RGeeProductions
09-18-2013, 05:59 PM
25th Annual US Open Scheduled for September 20th-22nd
The season finale at Elegant Builders Raceway Park saw cold temperatures but heated and intense racing action on the track.
The first event of the evening was the After Hours Imaging TQ Midget Winged 40 lap event. The race was broken down into two twenty lap segments, with a chance for teams to refuel and make mechanical adjustments in between. The first segment had Arik McGruder, Shawn Nye, Kyle Hutchinson, and Brandon Zaverella bringing the 17 car field to the green flag. McGruder immediately took possession of the lead but Nye was hot on his tail. McGruder and Nye waged a spirited battle for the lead until lap 13 when Nye finally grabbed the top spot after a bit of contact with McGruder as they were negotiating lap traffic. Hutchinson took advantage of the opportunity as well and slotted down low on McGruder to take second. With five to go the field was spread out but a yellow flag on lap 18 changed that dynamic. The double file restart pitted Nye and Hutchinson on the front row with McGruder and Timex Morgan behind them. Nye and Hutchinson ran side by side for the remaining two laps but it was Nye who took the checkered flag for the first segment of the race. After the first segment the cars were parked on the front stretch while teams made necessary adjustments and the top eight finishers in the first part of the race redrew for position. Redrawing the pole was Andy Nye while Andy Jankowiak, and McGruder rounded out the top three. Shawn Nye, the first segment winner, redrew sixth. After about a 10 minute delay the cars were lined back up and ready to race. Jankowiak wasted no time in grabbing the lead leaving A. Nye to deal with S. Nye, McGruder, and Hutchinson who were all behind him. A number of yellow flags dotted the early portion of the race but Jankowiak held his lead and by the halfway point of the second segment had a sizable lead over Hutchinson and S. Nye. Another yellow on lap 12 put all the leaders back together but when the race went green Jankowiak again was the leader. As the laps clicked off Jankowiak built a lead over Hutchinson and S. Nye again and captured the checkered flag.
The 4 Cylinders were up next on the inner oval and the championship was on the line. Bobby Woch, the points leader going into the night, was only eight points ahead of second place Al Piasecki. For the feature Jayme Thompson and Brandon Sherwood made up the front row with rookies Rich Bartel and Garrett Cleversley in the second row. Woch started fifth while Piasecki started eighth. Up front, at the drop of the green, Thompson grabbed the lead while Bartel slotted into second. Soon Piasecki had moved up to third with Woch right behind him in fourth but the duo swapped positions back and forth seemingly each lap. At the halfway point of the 25 lap feature, it was Thompson up front with a comfortable lead over Bartel, Woch, Piasecki, and Sherwood. As the race went, the action heated up behind leader Thompson and a yellow flag on lap 19 set up a six lap shootout for the feature win and the points championship. The double file restart saw Thompson on point with Bartel, Woch, Sherwood, and Piasecki up front. Again, Thompson grabbed the lead and Woch and Piasecki moved into second and third. The top three battled for the remainder of the laps but as the checkers flew it was Jayme Thompson capturing her second career 4 Cylinder feature win and Bobby Woch claiming his first career 4 Cylinder track championship.
The action switched to the outer oval for the remaining two features and it was the Street Stocks who were up first. Keith Flanigan, Dennis Londos, Mike Dalfonso Jr., and Dave Vona made up the first two rows of starters and at the start it was Flanigan to the lead. A quick yellow for the spun out car of Dalfonso re-lined the field up with Flanigan, Vona, Cochrane, and Joe Haley restarting up front. By lap 3 Cochrane had moved up into the lead although Matt Druar, who had started the race in eighth, was on the move through the field. By the halfway point of the 25 lap feature, Cochrane led Druar, Flanigan, and Haley, each equidistant from each other. As the race stayed green, Cochrane cruised up front but with each lap Druar was taking a piece of the Cochrane’s lead away. A late race yellow flag that collected numerous cars reset the field and pitted Cochrane and Druar side by side on the front row for the restart. Cochrane was able to take the lead but Druar stayed with him and with five laps to go the duo battled for the lead. Cochrane was able to hold on and took home the regular season finale feature win for the Street Stocks.
The final event of the evening was the 50 lap Sportsman race and a season high 19 cars were on hand for the race. Sherri Hogan, Kevin Miller, Mark Pennell, Andy Jankowiak, and Jimmy Zacharias were the top five starters and from the initial start it was Hogan to the lead. The racing action was short lived however as a multi car pile up in between turns one and two that collected seven cars halted the racing action. Soon the racing was back underway and Hogan was in the lead with Miller, Jankowiak, and Zacharias on her bumper. By lap six Jankowiak made his way to the outside of Hogan and to the lead, with Zacharias following. Hogan was relegated to third and had company with Miller, George Skora, Pennell, and Jake Vernon. Skora was the car on the move though as he methodically was working his way up through the field after starting eighth. By lap 15 Jankowiak and Zacharias had built a considerable lead over Skora, who in turn had room on Pennell, Vernon , Hogan, and Tom MacLeod. A yellow one lap later however changed the make up of the race to that point. The field had difficulty going again with another two yellow flags being shown on the next two laps for issues with the restarts. Both collected numerous cars who were running up front and mid pack. When the field finally doubled up again it was Jankowiak, Zacharias, Skora, Pennell, and Timex Morgan up front. Again, the top duo of Jankowiak and Zacharias separated from the field but another yellow on lap 21 brought them all together again. When green flag racing resumed and the field hit the halfway point of the feature a few laps later, it was Jankowiak leading Zacharias, Skora, and Pennell. The top four soon began separating from Miller, Frank Batista Jr., Vernon , and Morgan who ran fifth on back. Up front Zacharias began ramping up his efforts to take the lead from Jankowiak, doggedly pursuing the leader. Disaster almost struck the leaders however on lap 38 as Morgan, who had scraped the backstretch grass re-collected his car and slowly began getting back up to speed. However the leaders caught up to him as they were coming out of four and down the narrow front stretch. All the leaders were able to get through but Morgan tagged both the inside and outside front stretch walls after contact. Yellow fever raged on as the field once again lined up for the restart but contact between Chris Ridsdale and Kevin Lewis sent both of them into the turn four Thermal Foam and the field was stopped to allow safety workers to attend to the drivers and clean up the mess. After the clean up, Jankowiak now had Skora in second and to his outside on the restart while Zacharias and Pennell were behind him. Just ten laps remained and Skora was all over Jankowiak for the lead. Jankowiak seemed to have developed a mechanical problem by this point in the race but Skora could not find a way around the leader. Meanwhile Zacharias and Pennell were also looking for a chance to get around the top two cars. Their opportunity came with just three laps to go as Jankowiak and Skora, who had been racing side by side down the backstretch, made contact in turn one, sending both of them into the Thermal Foam. This put Zacharias in the lead with only a handful of laps remaining. On the restart Zacharias led but Pennell stayed with him as Vernon and Hogan followed. Pennell threw everything he had at Zacharias but Zacharias was able to hold on and capture his first career feature win at Lancaster . Although Jankowiak crashed in the final laps of the event, he had clinched the championship the prior race and officially took home his second career Sportsman championship at the speedway.
(continued)
The season finale at Elegant Builders Raceway Park saw cold temperatures but heated and intense racing action on the track.
The first event of the evening was the After Hours Imaging TQ Midget Winged 40 lap event. The race was broken down into two twenty lap segments, with a chance for teams to refuel and make mechanical adjustments in between. The first segment had Arik McGruder, Shawn Nye, Kyle Hutchinson, and Brandon Zaverella bringing the 17 car field to the green flag. McGruder immediately took possession of the lead but Nye was hot on his tail. McGruder and Nye waged a spirited battle for the lead until lap 13 when Nye finally grabbed the top spot after a bit of contact with McGruder as they were negotiating lap traffic. Hutchinson took advantage of the opportunity as well and slotted down low on McGruder to take second. With five to go the field was spread out but a yellow flag on lap 18 changed that dynamic. The double file restart pitted Nye and Hutchinson on the front row with McGruder and Timex Morgan behind them. Nye and Hutchinson ran side by side for the remaining two laps but it was Nye who took the checkered flag for the first segment of the race. After the first segment the cars were parked on the front stretch while teams made necessary adjustments and the top eight finishers in the first part of the race redrew for position. Redrawing the pole was Andy Nye while Andy Jankowiak, and McGruder rounded out the top three. Shawn Nye, the first segment winner, redrew sixth. After about a 10 minute delay the cars were lined back up and ready to race. Jankowiak wasted no time in grabbing the lead leaving A. Nye to deal with S. Nye, McGruder, and Hutchinson who were all behind him. A number of yellow flags dotted the early portion of the race but Jankowiak held his lead and by the halfway point of the second segment had a sizable lead over Hutchinson and S. Nye. Another yellow on lap 12 put all the leaders back together but when the race went green Jankowiak again was the leader. As the laps clicked off Jankowiak built a lead over Hutchinson and S. Nye again and captured the checkered flag.
The 4 Cylinders were up next on the inner oval and the championship was on the line. Bobby Woch, the points leader going into the night, was only eight points ahead of second place Al Piasecki. For the feature Jayme Thompson and Brandon Sherwood made up the front row with rookies Rich Bartel and Garrett Cleversley in the second row. Woch started fifth while Piasecki started eighth. Up front, at the drop of the green, Thompson grabbed the lead while Bartel slotted into second. Soon Piasecki had moved up to third with Woch right behind him in fourth but the duo swapped positions back and forth seemingly each lap. At the halfway point of the 25 lap feature, it was Thompson up front with a comfortable lead over Bartel, Woch, Piasecki, and Sherwood. As the race went, the action heated up behind leader Thompson and a yellow flag on lap 19 set up a six lap shootout for the feature win and the points championship. The double file restart saw Thompson on point with Bartel, Woch, Sherwood, and Piasecki up front. Again, Thompson grabbed the lead and Woch and Piasecki moved into second and third. The top three battled for the remainder of the laps but as the checkers flew it was Jayme Thompson capturing her second career 4 Cylinder feature win and Bobby Woch claiming his first career 4 Cylinder track championship.
The action switched to the outer oval for the remaining two features and it was the Street Stocks who were up first. Keith Flanigan, Dennis Londos, Mike Dalfonso Jr., and Dave Vona made up the first two rows of starters and at the start it was Flanigan to the lead. A quick yellow for the spun out car of Dalfonso re-lined the field up with Flanigan, Vona, Cochrane, and Joe Haley restarting up front. By lap 3 Cochrane had moved up into the lead although Matt Druar, who had started the race in eighth, was on the move through the field. By the halfway point of the 25 lap feature, Cochrane led Druar, Flanigan, and Haley, each equidistant from each other. As the race stayed green, Cochrane cruised up front but with each lap Druar was taking a piece of the Cochrane’s lead away. A late race yellow flag that collected numerous cars reset the field and pitted Cochrane and Druar side by side on the front row for the restart. Cochrane was able to take the lead but Druar stayed with him and with five laps to go the duo battled for the lead. Cochrane was able to hold on and took home the regular season finale feature win for the Street Stocks.
The final event of the evening was the 50 lap Sportsman race and a season high 19 cars were on hand for the race. Sherri Hogan, Kevin Miller, Mark Pennell, Andy Jankowiak, and Jimmy Zacharias were the top five starters and from the initial start it was Hogan to the lead. The racing action was short lived however as a multi car pile up in between turns one and two that collected seven cars halted the racing action. Soon the racing was back underway and Hogan was in the lead with Miller, Jankowiak, and Zacharias on her bumper. By lap six Jankowiak made his way to the outside of Hogan and to the lead, with Zacharias following. Hogan was relegated to third and had company with Miller, George Skora, Pennell, and Jake Vernon. Skora was the car on the move though as he methodically was working his way up through the field after starting eighth. By lap 15 Jankowiak and Zacharias had built a considerable lead over Skora, who in turn had room on Pennell, Vernon , Hogan, and Tom MacLeod. A yellow one lap later however changed the make up of the race to that point. The field had difficulty going again with another two yellow flags being shown on the next two laps for issues with the restarts. Both collected numerous cars who were running up front and mid pack. When the field finally doubled up again it was Jankowiak, Zacharias, Skora, Pennell, and Timex Morgan up front. Again, the top duo of Jankowiak and Zacharias separated from the field but another yellow on lap 21 brought them all together again. When green flag racing resumed and the field hit the halfway point of the feature a few laps later, it was Jankowiak leading Zacharias, Skora, and Pennell. The top four soon began separating from Miller, Frank Batista Jr., Vernon , and Morgan who ran fifth on back. Up front Zacharias began ramping up his efforts to take the lead from Jankowiak, doggedly pursuing the leader. Disaster almost struck the leaders however on lap 38 as Morgan, who had scraped the backstretch grass re-collected his car and slowly began getting back up to speed. However the leaders caught up to him as they were coming out of four and down the narrow front stretch. All the leaders were able to get through but Morgan tagged both the inside and outside front stretch walls after contact. Yellow fever raged on as the field once again lined up for the restart but contact between Chris Ridsdale and Kevin Lewis sent both of them into the turn four Thermal Foam and the field was stopped to allow safety workers to attend to the drivers and clean up the mess. After the clean up, Jankowiak now had Skora in second and to his outside on the restart while Zacharias and Pennell were behind him. Just ten laps remained and Skora was all over Jankowiak for the lead. Jankowiak seemed to have developed a mechanical problem by this point in the race but Skora could not find a way around the leader. Meanwhile Zacharias and Pennell were also looking for a chance to get around the top two cars. Their opportunity came with just three laps to go as Jankowiak and Skora, who had been racing side by side down the backstretch, made contact in turn one, sending both of them into the Thermal Foam. This put Zacharias in the lead with only a handful of laps remaining. On the restart Zacharias led but Pennell stayed with him as Vernon and Hogan followed. Pennell threw everything he had at Zacharias but Zacharias was able to hold on and capture his first career feature win at Lancaster . Although Jankowiak crashed in the final laps of the event, he had clinched the championship the prior race and officially took home his second career Sportsman championship at the speedway.
(continued)