CHAMPIONS CROWNED AT JENNERSTOWN

by Jeremy Yoder
JENNERSTOWN, PA(Aug. 30)  The Bill Awtey 40-lap invitational feature for the Street Stock division at Jennerstown was a special event that all the drivers wanted to win. At the end of the evening the man who earned that honor was Adam Kostelnik of East McKeesport.

Kostelnik took the lead from younger brother Andrew of North Braddock on lap 33 and was first to cross the line. Andrew held on to finish second. Teddy Gibala of Coulter finished third with Joe Nicola and Richard Nicola finishing fourth and fifth.

“What makes this real special tonight is Bill Awtey. There wouldn’t be Street Stocks if it wasn’t for him,” said Kostelnik. “It’s an honor to win on Bill Awtey’s night.

Andrew Kostelnik finished well enough to win the first points championship of his career.

“I’ve learned from my brother, he’s won so many championships and just teached me a lot over the years,” said Kostelnik at the end of the evening. “He just told me to keep my head cool and calm and go out there and get what you can get.”

With his father being honored as a pillar of the racing community, Barry Awtey of Jenners piloted his number 75 Super Late Model to victory. The win was Awtey’s third of the season. Finishing second was Robby Marhefka of Windber. Marhefka fought off a hard-charging Jason Mignogna of Greensburg who finished third while Garry Wiltrout of Somerset and Mike Smith of Akron, OH completed the top five.

“I wanna thank all the people that stopped to see my dad. This is really special to him,” Awtey said from victory lane. “This one’s for my dad.”

Mignogna secured the first points championship of his career with his third place finish.

“It was a good night overall. Not the outcome we wanted, but we’re happy with where we finished,” said Mignogna. “We gained a lot of experience traveling to a lot of different tracks throughout the mid to late 90’s, but it’s nice to do well here at home.” 

Matt Sever of West Newton won a career first feature in the Hobby Stock division. Sever took the lead from Steve Long of Rockwood on lap seven and held the spot the rest of the way to the finish. Long would go on to finish second. Eugene Zerfoss of Acosta finished third with Larry Dunmyer of Elton and Clifford Zerfoss of Jennerstown rounded out the top five.

“It feels really great. You know we’ve been coming up here a long time and it’s starting to payoff now,” said Sever. “Hopefully next year we’ll be back.”

With his second place finish Long clinched the first track championship of his career.

“I thought there was a chance, but, you know, you never know what can happen,” said Long. “Last year we won here eight times and broke the division record and still didn’t win it.”

Champions Night was the final weekend of racing at Jennerstown for this season. Visit www.jennerstown.com for updates during the offseason.

Jennerstown Speedway
Hobby Stock 8/30/2008

A Main:1. Matt Sever (West Newton, PA), 2. Steve Long (Rockwood, PA), 3. Eugene Zerfoss (Acosta, PA), 4. Larry Dunmyer (Elton, PA), 5. Clifford Zerfoss (Jennerstown, PA), 6. David Kumpfmiller (Mars, PA), 7. Deidre Petrie (Greensburg, PA), 8. Brandon Bittner (Jenners, PA), 9. Philip Wiltrout (Latrobe, PA), 10. Kevin Keffer (Connellsville, PA)

Street Stock 8/30/2008
A Main:1. Adam Kostelnik (E. McKeesport, PA), 2. Andrew Kostelnik (North Braddock, PA), 3. Teddy Gibala (Coulter, PA), 4. Joe Nicola (West Mifflin, PA), 5. Richard Nicola (Pittsburgh, PA), 6. Jim Bodziak (Stoystown, PA), 7. Lauren Butler (W. Mifflin, PA), 8. Jason Holder (Stoystown, PA), 9. Bryan Awtey (Jenners, PA), 10. Bobby Young (Somerset, PA), 11. Jamie Shipley (Mckeesport, PA), 12. Dave Manns (White Oak, PA), 13. Dink Colarusso (West Mifflin, PA), 14. Steven Singo (Connellsville, PA), 15. Thomas Knight Sr. (Monroeville, PA), 16. Tony Manganello (Harmony, PA)

Super Late Model 8/30/2008
A Main:1. Barry Awtey (Jenners, PA), 2. Robby Marhefka (Windber, PA), 3. Jason Mignogna (Greensburg, PA), 4. Garry Wiltrout (Somerset, PA), 5. Mike Smith (Akron, OH), 6. Paul Urso (Allison Park, PA), 7. Dusty Rhoads (Jennerstown, PA), 8. Michael Zombar (Hunker, PA), 9. Robert Delanoy (Spring City, PA), 10. Harry Hendershot (McConnelsburg, PA), 11. Mark Smith (Meyersdale, PA), 12. Cody Quarrick (Uniontown, PA)