Matt Hirschman Wins Turkey Derby XXXIX at Wall Stadium
Wall, NJ — Although the temperature was 38 degrees with a brisk chilly wind that blew all day, the race fans packed the stands to witness the Modified portion of Turkey Derby XXXIX 2012.
27 Modifieds took time trials on the high banked 1/3 mile track with Les Hinckley of Windsor Locks, CT pulling down the fastest timed lap of the day at 11.914 seconds. Matt Hirschman was second fastest with 11.932, Jimmy Blewett third with 11.953. The top 10 redrew for starting positions for the 150 lap event.
The redraw had #60 of Hirschman on the pole and #29Zane Zeiner of Lancaster, PA outside pole, bringing the field to green. Hirschman slipped into the lead with Zeiner, #76 Jimmy Blewett of Howell, NJ, #08 Tommy Farrell III of Neptune, NJ, #06 Hinckley and #14 Ken Woolley of Howell, NJ rounding out the first six. On lap 5, Blewett shot by Zeiner for second and by lap 10 the leaders already running into lap traffic. 13 yellow flag periods slowed the action constantly throughout the 150 laps, the first coming out on lap 19 for a minor spin which helped to sort out and close up the field. A lap 33 yellow had #93 Rowan Pennink of Huntingdon Valley, PA pitting from his 7th position, never to return to action.
[Photo Gallery] by Crystal Snape
The leader board changed very little until lap 73 when Zeiner and the #65 Danny Bohn of Mooresville, NC raced by Blewett for second and third place, respectively. Bohn was on a mission. A lap 90 yellow saw a parade of the top 10 cars pull into the pits for fresh tires. This handed the lead to #659 of Mike Bohn of Cornelius, NC while he was wheeling brother Danny’s back up car. A restart and another crash on lap 101 had Mike Bohn now pit for his tire change. The new restart saw Zeiner in the lead, Blewett, #55 of Steven Reed from Jackson, NJ, Hirschman, Farrell III, Hinckley and Danny Bohn in tow.
Lap 124 saw Blewett power his way past Zeiner for the lead, and lap 129 saw Hirschman drive past Zeiner for second spot. During the last 20 laps the heat was turned up to high as Hirschman gets by Blewett on a bumper tag restart. While this was taking place, Danny and Mike Bohn were making their way to the front of the pack, picking off competitors on by one. Mike had not been racing for several years due to other obligations, but you would never had known it as there wasn’t any rust on his driving talent. The final caution came on lap 141. The top 5 were Hirschman, Blewett, and D. Bohn. M. Bohn and Hinckley. The final 5 laps saw more bumping and grinding with Danny Bohn getting into 2nd past Blewett, but did not have enough time to catch the winning Matt Hirschman. The first 10 over the line were: #60 Hirschman, #65 Danny Bohn, #76 Jimmy Blewett, #659 Mike Bohn, #11 Will Weichert, #44 Tim Arre #29 Zane Zeiner, #06 Les Hinckley, #22 Chuck Hossfeld and #51 Kyle Ebersole.
Sources: Jim Snape
Dallenbach & Evernham Return to Wall with Restored XL-1 Racer
Ray Evernham owns the pair of Bohn driven cars that raced today, and was up visiting for a special unveiling of the XL-1. Wally Dallenbach Sr. and Wally Dallenbach Jr were also on hand for this memorable moment. At noon the crowd was thick around many antique race cars in front of the Wall, NJ Museum. One car was totally covered in a secretive canvas. The other that was front and center was the blue 19, just the way it was last raced in 1990.
In the crowd was a man with a dark brown cowboy hat. That was Wally Dallenbach Sr. Wally has had a full racing career, from Mods to Indy. As the car was unveiled he said it was "exact". Exactly as he remembered the car. Ray Evernham had located the original race car and had it restored at his race shop in NC. Sr. climbed into his perfectly restored former ride, and Ray Evernham climbed into his former ride, the blue #19. Also on hand were Wally Dallenbach Jr. and a host of friends and relatives. It was a busy day at Wall Stadium, one that many, including the Everhams and the Dallenbachs, might never forget.
Sources: Crystal Snape