RGeeProductions
10-15-2012, 01:54 AM
After being postponed last weekend, Mountain Speedway’s 13th annual “King of the Mountain” event went off without a hitch Saturday. Most drivers didn’t show their cards early in the 150-lap Modified main event, but by the end the cream rose to the top and Matt Hirschman of Northampton held off Zane Zeiner to take his second straight victory in the $5,000 to win showdown. After running in the second position for most of the Late Model feature, Earl Paules of Palmerton, PA stole the victory when Rob Ormsbee suffered ignition problems on the final lap and Steve Shultz of Drums took the race lead with eight laps remaining to score his second straight King of the Mountain victory.
Matt Hirschman time trialed quickest in Modified qualifying, but Earl Paules pulled the pole position when the top ten fastest qualifiers redrew for starting position in the 150-lap main event.
Paules led the opening circuit over Jimmy Zacharias, Dave Brigati, Brian DeFebo and Zane Zeiner but was overtaken by Zacharias for the lead after one lap was complete. Two laps later DeFebo climbed to second.
Following a lap seven restart, DeFebo took his turn at the lead and Zacharias settled into the second spot. With 50 laps complete, DeFebo remained the leader over Zacharias. Chuck Hossfeld cracked the top five and ran third, followed by Brigati and John Beatty.
Hossfeld began to climb further toward the front as the halfway mark approached and then overtook Zacharias for second on lap 71. Meanwhile, Hirschman began to make his move and overtook Brigati for fourth two laps later.
The yellow flag waved when Brandon Oltra slowed on the track on lap 82 and several drivers pitted for tires, including Zacharias and Brigati, who ran third and sixth respectively.
With DeFebo in the lead for the restart, Hirschman overtook Hossfeld and then took the lead from DeFebo on lap 84. Zeiner climbed to second by lap 90 before the yellow flag waved on lap 98 when Vince Biondolillo and Jason Hearne collected in turn two. Several of the frontrunners pitted under the caution period, including Hirschman, Zeiner, DeFebo, Paules and Hossfeld.
Green flag racing resumed with Nick Pecko, who had pitted earlier in the event as the leader. Zacharias restarted in second, followed by Brigati.
While heading into turn one on lap 104, a lower control arm broke on Zacharias’ car and he made hard contact with the fence, ending a great run. Four laps following the restart, Brigati overtook Pecko for the lead and Hirschman, who had made his way back to the top five, followed through for second.
Hirschman reeled in the leader and then made his bid for the lead on lap 109 and Zeiner quietly worked his way back to second.
Despite an inside pass attempt by Zeiner following a late race restart, Hirschman led all of the final circuits to claim his second straight King of the Mountain victory and third of his career over Zeiner and Pecko. Todd Baer stayed out of trouble all night to finish fourth and Hossfeld completed the top five.
With a solid third place effort in the double points paying event, Pecko notched his first asphalt Modified track championship over Brigati.
Travis Fisher time trialed quickest for the 50-lap Late Model feature and Kevin Metzger drew the pole position. However, Kyle Harvell took the race lead following the drop of the green flag. He led the opening lap over Metzger, Earl Paules and Geno Steigerwalt.
Paules climbed to second on the second lap and Fisher took third on circuit later and then moved by Paules for second on lap five. From out of nowhere, Rob Ormsbee cracked the top five and Fisher took the race lead on the eights circuit.
Ormsbee made his way by Harvell for second on lap 12 and then battled with Fisher for the top spot, which he took on lap 17. With 25 laps complete, Ormsbee led over Fisher, Paules, Harvell and Steigerwalt.
It appeared that Ormsbee had the win in the bag but that all went by the wayside when the yellow flag waved with one lap remaining when Harvell got into Fisher in turn four. Paules lined up in second for the restart and when the green flag came back out, Ormsbee’s car began to miss, due to an ignition issue.
Paules took command and cruised to the checkers over Ormsbee, Steigerwalt, Harvell and Mark Tyson.
With his fourth place finish, Harvell sealed up his first career Late Model championship.
Tony Hilliard led the Street Stock field to the drop of the green flag in the 50-lap feature, but Chas Castiglione led the opening lap over Hilliard, Chris Burge, Sam Danaher and Alan Schlenker.
Following a lap four restart, Mitch Hawk jumped to the outside and began to pick off his competitors one by one. With five laps compete he overtook Burge for second and then got by Castiglione for the lead a lap later. With 20 laps in the books, Hawk continued to set the pace over Castiglione, Chip Wanamaker, Burge and Daryn Miller.
Wanamaker moved to the second spot following a lap 21 restart and then tagged the leader in turn one on lap 22. The end result was a spinning Hawk, which collected Nick Ross and Hilliard. The change of events moved Castiglione to the point, followed by Miller and Steve Shultz.
Miller pressured the leader and with 33 laps complete, he took the race lead and Shultz followed through for second. Shultz then worked on Miller and took the top spot with eight laps remaining. He drove off to take the checkered flag for his second straight King of the Mountain win over Miller, Wanamaker, Castiglione and Kevin Higgins.
After coming so close several times in his career, Wanamaker took his first Street Stock championship.
Heat race victories went to Chip Wanamaker, Chris Burge and Chas Castiglione.
Mountain Speedway is just minutes from Hazleton, Pa, located on St. John’s Road, between Routes 93 and 309. Grandstand admission for the next event (NELMA) is $10 for ages 11 and older. Children 10 years of age and younger are admitted for free.
Please visit www.mountainspeedway.com for the remaining 2012 schedule, point standings and up to date news and information.
Modified (150-laps) 1. MATT HIRSCHMAN 2. Zane Zeiner 3. Nick Pecko 4. Todd Baer 5. Chuck Hossfeld 6. Earl Paules 7. David Brigati 8. Bobby Jones 9. Brian DeFebo 10. Nevin George 11. John Beatty 12. John Markovic 13. Vincent Biondolillo 14. Barry Callavini 15. Randall Richard 16. Brian Romig 17.Daren Scherer 18. Brian Sones 19. Jimmy Zacharias 20. Andy Walko 21. Jason Hearne 22.David Roys 23. Brandon Oltra 24. Dan Watts 25. Rob Ormsbee DNS: Eric Kocher
Late Model (50-laps) 1. EARL PAULES 2. Rob Ormsbee 3. Geno Steigerwalt 4. Kyle Harvell 5. Mark Tyson 6. Kevin Metzger 7. Travis Fisher 8. Mitch Hawk 9. Stone Phillips
Street Stock (50-laps) 1. STEVE SHULTZ 2. Daryn Miller 3. Chip Wanamaker 4. Charlie Castiglione 5. Kevin Higgins 6. Brian Wozniak 7. Nick Ross 8. Mitch Hawk 9. Lonnie Behler 10. Nick Shaw 11. Alan Schlenker 12. John Stonier 13. Chad Churlla 14. Bob Ripley 15. Sam Danaher 16. Tony Hilliard 17.Chris Burge 18. Paul Morgan Jr.
Gene Ostrowski
Matt Hirschman time trialed quickest in Modified qualifying, but Earl Paules pulled the pole position when the top ten fastest qualifiers redrew for starting position in the 150-lap main event.
Paules led the opening circuit over Jimmy Zacharias, Dave Brigati, Brian DeFebo and Zane Zeiner but was overtaken by Zacharias for the lead after one lap was complete. Two laps later DeFebo climbed to second.
Following a lap seven restart, DeFebo took his turn at the lead and Zacharias settled into the second spot. With 50 laps complete, DeFebo remained the leader over Zacharias. Chuck Hossfeld cracked the top five and ran third, followed by Brigati and John Beatty.
Hossfeld began to climb further toward the front as the halfway mark approached and then overtook Zacharias for second on lap 71. Meanwhile, Hirschman began to make his move and overtook Brigati for fourth two laps later.
The yellow flag waved when Brandon Oltra slowed on the track on lap 82 and several drivers pitted for tires, including Zacharias and Brigati, who ran third and sixth respectively.
With DeFebo in the lead for the restart, Hirschman overtook Hossfeld and then took the lead from DeFebo on lap 84. Zeiner climbed to second by lap 90 before the yellow flag waved on lap 98 when Vince Biondolillo and Jason Hearne collected in turn two. Several of the frontrunners pitted under the caution period, including Hirschman, Zeiner, DeFebo, Paules and Hossfeld.
Green flag racing resumed with Nick Pecko, who had pitted earlier in the event as the leader. Zacharias restarted in second, followed by Brigati.
While heading into turn one on lap 104, a lower control arm broke on Zacharias’ car and he made hard contact with the fence, ending a great run. Four laps following the restart, Brigati overtook Pecko for the lead and Hirschman, who had made his way back to the top five, followed through for second.
Hirschman reeled in the leader and then made his bid for the lead on lap 109 and Zeiner quietly worked his way back to second.
Despite an inside pass attempt by Zeiner following a late race restart, Hirschman led all of the final circuits to claim his second straight King of the Mountain victory and third of his career over Zeiner and Pecko. Todd Baer stayed out of trouble all night to finish fourth and Hossfeld completed the top five.
With a solid third place effort in the double points paying event, Pecko notched his first asphalt Modified track championship over Brigati.
Travis Fisher time trialed quickest for the 50-lap Late Model feature and Kevin Metzger drew the pole position. However, Kyle Harvell took the race lead following the drop of the green flag. He led the opening lap over Metzger, Earl Paules and Geno Steigerwalt.
Paules climbed to second on the second lap and Fisher took third on circuit later and then moved by Paules for second on lap five. From out of nowhere, Rob Ormsbee cracked the top five and Fisher took the race lead on the eights circuit.
Ormsbee made his way by Harvell for second on lap 12 and then battled with Fisher for the top spot, which he took on lap 17. With 25 laps complete, Ormsbee led over Fisher, Paules, Harvell and Steigerwalt.
It appeared that Ormsbee had the win in the bag but that all went by the wayside when the yellow flag waved with one lap remaining when Harvell got into Fisher in turn four. Paules lined up in second for the restart and when the green flag came back out, Ormsbee’s car began to miss, due to an ignition issue.
Paules took command and cruised to the checkers over Ormsbee, Steigerwalt, Harvell and Mark Tyson.
With his fourth place finish, Harvell sealed up his first career Late Model championship.
Tony Hilliard led the Street Stock field to the drop of the green flag in the 50-lap feature, but Chas Castiglione led the opening lap over Hilliard, Chris Burge, Sam Danaher and Alan Schlenker.
Following a lap four restart, Mitch Hawk jumped to the outside and began to pick off his competitors one by one. With five laps compete he overtook Burge for second and then got by Castiglione for the lead a lap later. With 20 laps in the books, Hawk continued to set the pace over Castiglione, Chip Wanamaker, Burge and Daryn Miller.
Wanamaker moved to the second spot following a lap 21 restart and then tagged the leader in turn one on lap 22. The end result was a spinning Hawk, which collected Nick Ross and Hilliard. The change of events moved Castiglione to the point, followed by Miller and Steve Shultz.
Miller pressured the leader and with 33 laps complete, he took the race lead and Shultz followed through for second. Shultz then worked on Miller and took the top spot with eight laps remaining. He drove off to take the checkered flag for his second straight King of the Mountain win over Miller, Wanamaker, Castiglione and Kevin Higgins.
After coming so close several times in his career, Wanamaker took his first Street Stock championship.
Heat race victories went to Chip Wanamaker, Chris Burge and Chas Castiglione.
Mountain Speedway is just minutes from Hazleton, Pa, located on St. John’s Road, between Routes 93 and 309. Grandstand admission for the next event (NELMA) is $10 for ages 11 and older. Children 10 years of age and younger are admitted for free.
Please visit www.mountainspeedway.com for the remaining 2012 schedule, point standings and up to date news and information.
Modified (150-laps) 1. MATT HIRSCHMAN 2. Zane Zeiner 3. Nick Pecko 4. Todd Baer 5. Chuck Hossfeld 6. Earl Paules 7. David Brigati 8. Bobby Jones 9. Brian DeFebo 10. Nevin George 11. John Beatty 12. John Markovic 13. Vincent Biondolillo 14. Barry Callavini 15. Randall Richard 16. Brian Romig 17.Daren Scherer 18. Brian Sones 19. Jimmy Zacharias 20. Andy Walko 21. Jason Hearne 22.David Roys 23. Brandon Oltra 24. Dan Watts 25. Rob Ormsbee DNS: Eric Kocher
Late Model (50-laps) 1. EARL PAULES 2. Rob Ormsbee 3. Geno Steigerwalt 4. Kyle Harvell 5. Mark Tyson 6. Kevin Metzger 7. Travis Fisher 8. Mitch Hawk 9. Stone Phillips
Street Stock (50-laps) 1. STEVE SHULTZ 2. Daryn Miller 3. Chip Wanamaker 4. Charlie Castiglione 5. Kevin Higgins 6. Brian Wozniak 7. Nick Ross 8. Mitch Hawk 9. Lonnie Behler 10. Nick Shaw 11. Alan Schlenker 12. John Stonier 13. Chad Churlla 14. Bob Ripley 15. Sam Danaher 16. Tony Hilliard 17.Chris Burge 18. Paul Morgan Jr.
Gene Ostrowski