The Short Track Super Series rescheduled the Diamond State 50 and was able to return to Delaware International Speedway to complete the STSS South region’s 5th modified point race of the season. Perfect weather and track conditions greeted the drivers and fans for a competitive night of STSS racing.
Stewart Friesen moved past all his rivals in the first 25 laps from his 7th redraw position and then just plan ran away from all of the field in the final 25 laps to take his second STSS win in a row with Matt Shepard in 2nd and teammate Jimmy Horton in 3rd on the podium.
The sportsman feature saw 12 year old Tanner Van Doren hold off veteran driver Scott Hitchens for 25 laps to take his first STSS sportsman win.
The modified 50 lap feature had Ryan Watt and Billy Pauch Jr on the front row with the New Yorkers (Friesen and Shepard) back in 7th and 8th starting position. By lap 13 Watt had faded to 6th place leaving Billy Pauch Jr. surrounded by the New Yorkers with Shepard in front of him and Friesen directly behind him in 3rd. By lap 14 it was the New Yorkers in first and second with Shepard being pursued by Friesen. On lap 23 Friesen took the lead using both high and low lines to negotiate lap traffic on the way to his second STSS win in a row.
In victory lane Friesen noted “We struggled with this car last weekend at Plattsburg but I can’t thank my guys enough for all their hard work to turn this car around in just a few days. I was good in 1 & 2 but struggled in 3 & 4. The track was good but very tricky as the top went away but came back later in the feature.”
The modified top 5 was rounded out by Matt Shepard, Jimmy Horton, Andy Bachetti, and Danny Bouc.
On the podium 2nd place Matt Shepard commented “This is a nice track and I really like it here. I didn’t make any changes to the car after the heat races and probably should have tighten the car up a bit for the feature.”
3rd place Jimmy Horton noted “We have had a terrible season and I got to thank Stewie because I called him up and threw up the white flag up and told him you got to help me buddy because I’m lost. He helped me out pretty good and told me “Old man drive it”.”
Modified heat race winners were Tyler Dipple, Matt Shepard, Jordon Watson and Billy Pauch Jr. The consolation was won by Matt Stangle.
The sportsman race had Tanner Van Doren and Scott Hitchens lead the field to green. They stayed 1-2 the entire 25 laps with Hitchens pulling even several times but overheating brakes and the 12 year’s strategic driving held Hitchens to a second place. The 12 year old youngster Tanner Von Doren got his first win in the sportsman division over one of the top veterans in the sportsman ranks.
In his first sportsman victory lane Tanner said “Scotty is a good guy and he races clean, hard and is really fun to race with. I moved higher coming out of the corner to get grip so I didn’t have to watch Scotty go up there and go by me. I gave him the low line because I knew it was real slick down there and you had to pedal it real hard down since there was no grip.”
2ND place Scott Hitchens noted “We got beat by that little rascal and he drove a helluva race. I keep thinking he would mess up but he didn’t. My brakes got hot and just couldn’t catch him. It was good to see him win.”
STSS South Region event #5 – Modified Feature Finish (50 laps) @ Delaware International Speedway:
1. STEWART FRIESEN, 2. Matt Sheppard, 3. Jimmy Horton, 4. Andy Bachetti, 5. Danny Bouc, 6. David Van Horn Jr., 7. Jordan Watson, 8. Ryan Watt, 9. Jeff Strunk, 10. Tyler Dippel, 11. Richie Pratt Jr., 12. Carson Wright, 13. H.J. Bunting, 14. Ryan Riddle, 15. Danny Hieber, 16. John Willman, 17. Joseph Watson, 18. Brandon Watkins, 19. Robert Dutton, 20. Ray Swinehart, 21. Mike Gular, 22. Billy Pauch Jr., 23. Matt Stangle, 24. Ryan Godown, 25. Rick Laubach, 26. Norman Short.
Did Not Qualify: Scott Ambruster, Kevin Gardner, John Bailey, Austin Hubbard, Ricky Johnson III, Jordan Justice, Kevin Sockriter, Matt Smith, Matt Hawkins, Larry Wight, Neal Williams, Brandon Grosso.
STSS South Region Sportsman event #4 Feature Finish (25 laps) @ Delaware International Speedway
1. TANNER VAN DOREN, 2. Scott Hitchens, 3. Adam White, 4. Tim Hartman Jr., 5. Joe Toth, 6. Michael White, 7. Tom Moore Jr., 8. Trent Willey, 9. Jim Housworth, 10. James Hill, 11. Matt Peck, 12. Kevin Borden, 13 Brad Roberts, 14 Anthony Tramontana, 15. Ryan Simmons, 16. Samantha Muller, 17. Tom Princiotta, 18. George Richardson, 19. John Stevenson, 20. Greg Nailor Jr., 21. Freddy Massey, 22. Erik McKinney, 23. Sean Metz, 24. David Jenkins, 25. William Adams.
Did Not Qualify: Justin Eason, Justin Riley, Robert Messick, Brett Kern, Sean Weiss, Matt Smith.
Did Not Qualify: Scott Ambruster, Kevin Gardner, John Bailey, Austin Hubbard, Ricky Johnson III, Jordn Justice, Kevin Sockriter, Matt Smith, Matt Hawkins, Larry Wight, Neal Williams, Brandon Grosso.
Modified Pit Notes
In the heat races the place to be was underneath and that is where all the passes were made. The track surface was good but tricky and changing so by the feature the faster line was the high side. And as Friesen noted the top worked in 1 & 2 but the bottom was better in 3 & 4. The high line was the key to Jimmy Horton’s success in the feature as it took him to a 3rd place finish from a 15th place starting position.
Billy Pauch Jr came in with two straight wins and the points lead. But smoke and an apparent fire had Pauch Jr on the hook back to the pits with a 22nd place DNF finish.
Larry Wight came into the race 3rd in points but his 12K entry had engine damage in hot laps which retired him for the night with a DNQ before the heat races even started.
Danny Hieber made a rare appearance and qualified for the feature with his seldom seen #11 modified.
John Willman was the only spec 358 in the pits. Despite being at a power disadvantage he qualified and finished 16th among the big blocks and open small blocks.
Matt Stangle qualified for the feature by winning the consolation event. Stangle had a good front to back run in the feature and was in the top ten from his 21st starting position when a right rear flat tire retired him for the night on lap 34.
Andy Bachetti had a strong 4th place finish from a 20th place starting position.
Jimmy Horton came on strong late in the feature and was using the high line to grab a 3rd place podium finish from the 15th starting position.
HJ Bunting was not in his usual 85 entry but instead jumped in the 65* ride which was his first time in the entry. Bunting qualified from the heats and was able to secure a 13th place finish.
38 modifieds were on the premises of which 15 were DIS weekly regulars. 7 of the Delaware locals qualified for the 50 lap feature and Jordan Watson got the best finish of the local contingent with a 7th place finish.
Crate Pit Notes
Tanner Von Doren was fast all night. He was the fastest car in the heat races and won his heat. In the feature he led the entire race and was able to keep veteran Scott Hitchens in second place for the entire 25 lap feature. Within one year the 12 year old Von Doren has progressed quickly from qualifier, to top 10 finisher, to feature winner. As well as following the STSS Tanner Von Doren has also raced weekly this season at OCFG with top ten results.
Like last year, another point battle for the 2020 STSS Sportsman championship is brewing with 2 races remaining. Tim Hartman from the North continues to lead the points but the top 8 are within 100 points of the leader. Scott Hitchens moved to within 4 points of the lead with his second place finish and Joe Toth only 41 points off the pace back in 3rd.
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