From Steve Inch
SELINSGROVE, Pa. (May 26, 2018) — Davie Franek of Wantage, N.J., inherited the lead on lap nine in the 30-lap Jack Gunn Memorial for 360 sprint cars Saturday night at Selinsgrove Speedway when race leader Mark Smith of Sunbury made contact with a disabled lapped car in turn four.
Franek then held off Chad Layton of Harrisburg and Jason Shultz of Carlisle late in the race to score his second straight Insinger Performance/Sunoco Race Fuels Gunn Memorial worth $2,500. The victory was Franek’s second of the season and 16th career at Selinsgrove.
Bryan Bernheisel of Lebanon and Gene Knaub of York raced side-by-side during the final five laps of the 25-lap super late model race with Bernheisel edging out Knaub by just .69 of a second for his second win of the season at the track.
Tommy Slanker of York got back to Victory Lane in the 15-lap pro stock feature after battling some early season mechanical woes. Ryan Zook has become the driver to beat this season in the roadrunner division when the Mifflintown young gun won his third race of the year.
Selinsgrove Speedway will present the Kramer Cup for 360 sprint cars at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 2, on Reinhart Food Service Night. The 30-lap tribute race honoring the memory of former track champion Kramer Williamson will pay $2,573 to win and $300 to start.
The limited late models will compete in two 20-lap features, one of them being a makeup race from May 5. The pro stocks and roadrunners will round out the four division racing card. Pit gates will open at 4 p.m. with grandstand gates at 5 p.m.
Mark Smith pulled into the lead from his front row starting spot in the sprint car main event. Second-place starter Chad Layton challenged Smith for the lead for the first two laps until Smith settled into the front spot. Fourth-place starter Davie Franek then caught Layton in a battle for second.
On the eighth circuit, misfortune struck Smith when he made contact with a disabled car in turn four. Franek inherited the lead at this point only to have the race stopped on the subsequent restart when Michael Walter crashed hard in the same spot as Smith. Walter escaped injury from the wild flip.
When the race resumed, Franek and Layton see-sawed for the lead as sixth-place starter Jason Shultz entered the picture. At the halfway point, Franek started to navigate his way through lapped traffic.
In the final laps, an intense battle for the lead and win unfolded as Franek was being reeled in by Layton. The caution flag unfurled on lap 25 for Colby Womer’s stopped racer in turn two.
On the restart, Shultz and ninth-place starter Derek Locke drove by Layton for second and third, respectively. At the finish, Franek took the checkered flag by .95 of a second over Shultz, Locke, Eric Tomacek, and Layton.
Polesitter Bryan Bernheisel drove into the lead at the start of the super late model feature. Second-place starter Brett Schadel and fourth-place starter Gene Knaub dueled for the runner-up position on the first lap with Knaub taking the spot. On the second circuit, sixth-place starter Jim Bernheisel got by Schadel for the third position.
By the 10th circuit, B. Bernheisel encountered slower traffic as Knaub remained in striking distance. At the halfway point, B. Bernheisel and Knaub were locked in a wheel-to-wheel battle for the lead. On lap 20, Knaub slipped by B. Bernheisel and held the lead for four laps with Bernheisel racing in his shadow. B. Bernheisel made the winning pass back by Knaub with an inside move in turns one and two on the white flag lap.
At the checkered flag, B. Bernheisel was victorious by .69 of a second over Knaub, eighth-place starter Jim Yoder, 17th-place starter Kenny Trevitz, and third-place starter Randy Christine.
Front row starter Tommy Slanker pulled into the lead at the start of the pro stock feature and was chased by fourth-place starter Shaun Lawton for 13 laps. Brad Mitch, who started 13th, advanced to third on lap 10 and got by Lawton for second with two laps to race.
Mitch made a last-ditch effort to catch Slanker for the lead and win but came up just .55 of a second short at the finish. Lawton settled for third followed by Kyle Bachman and Brandon Moser in the top five.
Following a restart after a three-car tangle in turn four, fifth-place starter Ryan Zook stormed into the lead in the roadrunner feature. Third-place starter Smith Cope kept Zook in his sights for all 12 laps with fourth-place starter Keith Bissinger in contention in the third spot.
Zook held off Cope by the slimmest of margins at the checkered flag for the win. Bissinger, Will Brunson, and Bob Bussey, who was involved in the first lap incident, rounded out the top five.
SELINSGROVE SPEEDWAY RACE SUMMARY: 26 May 2018
360 Sprint Cars – 22 Entries
30-Lap Jack Gunn Memorial: 1) 28F Davie Franek 2) 29 Jason Shultz 3) 77 Derek Locke 4) 1W Eric Tomecek 5) 35 Chad Layton 6) 49S Mallie Shuster 7) 99K Cody Keller 8) 47C Adam Carberry 9) 76 Larry Kelleher 10) 3Z Ryan Taylor 11) 66 Ryan Kissinger 12) 11 Jim Shuster 13) 17 Josh Azzi 14) 71 Charlie Anderson 15) 511 John Sharpe 16) 19 Colby Womer 17) 99m Nyles Berkes 18) 33 Michael Walter II 19) M1 Mark Smith 20) 5 Brian Nornhold 21) 33X Will Brunson 22) 13 Ryan Higgins Heat Winners: Davie Franek, Mark Smith, Colby Womer Late Models – 19 Entries 25-Lap A-Main: 1) 119B Bryan Bernheisel 2) 1 Gene Knaub 3) 27 Jim Yoder 4) 61 Ken Trevitz 5) 74 Randy Christine 6) 2Y Andrew Yoder 7) 22 Brett Schadel 8) 171 Jim Bernheisel 9) 9 Hayes Mattern 10) 7M Meade Hahn 11) 10 Dave Stamm 12) 63 Nathan Long 13) 25 Kody Lyter 14) 36W Tyler Wagner 15) 57 Jon Rohacevich 16) 46 Dan Green 17) 98 Randy Croop 18) 88T Ernie Millon 19) 79 Chase Bowsman Heat Winners: Bryan Bernheisel, Brett Schadel Pro Stocks – 14 Entries 15-Lap A-Main: 1) 40 Tommy Slanker 2) 10M Brad Mitch 3) 92 Shaun Lawton 4) 99B Kyle Bachman 5) 8M Brandon Moser 6) 55T John Troxell 7) 11B Jake Buck 8) 8G Daren Rice 9) 85 Terry Lauver 10) 14C Bill Conrad 11) 6C AJ Hoffman 12) 00 Cory Long 13) 33 Curtis Lawton 14) 89 John Schoch Heat Winners: Brandon Moser, Tommy Slanker Roadrunners – 15 Entries 12-Lap A-Main: 1) 28Z Ryan Zook 2) 1 Smith Cope 3) 11 Keith Bissinger 4) 8B Will Brunson 5) 76 Bob Bussey 6) 32 Ken Schreffler 7) 12 Tom Underwood 8) 7 Jake Jones 9) 28 Nick Decker 10) 44C Corey Collier 11) 28M Miranda Minium 12) 2B Brian Mabus 13) 0 Kevin Dobson 14) 992 Terry Kramer 15) 7S Butch Shaffer 16) 41 Ben Leister Heat Winners: Will Brunson, Smith, Cope