7.4.20 Pennsylvania Sprint Series Results
By: Frank Buhrman
Approaching his first anniversary as a PA Sprint Series competitor, Garrett Bard collected his eighth series victory Saturday night at Lincoln Speedway. It might have been the toughest, as the IMCA/RaceSavers provided fans with a full July 4 fireworks display on the track.
The Wells Tannery racer took advantage of a front-row starting spot to lead all the way in the 20-lap feature, but the last half of the event featured perhaps the most torrid challenges to that lead Bard has had to turn back in his CG Racing Engines/Barnett Self Storage/Lias Tire #95.
Third-starting Doug Dodson spent most of the race in the runner-up spot, but the Middletown veteran really turned up the heat just past the halfway point, trying a slide job on lap 12 and several more afterward, one of which briefly put the #20 in the lead, only to have Bard execute a cross-over and retake first.
While all this was happening, Aston’s Dave Brown was overcoming having drawn the dreaded #12 restart pill and moving his #44 through the field. By lap 16, he was in third, and there was a three-way battle for the lead.
For the last three laps, it was anybody’s race, but even with two more experienced racers on his tail, Bard refused to fold and came home with his eighth win in only 22 PASS starts.
Dodson held off Brown to finish second, with Jaremi Hanson just behind the lead battle in fourth and Johnny Scarborough fifth.
Dylan Shatzer, Devin Adams, Dominic Melair, Kyle Keen and Jake Frye completed the top 10.
Brown advanced nine spots from his 12th-place start to third at the finish, but the Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic Hard Charger Award went to John Walp, who came from 22nd after winning the B-Main for a finish of 12th.
Heat races for the 30 RaceSavers on hand were won by Dodson, Brown and Billy Ney, with Walp winning the B-Main.
For Bard, the win came after a rare down night Friday in a Laurel Highlands Sprint Series event at Bedford Speedway, where mechanical ills limited him to one lap. In his 22 PASS starts, he now has eight wins, four second-place finishes, and three other top fives since his first RaceSaver start at Path Valley Motor Speedway last July 13, when he came home 10th.
Next Saturday, the PASS racers will return to Selinsgrove Speedway to be part of the Mach 1 Chassis 360 Sprint National Open evening. On July 18, they will join the 410 sprints at Port Royal Speedway for the first night of the rescheduled Bob Weikert Memorial for the Ollies Bargain Outlet All-Star Circuit of Champions series.
For schedule and other updates, visit www.pasprintseries.com or the PA Sprint Series Facebook page.
Results from Lincoln Speedway Saturday, July 4
FEATURE – 1. 95-Garrett Bard; 2. 20-Doug Dodson; 3. 44-Dave Brown; 4. 36-Jaremi Hanson; 5. 61-Johnny Scarborough; 6. 75-Dylan Shatzer; 7. 99-Devin Adams; 8. 55-Dominic Melair; 9. 17K-Kyle Keen; 10. 56-Jake Frye; 11. 50-Jay Krout; 12. 5-John Walp; 13. 87-Austin Graby; 14. 3D-Dave Grube; 15. 19-Kruz Kepner; 16. 18-Ian Detwiler; 17. 38-Larry McVay; 18. 80-Dave Wickham; 19. Q2-Johnny Yanek; 20. 83-Billy Ney; 21. 2-Derek Hauck; 22. D57-Jeff Miller; 23. 44K-Kirsten Hess; 24. M1-Mike Potts. DNQ – 97-Kenny Heffner; 56D-Peter Dance; 83K-Kristina Pratt; 77T-Troy Ale; 69-Landon Price; 1-Rowdy Heffner.
HEAT 1 – 1. 20-Doug Dodson; 2. 99-Devin Adams; 3. 95-Garrett Bard; 4. 56-Jake Frye; 5. 19-Kruz Kepner; 6. 80-Dave Wickham; 7. D57-Jeff Miller; 8. 5-John Walp (DNF); 9. 97-Kenny Heffner (DNF); 10. 56D-Peter Dance (DNF).
HEAT 2 – 1. 44-Dave Brown; 2. 55-Dominic Melair; 3. 75-Dylan Shatzer; 4. 36-Jaremi Hanson; 5. 3D-Dave Grube; 6. 50-Jay Krout; 7. Q2-Johnny Yanek; 8. 38-Larry McVay; 9. 44K-Kirsten Hess; 10. 1-Rowdy Heffner.
HEAT 3 – 1. 83-Billy Ney; 2. 17K-Kyle Keen; 3. 61-Johnny Scarborough; 4. 2H-Derek Hauck; 5. 18-Ian Detwiler; 6. 87-Austin Graby; 7. M1-Mike Potts; 8. 77T-Troy Ale; 9. 83K-Kristina Pratt; 10. 69¬-Landon Price (DNF).
B-MAIN – 1. 5-John Walp; 2. 44K-Kirsten Hess; 3. 38-Larry McVay; 4. 97-Kenny Heffner; 5. 56D-Peter Dance; 6. 83K-Kristina Pratt; 7. 77T-Troy Ale; 8. 69-Landon Price; 9. 1-Rowdy Heffner.