Path Valley race results 2005-05-21

Ginther, Brown and Dehart Win at Path Valley

Spring Run PA__ Bruce Ginther Jr. of Lebanon, the 2004 champion is six-cylinder strictly stocks, won his second feature of the season in the V-8 class to open the show Saturday night at the Path Valley Speedway Park. Then first-timers Kenny Brown of Wells Tannery won in six cylinder strictly stocks and Gary Dehart of Mercersburg won in four-cylinders.

Veteran racer Dehart had won the night before in Mini Stocks, but it was his first win in Strictly Stocks even though he had to start last in his heat as a handicap. Kenny Brown had a win at another track but this was his first Path Valley win. More than 50 youngsters in classes for one to four-year-olds and for five and older won in the intermission Candy Scramble.

Strictly Stocks, sometimes called guardrail or junkyard cars, race about every other Saturday at Path Valley in V-8, 6-cylinder and 4-cylinder classes, and the lowest cost, absolutely stock cars return to Path Valley Saturday night, June 4. Rules to build a car are available at the track, at area businesses, and at the pathvalley.com website.

The next race at Path Valley will be a six-feature Friday night even featuring the PA 305 Sprints and the Legends Cars on May 27, and Path Valley racers and workers will have the rest of the Memorial Day holiday off. To kick off the holiday, that night is also Fan Appreciation Night with $2 off grandstand adult tickets.

Senior Race Director John Winsett announced that a fourth class is soon to be added to the Saturday night Strictly Stock lineup. It will be a stock four-cylinder rear wheel drive pickup truck class. In addition to a driver's side guardrail for safety, a roll bar will be required, he told more than 60 teams at the pre-race driver's meeting.

Jim DeArmitt of Huntingdon led off the V-8 class until a lap 15 restart when Ginther, from fifth, pulled alongside with Dustin Pietrak just behind and three wide at the line. Ginther completed the pass on lap 16 and a lap 17 caution and restart established Ginther in the lead, DeArmitt second and Pietrak third. Dave Kitzmiller and then Paul Gambol topped off the front five finishers. Tom Brady, DeArmitt, and Gambol won seven-car the heats.

An invert eight pill draw by first heat winner Ricky Rosenberry put Terry Golden on the six-cylinder pole and Kenny Brown starting fourth. Brown charged into third on the first lap, then went after leader Chris Cogan who was leading from second place on lap two and finally passed Cogan for the lead inside turn four on lap six. When frequent winner Ricky Rosenberry got into second on lap 13, Brown had a lead of two turns and kept it amid lapped cars after lap 16. From last place, Josh Walstrum took second from Rosenberry on the final lap, but Brown was already taking the checkered flag. A heavy equipment operator, Brown said that racing on the Path Valley clay is excellent and he will be back more often. The front five were Brown, Walstrum, Rosenberry, Jason Ege and Golden and Rosenberry and Ege won the heats.

An invert six pill put Gary Dehart in second to start and he led every lap with first Jared Wible and then Barron Taylor on his bumper. The #25 he won with is part of the stable for the Geo Racing Team, and Dehart thanked Chester Atherton and the Atherton family for their work and for fielding the five-car team of Geo Storms. The front five were Dehart, Taylor, Dave Strait, Wible, and Brian Campbell. Rusty Miller, Mark Leedy and Eddie Machel won the heats.

RESULTS:

V-8 -- Bruce Ginther Jr. (started 5), Jim DeArmitt, Dustin Pietrak, David Kitzmiller, Paul Gambol, Joe Daywalt, Tom Brady, Robert Naugle, Joey Burdge, Chad Gambol, Dan Gelwicks, David Reaugh, Tony Verno, Jerry Fleming, Luther Daywalt Sr., Mark Campbell, Ben Naugle, Steve Frazier, Eugene Naugle, Anthony Varner, Luther Daywalt Jr. Heats to Brady, DeArmitt, Gambol.

6-Cyl. -- Kenny Brown (4), Josh Walstrum, Ricky Rosenberry, Jason Ege, Terry Golden, Chris Cogan, David Stull, Rob Keller, Joe Means, Dave Lambert, DNS Jeff Dicken, Raymond Saville. Heats to Rosenberry, Ege.

4-Cyl. -- Gary Dehart (2), Barron Taylor, Dave Strait, Jared Wible, Brian Campbell, Adam Bottenfield, Matt Howsare, Rusty Miller, Jeff Koser, Brandon Burdge, Eric Grubb, Chad Fauson, Dakota Hutchinson, Chad Hammond, Eddie Machel, Tony Thurber, Mark Cekovich, Derek Atherton, Curt Atherton, Chester Atherton, Mark Leedy, DNS Ronnie Walstrum, Johnny Runk. Heats to Miller, Leedy, Machel.

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