Lincoln Speedway results 2003-07-05

Abbottstown, PA, 7/5/03 - Cory Haas claimed his second win of the year Saturday night at Lincoln Speedway, but his race winning move may have come three hours earlier.

The defending Lincoln champ, involved in a tangle in his heat, dropped into the pits to replace a flat tire and joined the field before the end of the caution. He advanced to fourth by the end of the event, placing him in a handicapped spot at the front of the feature field.

"We had a nightmare (in the heat)," said Haas on the pivotal fourth-place heat finish, "But we got to that fourth spot and that's where we needed to get to start in the top-12 inversion...it paid off."

"You have bad nights and good nights. But tonight was a bad night and a good night for us."

Starting tenth, Haas advanced to fifth by the end of the fourth lap. He disposed of early race leader Jon Keller (who led the first two laps) on lap seven, and was racing with Alan Krimes for third when the third caution of the race came out for a six-car crash on the second turn of lap 8. Tony Strine and Jeff Young got together while racing for position in the middle of the field, with Strine collecting the sprinters of Matt Boland, Chad Trout, Rusty Rhoades, and Keith Prutzman. Both Strine and Prutzman were done for the night.

Meanwhile, polesitter Tom Fraschetta (who passed Keller for the race lead on lap 3) and Billy Dietrich (who passed both Alan Krimes and Keller to advance to second exiting turn two of lap five) were fighting for the race lead.

On the eighth-lap restart, Haas made it a three-car race for second, and drove under both drivers for the runner-up spot one lap later. Fraschetta's comfortable lead was wiped out by a flipping Trout on turn four of lap 12.

Haas followed Fraschetta for one more lap before diving low in turns three and four to grab the lead on lap 13. From there, Haas drove away from the field, scoring the win by 1.92 seconds over Fraschetta, with Dietrich third, points leader Eric Stambaugh (who started 15th) fourth, and Krimes fifth. Rounding out the top ten were Mark Freeland, Billy Johns, Keller, Clair Wintermyer, and Brad McClelland.

With the win, Haas ended former 358 sprint champ Stambaugh's three-race win streak at Lincoln.

"Eric's a heck of a driver,"said Haas. "I know he's having some engine problems and had some problems in his heat...but they'll get back on track and they'll be tough to beat."

"There's a bunch of them. Him and Billy (Dietrich), Alan Krimes...he was going good. I didn't know if I was going to get him. It paid off tonight and I'm real fortunate to be out here tonight."

It was Haas' seventh career Lincoln win, moving him into a fifth-pace tie with Mike Lehman and Stambaugh on the all-time win list.

Heats for the 34 "358" sprints were won by Krimes, Scott Ausherman, and Judd Shepard, with Boland winning the consolation.

Gettysburg's Mike Walls went wire-to-wire to finally pick up his first Lincoln Speedway win in 2003 in the 20 lap Thundercar feature.

Walls, grabbed the lead from his outside frontrow starting spot over polesitter Randy Doty at the drop of the green and rode the rim to perfection en route to his seventh career win in the Pigeon Hills. Doty stalked Walls the first 15 laps before ninth-starting Nat Tuckey made a late-race charge to move into second on the 16th lap. Tuckey stuck to Walls bumper the final laps but was unable to find a way around as Walls took the checkered .78 seconds ahead for his second overall thundercar win in 2003.

Sixth-starting Mike Zeigler Jr. Finished third. 14th-starting Steve Clabaugh came from the rear after an early-race pit stop under caution to finish fourth and 10th-starting Neil Smith finished fifth. Completing the top-10 were Doty, Duane Hahn, point-leader Bernie Beard (who came from the rear after an fourth-lap tangle), Allen Cullum and David Prunkl.

Heats for the 26 thundercars were won by Zeigler Jr., Tuckey, and Walls, with Prunkl winning the consolation.

Bellfonte's Rob Mellott started third, took the lead from Tommy Beavers on a fourth lap restart, and drove away to his first career win in the 20-lap Pennsylvania 305 sprint car feature.

Beavers was never scored the leader of the race. He tapped the back bumper of leader Jeff Furlong entering turn three of lap four, sending Furlong into a spin. Though he assumed the lead for the restart, Mellott had the race lead by the exit of turn two. Beavers faded as the race wore on, and crossed 14th.

Jim Wentz, 12th-starting Justin Seigler, two-time 2003 winner Ryan Lynn, and Scott Ellerman completed the top five. Sixth through tenth were Travis Keeney, Larry Shoop, Rod Ort, Brent Knable, and Jim Roush.

Heats for the 30 "305" sprints were won by Beaver, Furlong, and Mellott, with Todd Lynn winning the consolation.

Next Saturday night, July 12th, it will be PEPSI NIGHT as the invading ALL STAR CIRCUIT OF CHAMPIONS come to the Pigeon Hills oval to take on the best weekly racers in the country - the Pennsylvania Posse. The 410 sprinters will be joined by the best weekly support division in Central Pennsylvania - the mighty Thundercars. Gates will open at 5:30 PM, with hotlaps getting underway at 7 PM, and then time trials commencing at 7:30 PM.

To get all the latest news, results, schedule changes and rule changes, visit Lincoln Speedway's website at http://www.lincolnspeedway.com to stay up-to-date on all the action or pending weather conditions at Central Pennsylvania's "Premier" Saturday night race track - The Fabulous Lincoln Speedway.

RACE RESULTS
Saturday - July 5, 2003
LINCOLN SPEEDWAY
Abbottstown, PA

358 Sprints:
Feature (20 Laps) - 1. 11C-Cory Haas; 2. 9C-Tom Fraschetta; 3. 8D-Billy Dietrich; 4. 4-Eric Stambaugh; 5. 87-Alan Krimes; 6. 4R-Mark Freeland; 7. 2J-Billy Johns; 8. 20-Jon Keller; 9. 3-Clair Wintermyer; 10. 6M-Brad McClelland; 11. 6-Tim Hershey; 12. 39-Scott Ausherman; 13. 22D-Jim Young; 14. 3J-Judd Shepard; 15. 69R-Randy Rhoads; 16. 09-Brandon Grandstaff; 17. 12-Mike Bittinger; 18. 56M-Mark Zellers; 19. 15-Vince Snyder (DNF); 20. 73-Rusty Rupp (DNF); 21. 22T-Matt Boland (DNF); 22. 7C-Chad Trout (DNF); 23. 2X-Tony Strine (DNF); 24. 28-Keith Prutzman (DNF). No time.

Lap Leaders - Jon Keller (1-2), Tom Fraschetta (3-12), Cory Haas (13-20)

1st Heat (10 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 87-Alan Krimes; 2. 12-Mike Bittinger; 3. 8D-Billy Dietrich; 4. 6-Tim Hershey; 5. 3-Clair Wintermyer; 6. 73-Rusty Rupp; 7. 56M-Mark Zellers; 8. 7C-Chad Trout (DNF); 9. 69R-Randy Rhoads (DNF); 10. 28H-Billy Heltzel Jr. (DNF); 11. 1B-David Bull (DNF). No Time

2nd Heat (10 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 39-Scott Ausherman; 2. 4R-Mark Freeland; 3. 11C-Cory Haas; 4. 2X-Tony Strine; 5. 2J-Billy Johns; 6. 22D-Jeff Young; 7. 22T-Matt Boland; 8. 10D-Kenny Foor; 9. 83-Michael Hamer; 10. 29-Joe Ross III (DNF); 11. 35-Randy Neiman (DNF); 12. 96-Steve Mercogliana (DNF). No Time

3rd Heat (10 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 3J-Judd Shepard; 2. 15-Vince Snyder; 3. 30-Jon Keller; 4. 9C-Tom Fraschetta; 5. 4-Eric Stambaugh; 6. 6M-Brad McClelland; 7. 09-Brandon Grandstaff; 8. 28-Keith Prutzman; 9. 7V-Shawn Weaver (DNF); 10. 6-Bill Sherman (DNF); 11. 29-Rob Peters (DNF). No time.

Consolation (10 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 22T-Matt Boland; 2. 7C-Chad Trout; 3. 28-Keith Prutzman; 4. 56M-Mark Zellers; 5. 09-Brandon Grandstaff; 6. 69R-Randy Rhoades; 7. 10D-Kenny Foor; 8. 28H-Billy Heltzel, Jr.; 9. 83-Mike Hamer; 10. 6-Bill Sherman; 11. 29-Joe Ross. DNS: 7V-Shawn Weaver; 1B-David Bull; 35-Randy Neiman; 29-Rob Peters; 96-Steve Mercogliana. Time - 2:47. 93

Pennsylvania 305 Sprints:
Feature (20 Laps) - 1. 60K-Rob Mellott; 2. 88W-Jim Wentz; 3. 17S-Justin Seigler; 4. 26-Ryan Lynn; 5. 15-Vince Snyder; 6. 115-Scott Ellerman; 7. 88-Travis Keeney; 8. 20-Larry Shoop; 9. 36-Rod Ort; 10. 77-Brent Knable; 11. 23J-Jim Roush; 12. 23G-Nathan Gramley; 13. 75-Dusty Shatzer; 14. 10-Jeff Furlong; 15. 21C-Lee Cavalet; 16. 55H-Joey Hershey; 17. 33T-Todd Spangler; 18. 23-Todd Lynn; 19. 31-Tommy Beavers (DNF); 20. 94-Ted Thomas Jr.(DNF); 21. 7-Jim Kennedy (DNF); 22. 17-Shawn Howe (DNF); 23. 47-Tom Warrick Jr.(DNF); 24. 0-Mike Freet (DNF). No Time

Lap Leaders - Jeff Furlong (1-3), Rob Mellott (4-20)

1st Heat (8 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 31-Tommy Beavers; 2. 26-Ryan Lynn; 3. 7-Jim Kennedy; 4. 115-Scott Ellerman; 5. 88-Travis Keeney; 6. 55H-Joey Hershey; 7. 23-Todd Pynn; 8. 4-Rodney Peters (DNF); 9. 36-Rod Ort (DNF); 10. 67-Bob Fink (DNF). No Time

2nd Heat (8 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 10-Jeff Forlong; 2. 88W-Jim Wentz; 3. 75-Dusty Shatzer; 4. 94-Ted Thomas Jr.; 5. 0-Mike Freet; 6. 20-Larry Shoop; 7. 21C-Lee Cavalet; 8. 33Z-Joe Zapotocczny; 9. 33T-Todd Spangler; 10. 1/2-Von McGee (DNF). Time - 2:13.14 (Establishes a new 8-lap track record)

3rd Heat (8 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 60K-Rob Mellott; 2. 77-Brent Knable; 3. 15-Vince Snyder; 4. 17S-Justin Seigler; 5. 47-Ted Warrick; 6. 17-Shawn Howe; 7. 23G-Nathan Gramley; 8. 23J-Jim Roush; 9. 5-Brent Comp; DNS - 28K-Brandon Keller. Time - 2:14.80

Consolation (8 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 23-Todd Lynn; 2. 23J-Jim Roush; 3. 36-Rod Ort; 4. 23G-Nathan Gramley; 5. 21C-Lee Cavalet; 6. 33T-Todd Spangler; 7. 1/2-Von McGee; 8. 5-Brent Comp; 9. 33Z-Joe Zapotocczny; 10. 28K-Brandon Keller; DNS - 67-Bob Fink, 4-Rodney Peters. No Time

Thundercars:
Feature (20 Laps) - 1. 1W-Mike Walls; 2. 52-Nat Tuckey; 3. 21A-Mike Zeigler Jr.; 4. 10-Steve Clabaugh; 5. 1-Neil Smith; 6. 67-Randy Doty; 7. 70-Duane Hahn; 8. X-Bernie Beard; 9. 95A-Allen Cullum; 10. 8MD-David Prunkl; 11. 14-Chet McCormick; 12. 4-Greg Feltch; 13. 00-Barry Williams; 14. 88-Tim Hahn; 15. 39-Wayne Dutterer; 16. 38-Roy Warehime, Jr.; 17. 98-Dan Zechman (DNF); 18. 3R-Bobby Rudisill (DNF); 19. 81-Mike Zeigler Sr. (DNF); 20. 61-Mike Ciezobka (DNF); 21. 51-Chad Myers (DNF); 22. 34M-Jim Martz Jr. (DNF); 23. 8-Robert Bopst (DNF); 24. 30-Craig Wagaman (DNF). No Time

Lap Leaders - Mike Walls (1-20)

1st Heat (8 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 21A-Mike Zeigler Jr; 2. 1-Neil Smith; 3. X-Bernie Beard; 4. 3R-Bobby Rudisill; 5. 34M-Jim Martz, Jr.; 6. 61-Mike Ciezobka; 7. 4-Greg Feltch; 8. 00-Barry Williams; 9. B52-Ben Beshore. No Time

2nd Heat (8 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 52-Nat Tuckey; 2. 67-Randy Doty; 3. 39-Wayne Dutterer; 4. 95A-Allen Cullum; 5. 10-Steve Clabaugh; 6. 8-Robert Bopst; 7. 51-Chad Myers; 8. 3-Mike Gladfelter; 9. 63-(William) Marlow Knauss. Time - 2:48.97

3rd Heat (8 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 1W-Mike Walls; 2. 30-Craig Wagaman; 3. 81-Mike Zeigler, Sr.; 4. 70-Duane Hahn; 5. 38-Roy Warehime; 6. 14-Chet McCormick; 7. 98-Dan Zechman; 8. 88-Tim Hahn; 9. 8MD-David Prunkl. No Time

Consolation (6 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 8MD-David Prunkl; 2. 98-Dan Zechman; 3. 51-Chad Myers; 4. 88-Tim Hahn; 5. 00-Barry Williams; 6. 4-Greg Feltch; 7. 3-Mike Gladfelter; 8. B52-Ben Beshore; 9. 63-Marlow Knauss. No Time

-bill meyer-