Lincoln Speedway results 2003-07-27

Abbottstown, PA, 7/26/03 - Carlisle's Frankie Herr stormed from 14th starting spot to take the lead in the final turns and hold off Steve Wilbur by inches at the line to win the 20-lap super sportsman feature at Lincoln Speedway Sunday night.

"This place is awesome!" exclaimed Herr upon exiting his Zane Highland/Highland Tire No.3 in victory lane, "These guys (crew) give me a great race car every time out, but when you handicap back 15 spots, it's tough to get to the front."

It looked like the night would belong to Steve Wilbur, who set a new eight-lap track record of two minutes 11.55 seconds in his qualifying event (breaking the old record of two minutes 13.76 second held by John Garman from 7/3/01) and led the first 19 laps of the 20-lap sportsman feature.

But Herr had other plans. After starting on the outside of row seven, Herr worked his way through the field to enter the top five on lap 11. His move into fourth was a dramatic one, driving around both Rich Eichelberger and Howie Locke in turns three and four.

It was Herr's car that made contact with Steve Cannon, who spun and brought out a caution flag entering turn three of lap six, the final caution of the race.

"I want to apologize to Steve," said Herr, "I thought I was clearly by him and my back wheel caught his left front."

Herr drove around Leroy Martin for third on the 13th lap, then squeezed by Ryan Rupp for the runner-up spot three laps later. At the time, Wilbur's lead was 72-hundredths of-a-second.

Herr never gave up. He continued to close over the final four laps, finally reaching Wilbur's back bumper by the first and second turns of lap 20. After following in Wilbur's tire tracks down the backstretch, Herr dove under the No.59 and pulled the slider on the final turn. Wilbur went low, got a bite off the bottom, and mounted a final charge that came up less than a foot short at the end.

It was Herr's first Super Sportsman Tour win of the year, and second win of the season.

Ryan Rupp hung on for third, with Howie Locke fourth, and Danny Hager advancing from his 18th starting spot to complete the top five. Sixth through tenth were Eichelberger, Martin, Russ Mitten, Ken Carberry, and Paul Miller.

Dave Neuman, winner of the first heat, was uninjured in a first-lap flip on the backstretch.

Heats for the 31 super sportsman were won by Neuman, Wilbur and Locke, with Paul Troutman winning the consolation.

York Haven's Carl Billet passed race-long leader Colby Frye on the 12th lap and raced away to a five car-length win in the 20 lap limited late model feature.

Billet, the current late model point leader at Silver Spring, started sixth and methodically worked his way through the field while polesitter Frye paced the field through the early stages. Billet moved around fourth-startling Sterling Kinard for third on the fourth lap, and then slipped by outside frontrow starter Jake Lettick for the runner-up spot on the seventh lap.

Frye and Billet then played a game of cat-and-mouse, hugging the inside groove in every corner as they closed in on lapped traffic at the halfway mark.

A caution with 10 laps to go bunched the field and allowed Billet to pressure Frye immediately when the green waved. Billet then set up Frye for the winning pass entering the third turn of the 12th lap by edging in under the Dover racer and emerged the leader as he completed the 12th lap.

14th-starting Scott McCann completed a great run by finishing third, former Lincoln thundercar champ Bobby Beard was fourth, and Lettick fifth.

Kinard, from Dover, finally overcame years of Lincoln bad luck to finish sixth, Daryl Burkholder seventh, current Lincoln thundercar point leader Bernie Beard eighth, Mike Spangler ninth, and Carl Graves 10th.

Heats for the 25 limited late models were won by Carl Billet, Fred Harden and Kinard.

Elkton, Maryland's George Ulmer completed a perfect night by leading wire-to-wire in the 15-lap 600cc micro-sprint feature. Ulmer, one of the veterans of the division, needed every ounce of his experience in holding off a determined Jesse Snyder, who started beside the polesitter on the front row and dogged him through every turn. Ulmer's final margin of victory was three-quarters of a second over Snyder, with eighth-starting Mark Strickler crossing third, 13th-starting Kevin Bastian fourth, and 11th-starting J.D. Eckert finishing fifth.

Kerry Schonz was uninjured when his micro caught fire right at the exit ramp outside turn two on the fourth lap.

Heats for the 24 micro-sprints were won by Ulmer, Snyder and Nathan Hauck.

Lincoln Speedway swings back into it's normal Saturday night action next week, August 2nd, with the rain make-up of Manheim Auto Auction Night and York County Racing Club Night. The night will feature all three point divisions at the Pigeon Hill's oval - the Cindy Rowe Paintless Dent Removal 410 Sprints, 358 Sprints & Thundercars.

It will be a special night though for the 358 sprinters as they will compete in a full-point non-wing racing program. Gates will open at 5:30 PM with racing action getting underway at 7:30 PM.

To get all the latest news, results, schedule changes and rule changes, visit Lincoln Speedway's website at http://www.lincolnspeedway.com to stay up-to-date on all the action or pending weather conditions at Central Pennsylvania's "Premier" Saturday night race track - The Fabulous Lincoln Speedway.

RACE RESULTS
Saturday - July 27, 2003

Super Sportsman:

Feature (20 Laps) - 1. 3-Frankie Herr; 2. 59-Steve Wilbur; 3. 33-Ryan Rupp; 4. 77-Howie Locke; 5. 318-Danny Hager; 6. 8-Rich Eichelberger; 7. 66-Leroy Martin; 8. 7L-Russ Mitten; 9. 47-Ken Carberry; 10. 58-Paul Miller; 11. 5-Pat Cannon; 12. 5B-Dave Berkheimer; 13. 42-JR Fry; 14. 24-Jason Fry; 15. 25-Gregg Foster; 16. 16-Paul Troutman; 17. 93-Mark Zimmerman; 18. 7-Joe Reneker; 19. 93B-Daryl Dissinger; 20. 22H-Todd Gracey; 21. 23-Steve Cannon; 22. 32-Joe Biasi; 23. 25S-Dale Hammaker; 24. 11-Dave Neuman. No Time

Lap Leaders - Steve Wilbur (1-19), Frankie Herr (20)

1st Heat (8 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 11-Dave Neuman; 2. 33-Ryan Rupp; 3. 23-Steve Cannon; 4. 47-Ken Carberry; 5. 7-Joe Reneker; 6. 25S-Dale Hammaker; 7. 93B-Daryl Dissinger; 8. 22H-Todd Gracey; 9. 5-Pat Cannon; 10. 17W-Denny Willey; 11. 93-Mark Zimmerman. No Time

2nd Heat (8 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 59-Steve Wilbur; 2. 24-Jason Fry; 3. 8-Rich Eichelberger; 4. 7L-Russ Mitten; 5. 66-Leroy Martin; 6. 318-Danny Hager; 7. 16-Paul Troutman; 8. 6-Rodney Adams; 9. 888-John Wolfe; 10. 58-Paul Miller. Time - 2:11.55 (New 8-Lap Track Record - old record of 2:13.76 was set by John Garman on 7/3/01)

3rd Heat (8 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 77-Howie Locke; 2. 3-Frankie Herr; 3. 42-J.R. Fry; 4. 25-Gregg Foster; 5. 32-Joe Biasi; 6. 5B-Dave Berkheimer; 7. 2M-Matt Ondeck; 8. 82-Bill Heckert; 9. 91-Lanny Hake; 10. 33S-Scott Lutz. Time- 2:12.17

Consolation (8 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 16-Paul Troutman; 2. 5-Pat Cannon; 3. 58-Paul Miller; 4. 93B-Daryl Dissinger; 5. 93-Mark Zimmerman; 6. 22H-Todd Gracey; 7. 6-Rodney Adams; 8. 2M-Matt Ondek; 9. 91-Lanny Hake; 10. 33S-Scott Lutz; 11. 82-Bill Heckert; 12. 17W-Denny Wiley; 13. 888-John Wolfe. No Time

Limited Late Models:

Feature (20 Laps) - 1. 2M-Carl Billet; 2. F1-Colby Frye; 3. 41F-Scott McCann; 4. 23-Bobby Beard; 5. 17-Jake Lettick; 6. 12-Sterling Kinard; 7. 2-Daryl Burkholder; 8. X-Bernie Beard; 9. 28-Mike Spangler; 10. NINE-Carl Graves; 11. 4-John Rudy; 12. S16-Gerry Stutting; 13. 33-Gary Potts; 14. 16-Bud Barton; 15. 10-Fred Harden; 16. 91-Chuck Yingling; 17. 22-Mark Billet; 18. 43-Jake Jones; 19. 116-Travis Mease; 20. 55-Brian Rehbein; 21. 21-Derrick Zirkle; 22. U10-Billy Wampler; 23. 78G-Mark Grey; 24. 0-Larry Baer; 25. 1-Travis Balthaser. No Time

Lap Leaders - Colby Frye (1-11), Carl Billet (12-20)

1st Heat (8 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 2M-Carl Billet; 2. 4-John Rudy; 3. 22-Mark Billet; 4. 23-Bobby Beard; 5. X-Bernie Beard; 6. 16-Bud Barton; 7. 2-Daryl Burkholder; 8. 43-Jake Jones; 9. 55-Brian Rehbein. No Time

2nd Heat (8 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 10-Fred Harden; 2. 17-Jake Lettich; 3. 116-Charlie Kope 4. 21-Derrick Zirkle; 5. 41F-Scott McCann; 6. 33-Gary Potts; 7. S16-Gerry Stutting; 8. 78G-Mark Grey. Time - 2:26.26

3rd Heat (8 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 12-Sterling Kinard; 2. F1-Colby Frye; 3. 0-Larry Baer; 4. NINE-Carl Graves; 5. 91-Chuck Yingling; 6. 1-Travis Balthaser; 7. 28-Mike Spangler; 8. U10-Billy Wampler. No Time

600cc Micro-sprints:

Feature (15 Laps) - 1. 8U-George Ulmer; 2. Jesse Snyder; 3. 38-Mark Strickler; 4. 88-Kevin Bastian; 5. 36-J.D. Eckert; 6. 23A-Chris Arnold; 7. 1-Shawn Siefert; 8. 18-Jake Murphy; 9. 4T-Dale Thomas; 10. 9-Brandon Little; 11. 12-Nathan Hauck; 12. 67-Jason Cherry; 13. 36-Ben Murphy (DNF); 14. 88-Aaron Eichelberger (DNF); 15. 14-Randy Reid (DNF); 16. 7C-Sam Cassella (DNF); 17. 7-Timmy Barrick (DNF); 18. 1K-Kerry Schonz (DNF); 19. 00-Rodney Schell (DNF); 20. 15-Scott Sheaffer (DNF); 21. 01-Tom Wales (DNF); 22. 11-Jimmy Brookens (DNF). No time.

Lap Leaders - George Ulmer (1-15)

1st Heat (6 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 8U-George Ulmer; 2. 36-Ben Murphy; 3. 23A-Chris Arnold; 4. 67-Jason Cherry; 5. 15-Scott Sheaffer; 6. 00-Rodney Schell; 7. 1K-Kerry Schonz; 8. 27-Paul Hively III. Time - 1:45.37

2nd Heat (6 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 96-Jesse Snyder; 2. 18-Jake Murphy; 3. 38-Mark Strickler; 4. 36-J.D. Eckert; 5. 88-Kevin Bastian; 6. 9-Brandon Little; 7. 7-Timmy Barrick; 8. 11-Jimmy Brookens. Time - 1:44.03

3rd Heat (6 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 12-Nathan Hauck; 2. 88-Aaron Eichelberger; 3. 4T-Dale Thomas; 4. 1-Shawn Seifert; 5. 11J-Justin Frantz; 6. 7C-Sam Cassella; 7. 14-Randy Reid; 8. 01-Tom Wales. Time - 1:44.36