Mid-Atlantic Modified Report Week 13

SHORT TRACK SUPER SERIES – Georgetown, DE

8/25/20 – The 35 lap modified feature was led to green by pole sitter Matt Stangle.   Stangle held his lead for 13 laps but on the second restart of the event it was Jeff Strunk taking the led as Billy Pauch Jr moved into second and Anthony Perrego into 3rd while Stangle faded back into the pack.  By lap 15 Stewart Friesen had arrived to the top 5 in 5^th place from his 23^rd starting position.  Friesen worked his way to 2^nd place and used a final lap and monster slider on Billy Pauch Jr. that would take Friesen back to victory lane for the second Short Track Super Series win in a row and earn him the “Delaware Double Down” Bonus of $2,000 for winning STSS events at both Delaware tracks.

The 25 lap 602 Crate feature saw Joe Toth lead for the first 12 laps only to see Scott Hitchens use the lower line to make a pass for the lead on lap 12 and then checkout on the field by nearly 4 seconds to take the win.

STSS Blast at the Beach Modified Results – Georgetown Speedway – 8/25/20

Winner – 1. STEWART FRIESEN, 2. Billy Pauch Jr., 3.  Anthony Perrego, 4. Matt Sheppard, 5. Jeff Strunk, 6. Tyler Dippel, 7. Mike Mahaney, 8. Larry Wight, 9. Ryan Godown, 10. Mike Gular, 11. Rick Laubach, 12. Ryan Watt, 13. Ryan Krachun, 14. Alex Yankowski, 15. Jimmy Horton, 16. Matt Stangle, 17. David Van Horn Jr., 18. Richie Pratt Jr., 19. H.J. Bunting, 20. Danny Bouc, 21. Brandon Grosso, 22. Joseph Watson, 23. Ryan Riddle, 24. Danny Hiebner, 25. Jordan Watson, 26. Andy Bachetti, 27. Brandon Hightower, 28. Carson Wright.

Did Not Qualify: Scott Ambruster, Norman Short, Clay Tatman, Kevin Sockriter, Austin Hubbard, Matt Hawkins, Brett Ballard, and Ricky Johnson.

STSS Modified Pit Notes

Stewart Friesen started 9^th and qualified 7^th in an all-star heat race and was sent to the consolation race looking for a qualifying position.  In the consolation event Friesen secured the 23^rd starting spot in the feature.  In the feature Friesen moved to 5th by lap 15 and didn’t lead the feature until the final 2 laps.   Friesen has won both STSS races at Georgetown this year and back to back Delaware state races earning him an additional $2,000 for the “Delaware Double Down” Bonus.

Mat Shepard came through the field twice due to a flat tire and secured a 4^th place finish for the 9S entry.  The defending 2019 South Region champion Shepard is still within striking distance of Stewart Friesen only 70 points behind with 2 events remaining and the final being double points.

Larry Wight in the 12K entry was in the same heat as Friesen and also couldn’t move to the front.  In the consolation Wight started 11^th and moved forward to 5^th but missed qualifying by one position.  Wight used a series provisional to start from the 25^th position and got things clicking in the feature to secure an 8^th place finish.

Ryan Godown jumped in the Jamie Mills 30M and got a top 10 finish with 9^th place from an 18 place starting position.

Mike Gular also had a strong back to front run with a 10^th place finish from a 22^nd place starting position.

NEW EGYPT SPEEDWAY

8/29/20 –   The first twin 20 of the night was led to green by Chris Grabac only to have Davey Sammons take the lead on lap 1.  Sammons would led the first 9 laps but Danny Bouc was following in a close second.  The one and only caution of the race flew on lap 10 and on the ensuing restart it was Danny Bouc charging to the lead and into victory lane for his second win of the season.

The top 10 for twin # 1 were – Davey Sammons, Wade Hendrickson, Dominick Buffalino, Mike Butler, PJ Oilver, Bryan Kuhl, John McClelland, Frank Cozzo and Ryan Krachun.

Heat winners were John McClelland, Davey Sammons & Wade Hendrickson.

An invert of 14 put Jimmy Blewett and Dakota Kessler on the front row.  Blewett led the field to green until lap 2 when caution flew for 2 separate incidents with one collecting 7 cars who all returned from the pits to tag the end of the field.  On the ensuing restart it was Matt Stangle bolting to the lead until lap 12 when as his recent luck would have it; Stangle broke a fuel pump which ended his day while leading a race again. On the lap 12 restart Jimmy Blewett reclaimed the lead and even with a 3^rd caution and 5 lap shootout Blewett hooked up and checked out for his first win on dirt this season and at New Egypt this year.

The top 10 for twin # 2 were David Van Horn, Danny Bouc, Frank Cozze, Dominick Buffalino, Ryan Krachun, Mike Butler, Davey Sammons, Cale Ross and Wade Hendrickson.

New Egypt Modified Pit Notes

Point leader Billy Pauch Jr could not attend due a medical condition.  Billy is doing well and expected to return next week.

Despite a 14 position invert 7 drivers made the top 10 in both features to have big bonus point days.  Danny Bouc snagged a 1^st and 3^rd place.  Other strong finishes in both event were Sammons with a 2^nd and 7^th while Buffalino secured a 4^th and 5^th in the double header.

Matt Stangle continues to have a really good running car to only fall out of the top 10 again due to mechanical failure or flat tires.   With this drop out while in the lead it brings his total to 5 races in the past 2 weeks that Stangle has unfortunately dropped out of while in the top 10 or better due to mechanical issues. 

In twin # 2 Danny Bouc made an impressive run from the inverted 14^th starting position to a 3^rd place finish in just 20 laps.

26 drivers were on the premsies with 25 starting in both twin features.

Danny Bouc is the current points leader over Mike Butler by 20 points followed by Ryan Krachun, David Van Horn and Dominick Buffalino.   A total of 64 points separates the top 5 drivers.

Twin 20 # 1 – New Egypt Speedway – 8/29/20

8/29/20 1.) DANNY BOUC 2.) Davey Sammons 3.) Dominick Buffalino 4.) Wade Hendrickson 5.) Bryan Kuhl 6.) PJ Oliver 7.) Mike Butler 8.) John McClelland 9.) Ryan Krachun 10.) Frank Cozze 11.) David Van Horn 12.) Kory Fleming 13.) Matt Stangle 14.) Jimmy Blewett 15.) Brandon Grosso 16.) Dakota Kessler 17.) JR Fulper 18.) Steve Davis 19.) Cale Ross 20.) Frank Venezia 21.) Ryan Simmons 22.) Jim Britt 23.) Danny Carlough 24.) Roger Manning 25.) Robbie Dunn 26.) Chris Grbac

Twin 20 # 1 – New Egypt Speedway – 8/29/20

 1.) JIMMY BLEWETT 2.) David Van Horn 3.) Danny Bouc 4.) Frank Cozze 5.) Dominick Buffalino 6.) Ryan Krachun 7.). Mike Butler 8.) Davey Sammons 9.) Cale Ross 10.) Wade Hendrickson 11.) Brandon Grosso 12.) Dakota Kessler 13.)JR Fulper 14.) John McClelland 15.) Steve Davis 16.) Bryan Kuhl 17.) PJ Oliver 18.) Jim Britt 19.) Roger Manning 20.) Danny Carlough 21.) Frank Venezia 22.) Kory Fleming 23.) Chris Grbac 24.) Matt Stangle 25.) Robby Dunn 26.) Ryan Simmons

GRANDVIEW SPEEDWAY

8/29/20 – The midnight modified feature was led to green by Mark Levy and Darrin Schuler.  Schuler in the 74 entry checked out on the field by nearly 2 seconds for 11 laps but then the one and only caution of the feature came out and restacked the field.  On the restart Schuler chose the high side and put Eric Biehn on the low side but a cross over by Biehn got him back on the high groove and he bolted into the lead on lap 12 for his first of the night.  On lap 25 a lapped car made slight contact with Biehn in the high groove which is all Kressley needed to make his move to the low side and take the lead to cruise into victory lane with Mike Gular, Eric Biehn, Ryan Lilick and Doug Manmiller rounding out the top 5.

A strong top 10 was rounded out by Richie Hitzler in 6^th, Craig Von Dohren, Ryan Grim, Duane Howard and Louden Reimert.

The modified heats were won by Ryan grim, Richie Hitzler, Brett Kressley and Eric Biehn.  Consolation wins went to Alex Yankowski and Craig Whitmoyer.

36 modifieds were on the grounds competing for 28 starting spots on the grid for the 30 lap feature event.

T. P. Trailers Modified Feature (30-laps) 8-29-20:

Winner – 1. Brett Kressley, 2. Mike Gular, 3. Eric Biehn, 4. Ryan Lilick, 5. Doug Manmiller, 6. Richie Hitzler, 7. Craig Von Dohren, 8. Ryan Grim, 9. Duane Howard, 10. Louden Reimert, 11. Jeff Strunk, 12. Justin Grim, 13. Dillon Steuer, 14. Jared Umbenhauer, 15. Rick Laubach, 16. Alex Yankowski, 17. Darrin Schuler, 18. Kevin Hirthler, 19. Bobby Trapper Jr., 20. Briggs Danner, 21. Dan Waisempacher, 22. Ron Kline, 23. Craig Whitmoyer, 24. Brad Grim, 25. Bob Trapper, 26. Mark Levy, 27. Dylan Swinehart,     28. Ray Swinehart.

DNQ: Bobby Gunther Walsh, Brett Gilmore, Mark Kratz, Colt Harris, Carroll Hine III, Kenny Gilmore, Ron Myers and John Willman.

Grandview Pit Notes

Brett Kressley checked out on the field with 5 laps to go and drove into victory lane from a 16^th starting position in a 30 lap feature with only 1 caution.  Kressley is usually one of only a handful of cars running on the high side but this week with the late rain the high groove was the place to be with everyone running high but it didn’t matter to Kressley as he could run anywhere on the track.

Brett Kressley’s win gives him back to back Saturday night wins and is his third win in the month of August.  Kressley is the only driver with 3 wins so far this season at Grandview and he also had the biggest payday of his career with his win of the Forrest Rogers Memorial.

Amidst all the pandemic and Covid-19 confusion Mike Gular quietly returned to his home track of Grandview this season.  Gular missed the first couple of point races but in the past 3 races he has finished 2^nd, 3^rd and 2^nd and is dialed back into his 2018 championship form.

Eric Biehn had his strongest outing of the season with a 3^rd place finish after leading for 15 laps.  Biehn has been qualifying for all the features this season but mostly from the consolation and starting in the 26-28^th position in the feature.  On Thursday night at Thunder on the Hill the 87 team tried some new shocks and a few setup changes which netted Biehn a 3^rd place finish in their heat race which was their best heat finish of the season.  From there they made a few more adjustments and on Saturday won their first heat race of the year which landed them the 4^th starting position in the feature. Biehn got mighty close to that first career win this week with his 3^rd place finish.  Biehn is looking forward to continued progress in the front of the field and move toward his first career modified win.

Ryan Lilick moved from his 7^th starting position get secure his best results this year with a 4^th place finish in the modified feature.  Lilick was as high as second place at one point but finished with a strong 4^th place.  Lilick had major motor issues in the prior week and was a DNQ after not being able to finish either the heat race or consolation.  Lilick had the good fortune of having a Thunder on the Hill event this week which he used to figure out the motor issues from last week.  The extra effort paid off in a big way with a 4^th place finish for Ryan Lilick.

Modified Point standings: 1.) Craig Von Dohren – 2606, 2.) Doug Manmiller – 2517, 3.) Duane Howard – 2491, 4.) Jared Umbenhauer -2304, 5.) Jeff Strunk – 2160

Racing action continues at Grandview Speedway on Saturday September 5 with Hard Charger Challenger and the modifieds & sportsman with racing starting at 7:30.

BRIDGEPORT MOTORSPORTS PARK

8/29/20 – Rainout.

Next event for Bridgeport is the USAC Speedsters and modifieds with a full weekly racing program on Saturday September 5th with racing starting at 7:00.

Current Bridgeport Modified point standings are:

1. Billy Pauch Sr.                    224
2. Richie Pratt                         200
3. Alex Yankowski                 194
4. Ryan Godown                   190
5. Tommy Beamer                176

BIG DIAMOND SPEEDWAY

8/28/20 – Rainout.

Big Diamond’s next event is the Sportsman Coalcracker 40, Modified practice and a full program of racing on Friday September 4 with racing at 7:45.

Sunday September 6 is the Modified Coalcracker 72 with a full program of racing starting at 7:45.

Current Big Diamond Modified point standings are:

1. Mike Gular                          1606
2. Craig Von Dohren            1552
3. Jeff Strunk                          1530
4. Alex Yankowski                 1313
5. Rick Laubach                      1240

PENN CAN SPEEDWAY

8/28/20 – Rainout.

Penn Can’s next event is the modifieds and a full regular program of racing on Friday September 4^th starting at 7:15.

Current Penn Can Modified point standings are:

1. Brett Tonkin       1235
2. Brian Malcolm   1106
3. Nick Petrilak       1095
4. Mike Loney         1089
5. Butch Getz          1002

DELAWARE INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

8/29/20 – No racing scheduled.

Next up at Delaware International Speedway are the USAC Sprints, modifieds and a full program of racing on Saturday night September 05 starting at 7:00 PM.

Current DIS Modified Point Standings are:

1. Jordan Watson      790
2. HJ Bunting               660
3. JoJo Watson           520
4. Carson Wright        507
5. Brandon Watkins  505

GEORGETOWN SPEEDAY

8/29/20 – No scheduled racing event.

Georgetown’s next scheduled event is Friday September 11^th featuring the URC Sprint cars, modifieds and a full card with racing at 7:30.

Current Georgetown Modified point standings are:

1. Billy Pauch Jr.     261
2. Ryan Watt           236
3. Danny Bouc        210
4. Jordan Watson  188
5. HJ Bunting           170