Mid-Atlantic Modified Report – Week 15

BRIDGEPORT MOTORSPORTS PARK

9/12/20 – Willie Osmun & Stan Frankenfield Jr led the field to green with Osmun taking the lead for the first 12 laps of the 30 lap feature.  On lap 13 Ryan Godown took the lead which he was able to maintain right into the winner’s circle while Alex Yankowski and Matt Stangle were in an intense battle for the second position.   Godown made his 3^rd visit to Bridgeport’s victory lane this season and is the only driver to win in a big block and a small block this season.

The top ten was rounded out by Alex Yankowski, Matt Stangle, Billy Pauch Jr., Briggs Danner, Neal Williams, Richie Pratt, JoJo Watson, Willie Osmon and Frank Yankowski.

Bridgeport Modified Pit Notes

Billy Pauch Sr. added a point championship on a new track with winning the 2020 points championship on the new high banked 4/10 mile at Bridgeport Motorsports Park.  Pauch also won the 2019 points championship on the 5/8 mile at Bridgeport last season.

Alex Yankowski continues to impress on the high banks with consistent top 5 runs with a strong second place finish bringing his Bridgeport top 5 finishes to 4 weeks in a row for the 16 year old driver.  Yankowski earned a 2^nd place in the points standing for the 6 weeks of point races.

 Matt Stangle’s 3^rd place finish was his best of the season at Bridgeport.  Stangle’s luck appears to have finally changed as he has had a 3^rd and two solid 6^th place finishes in his most recent outings.  Stangle has been very strong all season long only to fall out of the top 5 late in the feature due to various mechanical issues and flat tires.  Stangle is hoping to have everything sorted out and to continue strong into the fall special event season.

 No seven this week for Neal Williams.  Neal added a 6^th place finish to his three week string of 7^th’s to continue a 4 week run in the top 10.

Briggs Danner’s secured a 4^th place making it two 4^th place finishes in a row in the modified division at Bridgeport.  In recent weeks Briggs has won in a speedster and on Friday night a 600 at Bridgeport.  Next on Briggs agenda is his first modified win at Bridgeport.

JoJo Watson qualified for the feature with a 3^rd place finish in the consolation placing him 21^st in the starting line-up for the feature.  Watson made a strong back to front move with an 8^th place finish and moving forward +13 positions from his 21^st starting position to add to an already good weekend.  The night before Watson got his first win at Georgetown Speedway in 4 years.

Ryan Watt was in 7^th when contact with the wall on lap 27 ended his night with a flat tire.

29 modifieds were on the grounds and 24 took the green for the feature.

Next event for Bridgeport is the Danny Serrano 100 on September 25-27 with racing on September 25 starting at 7:30 and concluding on Sunday September 27 with a 100 lap modified race.

Bridgeport final modified point standings:

1. Billy Pauch Sr.                    334
2. Alex Yankowski                 302
3. Richie Pratt                         300
4. Ryan Godown                   298
5. Matt Stangle                      231

NEW EGYPT SPEEDWAY

9/12/20 – Frank Venezia and Dakota Kessler lead the field to green.  Venezia led the first 8 laps with Kessler taking over the lead for the next 8 laps.  On the lap 17 restart Dominic Buffalino took the lead with an outside pass of Kessler to check out on the field and get his 3^rd New Egypt win of the season

The top 10 was rounded out with Dakota Kessler, Billy Pauch Jr, Ryan Krachun, Wade Hendrickson, Brandon Grasso, Bryan Kuhl, Davey Sammons, John McClelland and Danny Bouc.

 New Egypt Modified Pit Notes

Danny Bouc won the 2020 New Egypt point championship for the first time in his racing career.  Despite the shorten season the New Egypt 2020 championship is still worth $10,000 to the winner Danny Bouc.  Bouc came in with a modest 18 point led so decent to run a defensive race which netted Bouc a 10^th place finish.  Butler was pushing for the win but a spin dashed his hopes and he finished 13^th behind Bouc.

Domininic Buffalino picked up his 3^rd NES win of the season.  The first two were with a big block motor in his #2 entry while for the 3^rd win Buffalino had switched back to a small block.  The new small block debuted with a strong outing with the win from a 10^th starting position. 

3 weeks was the charm; the new Bicknell is officially dialed in for Ryan Krachun with a 4^th place finish in the feature topping off his 3^rd place finish in the season points.

Dakota Kessler capped off the season finale with a 2^nd place finish which was a season best.  Dakota led the race for 8 laps only to be overtaken by a hard charging Dominic Buffalino.  Kessler finished 6^th in points which was another career best at New Egypt for the young driver.

Billy Pauch Jr. returned to racing with a vengeance and moved through the field for a 3^rd place finish from a 17^th starting position.

New Egypt 2020 final modified point standings: 

1. Danny Bouc                        462
2. Mike Butler                         438
3. Ryan Krachun                    418
4. David Van Horn                 406
5. Dominic Buffalino            403

The sportsman and crate point champions will be crown on Saturday September 19 along with a full program of racing starting at 6:00 PM.

GRANDVIEW SPEEDWAY

9/12/20 – John Willman led the modified field to green with Ray Swinehart taking over the lead on lap 2.  Swinehart quickly checked out on the field and built a nearly 4 second lead by lap 10, but as he entered lap traffic the gap with second place Rick Laubach began to close every lap.  On the final lap Swinehart’s lead was down to half a second and the 60 plus year old veteran drove into victory lane for his 30^th Grandview win.

The top 10 was rounded out by Rick Laubach, Brett Kressley, Mike Gular, Craig Von Dohren, Justin Grim, Kevin Hirthler, Craig Whitmoyer, Dillion Steuer and Jeff Strunk.

Grandview Pit Notes

Craig Von Dohren collected the 2020 championship with a business as usual 5^th place finish giving CVD his 11^th Grandview point championship.  Last year a late season DNQ due to breakage of both his primary and backup car on the same night opened the door for Duane Howard to win the 2019 championship.  No such luck this year for Howard or anyone else as Von Dohren’s consistency rarely had him out of the top 5 this year. 

36 Modifieds were on the grounds qualifying for 28 Modified starting positions.

Ray Swinehart has a history of getting his best finish of the year in the last race of the season before the 76er.  This year was no different as he gets his first win of the season and last year he got a 2^ND place finish which was also his best finish of the season.  About 6 weeks ago Swinehart switch all 3 of his cars suspensions from torsion bars to coils.   So far the transition to a coil suspension has seemed somewhat successful with what seems like countless heat race wins but only to be unable to get a beyond half way in a feature due to mechanical issues, flat tires & occasionally a yuke tire in the way.   Looks like Swinehart’s timing is perfect again to go into the 76er with a setup that has been successful just in time for the 76er. 

John Willman just got medical clearance to return to driving after a scheduled surgery and this was his first full race back.  Willman raced in Georgetown the night before his surgery and did bring the car to Grandview while recovering and made the necessary minimal laps in the heat races to maintain his handicap position.  The efforts to maintain his handicapping paid off in a big way as he started on the pole in his first race back from surgery.  He was able to run the entire feature and finished 13^th to get a baseline for his 76er setup.

Rich Laubach is another driver that has had an August filled with flat tires, mechanical issues and not being able to avoid tangles.  But tonight Laubach got his best Grandview finish of the season with a 2^nd place finish and was closing on the leader from his 5^th place starting position.  This was first outing Laubach had with his Grandview small block motor in the #7 big block chassis.  During the feature Laubach had a front panhard break; but he continued to reel in Swinehart in the last 10 laps.  Laubach had  a great 76er last year with a second place finish and an epic battle with Frank Cozze for almost the entire race.

After a hard barrel roll last week Doug Manmiller returned to Grandview to dial in his backup car.  Manmiller was spun in the heat race from racing contact and had to resort to the consolation to qualify for the feature.  In the consolation the dialing in of the backup car appeared to be moving forward as he was able to win his heat from a 8^th starting position.  An 18^th place finish in the feature and miles to go before the 44m team sleeps as they prepare their backup entry for the 76er.  In light of the past 2 weeks of tangles; Manmiller has been very consistent this season with top 5 finishes almost every week until his recent bad luck with racing contact.

Louden Reimert had what looked like his best car of the season in the heat race coming from 7^th to 1^st but the bad news was that the motor was hurt in the heat race.  Since it was the last points race of the season; Reimert had his backup car with him and was able to use a provisional to get in the feature with the 29^th starting position.  Louden was able to move through the field and despite a lap 16 flat get a 17^th place finish with the backup car and start dialing in for the 76er.

Meme DeSantis showed up in the 88d and qualified for the feature as he begins preparations for the 76er a week earlier than most of the drivers who are not regulars.

Grandview final modified point standings:

1. Craig Von Dohren            3153
2. Duane Howard                  2906
3. Doug Manmiller                2694
4. Jared Umbenhauer         2691
5. Jeff Strunk                          2669

Racing action continues at Grandview Speedway this Friday and Saturday September 18 & 19 for the Sportman 38er on Friday and the 76er on Saturday with racing starting at 7:30 on Friday and 7:00 on Saturday.

PENN CAN SPEEDWAY

9/11/20 – The 28 car field was led to green by Jamie Bedford and Butch Getz but just like last week yellow was out very early for a 4 car pile-up which resulted in Walsh & Eisenhower to retire to the pits on the hook.  On the restart it was Getz taking the lead for the 12 laps.  On the next restart it was Byron Worthing using the outside groove to take the lead from Getz.  On lap 15 leader Byron Worthing clipped a lapped car and relinquished the lead to Danny Creeden while Worthing went into the pits to repair a broken torsion bar.   Creeden stretched his lead only to get restacked by the 7^th yellow of the event.  But nothing was going to stop Danny Creeden as he stormed into victory lane for his first Penn Can win of the season.

The top five was rounded out by Butch Getz, Nick Petrilak, Brian Malcolm and Nick Pecko.

Penn Can Pit Notes

Brett Tonkin won the 2020 Penn Can modified track championship with consistent top 5 and top 10 finishes and a solid night at triple 20’s.  Tonkin spent his childhood at Penn Can watching his father race and this championship was a dream come true for the second generation driver.

The top 4 finishers in the feature were all top 5 in points demonstrating the consistency of their season despite the handicapped starting position.

Butch Getz finished his season very strong with another 2^nd place finish making it two second place finishes in a row at Penn Can to close out the season.

Penn Can’s next event is a Patriot Sprint Tour Doubleheader, modifieds and a full regular program of racing on Friday September 18^th starting at 7:00.

Final Penn Can Modified point standings are:

1. Brett Tonkin       1485
2. Brian Malcolm   1371
3. Nick Petrilak       1331
4. Mike Loney         1269
5. Butch Getz          1257

DELAWARE INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

9/12/20 – Off week – no racing.

Next up at Delaware International Speedway are the Mid-Atlantic Sprints, modifieds and a full program of racing on Saturday night September 19 starting at 7:00 PM.  Point champions will be crowned at the conclusion of racing.

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

9/11/20 – The 27 car field was lead to green by Ryan Watt and Jeff Struck.  Watt led into turn 1 but then went over the turn 3 berm and ended up with a flat tire before lap 1 that sent him to the pits and from the pole to 29^th position.  Strunk took the lead by lap 4 and Billy Pauch JR had already moved from 9^th to 2^nd only to have a left rear tire knocked off the bead and had to go to pits and back of the field.  Pratt worked his way into the top 5 only to have mechanically problems retire him to the pits for the night.  Jordon Watson was next car to fall out of 2^nd place on lap 7 bringing out the 5^th caution.   On the lap 11 restart JoJo Watson made his move from the inside line and took the lead and from there he checked out on the field and glided through lap traffic to victory lane for his first Georgetown win of the season.

The top ten was rounded out by Danny Bouc, Ryan Watt, Jeff Strunk, Rick Laubach, Billy Pauch Jr, Scott Hitchens, Jordan Watson and Kevin Sockritter.

Georgetown Pit Notes

Jojo Watson got the monkey off his back with his first win since he started racing at Georgetown in 2016.  He adds Georgetown to a growing list of tracks he has wins at in 2020 which includes Bridgeport Motorsports Park and Delaware International.

 Danny Bouc was strong from the onset of the racing as he stormed from 8^th to 1^st in his heat race.  The Pondish # 6 continued to move to the front in the feature with a 2^nd place finish from a 10^th place starting position.

Just before the modified feature Ryan Watt was running 2^nd in the URC spring race when hard contact down the front stretch took him to the pits on the hook.  Watt jumped right in the modified for his next feature of the night in his 14W experimental Teo Pro Car. 

Ryan Watt drew the pole for the modified feature but as luck would have it he was back in 29^th before lap 1 was completed due to a flat tire.  Watt used the high line to his advantage and moved through the field to a 3^rd place finish.

Several drivers ended up with flat tires but made solid runs back through the field.  Both Billy Pauch Jr and Jordan Watson had flats while running in 2^nd place and ended up in the back of the field only to come back to a 6^th place finish for Pauch and a 9^th place finish for Jordan Watson.

Richie Pratt Jr was another driver that had a strong car and run to the front end early with a broken race car.  Pratt moved quickly from 11^th to 4^th but on lap 7 went into the pits with mechanical issues and was unable to return.

Matt Stangle had a string of 6 races were he was running in the top 5 only to have mechanical issues take him out of the race. But now Stangle appears to have turned his luck around for the better with a strong 7^th place finish from an 18^th starting position to add to a recent Coalcracker 6^TH place finish.  That’s two top 10 in a row that Stangle has been able to secure.

Scott Hitchens made his 2^nd outing in the Brain Hitz’s 32H entry and had his best run with an 8^th place finish.  Hitchens will continue to drive the 32H at Delaware International in the next few weeks. 

Current Georgetown Modified point standings are:

1. Billy Pauch Jr.     432
2. Ryan Watt           384
3. Danny Bouc        349
4. Jordan Watson  293
5. Rick Laubach      280

Georgetown’s next scheduled event is Friday October 2^nd featuring the USAC East Coast Sprints, modifieds and a full card with racing at 7:30.

BIG DIAMOND SPEEDWAY

9/11/20 – No racing scheduled.

Big Diamond’s next event is on Friday September 25 featuring modifieds and a full program of racing starting at 7:45 PM

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