Selinsgrove, PA — (September 8, 2012) — Pat Cannon of Etters clinched his third career A&A Auto Stores 358 sprint car title at Selinsgrove Speedway with his eighth win of the year at the track in the division’s 25-lap main event Saturday night.
The victory also marked Cannon’s 40th career at the Snyder County half-mile oval driving the Highlands’ Tire & Service Center No. 3. He joins Chad Layton of Harrisburg and Blane Heimbach of Selinsgrove as the speedway’s only three-time 358 sprint car track champions.
Jeff Rine of Danville returned to victory lane for the first time since July when he captured his sixth win of the year in the 25-lap late model feature. The win was Rine’s 78th career at Selinsgrove.
Jason Smith of Williamsport scored his third win of the season and the 18th of his career in the 15-lap pro stock feature, while John Fowler Jr. of Montandon won his second career roadrunner feature this year in the division’s 12-lap race.
Selinsgrove Speedway will present the Jim Nace Memorial 30th Anniversary National Open for 410 sprint cars plus late models at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15, sponsored by Selinsgrove Ford. The rain date, if needed, will be 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16, for sprint cars only.
Polesitter Ryan Kissinger took the lead at the drop of the green flag in the sprint car feature. Kissinger was chased by second-place starter Duane Mausteller and sixth-place starter Pat Cannon for the first two laps.
On the third circuit, Cannon raced into second and on lap six rocketed into the lead with an outside pass on the backstretch. Once in front of the pack, Cannon streaked away from the field and was uncontested for the rest of the distance.
By lap 15, fourth-place starter Jason Shultz began to show some speed and moved into the runner-up position. The field was regrouped for a lap 18 restart when Cannon and Shultz squared off racing back into turn one. Cannon held the lead and again opened up a big advantage over the rest of the field.
At the finish, Cannon was victorious by 2.5 seconds over Shultz, TJ Stutts, Kissinger, and Mausteller.
Second-place starter Chris Shuey beat polesitter Jeff Smith into the first turn for the early lead in the late model feature. Fourth-place starter Chad Davis quickly moved into the runner-up position with third-place starter Tony Adams in third.
On the second circuit, Adams advanced to second while sixth-place starter Jim Yoder followed him into the third spot. Eighth-place starter Jeff Rine raced into second and quickly reeled in Shuey at the front of the pack. On the 11th lap, Rine made the winning pass by Shuey using the inside line off turn four. The race was slowed on lap 13 when Adams, Dylan Yoder, and Steve Campbell tangled in turn two.
When the race resumed, Rine checked out from the rest of the field; at one point, he held a half-track advantage over Shuey. In the final laps, ninth-place starter Mike Lupfer showed some speed and nabbed second on the last lap. Rine took the checkered flag by 1.3 seconds over Lupfer, Bryan Bernheisel, Donnie Schick, and Shuey.
Fourth-place starter Kyle Bachman powered into the lead at the start of the pro stock feature. Bachman was chased by third-place starter Jason Smith for the first six laps. Entering turn one on the seventh circuit, Smith made a pass under Bachman for the lead. Bachman continued to race second for another two laps until his car fell off the pace.
Fifth-place starter Hayes Mattern ran second with sixth-place starter and 2012 track champion AJ Hoffman racing in third. On a lap 10 restart, however, Mattern’s car also slowed. Hoffman advanced to second and set his sights on Smith.
At the finish, Smith was victorious by 1.5 seconds over Hoffman, Shaun Miller, Pete Lauver, and Nathan Long.
Original eighth-place starter Keith Bissinger stormed into the lead on the first lap of the roadrunner feature. Bissinger was chased by 10th-place starter and 2012 track champion Bob Bussey for the first three laps until Bussey withdrew his No. 76 from the race with mechanical problems. Fourth-place starter John Fowler Jr. took over the runner-up position and reeled-in Bissinger.
On a lap seven restart, Fowler passed Bissinger using the inside lane in turn four. Fifth-place starter Adam Campbell followed Fowler into the runner-up position. At the checkered flag, Fowler was victorious by 1.2 seconds over Campbell, Bissinger, John Schoch, and Curtis Lawton.
SELINSGROVE SPEEDWAY RACE SUMMARY – 8 September 2012
358 Sprint Cars – 13 Entries
25-Lap A-Main: 1) 3 Pat Cannon 2) 2 Jason Shultz 3) 23 TJ Stutts 4) 66 Ryan Kissinger 5) 21 Duane Mausteller 6) 1 Mark Smith 7) 77 Derek Locke 8) 29 Matt Horst 9) 71 Charlie Anderson DNF 10) 3Z John Smith DNF 11) 5W Phil Walter DNF 12) 63 Mike Walter DNF 13) 29S Derek Steward DNF
Heat Winners: Ryan Kissinger, Mark Smith
Late Models – 17 Entries
25-Lap A-Main: 1) 2J Jeff Rine 2) 06 Mike Lupfer 3) 119B Bryan Bernheisel 4) 44 Donnie Schick 5) 55 Chris Shuey 6) 91 Chad Davis 7) 16 Matt Cochran 8) 7M Meade Hahn 9) 119 Jim Bernheisel DNF 10) 22 Brett Schadel DNF 11) 88 Tony Adams DNF 12) 2 Steve Campbell DNF 13) 24 Dylan Yoder DNF 14) 99 Jeff Smith DNF 15) 27 Jim Yoder DNF 16) 19 AJ Hoffman DNF 17) 4D Chad Hollebeck DNS
Heat Winners: Matt Cochran, Tony Adams
Pro Stocks – 12 Entries
15-Lap A-Main: 1) 28 Jason Smith 2) 19 AJ Hoffman 3) 115 Shaun Miller 4) 85L Pete Lauver 5) 63 Nathan Long 6) 4 Jim Payne 7) 66 Dustin Wolfgang 8) 28J Jeff Ceballo 9) 6 Tommy Jensen 10) 3G Jim Gerhart 11) 9 Hayes Mattern DNF 12) Kyle Bachman DNF
Heat Winners: Kyle Bachman, Jason Smith
Roadrunners – 20 Entries
12-Lap A-Main: 1) 02 John Fowler Jr. 2) 2 Adam Campbell 3) 11 Keith Bissinger 4) 89 John Schoch 5) Curtis Lawton 6) 6 Dan Jensen Jr. 7) 201 Brian Johnson 8) 8K Jeremy Kline 9) 111x Larry Alvord 10) 111 Matt Lawerence 11) 99 Chris Hoffman 12) 7 Butch Shaffer 13) 41D Dennis Conrad 14) 31B Brandon Shultz DNF 15) 25J Nate Romig DNF 16) 76 Bob Bussey DNF 17) 85 Terry Lauver DNF 18) 28Z Jason Zook DNF 19) 3 Bruce Wyland Jr. DNF 20) 112 Ben Feree DNS
Heat Winners: Nate Romig, John Fowler