From Selinsgrove Speedway
Selinsgrove, PA — (September 7, 2013) — Cody “The Codeman” Keller discovered the bottom lane was the fast way around Selinsgrove Speedway Saturday night when the young Selinsgrove chauffeur powered to his first win of the season in the 25-lap 358 sprint car feature.
Keller was driving the Selinsgrove Ford/Trautman’s Meat Market/Keller’s Auto Body No. 99K for his second career sprint car victory and became the ninth different winner in 358-360 sprint car racing at the track this season.
Points leader Pat Cannon of Etters and Phil Walter of McClure were both sidelined for the evening following a violent double sprint car flip in turn one at the start of the second heat. Both drivers escaped injury.
Jeff Rine of Danville powered to his sixth win of the year and the 85th of his career at Selinsgrove in the 25-lap late model feature.
Kyle Bachman of Selinsgrove won his fifth race of the season in the 15-lap pro stock feature, while Brian Johnson of Ashland notched his seventh victory of the year in the 12-lap roadrunner race.
Selinsgrove Speedway will present the Jim Nace Memorial 31st Annual Selinsgrove Ford National Open for 410 sprint cars plus super late models at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14. The 44-lap Open will pay $12,000 to win and $700 to start the speedway’s crown jewel event. Track gates will open at 5 p.m.
On the second attempt to start the sprint car feature, original third-place starter Duane Mausteller took the early lead with second-place starter Scott Wilson and fifth-place starter Cody Keller in close pursuit. Keller drove by Wilson for the second position on the second circuit and began to reel in Mausteller.
On the seventh circuit, Keller made his initial pass by Mausteller for the lead using the inside lane in turns one and two. Mausteller, however, fought back as he and Keller see-sawed for the lead for several laps in a suspenseful race at the front of the pack. On lap nine, seventh-place starter Mark Smith began to show a lot of speed and drove into the second position.
While Keller was driving the bottom of the race track to perfection, Smith was keeping the leader in his sights using the high line around the speedway. By lap 18, Keller began to encounter slower traffic and managed to hold onto the lead while Smith appeared to be gaining on a wide open race track around the top.
The event’s final caution flag unfurled on lap 22 when Johnny Smith’s sprint car stopped on the track. On the restart, Keller protected the lead on the bottom while Smith and Mausteller dueled for the second position again. At the checkered flag, Keller was victorious by 2.5 seconds over Smith, Mausteller, 11th-place starter Derek Locke, and 12th-place starter Jason Shultz.
Polesitter Hayes Mattern powered into the lead at the start of the late model feature and was trailed by second-place starter Pancho Lawler. On the first lap, sixth-place starter Matt Cochran quickly advanced to third and then moved into the second spot.
Racing down the backstretch on lap five, Cochran pulled into the lead using the inside lane. Three laps later, 12th-place starter Jeff Rine moved into the third position behind Cochran and Mattern. By lap 10, Rine was in second and closing on Cochran in traffic.
The late model race was stopped on lap 15 for a multi-car pileup in turn three that resulted in a serious fire on Jim Yoder’s No. 27 late model. All drivers escaped injury.
When the race resumed, Rine went to the outside of Cochran and made the winning pass on the backstretch. Once in front of the pack, Rine began to stretch his lead. At the checkered flag, Rine was victorious by 1.8 seconds over Cochran, Bryan Bernheisel, Dylan Yoder, and Coleby Frye.
Third-place starter Jim Gearhart led the first three laps of the pro stock feature until fifth-place starter Nathan Long made an inside pass in turn two to take command of the field. Long’s lead was short-lived as ninth-place starter Kyle Bachman stole the front spot entering turn one on a lap five restart.
Eighth-place starter Brad Mitch soon advanced to second and set his sights on Bachman. A close two-car battle for the lead unfolded between Bachman and Mitch. On the final restart on lap 12, Mitch remained in striking distance but Bachman posted the victory by just half of a second. Rounding out the top five were Long, points leader Troy Miller, and AJ Stroup.
Brian Johnson stormed from his sixth starting position and pulled into the early lead in the roadrunner feature. Johnson was chased by polesitter Brandon Shultz until fifth-place starter Bob Bussey took over the second postion on lap three.
For the remaining laps, Johnson was pressured by Bussey for the lead. The final caution flag unfurled with two laps remaining, setting up a chase to the checkered flag between Johnson and Bussey, who made several attempts to snag the lead to no avail. At the finish, Johnson was victorious by just .22 of a second over Bussey, John Fowler Jr., Shultz, and Butch Shaffer.
SELINSGROVE SPEEDWAY RACE SUMMARY – 7 September 2013
358 Sprint Cars – 23 Entries
25-Lap A-Main: 1) 99K Cody Keller 2) 1 Mark Smith 3) 21 Duane Mausteller 4) 77 Derek Locke 5) 2 Jason Shultz 6) 100 Mike Walter 7) 66 Ryan Kissinger 8) 38 Scott Wilson 9) 76 Larry Kelleher 10) 19 Colby Womer 11) 29 Matt Horst 12) 33W Scott Wilson 13) 35 Shannon Fisher 14) 13 Ryan Higgins 15) 67 Jason Cherry 16) 15 Johnny Smith DNF 17) 5B Josh Beard DNF 18) 99B Nyle Berkes DNF 19) 15R Jay Reichard DNS 20) 5 Phil Walter DNS 21) 71C Charlie Anderson DNS 22) 33 John Troxell DNS 23) 3 Pat Cannon DNS
Heat Winners: Mark Smith, Derek Locke, Cody Keller
Late Models -22 Entries
25-Lap A-Main: 1) 2J Jeff Rine 2) 16 Matt Cochran 3) 119B Bryan Bernheisel 4) 24 Dylan Yoder 5) F1 Coleby Frye 6) 99Z Dave Zona 7) 93 Pancho Lawler 8) 3W Tim Wilson 9) 45 Eric Hons 10) 9 Hayes Mattern 11) 90 Kyle Rhoads 12) 7M Meade Hahn 13) 92 Nate Romig 14) M1 Mike Mort 15) 10 Dave Stamm 16) 11 Jason Schmidt 17) 88 Tony Adams DNF 18) 61 Ken Trevitz DNF 19) 27 Jim Yoder DNF 20) 14 Dave Brouse DNF 21) 119 Jim Berheisel DNF 22) 76 Andy Haus DNF
Heat Winners: Jeff Rine, Pancho Lawler, Jim Bernheisel
Pro Stocks – 17 Entries
15-Lap A-Main: 1) 99 Kyle Bachman 2) 10M Brad Mitch 3) 63 Nathan Long 4) 115 Troy Miller 5) 26 AJ Stroup 6) 8M Brandon Moser 7) 85 Terry Lauver 8) 85L Pete Lauver 9) 83 Matt Wilson 10) 3G Jim Gerhart 11) 4 Jim Payne 12) 11 Jake Buck 13) 28J Jeff Ceballo 14) 06 Frank Reisser 15) 15S Shawn Stahl 16) 115S Shaun Miller DNF 17) 6 Nate Herman DNF 18) 94 Kenny Day DNF
Heat Winners: AJ Stroup, Troy Miller
Roadrunners – 11 Entries
12-Lap A-Main: 1) 201 Brian Johnson 2) 76 Bob Bussey 3) 02 John Fowler 4) 31B Brandon Shultz 5) 7 Butch Shaffer 6) 89 John Schoch 7) 99 Chris Hoffman 8) 28 Curtis Lawton 9) 8K Jeremy Kline DNF 10) 55 Lori Croop DNF 11) 22 Ricky Buss DNF