From Selinsgrove Speedway
Pat Cannon of Etters turned in an electrifying performance for his third straight win in the Jim Nace Memorial 31st Annual National Open for 410 sprint cars Saturday night at Selinsgrove Speedway.
Cannon, at the wheel of the Highlands’ Tire & Service Centers No. 3, led all 44 laps and earned $13,936 for the prestigious victory over former five-time Open winner Fred Rahmer of Salfordville, who reeled in Cannon in the final laps for a suspenseful finish.
Pulling off the hat trick, Cannon became only the third driver to win three consecutive National Open victories at the track, joining the late Maynard Yingst of Linglestown (1983-85) and Rahmer (1995-97) on the elite list.
Greg Hodnett of York was the Fast Tees Fast Qualifier over a field of 31 410 sprint cars with a lap time of 16.106 (119 average mph) on the smooth, fast half-mile oval. The Bulldog Coal Co. heats were won by Danny Dietrich of Aspers, Brian Leppo of York, and Rahmer.
Matt Cochran of Williamsport won his first race of the season at Selinsgrove in the 25-lap super late model feature.
Selinsgrove Speedway will present the final points race of the season for the 358 sprint cars, late models, pro stocks, and roadrunners at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, sponsored by Foss Jewelers. Track gates will open at 5 p.m.
With former three-time Open winner Lance Dewease starting on the pole and two-time defending Open winner Pat Cannon starting second, it was Cannon who won the battle for the early lead into turn one at the start of the Jim Nace Memorial.
Cannon was chased by sixth-place starter Brian Leppo while Dewease, third-place starter Greg Hodnett, and fifth-place starter Stevie Smith raced in the top five. By lap seven, the leaders began to encounter slower traffic. A lap later, Cannon took evasive action in turn two when another car got partially sideways in front of him. Cannon’s close call in turn two allowed Leppo to gain valuable real estate and a close race for the lead ensued.
The first segment went non-stop and Cannon was leading Leppo by 1.6 seconds at the scheduled break on lap 24. Leppo, however, was forced to withdraw from the race with motor woes during the fuel stop. When the raced resumed on lap 25, Cannon continued to set the pace in front of Dewease. The race’s only caution flag unfurled on lap 26 when Danny Dietrich’s sprint car fell off the pace.
On lap 30, original fourth-place starter Fred Rahmer began to show a lot of speed and passed Dewease for the runner-up position using the inside lane in turn three. A suspenseful high-speed chase unfolded in traffic for the next 14 laps as Rahmer steadily began to reel-in Cannon and was at one point within only three car-lengths of the leader. Rahmer’s last-ditch effort to win a sixth National Open came up short as Cannon took the checkered flag in the race for the third year in a row by 1.6 seconds.
Rahmer finished second followed by Dewease, Hodnett, and Smith in the top five.
Polesitter Hayes Mattern led the first two laps of the late model feature until the rookie got sideways in turn two on a lap three restart. When the race resumed, third-place starter Pancho Lawler took over the lead. However, Lawler’s lead was short-lived when a penalty was assessed for two consecutive false starts, putting original eighth-place starter Matt Cochran into the lead.
The race was stopped on lap four for a multi-car crash on the backstretch. On the lap five restart, 11th-place starter Coleby Frye passed fourth-place starter Andy Haus for the runner up position and set his sights on Cochran.
Despite several restarts in the caution-plagued event, Cochran maintained a convincing lead around the top of the racetrack as Frye held off 12th-place starter Jeff Rine for second. At the finish, Cochran was victorious by 2.6 seconds over Frye, Rine, seventh-place starter Chad Hollenbeck, and 15th-place starter Jim Yoder.
SELINSGROVE SPEEDWAY RACE SUMMARY: 14 September 2013
410 Sprint Cars – 31 Entries
44-Lap National Open A-Main: 1) 3 Pat Cannon ($13,936) 2) 20S Fred Rahmer 3) 27 Lance Dewease 4) 39 Greg Hodnett 5) 19 Stevie Smith 6) 25 Aaron Ott 7) 19M Brent Marks 8) 7 Chad Layton 9) 11 Mike Erdley 10) 17B Steve Buckwalter 11) 1M Mark Smith 12) 12 Blane Heimbach 13) 2T TJ Stutts 14) 21 Brian Monteith 15) 0 Rick Lafferty 16) 1A Jacob Allen 17) 1W Brock Zearfoss 18) 69 Ryan Smith 19) 71 Jessica Anderson 20) 48 Danny Deitrich DNF 21) 1 Brian Leppo DNF 22) 99K Cody Keller DNF 23) 66 Ryan Kissinger DNF 24) 56 Nate Snyder DNF
Heat Winners: Danny Deitrich, Brian Leppo, Fred Rahmer
B-Main Winner: Chad Layton
Time Trials: 1) 39 Greg Hodnett 16.106 2) 1 Brian Leppo 16.121 3) 19 Stevie Smith 16.300 4) 1S Logan Schuchart 16.319 5) 27 Lance Dewease 16.344 6) 3 Pat Cannon 16.345 7) 48 Danny Dietrich 16.364 8) 7 Chad Layton 16.390 9) 20S Fred Rahmer 16.413 10) 11 Mike Erdley 16.462 11)2T TJ Stutts 16.495 12) Blane Heimbach 16.501 13) 19M Brent Marks 16.582 14) 1M Mark Smith 16.589 15) 17B Steve Buckwalter 16.654 16) 19W Colby Womer 16.697 17) 21 Brian Monteith 16.709 18) 33 Curt Stroup 16.751 19) 25 Aaron Ott 16.825 20) 56 Nate Snyder 16.828 21) 1W Brock Zearfoss 16.855 22) 1A Jacob Allen 16.873 23) 15 Adam Wilt 16.902 24) 0 Rick Lafferty 16.902 25) 69 Ryan Smith 16.991 26) 99K Cody Keller 17.016 27) 38 Scott Wilson 17.276 28) 71 Jessica Anderson 17.494 29) 66 Ryan Kissinger 17.610 30) 55Z Mark Zimmerman 17.643 31) 21M Duane Mausteller 17.836
Late Models – 28 Entries
25-Lap A-Main: 1) 16 Matt Cochran 2) 32 Coleby Frye 3) 2J Jeff Rine 4) 4D Chad Hollenbeck 5) 27 Jim Yoder 6) 76 Andy Haus 7) 06 Mike Lupfer 8) 3W Tim Wilson 9) 99Z Dave Zona 10) 93 Pancho Lawler 11) 45 Eric Hons 12) 8 Jace Cressell 13) 6 Donnie Schick 14) M1 Mike Mort 15) 4S Danny Snyder 16) 72 Ron Coleman 17) 5E Glenn Elliott DNF 18) 24 Dylan Yoder DNF 19) 9 Hayes Mattern DNF 20) 7M Meade Hahn DNF 21) 92 Nate Romig DNF 22) 119 Jim Bernheisel DNF 23) 119B Bryan Bernheisel DNF 24) 88 Tony Adams DNF
Heat Winners: Pancho Lawler, Andy Haus, Hayes Mattern
B-Main Winner: Glenn Elliott