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Matt Felten
CUMBERLAND, Md. (April 12) - Shane Clanton fought off Billy Decker to claim the 2008 Mid-Atlantic Championship Series (MACS) opener at The Rock, Allegany County Speedway on Saturday night.
Clanton, of Locust Grove, Ga., won $5,000 for the 50-lap event. In other action, Chad McClellan captured the $1,000 Limited Late Model prize and Michael Lauffer won the Factory Stock 4-Cylinder feature.
In blustery conditions, Clanton paced the field for much of the race. He briefly lost the lead to Decker on lap 37, and then regained it for the final 11 laps. Clanton had an eight car length edge at the finish.
Decker, of Unadilla, N.Y., and Tim Fuller, of Edwards, N.Y., finished second and third. Parkersburg, W.Va., driver Mike Balzano and Gettysburg, Pa., driver Jeremy Miller rounded out the top five.
The win was the first ever on the series and at the speedway for Clanton, who regularly travels the country with the World of Outlaws tour.
Clanton headed off Decker in turn one for the lead at the start. Three cautions in the first eight laps kept the field close but Clanton pulled away by a dozen car lengths between the third caution and lap 14. Decker and Chub Frank, who earlier moved up to third over Balzano, closed in as Clanton approached the back of the field.
After the fourth caution on lap 21, Clanton couldn't shake off Decker. The two lead cars were nose to tail on lap 31 when they began to catch traffic again.
Decker made his first move on lap 34 but Clanton held on. With Frank now joining the battle, Decker took the lead on lap 37 on the low side in turn three.
Clanton regained the lead on lap 38 by taking to the high side while Decker tried to negotiate traffic in turn four. Frank fell out of third on lap 42 to bring out the final caution and Fuller got by Balzano on the restart to set the field for the finish.
Rounding out the top 10 were Gary Stuhler, Shannon Babb, Jason Covert, Rick Eckert and Ricky Elliott. Forty cars were on hand.
McClellan shot in front of Mike Shoemaker on lap four and led the distance to claim the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature.
McClellan, who started fourth, jumped around Tim Smith and Jamey Swank for second after one lap. Shoemaker, the pole-sitter, gave way to McClellan on lap three but couldn't hold him off again on lap four.
McClellan went on to win by six car lengths. He led by as many as a dozen car lengths until Shoemaker caught up in traffic after halfway. The race went without a caution after lap two when Swank and Smith spun at both ends of the track.
Matt Sponaugle ended up third after starting sixth. Eighth starter Mike Duck was fourth and Travis Stickley completed the top five.
In the Factory Stock 4-Cylinder feature, Lauffer started sixth and gained the top spot from Jeff Tuel on lap three. One lap later, Tuel lost a wheel and flipped wildly in turn three to end his night.
With the loss of Mark Seiler one lap earlier, Lauffer was left out front to hold off Ryan Peer for the remainder of the 12-lap feature. Lauffer went on the finish out the race a couple of car lengths ahead of Peer.
Brandon Powell worked his way up to third only to lose six spots when his car slowed on the last lap. Dave Friend Jr. ended up third. Nick Iski, who started 13th, ended up fourth and Nathan Carpenter completed the top five.
The Rock will begin its regular season for Limited Late Models, Street Stocks, Hobby Stocks, Factory Stock 4-Cylinders and 8-Cylinders on Friday, April 18. Warm-ups are scheduled for 6:45 p.m. For more information, visit the speedway's web site at www.therockspeedway.com.
The Rock - Allegany Co. Speedway
Order of Finish
Saturday, April 12, 2008
MACS Western Md. Open 50
1. (2) 25, Shane Clanton, Locust Grove, Ga.
2. (1) 91, Billy Decker, Unadilla, N.Y.
3. (5) 19, Tim Fuller, Edwards, N.Y.
4. (4) E1, Mike Balzano, Parkersburg, W.Va.
5. (3) 24, Jeremy Miller, Gettysburg, Pa.
6. (7) 90, Gary Stuhler, Greencastle, Pa.
7. (12) 18, Shannon Babb, Moweque, Ill.
8. (9) 43A, Jason Covert, York Haven, Pa.
9. (14) 24, Rick Eckert, York, Pa.
10. (15) Ricky Elliott, Seaford, Del.
11. (18) Doug Horton, Bruceton Mills, W.Va.
12. (6) 1*, Chub Frank, Bear Lake, Pa.
13. (13) 14, Jack Pencil, Bedford, Pa.
14. (11) 5W, Waylon Wagner, Lewistown, Pa.
15. (23) 21, Matt Lux, Franklin, Pa.
16. (24) 5, Chuck Clise, Frostburg, Md.
17. (8) 39, Greg Fetters, Everett, Pa.
18. (17) 00H, Chuck Harper, Beverly, W.Va.
19. (19) 17, Keith Barbara, South Park, Pa.
20. (20) 4, Alex Ferree, Saxonburg, Pa.
21. (16) 77, Randy Burkholder, Chambersburg, Pa.
22. (21) 1, Chris Harr, Imler, Pa.
23. (10) 79, Mike Altobelli Jr., Saxton, Pa.
24. (22) F1, Coleby Frye, Dover, Pa.
Qualifying
Results showing position, car no., driver, fastest time and avg. lap
speed (mph):
1. 90, Gary Stuhler 20.082 112.041
2. 24, Jeremy Miller 20.260 111.056
3. 25, Shane Clanton 20.286 110.914
4. E1, Mike Balzano 20.295 110.865
5. 91, Billy Decker 20.298 110.848
6. 19, Tim Fuller 20.323 110.712
7. 39, Greg Fetters 20.398 110.305
8. 1*, Chub Frank 20.414 110.218
9. 43A, Jason Covert 20.415 110.213
10. 79, Mike Altobelli Jr. 20.487 109.826
11. 45, Ricky Elliott 20.499 109.761
12. 15E, Steve Everhart 20.605 109.197
13. 18, Shannon Babb 20.669 108.859
14. 24, Rick Eckert 20.694 108.727
15. 7, Dave Troutman 20.777 108.293
16. 5W, Waylon Wagner 20.790 108.225
17. 1, Chris Harr 20.807 108.137
18. 31, Bob Gordon 20.837 107.981
19. 14, Jack Pencil 20.918 107.563
20. 07, Keith Jackson 20.990 107.194
21. 00H, Chuck Harper 21.002 107.133
22. 4, Alex Ferree 21.005 107.117
23. 0, Ron Delano Jr. 21.015 107.066
24. 77, Randy Burkholder 21.027 107.005
25. 46, Doug Horton 21.055 106.863
26. F1, Coleby Frye 21.073 106.772
27. 74, Shaun Poling 21.107 106.600
28. 15, Shane Beegle 21.240 105.932
29. 17, Keith Barbara 21.275 105.758
30. 22, Gregg Satterlee 21.395 105.165
31. 22A, Donnie Lingo Jr. 21.400 105.140
32. 21, Matt Lux 21.465 104.822
33. 02, Tony Lombardi 21.641 103.969
34. 56, Russ King 21.650 103.926
35. 62, Andy Bond 21.867 102.895
36. 5, Chuck Clise 21.884 102.815
37. 66, Al Shawver Sr. 21.960 102.459
38. 43, Tom Decker Jr. 22.908 98.219
39. 3, Thomas Baker 22.982 97.903
40. 17, Nick Dickson No time
Preliminary Results:
Heat 1: 1. Covert, 2. Stuhler, 3. Babb, 4. Decker, 5. Harper, 6. Barbara, 7. Harr, 8. Lombardi, 9. Shawver.
Heat 2: 1. Fuller, 2. Altobelli, 3. Miller, 4. Eckert, 5. Ferree, 6. Frye, 7. Gordon, 8. King, 9. Satterlee, 10. Decker.
Heat 3. 1. Clanton, 2. Fetters, 3. Pencil, 4. Elliott, 5. Lingo, 6. Bond, 7. Poling, 8. Baker, 9. Delano, DNS: Troutman.
Heat 4: 1. Frank, 2. Wagner, 3. Balzano, 4. Burkholder, 5. Horton, 6. Everhart, 7. Lux, 8. Jackson, 9. Clise, DNS: Beegle.
B-main 1: 1. Harper, 2. Barbara, 3. Harr, 4. Bond, 5. Lingo, 6. Shawver, 7. Decker, 8. Lombardi, 9. Poling, 10. Baker, 11. Delano.
B-main 2: 1.Horton, 2. Ferree, 3. Frye, 4. Everhart, 5. King, 6. Jackson, 7. Lux, 8. Clise, 9. Satterlee, DNS: Gordon, Troutman,
Beegle.
LIMITED LATE MODELS (20 laps) 1. Chad McClellan, 2. Mike Shoemaker, 3. Matt Sponaugle, 4. Mike Duck, 5. Travis Stickley, 6. Cory Houck, 7.
Rance Garlock, 8. Steve Bard, 9. Daniel Cornman, 10. Dan Zechman, 11.
Allen Lemin, 12. Curtis Heath, 13. Jimmy Iser, 14. Matt Emerick, 15.
Jamey Swank, 16. Todd Lewis, 17. Tim Smith Jr.
FACTORY STOCK 4-CYLINDERS (12 laps): 1. Michael Lauffer, 2. Ryan Peer, 3. Dave Friend Jr., 4. Nick Iski, 5. Nathan Carpenter, 6. Jim Kennell,
7. Danny Rhodes, 8. Derek Iser, 9. Brandon Powell, 10. Brandon
Inglish, 11. Ed Detrick, 12. Chris Shoemaker, 13. Rick Jenkins, 14.
Jason Thompson, 15. Daniel Wratchford, 16. Jeff Tuel, 17. Dwain
Rhodes, 18. Mark Seiler, 19. Jason Riggleman, 20. Steve Riggleman, 21.
Robert Kuhn, DNS: Tyler Alkire, Jim Wratchford.
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