From Bill Meyer
ABBOTTSTOWN, Penn. (September 24, 2016) — “I said at the beginning of the night that the only thing better than winning a Lincoln Dirt Classic was winning two of them.”
So said Stevie Smith after claiming his second win in three years in the 40-lap $20,000-to-win “Dirt Classic” in the Pigeon Hills Saturday night.
Smith, who started third after setting third-fast time and gathering the third-most points in time trials and qualifying, followed front row starters Lucas Wolfe and James McFadden the first two laps before catching the Kasey Kahne Racing #4 in turns three and four of lap three.
One lap later saw the “Dirt Classic” lose its front row, with McFadden turning over in turn four to bring out the red, and then Wolfe going to the pits with an oil leak during the red flag. Smith assumed the lead for the restart, with Danny Dietrich, Gerard McIntyre, and Matt Campbell in tow.
But it was only the first time he led the race, as Dietrich closed on the leader in lapped traffic. Smith, who admitted having trouble with the lapped traffic, lost the lead to Dietrich on turn four of lap 30. One lap later, Adam Wilt flipped in turn four, leading to a fuel stop. At the time, 11th-starting and rapidly closing Greg Hodnett was about to make it a three-car battle for the lead.
And that’s exactly what it became on the restart with nine laps to go. Smith and Dietrich both bounced off the walls on subsequent slide jobs, with Smith coming out with the lead on lap 35. A lap later, the final caution of the event came out for Cory Haas, who spun in turn one.
That set up a dramatic three-car battle between Smith, Dietrich, and Hodnett for the win over the final five laps.
“I told Fred (Rahmer) during the red that Danny’s going to go to the top, so we’re going to have to run the bottom,” said Smith in victory lane, “When I saw him peel down to the bottom, I knew that was my chance to go back around him on the top. We finished second last year and we didn’t wait to finish second again this year. We ran our tail off. Danny did a nice job, but when you get out there in the lead, you’re not sure which way to go. He’s been really fast this year. I think being in second may have won us that race.”
“All these guys are tough in my book,” concluded Smith when reflecting on a talent-laden 48-car field, “The older I get the better they look!”
In the end, Smith pulled away to a 1.03-second win over Dietrich, with Hodnett settling for third. Lance Dewease received the $700 bonus ($500 from the Beer Hill Gang and $200 from Winebrenner Harley in Hanover) as hard charger for coming from 14th starting spot to finish fourth, with Brian Montieth coming from 15th starting spot to finish fifth.
Sixth through tenth were McIntyre, Tim Wagaman, Jim Siegel, Campbell, and Ryan Smith.
The final transfer spot of the night went to J.J. Grasso, as he and track champ Alan Krimes got together just before the finish line in the B main, with Krimes crossing sideways at the finish line to cross fifth.
Fast time in time trials over the 48-car field was set by Matt Campbell, running his first-ever Lincoln 410 sprint car race, with a one-lap time of 13.182-seconds (102.412 MPH).
Two rounds of heats were won by James McFadden, Lucas Wolfe, Bill Balog, Danny Dietrich, Ryan Smith, Terry McCarl, JJ Grasso, Greg Hodnett, Brent Marks, and Adam Wilt. Tyler Esh won the C-Main and Freddie Rahmer won the B-Main.
Next Saturday night, Oct. 1st, Lincoln will be dark to allow its drivers to compete in the Williams Grove National Open.
Lincoln returns to action for its season finale on Saturday, October 8th with the annual Hank Gentzler Memorial Manufacturers Appreciation Night presented by Panchos Racing Products featuring the 410 and 358 sprint cars, along with the All American Outlaws. Gates for that show open at 4:00 p.m. with the first qualifier scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
To get all the latest news, results, schedule changes and rule changes, visit Lincoln Speedway’s website at http://www.lincolnspeedway.com to stay up-to-date on all the action or pending weather conditions at Central Pennsylvania’s “Premier” Saturday night race track – The Fabulous Lincoln Speedway.
RACE RESULTS
Saturday, September 24, 2016
LINCOLN SPEEDWAY
Abbottstown, PA
THIRD ANNUAL “DIRT CLASSIC”
A-Main (40 laps) – 1. 51S-Stevie Smith ($20,000); 2. 48-Danny Dietrich; 3. 27-Greg Hodnett; 4. 69K-Lance Dewease; 5. 21-Brian Montieth; 6. 16-Gerard McIntyre, Jr.; 7. 1*-Tim Wagaman; 8. 59-Jim Siegel; 9. 16C-Matt Campbell; 10. 94-Ryan Smith; 11. 5G-Chase Dietz; 12. 3-Tim Kaeding; 13. 11C-Cory Haas; 14. 8-Billy Dietrich; 15. 71M-Dave Blaney; 16. 4-James McFadden; 17. 5-Tyler Ross; 18. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss; 19. 51-Freddie Rahmer (DNF); 20. 15-Adam Wilt (DNF); 21. 37-JJ Grasso (DNF); 22. 17B-Bill Balog (DNF); 23. 24-Terry McCarl (DNF); 24. 19M-Brent Marks (DNF); 25. 1Z-Lucas Wolfe (DNF). No Time
Lap Leaders – Lucas Wolfe (1-3), Stevie Smith (4-29), Danny Dietrich (30-34), Stevie Smith (35-40)
First Round Heat Race 1 (8 laps) – 1. 4-James McFadden; 2. 16-Matt Campbell; 3. 11C-Cory Haas; 4. 87-Alan Krimes; 5. 69K-Lance Dewease; 6. 24-Terry McCarl; 7. 44-Trey Starks; 8. 12-Mike Bittinger; 9. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss; 10. 23-Todd Rittenhouse, Jr. No Time
First Round Heat Race 2 (8 laps) – 1. 1-Lucas Wolfe; 2. Dave Blaney; 3. 25-Aaron Ott; 4. 3-Tim Kaeding; 5. 37-JJ Grasso; 6. 8-Billy Dietrich; 7. 2-Glenndon Forsythe; 8. 7-Lynton Jeffrey; 9. 29-James Pryde; 10. 24B-Dustin Baney. Time – 1:50.311
First Round Heat Race 3 (8 laps) – 1. 17B-Bill Balog; 2. 51S-Stevie Smith; 3. 59-Jim Siegel; 4. 27-Greg Hodnett; 5. 35-Steve Owings; 6. 5-Tyler Ross; 7. 1X-Chad Trout; 8. 91-David Quackenbush; 9. 3B-Randy Baughman. Time – 1:52.358
First Round Heat Race 4 (8 laps) – 1. 48-Danny Dietrich; 2. 16-Gerard McIntyre, Jr.; 3. 19M-Brent Marks; 4. 55K-Robbie Kendall; 5. 21-Brian Montieth; 6. 88-Brandon Rahmer; 7. 21T-Scott Fisher; 8. 45-Kevin Nagy; 9. 74-Dwayne Gutshall. Time – 1:53.751
First Round Heat Race 5 (8 laps) – 1. 94-Ryan Smith; 2. 1*-Tim Wagaman; 3. 5G-Chase Dietz; 4. 15-Adam Wilt; 5. 52-Austin Hogue; 6. 35-Tyler Esh; 7. 39-Anthony Macri; 8. 99M-Kyle Moody; 9. 51-Freddie Rahmer. No Time
Second Round Heat Race 1 (8 laps) – 1. 24-Terry McCarl; 2. 4-James McFadden; 3. 3-Brock Zearfoss; 4. 87-Alan Krimes; 5. 11C-Cory Haas; 6. 69K-Lance Dewease; 7. 44-Trey Starks; 8. 16-Matt Campbell; 9. 12-Mike Bittinger; 10. 23-Todd Rittenhouse, Jr. Time – 1:59.740
Second Round Heat Race 2 (8 laps) – 1. 37-JJ Grasso; 2. 3Tim Kaeding; 3. 7-Lynton Jeffrey; 4. 8-Billy Dietrich; 5. 1-Lucas Wolfe; 6. 2W-Glenndon Forsythe; 7. 71M-Dave Blaney; 8. 29-Jame Pryde; 9. 24B-Dustin Baney; 10. 25-Aaron Ott. No Time
Second Round Heat Race 3 (8 laps) – 1. 29-Greg Hodnett; 2. 1X-Chad Trout; 3. 5-Tyler Ross; 4. 59-Jim Siegel; 5. 51S-Stevie Smith; 6. 91-David Quackenbush; 7. 35-Steve Owings; 8. 17B-Bill Balog. No Time
Second Round Heat Race 4 (8 laps) – 1. 19M-Brent Marks; 2. 88-Brandon Rahmer; 3. 21-Brian Montieth; 4. 48-Danny Dietrich; 5. 21T-Scott Fisher; 6. 55K-Robbie Kendall; 7. 16-Gerard McIntyre, Jr.; 8. 45-Kevin Nagy; 9. 74-Dwayne Gutshall. Time – 1:57.982
Second Round Heat Race 5 (8 laps) – 1. 15-Adam Wilt; 2. 5-Chase Dietz; 3. 51-Freddie Rahmer; 4. 52-Austin Hogue; 5. 39-Anthony Macri; 6. 94-Ryan Smith; 7. 1*-Tim Wagaman; 8. 35E-Tyler Esh; 9. 99M-Kyle Moody. Time – 1:57.969
B-Main (12-Laps/Top-4 Advance to rear of A-Main) – 1. 51-Freddie Rahmer; 2. 5-Tyler Ross; 3. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss; 4. 37-JJ Grasso; 5. 87-Alan Krimes; 6. 35-Steve Owings; 7. 88-Brandon Rahmer; 8. 12-Mike Bittinger; 9. 2W-Glenndon Forsythe; 10. 21T-Scott Fisher; 11. 1X-Chad Trout; 12. 39-Anthony Macri; 13. 44-Trey Starks; 14. 7-Lynton Jeffrey; 15. 52-Austin Hogue; 16. 35E-Tyler Esh; DNS – 55-Robbie Kendall, 24-Terry McCarl, 91-David Quackenbush. No Time
C-Main (6-Laps/Top-2 Advance to rear of B-Main) – 1. 35E-Tyler Esh; 2. 23-Todd Rittenhouse, Jr.; 3. 24B-Dustin Baney; 4. 29-Jame Pryde; DNS – 45-Kevin Nagy, 74-Dwayne Gutshall. No Time
Time Trial Results – 1. 16C-Matt Campbell, 13.182-seconds (102.412 MPH); 2. 1-Lucas Wolfe, 13.273; 3. 51S-Stevie Smith, 13.365; 4. 16-Gerard McIntyre, Jr., 13.381; 5. 1*-Tim Wagaman, 13.381; 6. 69K-Lance Dewease, 13.407; 7. 8-Billy Dietrich, 13.418; 8. 17B-Bill Balog, 13.451; 9. 48-Danny Dietrich, 13.458; 10. 94-Ryan Smith, 13.468; 11. 4-James McFadden, 13.516; 12. 25-Aaron Ott, 13.526; 13. 21-Brian Montieth, 13.550; 14. 59-Jim Siegel, 13.550; 15. 51-Freddie Rahmer, 13.553; 16. 11C-Cory Haas, 13.567; 17. 71M-Dave Blaney, 13.573; 18. 27-Greg Hodnett, 13.577; 19. 55K-Robbie Kendall, 13.578; 20. 5G-Chase Dietz, 13.583; 21. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 13.620; 22. 2W-Glenndon Forsythe, 13.662; 23. 5-Tyler Ross, 13.677; 24. 19M-Brent Marks, 13.680; 25. 52-Austin Hogue, 13.715; 26. 87-Alan Krimes, 13.717; 27. 3-Tim Kaeding, 13.744; 28. 35-Steve Owings, 13.768; 29. 88-Brandon Rahmer, 13.791; 30. 15-Adam Wilt, 13.830; 31. 24-Terry McCarl, 13.834; 32. 7-Lynton Jeffrey, 13.846; 33. 1X-Chad Trout, 13.882; 34. 21T-Scott Fisher, 13.898; 35. 99M-Kyle Moody, 13.911; 36. 12-Mike Bittinger, 13.917; 37. 37-JJ Grasso, 13.964; 38. 3B-Randy Baughman, 13.983; 39. 45-Kevin Nagy, 13.992; 40. 39-Anthony Macri, 14.001; 41. 44-Trey Starks, 14.041; 42. 24B-Dustin Baney, 14.109; 43. 91-David Quackenbush, 14.114; 44. 74-Dwayne Gutshall, 14.123; 45. 35E-Tyler Esh, 14.175; 46. 23-Todd Rittenhouse, Jr., 14.178; 47. 29-James Pryde, 15.099; 48. 69-Tim Glatfelter, NT.