From Selinsgrove Speedway
Selinsgrove, PA — (June 15, 2013) — For the second week in a row, Pat Cannon of Etters found himself in a hotly-contested battle for the lead and win in Saturday night’s 30-lap Joe Whitcomb Memorial for 358 sprint cars at Selinsgrove Speedway.
Cannon see-sawed for the lead with Ryan Kissinger of Bloomsburg for several laps late in the race before securing the front spot and scoring his fifth win of the year and third in the Whitcomb Memorial. The $1,771 victory was his 46th career in 358-360 sprint car competition at the track driving the Highlands’ Tire & Service Centers No. 3.
Cannon was also the Fast Tees Fast Timer of the night in qualifying with a lap time of 17.430 (109.384 average miles per hour).
Jeff Rine of Danville turned in a convincing performance for his fourth win of the year and 83rd of his career at Selinsgrove in the 25-lap late model feature.
AJ Stroup of Evandale held off several challengers for his 15th career pro stock win in the division’s 15-lap main event. The win was Stroup’s first at the track since 2010, while Bob Bussey of Northumberland drove to his third win of the year in the 12-lap roadrunner race.
There will be no racing at the track Saturday, June 22. The next event at Selinsgrove Speedway will be Saturday, June 29, featuring the Middleswarth Potato Chips Firecracker 30 for 358 sprint cars paying $2,500 to win. Joining the sprint cars will be the late models, pro stocks, and roadrunners for a 7:30 p.m. start. Track gates will open at 5 p.m.
Polesitter Derek Locke powered into the lead at the start of the sprint car feature. Front row starter TJ Stutts raced a close second until his inside top-wing panel sheered off and brought out the caution flag for debris. Stutts opted to stay on the track with a broken wing and fought his mis-handling race car while fifth-place starter Pat Cannon made a charge into the runner-up position.
Cannon chased Locke around the quick half-mile oval for several laps and made a pass for the lead using the inside line in turn three on lap 12. At the halfway point, Cannon was leading third-place starter Josh Beard and 10th-place starter Ryan Kissinger.
The caution flag unfurled on lap 18 when Scott Wilson and Austin Reed tangled in the third turn. On the restart, Cannon continued to set the pace as Kissinger stormed around the top-side of the race track and eventually took over the lead. Cannon battled back and the two drivers see-sawed for the lead for several laps.
Another caution flag broke up an intense battle for the lead when Stutts’ car blew a tire on the frontstretch. During the caution period, the red flag was displayed for a fuel stop. When the race resumed, Cannon began to stretch his lead as Beard drove into the second position. At the finish, Cannon was victorious by 2.7 seconds over Beard, sixth-place starter Jason Shultz, Locke, and 20th-place starter Larry Kelleher.
Front row starter Donnie Schick took the lead at the start of the late model feature. Schick was trailed by polesitter Hayes Mattern, fourth-place starter Chad Davis, sixth-place starter Jerry Bard, and 10th-place starter Jim Yoder in the top five. By the fifth circuit, 12th-place starter Jeff Rine entered the top five and began advancing his way to the front of the pack.
On the 11th circuit, Rine drove into the runner-up position and set his sights on Schick. Rine reeled in Schick and made the winning pass using the inside lane racing off turn four on the 15th lap. Once in front of the pack, Rine streaked away from the field and posted a six-second margin of victory over Schick, Jim Bernheisel, Matt Cochran, and Chad Davis.
Second-place starter AJ Stroup pulled into the lead at the start of the pro stock feature. Stroup was chased by sixth-place starter Kyle Bachman through the eighth lap when third-place starter Brad Mitch drove into the runner-up position.
As Mitch closed in on Stroup for the lead, he turned his car sideways in turn four and brought out the caution flag. Bachman reclaimed the runner-up position and chased Stroup to the finish. Stroup’s margin of victory was a mere .51 of a second over Bachman, Troy Miller, Terry Lauver, and Nate Stroup.
Third-place starter Ray Rothfuss powered into the lead at the start of the roadrunner feature. Rothfuss was chased by fifth-place starter Bob Bussey for the first two laps. On the third circuit, Bussey made the winning pass by Rothfuss using the inside line in turn two.
Sixth-place starter Brian Johnson held the second position for several laps until his car developed mechanical problems. Rothfuss was back in contention the final four laps as he pressured Bussey for the lead and win. At the checkered flag, Bussey was victorious by the slimmest of margins over Rothfuss, Butch Shaffer, Chris Hoffman, and Ricky Bender.
SELINSGROVE SPEEDWAY RACE SUMMARY – 15 June 2013
358 Sprint Cars – 24 Entries
30-Lap Whitcomb Memorial: 1) 3 Pat Cannon ($1,771) 2) 5B Josh Beard 3) 2 Jason Shultz 4) 77 Derek Locke 5) 76 Larry Kelleher 6) 50 Tim Berkheimer 7) 5 Phil Walter 8) 19 Colby Womer 9) 99B Nyle Berkes 10) 23 TJ Stutts 11) 1W Eric Tomecek 12) 25 Johnny Smith 13) 29S Derek Steward 14) 67 Jason Cherry 15) 66 Ryan Kissinger DNF 16) 21 Duane Mausteller DNF 17) 3Z Brock Zearfoss DNF 18) 1 Mark Smith DNF 19) 34 Austin Reed DNF 20) 38 Scott Wilson DNF 21) 15 Jay Reichard DNF 22) 4R Kevin Nouse DNF 23) 99K Cody Keller DNF 24) 22M Brian Garland DNF
Heat Winners: Pat Cannon, Josh Beard, Mark Smith
Time Trials: 1) 3 Pat Cannon 17.430 2) 99K Cody Keller 17.583 3) 1 Mark Smith 17.735 4) 2 Jason Shultz 5) 38 Scott Wilson 17.795 6) 77 Derek Locke 17.800 7) 23 TJ Stutts 17.833 8) 5B Josh Beard 17.847 9) 76 Larry Kelleher 17.937 10) 1W Eric Tomecek 17.941 11) 66 Ryan Kissinger 17.952 12) 22M Brian Garland 17.952 13) 3Z Brock Zearfoss 18.037 14) 50 Tim Berkheimer 18.048 15) 5 Phil Walter 18.134 16) 21 Duane Mausteller 18.161 17) 99B Nyle Berkes 18.244 18) 25 Johnny Smith 18.326 19) 34 Austin Reed 18.345 20) 29S Derek Steward 18.413 21) 67 Jason Cherry 18.773 22) 15 Jay Reichard 19.108 23) 4R Kevin Nouse DNT 24) 19 Colby Womer DNT
Late Models – 21 Entries
25-Lap A-Main: 1) 2J Jeff Rine 2) 6 Donnie Schick 3) 119 Jim Bernheisel 4) 16 Matt Cochran 5) 91 Chad Davis 6) 27 Jim Yoder 7) 119B Bryan Bernheisel 8) 26 Jerry Bard 9) 24 Dylan Yoder 10) 61 KenTrevitz 11) 99Z Dave Zona 12) 88 Tony Adams 13) 90 Kyle Rhoads 14) 9 Hayes Mattern 15) 4 Brian Hack 16) 6M Harry Miller 17) 28 Jason Smith 18) 24R Jon Rohacevich 19) 10 Dave Stamm 20) 99 Steve Stitt 21) 2C Adam Campbell DNF
Heat Winners: Matt Cochran, Jeff Rine, Tony Adams
Pro Stocks – 13 Entries
15-Lap A-Main: 1) 26 AJ Stroup 2) 99 Kyle Bachman 3) 115 Troy Miller 4) 85 Terry Lauver 5) 26S Nate Stroup 6) 63 Nathan Long 7) 28J Jeff Ceballo 8) 8M Brandon Moser 9) 115S Shaun Miller DNF 10) 10M Brad Mitch DNF 11) 06 Frank Reisser DNF 12) 85L Pete Lauver DNF 13) 3G Jim Gearhart DNS
Heat Winners: Kyle Bachman, Stroup
Roadrunners – 11 Entries
12-Lap A-Main: 1) 76 Bob Bussey 2) 22 Ray Rothfuss 3) 7 Butch Shaffer 4) 99 Chris Hoffman 5) 29B Ricky Bender DNF 6) 31 Brandon Shultz DNF 7) 201 Brian Johnson DNF 8) 89 John Schoch DNF 9) 8K Jeremy Kline DNF 10) 41 Dennis Conrad DNF 11) 02 John Fowler Jr.
Heat Winners: Brian Johnson, Bob Bussey