From Steve Inch
SELINSGROVE, Pa. – Cody “The Codeman” Keller of Selinsgrove wired the field for his first career win in a 358 sprint car in Saturday night’s 25-lap main event at Selinsgrove Speedway while driving the Keller’s Auto Body/Troutman’s Meat Market sponsored No. 99K.
For Keller, who was seriously injured in a sprint car racing accident at the track in 2009, the victory marked the 21-year-old’s ultimate comeback. He became the speedway’s sixth different winner this season in 358-360 sprint car competition.
Jeff Rine of Danville won his second race of the season and the 74th of his career in the 25-lap late model feature.
Nate Kerstetter of Liverpool and Brian Johnson of Ashland each scored their first wins of the season in the 15-lap pro stock and 12-lap roadrunner features, respectively.
Selinsgrove Speedway will present the Keystone Cup Ray Tilley Classic for 410 sprint cars plus super sportsman at 7 p.m. Sunday, May 27, and will return next Saturday, June 2, with a four division show of 358 sprint cars, late models, pro stocks, and roadrunners.
Track officials announced Saturday night that the national touring World of Outlaws Late Models will sanction a race at Selinsgrove Speedway on Sunday, Aug. 26. More details will be released as they become available.
In the sprint car feature, front row starters Cody Keller and Duane Mausteller dueled for the lead at the drop of the green flag. Keller pulled into the lead at the onset but was closely chased by Mausteller for the first several laps. Behind them, third-place starter Matt Horst and fifth-place starter TJ Stutts raced for the third position.
On the ninth circuit, Stutts advanced to third and sixth-place starter Derek Locke followed him into fourth. At the halfway point, Keller stretched his lead to a straightaway over Mausteller. On the 15th lap, seventh-place starter and current point leader Pat Cannon raced into the fifth position.
A red flag on lap 16 stopped the race when Bob Beidleman’s car caught on fire in turn three. Beidleman escaped injury in the fiery mishap. When the race resumed, Keller continued to set a torrid pace and went on to score a convincing 2.7-second victory over Mausteller. Locke, Cannon, and fourth-place starter Josh Beard completed the top five.
Outside front row starter Dave Zona led the first seven laps of the late model feature until 10th-place starter Jeff Rine stormed into the lead with an inside pass in turn three. Once he was in front of the pack, Rine checked out while Zona contended with ninth-place starter Steve Campbell and 14th-place starter Coleby Frye.
The caution flag unfurled on lap 12 for debris on the frontstretch. On the restart, Rine quickly opened up a comfortable lead and went on to win the race by four seconds over Zona, Campbell, Frye, and 12th-place starter Dylan Yoder.
In the pro stock feature, second-place starter Jason Smith powered into the lead at the start of the race. Smith was chased by fifth-place starter Nate Kerstetter , third-place starter Shaun Miller, and fourth-place starter Hayes Mattern.
On lap seven, Mattern stopped on the track but was able to rejoin the race, only to withdraw from the event on lap 10. On a lap 14 restart, Kerstetter made a surprise pass by Smith for the lead using the inside lane racing off turn four. Kerstetter went on to post a mere .43 of a second margin of victory over Smith, eighth-place starter AJ Hoffman, Miller, and sixth-place starter Doug Minium.
Third-place starter Dustin Snook drove a convincing race at the front of the pack in the roadrunner main event. Snook battled with sixth-place starter Brian Johnson for most of the event and even see-sawed for the lead a few times.
On the eighth circuit, Johnson secured the lead with an inside pass racing off turn two. Snook attempted to reclaim the lead to no avail. At the checkered flag, Johnson was victorious over Snook, Ricky Bender, Adam Campbell, and Matt Lawrence.
SELINSGROVE SPEEDWAY RACE SUMMARY: 26 May 2012
358 Sprint Cars – 21 Entries
25-Lap A-Main: 1) 99K Cody Keller 2) 21 Duane Mausteller 3) 77 Derek Locke 4) 3 Pat Cannon 5) 5b Josh Beard 6) 23 TJ Stutts 7) 12 Blane Heimbach 8) 4R Davie Franek 9) 2 Jason Shultz 10) 29 Matt Horst 11) 1w Eric Tomecek 12) 25 John Smith 13) 38 Scott Wilson 14) 6s Bill Sherman 15) 56 Nate Snyder DNF 16) 81 Bob Beidleman DNF 17) 11 Joel VanBuskirk DNF 18) 3Z Brock Zearfoss DNS 19) 29w Ryan Wilson DNS 20) 5W Phil Walter DNS 21) 99B Nyle Berkes DNS
Heat Winners: Derek Locke, Cody Keller, Duane Mausteller
Late Models – 19 Entries
25-Lap A-Main: 1) 2J Jeff Rine 2) 99Z Dave Zona 3) 2 Steve Campbell 4) 32 Coleby Frye 5) 24 Dylan Yoder 6) 119B Bryan Bernheisel 7) 119 Jim Bernheisel 8) 27 Jim Yoder 9) 91 Chad Davis 10) 16 Matt Cochran 11) 4D Chad Hollenbeck 12) 7M Meade Hahn 13) 99 Jeff Smith 14) 61 Ken Trevitz DNF 15) 115 Troy Miller DNF 16) 88 Tony Adams DNF 17) 44 Donnie Schick DNF 18) 90 Kyle Rhoads DNF 19) 51 Dave Graber DNS
Heat Winners: Matt Cochran, Dave Zona
Pro Stocks – 16 Entries
15-Lap A-Main: 1) 8K Nate Kerstetter 2) 28 Jason Smith 3) 19 AJ Hoffman 4) 115 Shaun Miller 5) 12 Doug Minium 6) 85L Pete Lauver 7) 63 Nathan Long 8) 4 Jim Payne 9) 34 Hank Steffen 10) 28J Jeff Ceballo 11) 3G Jim Gerhart DNF 12) 85R Russ Lauver 13) 9 Hayes Mattern DNF 14) 99 Kyle Bachman DNF 15) 06 Frank Reisser DNS 16) 85 Terry Lauver DNS
Heat Winners: Jason Smith, Nate Kerstetter
Roadrunners – 20 Entries
12-Lap A-Main: 1) 201 Brian Johnson 2) 15 Dustin Snook 3) 29B Ricky Bender 4) 2 Adam Campbell 5) 111 Matt Lawrence 6) 8K Jeremy Kline 7) 28I Curtis Lawton 8) 02 John Fowler 9) 112 Ben Feree 10) 7 Butch Shaffer 11) 111X Larry Alvord 12) 5D Dave Adams 13) Bruce Wyland Jr. DNF 14) 11 Keith Bissinger DNF 15) 41D Dennis Conrad DNF 16) 99 Chris Hoffman 17) 76 Bob Bussey DNF 18) 89 John Schoch 19) 69 Scott Dunham Jr DQ 20) Marlin Dunham Jr DQ
Heat Winners: Matt Lawrence, Bruce Wyland Jr.