From Bill W
Alan Krimes won the “Mitch Smith Memorial ” Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway. Krimes took home $10,000 as part of Pa. Speedweek.
7/1/11
Williams Grove Speedway
Mechanicsburg, PA
Mitch Smith Memorial/PA Speedweek
34 cars
Fred Rahmer (11th car out to time) set the standard in time trials for the third time during Speedweek with a lap of 17.525 seconds. Brian Montieth (2nd car out) was second quick, followed by Tyler Walker (21st), Danny Dietrich (5th), Ryan Bohlke (8th), Brian Leppo (3rd), Mike Wagner (25th), Alan Krimes (4th), Sam Hafertepe Jr. (1st) and Chad Layton (10th). The crowd was very good, estimated as the best of the year by some. Every time I return to Williams Grove, I pray the sound system has been updated. Why have one of the best announcers in the business, Bruce Ellis, if one cannot hear him?
Heat one (started): 1. Daryn Pittman 27 (1) 2. Lance Dewease 30c (3) 3. Steve Buckwalter 17B (2) 4. Rahmer 51 (6) 5. Hafertepe Jr. 93 (4) / 6. Bohlke 2 (5) 7. Gerard McIntyre Jr. 16 (7) 8. Brad McClelland 6 (8) 9. Frank Cozze 44 (9)
Pittman led all 10 laps. Heats were inverted by six, with five transferring, and the top six qualifiers getting through the heats redrawing. Rahmer looked to be moving into the top three until Buckwalter changed his line to Rahmer’s low groove with three to go.
Heat two (started): 1. Rick Lafferty 0 (1) 2. Leppo 71 (5) 3. Aaron Ott 77 (3) 4. Mike Erdley 11 (2) 5. Brent Marks 19M (8) / 6. Layton 7 (4) 7. Troy Fraker 12w (9) 8. Montieth 21 (6) 9. Justin Henderson 35 (7)
Lafferty led throughout. On lap two Henderson stopped with front end issues and retired. Lafferty led Erdley, Ott, Layton, Montieth and Leppo on the restart. Ott took over second, and Leppo found something on the low side to move up into the top three. On the white flag lap, Montieth was running fifth when he spun in turn one. He was unable to grab a transfer. After the restart, Leppo grabbed second from Ott, and Marks got by Layton for the final transfer.
Heat three (started): 1. Greg Hodnett 39 (4) 2. Jason Johnson 41 (1) 3. Doug Esh 30 (2) 4. Walker 17 (6) 5. Adam Wilt 15 (7) / 6. Wagner 55 (5) 7. Stevie Smith 1 (3) 8. Nicole Bower 75 (8)
Johnson took the early lead, while Wilt shot under S. Smith and Wagner to grab the final transfer. Hodnett dogged Johnson until passing him for the lead on lap seven.
Heat four (started): 1. Donnie Kreitz Jr. 69K (3) 2. Mark Smith 7m (2) 3. Krimes 87 (5) 4. Cory Haas 11c (7) 5. Dietrich 48 (6) / 6. Jim Siegel 59 (4) 7. Derek Sell 20s (8) 8. Cody Keller 99K (1)
Kreitz led flag to flag after assuming the pole when Keller was moved back a row for jumping the start. Keller spun on lap four, bringing the only caution. Haas and Dietrich used the restart to get by Siegel for the final two transfers.
B main (started): 1. Montieth (1) 2. Layton (4) 3. Bohlke (2) 4. Wagner (3) / 5. S. Smith (6) 6. Henderson (9) 7. Siegel (5) 8. McIntyre Jr. (8) 9. Sell (12) 10. McClelland (10) 11. Bower (11) 12. Keller (7) 13. Fraker (14) 14. Cozze (13)
Montieth led the distance. The best racing was for the second spot, as Layton and Bohlke exchanged the spot a couple of times. Henderson was fast late on the high side, but needed a couple more laps to threaten a transfer.
A main (started): 1. Krimes (3) 2. Hodnett (7) 3. Montieth (11) 4. Dietrich (2) 5. Rahmer (5) 6. Ott (9) 7. Hafertepe Jr. (1) 8. Leppo (6) 9. Dewease (8) 10. Layton (14) 11. Kreitz (10) 12. Pittman (19) 13. Haas (23) 14. M. Smith (18) 15. Bohlke (12) 16. Erdley (16) 17. Wagner (13) 18. Marks (24) 19. J. Johnson (21) 20. Lafferty (20) 21. Wilt (22) 22. Walker (4) 23. Buckwalter (15) 24. Esh (17)
Dietrich led Hafertepe early before a Wilt spin on lap two. Dietrich led the restart ahead of Hafertepe, Krimes, Rahmer and Walker, who were really going at it. Krimes took the lead on lap five, and with the lap completed, Montieth made contect with Esh, who broke a front end on the frontstretch. He was done. Krimes led Dietrich, Hafertepe, Rahmer and Walker back to green. Buckwalter stopped on lap eleven. Walker had advanced to third by that time. At the halfway point of the 30-lapper, Krimes led Dietrich, Hodnett had moved into third, Rahmer was fourth, Hafertepe fifth, Walker sixth and Montieth on the move in seventh. Three laps later, Walker made contact with the wall, ending his night and setting up an open red. Krimes led the final restart with Dietrich second, followed by Hodnett, Rahmer and Montieth. The lead pair stayed close, but Hodnett was able to sneak by for second. Montieth wnet by Rahmer, and passed Dietrich with two to go to nail down third. Krimes held on for the $10,000 win, with Hodnett second. Haas was the hard-charger.