Wight, Sheppard, Friesen and Creeden Win Qualifying Heats on Day 1 of Inaugural STSS Elite Series $25,000 Modified Race at Cherokee Speedway

The Short Track Super Series kicked off qualifying for Race #1 of their highly anticipated Elite Series at Cherokee Speedway.  57 modifieds were on the grounds looking for a spot in Saturday’s $25,000 to win 50 lap feature.  Larry Wight, Stewart Friesen, Matt Sheppard, and Danny Creeden took the 20 lap $1,000 to win heat race victories and locked into the redraw for Saturday’s 50 lap feature.

The heat # 1 win went to Larry Wight who took the victory from his 14^th starting position and benefited from 7 cautions which kept the field bunched up and close.   Ryan Watt made his 2022 debut with a strong 2^nd place to secure a valuable redraw spot.  Bobby Hackel led several laps and held onto the 3^rd and final redraw position.  Jack Lerner and Andy Bachetti secured the 4^th and 5^th final transfer positions for Saturday’s 50 lap feature.

Heat race 2 saw Stewart Friesen take the $1,000 heat race win from the pole position.  Demetrios Drellos and Michael Maresca rounded out podium and redraw positions.  The final 2 transfer positions to the feature went to Matt Williamson and J.R. Heffner in 4^th and 5^th respectively.

Matt Sheppard took a command of heat race 3 from the pole position and posted a 3 second win over HJ Bunting who posted a solid second place run.  Sheppard and Bunting will be joined by 3^rd place Ryan Godown in the redraw for Saturday’s feature.  Dominick Buffalino (4^th) and Billy Pauch Jr. (5^th) took the final transfer positions into the feature.  Pauch continues to run strong at every STSS event he attends and finished 5^th from a 12^th starting position. 

The 4^th heat was also won from the pole and green to checkered by Danny Creeden over Darren Smith and Billy Vaninwegan with all three locking into the redraw for the Saturday feature.  The 4^th and 5^th final transfer positions went to Rocky Warner and Max Mclaughlin.

The list of non-qualifiers looking to the last chance race on Saturday includes Anthony Perrego, Erik Rudolph, Brett Haas, Billy Decker, Adam Pierson, Jimmy Horton, Ryan Krachun, LJ Lombardo, Allison Ricci, Jeremy Pitts, Jimmy Phelps, Mike Gular, Ronnie Johnson, Marc Johnson, Mike Mahaney, Alan Johnson, and Peter Britten among others.

Modified Pit Notes

Mike Gular was running a strong second place behind Sheppard when a flat tire sent him to the pits and back of the field on lap 15.  He still managed to work his way back to an 8^th place finish and improve his starting position in his last chance consolation race.

Anthony Perrego started in the 15^th starting position and was running 5^th in a transfer position when he hit a rut and fell back to a 6^th place finish and out of a transfer position.  Perrego will start on the front row of his last chance consolation race.

A series of early restarts helped Billy Decker moved from 13^th to 5^th by lap 3 but only to have a flat tire send him to the rear of the field again.  After the flat Decker battled back through the field to an 8^th place finish which improved his starting position in the last chance consolation on Saturday.

Erik Rudolph got caught up in a lap 1 jingle in his heat race which ended his night early.  Erik will be starting from the back of his last chance consolation.

Jimmy Horton has returned to form and made a nice run to a 6^th place finish from a 10^th starting position.  Jimmy secured a front row position for his last chance consolation race tomorrow.

Jimmy Phelps made a solid run from his 14^th starting position to a 7^th place finish setting him up for a front row starting position in his last chance consolation on Saturday.

Mike Mahaney continues to search for the magic of his 2021 campaign as he continues to struggle in 2022 to find consistent speed and be able to stay up front.

Modified – Qualifying Race No. 1 Finish (20 laps):

1. LARRY WIGHT, 2. Ryan Watt, 3. Bobby Hackel, 4. Jack Lehner, 5. Andy Bachetti, 6. Anthony Perrego, 7. Brett Haas, 8. Billy Decker, 9. Adam Pierson, 10. Doug Snyder, 11. Derrick McGrew Jr., 12. Bob McGannon, 13. Sean Metz, 14. Francois Bellemare, 15. Erick Rudolph.

Modified – Qualifying Race No. 2 Finish (20 laps):

 1. STEWART FRIESEN, 2. Demetrios Drellos, 3. Michael Maresca, 4. Mat Williamson, 5. J.R. Heffner, 6. Jimmy Horton, 7. L.J. Lombardo, 8. Jeff Taylor, 9. Ryan Krachun, 10. W.B. James, 11. Allison Ricci, 12. Daniel Morgiewicz, 13. Matt Stangle, 14. Corbin Millar.

Modified – Qualifying Race No. 3 Finish (20 laps):

1. MATT SHEPPARD, 2. H.J. Bunting, 3. Ryan Godown, 4. Dominick Buffalino, 5. Billy Pauch Jr.,   6. Jeremy Pitts, 7. Jimmy Phelps, 8. Mike Gular, 9. Marshall Hurd, 10. Ronnie Johnson, 11. Neil Stratton, 12. Jacob Dgien, 13. Steve Davis, 14. Mike Trautschold.

Modified – Qualifying Race No. 4 Finish (20 laps):

 1. DANNY CREEDEN, 2. Darren Smith, 3. Billy Van Inwegen, 4. Rocky Warner, 5. Max McLaughlin, 6. Marc Johnson, 7. Alex Yankowski, 8. Alan Johnson, 9. Matt Smith, 10. David Schilling, 11. Peter Britten, 12. Mike Mahaney, 13. Jared Umbenhauer, 14. Sean Beardsley.

CRATE 602 SPORTSMAN Qualifying

The 602 Crates had 3 qualifying heats with the winners collecting $500 for a 15 lap heat race win.  Mike Nagel, Jeff Watson, and Brock Pinkerous each picked up a $500 heat race win.  The top 4 cars in each heat are in the redraw for the pole position.

All 31 cars are qualified for the 30 lap feature race on Saturday so there will be no consolation required. 

Crate 602 Sportsman Qualifying Race No. 1 (15 laps): 

1. MIKE NAGEL JR., 2. Doug Kline, 3. Logan Watt, 4. Blaine Klinger, 5. Payton Talbot, 6. Walt Hammond Jr., 7. Bobby Watkins, 8. Tom Princiotta, 9. Jeff Gallup, 10. Matthew Ellery, 11. Adam White. 

Crate 602 Sportsman Qualifying Race No. 2 (15 laps):

1.JEFF WATSON, 2. Brandon Watkins, 3. Craig Whitmoyer, 4. Tyler Peet, 5. Scott Hitchens, 6. Addison Bowman, 7. Kris Lilick, 8. Brian Calabrese, 9. Michael White, 10. Dylan Madsen.

Crate 602 Sportsman Qualifying Race No. 3 (15 laps): 

1. BROCK PINKEROUS, 2. Steven Schrader, 3. Jimmy Zacharias, 4. Alex Layn, 5. Bobby Bracall, 6. Steve Davis, 7. Mike Bruno, 8. Walter J. Hammond, 9. Randy Chrysler, 10. Eric Williams.