Extreme Drama
& 4 Champions Rule At New Egypt Speedway
By Danny Serrano
New Egypt, NJ – (September 18, 2010)
– On a night when four separate drivers were to be crowned track
champions, you couldn’t have had more drama, even if it were scripted.
The mighty Big Block Modifieds had the night
off as all four of New Egypt’s support divsions were able to shine
brightly on the final point night of the season.
Robbinsville, NJ’s, Rocco Infante barely hung
on to claim his second consecutive Sportsman title in dramatic
fashion.
Jimmy Housworth of Rieglesville, PA was the lone man standing
after the 20-lap Crate-1 Sportsman feature, in an epic nine-driver
battle for the 2010 track championship.
New Egypt, NJ’s own 20 year-old PJ Oliver most
likely had several hairs turn grey in his 20-lap Outlaw Stock race, as
he went on to claim his first-ever track championship.
Pasadena, MD’s Darin Henderson ended his
championship season in the first-ever FASTRAK LM campaign at NES in
grand style by not only winning the final race of the points season,
but the championship as well.
The only two drivers with mathematical chances to win this year’s
Sportsman title were 13th place starting Mike Lyons
and the current point leader Rocco Infante, who lined up 18th
on the grid.
With a Lyons victory, Infante had to finish 13th
or better if he wanted to be champion.
Alan Bleacher and Ryan Simmons led
the 24-car field to the start with Simmons jumping out to the early
lead. A
lap six caution for 3rd place points man Mike
Howardson, changed the entire complexion of the race.
To everyone’s surprise, Infante drove his No.
JR1 into the pit area with front end problems, as Howardson retired
for the night.
As the field took the green, Infante was able to rejoin the
field just in the nick of time.
Bob Lineman Jr., quickly grabbed the lead away
from Simmons only to lose it two laps later to the lightning fast Mike
Lyons. Lyons began to open up a healthy lead over Lineman, Simmons, Kevin
Vaclavicek, and Marc Herman at the half-way point.
As the laps clicked off, Infante struggled
mightily just to break into the top 15.
It wasn’t until lap 17 that the JR1 of Rocco
drove into that magical 13th position.
While
Lyons cruised home to his first victory of the season and did
everything he had to do for his chances at a championship, all eyes
were glued to “The Rock.”
A simple bobble or hop of the cushion, and
several competitors that were glued to Rocco’s bumper would have slid
by and handed the title to Lyons.
However, Infante was able to keep his cool as
he would wind up winning the championship by a mere 6 points with his
12th place effort.
Bob Lineman drove to his
best finish of the season coming home in 2nd while
Marc Herman not only finished 3rd, but drove to an
outstanding 5th place in the final point tabulations.
Vaclavicek kept his fine season in tact by
finishing 4th in the feature which vaulted him to 4th
in the season-long points.
Gene Stravinsky rounded out the top 5 placing
him 6th in the final point standings.
Next on the docket was the 20-lap Crate-1Sportsman event.
Nine different drivers were vying for one
championship.
Only 15 points separated the top 5 drivers so it was
anyone’s crown to win.
Dan Mazy, who entered the night 8th
in points started 6th and wasted no time as ‘Racer X’
blasted to the front grabbing the lead on lap 2.
A lap 2 caution for
Bobby Dmuchowski (front end damage) ended any chances for his
championship bid….Dmuchowski entered the night 6th in
points and wound up 10th.
Point leader Gabe
Fox tried to use his mid-pack starting position of 9th
to the best of his advantage, but he had no friends on this night as
everyone was hungry for the win or championship.
Heavy contact between Fox, John Aumick, and
Joe Dill took the fans breath away, as the field went
five-wide heading into turn
1. At
the half-way point, Mazy had stretched out his lead over Jimmy
Spellmon and Chris Allen Jr.
Fox had fallen to 13th just
behind Bryan Kuhl and Jon Haegele who were both 2nd
and 3rd in points while 4th and 5th
place point men Kyle Borror and Jim Housworth were working their way
to the front.
Three laps later Housworth was the first car to break from the
five-car pack as he was in hot pursuit of the championship.
Kyle Borror went for it all as he dove
underneath Housworth in turns 3 and 4, only to have Kuhl join the fray
trying to make it three-wide for the championship as they were racing
for 5th position.
Kuhl was the odd man out as he spun his No. 37
thus ending his night and championship dreams.
Lining the field up to the last completed lap
put Housworth back in front of Borror which was extremely crucial
since whoever finished ahead of the other would win the title.
As Mazy easily cruised home for his 3rd
win of the season Housworth was able to withstand Borror’s challenges
as he came all the way from 5th in points to be the
champion.
Spellmon and Allen trailed Mazy, who’s win propelled
him to a 5th place finish in the points, at the
finish line while Housworth and Rob Stump completed the top 5.
Borror’s 6th place finish
earned him runner-up in the point chase.
Defending champion Jon Haegele had a quiet
night finishing 8th, but it was good enough to finish
3rd in points.
Point leader Gabe Fox finished 12th giving
him a 4th place spot in the points.
Unfortunately Bryan Kuhl, who had led the
points with only two races remaining, would up falling to 7th
in points due to his 19th place finish.
Just like the Sportsman division, the Outlaw Stock points battle was
solely between two young men…Point leader P.J. Oliver, who held a 10
marker advantage, and leading feature winner of 2010, John Carpenter.
It was simple for Oliver as he had could let
Carpenter finish ahead of him, but only by one spot…no cars in
between!
The 20-lap feature looked very much to be to Oliver’s liking
early on, as after only one lap was in the books he was already 4th
while Carpenter rode in 7th.
As Oliver tried to wrestle the lead away from
Jay Saredy on lap 4, Dan Collamer stunned both drivers as he drove
around the outside to take the lead.
Everything seemed in order for Oliver, as at
the halfway point the scoreboard read Collamer, himself, Marty Derr,
Shanon Mongeau, Saredy, and then Carpenter.
Then things started to change in a hurry as
Carpenter dug deep down and mustered up the strength to drive by
everyone in his way including P.J.
The table was now set for a grand finale as
Carpenter was stalking Collamer unbelievably as the field received the
5 to go signal.
Oliver could not keep up with the front duo and suddenly found
a new best friend in Dan Collamer, in hopes that his No. 42 would win
the race relegating Carpenter to a 2nd place finish.
A late race caution on lap 18 negated a Carpenter pass for the
lead and the championship which consequently then set up the two most
dramatic laps turned all season at NES.
Green…White…Checkered was now the script but
no one and I mean no one could have foreseen what was about to happen
over the final two laps.
As Carpenter salivated at the thoughts of
passing Collamer for the lead and title, chaos was going on behind
him. Vern McLaughlin dove hard inside Oliver in turn 4 coming for the white
flag pushing the two up the track, letting Derr and Mongeau join the
party. The four cars took the white flag 4-wide with Oliver stuck on the far
outside.
As they exited turn 2, contact between Mongeau and Oliver
found both of them slamming the outside guardrail.
Oliver’s hopes were
shattered instantly….or were they?
While all that was happening, Carpenter and
Collamer made contact for the lead in turn 3 which resulted in
Carpenter’s No. 82 receiving a flat tire.
Collamer cruised home
for his first victory of the season, leaping him to 5th
in the final point standings as the remaining 5 cars freight trained
Carpenter to the finish line.
Carpenter was the last car to cross the finish
line in 7th.
Oliver and Mongeau weren’t able to finish the race thus giving
Oliver an 8th place finish!
Oliver was able to drive away from his
accident and visit victory lane as the 2010 track champion by a slim 6
point advantage.
“To not even finish the race and win the championship
is unbelievable…I’m lost for words,” as Oliver excitedly spoke.
The finish was so close and confusing almost
everyone in the place didn’t even know, just who the track champion
really was!
The FASTRAK Late Models concluded their inaugural season at New Egypt
with their usual two 12-lap main events.
Several first-time invaders were in the field,
as DE’s Mike Wharton held off DIS 2010 track champion Donald Lingo,
for his first career win at NES.
It was a complete Delaware sweep of the podium
as Kelly Putz finished 3rd.
Darin Henderson and Tony Giglio completed the
top 5.
In the second 12-lap event Henderson
completed 2010 with a clean sweep.
Henderson, who makes the 2 hour plus tow from
his Maryland home, is a mechanical engineering student at Clemson
University, couldn’t have been any happier as he stood in victory lane
after his 5th win of the season.
“I’m just happy to be racing here at New Eygpt
Speedway in my late model.
I know Jersey is a modified state but believe
me late models are the way to go,” expressed the young student.
Finishing behind Henderson was Steve Davis
(who finished 3rd in points), Skip Syester, Lingo,
and Giglio (who finished runner-up in points).
In their third appearance of the season the Wall Stadium Factory
Stocks had yet another entertaining and wild feature.
Paul Gasko was the early leader before
spinning on lap 5 handing the lead over to last week’s winner Rob
Longo. Longo, Whitey Miller, and week one winner Shanon Mongeau went
three-wide for the lead with Mongeau ending up spinning in turn 4.
Pat Hires came out of nowhere to grab the lead
with only three laps remaining and looked like he would be the night’s
victor, only to have a tire go flat on the last lap.
Whitey Miller was the lucky recipient of
inheriting the lead and held on for the win.
Longo, Mongeau, Bill Connolly, and Chris
Felber completed the top 5.
Next Saturday night, Sept. 25, New
Egypt Speedway presents Championship Night for the Modifieds sponsored
by C&S Equipment.
Defending track champion Rick Laubach holds a 27 point
margin over all-time feature winner Billy Pauch.
The only twist to this year’s finale is that
there are two races instead of one.
Twin 20’s will headline the program as these
two drivers lead a star-studded field which includes Keith Hoffman,
Bob Drayton, Jimmy Horton, David VanHorn, Frank Cozze and many many
more drivers.
The popular ARDC wingless midgets will also make their second
appearance of 2010.
The Crate-1 Sportsman will race for an increased purse
(top 5 positions) and the Wall Factory Stocks will round out the
program. Gates
open at 4:00 p.m. with the first race starting at 6:00 pm. For more
information, call the speedway office at (609) 758-1900 or log on to
www.newegyptspeedway.net.
9/18/10 RESULTS
SPORTSMAN RESULTS
Heat 1: 1. Bill Lester
2. Alan Bleacher
3. Dave Hunt
4. Chad Barney
5. Rayn Beltz
6. Gene Stravinsky
Heat 2: 1. Marc Herman
2. Ryan Simmons
3. George Quinlan
4. Randy Yaple
5. Kevin Vaclavicek
6. Richie Cass Sr.
Heat 3: 1. Mike Lyons
2. Rocco Infante
3. John Cornell III
4. Bob Lineman Jr.
5. J.T. Trstensky
6. Clay Butler
Consi: 1. Mike Howardson
2. Will Dupree
3. Frankk Venezia
4. Mike Butler
5. Jeff Marcucci
6. Todd Zuromski
Feature (20 Laps): 1. Mike Lyons 2. Bob Lineman Jr. 3. Marc Herman
4. Kevin Vaclavicek 5. Gene Stravinsky 6. Randy Yaple 7. Clay Butler
8. Will Dupree 9. Ryan Beltz 10. Ryan Simmons 11. Dave Hunt 12. Rocco
Infante 13. J.T. Trstensky 14. Alan Bleacher 15. George Quinlan 16.
Frank Venezia 17. Mike Butler 18. Chad Barney 19. Jeff Marcucci 20.
Bill Lester 21. Mike Howardson 22. Todd Zuromski 23. Richie Cass Sr.
24. John Cornell III
DNQ:
Walt Larson, EverettTaylor, Harris Kohen, Dave
Damiano, Andrew Reeves, Jimmy Watts, Jason Kosch, Erik Renninger,
Robin McTighe.
CRATE-1 RESULTS
Heat 1: 1. Jim Housworth 2. Bill Martino 3.
Chris Allen Jr. 4. Gabe Fox 5. Jimmy Spellmon 6. Justin Griffith
Heat 2: 1. Jarrett Rozycki 2. John Aumick 3. Dan Mazy 4. Joe Dill 5.
Jon Haegele 6. John Micek
Heat 3: 1. Ron Barnstead 2. Bryan Kuhl 3.
Bobby Dmuchowski 4. Rob Stump 5. Kyle Borror 6. Scott Hyland
Consi:
1. Harry Marlin 2. Chris Allen Sr. 3. Tim Paul 4. Brian Papiez 5.
Riche Steele Jr. 6. Scott Cranstoun
Feature (20 Laps): 1. Dan
Mazy 2. Chris Allen Jr. 3. Jimmy Spellmon 4. Jim Housworth 5. Rob
Stump 6. Kyle Borror 7. John Micek 8. Jon Haegele 9. Bill Martino 10.
Brian Papiez 11. Tim Paul 12. Gabe Fox 13. Harry Marlin 14. Ron
Barnstead 15. Chris Allen Sr. 16. Joe Dill 17. Rich Steele Jr. 18.
Scott Cranstoun 19. Bryan Kuhl 20. Jarrett Rozycki 21. Justin Griffith
22. Scott Hyland 23. John Aumick 24. Bobby Dmuchowski
DNQ:
Doug Debray, Steve Hicks, Jordan Cox, Dan Stout, Danny Roslin,
Matt Vaillancourt, Bob Rambone, Tom Raneri.
OUTLAW STOCK RESULTS
Heat 1: 1. John Carpenter 2. Jesse McLaughlin 3. Brian Ludwig
4. Jarrod Burdge 5. P.J. Oliver 6. Shanon Mongeau
Heat 2: 1. Jason Saredy 2. Spider Ensinger Sr. 3. Dan Collamer
4. Vern McLaughlin 5. Marty Derr 6. Billy Wroble
Feature (20 Laps): 1. Dan Collamer 2. Marty Derr 3. Vern
McLaughlin 4. Brian Ludwig 5. Scott Dugan 6. Jarrod Burdge 7. John
Carpenter 8. P.J. Oliver 9. Shanon Mongeau 10. Dennis Seeley 11.
Spider Ensinger Sr. 12. Howie Conk 13. Jason Saredy 14. Tom Princiotta
15. Tony Klimeczak 16. Billy Wroble 17. Jesse McLaughlin 18. Mick
Search
DNS:
Jesse McLaughlin
FASTRAK LM RESULTS
Feature-1 (12
Laps): 1. Mike Wharton 2. Donnie Lingo Jr. 3. Kelly Putz 4. Darin
Henderson 5. Tony Giglio
6. Steve Davis 7. Skip Syester 8. Alicia Young
9. Rob Ormsbee
Feature-2 (12 Laps): 1. Darin Henderson 2. Steve
Davis 3. Skip Syester 4. Donnie Lingo Jr. 5. Tony Giglio 6. Alicia
Young 7. Mike Wharton 8. Kelly Putz
DNS: Rob
Ormsbee
FACTORY STOCK RESULTS
Feature (15 Laps): 1. Whitey Miller 2. Rob
Longo 3. Shanon Mongeau 4. Bill Connolly 5. Chris Felber 6. Ron Mullen
7. No. 28 8. Pat Hires 9. Rick Latza 10. No. 22 11. John Gasko 12.
Paul Hartwig 13. Tim O’Shea 14. No. 86 |
