MONTIETH STORMS TO WIN IN LINCOLN 410 SPRING CHAMPIONSHIP

From Lincoln Speedway

ABBOTTSTOWN, PA , 4/3/2010 – Racing is about making the right decisions.

And that’s exactly what Brian Montieth and his Premier AutoWorks/Auto Locator is doing.

Two-time track champ Montieth grabbed the lead from polesitter Stevie Smith exiting turn two on lap four, and never looked back en route to the $4,000 special Spring Championship win at Lincoln Speedway Saturday night.

“We waited until the late model consi before we tore the car apart and put it back together,” said Montieth on the team’s late change to his car before the 25-lap feature, “I guess we made the right choice.”

“These guys that work on the car and the sponsors give me a car to try and ‘man up’ and do my job.”

Man up he did.

After appearing to take the lead from his outside frontrow starting position over Smith, a tangle between 11th-starting Cory Haas and 16th-starting Mark Smith on the backstretch of the opening lap quickly brought out the caution. Several other cars got into the careening cars, one of them the night’s spotlight driver Kasey Kahne.

Kahne suffered some top wing damage and a flat right rear. He was able to make repairs and returned to finish 19th.

On the ensuing complete restart, Stevie Smith, who had won at Williams Grove the night before, got the jump on Montieth and lead the first three laps.

Then Montieth made another good decision.

Montieth dove to the inside of Smith exiting turn four to complete lap three and drove under Smith going into turn one for the lead.

“I guess I’ve grown up a lot from my days running around the top”, Montieth said later.

Montieth quickly opened up lead of 1.76-seconds over Smith before the caution waived on lap six for a spinning Doug Esh in turn four.

Once again, Montieth pulled away on the ensuing restart, and weathered two later cautions with the same results – pulling away each time to eventually take the checkered 2.74-seconds ahead of Alan Krimes for his 17th career win at the Pigeon Hills oval.

“Over the Winter, we talked about going over to a different chassis…and this and that…and we made a business decision,” said Montieth on his team’s switch to the “XXX” Chassis, “It’s paid off…this car has been comfortable for me from day one. We’ve struggled her a little bit, we’re good at the Grove. We made a couple choices tonight that we’re going to write down I guess.”

The battle to watch was behind Montieth, as Stevie Smith and Alan Krimes battled back and fourth for the runner up spot several times with Krimes edging out Smith in the end.

Smith settled for third with Lance Dewease fourth and Fred Rahmer fifth.

Completing the top-10 were Brad McClelland, Brian Leppo, Jim Siegel, Johnny Mackison Jr., and Josh Wells.

Heats for the 410 Sprinters were won by Kahne, Mark Smith, and Mackison, with Gerard McIntyre Jr. winning the consolation.

Fast time in time trials was set by Jim Siegel with a one-lap time of 13.303 seconds (101.481 MPH) over the 27-car field.

West York’s Jeff Rohrbaugh started his 2010 Lincoln 358 Sprint season like 2009, by dominating all 20-laps en route to his first win

Coming off a hard flip while leading at Trail-Way on Friday night, Rohrbaugh started alongside defending track champion Dale Hammaker, but quickly grabbed the lead from his outside frontrow starting spot. Hammaker chased him the entire distance and through two caution restarts.

The first was for a lap-three tangle between Todd Rittenhouse Jr. And Brook Weibley. And then a lap eight caution for lady drivers Brie Hershey and Nicole Bower tangle in turn four.

Rohrbaugh held his spot convincingly the entire distance and took the checkered .81-seconds ahead for his fifth career 358 sprint win.

Hammaker settled for second, with Chad Trout, Billy Dietrich, and Tim Berkheimer finishing third through fifth respectively.

Completing the top-10 were Logan Schuchart, Steve Owings, Glenndon Forsythe, 15th-starting Billy Johns, and Eric Tomecek.

Heats for the 33 “358” Sprints were won by Dietrich, Weibley, Rohrbaugh, and Schuchart, with Hershey winning the consolation.

Two-time defending track champ Gene Knaub came from fifth starting spot to claim his first win of the year in the 20-358 late model feature. He grabbed the lead from Cam Zeigler in a wild three-wide battle into turn three on lap five. The other car there was Mike Walls, who chased Knaub the rest of the way and finished second.

Third through fifth were Craig Wagaman, Zeigler, and Duane Harbaugh. Sixth through tenth were Bernie Beard, DJ Mease, Bobby Beard (who came from 20th), Travis Mease, and Shaun Jones.

Heats for the 28 “358” Late Models were won by Zeigler, Wagaman, and Steve Billet, with Chaz Walls winning the consolation.

Next Saturday night, April 10th, Lincoln Speedway will reel-off the first of three consecutive weeks of 410 Sprint, 358 Sprint, and Thundercar shows. Racing action will get underway at 6 PM, with gates opening at 4 PM, and hot laps getting underway around 5:30 PM.

Next weekend’s show will be the final 6 PM show before switching to their regular 7 PM starts on April 17th.

To get all the latest news, results, schedule changes and rule changes, visit Lincoln Speedway’s website at http://www.lincolnspeedway.com to stay up-to-date on all the action or pending weather conditions at Central Pennsylvania’s “Premier” Saturday night race track – The Fabulous Lincoln Speedway.

RACE RESULTS
Saturday, April 3, 2010
LINCOLN SPEEDWAY
Abbottstown, PA
SPRING CHAMPIONSHIP
LAWRENCE CHEVROLET
410 SPRINTS
Feature (25 Laps) – 1. 21-Brian Montieth ($4,000); 2. 87-Alan Krimes; 3. 1-Stevie Smith; 4. 30C-Lance Dewease; 5. 51-Fred Rahmer; 6. 6-Brad McClelland; 7. 71-Brian Leppo; 8. 59-Jim Siegel; 9. 65-Johnny Mackison Jr.; 10. 6W-Josh Wells; 11. 14-Doug Dodson; 12. 15-Adam Wilt; 13. 39-Doug Esh; 14. 16-Gerard McIntyre Jr.; 15. 49-Brad Sweet; 16. 3W-Kyle Moody; 17. 19M-Brent Marks; 18. 48-Danny Dietrich; 19. 4-Kasey Kahne; 20. 4R-John Rudisill; 21. 39T-Tim Glatfelter (DNF); 22. 25-Aaron Ott (DNF); 23. 11C-Cory Haas (DNF); 24. 7M-Mark Smith (DNF). No Time

Lap Leaders – Stevie Smith (1-3), Brian Montieth (4-25)

1st Heat (10 Laps/6 to qualify) – 1. 4-Kasey Kahne; 2. 71-Brian Leppo; 3. 1-Stevie Smith; 4. 49-Brad Sweet; 5. 3W-Kyle Moody; 6. 59-Jim Siegel; 7. 16-Gerard McIntyre Jr.; 8. 39T-Tim Glatfelter; 9. 4R-John Rudisill. Time – 2:29.344

2nd Heat (10 Laps/6 to qualify) – 1. 7M-Mark Smith; 2. 51-Fred Rahmer; 3. 87-Alan Krimes; 4. 30C-Lance Dewease; 5. 6W-Josh Wells; 6. 14-Doug Dodson; 7. 747-Kevin Nagy; 8. 6-Brad McClelland; 9. 26-Pat Cooper. Time – 2:31.2525

3rd Heat (10 Laps/6 to qualify) – 1. 65-Johnny Mackison Jr.; 2. 25-Aaron Ott; 3. 48-Danny Dietrich; 4. 39-Doug Esh; 5. 21-Brian Montieth; 6. 15-Adam Wilt; 7. 11C-Cory Haas; 8. 19M-Brent Marks; 9. 8-Steve Petry (DNF). No time.

Consolation (10 Laps/6 to qualify) – 1. 16-Gerard McIntyre Jr.; 2. 6-Brad McClelland; 3. 11C-Cory Haas; 4. 39T-Tim Glatfelter; 5. 19M-Brent Marks; 6. 4R-John Rudisill; 7. 26-Pat Cooper; 8. 747-Kevin Nagy; DNS – 8-Steve Petry. No Time

Time Trials – 1. 59 Jim Siegel, 13.303 seconds (101.481 MPH); 2. 6 Brad McClelland, 13.505; 3. 21-Brian Montieth, 13.520; 4. 1-Stevie Smith, 13.536; 5. 87-Alan Krimes, 13.545; 6. 39-Doug Esh, 13.548; 7. 71-Brian Leppo, 13.560; 8. 30C-Lance Dewease, 13.574; 9. 25-Aaron Ott, 13.580; 10. 16-Gerard McIntyre Jr., 13.598; 11. 14-Doug Dodson, 13.607; 12. 15-Adam Wilt, 13.634; 13. 39T-Tim Glatfelter, 13.646; 14. 51-Fred Rahmer, 13.687; 15. 11C-Cory Haas, 13.690; 16. 4-Kasey Kahne, 13.690; 17. 7M-Mark Smith, 13.706; 18. 65-Johnny Mackison Jr., 13.750; 19. 49-Brad Sweet, 13.758; 20. 6W-Josh Wells 13.765; 21. 48 Danny Dietrich 13.778; 22. 3W Kyle Moody 13.799; 23. 26 Pat Cooper 14.014; 24. 19M Brent Marks 14.149; 25. 4-John Rudisill, 14.269; 26. 747-Kevin Nagy, 14.279; 27. 8-Steve Petry, 15.457.

358 SPRINTS
Feature (20-Laps) – 1. 7V-Jeff Rohrbaugh; 2. 66-Dale Hammaker; 3. 7C-Chad Trout; 4. 8-Billy Dietrich; 5. 50-Tim Berkheimer; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart; 7. 35-Steve Owings; 8. 5T-Glenndon Forsythe; 9. 2J-Billy Johns; 10. 11T-Eric Tomecek; 11. 1-Tim Wagaman; 12. 00-Mike Bittinger; 13. 27-Jay Galloway; 14. 28-Keith Prutzman; 15. 67-Jason Cherry; 16. 97-Brie Hershey; 17. 0-Steve Storie; 18. 94-Ted Thomas; 19. 67K-Jeff Geiges; 20. 00P-Bill Brown (DNF); 21. 75-Nicole Bower (DNF); 22. 52-Amy Ott (DNF); 23. B52-Brook Weibley (DNF); 24. 23B-Todd Rittenhouse Jr. (DNF). No Time

Lap Leaders – Jeff Rohrbaugh (1-20)

1st Heat (10 Laps/5 to qualify) – 1. 8-Billy Dietrich; 2. 5T-Glenndon Forsythe; 3. 27-Jay Galloway; 4. 00-Mike Bittinger; 5. 0-Steve Storie; 6. 00P-Bill Brown; 7. 21-Scott Fisher; 8. 63-Stan Campbell (DNF); 9. 66N-Doug Hammaker (DNF). No Time

2nd Heat (10 Laps/5 to qualify) – 1. 52-Brook Weibley; 2. 7C-Chad Trout; 3. 50-Tim Berkheimer; 4. 23B-Todd Rittenhouse Jr.; 5. 1-Tim Wagaman; 6. 97-Brie Hershey; 7. 65-Cale Griffith; 8. 08-Jason Clauss (DNF). Time – 2:32.09

3rd Heat (10 Laps/5 to qualify) – 1. 7V-Jeff Rohrbaugh; 2. 11T-Eric Tomecek; 3. 35-Steve Owings; 4. 2J-Billy Johns; 5. 52-Amy Ott; 6. 28-Keith Prutzman; 7. 98-Troy Becker; 8. 91-Adrian Shaffer (DNF). No Time

4th Heat (10 Laps/5 to qualify) – 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart; 2. 66-Dale Hammaker; 3. 67-Jason Cherry; 4. 75-Nicole Bower; 5. 67K-Jeff Geiges; 6. 94-Ted Thomas; 7. 33T-Todd Spangler; 8. 6S-Bill Sherman. No Time

Consolation (10 Laps/4 to qualify)- 1. 97-Brie Hershey; 2. 28-Keith Prutzman; 3. 94-Ted Thomas; 4. 00P-Bill Brown; 5. 98-Troy Becker; 6. 33T-Todd Spangler; 7. 65-Cale Griffith; 8. 21-Scott Fisher; 9. 63-Stan Campbell (DNF); 10. 6S-Bill Sherman (DNF); DNS – 08-Jason Clauss. No Time