Jennerstown, PA –July 20, 2002 – Mark Smith scored another Wheeler Brothers/AC Delco Late Model division feature event during NASCAR Weekly Racing Series competition at Jennerstown Speedway.   Other winners on Stan’s Transmission Service and Key 95 co-sponsored race night were Dave Brunell in the Tommy Gale/Haulmark Trailer Pro Trucks, George Nicola, Jr. in the Cenwest Street Stocks, Curtis Stewart, Jr. in the 96.5 Mountain Chargers, and Joey Dennewitz in the Cover Insurance Agency/PA Legacy Series. Mark Flick took the special presentation of the Stan’s Transmission Service Grand American Modifieds, Cheri Berkey in the Ladies Enduro and Matt Wallace in the Super Mini Cup Series.  

Mark Smith started in the sixth position and quickly worked his way into second place on the second lap as the outside line of cars accelerated past the inside line of cars at the drop of the green flag.  Smith only needed a few more laps to overtake early race leader Cary Todaro on lap five.  From there Smith continued to extend his race lead until a caution on lap 23 allowed the remainder of the field to catch up.  This put second place runner Neil Brown in the perfect position to mount a serious charge on the restart.  As the two drivers battled side by side, trading paint and rubber along the way, Brown captured the lead on lap 24.  Smith used the outside racing groove to recapture the race lead on lap 25, and maintain it for the rest of the feature race.  Brown came home in second, with Mark Cottone making a hard late-race charge to finish in third, while Bobby Henry and Brad Creighton rounded out the top five.  Heat race wins went to Neil Brown and Mark Smith.   

Dave Brunell ended an eleven-year drought by returning to Jennerstown Speedway’s victory lane, for the first time in a Tommy Gale/Haulmark Trailers Pro Truck feature event.  Nolan Halliday started on the outside of the front row, and led the first five circuits before Brunell came up to take over the race lead.  A caution on lap 14 allowed the field to bunch up for a double file restart, where Halliday once again took over the race lead, but this time for only three laps.  Brunell once again asserted himself into the lead, this time with Marion Reno, Jr. close behind.  The two drivers were racing their way to a fine finish, when another caution on lap 23 slowed the field forcing a green-white-checkered finish.  On the final race restart Reno attempted an inside pass but Brunell was not to be denied and made his truck as wide as possible to defend his lead position.  The two trucks made hard enough contact to bend fenders and cause tires to smoke, but the two experienced drivers righted themselves to race side-by-side to the finish line where Brunell defeated Reno only by a truck length.  Finishing behind the top two trucks were Todd Price, Josh Coughenour and Jason Lasky.  Heat race wins went to Marion Reno, Jr. and Todd Price. 

George Nicola, Jr. used a last lap pass to claim another victory in the Cenwest Street Stock division at Jennerstown Speedway.  Jeff Petrini had one of the strongest runs of his career as he led the first 24 laps of the 25-lap feature event, holding off the primary challenge of Johnny Jones.  After starting the race in eighth position, Nicola methodically worked his way through the pack, passing both high and low on the track.  On the final lap, Nicola used an outside move to pass Petrini in the final two turns to take the checkered flag win.  Johnny Jones held on to take third place, with Bill Ashton coming home in fourth.  Dink Colarusso rebounded from an early race spin to finish in the fifth position.  Heat race wins went to Jeff Petrini and George Nicola, Jr. 

Curtis Stewart, Jr. needed only six laps to work from his eighth place starting position into the lead of the race and once there, he continued to extend his advantage over the rest of the field to the end of the race.  Early race leader Travis Smith maintained second position until a mechanical problem on lap ten forced him out of the race.  Joe Geary took over the charge, but had to settle for a second place finish behind Stewart.  Phill Grubbs, Justin Lasky and Chuck Slate rounded out the top five.  The heat race win went to Curtis Stewart, Jr.  

Joey Dennewitz used extreme drive and determination to recover from an early race accident which forced him to the back of the pack in the Cover Insurance Agency/PA Legacy Series feature event.  Brett Boyer took command of the race, but Dennewitz wouldn’t be denied as he worked his way back through the field and into second place by lap ten.  The two drivers raced side by side, with Dennewitz working the outside groove to his advantage as he took over the race lead in heavy traffic on lap 20.  Once in the lead Dennewitz would not be denied as he notched another victory, extending his record setting race win total to eight.  Heat race wins went to Chris Brink and P.J. Ehrlich.   

Mark Flick found his way back to familiar grounds as he scored another win in the special presentation of the Stan’s Transmission Service Grand American Modifieds.  Flick started from the fifth position and quickly asserted himself into the number two position by lap four.  Early race leader Jim Nicola held off the charge of Flick until lap seven, when the Apollo, PA native took over the race lead.  Mike Bakalon started the race from the twelfth position and worked his way up to second by lap 14, but could not close the gap that Flick had amassed.  Finishing behind the top two runners at the finish line were Paul Urso, Tommy Bentz and Jim Nicola.  Heat race wins went to Mark Flick and Bob Bentz, Jr. 

Matt Wallace scored the win in the Super Mini Cup Series while Cheri Berkey claimed the Ladies Enduro feature win.  Next week True Value will sponsor the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series presented by Dodge racing program featuring twin 50-lap Wheeler Bros./AC Delco Late Model feature division races.  For more information check out the Jennerstown Speedway website at www.jennerstown.com or call the speedway office at 814.629.6677. 

Complete Race Results...