By Kalida Landis
HANOVER, Pa.: David Holbrook knows exactly what to do when Steve Owings is closing in and looking for a Trail-Way Speedway win.
There is no choice, really. Owings is the top driver at the speedway, so the only thing you can do is mash the accelerator and get up on the wheel.
That’s what Holbrook did Friday night at Trail-Way. He took the lead at the start and held off the charging Owings late to capture the 25-Lap 358 Sprint Car main event on York County Racing Club Night. It was his 11th career win at the speedway in the division.
“You just got to gas it up, because he’s [Owings] going to,” Holbrook said. “They kept telling me the top was the fastest way around, and he wasn’t really making ground on the bottom. So, I knew as long as I didn’t miss it and I hit every mark, we’d be good.
“I want to thank Brad Hostetter for leaving the racetrack the way it was. It was two good grooves and a lot of racing. I guess I didn’t see much, but it was good for me.”
There was plenty of racing, but there were also some incidents that slowed action. As for Holbrook, he took the lead at the start over Bo Gordon Jr.
Owings wasted little time carving his way to the front. After starting eighth on the grid, he worked his way up to third on Lap 2 and passed Gordon for the runner-up position on the third circuit.
Gordon retook the position on Lap 3. Owings was too much in the scrum and was back into second by the completion of Lap 4.
The first red flag of the event came out on Lap 8, when Tim McClelland and Dylan Orwig flipped. Holbrook remained out front on the restart, but Owings was within striking distance and ready to challenge for the lead.
Holbrook got into heavy lapped traffic just past the halfway point on Lap 15. Owings was there, but the complexion of the race changed when Riley Emig spun in Turn 4, and Austen Treuchet clipped him and flipped.
That was the break Holbrook needed. He moved to the top of the speedway and stayed there the rest of the way to take the win by .875 seconds.
Owings settled for a runner-up finish. Cody Phillips, Cameron Smith, and Kyle Rohrbaugh completed the top five. Opening Day winner Mike Bittinger and Riley Emig were heat winners in 358 Sprint competition.
In Street Stock action, Russ Shoop took top honors in the prestigious Brian Blank Jr. Memorial, which paid $1,700 to the winner.
Zach Meyers got the jump at the start of the 25-lap affair and led Danny Beard and Shoop through the first and second corner.
Shoop stayed in third until Lap 6, when he shot by Beard to grab the runner-up spot. Four laps later, he was challenging the leader for the win.
Myers continued to lead through the 12th circuit. Shoop stalked and made the winning pass on Lap 13 and never looked back in taking the victory.
Shoop’s teammate Sam Rial finished in the runner-up spot followed by Myers. Craig Wagaman and Aaron Beard collided at the line, with Wagaman finishing inches ahead of Beard, completing the top five. Beard, and Dalton Myers were heat winners.
Wyatt Rotz wired the field to claim the 20-Lap 270 Micro Sprint feature. It was his first career win in the division at the speedway.
Greg Emlet was slated to start on the pole but elected to tag the rear. That put Rotz on the point, and he led the entire race distance to take the win by .599 seconds.
Craig Myers, Adrian Shaffer, Cory Myers, and Bill Laughman completed the top five. Rotz, Laughman, and Myers were heat winners for the 19-car field.
Matt Worley started third on the grid and surged to the front to win the 15-Lap Limited Stock main event. It was his sixth career victory at the speedway.
Outside pole-sitter Justin Mong led the opening 13 laps before Worley took over and drove away over the last two circuits to take the 1.565-second victory.
Robert Nicklow, Cody Klinedinst, Robbie Carroll, and Chad Martin completed the top five. Justin Mong fell to seventh in the last two laps.
Joe Brown won the Classic Car Main event. He took the win over Bill Brown Jr., Jimmy Combs, Roland Brown, and Dylan Brown.
Trail-Way Speedway
Hanover, Pa.
Friday, May 21, 2021
For Immediate Release
358 SPRINT CARS
Feature (25 Laps): 1. 77-David Holbrook[1]; 2. 35-Steve Owings[8]; 3. 1-Cody Phillips[3]; 4. 69-Cameron Smith[6]; 5. 12K-Kyle Rohrbaugh[10]; 6. 12-Mike Bittinger[7]; 7. 13-Bo Gordon Jr[4]; 8. (DNF) 33-Riley Emig[5]; 9. (DNF) 51-Austen Treuchet[12]; 10. (DNF) 44-Steven Cox[11]; 11. (DNF) 69X-Justice Forbes[14]; 12. (DNF) 6-Tim McClelland[2]; 13. (DNF) 2D-Dylan Orwig[9]; 14. (DNF) 22B-Nat Tuckey[13].
Lap Leaders: David Holbrook (1-25)
358 Sprint Heat 1 Finish (10 Laps/All Qualify): 1. 12-Mike Bittinger[2]; 2. 35-Steve Owings[6]; 3. 6-Tim McClelland[5]; 4. 69-Cameron Smith[4]; 5. 2D-Dylan Orwig[1]; 6. (DNF) 69X-Justice Forbes[7]; 7. (DNF) 51-Austen Treuchet[3].
358 Sprint Heat 2 Finish (10 Laps/All Qualify): 1. 33-Riley Emig[1]; 2. 77-David Holbrook[4]; 3. 1-Cody Phillips[6]; 4. 13-Bo Gordon Jr[2]; 5. 12K-Kyle Rohrbaugh[5]; 6. 44-Steven Cox[7]; 7. (DNF) 22B-Nat Tuckey[3].