POINT RACES in Jennerstown spotlight

JENNERSTOWN, PA (Aug. 16, 2005) … With only four more nights of NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series racing remaining, Jennerstown Speedway competitors are beginning to map out strategy, as the final run for track championship honors begins with the Tom Clark Auto Family/Coca-Cola Clash this Saturday evening at the half-mile paved Somerset County oval.

‘Strategy’ will particularly come into play in the Wheeler Bros super late model division, where drivers face the challenge of racing in seven feature contests during the four event span.. Twin 30-lap features are on the race card this Sat. evening, followed by a standard 50-lap event on Aug. 27. History-making triple 30-lap features will be conducted on Sept. 3, followed by a season ending 50-lap finale on Sept. 17.

“We’re starting to concentrate a little more on our back-up car,” said current point leader Tommy Beck, who currently holds a margin of 24 markers over second place Barry Awtey. “We’ve tried to shake the car down a couple of times, but there is a slight miss in the engine. We need to get it up to speed, just in case we need to use it during one of the multiple feature nights. Unfortunately with the work schedule my father (who serves as the crew chief) and I have, it’s tough to get everything accomplished.”

In fact, work responsibilities almost took the Murrysville driver out of the championship race altogether this past weekend.  Beck, a University of Pittsburgh engineering graduate, was on assignment in the Czech Republic, and was scheduled to miss last Saturday’s race. However, a family emergency arose near the end of the week and Beck’s employer permitted him to return home a couple of days earlier than originally scheduled.

“We received some bad news about my grandfather,” Beck said. “The entire family made the decision to race last Saturday. Racing has been a big part of our lives, especially my grandfather’s. Winning the Jennerstown track championship would mean a great deal to him.

“I think that was the last work hurdle for awhile,” he said. “The company wanted me to go back overseas for another eight-weeks, but I been negotiating to do it during the off-season.”

In other track championship races Dusty Rhoads big lead over Andrew Wylie in the late model class has dwindled to 14-points after he crashed out of last Saturday nights feature. Wylie will also encounter some commuting issues, as the Saltsburg resident is scheduled to start college in North Carolina later this month, and will be forced to fly home weekly to complete the season.

Roger Onstead’s bid to capture the Advance Auto Parts street stock title took a hit, when he was eliminated in a first lap crash last week. The Friedens driver now trails leader Richard Nicola by 32-points.

PJ Ehrlich won his seventh PA legacy feature Saturday night, and in the process regained the point lead from Jayme Beck, who was forced to the pits with mechanical problems. Third place Chris Brink saw his championship hopes fade following a violent opening lap flip, following hard contact with the Turn 3 wall. Ehrlich leads the field by 12-points.

Hooversville’s Greg Lohr continues to set the pace in the Pizza Hut hobby stocks with a comfortable 64-point margin over Somerset rookie Cindy Shaulis. Fellow female driver Deidre Petrie rides in the third position, two-points in back of Shaulis.

Spectator gates this Sat. will open at 5:00 PM, with the first race set to receive the green flag at 6:30. The super mini-cup cars will also be on the schedule. The first 2,000 fans entering the speedway will receive free Coca-Cola NASCAR CD-Rom games.

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