9.25.20 Pennsylvania Sprint Series Results
By: Frank Buhrman
Garrett Bard made it two-for-two at Lincoln Speedway Saturday night with a convincing PA Sprint Series feature win that brought him closer to the IMCA/RaceSaver national championship.
The Wells Tannery driver brushed aside a bad heat race starting draw and won that event, then moved from his fourth starting position to second on the opening lap and passed early leader Ken Duke Jr. in turn three following a lap four restart to take control of the feature, holding off a charging Devin Adams at the end of a race that highlighted several of PASS’s “young lions” racers.
Bard’s CG Racing Engines/Barnett Self-Storage #95 had led all 20 laps for a July 4 win at Lincoln, but in that race, Doug Dodson had mounted a torrid challenge that had included one successful slide job, countered by Bard’s successful cross-over. This time, while Adams closed the gap on the leader in the final couple of laps, Bard’s mastery of traffic kept his lead safe.
Duke, who had held off Adams for second until the midway point in the race, ended up third, ahead of recent high school graduate Justin Mills and Derek Hauck.
Dave Grube II, Landon Price, Dylan Shatzer, Doug Dodson and Dylan Smith rounded out the top 10.
Heat races for the 28-car field were won by Bard, Duke and Jake Frye, with Dodson taking the B-Main.
Frye was later involved in the night’s only major incident, jumping the cushion in turn three on lap three and flipping after hitting the wall. The Lewisberry teenager, who won his first feature earlier this year at nearby Trail-Way Speedway, was uninjured.
Dodson claimed the evening’s hard charger award with a gain of 10 positions – the next best “charge” was Bard’s, going from fourth to first. Dodson had withdrawn from his heat after a fuel line came loose, came from sixth to first in the B-Main (after surviving a tangle with John Walp as the cars were lining up), and then passed seven cars in the first three laps on the way to his hard-earned top-10 finish.
Bard’s win can only help his run for the 2020 IMCA/RaceSaver national championship. He went into the weekend with a 13-point lead over Nebraka’s Tyler Drueke. The points title is based on a driver’s best 20 finishes, and last weekend he extended the lead by a single point, even with a best finish of fourth. This is the final weekend for awarding points.
IMCA’s system awards points “bonuses” at the end, however, and the final results won’t be known until after that process.
Should Bard win, he will succeed Duke, the driver he passed for the lead Saturday, as champion. Duke last year became the first Pennsylvanian ever to win.
Bard had clinched the 2020 PASS championship already, and he holds a commanding lead over Walp in the Pennsylvania state points.
Saturday’s win was Bard’s eighth of the season in PASS and his 13th in 36 starts since joining the series last July. He also has multiple wins in the Laurel Highlands Sprint Series and the Allegheny Sprint Tour.
For full schedule information and the latest news, visit www.pasprintseries.com or the PA Sprint Series Facebook page.
Results from Lincoln Speedway, September 25
HEAT 1 – 1. 95-Garrett Bard; 2. 61-Johnny Scarborough; 3. 36-Jaremi Hanson; 4. M1-Justin Mills; 5. 87-Austin Graby; 6. 55-Domenic Melair; 7. 03-Branstin Shue; 8. 19K-Ethan Spotts (DNF); 9. 5-John Walp (DNF). DNS – 20-Doug Dodson.
HEAT 2 – 1. 67-Ken Duke Jr.; 2. 3D-Dave Grube II; 3. 99-Devin Adams; 4. 11-Dylan Smith; 5. 25D-Dustin Young; 6. 19-Kruz Kepner; 7. 2-Erin Statler; 8. M1-Mike Potts; 9. 21-Drew Boyer.
HEAT 3 – 1. 56-Jake Frye; 2. 69-Landon Price; 3. 75-Dylan Shatzer; 4. 2H-Derek Hauck; 5. 12F-Daryl Stimeling; 6. 33-Scott Lutz; 7. 51-Dave Graber; 8. 80-Dave Wickham; 9. 17K-Donavyn Knokey.
B-MAIN – 1. 20-Doug Dodson; 2. 03-Branstin Shue; 3. 2-Erin Statler; 4. 51-Dave Graber; 5. 80-Dave Wickham; 6. 21-Drew Boyer; 7. M1-Mike Potts; 8. 17K-Donavyn Knokey; 9. 19K-Ethan Spotts.
FEATURE – 1. 95-Garrett Bard; 2. 99-Devin
Adams; 3. 67-Ken Duke Jr.; 4. M1-Justin Mills; 5. 2H-Derek Hauck; 6. 3D-Dave Grube II; 7. 69-Landon Price; 8. 75-Dylan Shatzer; 9. 20-Doug Dodson; 10. 11-Dylan Smith; 11. 36-Jaremi Hanson; 12. 87-Austin Graby; 13. 55-Domenic Melair; 14. 12F-Daryl Stimeling; 15. 33-Scott Lutz; 16. 61-Johnny Scarborough; 17. 19-Kruz Kepner; 18. 03-Branstin Shue; 19. 51-Dave Graber; 20. 25D-Dustin Young; 21. 21-Drew Boyer; 22. 2-Erin Statler; 23. 56-Jake Frye (DNF); 24. 80-Dave Wickham (DNF). DNQ – M1-Mike Potts; 17K-Donavyn Knokey; 19K-Ethan Spotts.