From Lincoln Speedway
Abbottstown, PA — (August 20th, 2011) — It was fitting that Brian Leppo was so dominant in claiming his second win of the year at Lincoln Speedway Saturday night.
Leppo’s seventh career Lincoln win came on Eastern Museum of Motor Racing Convention weekend. And the perfectly prepared race car was put together by none other than Steve Smith, one of the all-time greats in Central Pennsylvania sprint car racing history.
“This car is fast. It’s hard to be perfect, but we got a helluva start tonight and (Rob) Capetta builds a good motor and Mark Smith does the cars. Steve (Smith) and my guys Lee, Smoke, Keith, and Everett work really hard on the car and he’s got it fast,” said Leppo upon exiting his Swope’s Salvage and Recycling/H&H General Excavating #71 in victory lane, “He pays attention to the shocks and everybody knows…he led the all-time win list here for a long time and he’s Steve Smith for a reason.”
Leppo, who started ninth, wasted no time in getting to the front. He pulled a slider to get under leader Kevin Nouse on a fifth-lap restart, and was nearly four seconds ahead of runner-up Adam Wilt at the finish.
Nouse started fifth and had the lead by the end of the first lap. He paced the field until Leppo drove under him on the lap five restart.
Third through fifth were Nouse, Brad McClelland, and Jim Siegel. Completing the top ten were 15th-starting Danny Dietrich, Cory Haas, Fred Rahmer, Kyle Pruitt, and Brent Marks.
Dietrich’s sixth-place finish helped him close on points leader Brian Montieth, who was involved in a four-car crash in turn one of lap 18. Montieth was able make repairs and return, but then dropped out late and was credited with a 17th-place finish.
Heats for the 28 “410” sprinters were won by McClelland, Leppo, and Derek Sell, with Nick Schlouch, Jr. winning the consolation.
Mike Bittinger, who has two career Lincoln “410” sprint wins, came from 17th starting spot to claim his first-ever Lincoln “358” sprint car feature victory. In doing so, he became the first driver in recent memory to claim wins in both major sprint divisions in the same season.
Attrition helped Bittinger to the front, with nine cars involved in a turn four melee at the start. Bittinger actually received back bumper damage in the incident, but kept moving and restarted 11th.
Polesitter Mark Strickler and fourth-starting Steve Storrie then made contact and spun on the ensuing complete restart, moving Bittinger up two more spots for a third attempt to start the race.
When green flag laps were finally recorded, Logan Wagner led the first eight laps with Adrian Shaffer hot on his tail. But Shaffer made contact with Wagner’s back wheel and broke in turn two of lap nine. On the restart, fifth-starting Keith Prutzman grabbed the top spot from Wagner with Bittinger up to third. Bittinger caught Austin Hogue for second on the following lap, and began his pursuit of the leader.
Bittinger made the race-winning pass on lap 15, and was driving through the final turns when the caution came out for Doug Hammaker, who spun in turn two.
On the final restart, second-place Kevin Nagy, who caught Hogue on lap 17, ran out of fuel and dove into the infield. That gave Bittinger all the room he needed to claim the $1,000 win by 1.82 seconds over Prutzman, with Hogue, Tim Wagaman, and 18th-starting Jeff Rohrbaugh completing the top five. Rohrbaugh’s top five finish, combined with Billy Dietrich’s 17th-pace finish after being involved in two separate crashes (including the opening lap 9-car crash) vaulted Rohrbaugh into the Lincoln 358 sprint points lead.
Sixth through tenth were 22nd-starting Niki Young (whose car was also involved in the opening lap crash), 20th-starting Billy Pauch, Jr., Wagner, Nathan Berwager, and Storrie.
Heats for the 37 “358” sprinters were won by Dietrich, Storrie, Prutzman, and Wagner, with Glenndon Forsythe winning the consolation.
Next Saturday night, August 27th at 7:30 PM, it will be 59TH Anniversary Show/John Gleim, Jr. Excavating Night featuring Twin 20-lap features for the 410 Sprinter, along with the Thundercars and Central PA Legends. Gates will open at 5:30 PM.
To get all the latest news, results, schedule changes and rule changes, visit Lincoln Speedway’s website at http://www.lincolnspeedway.com to stay up-to-date on all the action or pending weather conditions at Central Pennsylvania’s “Premier” Saturday night race track – The Fabulous Lincoln Speedway.
RACE RESULTS
Saturday, August 20, 2011
LINCOLN SPEEDWAY
Abbottstown, PA
LAWRENCE CHEVROLET 410 SPRINTS:
Feature (25 Laps) – 1. 71-Brian Leppo ($3,200); 2. 15-Adam Wilt; 3. 92-Kevin Nouse; 4. 6-Brad McClelland; 5. 59-Jim Siegel; 6. 48-Danny Dietrich; 7. 11C-Cory Haas; 8. 51-Fred Rahmer; 9. 21K-Kyle Pruitt; 10. 14-Brent Marks; 11. 69-Tim Glatfelter; 12. 23r-Todd Rittenhouse, Jr.; 13. 92J-JJ Grasso; 14. 38N-Nick Schlauch, Jr.; 15. 50-Austin Reed; 16. 77-Aaron Ott (DNF); 17. 21-Brian Montieth (DNF); 18. 20S-Derek Sell (DNF); 19. 85-Gerard McIntyre, Jr. (DNF); 20. 71X-Bill Stine (DNF); 21. 44-Frank Cozze (DNF); 22. 65-Hunter Mackison (DNF); 23. 87-Alan Krimes (DNF); 24. 23Z-Todd Zinn (DNF). No Time
Lap Leaders – Kevin Nouse (1-4), Brian Leppo (5-25)
1st Heat (10 Laps/6 to qualify) – 1. 6-Brad McClelland; 2. 15-Adam Wilt; 3. 14-Brent Marks; 4. 11C-Cory Haas; 5. 69-Tim Glatfelter; 6. 21-Brian Montieth; 7. 50-Austin Reed; 8. 38N-Nick Schlauch, Jr.; 9. 23Z-Todd Zinn; 10. 26-Pat Cooper (DNF). No Time
2nd Heat (10 Laps/6 to qualify) – 1. 71-Brian Leppo; 2. 92-Kevin Nouse; 3. 77-Aaron Ott; 4. 51-Fred Rahmer; 5. 85-Gerard McIntyre, Jr.; 6. 23R-Todd Rittenhouse, Jr.; 7. 15B-John Barnett (DNF); 8. 3B-Randy Baughman (DNF); 9. 84C-Chad Criswell (DNF). No Time
3rd Heat (10 Laps/6 to qualify) – 1. 20S-Derek Sell; 2. 44-Frank Cozze; 3. 59-Jim Siegel; 4. 21K-Kyle Pruitt; 5. 48-Danny Dietrich; 6. 87-Alan Krimes; 7. 92J-JJ Grasso; 8. 71X-Bill Stine; 9. 65-Hunter mackison. No Time
Consolation (10 Laps/6 to qualify) – 1. 38N-Nick Schlauch, Jr.; 2. 92J-JJ Grasso; 3. 71X-Bill Stine; 4. 50-Austin Reed; 5. 23Z-Todd Zinn; 6. 65-Hunter Mackison; 7. 15B-John Barnett (DNF); DNS – 3B-Randy Baughman. No Time
KEIZER ALUMINUM WHEELS 358 SPRINTS
Feature (20-Laps) – 1. 12-Mike Bittinger ($1,000); 2. 28-Keith Prutzman; 3. 52-Austin Hogue; 4. 1-Tim Wagaman; 5. 45-Jeff Rohrbaugh; 6. 65-Niki Young; 7. 23B-Billy Pauch, Jr.; 8. 6R-Logan Wagner; 9. 85-Nathan Berwager; 10. 0-Steve Storrie; 11. 5T-Glenndon Forsythe; 12. 99M-Kyle Moody; 13. 38-Mark Strickler; 14. 28F-Matt Findley; 15. 45X-Colt White; 16. 66h-Doug Hammaker; 17. 8-Billy Dietrich; 18. 76-Kevin Nagy (DNF); 19. 19Z-Isaac Sneeringer (DNF); 20. 91-Adrian Shaffer (DNF); 21. 7C-Chad Trout (DNF); 22. 56M-DJ Montgomery (DNF); 23. 66-Dale Hammaker (DNF); 24. 51N-Nick Palmerino (DNF). No Time
Lap Leaders – Logan Wagner (1-8), Keith Prutzman (9-14), Mike Bittinger (15-20)
1st Heat (10 Laps/5 to qualify) – 1. 8-Billy Dietrich; 2. 28-Keith Prutzman; 3. 66-Dale Hammaker; 4. 19Z-Isaac Sneeringer; 5. 12-Mike Bittinger; 6. 51N-Nick Palmerino; 7. 81B-Bob Anderson; 8. 27-Jay Galloway (DNF); 9. 66B-Cory Brookman (DNF); DNS – 23-Chris Arnold. Time – 2:28.48
2nd Heat (10 Laps/5 to qualify) – 1. 0-Steve Storrie; 2. 85-Nathan Berwager; 3. 91-Adrian Shaffer; 4. 56M-DJ Montgomery; 5. 45-Jeff Rohrbaugh; 6. 5T-Glenndon Forsythe; 7. 69-Travis Willow; 8. 63-Stan Campbell; 9. 99-Jan Luckenbaugh. No Time
3rd Heat (10 Laps/5 to qualify) – 1. 28-Keith Prutzman; 2. 7C-Chad Trout; 3. 76-Kevin Nagy; 4. 66H-Doug Hammaker; 5. 28F-Matt Findley; 6. 45W-Colt White; 7. 11D-Mike Duncan, Jr.; 8. 33-Billy Heltzel, III; 9. 12-Scott Fisher. No Time
4th Heat (10 Laps/5 to qualify) – 1. 6R-Logan Wagner; 2. 52-Austin Hogue; 3. 1*-Tim Wagaman; 4. 99M-Kyle Moody; 5. 23B-Billy Pauch, Jr.; 6. 65-Niki Young; 7. 97-Brie Hershey; 8. 00-Shane Smith; 9. 1A-Jacob Allen. Time – 2:31.75
Consolation (10 Laps/4 to qualify) – 1. 5T-Glenndon Forsythe; 2. 65-Niki Young; 3. 45W-Colt White; 4. 51N-Nick Palmerino; 5. 23-Chris Arnold; 6. 81B-Bob Anderson; 7. 28H-Billy Heltzel, Jr.; 8. 11d-Mike Duncan, Jr.; 9. 63-Stan Campbell; 10. 21-Scott Fisher (DNF); 11. 97-Brie Hershey (DNF); 12. 69-Travis Willow (DNF); 13. 00-Shane Smith (DNF); DNS – 27-Jay Galloway, 66B-Cory Brookman, 99-Jan Luckenbaugh, 1A-Jacob Allen. No Time