Path Valley results 2004-09-10

Path Valley Wins to Duck, Stroman, Womer and Morrow

Spring Run, PA_ Two Wheel Promotions kicked off Hobby Stock racing at the Path Valley Speedway Park Friday night with a bumper-to-bumper 20-lap battle between Joe DeArmitt of Huntingdon and Mike Duck of James Creek.

Veteran racer Mike Duck won by slightly more than two lengths in the same #73 he drove to the championship in 2004 at Bedford Speedway. Only one caution slowed the action. In victory lane Mike 'The Duckster' said, "This track is like a second home to me because I started racing here years ago." The front five were Duck, DeArmitt, Scott Sipes, AJ Foor, and Shawn Hancock. DeArmitt won the heat race.

The low cost Hobby Stock class replaces the V-8 Street Stocks at Path Valley for the balance of the season and they will race Sept. 24 and in rain makeups Oct. 8 and Oct. 22.

Josh Morrow of Hamburg led start to finish in the Legends Cars and in the regular weekly classes Lyle Stroman of Lewisberry won his second of the season in 600 Sprints; Colby Womer of Mt. Pleasant Mills won for the third time at Path Valley; Jerry Bard of Shippensburg won by a turn in the Mini Stocks; and John Rasp of McConnellsburg beat Lyle Barnes by a length in the Thunder Cars.

Next Friday, Sept. 17, the PA 305 Sprints take their turn at Path Valley in the alternating lineup with gates open at 5 p.m. and hot laps by 6:30. A full schedule of rain makeups is planned for October at Path Valley and will be posted soon at the track website at pathvalley.com.

For the closest finish of the night, Lyle Stroman in his fire engine red #91 started from the pole and led by a turn in three laps. He started lapping the slower cars in the full field of 600 Sprints on lap five. Cautions on laps seven and 15 regrouped the field but Stroman held the lead with past multiple year champion Donnie Hendershot close behind. On the final lap, coming out of turn four, Hendershot gave his best shot with a lapped car in front of Stroman and, as Hendershot charged inside, Stroman took the checkers by about three feet!

"That was great racing and I was lucky to win the draw for the pole start," Stroman said of his second win in his last three races. The front five finishers were Stroman, Hendershot, Jim Young, Jim Fitz and Jake Murphy. Fitz, Young and Hendershot won the heat races and Mike Dicely won the Consi.

Colby Womer, a contender for the Valvoline Cup, was well out in front before two red flags on lap 12 restarts for 270 Sprints that flipped and bent their wings off. Young Mike Connors of Beltsville MD, an infrequent Path Valley visitor, hounded Womer to the finish but fell a few laps short. Womer, Connors, Sean Good, Joe Trone and Rodney Glass were the front finishers and the heats went to Good, Glass and Mike Dunmire.

Josh Morrow led the Legends from the start and when Nathan Fisher passed him at the line on lap ten, Morrow caught up and retook the lead out of turn four on the next lap, all amid lapped Legends traffic. After the only restart on lap 12, Fisher and Allen Felix kept the pressure on Morrow, weaving among slower lapped cars, and at the finish the front three remained about a length apart. Morrow, Fisher, Felix, Greg Burd and Jason Ewing were the front five and Fisher, Morrow and Randy Kissinger won the heats.

The four-cylinder stock cars proved that pole starts did not guarantee wins, and in the Mini Stock thriller Jerry Bard started tenth, negotiated his way through the pack, and won going away by a full turn after passing Mike Beidel for the lead on lap seven. Bard, Beidel, Ronnie Garlock, Ralphie Morgan and Gary Dehart were the front five finishers and Bard won the 11-car heat.

From a sixth place start John Rasp showed the same skill in the Thunder Cars as he took the lead from past champion Terry Smith by diving to the inside into turn three on lap nine. Lyle Barnes caught up and pulled alongside Rasp on lap 12 and showed him his front fender again briefly on lap 17 but, as the race went to the checkers without a restart, Rasp held on to finish a bare length ahead of Barnes. The front five were Rasp, Barnes, Smith, Joe Hawbaker and Melvin Bigler and the heat winners were Bigler and Rasp.

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. The new phone number at the track is 717-349-7111.

For information on the 2004 schedule and rules, race teams and fans can consult the track's website at www.pathvalley.com or they can email Two Wheel Promotions at twp@pathvalley.com.

FINISH ORDER

Legends -- Josh Morrow (1), Nathan Fisher, Allen Felix, Greg Burd, Jason Ewing, Harry Garber, Denny Rothermel, Andy Lupfer, Butch Brough, Darryl Bloom, Zach Deiter, Laura McGonnell, Ronald Cooper, Robert Sobieski, Ferris Frine, Randy Fetterolf, Randy Kissinger, Bob Murray, Dave Kline, Paul Fitzsimmons, Jim Halbert, DNS Bill Harris. Heats to Fisher, Morrow, Kissinger.

600 Sprints -- Lyle Stroman (1), Donnie Hendershot, Jim Young, Jim Fitz, Jake Murphy, Jesse Snyder, Gary Linderman, Brian Walker, Timmy Barrick, Aaron Eichelberger, Rod Schell, Jason Starr, Gary Suchy, Jim Travis, Adam Dimm, Dan Kanagy, Jordon Frontz, Dusty Heistand, Ron Taggert, Rich Latchaw, Chris Smith, Jim Brookens, Richie Fitz, Mike Dicely. Heats to Fitz, Young, Hendershot. Consi to Dicely.

270 Sprints -- Colby Womer (1), Mike Connors, Sean Good, Joe Trone, Rodney Glass, Jason Starr, Craig Myers, Aaron Lynch, tom Tice, Jim Dawson, Aaron Spahr, Chad Cooper, Eric Spahr, Chad Myers, Cody Darrah, Steve Dunmire, Dan Harmon, Craig Fulmar, Josh Dressler, Brian Walker, Mike Dicely. Heats to Good, Glass, Dunmire.

Hobby Stocks -- Mike Duck (1), Joe DeArmitt, Scott Sipes, AJ Foor, Shawn Hancock, Mike Clark, Kevin Hinish, DNS Troy Aikey. Heat to DeArmitt.

Mini Stock -- Jerry Bard (10), Mike Beidel, Ronnie Garlock, Ralphie Morgan, Gary Dehart, Kyle Wiser, Tim Burkholder, Bob Starr, Brian Gordon, Dave Bivens, DNS Frank Gordon. Heat to Bard.

4-Cylinder Thunder -- John Rasp (6), Lyle Barnes, Terry Smith, Joe Hawbaker, Melvin Bigler, Wes Scofield, Dave Rice, Jeff Christy, Ricky Rosenberry, Ken Lawrence Jr., Chuck Ingram, Tony Weller, DNS Tim Varner. Heats to Bigler, Rasp.

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