Ferree Survives to Win PPMS
Imperial, PA (August 20, 2016) Alex Ferree of Saxonburg collected his third Diehl Automotive Super Late Model feature win of the season on Saturday night at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway. Other feature winners on Colussy Chevrolet Night were John Mollick in the Precise Racing Products RUSH Pro Late Models, Jake Simmons in the Sunoco Race Fuels Sportsman, Chris Ketch in the CarSmile Wiper blades “Thunder on the Dirt” Vintage Racing Series, Joe Podolinsky in the Miley BP Car Wash Hobby Stocks, Michael Jackson in the Imperial Heights Garage Young Guns, and Cody Quarrick in the Four Cylinders.
It was a race to survive in the 25 lap feature for the Diehl Automotive Super Late Models. Colton Flinner and John Mollick were on the front row of the starting grid, with ten of the 11 cars on hand taking the green. Flinner and Mollick raced side by side for the first lap with Flinner leading, as the two made contact at the start/finish line as lap 1 was scored. Josh Holtgraver held third before Brandon Burgoon nosed him at the line for the spot on lap 4, by .001 seconds. This became relevant when the first of two caution periods in the race came out when Jon Hodgkiss lost power on the front stretch. Back to green, Flinner regained the top spot with Mollick looking inside to pass, as eighth starting Alex Ferree was now third and closing on the leaders. Ferree threaded the needle to squeeze by Mollick to take second on lap 6, and made an inside pass on Flinner in turn three to take the lead on lap 7. Mollick made contact with the wall in turn one to bring out the final caution period of the race on lap 10. Flinner retired from the race under caution, dropping the nine cars remaining down to seven. As attrition conquered the last 15 laps, Holtgraver left the race on lap 14, third running Tony Musolino pitted on lap 17 with Butch Neubert also pitting, leaving just four cars running. It was clear sailing at the front for Ferree, who went on to win by 5.820 seconds over point leader Brandon Burgoon. Third place went to Christian Schneider. Tommy Schirnhofer earned fourth place, after his crew made repairs to his car after it suffered problems with the transmission in the heat race. Heat winners were Ferree and Mollick.
Michael Reft and Russ Matejka led the 20 lap Precise Racing Products RUSH Pro Late Model feature event to the green flag with Reft taking command. The first of five caution periods came on lap 2, and Reft continued to lead on the restart over John Mollick and Justin Lamb. Reft also led on a lap 5 restart, but the lap 7 restart was when things started to get interesting. Mollick was able to nose ahead on the restart, but Reft passed him back to regain the lead when lap 8 was scored. Once in front, he was able to pull away from the competition. On lap 10, the red flag waved for a frightening incident on the front stretch where Bryan Goebel rolled his car several times. After several moments, Goebel was thankfully able to exit his heavily damaged car under his own power. When racing resumed, Mollick again gained the lead with Reft able to pass Mollick back to hold on to the race lead. Reft inched away in the top spot, as Ben Policz moved to third and made a challenge to Mollick. The final restart with 17 laps complete changed the outcome of the race. This time, Mollick’s bid for the race lead was successful. Once in front, he went on to collect his fourth feature win of the season. Point leader Daryl Charlier, fourth on the last restart, was able to advance to second, finishing .599 seconds behind the winner. He now leads the point race by nine points over Mollick. Race long leader Reft settled for third, ahead of ninth starting Brandon Burgoon and eighth starting Steve Beatty. Policz, Justin Lamb, Colton Flinner, Matejka, and Scott Schempp completed the top ten. With 22 entries, heat race winners were Flinner, Mollick, and Policz.
In the 15 lap Sunoco Race Fuels Sportsman, it was Jake Simmons leading all 15 laps to earn his first feature win of the season and 57th of his career, as he is the leading active driver in feature wins. Nick Kocuba and Simmons led the field to green, with Kocuba nosing ahead at the start. Simmons passed him off turn four to lead lap 1 and he held the top spot the entire non-stop distance, earning the win by 3.322 seconds over Kocuba. Bill Robertson made a last lap pass to steal third place from point leader Dave McManus, with Ricky Steigerwald fifth. Heat winners were McManus and Simmons over the 14 car field.
The 15-lap feature for the CarSmile Wiper blades “Thunder on the Dirt” Vintage Racing Series started with David Myers and Jim Kirkwood on the front row. On a wild first lap where the restored racers of yesteryear went four wide for the lead, Myers was able to hold the lead on lap 1 before giving way to Les Myers on lap 2. Jim Kurpakus held second on lap 3, before being passed by Kevin Mohney on lap 4. Chris Ketch started fourth and fell back to fifth, but started advancing to the front, passing Mohney for second on lap 7. Closing in on Myers, he would make the pass for the lead on lap 10. A spin by Gary Beer on lap 12 brought out the lone caution period of the event, with three laps remaining. Les Myers would make the pass of Ketch to take the lead on lap 13, with Ketch regaining the top spot at the white flag. Ketch would go on to take the win, his second at the track, making his long ride back home to Ransomville, NY a happy one. 68-year-old Les Myers would settle for second ahead of Mohney, Kurpakus, and David Myers. Ketch and Les Myers took heat race wins over the ten car field.
Joe Podolinsky picked up his second feature win of the season in the Miley BP Car Wash Hobby Stock 12 lap feature. Top point cars Dale Tuche and Casey Grumling led the field to green, but third starting Tyler Fox moved to the lead on lap 1. Podolinsky started fifth in the five car field and was up to challenge Fox for the lead by lap 4. Podolinsky made an inside pass in turn four to take the lead on lap 7 on his way to victory in the non-stop event. His winning margin was 3.574 seconds at the checkered flag over Fox. Grumling was third, and now trails in the point race by just four points. Jacob Wiser was fourth ahead of point leader Tuche. Podolinsky also won the heat race.
Point leader Michael Jackson earned his fourth feature victory of the season in the 6 lap feature for the Imperial Heights Garage Young Guns. Jackson held off Kayla McManus for a narrow victory, as she made a couple strong challenges to pass in her second ever race. Ben Anton was third.
Cody Quarrick defeated Tom Anton in the 6 lap Four Cylinder feature. Quickly taking the lead at the green flag, Quarrick would win by a considerable margin in his first visit.
Racing continues at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway on Saturday night, August 27, with the running of the Tenth Annual Diehl Automotive Red Miley Rumble. The Diehl Automotive Super Late Model point championship will be decided in the 35-lap main event paying $3,053 to the winner, in the event sanctioned by the UFo Race Championship. Also on the card will be point racing for the Precise Racing Products RUSH Pro Late Models, Sunoco Race Fuels Sportsman, Miley BP Car Wash Hobby Stocks, and Imperial Heights Garage Young Guns. The open Four Cylinders will also be in competition. For Saturday night’s racing program, the gates will open at 5:00, with warm-ups at 6:00 and racing at 7:00. Keep an eye on all developments during race nights on the track’s Twitter account at @PAMotorSpeedway including starting and finishing race lineups. The track is located west of the city of Pittsburgh, just south of the Noblestown exit of U.S. Route 22, or 170 Kelso Road in Imperial, PA, for GPS purposes. The track phone is 724-695-3363 on race days, or call 412-279-RACE. For complete information please visit the track website at www.ppms.com .
Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway results for Saturday, August 20, 2016.
Diehl Super Late Models
Feature – 1, 10, Alex Ferree. 2, 02, Brandon Burgoon. 3, M5, Christian Schneider. 4, 8S, Tommy Schirnhofer. 5, 36, Tony Musolino. 6, 14, Butch Neubert. 7, 00, Josh Holtgraver. 8, 75, Colton Flinner. 9, 4J, John Mollick. 10, 69, Jon Hodgkiss. DNS, 4T8, John Flinner.
Heat 1 – 1, Alex Ferree. 2, John Flinner. 3, Colton Flinner. 4, Christian Schneider. 5, Butch Neubert. 6, Tommy Schirnhofer.
Heat 2 – 1, John Mollick. 2, Brandon Burgoon. 3, Tony Musolino. 4, Josh Holtgraver. 5, Jon Hodgkiss.
Precise Racing Products RUSH Pro Late Models
Feature – 1, 60M, John Mollick. 2, 12C, Daryl Charlier. 3, 9R, Michael Reft. 4, 60B, Brandon Burgoon. 5, B4, Steve Beatty. 6, 14B, Ben Policz. 7, 93X, Justin Lamb. 8, 60F, Colton Flinner. 9, 17M, Russ Matejka. 10, 75, Scott Schempp. 11, 2M, Chuck Medved. 12, 12S, Brian Swank. 13, 27, Tony White. 14, 09, Bill Kessler. 15, 7, Jared Kane. 16, 111, Pete Wearing. 17, 18, Chris Lander. 18, 12G, Brian Goebel. 19, 11, Justin Massie. 20, 22, Toby Massie. 21, 10, Zachary Kane. DNS, 27C, Russ Kolesar.
Heat 1 – 1, Colton Flinner. 2, Steve Beatty. 3, Brandon Burgoon. 4, Russ Matejka. 5, Brian Goebel. 6, Justin Massie. 7, Brian Swank. 8, Pete Wearing.
Heat 2 – 1, John Mollick. 2, Russ Kolesar. 3, Jared Kane. 4, Chuck Medved. 5, Zachary Kane. 6, Toby Massie. 7, Tony White.
Heat 3 – 1, Ben Policz. 2, Michael Reft. 3, Daryl Charlier. 4, Justin Lamb. 5, Bill Kessler. 6, Scott Schempp. 7, Chris Lander.
Sunoco Race Fuels Sportsman
Feature – 1, 68X, Jake Simmons. 2, 10, Nick Kocuba. 3, 1B, Bill Robertson. 4, 114, Dave McManus. 5, 4S, Ricky Steigerwald. 6, 18, Vince Laboon. 7, 7, Eric Piotrowski. 8, 25, Mark Lee. 9, 81, Robert Betz, III. 10, M5, Joel Johns. 11, 08, Jeff Broniszewski. 12, 36, A.J. Poljak. 13, A22, Bill Slade. 14, 88, Dave Janas.
Heat 1 – 1, Dave McManus. 2, Nick Kocuba. 3, Ricky Steigerwald. 4, Eric Piotrowski. 5, A.J. Poljak. 6, Jeff Broniszewski. 7, 18, Mike Harris.
Heat 2 – 1, Jake Simmons. 2, Bill Robertson. 3, Mark Lee. 4, Robert Betz, III. 5, Bill Slade. 6, Joel Johns. 7, Dave Janas.
CarSmile Wiper blades “Thunder on the Dirt” Vintage Racing Series
Feature – 1, 85, Chris Ketch. 2, X3, Les Myers. 3, 4, Kevin Mohney. 4, 72, Jim Kurpakus. 5, X3JR, David Myers. 6, 66, Jim Kirkwood. 7, 55, Matt Hildebrand. 8, 71, Gary Beer. 9, 33S, Paul St. John. DNS, 55JR, Dave George.
Heat 1 – 1, Chris Ketch. 2, Kevin Mohney. 3, David Myers. 4, Jim Kirkwood. 5, Dave George.
Heat 2 – 1, Les Myers. 2, Jim Kurpakus. 3, Gary Beer. 4, Matt Hildebrand. 5, Paul St. John.
Miley BP Car Wash Hobby Stocks
Feature – 1, 55+1, Joe Podolinsky. 2, 39, Tyler Fox. 3, 77X, Casey Grumling. 4, OU2, Jacob Wiser. 5, 310, Dale Tuche.
Heat 1 – 1, Joe Podolinsky. 2, Tyler Fox. 3, Jacob Wiser. 4, Casey Grumling. 5, Dale Tuche.
Imperial Heights Garage Young Guns
Feature – 1, 89, Michael Jackson. 2, 14, Kayla McManus. 3, 13, Ben Anton.
Four Cylinders
Feature – 1, 6, Cody Quarrick. 2, 64, Tom Anton.
Upcoming Events:
Saturday, August 27 – The Tenth Annual Diehl Automotive Red Miley Rumble for the Diehl Automotive Super Late Models in their final point night, sanctioned by the UFo Race Championship, plus Precise Racing Products RUSH Pro Late Models, Sunoco Race Fuels Sportsman, Miley BP Car Wash Hobby Stocks, Imperial Heights Garage Young Guns, and open Four Cylinders.
Saturday, September 3 – Falconi’s Moon Township Automotive Sprint Monster for Winged 410 Sprints and the 27th Annual Jook George Steel City Fall Classic for the Precise Racing Products RUSH Pro Late Models. Toys for the Kids Night with RUSH Modifieds, plus the Sunoco Race Fuels Sportsman, Miley BP Car Wash Hobby Stocks, Imperial Heights Garage Young Guns, and open Four Cylinders.
Saturday, September 10 – Diehl Automotive Night with Driver Autographs. The final night for points featuring the Willie White Memorial for Sunoco Race Fuels Sportsman, $2055 to win unsanctioned race for the Penn Ohio Pro Stocks. Plus Precise Racing Products RUSH Pro Late Models, Miley BP Car Wash Hobby Stocks, and Imperial Heights Garage Young Guns. Plus Open Four Cylinders.
Saturday, September 17 – Mini Chase Race, $1,000 to win RUSH Pro Late Models, Sportsman using Penn Ohio Pro Stock rules, Open Hobby Stocks, Young Guns, and Open Four Cylinders.
Saturday, September 24 – Mini Chase Race, $1,000 to win RUSH Pro Late Models, Sportsman using Penn Ohio Pro Stock rules, Open Hobby Stocks, Young Guns, and Open Four Cylinders, plus RUSH Modifieds.
Saturday, October 1 – Mini Chase Race, $1,000 to win RUSH Pro Late Models, Sportsman using Penn Ohio Pro Stock rules, Open Hobby Stocks, Young Guns, and Open Four Cylinders, plus RUSH Modifieds.
Friday, October 7 – Qualifying events for the 28th Annual Pittsburgher 100 featuring the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, RUSH Dirt Late Model Touring Series Marquee event, and the Sportsman/Pro Stock Showdown.
Saturday, October 8 – The 28th Annual Pittsburgher 100 featuring the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, RUSH Dirt Late Model Touring Series Marquee event, and the Sportsman/Pro Stock Showdown.
Sources: Miley Motor Sports, Inc.