By Steve Inch
SELINSGROVE, Pa. – Daryn Pittman of Owasso, Okl., was awarded the win in
the 10th Annual NRG Controls North National Open for 358-360 sprint cars
Saturday night at Selinsgrove Speedway when the car driven by Pat Cannon of
Etters, who took the checkered flag, was disqualified for being about five
pounds under the minimum weight requirement of 1,475 pounds.
The $8,000 win in the 35-lap Open was the third of the season for Pittman
at Selinsgrove at the wheel of the Lelands.com No.27, having also won both
of the track’s 410 sprint car races in May and July. Pittman is a pre-race
favorite going into the Jim Nace Memorial National Open for 410 sprint cars
at the track on Sept. 18.
The record purse of nearly $36,500 drew a record field of 48 entries (20
360s and 28 358s) for the race. Jason Shultz of Carlisle, who was racing
with a 358 motor, set fast time with a lap of 17.800 seconds for the Fast
Tees Fast Time Award in Memory of Jim Nace $100 bonus. Logan Schuhart of
Hanover won the C-main, while Kevin Nouse of Lewisberry won the Mach I
Chassis B-main.
TJ Stutts of Liverpool, who led the first 10 laps of the A-main, earned a
$500 bonus from Mach I Chasis for being the highest finishing driver in a
358 sprint car (7th), while Colby Womer of Mt. Pleasant Mills, who started
25th and finished 12th, received the $200 Sprint Ace hard charger bonus.
Jason Schmidt of Port Royal won his second feature of the season in the
15-lap pro stock race.
Selinsgrove Speedway will present a program of 358 sprint cars, late
models, pro stocks, and roadrunners at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11. Track
gates will open at 5 p.m.
Polesitter TJ Stutts stormed into the lead at the start of the 358-360
sprint car Open. On the first lap, fourth-place starter Phil Walter passed
second-place starter Jason Shultz for the runner-up position. The caution
flag unfurled on lap two for debris on the speedway.
When the race resumed, Stutts and P. Walter see-sawed for the lead, while
seventh-place starter Pat Cannon advanced to third and on lap five passed
P. Walter for second. Another caution flag for debris on lap 10 regrouped
the field as third-place starter Stevie Smith, who was racing fifth at the
time, withdrew with mechanical problems on his race car.
On the restart, Stutts and Cannon exchanged passes for the lead. Racing out
of the turn four to complete the 11th lap, Cannon took the lead, while
Stutts, 11th-place starter Davie Franek, fifth-place starter Daryn Pittman,
and P. Walter raced in the top five.
By lap 17, the leaders began to encounter slower traffic, allowing Pittman
to move into second and set his sites on Cannon. On lap 24, the caution
came out when P. Walter’s car did a 360-degree spin and kept moving, only
to hit the wall and stop on lap 25.
On the 27th circuit, after exchanging the lead through turns one and two,
Pittman took the front spot with an inside pass racing out of turn four.
With five laps remaining, Pittman was leading Cannon, Franek, 13th-place
starter Aaron Ott, and 15th-place starter Blane Heimbach.
With four laps remaining, the red flag stopped the race when Shultz’ car
flipped hard in turn three. Shultz escaped injury. On the final restart,
Cannon remained in striking distance, then reclaimed the lead using the
outside lane racing off turn four on lap 33.
At the finish, Cannon took the checkered flag by one second ahead of
Pittman, only to have Pittman declared the winner of the race after
Cannon’s race car came up lite by about five pounds in the post-race
inspection.
Franek was credited with second, followed by Ott, Heimbach, and Mike
Walter.
In the pro stock feature, polesitter Nate Kerstetter powered into the lead
and was chased by third-place starter Cody McFadden and fifth-place starter
Doug Minium. On the eighth circuit, eighth-place starter Jason Schmidt
advanced to second and set his sites on Kerstetter.
On the 10th lap, Schmidt made the winning pass using the inside lane
exiting turn for the lead. Dave Brouse Jr., who started 10th, stormed into
second but was passed by point leader and 12th-place starter AJ Hoffman on
the final lap. Schmidt was victorious over Hoffman, Brouse, Minimum, and
Jason Smith.
SELINSGROVE SPEEDWAY RACE SUMMARY
358/360 Sprint Cars – 48 Entries
35-Lap A-Main: 1) 27 Daryn Pittman (declared winner; $8,000) 2) 28F Davie
Franek ($5,000) 3) 25 Aaron Ott ($3,400) 4) 12 Blane Heimbach ($3,100)
5) 63 Mike Walter ($2,550) 6) 21L Trevor Lewis 7) 23M TJ Stutts 8) 56
Nate Snyder 9) 00 Kevin Nouse 10) 17B Steve Buckwalter 11) 77 Derek Locke
12) 19 Colby Womer 13) 14 Matt Heimbach 14) 37 Scott Flammer 15) 1W Tim
Wagaman 16) 71 Jessica Anderson 17) 55 Jimmy Layton 18) 3 Pat Cannon (DQ
for being lite at scales) 19) 22T Matt Boland DNF 20) 1 Jason Shultz DNF
21) 5 Phil Walter DNF 22) 7 Joey Borich DNF 23) 79 Davey Sammons DNF 24)
22 Bryn Gohn DNF 25) 1Z Stevie Smith DNF
Heat Winners: Nate Snyder, Derek Locke, Pat Cannon, Stevie Smith, Phil
Walter
B-Main Winner: Kevin Nouse
C-Main Winner: Logan Schuchart
Time Trials: 1) 1 Jason Shultz 17.800 2) 3 Pat Cannon 17.826 3) 7M Mark
Smith 17.846 4) 27 Daryn Pittman 17.860 5) 1Z Stevie Smith 17.897 6) 25
Aaron Ott 17.940 7) 63 Mike Walter 17.967 8) 21L Trevor Lewis 18.014 9)
1S Logan Schuchart 18.072 10) 37 Scott Flammer 18.103 11) 19 Colby Womer
18.153 12) 5 Phil Walter 18.209 13) 00 Kevin Nouse 18.247 14) 56 Nate
Snyder 18.278 15) 14 Matt Heimbach 16) 12 Blane Heimbach 18.336 17) 7
Joey Borich 18.345 18) 1W Tim Wagaman 18.345 19) 21F Jared Fink 18.388
20) 71 Jessica Anderson 18.426 21) 77 Derek Locke 18.436 22) 16 Gerard
McIntyre Jr. 18.477 23) 64K Kyle Purks 18.480 24) 55 Jimmy Layton 18.494
25) 22 Bryn Gohn 18.502 26) 23M TJ Stutts 18.516 27) 81 Bob Beidleman
18.574 28) 99K Cody Keller 18.591 29) 79 Davey Sammons 18.611 30) 50 Tim
Berkheimer 18.612 31) 32 Justin Barger 18.617 32) 76 Larry Kelleher
18.623 33) 28F Davie Franek 18.627 34) 22T Matt Boland 18.642 35) 99 Jan
Luckenbaugh 18.666 36) 45 Kevin Nagy 18.676 37) 38N Nick Schlaugh Jr.
18.687 38) 17B Steve Buckwalter 18.708 39) 42 Dale Hammaker 18.736 40)
66 Ryan Kissinger 18.753 41) 1K Ryan Smith 18.765 42) 15B John Barnett
18.841 43) B1 Joe Biasi 18.851 44) 11T Eric Tomercek 18.871 45) 08 Jason
Claus 18.926 46) 34 Austin Reed 19.163 47) 6S Bill Sherman 19.257 48) 48
Tony Smolenyak 19.413