Defending Rislone URC Champion Robbie Stillwaggon was quick to establish himself as the man to beat on Friday night when URC opened their sixty-sixth season at the Big Diamond Raceway.
Stillwaggon started fourteenth in the twenty-five lap feature, but that did not slow down his charge to the front. After a fierce point battle in 2012 between Stillwaggon and Davie Franek, the battle for the win on Friday night came down to these two drivers. Franek was leading the URC feature when Stillwaggon made his way to the front and took the lead. Franek of Wantage, NJ looked to be well on his way to the win but did admit, he lost his brakes over the final seven laps. For Stillwaggon of Burlington, NJ and driver of the Fred Kennedy owned #89, the Big Diamond win was his fourth career URC victory.
The Rislone URC Sprints will find their next stop at the Bedford Speedway in Bedford, PA on Friday night, May 10 followed by the Jack Gunn Memorial at the Selinsgrove Speedway on Saturday night May 11. URC’s prior visit to the Bedford Speedway was August 20, 2010 and Bill Unglert was the winner. Bedford Speedway is a huge half-mile oval and without a doubt, one of the fastest tracks on the Rislone URC Sprint Series this year. Track Promoter Joe Padula is looking forward to the return of URC to the Bedford Speedway. This event will mark the twenty-fourth visit by URC to the Western Pennsylvania oval.
The following night, Saturday, May 11, URC will return to Selinsgrove Speedway for the eighth running the Jack Gunn Memorial, a combination show between the URC sprints and the 358 sprints of Central Pennsylvania. The feature event will pay $3,500 to the winner. Past winners include Blane Heimbach (2012, 2008, 2006), Shane Stewart (2011), Trevor Lewis (2010, 2009) and Dave Calaman (2007). The Selinsgrove Speedway, under the promotion of Charlie Paige remains one of the most well prepared track surfaces on the URC schedule.
Some outstanding performances on Friday night at Big Diamond include Billy Pauch Jr, in his first URC event and in a new car. Pauch missed qualifying in the heat race but did qualify through the “B” main and rallied on to deliver a strong eight place finish. Piperville, PA driver Brian Carber delivered a knockout performance as well in his first run with URC, finishing fourth in the main event. Always a tough contender, Bryn Gohn was the early race leader and finished a strong third. Last year’s storybook driver Kevin Darling finished fifth. When it came to the draw, the unlucky driver was Josh Weller. With just forty pills in the draw, Weller, drew pill forty. From the outset, it was an uphill battler for Weller. But as history shows, Josh delivers his best results when he starts at a disadvantage. Weller finished seventh in his first ride with car owner Chris Weiss. Nice to see Chad Trout start the season with a solid tenth place finish as well. Thirty-two cars turned out for the opener. Hard luck mentions go out to Tim Kelly, the New York based sprint car driver who took a wild flip in turn one. Kelly was not injured, however the car was badly damaged. JJ Grasso, a former URC Champion also known for his exciting driving style took a tumble just past the flag stand. Grasso was not injured in the crash and at the time, was in the thick of the battle at the front of the pack.
2013 RISONE URC SPRINT SERIES SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
| APRIL |
26 |
Big Diamond |
Robbie Stillwaggon |
| MAY |
10 |
Bedford |
$2,000 To Win |
| MAY |
11 |
Selinsgrove Jack Gunn |
$3,500 To Win |
| MAY |
18 |
Delaware International |
$2,000 To Win |
| JUNE |
1 |
New Egypt |
$2,000 To Win |
| JUNE |
7 |
Williams Grove |
$2,200 To Win |
| JUNE |
15 |
Grandview |
$2,000 To Win |
| JUNE |
22 |
Winchester, VA |
$2,000 To Win |
| JULY |
6 |
New Egypt |
$2,000 To Win |
| JULY |
26 |
Potomac |
$2,000 To Win |
| AUG |
2 |
Williams Grove–Rislone |
$4,000 To Win |
| AUG |
3 |
Lincoln |
$2,000 To Win |
| AUG |
9 |
Black Rock |
$4,000 To Win |
| AUG |
10 |
Selinsgrove |
$2,000 To Win |
| AUG |
23 |
Williams Grove |
$2,200 To Win |
| AUG |
24 |
Port Royal |
$2,000 To Win |
| AUG |
31 |
Delaware International |
$2,000 To Win |
| SEPT |
7 |
Utica Rome–non-points |
$7,000 To Win |
| SEPT |
14 |
New Egypt |
$2,000 To Win |
| SEPT |
28 |
Selinsgrove 40 Laps |
$8,000 To Win |
| OCT |
4 |
Gastonia, NC |
$2,000 To Win |
| OCT |
5 |
Cherokee SC |
$2,000 To Win |
| OCT |
19 |
Grandview |
$2,000 To Win |
| Indicates Friday Night |
|
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URC FACTS: (Statistics maintained by Steve Barrick)
65 URC Seasons beginning in 1948 – 2012
Presented 1,500 Feature events
Visited 137 Different Speedway
Delivered 257 Different Feature Winners
Single season with the most different feature winners: 2007 (20 different winners)
Driver with the most URC feature wins: Glenn Fitzcharles (81)
Track Hosting the Most URC events: Delaware International (176), Bridgeport (145), Flemington (113) Grandview (87), Middletown (68)
Driver with the most consecutive URC feature wins: Hank Rogers (9) 1961-1962
There have been 4 Photo Finishes: 7-3-54 Hatfield, PA Bert Brooks/Tony Romit (T)
9-12-59 Selinsgrove, PA Al Chamberlain/Dave Humphrey (T)
7-29-61 Owego, NY Jim Maguire/Don Gillette (T)
9-1-69 Flemington, NJ Dick Tobias/Earl Halaquist (T)
Longest Running Tour Sponsor: Bar’s Leaks 18 years