Mike Miller is the Top Dog in BOSS Traditional Sprints at PPMS
Imperial, PA (July 1) Race teams and fans enjoyed Diehl Automotive Driver Autograph Night at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway on Saturday night, as Berks/Nickles presented Dollar Dog Night. Mike Miller was the top dog in the visiting Rick’s Trucks and Equipment Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series 25 lap main event. Wayne Carbo from Saxonburg earned the $500 top prize in the 15 lap Dob’s Automotive Star Spangled Spectacular for the Sunoco Sportsman. Other winners included John Mollick of Toronto, OH in the Precise Racing Products RUSH Late Models, Mike Spinneweber of Butler in the Super6 Late Models, Stephen Shelpman from Pleasant Hills in the Miley Truck Rental Hobby Stocks, Ben Anton of Jefferson Hills in the Imperial Heights Garage Young Guns, and Paul Koffler, III, from Connellsville in the CruiseAmerica Open Fours.
The Rick’s Trucks and Equipment Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series brought a field of 24 entries, that were divided into three qualifying heats. Heat race winners were Mike Miller, Carmen Perigo, and Dustin Smith. The top three finishers from each heat redrew for the top nine positions in the feature, with Joe Butera and Justin Owen receiving front row starting positions. The landmark event number 100 at the track for the open sprint division since 1979 started with Owen leading Butera, Matt Cooley, Paul Dues, and Miller. Working lap 1, Vince Daughery took a hard flip exiting turn two, as his car tumbled over the outside wall and out of the track. When racing resumed, Owen took off in the lead and distanced himself from the field. Butera held second for a lap before Cooley passed him on lap 3. Seventh starting Carmen Perigo passed Butera for third on lap 5, and passed Cooley for second on lap 7. The large lead of Owen was wiped out by a Riley VanHise spin on lap 9. Back to green, Miller passed Perigo for second and closed on Owen. He looked high on lap 11 and low on lap 12, but lost ground with his second attempt to pass. Smith passed Perigo for third on lap 15, as the yellow flag waved again on lap 17 for sixth running Cooley who spun in turn four. Back to green for what would be the final time, Miller blasted around the outside of Owen to take the lead on lap 18. Owen and Smith swapped second on lap 20, but Smith made the pass the next time by to take second. Smith closed in on Miller using the outside, but eighth starting Miller used the low groove to perfection to take the win over Smith. Early leader Owen rounded out the podium in third. Perigo was fourth, as Dues ran a solid race for fifth. Butera, 14th starting Michael Fischesser, Chad Wilson, Gale Ruth, Jr., and Cody Gardner rounded out the top ten.
Tim Shaffer and Chuck Medved led the 20 lap Precise Racing Products RUSH Late Model feature to green with Shaffer the early leader. Justin Lamb started sixth and moved by Shaffer to the lead on lap 2. Eighth starting Daryl Charlier took second a lap later but could not close in on Lamb. The lead was staying steady near 1.3 seconds, but he would be foiled by the lone caution period of the event at lap 10. Lamb chose the outside lane for the double file restart, but Charlier used the inside to move into the race lead. Fifth starting John Mollick moved to second and locked into an intense, side by side battle with Charlier for the race lead. Mollick completed the pass exiting turn four to take the lead on lap 16, and he went on to win by 1.874 seconds over Charlier. Lamb was third ahead of Mike Reft and newcomer Clinton Hersh. Medved, Ben Policz, Bryan Hoffman, Bob Schwartzmiller, and Jabo Jablonski completed the top ten. Medved and Policz were heat winners.
The redraw for the 15 lap Dob’s Automotive Star Spangled Spectacular for the Sunoco Sportsman yielded front row spots for Mark Lee and Bill Robertson, with Robertson leading. It was a slow pace early with caution periods on laps 1 and 2, both for top runners who experienced issues. A.J. Poljak exited on lap 1, with Jeff Broniszewski slowing on lap 2. The lap 2 restart would be the final one of the event. Robertson continued to lead when racing resumed, as fifth starting Wayne Carbo passed Danny Rich for second. Carbo closed in on Robertson, and working lap 5 made an inside pass in turn three to take the lead on lap 6. Rich moved to second a lap later, as 11th starting Todd Weldon moved to third. Weldon passed Rich for second on lap 10, with 12th starting Bob Schwartzmiller moving to third a lap later as Rich was held up in race traffic. A lap 11, Weldon was 1.729 seconds behind Carbo but gaining quickly. It was 1.184 seconds at lap 12, and .689 seconds with two laps remaining. However, more race traffic would be ahead for the race leaders, and Carbo made the right moves to earn the win by .347 seconds over the row 6 starters of Weldon and Schwartzmiller who also won the heat races. Rich was fourth, with Dave McManus fifth. Robertson, Bobby Heim, Ryan Moyer, Nick Kocuba, and Cam Kraisinger filled the top ten.
The Super6 Late Model feature had Justin Koebler taking the early lead and pulling away to a huge margin. Frank McFeaters held second before slipping high on lap 4, falling to the back of the five car field. Heat race winner Mike Spinneweber and Jim Thompson exchanged second in a side by side battle well behind the leader. On lap 7 of the 10 lap event, Koebler suffered rear suspension failure going down the backstretch and spun to a stop to bring out the event’s only yellow flag. Thompson inherited the lead, and he on the inside and Spinneweber on the outside would race side by side over the final three laps before Spinneweber took a win at the line by inches. Thompson settled for a very close second over Levi Spinneweber and McFeaters.
Casey Grumling and Karlee Kovacs led the 12 lap Miley Truck Rental Hobby Stock feature on a grid that had a season high ten entries. Kovacs led from the green before being passed by sixth starting Tyler Fox on lap 2. Heat race winner Stephen Shelpman settled into second, but during the non-stop event, could not gain ground and finished well behind Fox at the finish. However, Fox was disqualified in post race tech. Shelpman was awarded his first win at the track, as his racing career will be put on hold as he is leaving for military service. Kovacs was awarded second place ahead of Justin Shipley, Dave Sheriff, and Butch Black.
Ben Anton and Kayla McManus were the two Imperial Heights Garage Young Guns on hand, and they raced the first three laps of their six lap event side by side before Anton finally nosed ahead on lap 4. Anton would take the checkered flag for his first of the season.
The 10 lap CruiseAmerica Open Four feature went to Paul Koffler, III. Starting seventh after winning the earlier heat race, Koffler quickly sliced through the competition, advancing to second behind John Gill by lap 1. Koffler passed Gill for the lead on lap 2. Gill and fifth starting Matthew Rubright raced for second, with Rubright making the pass on lap 7 before the event’s lone caution period. Koffler had no issues over the closing laps en route to winning. Rubright held off Justin Clark to get second, ahead of Gill and C.J. Parrill.
There will not be a racing program at the track on Saturday, July 8, but the speedway will be hosting the Pittsburgh area portion of national event Lantern Fest. PPMS race fans that wish to attend the event can get a 20 percent discount on tickets by clicking on the following link and using the PPMS20 discount code. https://the-lantern-fest- pittsburgh.eventbrite.com? discount=PPMS20 .
Racing returns on Saturday, July 15, with Race 2 for the Diehl Automotive Super Series, featuring the inaugural event for the Ultimate Super Late Model Northeast Tour. The race winner will earn $3000, with all starters earning at least $400. The Big Block / Small Block Modifieds will return for their second visit. There will be weekly point racing for the Precise Racing Products RUSH Late Models and Sunoco Sportsman. The RUSH Modifieds will also be visiting. For all racing programs, the gates open at 5:00 PM, with warm-ups at 6:00 PM and racing at 7:00 PM. Follow us on Facebook at @PAMotorSpeedway or on Twitter at @PAMotorSpeedway for timely information updates. The Twitter account is used extensively on race nights for live updates. Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway 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 including ticket information, please visit the track website atwww.ppms.com.
Results for Saturday, July 1
Buckeye Outlaw Sprint SeriesFeature results with finish position, start position, car number, and driver.
1, 8, 82, Mike Miller
2, 6, 77, Dustin Smith
3, 2, 4J, Justin Owen
4, 7, 21, Carmen Perigo
5, 4, 87, Paul Dues
6, 1, 3, Joe Butera
7, 14, 44, Michael Fischesser
8, 10, 14, Chad Wilson
9, 11, 5X, Gale Ruth, Jr.
10, 5, 9G, Cody Gardner
11, 17, 53, Steve Little
12, 9, 91X, Aaron Middaugh
13, 16, 86, Rick Holley
14, 15, 5, Bob McMillin
15, 20, 8, Joe Sylvester
16, 18, 96, Riley VanHise
17, 19, 5K, Jeremy Kornbau
18, 23, 31L, Buddy Lowther
19, 3, 19, Matt Cooley
20, 13, 08, Andy Feil
21, 21, 331, Nevan O’Donnell
22, 12, 27, Vince Daugherty
23, 22, 97, Scott Hardman
Did not start, 51, Curtis Muhlenkamp
Heat 1 – Mike Miller, Justin Owen, Cody Gardner, Chad Wilson, Andy Feil, Rick Holley, Jeremy Kornbau, Scott Hardman.
Heat 2 – Carmen Perigo, Aaron Middaugh, Matt Cooley, Gale Ruth, Jr., Michael Fischesser, Steve Little, Joe Sylvester, did not start Curtis Muhlenkamp.
Heat 3 – Dustin Smith, Joe Butera, Paul Dues, Vince Daugherty, Bob McMillin, Riley VanHise, Nevan O’Donnell, Buddy Lowther.
Precise Racing Products RUSH Late Models
Feature results with finish position, start position, car number, driver, and hometown.
1, 5, 60M, John Mollick, Toronto, OH
2, 8, 12, Daryl Charlier, Midway
3, 6, 93X, Justin Lamb, Findlay Township
4, 7, 9R, Mike Reft, Whitehall
5, 11, 16, Clinton Hersh, Somerset
6, 2, 2M, Chuck Medved, Imperial
7, 3, 14B, Ben Policz, Rices Landing
8, 13, 15H, Bryan Hoffman, Imperial
9, 4, 28S, Bob Schwartzmiller, Robinson Township
10, 10, 3J, Jabo Jablonski, Carnegie
11, 12, 09, Bill Kessler, Freedom
12, 9, 17M, Russ Matejka, Hopewell
13, 1, 45, Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa
14, 14, 1ST, Christian Schneider, Burgettstown
Did not start, 36B, Colby Beighey, Fombell
Heat 1 – Chuck Medved, Justin Lamb, John Mollick, Bob Schwartzmiller, Russ Matejka, Clinton Hersh, Bryan Hoffman, Christian Schneider.
Heat 2 – Ben Policz, Daryl Charlier, Tim Shaffer, Mike Reft, Jabo Jablonski, Bill Kessler, did not start Colby Beighey.
Sunoco Sportsman
Feature results with finish position, start position, car number, driver, and hometown.
1, 5, 54, Wayne Carbo, Saxonburg
2, 11, 45, Todd Weldon, Monongahela
3, 12, 28S, Bob Schwartzmiller, Robinson Township
4, 4, 67X, Danny Rich, Imperial
5, 6, 114, Dave McManus, Elizabeth
6, 2, 1B, Bill Robertson, Upper St. Clair
7, 8, 92, Bobby Heim, Allison Park
8, 3, 13X, Ryan Moyer, Portersville
9, 14, 10, Nick Kocuba, Bulger
10, 10, 47, Cam Kraisinger, Mount Pleasant
11, 16, 81, Robert Betz, South Heights
12, 1, 25, Mark Lee, Oakdale
13, 13, A22, Bill Slade, Bethel Park
14, 9, 08, Jeff Broniszewski, Coraopolis
15, 7, 36, A.J. Poljak, Baldwin
Did not start, 4S, Ricky Stigerwald, Robinson
Heat 1 – Bob Schwartzmiller, Bobby Heim, Dave McManus, Danny Rich, Cam Kraisinger, Mark Lee, Bill Slade, Ricky Stigerwald.
Heat 2 – Todd Weldon, Wayne Carbo, A.J. Poljak, Ryan Moyer, Bill Robertson, Jeff Broniszewski, Nick Kocuba, Robert Betz.
Super6 Late Models
Feature results with finish position, start position, car number, driver, and hometown.
1, 4, 20, Mike Spinneweber, Butler
2, 3, 4B, Jim Thompson, West Sunbury
3, 5, 10S, Levi Spinneweber, Butler
4, 2, 1, Frank McFeaters, Butler
5, 1, 7, Justin Koebler, West Sunbury
Heat 1 – Mike Spinneweber, Jim Thompson, Justin Koebler, Levi Spinneweber, Frank McFeaters.
Miley Truck Rental Hobby Stocks
Feature results with finish position, start position, car number, driver, and hometown.
1, 5, 17S, Stephen Shelpman, Pleasant Hills
2, 2, 221K, Karlee Kovacs, Carnegie
3, 8, 47, Justin Shipley, Portvue
4, 7, 8, Dave Sheriff, Imperial
5, 3, 33B, Butch Black, Oakdale
6, 9, 1, Jacob Wiser, McKees Rocks
7, 4, 29, Adam Ferree, Jefferson Hills
8, 1, 77X, Casey Grumling, Elrama
9, 10, 15, John Dotten, Carnegie
DQ, 6, 39F, Tyler Fox, Pittsburgh
Heat 1 – Stephen Shelpman, Tyler Fox, Justin Shipley, Adam Ferree, Karlee Kovacs, Casey Grumling, Jacob Wiser, Butch Black, Dave Sheriff, did not start John Dotten.
Imperial Heights Garage Young Guns
Feature results with finish position, start position, car number, driver, and hometown.
1, 1, 13, Ben Anton, Jefferson Hills
2, 2, 14, Kayla McManus, Elizabeth
CruiseAmerica Open Fours
Feature results with finish position, start position, car number, driver, and hometown.
1, 7, 48, Paul Koffler, III, Connellsville
2, 5, 44, Matthew Rubright, Harmony
3, 6, 02, Justin Clark, Pittsburgh
4, 2, 19G, John Gill, Burgettstown
5, 4, 87, C.J. Parrill, South Connellsville
6, 3, 64, Tom Anton, Jefferson Hills
7, 1, X, Dale Rubright, Harmony
8, 9, 37, Jeremy Grubbs, Connellsville
Did not start, 27, Scott Gilliland, Warren, OH
Heat 1 – Paul Koffler, III, Matthew Rubright, John Gill, Justin Clark, Tom Anton, C.J. Parrill, Jeremy Grubbs, Dale Rubright, did not start Scott Gilliland.
Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, July 8, 2017 – Lantern Fest, no racing.
Saturday, July 15, 2017 – Race 2 for the Diehl Automotive Super Series, featuring the Ultimate Super Late Model Northeast Tour for Super Late Models, $3000 to win and $400 to start. Plus Big Block / Small Block Modifieds, Precise Racing Products RUSH Late Models, Sunoco Sportsman, and RUSH Modifieds.
Saturday, July 22, 2017 – Tony Stewart’s Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions Winged Sprints, presented by Falconi’s Moon Township Automotive, plus a Sizzler Series event for the Precise Racing Products RUSH Late Models, and RUSH Modifieds.
Saturday, July 29, 2017 – “Action Event” featuring a Sizzler Series race for Precise Racing Products RUSH Late Models, plus Diehl Automotive Super Late Models, Sunoco Sportsman, Super6 Late Models, Miley Truck Rental Hobby Stocks, Imperial Heights Garage Young Guns, and CruiseAmerica Open Fours.
Saturday, August 5, 2017 – “Action Event” featuring the Wee Willie White Memorial for the Homak Manufacturing Penn Ohio Pro Stock Series for Sunoco Sportsman. Plus Diehl Automotive Super Late Models, Precise Racing Products RUSH Late Models, Super6 Late Models, Miley Truck Rental Hobby Stocks, Imperial Heights Garage Young Guns, and CruiseAmerica Open Fours.
Sources: Miley Motor Sports, Inc.