MARK SMITH COLLECTS JENNERSTOWN VICTORY
JENNERSTOWN,
PA (May 7, 2005)…. Mark Smith went from zero to hero Saturday
evening at Jennerstown Speedway, as the Meyersdale driver recovered
from a first-lap spin and went on to claim the victory in the 50-lap
opening night Wheeler Brothers NASCAR Dodge Weekly Racing Series
super late model feature event at the Somerset County oval.
“I was really mad when I spun out in
the first turn,” Smith said from victory lane. “I knew we had a
really good car. It was so good, in fact, that a monkey could
probably have driven it.”
Smith wasn’t able to take the lead from
early pace setter Bobby Henry until lap 44, when he moved ahead of
the Connellsville driver with an outside pass. “It took a while to
work up through traffic,” said Smith. “I kept praying for a caution…
I was ready to throw something out on the track to bring out the
yellow.”
Once in front Smith was able to keep
Henry at bay for the final six circuits. Mark Poole finished a
strong third, ahead of defending champion Garry Wiltrout, Tommy
Beck, Mark Cottone, Paul Urso, Jeff Dunmyer and Snooky Williams.
The late model contest was shortened
from 25 to 20 laps after a devastating 14th lap crash eliminated all
but four cars in the starting field. Alum Bank’s Todd Price was the
victor in the crash-marred event, over Dink Colarusso, Andrew Wylie,
Mel Wilt and Dusty Rhodes. Early pacesetter Alkie Cunningham II
slammed hard into the first turn wall during the feature melee, but
was uninjured. Earlier in the evening Todd Corson completely
destroyed his mount when he flipped and barrel rolled down the front
straight after tangling with Jacob Coffin. Corson walked away
uninjured from the accident.
Josh Dunmyer of Friedens was victorious
in the 20-lap Advance Auto Parts street stock main event. Dunmyer
drove around Rich Nicola on the 11th circuit to pick up
his second career win. Roger Onstead was third, trailed by Adam
Kostelnik and Bobby Young.
PJ Ehrlich led from flag to flag to
pick up the win in the 20-lap PA legacy feature event. Former track
champion Jayme Bolkovac-Beck finished in the runner-up slot. Lauren
Butler had a career-best third, while Chris Brink and Dave Sullivan
rounded out the top five. During the first lap of the race Derek
Ramstrom was involved in a serious crash on the back stretch, and
was transported to the hospital for observation.
Gregory Lohr held off Nevin Hause, Jeff
Zillweger, Eugene Zerfoss and Cindy Shaulis to capture the 15-lap
Pizza Hut hobby stock feature.
Complete Race Results
