Craig Von Dohren Captures Melvin Joseph Memorial Season Opener Win at Georgetown Speedway

On Friday night the Short Track Super Series and Georgetown Speedway kicked off the 2022 Northeast Modified racing season with their small block modified season opener under clear and cool conditions.

 The much anticipated second round of the $25,000 STSS Elite series scheduled for Saturday has been postponed to late October due to cold and rainy conditions arriving early on Saturday morning and hanging around the rest of the weekend. 

The 30 lap feature saw three lead changes with Craig Von Dohren taking the lead on lap 20 and pulling away from 2^nd place Richie Pratt to take the win by a 2 second margin of victory.

Polesitter Dominick Buffalino took an early 10 car lead over second place JoJo Watson.  By the lap 11 restart Billy Pauch Jr had moved into second. On the restart used the outside line to overtake Buffalino for the lead pulled and away from the field. At the same time Craig Von Dohren began to make a strong run from 7^th to 2nd onto Pauch’s bummer.  On a lap 20 restart Von Doren pulled away from the field while Pauch broke a shock ending his night which moved Richie Pratt Jr into 2^nd place from a 12^th starting position.

The top ten was rounded out by Richie Pratt Jr. in second place followed by Anthony Perrego, Mike Gular, Danny Bouc, Dominic Buffalino, Brad Trice, Jordan Watson, Frank Cozze and JoJo Watson in 10^th place.

The heat races were won by Max McLaughlin, Dominick Buffalino and Craig Von Dohren.

In victory lane Von Dohren reflected “It’s been a long winter and I had to gather my thoughts.   Car wasn’t comfortable early but when we let some fuel burn off it got better and then we found a little bit up top.  Billy went up top early and he went to the front so figured I got to try it up there too.  After working on these things all winter long this is a good way to start the year and get some money in our pocket.”

Richie Pratt commented “We had a really good car and a lot of fun tonight.  I’m a little rusty since I didn’t race much last year but I can’t complain going from 12^th to 2^nd.  We came here to win; this was a good start and have a feeling we are going to get some wins this year.” 

Anthony Perrego noted “We got a couple of lucky breaks with the late yellows and was able to restart in the right lane and we had a good night with the 4* team.”

Small-Block Modified Feature Finish (30 laps):

1. CRAIG VON DOHREN, 2. Richie Pratt Jr., 3. Anthony Perrego, 4. Mike Gular, 5. Danny Bouc, 6. Dominick Buffalino, 7. Brad Trice, 8. Jordan Watson, 9. Frank Cozze, 10. Joseph Watson, 11. Mike Trautschold, 12. Tanner Van Doren, 13. H.J. Bunting, 14. Eric Kormann, 15. Sean Metz, 16. Carson Wright, 17. Doug Snyder, 18. Mark Van Vorst, 19. Matt Smith, 20. John Santolin, 21. Billy Pauch Jr., 22. W.B. James, 23. Eric Biehn, 24. Norman Short Jr., 25. Tom Solderich, 26. Beau Wilkins, 27. John Willman, 28. Ryan Watt, 29. Max McLaughlin, 30. Robert Dutton, 31. Tom Moore Jr.

Pit Notes – Melvin Joseph Memorial – Small Block Modified

As usual Brett Deyo made the call that took care of the racers and fans. All 31 cars on the grounds started in the feature and saved tire wear by not running a consolation.

Ricky Grosso and Keith Hoffman did the track prep which provided a quality track surface for the entire event with drivers reporting minimal tire wear for the night.

The race had 3 leaders and each lead for right around 10 laps.  Dominick Buffalino was pulling away from the field for the first 10 laps until Billy Pauch took the lead on a restart until lap 20 and then Craig Von Dohren made a strong outside pass on Pauch to lead the final 10 laps and pull away to a 2 second win over second place Richie Pratt Jr.

The defending Grandview 2021 points champion Craig Von Dohren got his 2022 season off to a fast start by picking up his first win of the 2022 season in his first outing of the season.  Craig started in 6^th and drove past Billy Pauch Jr under green flag conditions.

Richie Pratt had a strong practice last weekend and followed up with a 2^nd place finish from a 12^th starting position to get his 2022 northeast modified season off to a strong start.  Pratt finished 2^nd in his heat race but drew 12 of 12 in the redraw.      

Danny Bouc is back in his family owned #32 spec 358 modified and started his night off with a solid 3^rd place finish in his heat race from an 8^th starting position.  In the feature he got as high as 3^rd and finished with a solid 5^th place finish.

Brad Trice was able to make a nice run in the Jeff Brown Chesapeake Paving # 9 with a 7^th place finish in the 30 lap feature and record the best finish for a local Delaware car.

Sean Metz got 38 competitive laps and finished with a solid 15^th in only his second time driving a spec 358 modified for Don Grebe.  Sean noted “This was the first time I qualified with the spec motor and to get 38 laps of competitive seat time was great.  I will be racing the spec 358 and big block modified for Don Grebe and our family-owned crate as much as possible.  My sister will also be running the rookie crate class at Bridgeport, so we are going to be pretty busy this season.”

Several teams made strong runs from the back to the front in the 30 lap feature:

1. Richie Pratt finished 2^nd from a 12^th starting position. 
2. Mike Gular finished 4^th from a 15^th starting position.
3. Frank Cozze finished 9^th from a 21st starting position.
4. Mike Trautschold finished 11^th from a 24^th starting position.
5. Eric Kormann finished 14^th from the 27^th starting position.
6. Carson Wright finished 16^th from 31^st and last starting position.

The only major tangle of the night left Norman Short on his lid and back to the pits on the hook while also ended the night for Tom Solderich and Eric Biehn.   

Mechanical issues ended Max McLaughlin’s night early and a broken shock took Billy Pauch Jr out while running in 2^nd place with only 5 laps to go.  Billy Pauch Jr was on his way to his 6^th consecutive win at Georgetown Speedway until a shock broke and ended his night as a DNF.

The next racing action at Georgetown Speedway is on Thursday, April 14 and features the Super Late Models ‘Mark Williams Memorial’ 26 laps, $3,026 to win, RUSH Late Model Series ‘Battle of the Bay’ 30 laps, $3,000 to win plus Southern Delaware Vintage Stock Cars, Delaware Super Trucks & Delmarva Chargers.