From Rich Vleck
DUNDEE, NY — (July 8, 2011) — Chuck Hebing starting on the pole of the 25-lap A-Main might have given the impression that the race could get boring in a hurry; but thankfully for all the fans at Black Rock on Friday that was far from the result.
Hebing, of Ontario, NY, scored his sixth career sprint win at the Black Rock Speedway to move him within one win of George Suprick’s track-high seven victories. Although “Cobra” would lead the completion of all 25 laps, he did not hold the lead the entire way.
In an event sanctioned by both the Empire Super Sprints and the Patriot Sprint Tour, the first July sprint show at BRS since 2004 would feature a battle between the most recent winners on each tour.
Hebing would have to survive myriad of challenges from hard-charger Scott Kreutter down the stretch of the event, including getting back by the No. 52 on lap 21 after Kreutter had slid into the lead off turn four.
“(Kreutter) ran me real clean,” declared Hebing after the event. “He ran me hard but gave me room and that’s all you can ask for.”
After a third place showing in his heat race, Hebing would benefit from the significant 8-car redraw that was pulled, landing the No. 45 the pole position. Upon Scott Hixson’s green flag, Hebing would pull away, with his first obstacle being lapped traffic around lap seven.
Without the aid of a caution until lap 16, “Cobra” would carve his way through the back of the talented 23-car field while keeping second-place Alain Bergeron a safe distance behind. Once the caution flag flew, however, the race would begin to take a number of twists and turns.
Just before the caution, Bergeron would bounce hard off the cushion in turn two, forcing the St. Pie, Quebec driver to the pits for repairs. That would hand the runner-up spot to Kreutter, who started seventh but had used the bottom lane to drive up to third.
After an unsuccessful attempt at a double-file restart, the field would restart single-file, with Kreutter applying heavy pressure on Hebing for the lead. Just three laps later, as Kreutter was setting up a move after Hebing hit the cushion wrong, the red flag would fly after Dylan Swiernik’s No. 7c flipped in turn three.
In what would be the final double-file restart of the race, Kreutter would pedal his car on the bottom and dive hard underneath Hebing entering turn three. Hebing would power off turn four to complete lap 20, but the next time around Kreutter would drive in front of the No. 45, only to have the “Cobra” drive back underneath him.
As the lead duo were coming into turn three on lap 22, Kreutter would clip a concrete “turtle” on the bottom of the track, losing significant ground to Hebing, who would cruise from there to the win.
Upon post-race inspection, Scott Kreutter’s No. 52 was declared to be 35 pounds below the 1475 lb. weight requirement and therefore disqualified. Despite the disappointment, it would not take away from the spirited battle that had ensued minutes earlier.
With a move underneath Lance Yonge late in the event, Steve Poirier would in the end claim a second-place finish, easily his best finish at BRS. Local favorite Yonge would also lose a position to sophomore sprinter Kevin Ward Jr. in the closing stages, who would bring home a third. Yonge would place fourth while Bryan Howland would end up rounding out the top-five.
Rookie Steve Colins would easily score his best career finish with an impressive sixth place performance, ahead of hometown shoe Tim Kelly and PST point leader Jared Zimbardi, who were seventh and eighth, respectively.
Quebec competitors Michael Parent and Alain Bergeron would round out the top 10 as Bergeron would catch a break with a second caution on lap 16 to enable him to stay on the lead lap.
Just outside of the top 10 was ESS Point Leader Shawn Donath, who came home in 11th, two spots ahead of Don Adamczyk who was forced pitside with six laps remaining to replace a flat tire while running inside the top 10.
A total of 25 sprints would converge on the Yates County Oval. Heat wins would go to Scott Kreutter, Bryan Howland and Steve Poirier. Cory Sparks would claim the dash while Jeff Cook notched the win in B-Main.
Patriot Sprint Tour Results, 7/8/2011, Black Rock Speedway, DUNDEE, NY:
A-Main (25 Laps)- 1. Chuck Hebing (45), 2. Steve Poirier (28FM), 3. Kevin Ward Jr. (13), 4. Lance Yonge (17J), 5. Bryan Howland (51), 6. Steve Collins (67), 7. Tim Kelly (12), 8. Jared Zimbardi (35), 9. Michael Parent (25), 10. Alain Bergeron (8B), 11. Shawn Donath (33), 12. Shayne Ely (V8), 13. Don Adamczyk (21), 14. Jeff Cook (10), 15. Mike Stelter (6k), 16. Brad Knab (38), 17. Matt Tanner (90), 18. George Suprick 87, 19. Cory Sparks (7), 20. Dylan Swiernik (7c), 21. Paul Habeck (25H), 22. Tyler Rand (84), 23. Scott Kreutter (52).
Lap Leaders- Hebing 1-25.
B-Mains (Top 4 Transfer to A-Main)-
Race 1: 1. Jeff Cook (10), 2. Tim Kelly (12), 3. Dylan Swiernik (7c), 4. Brad Knab (38), 5. Dave Wickham (80), 6. Mike Stelter (6k), 7. Jeff Frasier (99).
Original Pizza Logs Four Laps of Fame Dash (4 Laps)- 1. Sparks, 2. Kreutter, 3. Howland, 4. Poirier, 5. Adamczyk, 6. Yonge.
National Parts Peddler Heats (8 Laps Each, Top 6 Transfer to A-Main)-
Race 1: 1. Kreutter, 2. Sparks, 3. Parent, 4. Zimbardi, 5. Rand, 6. Ward, 7. Cook, 8. Stelter, 9. Frasier.
Race 2: 1. Howland, 2. Yonge, 3. Hebing, 4. Donath, 5. Tanner, 6. Suprick, 7. Knab, 8. Swiernik.
Race 3: 1. Poirier, 2. Adamczyk, 3. Bergeron, 4. Collins, 5. Ely, 6. Habeck, 7. Kelly, 8. Wickham.
Patriot Sprint Tour Championship Points (Top 10)- Zimbardi 1094, Adamczyk 1028, Kelly 1010, Kreutter 899, Howland 870, Brown 827, Naida 826, Knab 809, Wasson 795, Collins 769.