Jennerstown, PA – August 17, 2002 – Wheeler Bros./AC Delco race winner Mark Smith overcame the loss of his race cars power steering to capture the 50-lap Late Model feature at Jennerstown Speedway Saturday night, closing the division points battle between himself and current leader Neil Brown. Other winners during Somerset Hospital race night were Dave Brunell in the Tommy Gale/Haulmark Trailer Pro Trucks, Dink Colarusso in the Cenwest Street Stocks, and Curtis Stewart Jr. in the 96.5 Mountain Chargers. All three drivers are members of the Steve Black Motorsports camp, and each dedicated their win to Steve’s father Neil, who passed away early Saturday morning. Joey Dennewitz returned to the Cover Insurance Agency/PA Legacy Car Series victory lane, while Chantel Germek claimed another Ladies Enduro race win. 

Mark Smith started the Wheeler Bros./AC Delco feature race from the fourth place position, and when the outside lane moved ahead at the drop of the green, he wasted little time in finding his way to the front of the pack. Smith made one pass to the outside, then moved underneath early race leader Brad Creighton before the completion of lap three to take over the race lead. As the race worked it’s way towards the halfway point Smith continued to widen his margin, even though Barry Awtey and Neil Brown had lined up in an effort to catch the race leader.  Towards the end of the race, Awtey was able to get by Brown for the second position, but could not mount a serious charge against eventual race winner Mark Smith.  In victory lane, Smith revealed his power steering had failed near the halfway point, forcing him to manhandle the car to the finish of the race.  Rounding out the top five were Brad Creighton and Mark Cottone.  Mark Smith and Barry Awtey won the heat races.   

Dave Brunell was also the recipient of good fortune, as he dodged early race traffic en route to his second Tommy Gale/Haulmark Trailers Pro Truck division feature race win.  Brunell started the race from the fifth position and quickly moved forward with the inside lane of traffic.  Brunell quickly took over the race lead from Barry Geary on lap four and once out front held off the persistent challenges of Geary and Todd Price until a late race caution bunched up the field, causing a green-white-checker finish.  The first restart attempt saw Price bump the back end of Brunell’s truck, temporarily giving him the lead.  Another caution forced a full field restart, putting Brunell back at the front of the pack, and on the second restart he held Price at bay as he went on to claim the win.  Finishing in third through fifth were Marion Reno, Jr., Dave Marrow, and Josh Coughenour.  Dave Brunell won the heat race win.   

The Cenwest Street Stock feature race saw Dink Colarusso capture another feature race win as he got by Todd Knight in the later stages of the 25-lap event.  Knight had held the lead position for the first 21 laps, but as the handle of his car slowly faded away, Colarusso was able to get past him.  In the final laps Knight held on to maintain a second place finish.  Bill Ashton, George Nicola, Jr. and Adam Kostelnik rounded out the top five.  Dink Colarusso and Adam Kostelnik won the heat races.

The 96.5 Mountain Charger division saw a familiar face in victory lane, as Curtis Stewart, Jr. was once again the class of the field as he claimed another victory at the Laurel Highlands Oval.  Justin Lasky led the first ten laps as he pulled out to a comfortable lead, while Stewart was working his way up through the field.  Stewart passed Greg Praysner for the second position on lap nine, and needed only two more circuits to overtake Lasky for the race lead.  One lap later Lasky spun, bringing out the caution, which allowed Greg Praysner a chance at the lead.  When the green flag dropped the two cars raced side-by-side for a lap, until Stewart pulled out for the lead, which he held to the finish line.  Finishing behind Praysner in third was Travis Smith, while Chuck Slate and Phill Grubbs completed the top five.  Chuck Slate won the heat race.   

Joey Dennewitz once again made the trip to victory lane in the Cover Insurance Agency/PA Legacy Series feature race.  “The Rubber Capital of the World” native needed only five laps to work into the race lead, which he easily held until the finish.  P.J. Ehrlich worked his way up from the back of the pack to take over the second spot on lap 14, but by then Dennewitz had built up a sizable advantage, relegating Ehrlich to the runner-up position.  Finishing behind the top two were Brett Boyer in third and Dave Campbell in fourth.  Eric Kulikowski avoided a multi-car spin on the final turn of the race to capture fifth.  The heat race win went to Joey Dennewitz.   

Ken Stabley, Jr. and Matt Wallace each claimed a win in the Super Mini Cup Series double feature presentation.  Chantal Germek dominated the Ladies Enduro race, as she went from last to first in just over one lap.  From there the North Huntingdon, PA native cruised to the victory. Chantal’s sister Renee Germek finished a close second, just in front of Susan Lambert, who finished in third.  Carolyn Seneca captured fourth place, as she crossed the finish line in dramatic fashion, on her roof, after making contact with fifth place finisher Lisa Bodnar.   

Next week Wheeler Bros./AC Delco will present the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series presented by Dodge racing program, featuring twin 50-lap Late Model races and twin 20-lap Pro Truck feature races.  For more information call the track office at 814.629.6677 or log onto www.jennerstown.com.