MECHANICSBURG – Lance Dewease of Fayetteville tuned up for next week's invasion by the World of Outlaws by claiming the 30-lap, $4,000 Friday night sprint car feature at Williams Grove Speedway. It was his sixth win overall of the season and second at the Grove. Dewease is the first repeat winner of the season at the speedway.
Todd Reed scored the win in the 358 sprint main to pick up his first-ever win anywhere since joining competition in 1996.
Dewease started his No. 30C from the third spot behind pole-sitter Mark Smith and second-starter Donnie Kreitz Jr. He fell to fourth on the first circuit before settling into a rhythm behind leader Kreitz and by the time lap three was completed, he had overtaken Smith for third and was on the trail of Danny Dietrich. Dewease bypassed Dietrich a lap later and went to work running down Kreitz, who was pounding his patented bottom groove.
The pair crossed the stripe on lap seven nearly even although Kreitz held a sliver of a lead but it was all Dewease the next time by just before fifth starter Brian Montieth, who had rushed up to second, spun in the third turn and collected Smith. Dietrich got Kreitz for second with 16 laps to go and began pressuring Dewease for the lead and win. He was able to draw even with Dewease a few times as the pair exited the second corner but failed to complete the pass.
A yellow turned red for refueling with 10 laps to go gave Dietrich a chance to fine tune and again challenge on the restart but after a few laps of open track, Dewease was able to pull away to the victory.
“We weren’t real good in that heat race and we change it all around,” Dewease said of his car from the heat to the feature. "They watered the top and I was the first one to find it,” he said of his ability to get to the front and take the lead early in the event.
Dietrich was second followed by 15th starter Doug Esh, Kreitz and Aaron Ott.
Sixth through 10th went to Chad Layton, Todd Shaffer (subbing for a recovering Fred Rahmer), Brent Marks, Steve Buckwalter and Justin Henderson.
Reed started on the pole of the 358 sprint main and led ever lap for the checkers. Sixth starter Nate Hammaker came to second on the first lap and pressured for the lead early but fell short.
Hammaker settled for second followed by Ted Thomas, Scott Geesey and Pat Cannon. Sixth through 10th went to Tim Berkheimer, Davie Franek, Logan Schuchart, Matt Boland and Adrian Shaffer. Heats fell to Jay Galloway, Cannon and Berkheimer with Rich Eichelberger taking the consolation.
The Summer Nationals, featuring the World of Outlaws, begin July 22 at Williams Grove.
Information used in this report was provided by Shawn Brouse/Williams Grove Speedway. Video used in this report is courtesy of www.SportsPlusVideo.com and Lynn Schaeffer Productions.
