From Selinsgrove Speedway
Selinsgrove, PA — (August 20th, 2011) — Ryan Kissinger of Bloomsburg came out the winner of a suspenseful four-car showdown in the final two laps of the 25-lap 358 sprint car feature Saturday night at Selinsgrove Speedway.
Kissinger, driving a Ford-powered sprint car, wired the field for his first career win but was pressured by several drivers for the lead most of the distance. Kissinger’s victory served as a fitting tribute to Ray Tilley, the speedway’s all-time career leading sprint car winner who passed away Friday. Like Kissinger, Tilley raced a Ford-powered sprint car, which carried him to 69 victories at the track in the 1960s.
Jeff Rine of Danville powered to his eighth win of the season and 72nd of his career in the 25-lap late model feature. With the win, Rine took the points lead from Jim Yoder of Selinsgrove, who finished the feature in second.
Kyle Bachman of Selinsgrove won his first race of the season in the 15-lap pro stock feature. The victory marked the 34th of Bachman’s career and tied him with AJ Hoffman of Richfield on the division’s all-time win list.
Scott Dunham Jr. of Selinsgrove took the checkered flag for the second time this season in the 12-lap roadrunner feature.
Selinsgrove Speedway returns to racing action at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, with the rescheduled 13th Annual Late Model Open sponsored by Foss Jewelers plus 358 sprint cars, pro stocks, and roadrunners. The 30-lap Late Model Open will pay $5,000 to win and $300 to start. Track gates will open at 5 p.m.
Polesitter Ryan Kissinger drove into the lead at the start of the sprint car feature. Kissinger was chased and challenged for the lead by second-place starter Nyle Berkes for several laps while third-place starter Duane Mausteller kept the leaders in his sites.
The race was stopped on lap five when Pat Cannon crashed hard in turn four. Cannon, the leading feature winner this season, escaped injury.
On a lap seven restart, Kissinger was able to stretch his lead as seventh-place starter Eric Tomecek stormed into the second position and began to reel in Kissinger. A high-speed chase ensued in traffic as Kissinger held off Tomecek, Mausteller, 11th-place starter Logan Schuchart and Berkes in the top five.
With five laps remaining, Tomecek moved within striking distance of Kissinger as Schuchart advanced to third. Point leader and 10th-place starter Blane Heimbach also began to show speed and entered the top five.
The final caution flag of the event unfurled on lap 23 when Larry Kelleher’s car rolled to a stop in turn two, setting up a chase to the checkered flag. When the race resumed, it was an all-out war on wheels as Kissinger ran the top of the track while Tomecek, Schuchart, and Heimbach all raced in his shadow.
Racing off turn four, Kissinger took the checkered flag by the slimmest of margins over Tomecek. Schuchart, Heimbach, and Mausteller rounded out the top five in a close finish.
Polesitter Eric Hons took the lead at the start of the late model feature while sixth-place starter Tony Adams raced a close second. By the third circuit, eighth-place starter Jim Yoder advanced to third. The first caution flag was on lap five when Steve Campbell stopped with a flat tire.
When the race resumed, 10th-place starter Jeff Rine horsepowered his way by Yoder for third, then closed in on Adams for second. On the seventh circuit, Rine made the winning pass by Hons using the outside lane in turn four.
Yoder passed Hons for the second spot on lap 11 and attempted to chase down Rine to no avail. Rine checked out from the field and posted a convincing 5.5 second margin of victory over Yoder, Brett Schadel, Hons, and Donnie Schick.
Second-place starter Brad Mitch led the first two laps of the pro stock feature until 10th-place starter Tim Krape pulled into the lead on the third circuit, only to withdraw from the race with mechanical woes. Krape’s misfortune put Mitch back into the lead with sixth-place starter Kyle Bachman in pursuit.
For several laps, Bachman pulled alongside of Mitch in a challenge for the lead and secured the front spot on lap nine. In the final laps of the race, point leader and 11th-place starter AJ Hoffman made a charge into second and tracked down Bachman in a race for the lead and win. At the finish, Bachman was victorious by just .25 of a second over Hoffman, Mitch, AJ Stroup, and Doug Minium.
In the roadrunner feature, polesitter Nathan Engle led through lap nine, when 12th-place starter Bob Bussey was scored as the leader. In the second turn, while a close three-car battle unfolded between Engle, Bussey, and 11th-place starter Scott Dunham Jr., contact between Engle and Bussey resulted in a spin.
Dunham inherited the lead and drove to victory over Ricky Bender, Rob Pyle, Brian Johnson, and Keith Bissinger.
SELINSGROVE SPEEDWAY SUMMARY – 20 August 2011
358 Sprint Cars – 26 Entries
25-Lap A-Main: 1) 66 Ryan Kissinger 2) 1W Eric Tomecek 3) 1S Logan Schuchart 4) 12 Blane Heimbach 5) 21 Duane Mausteller 6) 5B Josh Beard 7) 16H Matt Horst 8) 23M TJ Stutts 9) 19 Colby Womer 10) 56 Nate Snyder 11) 77 Derek Locke 12) 1 Mark Smith 13) 25 John Smith 14) 52B Brooke Weibley 15) 71 Jessica Anderson 16) 8R Michael Ruttkamp 17) 67 Jason Cherry 18) 1M Jason Shultz 19) 76 Larry Kelleher 20) 99B Nyle Berkes 21) 5W Phil Walter 22) 99K Cody Keller 23) 3 Pat Cannon 24) 38 Scott Wilson
Heat Winners: Blane Heimbach, Eric Tomecek, Duane Mausteller
Consolation Winner: Michael Ruttkamp
Late Models – 21 Entries
25-Lap A-Main: 1) 2J Jeff Rine 2) 27 Jim Yoder 3) 22 Brett Schadel 4) 45 Eric Hons 5) 63 Donnie Schick 6) 88 Tony Adams 7) 91 Chad Davis 8) 90 Kyle Rhoads 9) 61T Ken Trevitz 10) 99Z Dave Zona 11) 2 Steve Campbell 12) 16 Matt Cochran 13) 115 Troy Miller 14) 7M Meade Hahn 15) 24 Jon Rohacevich 16) 6P Dave Brouse Sr. 17) 3 Robbie Smith 18) 79 Dave Bowsman 19) 99 Jeff Smith 20) 77 Wayne Burns 21) 0 Ryan Nearhood DNS
Heat Winners: Troy Miller, Jeff Rine
Pro Stocks – 22 Entries
15-Lap A-Main: 1) 70G Kyle Bachman 2) 19 AJ Hoffman 3) 2TJ Brad Mitch 4) 26 AJ Stroup 5) 12 Doug Minium 6) 28 Jason Smith 7) 85L Pete Lauver 8) 1 Brad Trump 9) 28X Jason Davis 10) 66 Dustin Wolfgang 11) 4 Jim Payne 12) 28J Jeff Ceballo 13) 21K Mike Kiehl 14) 9 Steve Knepp 15) 115 Shaun Miller 16) 14 Dave Brouse Jr. 17) 07 Tim Krape 18) 85 Terry Lauver 19) 99K Ken Stitt Jr. 20) 88N Randy Nowlen 21) 23 Jim Somers Sr. 22) 99H Peanut Heintzelman DNS
Heat Winners: Dave Brouse Jr., Brad Mitch
Roadrunners – 23 Entries
12-Lap A-Main: 1) 69 Scott Dunham Jr. 2) 29B Ricky Bender 3) 129B Rob Pyle 4) 201 Brian Johnson 5) 11 Keith Bissinger 6) 02 John Fowler 7) 98K Chip Kennedy 8) 44 Corey Collier 9) 7 Butch Shaffer 10) 76 Bob Bussey 11) 31B Brandon Shultz 12) 112 Ben Feree 13) 89 John Schoch 14) 41D Dennis Conrad 15) 00N Nathan Engle 16) 15W Shawn Wondoloski 17) 28 Curtis Lawton 18) 99 Chris Hoffman 19) 5D Dave Adams 20) 77J Jeff Swanger 21) 25J Nate Romig 22) 111 Matt Lawrence 23) 28 Bob Mentzer (DNS)
Heat Winners: Nathan Engle, Rob Pyle