Williams Grove report 95-05-12

May 12, 1995, Mechanicsburg, PA Williams Grove Speedway Report

Once again this is Roaming Russ's Racing Report with the results from Williams Grove, PA, for the Club sponsored All Star Circuit of Champions (ASCoC) event. Williams Grove is a 1/2 mile, semi banked clay oval. The ASCoC invaded the East this week. They were scheduled to run East Windsor in NJ on Wednesday but got rained out. The race was held on Friday night with the winner being Fast Freddie Rahmer. On Saturday they ran at Lincoln and Fred Rahamer won. On Sunday they were supposed to run at Selinsgrove but Mother Nature reportedly was the winner. Look to the end of my report for My Soap Box comments regarding ticket pricing for these events.

If you only want to know who won at the Grove the answer, well if you had to guess who would you pick? It should not be that hard of a question. That's right! The #461 Walter Dyer Masonry/Specto Lubricants Kriner Racing Engines powered Schnee chassis chauffeured by Lance Dewease is the correct answer. Once he got out in front he pulled away to take his eighth feature win at the Grove this season in the eleven races held. Dewease is only five wins away from tying Keith Kauffman's ten year record of 13 victories in one season at the Grove. Dewease has now passed Doug Wolfgang on the all-time Grove feature winners list with 21 career wins.

As I mentioned the event this past weekend was sanctioned by ASCoC so there were a few difference from the normal Grove show.

were inverted with five cars to qualify.

back for the A Main.

fastest ASCoC members. Some of the Grove regulars are members of ASCoC. This event had no bearing on the starting order for the A main.

Grove always starts 24 cars so the field was 24 cars strong.

Prior to time trials the hot laps were run. The first session of hot laps were allowed back out and got a second chance for track time. This was necessary due to the wetness of the track when they were originally out.

Time Trials The official one lap track record for the Grove was set by Mark Kinser on September 30, 1994 with a one lap time of 17.479 seconds. Car Driver/Hometown Lap 1 Lap 2 23S Frankie Kerr, Fremont, OH 18.858 18.966 * 10N Darren Eash, Woodbine, MD 19.628 19.530 25 Todd Gracey, Brodbecks, PA 19.472 19.483 8H George Austin III, Raytown, MO 19.820 19.482 * 69K Don Kreitz Jr. Sinking Springs, PA 18.832 18.813 1 Keith Kauffman Mifflintown, PA 18.915 19.134 * 77T Jess Thomas Mt. Pleasent, PA 19.955 19.472 34 Mark Christman Findlay, OH 19.711 19.200 * 3C Daniel Coggelshell Milo, IA 19.440 19.394 461 Lance Dewease Waynesboro, PA 18.557 18.554 94 Dale Blaney Fowler, OH 18.722 18.620 * 66K Mark Richard Landisburg, PA 18.883 18.877 61 Tony Greener Whitehall, PA 19.110 19.297 17 Alan Cole Bloomsburg, PA 19.155 19.120 17E Cris Eash Hanover, PA 18.988 18.866 21G Rod George Kittaning, PA 18.665 18.592 10T Len Thompson Newtown, PA 19.084 18.977 3 Bob Bennett Mechanicsburg, PA 19.237 19.174 55 Randy Wolfe Mechanicsburg, PA 19.151 18.938 * 68 Mike Lutz Hermitage, PA 20.453 20.429 * 24 Randy Hammer Fremont, OH 19.891 19.547 * 00S Danny Smith Danville, IN 19.075 19.165 * 28 Brian Paulus Mechanicsburg, PA 19.414 19.547 U2 Kenny Jacobs, Holmesville, OH 19.061 18.932 * 121 Gary Brazier Guildford, Australia 19.456 19.022 55W Mike Wagner Harrisonville, PA 19.298 19.249 29 Kevin Fry Chambersburg, PA 19.419 19.071 12 Fred Rahmer Salfordville, PA 18.436 18.461 1J Steve Siegel New Oxford, PA 18.962 18.813 1Z Billy Pauch Frenchtown, NJ 18.792 18.777 85 Glenn Clarke Schnecksville, PA 19.673 19.568 88 Todd Shaffer Millerstown, PA 18.821 18.692 5H Rick Hench Newport, PA 19.202 19.124 6D Tim Norman Warsaw, IN 19.166 19.178 * 5 Craig Eshenaur, Linglestown, PA 19.705 19.630 2L Ed Lynch Jr. Apollo, PA 19.468 20.101 * * Denotes ASCoC regular 12 ASCoC regulars and 24 Williams Grove Regulars

As usual at the Grove the starts come between turns three and four. After one lap has been completed restarts come at the end of the backstretch with the cars nose to tail.

Heat One Line Up 1.) 5H Rick Hench 2.) 00S Danny Smith 3.) U2 Kenny Jacobs 4.) 23S Frankie Kerr 5.) 88 Todd Shaffer 6.) 12 Fred Rahmer 7.) 55W Mike Wagner 8.) 25 Todd Gracey 9.) 85 Glenn Clarke On the backstretch the 00 of Smith took the lead while the 88 of Shaffer had worked his way up to third. Working lap two the 12 of Rahmer completed a pass on the backstretch and found himself in fourth. The 88 of Shaffer and the 12 of Rahmer battled for the third spot with the 12 of Rahmer passing the 88 on the front stretch at the start finish line on lap three. By lap five the 12 of Rahmer was pressuring the 5H of Hench for the second spot and on the last lap the 12 of Rahmer passed the 5H on the backstretch for second. Event timed in 2 minutes 33.46 seconds

Heat One Qualifiers 1.) 00S Danny Smith 2.) 12 Fred Rahmer 3.) 5H Rick Hench 4.) 88 Todd Shaffer 5.) U2 Kenny Jacobs

Heat Two Line Up 1.) 6D Tim Norman 2.) 29 Kevin Fry 3.) 55 Randy Wolfe 4.) 17E Cris Eash 5.) 1Z Billy Pauch 6.) 461 Lance Dewease 7.) 3C Daniel Coggelshell 8.) 77T Jess Thomas 9.) 5 Craig Eshenaur On lap one on the backstretch the 17E of Eash moved up to third. By lap four the leader 6D of Norman had the 17E all over him and at the start finish line they were dead even. As they went down the backstretch the 17E moved by the 6D and took the lead. Not to be out done the 461 of Dewease was on the move and by lap five he took second as he passed the 6D of Norman exiting turn two. Watching all this was the 1Z of Pauch who managed to pass the 6D on lap six. The 461 was now trying to find his way around the 17E and as they work towards the checkered flag Dewease went high but as they exited turn four the 17E of Eash held on for the heat victory. Event timed in 2 minutes and 33.15 seconds.

Heat Two Qualifiers 1.) 17E Cris Eash 2.) 461 Lance Dewease 3.) 1Z Billy Pauch 4.) 6D Tim Norman 5.) 55 Randy Wolfe

Heat Three Line Up 1.) 3 Bob Bennett 2.) 61 Tony Greener 3.) 10T Len Thompson 4.) 66K Mark Richard 5.) 69K Don Kreitz Jr. 6.) 21G Rod George 7.) 28 Brian Paulus 8.) 8H George Austin III 9.) 24 Randy Hammer The green flag waved but the yellow came out as there had been a false start. When the green waved again on the restart I personally thought the start was just as bad but the green remained. Or shall I say it remained out until the 8H of Austin and the 24 of Hammer spun in turn two and end up facing traffic. Since the first lap had not been completed we had the third start for this heat. At the completion of lap one as the 3 of Bennett who was leading crossed the start finish line a loud thud was heard and the car slowed. The 61 of Greener inherited the lead as the 3 came to a stop on the backstretch and the caution was brought out. The running order for the restart was 61, 10T, 69K, 21G, 66K. On the restart the 61 of Greener was being pressured by the 10T of Thompson for the first spot. By lap four the 10T was were he wanted to be as he passed the 61 exiting turn four to take the lead. The 10T of Thompson went on for the heat victory.

Heat Three Qualifiers 1.) 10T Len Thompson 2.) 69K Don Kreitz Jr. 3.) 61 Tony Greener 4.) 21G Rod George 5.) 66K Mark Richard

Heat Four Line Up 1.) 34 Mark Christman 2.) 17 Alan Cole 3.) 121 Gary Brazier 4.) 1 Keith Kauffman 5.) 1J Steve Siegel 6.) 94 Dale Blaney 7.) 2L Ed Lynch Jr. 8.) 10N Darren Eash 9.) 68 Mike Lutz The green waved and by the time they got to the start finish line the 17 of Cole was in the lead. By lap three Cole had a solid lead. By lap three the fifth place 121 of Brazier passed the 34 of Christman as they exited turn four. On lap six the 121 hit the outside retaining wall at the start finish line and on lap seven he came to a stop on the track with a right rear flat. This brought out the caution flag and also put the green/white/checkered flag rule of the ASCoC's into play. So the scoreboard was set back to lap six and the race was restarted. On lap seven the 94 of Blaney passed the 1 of Kauffman in turn two on the high side. The heat victory went to the 17 of Alan Cole.

Heat Four Qualifiers 1.) 17 Alan Cole 2.) 94 Dale Blaney 3.) 1 Keith Kauffman 4.) 1J Steve Siegel 5.) 34 Mark Christman

ASCoC Commercial Truck Trailer Fast Dash Event Only For Six Fastest All Star Members 1.) 12 Fred Rahmer 2.) 21G Rod George 3.) 94 Dale Blaney 4.) 69K Don Kreitz Jr. 5.) 23S Frankie Kerr 6.) 1 Keith Kauffman Four lap distance. The winner was the 12 of "Fast" Freddie Rahmer. If they announced how much the purse was I must of missed it.

B Main Twelve Laps with Four to Qualify 1.) 23S Frankie Kerr 2.) 121 Gary Braiser 3.) 29 Kevin Fry 4.) 3 Bob Bennett 5.) 55W Mike Wagner 6.) 3C Daniel Coggelshell 7.) 28 Brian Paulus 8.) 2L Ed Lynch Jr. 9.) 25 Todd Gracey 10.) 77T Jess Thomas 11.) 8H George Austin III 12.) 10N Darren Eash 13.) 5 Craig Eshenaur 14.) 24 Mike Hammer 15.) 68 Mike Lutz Keep in mind that even if the car qualified through the B Main they got their time back. On the start the 3C of Coggelshell bobbled in turn four and came to a stop on the front stretch at the start finish line. He was not able to rejoin the field. On the restart the 23S of Kerr and the 121 of Brazier were even at the start finish line. The 121 passed the 23S on the backstretch just as the caution flew for the 8H of Austin who had looped it in turn two. So once again we had a restart situation since a green flag lap had not been completed. On the restart the 23S was the leader followed by the 121, 29 and the 2L. By lap four the 121 of Brazier was pressuring the 23S of Kerr for the first spot. The 23S was using the low groove while the 121 was riding the cushion. A battle had developed for the fourth qualifying spot between the 2L of Lynch and the 55W of Wagner. On lap eight the 121 was all over the rear of the 23S exiting turn two and by the time lap 10 was completed they were side by side at the start finish line. Exiting turn two the 121 of Brazier finally managed to get by the 23S. The battle for the fourth and last qualifying spot had heated up and the 55W went to the high side of the 2L of Lynch exiting turn four and just fell short at the start finish line. B Main Qualifiers 1.) 121 Gary Brazier 2.) 23S Frankie Kerr 3.) 29 Kevin Fry 4.) 2L Ed Lynch Jr.

Since Rahmer had fast time he pulled a pill to determine how many cars would be inverted for the feature. Fast Freedie pulled the number four pill. So the top four were inverted for the A Main.

A Main Thirty Laps 1.) 94 Dale Blaney 2.) 21G Rod George 3.) 461 Lance Dewease 4.) 12 Fred Rahmer 5.) 88 Todd Shaffer 6.) 1Z Billy Pauch 7.) 69K Don Kreitz Jr. 8.) 1J Steve Siegel 9.) 23S Frankie Kerr 10.) 17E Cris Eash 11.) 66K Mark Richard 12.) 1 Keith Kauffman 13.) U2 Kenny Jacobs 14.) 55 Randy Wolfe 15.) 10T Len Thompson 16.) 121 Gary Brazier 17.) 29 Kevin Fry 18.) 00S Danny Smith 19.) 61 Tony Greener 20.) 17 Alan Cole 21.) 5H Rick Hench 22.) 6D Tim Norman 23.) 34 Mark Christman 24.) 2L Ed Lynch Jr. It always looks impressive when they cross up for the parade lap and the cars come down the front stretch four wide. On the start the 21G of George took the lead from the 94 of Blaney between turns one and two. The 461 of Dewease and the 1Z of Pauch were side by side at the start finish line and the 1Z passed the 461 on the backstretch. The 66K of Richard spun in turn two as the 1Z completed his pass. The yellow did not wave since it looks like the 66K would get underway. The leaders passed the start finish line and the 66K was still not moving so the caution was brought out. However, when the starter displayed the starting order they move the 461 back in front of the 1Z? Running order was 21G, 94, 12, 461, 1Z, 88, 69K, and the 1J. The 66K entered the pits.

On the restart several cars get together and the yellow waved again as the 1 of Kauffman came to a stop exiting turn two. Since a lap had not been completed the 66K rejoined the field. On the restart the 94 of Blaney made contact with the 21G and spun him out of the way and the new race leader became the 12 of Rahmer. The front three which consisted of the 12, 94 and 461 pulled away from the rest of the field.

By lap five the battle was for fifth between the 69K of Kreitz and the 88 of Shaffer. On lap six the 12 had pulled away from the 94 and 461. The 461 was all over the 94 of Blaney trying to find a way around. This battle raged until lap nine when the 461 passed the 94 exiting turn two. The battle for fourth heated up between the 1Z of Pauch and the 88 of Shaffer.

On lap eleven the 1J of Siegel stops on the front stretch for a flat right rear. Under the ASCoC rules a car is given two laps to change a tire and this was enough time for the crew of the 1J and Siegel was able to rejoin the field at the end of the pack. The 29 of Fry also entered the pits during the caution period and retired for the evening. Running order was: 12, 461, 94, 1, 88, 69K, 21G, 17E, U2 and 55.

When the green waved the 461 was all over the 12 and on lap twelve the 461 of Dewease became the leader as he passed the 12 exiting turn four. Once out in front he never looked back and in a few laps easily had half a front stretch lead over the 12. The 1Z of Pauch was still being pressured by the 88 of Shaffer for fourth. While this race within a race was occurring the 21G of George moved up and started to pressure the 88 which allowed the 1Z of Pauch to pull away a bit. On lap twenty-one the 461 of Dewease was beginning to lap cars. The 21G finally passed the 88 for fifth by going low in turn four. With the one to go signal being displayed the 461 of Dewease had a full front stretch advantage over the 12 of Rahmer. As Dewease took the checkered flag half the crowd booed and half the crowd cheered.

A Main Top Nine Finishers 1.) 461 Lance Dewease 2.) 12 Fred Rahmer 3.) 94 Dale Blaney 4.) 1Z Billy Pauch 5.) 21G Rod George 6.) 88 Todd Shaffer 7.) 69K Don Kreitz Jr. 8.) 17E Cris Eash 9.) U2 Kenny Jacobs

Victory Lane Comments Lance said the cautions really helped him since he had fallen back. They had set the car up for the late portion of the race.

Lance was asked if he would be able to handle the WOO when they come to town in two weeks. His answer was "If you don't time good it doesn't matter what you do against the Outlaws." He did indicate that next week they plan to run a new car with a new engine in preparation for the Outlaws.

Notes From The Grove

sanctioned event in North Carolina on Saturday.

the 22 year old Australian National Champion in the 121.

untimely death of his car owner Joey Borich Sr. on Wednesday from an industrial accident at his place of business which occurred on Tuesday. A moment of silence was held prior to the playing of the national anthem. Joey Borich Jr. has indicated to track officials that he will be back to the Grove in a couple of weeks.

columnist in Open Wheel Magazine?

Williams Grove Sprint Car Point Standings (Prior to the event on 5/12) 1. 461 Lance Dewease 2620 2. 88 Todd Shaffer 2260 3. 1 Billy Pauch 2210 4. 69K Don Kreitz Jr. 2090 5.) 17E Cris Eash 1955 6.) 12 Fred Rahmer 1910 7.) 66K Mark Richard 1880 8.) 25 Todd Gracey 1740 9). 21 Rod George 1540 10.) 10N Darren Eash 1470 11.) 17 Alan Cole 1365 12.) 6 Jim Nace 1305 13.) 5 Craig Eshenaur 1280 14.) 10 Len Thompson 1240 15.) 1J Steve Siegel 1060

A note regarding Williams Grove reports for the next three weeks. I am going to the BGN race at Nazareth this weekend so I doubt I will be attending the Grove on Friday night. On May 25, 26 and June 2 the World of Outlaws will invade the Grove. Richard Day who is the public relations person for the World of Outlaws covers all WOO sanctioned events so I will not report on these events. Look for his reports on r.a.s.i.

My Soap Box This little note is about admission prices the tracks charge. While at the Grove a fellow spectator told me he had gone to East Windsor for the ASCoC sanctioned event. He said he paid $25 to get in to see the All Stars and a double points 25 lap street stock event. And he said there were only nineteen 410 sprint cars present. 11 Club All Stars and 8 from Pa. I decided to check the AARN to see what the listed prices were for admission at all the tracks the All Stars were visiting in the East.

listed $25 it would scare folks away? And I don't even know the prices for the younger set.

under 12 free. A two dollar coupon in the AARN got me two dollars off so I got in for $13.

included semi-lates and thundercars.

6 free which also included late models (double points), thundercars and daredevils. Hey East Windsor what is up? This appears to be a rip off if you ask me.

Before I close this week I would like to let you know about driver Jimmy Sheaffer. Jimmy was injured on May 6 at Port Royal, PA. On lap nineteen of the feature the leaders of the race which were the 61 of Tony Greener, the 88 of Todd Shaffer and the 461 of Lance Dewease charged down the backstretch and somehow managed to get together with the lapped car of veteran driver Jimmy Sheaffer. Jimmy got the worst of it as he did several end over end flips and then went out over the backstretch fence. Jimmy was hospitalized and was released on May 12. If you could please send cards of cheer and if possible even a donation to Jimmy Sheaffer, RD1 Box 269, Shermansdale, PA,17090 it would be greatly appreciated. Tell him you read about it on the Informational Super Highway.

I am interested in receiving any and all results from sprint races if you care to send them to me. If I get enough responses from people I would edit the material and post it on the net. Please include the following information: Date, Track, Class, Length of Event, and Drivers name. Any additional information would also be welcomed.

Several people have asked me about who sanctions the races here in Central PA. Well to answer that they are not sanctioned to the best of my knowledge. If you would like to know what the Brickmobile of Lance Dewease looks like check out the cover of the National Sprint Car Annual. As always questions, comments and constructive criticism is always welcomed at rgould@oehs.upenn.edu

If you read this somewhere on the net/www and are going to send me email please let me know where you read this report. This electronic medium is amazing!

Until next time I hope things go caution free for you.

-- -Russ Gould-

rgould@oehs.upenn.edu