Rich Sharpe Wins Ken “Hurricane” Heckler 51 on Legends of Lancaster Night
LANCASTER, NY (August 5, 2021) … Rich Sharpe picked up the victory in the Ken “Hurricane” Heckler Memorial 51 for the Street Stocks on Thursday night at New York International Raceway Park at Lancaster Speedway and Dragway. The victory for the Depew, NY driver was his second of the season. Third-generation driver Jimmy Zacharias from Candor, NY won the Sportsman feature. Dave Wollaber from North Tonawanda, NY picked up the win in the Jerry Gradl Motors NYPA TQ Midgets feature. Dan Dressel from Clarence won the 4 Cylinder feature event.
Jason Anasiewicz and Kyle Schosek were on the front row for the Ken “Hurricane” Heckler Memorial 51 for the Street Stocks, with Anasiewicz showing the way. Tim Welshans would take over second and then would take over the lead on lap two. Rich Sharpe would move into third and Mark Hoch would race in fourth early on, as Tim Garlock raced in the runner-up position. Off a lap six restart, Sharpe would take over second, with Hoch taking over third. Sharpe would take over the lead from Tim Welshans on lap 12, before entering lap traffic. Frank Prell would take over fourth place from Garlock and Nik Welshans would enter the top five. Nik Welshans started deep in the field and worked his way up through the field in quick order. Garlock would slow on lap 17 and would pull into the infield, ending his night while racing inside the top ten. While working lap traffic, Mark Hoch would catch Tim Welshans and the duo would battle for second place, with Sharpe well in control leading the race. Hoch would complete the pass on lap 26. In turn three, Mike Rogers would spin to bring out the caution on lap 27, erasing Sharpe’s 6.5-second advantage. Sharpe would take off in the lead on the restart as Nik Welshans went three-wide with Tim Welshans and Mark Hoch to take over second. Dave Krawczyk would enter the top five at the races’ midway point and would battle with Tim Welshans for fourth place and Chris Powers raced in the sixth spot. The red flag would come out on lap 43 as Wes LaBar spun in turn four and Garrett Cleversley made hard contact with LaBar. Both drivers were alert and talking with medical personnel. On the lap 43 restart, Sharpe would take off the lead with Hoch, Welshans, Krawczyk, Prell, and Carbone racing inside the top six. Sharpe would pull away to score the feature win.
Bob Reis and Mark Pennell was on the front row for the Sportsman feature event, and it was Reis taking over the lead. Shawn Nye would move into second place early on and would start to go after race leader Reis. John Barber while running inside the top ten, broke going into turn three and would hit the Thermal Foam to bring out the caution. On the restart, Jimmy Zacharias and Mike Fiebelkorn Jr would work inside the top five as Reis and Nye would take off from the field. With Reis showing the way, Nye, Weber, and Zacharias would battle for second for much of the second half of the race. Weber would take second away with 12 laps remaining. Jeff Szafraniec spun, in turn, one to bring out the caution with nine laps remaining. Jimmy Zacharias would look underneath and pass Reis for the lead with five laps remaining. Coming back to the green flag, contact was made, and a multi-car incident took place in turn four involving Bob Weber, Tony Carbone, Neal Dietz, and a handful of others. Zacharias would lead the final five laps to pick up his first win on the pavement in four years.
Vinnie Christiano III and Brian Schulz brought the Jerry Gradl Motors NYPA Midgets to the green flag for their 20-lap feature, and it was Christiano showing the way early. After a pair of early cautions, Christiano and Rutherford brought the field back to the green flag. Dave Wollaber would take over second from Rutherford and then quickly would take over the lead from Christiano. Andy Nye would move into third place and would challenge Christiano for second. Wollaber would pull away to score the win. Nye, Christiano, Erik Musto, and Rutherford would complete the top five.
Casey Pew and Chris Deyoe brought the 4 Cylinders to the green flag for their 20-lap feature event and it was Pew showing the way. Charles Palmer and Dave Brunka battled for second and third along with Kyle Casper as Casper raced in second and would go after race leader Pew. Pew, Casper, Palmer, Dan Dressel, and Brunka raced all tight together throughout the feature distance. Dressel moved into second with five Dressel would take over the lead with two laps remaining. Dressel would then take over the lead late and would go on to score the feature win.
Racing continues at the historic Lancaster oval on Saturday, August 21 for Kids Day. The popular Autograph Night will allow fans to come onto the track and see their favorite cars and drivers up close. The Sportsman, Street Stocks, 4 Cylinders, and the NYPA Midgets will be on the racing program, which will begin at 6:30 pm. Another division will possibly be added to the program. Please follow NYIRP on social media and website in the coming days when the full program will be released. The Rusty Wallace Driving Experience will be at the speedway on Sunday, August 29. Contact them for times and pricing.
For those wishing the watch the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 again, it will be shown via tape delay on NBCSN on Wednesday, August 11th at 2 pm ET. Alex Hayden and Dave Moody from the Motor Racing Network will be on the call and speedway announcer Steven Petty is on pit road covering the action. Check your local cable/satellite/tv provider for a channel in your area.
For more information, check out www.lancastermotorsportspark.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and now on Instagram.
RACE RESULTS – LEGENDS OF LANCASTER/KEN “HURRICANE” HECKLER MEMORIAL NIGHT
STREET STOCKS: RICH SHARPE, Nik Welshans, Mark Hoch, Dave Krawczyk, Frank Prell, Al Piasecki, Dylan Carbone, Jason Anasiewicz, Kyle Schosek, Scott Soos, Jim Dauer, Jerry Kosmowski, Tommy Wentland, Mike Rogers, Ed Culliton, Mitch Friend, Chris Powers, Tim Welshans, Garrett Cleversley, Wesley LaBar, Russ Bulger, Dave Evans, Tim Garlock, Bob Palmer
Did Not Start: John Carlson, Lou Carbone
Qualifying Heats: Rich Sharpe, Tim Welshans, Tim Garlock
SPORTSMAN: JIMMY ZACHARIAS, Mike Fiebelkorn Jr, Shawn Nye, Jake Vernon, Timmy Lewis, Mark Pennell, Bob Reis, Owen Bednasz, Leo Becker, Dave Kozlowski, Cameron Ruggiero, Jeff Szafraniec, Bob Weber, Tony Carbone, Jason Kline, Neal Dietz Jr, John Barber
Qualifying Heats: Bob Reis, Bobby Weber
JERRY GRADL MOTORS NYPA TQ MIDGETS: DAVE WOLLABER, Andy Nye, Vinnie Christiano III, Erik Musto, Moose Rutherford, Jonathan Reid, AJ Hessler, Brian Schulz, Vinnie Christiano Jr, Arik McGruder, Kevin Wilson, Kenyon Zitzka, Adam Brown, Mark Schulz, Kyle Hutchinson
Did Not Start: Tony Petrea
Qualifying Heats: Dave Wollaber, Kyle Hutchinson
4 CYLINDERS: DAN DRESSEL, Kyle Casper, David Brunka, Casey Pew, Chris Deyoe Jr, Bob Palmer, Mason Offhaus, Jonathan Klamut, Charles Palmer, Russ Bulger Jr
Qualifying Heats: Kyle Casper, Dan Dressel
About NYIRP at Lancaster Speedway & Dragway: Founded in 1959, New York International Raceway Park at Lancaster Speedway and Dragway (NYIRP at Lancaster) is a multi-use facility located on 77 acres just outside of metro Buffalo, N.Y. The facility features a 1/8-mile IHRA drag strip, a 1/2-mile oval track and hosts several non-motorsports events such as car shows and concerts. For the latest information on NYIRP at Lancaster, check out our website www.lancastermotorsportspark.com. Additional information for racers and fans can be found on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/LancasterMotorsportspark), Twitter (@LancasterSpdwy), and Instagram (@lancasterspeedwaydragway).
Sources: Steven Petty/New York International Raceway Park at Lancaster Speedway and Dragway PR