Speedway Digest Staff - Results from #80

Race Winner: Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Winner: Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 2 Winner: Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)

 

Overview:

Riley Herbst and the No. 98 Monster Energy team were strong out of the gate as the NASCAR Xfinity Series returned from a two-week break during Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway. After scoring his second career Xfinity Series Pole this morning with a lap of 156.665 mph, Herbst led the field to green for this afternoon’s 188-lap race. The Las Vegas native ran solidly in the top-10 for the first two stages, finishing third and fourth, respectively, and earning a total of 15 bonus points. Crew chief Richard Boswell made the call of the race when he brought Herbst to pit road for the final time during a lap-117 caution while half the field stayed out. Herbst restarted 17th and quickly and methodically worked his way into the top-10 by lap 140. The final 58 laps of the race went green, playing into the No. 98 Monster Energy team’s strategy as others were forced to pit for tires and fuel. Herbst was able to stay out and drive his way up to the third position, which he held all the way to the checkered flag. It was his fifth top-five and 10th top-10 of the season.

 

Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“Our Monster Energy Ford Mustang was good today. We got the pole and we wanted to lead some laps but, unfortunately, we didn’t lead any. We got quite a bit of stage points, which is what we needed. It’s just a good day for everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing, myself included. I’m proud of all these guys on the 98 team. If we just keep getting these runs, we’ll eventually get there and, if we just keep knocking on the door, eventually it will open.”

 

Notes:              

● Herbst’s pole was the second of his NASCAR Xfinity Series career. He won his first in May 2021 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

● Herbst third-place finish equaled his best result so far this season. He finished third May 7 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

● Herbst finished third in Stage 1 to earn eight bonus points and fourth in Stage 2 to earn seven more bonus points.

● Justin Allgaier won the Tennessee Lottery 250 to score his 18th career Xfinity Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Nashville. His margin over second-place Trevor Bayne was 4.513 seconds.

● There were five caution periods for a total of 27 laps.

● Only 12 of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● AJ Allmendinger remains the championship leader after Nashville with a 25-point advantage over second-place Ty Gibbs.

 

Next Up:          

The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the Henry 180 on July 2 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The race starts at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.  

 

TSC PR

Sheldon Creed and the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Team Sidelined by Incident at Nashville Superspeedway

36th

19th

17th

“The results don't show how fast our Whelen Chevrolet was today at Nashville Superspeedway. Our Richard Childress Racing pit crew did a great job. Those guys gained us positions every time we came to pit road. My crew chief, Jeff Stankiewicz, kept working to make all the right adjustments and we had worked our way into position to score a top-10 finish. Unfortunately, I sped on pit road after Stage 1 and that put us behind but we fought our way back into contention. Then, we got caught up in a wreck and weren't able to salvage our No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro. It stinks our day ended early but we’ll bounce back next week at Road America.”   -Sheldon Creed

Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet Team Fight Hard for Top-10 Finish at Nashville Superspeedway

8th

4th

8th

“It was a hot one in the Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet today at Nashville Superspeedway. I felt like I did a pretty decent job hydrating but I might need to work on it a little bit. In the middle of the race, I got pretty hot. I had to do a reset. I got some ice and got to feeling better again to finish the run. All in all, it was a decent day for us. We fought a loose entry. Our Chevy would get tight across the middle and we never found the right balance. On the last pit stop towards the end of the race I went for a call that I thought would help us, but it didn’t. We lost some speed on the long run so we’ll reevaluate this week. Our RCR Chevrolet was good. I thought we were pretty decent on a short run. As the run went, we would start getting free and then tight across the middle. I feel like we got our front ends working pretty decent now, we just have to get the rear back in the race track.”   -Austin Hill

RCR PR

Taylor Gray, No. 17 Ford Performance Mustang Start: 6th Finish: 4th Taylor Gray qualified sixth for the Menards 250 at Elko Speedway. The Ford driver was passing for fourth on lap six when the rear of the car came around on him into turn one. He restarted at the tail of the field and drove back to sixth by the first competition pit break at lap 75. After replacing right side tires, Gray fired off strong for the second leg of the race and quickly advanced to fourth, maintaining there until the second pit break at lap 175. During this break, the crew changed all four tires and made a trackbar adjustment to tighten up for the final 75 laps. Gray briefly held third in the early going of the final green flag run, but fell back to fourth and stayed consistent there through the checkered flag.

Next event: Dawn 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio on July 8 at 5:00 p.m. ET.

DGR PR

Tony Stewart knows what it feels like to win a race at South Boston Speedway.

The former NASCAR champion won a USAC national midget series race at South Boston Speedway in 2002, topping Bobby East for the win.

Saturday night Stewart topped a field of legendary racing stars in the 100-lap feature race that headlined the SRX (Superstar Racing Experience) event at South Boston Speedway in front of a packed house of fans and a national television audience.

Stewart successfully fended off a challenge from fellow NASCAR star Greg Biffle, finishing .440-second ahead of Biffle to score his third career SRX series feature race win. NASCAR stars Bobby Labonte and Ryan Newman finished third and fourth respectively, with four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves, the winner of the series opener, rounding out the top five finishers.

“The USAC midget series was tough when I was here,” Stewart pointed out. “It was an honor to win that race. You look at the field of drivers we race with (in SRX), it’s the best of the best from different forms of motorsports. Anytime you can beat those guys there is a lot of pride in it.”

Stewart said he knew Biffle was behind him and trying to make a bid for the lead and the win.
“Greg is smart,” noted Stewart. “He knows how to run these long races. He knows how to take care of his tires. At the end when it counted the most, he was coming.”

Biffle said he did all he could to try to get to Stewart’s rear bumper.

“I wanted to try to make it exciting,” Biffle remarked. “I just couldn’t get there. Tony just took care of his stuff a little better. He just had a little better tire than I did. I was doing all I could, overdriving the corner.”
Labonte described his night as an “okay” night.

“I was probably a little better in the heat races,” Labonte said. “We made one adjustment and were too tight in the center (of the corner). It wouldn’t turn the center of the corner at all. Other than that, it was pretty good.”

Tony Kanaan, Ernie Francis Jr., Marco Andretti, Ryan Hunter-Reay, two-time NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion and six-time South Boston Speedway NASCAR track champion Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia, Michael Waltrip and Paul Tracy rounded out the finishing order.

“It wasn’t the night we wanted,” Sellers remarked. “They (the SRX personnel) prepared me a really nice car. I think the sway bar was unhooked late in the race. In the heat race, I was kind of saving my tires. I said, ‘you know what, I think we’ve got something to race with.’ But, in the feature race, it just wasn’t there. Something just wasn’t quite right. It was a great experience.”

Tracy, Castroneves and Waltrip took the top three spots in the first heat race, with Sellers finishing seventh. Castroneves, Andretti and Newman claimed the top three spots in the second heat race. Sellers finished 10^th in that heat race.

KYLE BARNES TAKES WIN IN BUDWEISER LIMITED SPORTSMAN DIVISION RACE
Kyle Barnes started on the pole, took the lead on the opening lap and scored a flag-to-flag victory in Saturday night’s 50-lap Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division race.

The win was Barnes’ fifth win in eight starts and was his sixth top-five finish of the season at the .4-mile oval.

Jason Myers of Hurt, Virginia finished second, 3.364 seconds behind Barnes, with Chris Donnelly of Montross, Virginia finishing third. Donnelly was the final driver to finish on the lead lap.

Adam Murray and Brian Obiedzenski of Franklinton, North Carolina rounded out the top five finishers.

NEXT RACE AT SOUTH BOSTON SPEEDWAY
South Boston Speedway will host its showcase NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division event, the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 presented by Grand Atlantic Ocean Resort on Saturday night, July 2.

A 200-lap race for the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division race paying $10,000 to win, the first race in the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown series, headlines the July 2 Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 presented by Grand Atlantic Ocean Resort racing program.
The four-race program also includes a 50-lap race for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, a 25-lap race for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division and a 20-lap race for the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division.

South Boston Speedway will honor America by capping the night with one of the area’s most dazzling Fourth of July fireworks displays.

Advance tickets for the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 presented by Grand Atlantic Ocean Resort on Saturday night, July 2 are available for $15 each plus a $1.50 processing fee. The advance tickets may be purchased online on the South Boston Speedway website or by calling the speedway office. Tickets at the gate on race day will be $20 each.

Practice will start at 1:30 p.m., qualifying starts at 4:30 p.m., an autograph session will be held at 5:15 p.m. and the first race of the night will get the green flag at 7 p.m.

The latest updates and news for both fans and competitors can be found on the speedway’s website, southbostonspeedway.com, and the track’s social media channels. Information may also be obtained by phoning the speedway at 434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540 during regular business hours.

SBS PR

Las Vegas’ Kyle Keller drove from tenth to win the Reverend Ron Spencer Red, White, and Blue Classic for the Lunkerdaddy Pro Late Models on Saturday night at Madera Speedway. The win in the fifth annual 80-lap race gives Keller possession of the points lead after five rounds of competition in 2022, televised on MAVTV.
 
Ethan Nascimento aimed for an iron man accomplishment as he signed up for triple duty, racing in the Lunkerdaddy Pro Late Models, 51FIFTY Jr. Late Models, and INEX Legends Tour races. With 100-degree temperatures, Nascimento started his bid with fast-times in qualifying for both Late Model classes and second quickest in the Legends.
 
The Pro Late Model redraw placed Nascimento fourth alongside incoming points leader Jadan Walbridge of Vancouver, Wash., behind a front row of pole sitter Matthew Meech and outside pole sitter Jason Aguirre.
 
Aguirre used the outside to take the opening lap lead while the first of many two-by-two formations for the third position developed. Nascimento used the outside in a duel with Walbridge to emerge third on lap 12. Rick Thompson retired to the pits on lap 16. Aguirre paced the action running the top line while Meech tried to make hay on the bottom. Nascimento battled Meech for second before a caution flew on lap 21 for Mike Hensley spinning in turn two.
 
Meech and Nascimento resumed their battle on the restart, with contact into turn three. Meech slid and was tagged by Walbridge. The incident brought out the caution on lap 22 and relegated both drivers to the rear of the field.
 
Aguirre picked the outside of Nascimento on the following restart. Nascimento used the inside to take the lead on lap 23. The two-by-two action for third continued with Shelden Cooper winning the position for the moment. Cooper then challenged Aguirre for second. Cooper made a maneuver to the inside of Aguirre in turn three which resulted in contact exiting turn four. They collided again in turn one on lap 33, then tangled in turn three on the same lap to eventually send Aguirre spinning and require a caution. Both were sent to the rear for their involvement.
 
Keller had driven up to third at that point, challenging Idaho’s Jacob Smith for second. Another yellow flag waved on lap 43. Nascimento narrowly held the lead on the following restart, using a slide job to slide in front of Keller to lead lap 44. Nascimento led Keller, Bakersfield’s Seth Wise, Smith, and 2021 Jr. Late Model champion Brody Armtrout into the race break for adjustments on lap 50.
 
The restart saw Nascimento pick the inside of Keller. Keller predicted a move to the lead during the MAVTV interviews at the break, then did just that - charging into the top spot on the exit of turn two. Nascimento tried to drive underneath him in turn four but they touched, sending Nascimento spinning and bringing out the caution flag.
 
Bakersfield’s Kercie Jung had earlier surrendered an eighth-place starting position during the initial pace laps and went to the back. She overcame that to drive into a battle for fifth with Armtout. The battle ended on lap 54 with Jung going up in sparks in turn three with heavy right-side damage.
 
When action resumed, Walbridge had worked through the pack to rank fifth in a battle with Aguirre and Washington’s Kasey Kleyn. Nascimento eventually entered the picture again as well after driving from the rear of the field himself.
 
Kyle Keller grabbed the Ron Spencer Classic victory over a career-best second place for Jacob Smith with Seth Wise rounding out the podium in third. Armtrout and Walbridge rounded out the top-five. Keller will take an unofficial eight-point advantage over Walbridge into the $5,000-to-win Summer Speedfest on July 30^th!
 
Ethan Nascimento won the 51FIFTY Jr. Late Model 70-lap feature for his first career win in the series for drivers ages 10-16 years old. Nascimento won qualifying but started fifth after the redraw. Points leader Robby Kennealy of Madera drew the pole and immediately led the field.
 
The pack lined up behind opening night winner Brody Moore of Colorado in a duel for second, but Moore held the position. Washington’s Kasey Kleyn spun Nascimento in turn three on lap nine, collecting Newport Beach’s Sean Hingorani in the process for a yellow flag.
 
10-year-old Vito Cancilla spun on the backstretch for the next caution on lap 27. On the restart, Loomis’ Kenna Mitchell dove inside Moore for the second position. They collided in turn one and spun up the race track, collecting Fort Bragg’s Lane Anderson and Hingorani. Hingorani and Mitchell were eliminated from the event with significant front end damage while a lengthy red flag followed
 
Kennealy led Nascimento, Kleyn, and rookies Joey Kennealy of Madera and Monty Tipton of Mill Valley into the lap 40 race break. Nascimento tried to take the lead on the outside on the restart, then eventually filed in line behind Kennealy on lap 43.
 
Kennealy and Nascimento set a strong pace, driving ahead to a sizeable advantage over Kleyn. Nascimento finally made his move in turn four to take the lead on lap 66. Kennealy attempted a crossover in turn two in lapped traffic to no avail. Ethan Nascimento won his first career 51FIFTY Jr. Late Model race over Kennealy, Kleyn, Joey Kennealy, and Brody Moore.
 
Robby Czub won a roller coaster of a 40-lap INEX Legends Tour race over a 16-car turnout. Czub led the first four laps before Cody Winchel had the lead on lap five. Brendan Ruzbarsky followed him into second on the outside as well.
 
Contact in turn two allowed Ruzbarsky to get the lead on lap 11. Winchel then used a restart to retake the lead on lap 13. A restart led to a multi-car crash and a red flag on lap 22. Madera’s Aiden Phillips got into Bakersfield’s Logan Chambers, the 2021 Bandolero track champion. The ensuing melee gathered up several other cars as well in turns one and two.
 
Winchel and Ruzbarsky raced hard for the lead on the restart. Contact on the exit of turn four spun Ruzbarsky, with Zach Sansom slamming the front stretch wall to avoid him. Winchel and Ruzbarsky both restarted at the back of the pack with Czub inheriting the lead. Czub led the final 18 circuits for victory with Ethan Nascimento finishing second. Reno’s Nick Halen, Ruzbarsky, and Winchel rounded out the top-five.
 
Kellen Keller of Las Vegas won the 15-lap INEX Bandolero feature for his second win of the season. Skyler Schoppe and Andrew Williams finished second and third.
 
Madera Speedway resumes on July 16 with a CLUB RACE featuring Madera Late Models, Madera Super Stocks, MST’s/Sedans, WCSC Mini Stock Invasion/Madera Mini Stocks, and Southwest Tour Truck Series
 
For more information about the Madera Speedway including how to advertise with a race team on MAVTV please visit www.racemadera.com or call the race office at 209-356-1968.

The 2022 season would not be possible without the support of Lunkerdaddy Fishing Lures, 51FIFTY LTM, Mission Foods, 805 Beer, Race 2B Drug Free, Competition Carburetion, Hoosier Tires, and Sunoco Race Fuel.
 
Madera Racing on MAVTV airs Monday nights at 4:00pm Pacific and 7:00pm Eastern.
 
2022 MADERA MAVTV LATE MODEL SCHEDULE
March 5 - $5,000-to-win
April 2
April 30
May 21 – Military Tribute Night
June 25 – Reverend Ron Spencer Red, White Blue Classic
July 30 - $5,000-to-win
August 27
September 17
October 15 - $10,000-to-win Short Track Shootout
October 29 – Pumpkin Cup Open (Non-Points)

Madera Speedway PR

Drake Edwards of Surprise, Ariz. added a new track to his victories in the Western Midget Racing presented by Masters Design and Construction, snaring the action at Ventura Raceway on Saturday night. Edwards had previously triumphed at the one-fifth mile Adobe Mountain Speedway in Glendale, Ariz. and felt right at home on the confines of the Ventura Raceway.

Arizona drivers Edwards and Dustin Cormany split the eight-lap heat races over a 13-car field of stock production-powered Midgets at the dirt track by the Pacific Ocean.

The 20-lap feature was led to green by Todd and Kyle Hawse while Brentwood’s Blake Bower, the 2021 WMR champion, started third. Bower drove into the lead position in Tony Boscacci’s No. 9 and fifth-starting Edwards eventually followed him into second position. A battery issue required fourth-starting Nate Wait of Lodi to pull in on the opening lap.

Bower’s bid for victory ended with an engine issue. Edwards inherited the lead and never relinquished it. 2021 WMR Ventura winner Randy Moody drove to second place in his No. 15 while AJ Hernandez made his second career start with a strong third-place run for the Arizona driver in Kevin Felkins’ No. 11. 2019 Ventura WMR champion Randi Pankratz of Atascadero drove to fourth ahead of Las Vegas’ Kyle Hawse in fifth.

Western Midget Racing continues its 2022 season on Friday July 15 at Ocean Speedway during the Howard Kaeding Classic and Saturday July 16 at Petaluma Speedway.

For more information on Western Midget Racing, visit them at www.WesternMidgetRacing.com or follow them on Facebook!

Western Midget Racing is presented by: Masters Design and Construction, Rockwell Security, Rams Racing, Hoosier Racing Tire, Extreme Mufflers, FTK, Blud Lubricants, and West Evans Motorsports.

 

June 25, 2022 – Ventura Raceway (Ventura, Calif.) Results

HEAT 1 (8 laps) – 1. 86D Drake Edwards. HEAT 2 (8 laps) – 83D Dustin Cormany.

FEATURE (20 laps) – 1. 86D Drake Edwards, 2. 15 Randy Moore, 3. 11 AJ Hernandez, 4. 35 Randi Pankratz, 5. 20 Kyle Hawse, 6. 33AZ Tyler High, 7. 22 Will Brown, 8. 3AZ Chloe High, 9. 9 Blake Bower, 10. 83D Dustin Cormany, 11. 31 Todd Hawse, 12. 20w Nate Wait, DNS- 35SR Brody Petrie

WMR PR

Race Recap: In front of packed grandstands on Saturday night at South Boston Speedway, Tony Stewart earned his first SRX win of the 2022 season. Greg Biffle and Bobby Labonte followed close behind to earn podium finishes. Biffle won Heat 1 and the season-opener winner Helio Castroneves won stage two. 

CBS Race Recap: A recap of tonight’s race can be found here.

Post-Race Quotes:

Tony Stewart (Winner): “Seeing these fans cheer when we got the lead every time, that’s what kept the motivation going. Not like I need much motivation, but when you’ve got fans of South Boston cheering like that every time you get the lead, you aren’t going to let them down. I was worried we would get a caution late, so I just tried to take care of it there, but I think backing my pace off actually hurt me versus helping me. I thought I was trying to take care of it and I think I was making some problems a little bit worse by not running as hard as earlier. This car was really good. When we practiced today, it rolled the corner really nice, it was a little loose off. I was worried about it. I haven’t been to South Boston since I ran a midget clear back in 2000, 2001, 2002 or something like that. Didn’t know, couldn’t remember the characteristics of what this track does when it cools off. I was hoping it would tighten up and it did a little, just not as much as we needed.”

Greg Biffle (Finished 2^nd in the Main Event): It was a great night. Our car was really fast. Tony (Stewart) just took care of his stuff a little better with starting on the front row every time. He had a little better tire than I did at the end. I was doing all I could, overdriving the corner and just trying to get to his bumper and wiggle him a little bit. I wasn’t going to spin him out or anything, but I wanted to try to make it exciting. I just couldn’t get there.” 

Bobby Labonte (Finished 3^rd in the Main Event): “We just got too tight in the center, it reminded me of IRP last year. We made one adjustment from the heat races to the feature and it just got tight, tight, tight. You can count 1,001 by the time you back to the gas and that’s all I needed, the middle of the corner. Probably built up too much air-pressure in the right front. At least we weren’t in the melee.”

Ryan Newman (Finished 4^th in the Main Event): It was real similar to Pensacola, just fell one spot short of what we did there. It seemed like we kind of settled in to just being an equal in equally prepared cars with a bunch of NASCAR guys between Stewart, Biffle, Labonte and myself. It seems like we kind of settled into that speed and really couldn’t get side-by-side or anything else. We all ran the same speed. It was a good run for our Sun Outdoors car. It was fun to drive here. Still a fun class and even if you don’t win, it’s still fun. Happy to have come here and had the opportunity again. 

Ernie Francis, Jr. (Finished 7^th in the Main Event): “Had a fun race out there. Wish we could have finished a little higher up in the field, but happy with where we ended up. Got roughed up a bunch out there. The car wasn’t where we needed it to be, super loose on entry. The adjustments we made didn’t really do much to it, so just had to deal with that for the night. Had a really good battle with (Tony) Kanaan out there. (Tony) Stewart and I got into it a little bit, but we’re all good. Happy to be here. Hopefully I can come back by the end of the year, maybe do the race at Sharon Speedway. Got to try to pop to let me out there, so we’ll see what happens.”

Peyton Sellers (Finished 10^th in the Main Event): “It wasn’t the night we wanted for sure. It was a lot of fun. Packed house here at South Boston. Next week we get to come and do it again, so hopefully we’ll be able to rebound in our own car. They prepared me a really nice car. I think the sway bar was unhooked late in the race there. In the heat race, I was kind of saving tires and I said ‘You know what, we‘ve got something to race with,’ but in the feature when I really called on it, it just wasn’t there. These guys prepare nice cars, but something just wasn’t quite right. We’ll figure it out and go from there. It was a great experience.”

 

Main Event Results at South Boston Speedway: 

Finishing Position	Driver	Car Number
1	Tony Stewart	14
2	Greg Biffle	69
3	Bobby Labonte	18
4	Ryan Newman	39
5	Helio Castroneves	06
6	Tony Kanaan	6
7	Ernie Francis Jr.	5
8	Marco Andretti	98
9	Ryan Hunter-Reay	1
10	Peyton Sellers	26
11	Michael Waltrip	15
12	Paul Tracy	3

 

Heat 2 Results at South Boston Speedway:

Finishing Position	Driver	Car Number
1	Helio Castroneves	06
2	Marco Andretti	98
3	Ryan Newman	39
4	Tony Kanaan	6
5	Bobby Labonte	18
6	Tony Stewart	14
7	Michael Waltrip	15
8	Greg Biffle	69
9	Ernie Francis Jr.	5
10	Peyton Sellers	26
11	Ryan Hunter-Reay	1
12	Paul Tracy	3

 

Heat 1 Results at South Boston Speedway:

Finishing Position	Driver	Car Number
1	Greg Biffle	69
2	Tony Stewart	14
3	Marco Andretti	98
4	Bobby Labonte	18
5	Ryan Hunter-Reay	1
6	Peyton Sellers	26
7	Ryan Newman	39
8	Ernie Francis Jr.	5
9	Tony Kanaan	6
10	Michael Waltrip	15
11	Helio Castoneves	06
12	Paul Tracy	3

 

Next Race: The Camping World SRX Series now heads to Stafford Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 2, 2022. Local Ringer Matt Hirschman will join Tony Stewart, Marco Andretti, Greg Biffle, Hailie Deegan, Bill Elliott, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Bobby Labonte, Ryan Newman, Paul Tracy, Michael Waltrip and Justin Marks. The action kicks off at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and will stream live on Paramount+.

SRX PR

White flag. Nick Hoffman with a near two-second lead. And suddenly, the car shut off.

 

The four-time and defending champion appeared to be on his way to a dominating eighth DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals victory of the season Saturday night when his NOS Energy Drink #2 lost power going down the backstretch coming to the checkers and brought out caution.

 

Under yellow, now coasted past the start/finish line, his lifeless car was pushed back to the pit area, surrendering the lead to second-place Lucas Lee before a green-white-checkered restart to settle the race.

 

Lee took off at the drop of the green and brought it home for his fifth career Summit Modified victory in the St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff finale at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55.

 

“When he slowed down, I thought he thought the checkered flag came out, and I thought, ‘Dude, we’ve got another lap,’” Lee said.

 

“I hate to win like that, but I was the next-fastest car.”

 

Back in the pits, a broken camshaft was the diagnosis from the Hoffman crew.

 

“I’ve had one break before, but I wasn’t racing; I was under caution, and it just shuts off,” Hoffman said. “First thing that went to my mind, it just shut off. It didn’t shake, it didn’t flutter, it doesn’t do anything. You just lose all ignition, basically.

 

“If it would’ve just made it to Turn 3, I probably would’ve made it back around and still won the race. It just wasn’t meant to be this weekend.”

 

Lee, of Paris, TN, had chances earlier in the race to gain on Hoffman and give him a run, but got held-up by traffic.

 

“He got pinned behind that lapped car and I started catching him,” Lee said. “I really got in there, and then he finally cleared that lapped car. Then, I got stuck behind him, but I felt like was there. “

 

Hoffman was beaten on-track Friday night by Rick Conoyer and Will Krup, when Hoffman said things just didn’t feel right with the car. He clearly had those issues worked out by Saturday, dominating the first 24 laps of the Feature, unchallenged.

 

“I think you’ve seen [the I-55 track surface change] a lot with the Late Model guys; they had to change their programs up too,” Hoffman said. “I talked to a lot of them guys to figure out which direction they were headed, and it was exactly the direction I wanted to go.”

 

UP NEXT

 

The Summit Modifieds get two days off before returning to action on Tuesday, June 28, at the revitalized Red Hill Raceway in Sumner, IL. If you can’t be at the track, watch it live on DIRTVision.

 

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

 

Feature 25 Laps | 00:15:58.764

1. 12L-Lucas Lee[1]; 2. 18L-Michael Long[4]; 3. 36-Kenny Wallace[3]; 4. 25-Tyler Nicely[5]; 5. 05-Dave Wietholder[10]; 6. 14C-Rick Conoyer[9]; 7. 8-Kyle Steffens[7]; 8. 1D-Dean Hoffman[11]; 9. 23-Dylan Sharp[19]; 10. 4T-Jake Trebilcock[13]; 11. 130-Chase Allen[12]; 12. 1A-Steve Meyer Jr[18]; 13. 19-Trey Harris[16]; 14. 19C-Jimmy Cummins[15]; 15. 88-Chris Bolyard[20]; 16. 2-Nick Hoffman[2]; 17. 7-Tim Nash[21]; 18. J82-Treb Jacoby[6]; 19. 88T-Cody Thornhill[22]; 20. K9-Will Krup[8]; 21. 24D-Jesse Dill[14]; 22. 59R-Jacob Rexing[17]

 

DIRTcar Series PR

It's been a long time coming, but Burt Myers finally won a race in the Brad's Golf Car's Modified Series.

And not to be outdone, after Myers won the first 25-lap race, Jonathan Brown won the second 25-lap Modified race for his fourth win of season.

As for Myers, the 10-time points champion and 85-time winner, he had not won a race since June 26 of last year, the same weekend as the race he won on Saturday. To do it, Myers had to defeat 11-time champion and 94-time winner Tim Brown, who finished runner-up.

"I tell you, you get to wondering sometimes when it's coming back around," Myers said. "We have just not quit working. It's just satisfying that it's paying off. We've just been changing one thing after another. Then you get out in left field, and then you get behind home plate, you just kind of have to find a happy medium. And we finally found it."

Before Saturday's win, the best Myers had finished was fourth, and he did that four times.

"The car hasn't been terrible," he said. "You know, there were a handful of cars that were a little better than everybody else, but you had about 10 cars that were all equal. We just weren't in the right place at the right time.

"We've been really focusing on making the car fast. We could go sort of fast, but you had to really hustle to do it. Now we've got the car where if I want to hustle I can go really fast. So, whenever you can do that, that equals getting the pole - and in these twin 25s that's kind of the key to the win."

Things started well for Myers in qualifying. He had the fastest lap of the night at 13.141 seconds, which was the fastest lap by any Modified driver this season.

"You know when you get the pole in the twin 25 it's yours to lose at that point," Myers said. "And we had a good enough car that we just needed to be able to start there and get that inside position and get going. I was cautious at the beginning, and towards the end there, I started seeing how good of a car we had and started to pull away."

Jason Myers, Burt's brother, who started the night two points behind leader Brandon Ward for the points lead, finished third. Ward finished fourth and Jonathan Brown was fourth.

"You start wondering, are we going to win again?," Burt Myers said. "And you start wondering if it’s the car, if it’s us, if it’s whatever. And you have fans and you have people asking, 'What's wrong? What's going on? Why aren't you winning?' It starts playing on you, but the fact of it is we kept a positive attitude. 

"I've been doing this long enough that it comes in spurts, and we had about five years there where we couldn't do much wrong. And this year we can't do much right."

Jonathan Brown won the previous week, but he had to fight hard for his victory in the second race. Ward finished runner-up, followed by Chris Fleming, and Tim Brown. Jason Myers was ninth and Burt Myers was 10th.

"We've been very blessed -- four victories this year," Jonathan Brown said. "We didn't have the best car tonight. We thought we were way better than we were in qualifying. We just didn't have the speed we thought we did. The car rolled a good lap. It just didn't have any speed. For whatever reason we qualified eighth and finished fifth in that first race."

After Burt Myers drew 10 in the Madhouse Scramble, the field was inverted at that point and Jonathan Brown started sixth.

"I felt pretty good, but thought we'd maybe be third or fourth, to be honest with you," Jonathan Brown said. "It just all depends on what shakes out with the front row. Ultimately it ended up working out."

John Holleman IV, who also won last week in one of the twin 50-lap races, passed by Zach Brewer to claim the early lead in the second Modified race of the night. Jonathan Brown moved up behind Holleman in second, giving shot after shot to the bumper of Holleman.

Then on lap 22. Jonathan Brown was able to nudge Holleman outside and then dashed to the inside of Holleman in attempt to pass him. On the pass, Holleman shook and eventually ran into Junior Snow around turn 3.

"It took my car a few laps to get going there," Jonathan Brown said. "Once I got going I could I just run off, just run over the 69 (Holleman). His left-rear nerf bar was broke off the bumper and I kept hooking his rear bumper to my front bumper. I was afraid we were going to get tangled up."

There was a caution after the wreck, and Holleman got out of his car and approached Jonathan Brown's car.

"The main power switch in my car is basically just a little key," Jonathan Brown said. "And I've got it wired in there in case it ever fell out, but I cut my car off to talk to him there, and I told him I'd come talk to him after the race ended."

"He was talking somewhat civilized for a little bit there, and then he decided to reach down and grab my power key and rip it out of the car. He was trying to rip the wiring out of it so I couldn't finish the race, but I ultimately I got the key back in the thing and fired it up and went on to win the race."

The race continued and Jonathan Brown held on the last three laps for the win. Ward was second, followed by Chris Fleming and Tim Brown.

All eyes were on the 100-lap race in the McDowell Heating & Air Sportsman Series to see if Amber Lynn could take the outright lead for most wins by a female driver at Bowman Gray. Lynn won last week for her 11th win overall, tying her with Susan Kimel. However, it wasn't her night. She was eventually helped off into the pits and finished 15th.

But it was Michael Adams who won the race - his first win since June 12, 2012. To do so, he had to outlast Wesley Thompson.

"It feels like the monkey is off our back," Adams said. "The car was great tonight."

Adams took the lead on lap 57, and held it until lap 80. From there, Adams and points leader Tommy Neal started playing a game of chicken. There was restart after restart because the NASCAR officials didn't like the way Adams and Neal restarted.

"There at the end Tommy started playing games, I felt like," Adams said. "He said I wasn't giving him enough room. I told him he was trying to crowd me down. He ran over my right front and knocked the brake off. I raced him with respect, and I've got all the respect in the world for him. If he wants to play those games, I guess we will."

On the restart, Neal tried to get around Adams, but it appeared that Neal had a flat tire coming around turn 1 and had to go to the pits.

"We kept having caution after caution and wouldn't let the air pressure build up. It was actually making the car tighter. We needed a long green-flag run for the car to work like we wanted it to."

The race, which had double-file restarts the first eight cautions, went to a single-file restart when it resumed on lap 96. Adams pulled away to defeat Thompson. Zack Clifton was third, Zack Ore was fourth, and Justin Taylor was fifth.

"Wesley had a really good car tonight," Adams said. "I love racing with Wesley. He's a stand-up guy. His whole family is. I was glad to see him run up front. But he's always run me with respect. I've run him with respect and ended up tonight pretty good."

Christian Joyce picked up the win in the Law Offices of John Barrow Street Stock Series 20-lap race. Joyce, who won his fourth win of his career, had to withstand five cautions. including one on the next-to-last lap.

On the final lap, Joyce had a slight lead over Billy Gregg, who was tied with his son Nate for first place in the points standings, and extended it ever so slightly, but Gregg inched closer around Turn 4. Gregg was just behind Joyce, but he couldn't slide under Joyce for the win.

"I've got to thank Billy Gregg," Joyce said. "He ran me clean and he always has."

Nate Gregg finished third and Bryant Robertson was fourth.

The final race of the night was a 15-lap race in the Q104.1 Stadium Stock Series. Brandon Brendle, who was second place in the points standings behind leader A.J. Sanders, won for the third time this season.

Brandon Crotts was second, followed by Blaine Curry. Sanders was fourth and Chuck Wall was fifth.

Bowman Gray Stadium won’t hold any racing this Saturday in celebration of the Fourth of July weekend. Racing returns to the famed quarter-mile track on Saturday, July 9. The racing that night will be highlighted by the second 100-lap race of the season the Brad's Golf Cars Modified Series presented by Real Rock 105.7. In that race, the Fans' Challenge will be in effect, meaning the top four qualifiers in the Modified Series will have the opportunity to take the Fans' Challenge and go to the back of the field. If any of those drivers finish in the top four they will split a $6,000 prize pool.

In addition to the 100-lap Modified race on July 9, there will be double points in all four divisions. There will also be twin 20-lap races in the McDowell Heating & Air Sportsman series, a 20-lap race in the Law Offices of John Barrow Street Stock Series, and one or two 15-lap races in the Q104.1 Stadium Stock Series.

And to add to the tension, double points will be on the line for each race.

BGS Racing PR

Brett Kressley of Orefield, Pa. drove from 16^th starting position and into the lead with a pass of Mark Kratz of Pennsburg, Pa. by lap 15, and went on to score a dominating win in the 30-lap T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modified feature race sponsored by the United Auto Workers Local 677 Saturday night at Grandview Speedway.

 

In the T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman 25-lap main event, Decker Swinehart of Fleetwood, Pa. made an outside turn four pass of Nathan Mohr of Reading, Pa. on lap eight to secure the lead, then race on to his first victory of the 2022 season and second of his Grandview Speedway career.

 

Both winners received bonus money from T.P. Trailers and Truck Equipment (Modified $300, Sportsman $200) in the race program that was part of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Racing Series.

 

The T.P. Trailer Modified feature began with Mark Kratz taking the lead at the drop of the green flag. Soon a great battle developed for the second spot between Dylan Swinehart of Fleetwood, Pa., and Bobby Gunther-Walsh of Allentown, Pa., followed by Eric Biehn of Barto, Pa. and Brett Gilmore of Kutztown, Pa. Another multi-car struggle between Kevin Graver Jr. of Lehighton, Pa, Kevin Hirthler of Boyertown, Pa., Jared Umbenhauer of Richland, Pa., and a fast-advancing Brett Kressley was raging behind those drivers for the remaining spots in the top ten.

 

The first of only two caution flags appeared on lap eleven, when second running Swinehart ran into troubles, getting sideways in turn three. Before he could correct his car in the tight battle for the top positions, several cars slid into the sideways Swinehart vehicle, taking out fourth running Biehn, sixth running Graver Jr. and tenth running Brad Grim of Coplay, Pa.

 

On the restart Kressley advanced from fourth to second and the battle was on between leader Kratz and Kressley, before Kressley made a low grove slider entering turn three on lap fifteen to secure a lead he would never surrender.

 

Action behind the lead cars continued to be intense as Hirthler, Doug Manmiller of Shoemakersville, Pa., Craig Von Dohren of Oley, Pa., Duane Howard of Oley, Pa., and Jeff Strunk o Boyertown, Pa. were all advancing toward the front of the field, battling each other for a top ten spot.

 

The final caution waved on lap 17, and by this time Kressley was leading a strong running Kratz, Gilmore, Manmiller up from 15^th starting spot, Hirthler, Von Dohren up from 21^st, Strunk up from 17^th, Howard advancing from 13^th and Tim Buckwalter of Douglassville, Pa. who had moved up to challenge from his 14^th starting position.

 

Following the restart, Kressley pulled away to a safe advantage leaving a battle behind for second between Manmiller and Von Dohren, after they advanced several spots following the restart, and another two-car duel for fourth between Howard and Strunk.

 

With an extended period of green flag racing to the end of the race, Kressley reached some heavy traffic in the final five circuits, making some breath-taking moves past several lapped cars to race home to his third victory of the season and the 20^th of his Grandview career.

 

Following Kressley to the checkered flag were Von Dohren, who was able to finally wrestle second away from Manmiller with just five laps to go but Kressley was already too far ahead by that time, Manmiller, Howard, Strunk, Buckwalter, Hirthler, Ryan Grim of Laurey’s Station, Pa. with a late charge, Gilmore, and Brad Arnold of Bethel, Pa.

 

Qualifying heat race wins for the 37 cars on hand were won by Kratz, Kressley, Hirthler and Ray Swinehart of Boyertown, Pa. Consolation wins went to Von Dohren and Michael Storms of Mohnton, Pa.

 

The T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman feature saw Nathan Mohr take the lead at the start and set the pace for the first five circuits. Several early cautions kept regrouping the field, but there was some intense racing in between the slowdowns between Jesse Hirthler of Boyertown, Pa. and Swinehart for second, as well as Dylan Hoch of Mertztown, Pa., Jimmy Leiby of West Milford, N.J.  Dakota Kohler of Kutztown, Pa., and Kyle Smith of Fleetwood, Pa. all moving quickly toward the front of the field.

 

Following a lap seven restart, Swinehart, who was making the top groove work to advance positions, was able to grab the lead off turn four to lead by lap eight.

 

Swinehart continued to lead through several cautions and restarts while the action behind was still hot and heavy. A tangle involving Mohr and Hoch while they were both running up front was unfortunate, sending Mohr to the pits and Hoch to the back of the field to start over again.

 

Swinehart continued leading, with Jesse Hirthler, Kohler and Smith continuing to challenge each other for the top five spots. Following a lap eleven restart, Brian Hirthler of Green Lane, Pa. moved into the picture, moving up after starting in 20^th position.

 

A restart with five laps remaining gave everyone a shot at the leader, but Swinehart was flawless in the final five laps to race home to his second career Grandview win. Swinehart became the eight different driver to score a T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman win in nine race events so far this season.

 

Following Swinehart across the finish line were Jesse Hirthler, Brian Hirthler, Smith, Ryan Graver of Lehighton, Pa. who made a late race charge for a top five finish, Mike Stofflet of Mertztown, Pa., Hoch who rebounded after restarting at the back midway through the feature, Kohler, Leiby, and Colton Perry of Breinigsville, Pa.

 

Qualifying heat race wins for the 31 cars on hand were captured by Chris Esposito of Telford, Pa., Mohr, and Hunter Iatalese of Germansville, Pa., with Cody Manmiller of Philadelphia, Pa. winning the consolation.

 

The Outlaw Racing Series Vintage cars were on hand with the Modified and Sportsman powered cars competing together. Scott Schaffer was able to out-dual Wes Cassel to score the race win as the first Modified across the finish. Andy Cassel, who spun early in the event, rebounded for a second-place run followed by father Wes Cassel, Joe Medaglia who was credited with the win as first Sportsman across the line finishing in fourth, and rounding out the top five was Gage Phillips.

 

For the Independence Day Holiday, next Saturday, July 2, the T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman will be competing in the 52^nd annual Firecracker 40 championship race starting at 7:30 pm. The program will also include the T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds plus qualifying events leading to the 40-lap T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman championship paying $2000 to win and the 30-lap T.P. Trailer Modified feature.

 

Pit gates will open at 4 pm. with grandstand gates opening at 5:30 pm. and warm-ups starting at 6:30 pm. Adult grandstand admission is $22, while children ages 6-11 are $10, and children ages 5 and under are admitted free of charge.

 

This Tuesday, June 28 will see the next NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill Racing Series event, as the Pennsylvania 410 Sprint Car Speedweek Series Hodnett Cup $10,000 to win Sprint Car event will be run along with the 358 Modifieds chasing a $3000 payday starting at 7:30 pm.

 

On Tuesday, June 28, adult grandstand admission is $30, children ages 6-11 are $10 and children ages 5 and under are free of charge. Pit admission is $40, and a license is not required.

 

This will be the only 410 Sprint Car race of the season at Grandview and will be featuring the top drivers of the Pennsylvania Posse along with a few invaders. The last two seasons, NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kyle Larson has been the winner of the Speedweek event at Grandview.

 

UNITED AUTO WORKERS LOCAL 677 NIGHT – JUNE 25, 2022

 

T.P. TRAILER NASCAR MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH (30 laps): BRETT KRESSLEY, Craig Von Dohren, Doug Manmiller, Duane Howard, Jeff Strunk, Tim Buckwalter, Kevin Hirthler, Ryan Grim, Brett Gilmore, Brad Arnold, Mark Kratz, Cory Merkel, Ryan Beltz, Mike Lisowski, Dan Waisempacher, Michael Storms, Bobby Gunther-Walsh, Kevin Graver Jr., Carroll Hine III, Glenn Owens, Brad Grim, John Willman, Justin Grim, Dylan Swinehart, Eric Biehn, Jared Umbenhauer, Ray Swinehart, Craig Whitmoyer

DID NOT QUALIFY: Nate Brinker, Brad Brightbill, Darrin Schuler, Steve Swinehart, Chris Gambler, Jesse Leiby, Jordan Henn, Bobby Trapper Jr., Ron Haring Jr.

 

T.P. TRUCK EQUIPMENT NASCAR SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (25 laps): DECKER SWINEHART, Jesse Hirthler, Brian Hirthler, Kyle Smith, Ryan Graver, Mike Stofflet, Dylan Hoch, Dakota Kohler, Jimmy Leiby, Colton Perry, Parker Guldin, Jesse Landis, Mike Schneck Jr., Logan Bauman, Hunter Iatalese, Adrianna Delliponti, Lex Shive, Nathan Mohr, Cody Manmiller, Josh Adams, Wayne Rotenberger, Mark Kemmerer, Joey Vaccaro, Chris Esposito

DID NOT QUALIFY: B.J. Joly, Nathan Horn, Mark Gaugler, Kenny Bock, Blake Reber, Kyle Hartzell, Tyler James

 

OUTLAW RACING SERIES VINTAGE FEATURE FINISH (15 laps): SCOTT SCHAFFER, Andy Cassel, Wes Cassel, Joe Medaglia, Gage Phillips, Bill Gerhart, Rich Carr, Curt Neiman, Matt Smith, Kevin Kuser, Todd Lapp, Tori Hall, Bobby Hall, Mike Stofflet, DNS- Rich Baker

 

UPCOMING EVENTS –

Tuesday, June 28 – NAPA Auto Parts THUNDER ON THE HILL RACING SERIES – Pennsylvania 410 Sprint Car Speedweek Series Hodnett Cup $10,000 to win, 358 Modifieds – 7:30 pm. 

Saturday, July 2 – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, 52^nd annual FIRECRACKER 40 for T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman $2000 to win – 7:30 pm.

Friday, July 8 – Outlaw Racing Series Enduro and Outlaw Racing Series Vintage – 7 pm

Saturday, July 9 – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman – 7:30 pm.

Saturday, July 16 – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman plus URC 360 Sprint Cars – 7:30 pm.

Grandview Speedway PR