|
|
|
|
JENNERSTOWN
SPEEDWAY KICKS OFF 2003 SEASON AS FAMILIAR FACES
VISIT VICTORY LANE!
(Jennerstown, PA) Jennerstown Speedway kicked
off the 2003 season of the NASCAR Dodge Weekly
Racing Series Saturday night as Agway Energy
Products presented the six divisions of racing
at the Laurel Highlands Oval.
Heat race incidents reduced the field of cars in
several divisions as many drivers were behind
the wheel for the first time in 2003 at
Jennerstown Speedway.
During heat races, four cars in the Street Stock
division were eliminated from competition in a
pile-up in turn one helped to reduce the Street
Stock field to just eight cars for the feature
race.
West Mifflin, PA’s Dink Colarusso shot out to
the front ahead of Roger Onstead, lead 24 of 25
laps, and went on to win the first Street Stock
feature of 2003. Colarusso and Onstead were
followed by Jason Holder, Jason Fritz and Josh
Dunmyer in the top five. Colarusso was also the
winner of the heat race.
In the Jennerstown Speedway Charger division,
Chuck Slate and Travis Smith fought hard for the
lead, but early race cautions brought the pack
back together. Greg Praysner moved to the front
to compete with Smith, but Smith re-took the
lead after a mid-race caution. The field
stretched out and Meyersdale, PA’s Travis Smith
went on to win the feature race of the
Jennerstown Speedway Charger division. Smith was
followed in the top five by Greg Praysner, Chuck
Slate, Chantal Germek and Phill Grubs.
The Jennerstown Speedway Modifieds took to the
speedway for the first time in 2003 on Saturday
night and Irwin, PA’s Bob Bentz rifled out to
the head of the pack. While he and Bernie
McQuillan stretched out to a healthy lead,
several cars were fighting tooth and nail for
the third place position. On lap nine, Paul Urso
and Matt Smith made contact and gathered Mike
Bakalon going into turn two. After the caution,
Bentz fought off a brief challenge by McQuillan
and continued to dominate the feature. Paul Urso
ran an impressive race working his way back
through the pack to compete for third as they
came closer to the checkered. But Bentz and
McQuillan had built a dominating lead and Bob
Bentz went on to visit victory lane in the
Jennerstown Speedway Modified feature. He and
McQuillan were followed by Paul Urso, Jason
Busch and Brian Stephenson in the top five.
Bentz was also the winner of the heat race.
The Tommy Gale/Haulmark Trailers Pro Trucks have
earned a reputation for some of the most
aggressive, competitive driving at Jennerstown.
This Saturday’s racing was no exception. Jason
Lasky and Todd Price were door to door thrilling
the Jennerstown fans for three laps until Lasky
was able to sneak in front of Price for the
lead. Lasky would lead until lap 11 when Todd
Corson spun in the front stretch brining the
trucks back together for the re-start. When the
green dropped, Price hit the throttle and got
around Lasky for first. While first and second
position took off, the battle for third place
raged between Pro truck rookie Adam Kostelnik
and 2002 Division Champ Marion Reno, Jr. On lap
19, Reno snuck under Kostelnik bringing Dave
Brunell with him. With three laps remaining,
Lasky slowed letting Reno, Brunell and several
others get by for position. As the checkered
fell, Todd Price was victorious winning the
first feature of 2003 in the Tommy Gale/Haulmark
Trailers Pro Trucks. The Alum Bank, PA driver
was followed by Marion Reno, Jr., Dave Brunell,
Adam Kostelnik and Josh Coughenour in the top
five. Jason Lasky was the winner of the heat
race.
The field of Pennsylvania Legacy Series cars was
also a victim of a serious heat race incident
that claimed rookie Lauren Butler and Andrew
Wylie during qualifying. Thirteen Legacy cars
were on the speedway for the feature and they
would not disappoint the crowd of race fans at
Jennerstown. P.J. Erlich took the lead on lap
three, but Eric Kulikowski spun on the front
stretch on the next lap bringing everyone back
in line for the re-start. After the green flag
flew, former division champ Jayme Bolkovac made
an aggressive, three-wide pass to get by Dave
Campbell and Brett Boyer for third. While Erlich
continued to stretch out his lead on lap 18,
Bolkovac used lapped traffic to her advantage
and passed Rick Boyer for second place. When he
approached the finish line, Erlich had developed
an impressive, straightaway’s length lead over
the rest of the drivers. As the checkered flew,
Rick and Brett Boyer spun in turn four robbing
them of a top five finish. Oakmont, PA’s P.J.
Erlich was followed by Jayme Bolkovac, Dave
Campbell, Chris Brink and Jack “Kep” Causer in
the top five finishers. P.J. Erlich and Jayme
Bolkovac were heat race winners.
On a gorgeous night for racing, the evening was
concluded with fifty laps of the Rolling Rock
late models. 2002 Track Champion Neil Brown took
the Silver Bullet out to an early lead. But as
the pack came across the start/finish line for
the first lap, Gary Wiltrout got out of shape
along the front straightaway, shot towards the
inside and collected T.J. Fleck sending both
cars into the inside retaining wall. Upon the
restart, Brown and Mark Cottone took off to the
front with Brown slipping ahead for first. By
lap 12, Bobby Henry had worked his was along
side of Jayme Bolkovac and passed her for the
third place position. As the end of the race
approached, Mark Smith was flying through the
pack. On lap 38, Smith used the high line on the
backstretch for get by Snooky Williams for
fifth. Eight laps later, her went inside to get
by Bolkovac to rob her of the 4th place
position. But Smith, Bobby Henry and Mark
Cottone simply ran out of laps as Acme, PA’s
Neil Brown continued his winning ways at the
Laurel Highlands Oval running a superb race and
winning the night’s feature of the Rolling Rock
Late Models. Mark Smith and Bobby Henry were
heat race winners.
For a complete list of race results, 2003 point
standings, and photos from Saturday’s races,
please visit
www.jennerstown.com.
Next Saturday, Coca Cola presents six divisions
of racing in the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Racing
Series. Adult grandstand admission is just $10.
Children 12 years of age and under are admitted
for free.
In two weeks, Somerset Trust Company presents
the Somerset Trust 75 – a seventy five lap race
featuring the Rolling Rock Late Models – plus
four additional divisions of racing in the
NASCAR Dodge Weekly Racing Series. Adult
grandstand admission is just $15. Children 12
years of age and under are admitted for free.
For more information on these or any other
events, or about the many sponsorship
opportunities at the Laurel Highlands Oval,
please contact the Jennerstown Speedway front
office at 814-629-6677 or visit
www.jennerstown.com.
|
Complete Race Results
|
|
|
|
