Path Valley results 2003-08-02

Spring Run, PA_ Fourteen-year-old Dustin Brown of Greencastle led all 25 laps in the V-8 Strictly Stock feature Saturday evening at the Path Valley Speedway Park. He lapped the second place car on lap 14 and continued cruising ahead of older veteran drivers, putting the entire field at least one lap down.

In victory lane Brown said he has ten years experience racing karts mostly at his father's indoor Victory Speedway in Greencastle, but it was "a lot more fun racing on this big, smooth clay track." The top five finishers were Brown, Joe Daywalt, Tim Burdge, Robert Naugle and Kevin Hinish and Naugle won the single heat race.

Shane Ege of Newville started third in the Six-Cylinder Strictly Stock feature and raced a wild ten laps behind and beside Rob Keller and Jerry Merritts before taking the lead alongside Todd Price who won the week before. Price and Keller battled through the final laps as Ege found a lapped car to hold them off.

Ege said his brother Jason let him drive the week before and he liked it. Jason Ege finished fifth. The front five were Shane Ege, Price, Keller, Merritts and Jason Ege and the heat winners were Price and Dave Reaugh.

Tom Brady of Everett was the only repeat winner in the four-cylinder class in a thrilling duel with fellow Everett racer Bob Jay. Jay and Brady went side by side from lap 17 to lap 23 with one or the other leading by inches at the line. Then with one lap to go Jay went a few feet too wide coming out of turn four and Brady seized the moment to scoot into turn one on the inside of the smooth and still soft clay oval. The front five finishers were Brady, Jay, Johnny Runk, Tim Riley and Paul Diehl. Brady came from ninth for the win and Jay started eighth. Denny Schofield and Brady won the heats.

Capping off three straight weeks of strictly stock Saturday night racing, the three classes of no-budget racecars return to the Path Valley circuit August 9 when the special guests are the Vintage Car Club for a five-division race night. The Vintage cars race in both a stock and a modified division, replicating the stock car races so common here in the first half of the last century until 30 or 40 years ago. A kids' Candy Scramble is also on the menu that night.

August 16 is an AMA District 6 and AHRMA Regional motorcycle and four-wheeler race night and the Strictly Stocks, formerly junkyard cars, return to their regular every other week billing on August 23. Path Valley also races stock cars and sprints every Friday night and karts and quads every Saturday afternoon.

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 for promoter Ken Geesey is 717-349-7111. For information on the 2003 schedule and rules, race teams and fans can consult the website at www.pathvalley.com or they can email Two Wheel Promotions at twp@pathvalley.com.

FINISH ORDER

V-8 - Dustin Brown, Joe Daywalt, Tim Burdge, Robert Naugle, Kevin Hinish, Terry O'Donel, Derrick Hinish.

6-Cyl. - Shane Ege, Todd Price, Rob Keller, Jerry Merritts, Jason Ege, Danny Gelwick, Chantz Ramsey, Tyler Snyder, Ricky Rosenberry, David Reaugh, Jason Gilliland.

4-Cyl. - Tom Brady, Bob Jay, Johnny Runk, Tim Riley, Paul Diehl, Joey Burdge, Max Taylor, Stacey Bender, Jeff Hale, Kevin Rhoades, Tony Thurber, Denny Schofield, Baron Taylor, Jeff Koser, Russell Fraker, Wade Hess.

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