Path Valley race report 2002-03-29

Three repeat 2002 wins at Path Valley Friday night

Spring Run, PA_ In a dramatic night of thrilling finishes three veteran drivers won their second features in three races and three won their first races as Path Valley Speedway Park moved the weekly sprint and stock car program to Friday night.

JR Fogelsonger of Shippensburg used the outside groove and passed defending champion Scott Ellerman on lap nine to lead the PA 305 Sprints to the checkered flag. A final caution on the white flag lap regrouped the field but Fogelsonger outran Denny Mellott and Ellerman. All the sprints stopped on lap three when Jamie Estep flipped the #24 from the flag stand into turn one where it caught fire after he exited unhurt.

Fayetteville's Jimmy Brookens made the pass of the night as he swooped inside race-long leader Jim Young on the last lap for his second win in a row in 600 Sprints. Brookens said his new haircut from sponsor Mary Ann Snyder's Hair Design helped him go faster. He was the 2001 champion in Friday night 270 Sprints before moving up a class.

Brad McClelland of Westminster, MD, took the lead on lap two to race ahead of defending 270 Sprint champion Rodney Glass for his first Path Valley win in several years. Glass had been handicapped to start twelfth for winning the week before.

Rick Potts of Baltimore won his first ever in the Central PA Legends Cars as he held off past national champion Butch Brough lap after lap.

This first feature ever in the four-cylinder thunder cars to finish the night. McCartney, 17, is starting his second season of stock car racing, and even his aunt Brenda McCartney, who won a heat race in the same class, stopped to congratulate him.

The V-8 Street Stock winner was Weston Alleman of Newburg who also won the first race of the season, and Dave Staley of Mapleton Depot repeated his win from opening day over a full field of mini stocks. Staley and Larry Duvall battle side by side just ahead of high-school veteran driver Kyle Wiser in a feature that went non-stop start to finish.

"We had a great night with some totally thrilling races and we finished the whole show of seven features by 10:45 ahead of the rain," said Promoter Ken Geesey. "The fans said they loved the racing, and the race teams praised the smooth, soft clay. It's almost ready now for tomorrow's afternoon kart races and the first AMA motorcycle races tomorrow night."

Next Friday, April 5, the Dwarf Cars and the Cyclones make their first visit of the season to Path Valley and join the Legends, V-8 Street Stocks, mini stocks, and four-cylinder thunder cars. The PA 305 Sprints race every other week at Path Valley, and the 270 Sprints and 600 Sprints are the first to take a break on a scheduled rotation that gives each class one week off in every five weeks.

The following day, April 6, is the season's first points race for the four-wheelers and the dozen or more classes of karts that race every Saturday afternoon. Gates open Friday night at 5 p.m. and Saturday at 10 a.m.

For would-be racers on a tight budget, Geesey reminds them that the season's first Junk Car Race is Saturday evening, April 13. Complete rules for building a four-cylinder, six-cylinder or V-8 Junk Car are on the Path Valley website at www.pathvalley.com.

For information on the 2002 schedule and track, race teams and fans can call the owners at 717-426-4756 or 717-426-2910, consult the website at www.pathvalley.com, or they can email them at twp@pathvalley.com. The new phone number at the track for promoter Ken Geesey is 717-349-7111. The Path Valley Speedway Park is located in Spring Run PA a mile north on PA Route 641 from the intersection with PA Route 75, halfway between Port Royal and Hagerstown. It is five miles east from the Willow Hill Exit 14 of the PA Turnpike.

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