Mechanicsburg - Cory Haas held off Danny Dietrich to take the 410 sprint-car feature Friday at Williams Grove Speedway while Mark Smith took the win in the URC Sprints feature event.
Haas earned $3,600 plus $230 in lap money for the second Grove sprint win of his career.
Brent Marks of Myerstown started on the pole of the 25-lap main event and took the early lead before Mark Smith tried a move for the lead in the third turn that ended up with contact and a flip by Smith.
Haas, of Dallastown, restarted fourth and was quickly up to second before driving off the cushion of turn four and by Marks and into the lead on the third circuit. Marks kept Haas close over the next several laps and tried retaking command as Danny Dietrich began closing in. Dietrich drove by Marks entering turn one to take over the runner-up spot with two laps to go and was right with Haas as they raced into turn one.
On the final circuit, Dietrich was able to put his No. 48 out in front momentarily only to see Haas retake the lead going down the backchute for the victory. Marks, Tyler Walker and Don Kreitz Jr. completed the top five.
Mark Smith overcame his 410 sprint feature luck to win $3,000 in the 360 URC sprint feature. Smith won over Curt Michael, Lance Dewease, J.J. Grasso and Aaron Ott, leading all 25 laps.
On Saturday,Brian Montieth fought off aches and pains, three rain delays, and lapped traffic to score his fourth Lincoln win of the year in a thrilling 30-lap 8th Annual Weldon Sterner Memorial for 410 sprint cars.
"I was one of the guys who voted to go home," quipped Montieth upon exiting his Premier Auto Works/Auto Locator #21, "The second time they sent us out the track wasn’t race ready. That last time, it was a little sketchy up against the fence on the straightaways, but my hat is off to everybody who sat in these stands and endured the marathon."
And for the fans who stuck around to see it, his race-winning pass was worth the wait.
The driver known as "the Edge" started fourth and was running fifth when the first of two mid-race rain delays stopped action during a caution on lap eight. After a 90-minute delay, the teams came back to the track and ran more than 25 laps to pack the track. Just as the drivers were lining up to re-start following a red flag for the drivers to re-fuel and add tear-offs, the third shower of the night (and second during the feature) struck, forcing race teams to the pits again.
After another half-hour rain delay, the teams returned to the track, with Justin Henderson, Alan Krimes, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., and Montieth lining up behind race long leader Brian Leppo. Montieth caught Hafertepe for fourth on lap 11, and finally got around Krimes for third after a 17th-lap restart. He sailed by Henderson on lap 18, and chased Leppo for the next ten laps before closing onto the leader’s back bumper as two cars battled for position at the tail-end of the lead lap.
As the leaders were coming down to take the white flag, Leppo got hung up behind the lapped cars and Montieth drove low through three and four to grab the lead. The pass counted, but because half of the field had not passed the flagstand, the lap did not.
Then disaster struck for Leppo, who hopped the cushion and came to a stop behind the spinning cars of Hafertepe and Chad Layton on turn two. Leppo was able to rejoin the field for the restart.
"I don’t know if we were going to catch Brian...he was getting around there pretty good," said Montieth, "But lapped traffic here is tough, especially when it’s fast. I don’t know what happened to him there under the yellow, but it was unfortunate for him."
Montieth ran unchallenged over the final two laps, crossing a half-second ahead of Henderson, with Fred Rahmer third, fast timer Greg Hodnett fourth, and Daryn Pittman fifth. Completing the top ten were Krimes, Gerard McIntyre, Jr., hard charger Doug Esh (who came from 17th starting spot), Brad McClelland, and Doug Dodson.
USAC points leader Levi Jones shattered his own one-lap record and drove to his first win of the year anywhere in the 40-lap AMSOIL "Eastern Storm" 40-lap feature for wingless sprinters at Lincoln Speedway Wednesday night.
"Definitely is was good to get the front first tonight," said Jones in victory lane, "We kinda’ looked back our notes and that’s kinda’ how it was last year. We moved down the track and to get into position. The 7 car was coming. I didn’t need to see that (lap 22) yellow, but we were able to hold him off. Bryan gave me a heck-of-a run, but there just wasn’t much race track for him to get around me. We’ll take the ‘W’ and go on to New Egypt."
Jones, driving the Tony Stewart Racing/Chevy #20, came from sixth starting spot to assume the lead during a fourth-lap caution and led the rest of the way, despite heavy pressure from Bryan Clauson over the final five laps of the race.
Travis Rilat, polesitter Keith Bloom, and Damion Gardner ran first through third the first two laps before Gardner got tangled up in a nine-car melee on turns one and two. Gardner suffered a left rear flat and returned to the rear of the field for the restart.
One lap later, leader Rilat shredded a tire and Dave Darland and Jon Stanbrough got together racing for second.
That put Jones on the point for the restart. The Olney, Illinois driver opened up as much as a three-second lead over Tracy Hines at the half-way point, only to see it evaporate on the race’s final caution on lap 22, when Daron Clayton spun out in turn four.
With ten to go, 12th starting Bryan Clauson passed Hines for the runner-up spot. He chased Jones over the final eight laps, actually pulling alongside the Stewart #20 through turns three a four of lap 39. But Jones saw Clauson’s nose, and powered down the front stretch to maintain his lead. He crossed two carlengths in front for his second straight Lincoln USAC win and 25th USAC win of his career, a victory worth $6,000.
Information provided by Williams Grove Speedway and Lincoln Speedway was used in this report. Video used in this report is courtesy of www.SportsPlusVideo.com and Lynn Schaeffer Productions.
