5.4.13 Selinsgrove Speedway Results
SELINSGROVE, Pa. – Eric Tomecek of Abbottstown held off defending champion Pat Cannon of Etters for his first career win at Selinsgrove Speedway in Saturday night’s 25-lap 358 sprint car main event.
Tomecek, driving the Mach 1 Chassis/D.L. Heiges Electric No. 1W, collected $1,500 for the victory in the suspenseful feature and became the 358-360 sprint car division’s fifth different winner in as many races this season. The non-stop race was timed in 8:30.354.
Eight-time champion Jeff Rine of Danville scored his first win of the season and the 80th of his career at Selinsgrove in the 25-lap late model feature. Rine also became the fifth different winner in as many late model shows this year.
Kyle Bachman of Selinsgrove won his second career Pro Stock 20 and collected $1,000 for the victory, which also marked his 37th career in the division at the track. Hayes Mattern of Beavertown, who competed in both the pro stock and late model divisions, set fast time for the Pro Stock 20 with a lap time of 24.314.
John Fowler Jr. of Montandon made a last-lap pass for his third win of the year in the 12-lap roadrunner race.
Selinsgrove Speedway will present the 33rd annual Jack Gunn Memorial Challenge Race for 358-360 sprint cars sanctioned by the United Racing Company (URC) at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 11. The 30-lap feature will pay $3,500 to win. Also on the racing card will be the late models and pro stocks. Track gates will open at 5 p.m.
Front row starters Larry Kelleher and Duane Mausteller raced wheel-to-wheel for the early lead at the start of the sprint car feature. Polesitter Kelleher led the first two circuits until second-place starter Mausteller pulled into the lead with an inside pass coming down the frontstretch to complete lap three.
Mausteller quickly opened a sizeable lead over Kelleher. On the ninth lap, third-place starter Eric Tomecek began to show a lot of speed and took over second. At the halfway point, a three-car race for third took place between Kelleher, 11th-place starter Pat Cannon, and ninth-place starter Derek Locke.
On the 14th circuit, Cannon powered into third and began to track down the leaders. Tomecek made the winning pass by Mausteller on the bottom of turn four on the 15th lap. Two laps later, Cannon shot by Mausteller for second and a suspenseful high-speed chase developed in a lapped traffic.
Cannon closed in and tried both the inside and outside lanes to get by Tomecek for the lead and win to no avail. At the finish, Tomecek was victorious for the first time at the track by just .84 of a second over Cannon, 12th-place starter Jason Shultz, Mausteller, and Locke.
In the late model feature, a three-wide race for the lead between polesitter Meade Hahn, second-place starter Hayes Mattern, and third-place starter Andy Haus developed entering turns one and two. Haus eventually pulled into the lead as the field began to string out at the completion of the first lap, when Mattern struck the inside frontstretch wall and collected Matt Cochran.
When the race resumed, Haus led the way while Hahn and fifth-place starter Bryan Bernheisel battled for the second position. A lap later, however, Hahn pulled off the track as 10th-place starter Jeff Rine advanced to third.
On the ninth circuit, Rine drove by Bernheisel for the runner up position and set his sights on Haus. A lap later, Rine made the winning pass by Haus using the outside lane on the frontstretch. At the halfway point, sixth-place starter Jim Yoder powered into second and began to reel in Rine.
In the final laps of the race, Rine stretched his lead and posted a 3.4-second margin of victory over J. Yoder, Haus, Bernheisel, and Dylan Yoder.
At the start of the Pro Stock 20, another three-wide battle for the lead unfolded between polesitter Brad Mitch, second-place starter Kyle Bachman, and third-place starter Nathan Long through turns one and two. On the backstretch, Bachman pulled into the lead as Mitch fell into line in the runner up position.
The event’s first caution flag unfurled on lap 5 when Hank Steffen’s car rolled to a stop in turn four. On the restart, Mitch, Long and fourth-place starter Hayes Mattern continued to race nose-to-tail behind Bachman.
On the eighth lap, Mattern did a 360-degree spin in turn four and kept racing but lost several positions. Long then lost a few spots on the 12th circuit when his car drifted into in the wall in turns three and four. On lap 16, the race was stopped when AJ Stroup’s car flipped in turn one; Stroup escaped injury.
On a lap 19 restart, Mitch’s car lost power on the frontstretch as sixth-place starter Troy Miller advanced to second. Bachman took the checkered flag by 2.7 seconds over Miller, Pete Lauver, Tommy Slanker, and Mitch.
In the roadrunner race, third-place starter Bob Bussey and polesitter John Schoch dueled for the lead on the first lap. Bussey took command of the field as Schoch spun on the second circuit. When the race continued, Bussey had to fend off fourth-place starter John Fowler Jr. and fifth-place starter Brian Johnson for the lead.
With two laps to go, Bussey’s car developed a flat tire and drifted high in turns three and four, allowing Fowler to take the lead and drive to a .64 of a second victory over Ricky Bender, Johnson, Ray Rothfuss, and Jeremy Kline.
SELINSGROVE SPEEDWAY RACE SUMMARY: 4 May 2013
358 Sprint Cars – 22 Entries
25-Lap A-Main: 1) 1W Eric Tomecek 2) 3 Pat Cannon 3) 2 Jason Shultz 4) 21 Duane Mausteller 5) 77 Derek Locke 6) 23 TJ Stutts 7) 76 Larry Kelleher 8) 5B Josh Beard 9) 99K Cody Keller 10) 19 Colby Womer 11) 15 Mark Bittner 12) 66 Ryan Kissinger 13) 34 Austin Reed 14) 29S Derek Steward 15) 42 Alan Spriggle 16) 67 Jason Cherry 17) 71C Charlie Anderson 18) 5 Phil Walter DNF 19) 38 Scott Wilson DNF 20) 35 Shannon Fisher DNF 21) 1 Mark Smith DNS 22) 33 John Troxell DNS
Heat Winners: Cody Keller, Pat Cannon, Josh Beard
Late Models – 19 Entries
25-Lap A-Main: 1) 2J Jeff Rine 2) 27 Jim Yoder 3) 76 Andy Haus 4) 119B Bryan Bernheisel 5) 24 Dylan Yoder 6) 99Z Dave Zona 7) 88 Tony Adams 8) 6 Donnie Schick 9) 91 Chad Davis 10) 16 Matt Cochran 11) 61 Ken Trevitz 12) 26 Jerry Bard 13) 90 Kyle Rhoads 14) 93 Tony Crim 15) 45 Eric Hons DNF 16) 14 Dave Brouse Sr. DNF 17) 4 Brian Hack DNF 18) 7M Meade Hahn DNF 19) 9 Hayes Mattern DNF
Heat Winners: Tony Adams, Meade Hahn
Pro Stocks – 16 Entries
20-Lap A-Main: 1) 99 Kyle Bachman ($1, 000) 2) 115 Troy Miller 3) 85L Pete Lauver 4) 19H Tommy Slanker 5) 10M Brad Mitch 6) 34 Hank Steffen 7) 26S Nate Stroup 8) 28J Jeff Ceballo 9) 4 Jim Payne 10) 63 Nathan Long 11) 06 Frank Reisser DNF 12) 26 AJ Stroup DNF 13) 9 Hayes Mattern DNF 14) 115S Shaun Miller DNF 15) 85 Terry Lauver DNF 16) 32 Tom Hartman DNF
Time Trials: 1) 9 Hayes Mattern 23.314 2) 63 Nathan Long 24.375 3) 99 Kyle Bachman 24.571 4) 10M Brad Mitch 24.692 5) 26 AJ Stroup 24.833 6) 115 Troy Miller 24.930 7) 19H Tommy Slanker 25.120 8) 115S Shaun Miller 25.125 9) 26S Nate Stroup 25.352 10) 85L Pete Lauver 25.672 11) 34 Hank Steffen 25.806 12)85 Terry Lauver25.885 13) 06 Frank Reisser 26.007 14) 28J Jeff Ceballo 26.469 15) 4 Jim Payne 29.127 16) 32 Tom Hartman DNT
Roadrunners – 10 Entries
12-Lap A-Main: 1) 02 John Fowler Jr. 2) 29B Ricky Bender 3) 201 Brian Johnson 4) 22 Ray Rothfuss 5) 8K Jeremy Kline 6) 28L Curtis Lawton 7) 89 John Schoch 8) 7X Butch Shaffer 9) 76 Bob Bussey 10) 31B Brandon Shultz