Lincoln Speedway Awards Banquet

Saturday - November 20, 1999 LINCOLN SPEEDWAY Abbottstown, Pa.

YORK, PA, 11/20/99 - Lincoln Speedway track champions and special year-end awards were handed out at the Altland House Banquet Center at the York Fairgrounds Saturday night, November 20th. Close to 300 people were in attendance to watch the crowning of the super sprint, 358 sprint and thundercar champions for 1999. The top-10 finishers in the season -long point series for all three divisions were honored as well as special awards for each division.

For the third consecutive year Salfordville’s Fred Rahmer, driving the Al Hamilton-owned Manheim Auto Auction No.77 sprinter, was crowned the 1999 champion in the Cindy Rowe Auto Glass Super Sprint Series. The championship was the fourth of Rahmer’s career at Lincoln - winning track titles in 1994, 1997, 1998 and 1999.

Rahmer started the defense of his 1998 championship with a win in the 1999 season opener back in February, and capped off his championship run with his 10th win of the year at Lincoln in the season finale.

All told, Rahmer raced 27 times at Lincoln Speedway in 1999 and finished in the top-10 24 times and recorded 21 top-five finishes. Of Rahmer’s top-five finishes, none of them were worse than third place by finishing in second-place seven times and in third-place four times.

Rahmer finished out of the top-10 only three times, and in all three cases he did not finish the race.

Not only did Rahmer have the most feature wins, but he had the most heat wins with 11 to go along with a lone consolation race win.

Rahmer also became the first driver in Lincoln Speedway history to win at least 10 races in three consecutive years (1997 - 11 wins, 1998 - 17 wins, 1999 - 10 wins) for an astounding three year total of 48 wins, raising his overall win total at Lincoln to 84 wins and trails only Steve Smith on the all time win list who has 150 wins.

Rahmer also led an astounding 183 laps during his 1999 Lincoln Speedway campaign and established new track records for four-laps (55.75 seconds) and six-laps (1:23.48).

Other multiple-race winners joining Rahmer in victory lane in 1999 were Hanover’s Cris Eash (4 wins), Lance Dewease (3 wins), Jeff Shepard (3 wins), and Kevin Gobrecht (2 wins). Winning one race each were Keith Kauffman, Greg Hodnett, Todd Shaffer, Brian Montieth, Danny Jones and Curt Michael.

Of note, Curt Michael and Greg Hodnett’s wins were the first of there careers at Lincoln Speedway. Picking up second career wins at Lincoln were Brian Montieth and Danny Jones.

All told in 1999 there were 11 different winners out of 28 races which saw a grand total of 115 different competitors race of the lightning-fast 3/8th’s mile high-banked oval.

One other important accomplishment in 1999 was Mont Alto’s Lance Dewease running the fastest lap ever recorded at Lincoln Speedway by turning the first sub-13 second lap with one-lap time of 12.730 seconds.

Hanover’s Steve Siegel finished in second place in the race for the track championship - 1000 points behind Rahmer’s series leading 7400 point total. Siegel did not win a race in 1999, but his overall consistency with 12 top-five finishes and 24 top-10 finishes in 27 races allowed the veteran racer a hard-earned runner-up honor.

Fellow Hanover racer Cris Eash did his best to make a run at the championship by recording four wins in 1999, along with 16 top-five finishes and 23 top-10 finishes to finish 40 points behind Siegel in third place.

The 1999 Most Improved Driver Award winner, Dave Ely of Sinking Springs, proved he was going to be a force in the future by coming in fourth place in the series long point battle by virtue of his six top-five finishes and 18 top-10 finishes.

York’s Johnny Mackison Jr. rounded out the top-five in the race for the championship by settling for fifth place in the point series champion on the heels of six top-five finishes and 15 top-10 finishes.

Finishing sixth through 10th in the point series were Sinking Spring’s Donnie Kreitz Jr., Upperco, Maryland’s Jeff Shepard, Hanover’s Danny Jones, Memphis, Tennessee’s Greg Hodnett and Manchester, Maryland’s Jesse Wentz.

AWARDS BANQUET SPECIAL AWARDS WINNERS (Super Sprints) Super Sprint Champion - Fred Rahmer Mechanic of the Year - Moon Byers Rookie of the Year - Pat Cooper Sportsmanship Award - Jesse Wentz Hard Luck Award - Dave Haight Most Improved Driver - Dave Ely

TERRY LEININGER WINS 358 WAR For the third straight year, Lincoln’s 358 sprint title was on the line going into the final point race of the season. This time, Mechanicsburg’s Terry Leininger turned the tables on last year’s champion Greg Leiby of Carlisle by overcoming a 25 point deficit in the final point race of the season to claim the Garrett Auto Group 358 Sprint Track Championship by 45 points by virtue of his second place finish - coupled with Leiby’s eighth-place finish. Leininger finished with 3,065 points to Leiby’s 3,020 points.

Leininger’s championship was his second title at Lincoln over the past three years (1997 & 1999). Amazingly Leininger’s Championship run did not include a single win as the Mechanicsburg racer led only two laps the entire season.

Leininger’s championship season was based on consistency as he finished in the top-five seven times out of the 11 races he ran in 1999. Only twice did he fail to finish in the top-10.

Leiby ended his 358 sprint career with one win, seven top-five and nine top-10 finishes in finishing second to Leininger.

The big winner during the 1999 "358" Sprint season at Lincoln was Cris Eash who won six races out of the 10 he competed in raising his all-time win total to nine wins - tops on the all-time winners list. Eash had a total of eight top-five finishes in the end and would have been a factor in the race for title in the season finale had he not been side-lined with an earlier injury. Eash settled for third place at season’s end.

Lancaster’s Doug Esh finished in fourth place with no wins, eight top-five and nine top-10 finishes.

Coming in fifth was local favorite Dan Dietrich who registered a heart-warming win in the final point race of the season - the 30-lap 358 Sprint Championship.

Finishing sixth through 10th in points was Chad Layton, Most Improved Driver Award winner Eric Stambaugh, Joe Ilg, Jake Raudabaugh and Jimmy Layton.

The only other multiple 358 sprint winners in 1999 was Cris Eash’s brother Darren Eash, who ironically drove the same Leech Racing No.30E 358 sprinter to two wins. Single race winners were Greg Leiby, Dan Dietrich, Mike Lehman and Dave Calaman.

Of note, both Dan Dietrich and Dave Calaman’s wins at Lincoln were the first of there career’s at the Pigeon Hills oval in 358 sprint competition.

All told, there were six different winners out of the 12 races run in 1999.

AWARDS BANQUET SPECIAL AWARDS WINNERS (358 Sprints) Rookie of the Year - Danny Warrick Sportsmanship Award - Elmer Stotlsfus Hard Luck Award - Bob Hagan Most Improved Driver - Eric Stambaugh

BOBBY BEARD CLAIMS FIRST-CAREER THUNDERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP McSherrystown’s Bobby Beard was honored for recording his first career Lincoln Speedway track championship in winning the Miller Brothers Chevrolet Thundercar Point Championship trophy. Beard was the mark of consistency over the past year as the veteran racer recorded 15 top-five and 24 top-10 finishes to go along with his two wins in outdistancing Mike Zeigler for the championship.

Ironically Beard led only a grand total of five laps all season in registering his two wins which raised his career win mark to 13 wins - sixth on the all-time Lincoln win list.

Beard also lead all heat winners with 11 qualifying race wins and also set two new track records during his championship season. Beard set the new six-lap record with a 1:58.90 run and the eight-lap record with a 2:43.00 effort.

The highly competitive thundercar division saw 16 different winners out of the 30 races held with Craig Wagaman the leading feature winner with four wins. Other multiple race winners were Mike Zeigler, Steve Clabaugh, and Bernie Beard each with three wins, while Pat McClain, David Prunkl, Bobby Beard, Neil Smith, and Gary Potts each had two wins each.

Single race winners were Duane Watson, Mike Zeigler Jr., Bobby Rudisill, K.T. Shaw, Mike Walls and Fred Cullum.

Of note, recording career-first Lincoln thundercar wins were Pat McClain, David Prunkl, Mike Zeigler Jr., Mike Walls, Bobby Rudisill and Matt Barnes.

Mike Zeigler finished second in points to Beard by virtue of three wins, 15 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes. Former track champion Bernie Beard (1991, 92, 94, 97) finished third in points after recording three wins, 10 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes. Finishing in a tie for fourth place was winless Tony Kuhn and three-time winner Steve Clabaugh.

Finishing sixth through 10th in points was Neil Smith, Most Improved Driver Award winner K.T. Shaw, Bob Scott Jr., Duane Watson, and Fred Cullum.

AWARDS BANQUET SPECIAL AWARDS WINNERS (Thundercars) Rookie of the Year - Mike Zeigler Jr. Sportsmanship Award - Mike Zeigler Hard Luck Award - Corey Knaub Most Improved Driver - K.T. Shaw