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Rich Berry
INDIANA, Penn. (April 27) - Rob Blair from Centerville was the winner of Unified Force Race Championship Tour event for Super Late Models presented by Comcast on Sunday night at the Challenger Raceway. His thrilling win by inches over Josh Richards in a classic battle over the last seven laps of the "Area 51-lap" championship feature was worth $5,000.
In other action as a part of the PA State Short Track Championships, Chad McClellan of Stoystown charged from the last starting position in the 16-car Semi-Late feature race to win the $1,000 first place money. Dave Hess, Jr. from Waterford topped the E-Mod feature event earning $800. The Roadrunner main event went to Merle Bolette of Cherry Tree worth $250.
The top 12 redraw for starting positions in the "Area 51-lap" main event produced David Scott and Rob Blair as front row starters, with Scott leading from the start. Scott led through the first yellow on lap 5, as Blair took the lead on that double file restart. With Scott utilizing the extreme outside groove of the Challenger surface, Dave Hess, Jr. moved in to challenge Scott for second using the middle groove. Hess passed Scott on lap 10, with the next caution period coming at lap 11. On another restart a lap later, the battle was on for the lead as Hess passed Blair for the lead on lap 13. After a lap 16 restart, ninth starting Josh Richards joined the lead battle moving to third place. Richards was also using the extreme outside lane, and he moved past Blair for second on lap 18 to set up a war for the lead with Hess. Blair and Scott were waging their own battle for third, with Scott taking the spot on lap 21. Richards finally nosed by Hess on lap 23, as drivers raced high, low, and in between.
The race for the lead between Richards and Hess continued to thrill the crowd, as the fifth caution period on lap 31 slowed the torrid pace. With the field stacked again for a double file restart, the race took another turn as green flag racing returned. Blair now reentered the picture, as he took second from Hess on lap 32, and now was all over Richards for the lead. A lap later, it was Blair in command again as Richards and Hess resumed their battle, this time for second. Blair inched away in the lead, but the final caution at lap 44 set up a seven-lap race to the end, setting the stage for an exciting finish.
On the double file restart, Richards was still working the extreme outside lane as hard as he could, and he would be the leader at lap 45. Blair worked the low/middle lane, with Richards high, and their side-by-side war for the lead saw the lead change hands at every turn. Separated by inches at the scoring line, it was still Richards ahead as the two to go sign was given. Blair nosed ahead at the white, and Richards again pounded the high side through the final turns. At the checkered flag, it was Blair winning the race to the flag over Richards, ending their classic battle. Hess raced home third, with Scott fourth. Illinois resident Billy Drake, the winner of Challenger's "The Ultimate" as a part of Fall Fest 13 last October, came home fifth. Filling the top ten were Alex Ferree, Alan Dellinger, Ron Davies, Wayne Chinn, and Steve Francis. Heat winners in the 43-car field were Hess, Richards, Dellinger, and Lynn Geisler. Davey Johnson and Bobby Stokes were B-Main winners.
The Semi-Lates ran a clean event with just two caution periods in their 30-lap main event. Daryl Charlier and Andrew Satterlee led the 16 starters to green, with Satterlee showing the way. As he inched away in the lead, an exciting battle for second place developed between Terry Rayko, Charlier, and Chris Angelicchio. Tenth starting Craig Perigo entered the top five at lap 5, as he moved to fourth, with Andy Teno fifth. Perigo moved to third on lap 7, but a half spin dropped him out of contention as green flag racing continued. At lap 11 it was Satterlee with a big lead over Rayko, Angelicchio, and Chad McClellan from the 16th and last starting spot. The first yellow flag of the event came on lap 14, wiping out Satterlee's big lead. When racing resumed, McClellan moved to second on lap 15, and with a pass of Satterlee off of turn two, would be the leader at lap 16. After the final restart on lap 20, seventh starting Dwayne Taneyhill passed Satterlee for second on lap 23, and tried as hard as he could to reel in McClellan. Actually he tried too hard, as a bobble on lap 27 cost him second place. McClellan, who formerly served his country in Iraq, came home the winner in the impressive drive from last starting spot over Satterlee, Taneyhill, Teno, and Paul Dominick. Taneyhill and Rayko took the heat race wins.
The 20-lap E-Mod Sportsman feature event had Dennis Perigo and Daryl Charlier atop the starting grid. A yellow flag flew before a lap could be complete for a spin by Richard Michael, Jr., but this would be the only caution period of the event. Perigo grabbed the lead at the start, ahead of Louie Krushansky, Dave Hess, Jr., and Daryl Charlier. Randy Hall advanced forward quickly from tenth starting spot, moving to fifth on lap 2. A slip by Krushansky allowed third starting Hess to take second on lap 3. They continued to battle for second, and moved in closer to race with Perigo for the lead. Hess made a pass down the backstretch to move to the lead at lap 7, ahead of Perigo, Krushansky, Hall, and 11th starting Russ Dunn. With the green flag laps clicking by, Hess pulled to a comfortable lead as the battle was for second. Hall made a move in race traffic to go from fourth to second on lap 15, but by that time Hess was well out ahead. At the finish it was Hess winning by a wide margin over Hall, Krushansky, Perigo, and Dunn. Heat winners were Charlier and Hess.
Mark Seiler and Dan Adams led the 20-lap Roadrunner feature to the green flag with Seiler leading lap 1. Fourth starting Ray Hickok took command on lap 2, and pulled out to a comfortable lead before the first caution period of the race on lap 7 for debris. On the restart, Hickok's car lost power, knocking him from the event. Chris Hickok inherited the lead at this point, but on lap 10 his car lost power as he coasted to the infield off turn two. Fifth starting Merle Bolette took command at this point and raced home the winner over Bob Pease, Brennan McCracken, Cory Kilgore, and Todd Janas.
The next scheduled event at the Challenger Raceway is the Mega-Blitz 2008, scheduled for Sunday, June 1. It will also be a part of the UFO Championship Tour presented by Comcast.
The Challenger Raceway is located 6.4 miles southwest of US 422 on PA 286, then one mile north on McIntyre Road. For the most complete source of Challenger Raceway information, please visit the track's web site at www.challengerraceway.com. Additional information on the UFo Race Championship may be obtained at www.uforacechampionship.com. Information may also be obtained by calling 724-726-9808 on race days or 724-726-5494 during weekdays.
Challenger Raceway results for Sunday, April 27, 2008
UFo Super Late Models, car count - 43.
Lead Changes: 6
Scott 1-5 Blair 6-12 Hess 13-22 Richards 23-32 Blair 33-44 Richards 45-49 Blair 50-51
Feature - with finish, start, car, driver, and hometown
1, 2, W11, Rob Blair, Centerville
2, 9, 25, Josh Richards, Shinston, WV
3, 7, 44, Dave Hess, Jr., Waterford
4, 1, 3, David Scott, Garland
5, 6, 9, Billy Drake, Bloomington, IL
6, 8, 4, Alex Ferree, Saxonburg
7, 11, 5, Alan Dellinger, Hermitage
8, 5, 71D, Ron Davies, Warren
9, 4, 1, Wayne Chinn, Bradford, OH
10, 19, 19, Steve Francis, Ashland, KY
11, 24, 04, Bob Close, Eldred
12, 21, 47, Matt Gaston, Rochester Mills
13, 23, 2S, Sam Stile, Charleroi
14, 3, 72, John Mason, Millersburg, OH
15, 10, 8H, Shawn McGarvey, Coalport
16, 13, 0D, Ron Delano Jr. , Stoystown
17, 15, 17, Keith Barbara, South Park
18, 20, 0, Steve Baker, Fairmont, WV
19, 14, 37, Jacob Hawkins, Fairmont, WV
20, 12, 1C, Lynn Geisler, Cranberry Twp.
21, 17, 1J, Davey Johnson, Latrobe
22, 16, 79A, Michael Altobelli, Jr., Saxton
23, 22, 9K, Mike Knight, Ripley, NY
24, 18, 27, Bobby Stokes, Milton
Heat 1 - 1, Dave Hess, Jr.; 2, Rob Blair; 3, David Scott; 4, Ron Delano Jr.; 5, Davey Johnson; 6, Matt Gaston; 7, Steve Francis; 8, Doug Eck; 9, Greg Oakes; 10, Clate Copeman; 11, Gary Lyle.
Heat 2 - 1, Josh Richards; 2, Ron Davies; 3, John Mason; 4, Jacob Hawkins; 5, Sam Stile; 6, Mike Johnson; 7, Dutch Davies; 8, Gregg Satterlee; 9, Matt Dobnak; 10, Herman Bertolini; 11, Darrin "D.J." Miller.
Heat 3 - 1, Alan Dellinger; 2, Billy Drake; 3, Alex Ferree; 4, Keith Barbara; 5, Steve Baker; 6, Rodney Sweitzer; 7, Jared Miley; 8, Tommy Shaffer; 9, Bob Close; 10, Matt Lux; 11, Chris Farrell.
Heat 4 - 1, Lynn Geisler; 2, Wayne Chinn; 3, Shawn McGarvey; 4, Michael Altobelli, Jr.; 5, Bobby Stokes; 6, Mel Minnick, Jr.; 7, Mike Knight; 8, Shane Beegle; 9, John Mollick; 10, Dave Satterlee.
B-Main 1 - 1, Davey Johnson; 2, Steve Francis; 3, Matt Gaston; 4, Sam Stile; 5, Mike Johnson; 6, Greg Oakes; 7, Gregg Satterlee; 8, Clate Copeman; 9, Doug Eck; 10, Darrin "D.J." Miller; 11, Herman Bertolini; 12, Matt Dobnak; 13, Dutch Davies; 14, Gary Lyle.
B-Main 2 - 1, Bobby Stokes; 2, Steve Baker; 3, Mike Knight; 4, Bob Close; 5, Jared Miley; 6, Shane Beegle; 7, Matt Lux; 8, Mel Minnick, Jr.; 9, Tommy Shaffer; 10, Rodney Sweitzer. Did not start, John Mollick; Dave Satterlee; Chris Farrell.
Did not qualify - H1, Jared Miley, South Park; SR1, Tommy Shaffer, Punxsutawney; 2J, Mike Johnson, Imperial; 03, Doug Eck, Corry; 4J, John Mollick, Toronto, OH; 7X, Herman Bertolini, Creighton; 15, Shane Beegle, Bedford; 21, Matt Lux, Franklin; 22, Gregg Satterlee, Rochester Mills; 22X, Greg Oakes, Franklinville, NY; 28C, Clate Copeman, Greensburg; 40, Dutch Davies, Warren; D42, Matt Dobnak, West Mifflin; 53, Chris Farrell, Clearfield; 67, Gary Lyle, Hyde Park; 75, Mel Minnick, Jr., Uniontown; 79, Dave Satterlee, Rochester Mills; 81M, Darrin "D.J." Miller, Hookstown; 84, Rodney Sweitzer, Stoystown.
Updated UFO Series point standings
1, 100, W11, Rob Blair, Centerville
2, 96, 25, Josh Richards, Shinston, WV
3, 93, 44, Dave Hess, Jr., Waterford
4, 91, 3, David Scott, Garland
5, 90, 9, Billy Drake, Bloomington, IL
6, 89, 4, Alex Ferree, Saxonburg
7, 88, 5, Alan Dellinger, Hermitage
8, 87, 71D, Ron Davies, Warren
9, 86, 1, Wayne Chinn, Bradford, OH
10, 85, 19, Steve Francis, Ashland, KY
11, 84, 04, Bob Close, Eldred
12, 83, 47, Matt Gaston, Rochester Mills
13, 82, 2S, Sam Stile, Charleroi
14, 81, 72, John Mason, Millersburg, OH
15, 80, 8H, Shawn McGarvey, Coalport
16, 79, 0, Ron Delano Jr. , Stoystown
17, 78, 17, Keith Barbara, South Park
18, 77, 0, Steve Baker, Fairmont, WV
19, 76, 37, Jacob Hawkins, Fairmont, WV
20, 75, 1C, Lynn Geisler, Cranberry Twp
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