5. Dave Ferry.

   UPCOMING EVENTS

   Jan. 5, 2008 – Tri-City Speedway 2007 Season Banquet (Rocky Grove Fire Hall)