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Rich Berry
CLEARFIELD, Penn. (May 25) - In Round 2 of the Unified Force Race Championship Super Late Model Tour presented by Comcast, John Flinner from Zelienople, PA was the winner in "The Grizzly" presented by Del Grosso Foods & Amusement Park on Sunday evening. He earned $5,100 for his victory in the "Area 51-lap" event, and the record will show that he accomplished that fete after starting 24th on the starting grid.
A field of 46 cars were on hand for the event, divided into five heats to transfer three cars each into "The Grizzly." The five heat races went as follows. Sam Stile made a late pass to win Heat 1. Mike Blose took Heat 2 from starting position 6, in an event that had a rough backstretch accident between Jason Walker and Jeremy Ohl. Alex Ferree took Heat 3 from fifth starting position. Keith Barbara came from ninth in the nine-car Heat 4 for victory. John Flinner nearly duplicated that fete in Heat 5, but dropped out leading late in the event as Bob Dunn took the win. Heat 5 had a grinding crash with Jerry Redden and Larry Wingard. Three B-Mains transferred three cars each to the main, with wins going to Gregg Satterlee, Bobby Stokes, and Luke Hoffner. Four added starters set the starting grid of 28 cars for the main.
The top 15 cars redrew for their starting positions for "The Grizzly," with front row starting spots going to Chuck Kennedy and Sam Stile for the 51-lap event. Stile pulled into the lead at the drop of the green flag, with Kennedy, Tracy Gregory, Alex Ferree, and Chris Shuey taking up the chase. Ferree passed Gregory for second on lap 2, before the first caution period of the event appeared on lap 3. Stile controlled the field over Ferree when racing resumed, as John Britsky and Gregg Satterlee made big gains through the field. Britsky charged from his 11th starting position to third using the extreme outside lane, as Satterlee charged from 16th to run fourth. Caution appeared again on lap 6 to slow the pace.
When the green appeared again, Stile and Ferree controlled the field on the inside, but Britsky and Satterlee used what they had learned on the last green flag run to their advantage. Blasting to the high side entering turn one, Britsky and Satterlee both shot around the outside of the former top two, and they would be the new top two the next time by. Ferree passed Stile before caution again slowed the pace on lap 8 for a spin by Denny Fenton. Mike Blose pitted from seventh position with a flat tire, but returned to the event.
Britsky and Satterlee resumed their battle for the lead on the restart, with Satterlee looking to the inside. Satterlee made the inside pass work in turn two, and took over the lead on lap 10. Satterlee then quickly distanced himself from the field, leaving Britsky and Ferree to race for second. Ferree took second on lap 11. After starting 24th on the grid, John Flinner flew into fourth as he yellow came out again on lap 13. An attempted restart saw Britsky get out of shape, but as he collected his ride, the victim was Flinner as he spun to force another caution period. A big pileup ensued on lap 14, triggered by a blown engine on Shawn McGarvey's car on the backstretch, as he had just raced his way into the fourth position. Oil on the track and the spinning car collected several cars.
Satterlee, Britsky, and Ferree led the way as racing resumed. Mike Blose advanced to fourth on lap 15, with Flinner rejoining the top five with just three laps were scored after he went to the tail. Satterlee continued to lead as a rash of cautions continued, with the tenth one of the event coming with 18 laps complete and 11 of the 28 starters left on the track.
Ferree made a brief challenge for the lead when racing resumed, but Satterlee again pulled away from the field. Flinner passed Ferree on lap 22 to take over second, and quickly closed on Satterlee as the flying leaders approached the back of the field. On lap 26 the battle was on, with a caution appearing as the leaders battled the traffic. Satterlee and Flinner again resumed their battle in a run to lap 29 when a Laraway flat tire forced another slowdown. Blose got a flat under this yellow and returned with nine cars remaining, with Satterlee leading Flinner, Ferree, Jared Miley, and Britsky.
Satterlee again pulled away momentarily, but Flinner again closed after a few rounds. Approaching the tail of the field, lap 34 saw Satterlee slowed by traffic, as Flinner flashed by to lead lap 35. Satterlee great run came to an end on lap 37, as he stopped and exited the event. Ferree quickly challenged Flinner for the lead, but Flinner pulled away as Ferree slowed with a flat right rear tire, bringing yellow again at lap 41. His pit stop left him sixth, but the top five still waged their battle for position, as Bob Dunn retired to finish sixth. Ferree stalled again for a final caution with five laps remaining.
Flinner pulled away for the competition, and went on to take the win. Second through fifth changed in each of the five remaining laps, with the final finishing order showing Britsky second over Miley, Blose, and Ferree.
UFo Contingency Connection winners of this event included Flinner, obviously the Pass-Maximum Award winner as he advanced the most positions in the feature in winning from 24th starting spot. Herman Bertolini and Matt Dobnak were the high point cars that didn't qualify for the feature, and also earned awards. Each winner will receive product certificate awards depending on the number of products for which a driver is registered and eligible out of the 75+ product sponsors. A driver eligible for 20 products will receive $500 in awards.
The next event in the UFo Race Championship Tour presented by Comcast will be on Sunday, June 1 at Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway in Imperial, PA. The rescheduled Pizza Hut "F-2 Shockwave" event will be on tap, which was originally canceled by rain on May 18, and replaces an event originally scheduled for Challenger Raceway. This event will showcase dirt-style superspeedway racing on the monster 1/2 mile with a unique twin 30-lap feature format that pays $2,500 to win and $190 for 24th. With the track's Pizza Hut Winner's Circle Program, the winner of each feature will be awarded a $50 bonus if their cars display the track-provided Pizza Hut decal. The possible total to win for the event will be $5,100. Each race will start a 32-car grid, including 2 UFo Race Championship and 2 track provisional starters.
Pit gates at PPMS will open for the "F-2 Shockwave" at 3:30, spectator gates at 4:00, warm-ups at 6:00 and racing at 7:00. Adult admission will be $20, Seniors, $19, Junior 13-16 $15, Children 7-12 $5 and Pits $32. Pittsburgh's PA Motor Speedway is located west of Pittsburgh near Imperial, PA off US 22 at the Noblestown exit. More information on the track may be found at http://www.ppms.com or by calling 724-729-7223 weekdays.
The UFo Race Championship presented by Comcast has over $400,000 of prize payoffs and contingencies for Super Late Model teams over the scheduled races including a points bonus for the top 10 drivers at the end of the season. The points bonus includes $1,000 for each completed event plus 100% of additional sponsor contributions. The tour has $40,000 of contingency awards available to drivers through the Contingency Connection Program. The Pass Maximum award winner from the feature event plus the top 2 drivers in UFo points that do not qualify for the feature will be awarded contingency prize bundles at the events. A driver eligible for just 20 awards out of the 100+ participating sponsors will win $500 of product certificates. Complete information on the UFo Race Championship presented by Comcast including payoffs and rules can be found at http://uforacechampionship.com.
UFo Race Championship 2008 Sponsors include Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic, Lias Tire & American Racer, Comcast, Bryan De-Signs & Decals and the Contingency Connection. Information on these sponsors may be found at http://www.hoosiermidatlantic.com, http://liastire.com, http://bryandecals.com and http://contingencyconnection.com.
2008 Unified Force Race Championship Tour presented by Comcast
April 27 / Challenger Raceway / PA State Short Track Championships / 51 laps / $5,000 - winner Rob Blair.
May 25 / Central PA Speedway / The Grizzly / 51 laps / $5,000 - winner John Flinner.
June 1* / Pittsburgh's PA Motor Speedway / F-2 Shockwave / 2 x 30 laps / $5,100 Total
July 3 / Central PA Speedway / Yankee Doodle / 51 laps / $7,000
July 13 / Pittsburgh's PA Motor Speedway / Red Miley 53 / 53 laps / $5,300
July 20 / Challenger Raceway / Tri-Star Superthunder / 2 x 30 laps / $5,000 Total
Aug 3 / Tyler County / Earl Hill Championship / 51 laps / $4,000
Aug 17 / Pittsburgh's PA Motor Speedway / PENNational / 51 laps / $5,000
Sep 6 / Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex / King of the Knob / 51 laps / $5,500
Sep 18-19-20 / Pittsburgh's PA Motor Speedway / Pittsburgher 100 / 100 laps / $20,100
Oct 9-10-11* / Challenger Raceway / The Ultimate / 91 laps / $25,000
*Televised on Comcast CN-8 at a later date
Unified Force Championship Tour presented by Comcast Super Late Model results for Central Pennsylvania Speedway for Sunday, April 27, 2008.
Car count - 46.
Lead Changes-3
Stile 1-6
Britsky 7-9
Satterlee 10-34
Flinner 25-51
Feature - with finish, start, car, driver, and hometown
1, 24, 48, John Flinner, Zelienople
2, 11, 18J, John Britsky, Indiana
3, 21, H1, Jared Miley, South Park
4, 14, 5B, Mike Blose, Dayton
5, 3, 4, Alex Ferree, Saxonburg
6, 13, 34D, Bob Dunn, East Waterford
7, 4, 78T, Tracy Gregory, Dalton
8, 16, 22, Gregg Satterlee, Rochester Mills
9, 1, 51, Chuck Kennedy, Brockway
10, 9, 1, Dane Laraway, Irwin
11, 20, 1B, Dwayne Brooks, Falls Creek
12, 18, 15, Luke Hoffner, Turbotville
13, 10, 32, Billy Dickson, West Decatur
14, 15, 24M, Jason Witherite, Luthersburg
15, 2, 2S, Sam Stile, Charleroi
16, 22, 8H, Shawn McGarvey, Coalport
17, 6, 84, Rodney Sweitzer, Stoystown
18, 23, 231, George Fultz, Beech Creek
19, 25, 55, Denny Fenton, Clearfield
20, 5, 21, Chris Shuey, Macungie
21, 19, 53, Chris Farrell, Clearfield
22, 27, 18, Bill Krause, Houtzdale
23, 8, 17, Keith Barbara, South Park
24, 17, 27, Bobby Stokes, Milton
25, 28, SR1, Tommy Shaffer, Punxsutawney
26, 7, 27Y, Jim Yoder, Selinsgrove
27, 12, 23, Josh Kennelley, Blanchard
28, 26, 47, Matt Gaston, Rochester Mills
Heat 1 - 1, Sam Stile. 2, Billy Dickson. 3, John Britsky. 4, Chris Farrell. 5, Jared Miley. 6, George Fultz. 7, Chris Rhodes. 8, Pete Alspaugh. 9, Tommy Shaffer. Did not start, Shawn McGarvey.
Heat 2 - 1, Mike Blose. 2, Jason Witherite. 3, Rodney Sweitzer. 4, Denny Fenton. 5, Josh Young. 6, Mike Johnson. 7, Bobby Stokes. 8, Jeremy Ohl. 9, Jason Walker.
Heat 3 - 1, Alex Ferree. 2, Matt Gaston. 3, Dane Laraway. 4, Jim Yoder. 5, Luke Hoffner. 6, Dwayne Brooks. 7, Herman Bertolini. 8, Dwayne Taneyhill. Did not start, Jake Shady.
Heat 4 - 1, Keith Barbara. 2, Chris Shuey. 3, Tracy Gregory. 4, Gregg Satterlee. 5, Cody Schultz. 6, Chris Clark. 7, Todd Bachman. 8, Matt Dobnak. 9, Mel Minnick, Jr.
Heat 5 - 1, Bob Dunn. 2, Chuck Kennedy. 3, Josh Kennelley. 4, Bill Krause. 5, Todd Baumgardner. 6, John Flinner. 7, Jerry Redden. 8, Larry Wingard. 9, Richard Maxim.
B-Main 1 - 1, Gregg Satterlee. 2, Chris Farrell. 3, Shawn McGarvey. 4, Josh Young. 5, Chris Rhodes. Did not start, Todd Baumgardner, Herman Bertolini, Todd Bachman, Jeremy Ohl, Larry Wingard.
B-Main 2 - 1, Bobby Stokes. 2, Dwayne Brooks. 3, George Fultz. 4, Denny Fenton. 5, Tommy Shaffer. 6, Bill Krause. Did not start, Chris Clark, Jerry Redden, Jake Shady, Mel Minnick, Jr.
B-Main 3 - 1, Luke Hoffner. 2, Jared Miley. 3, John Flinner. 4, Richard Maxim. 5, Matt Dobnak. 6, Pete Alspaugh. Did not start, Cody Schultz, Mike Johnson, Dwayne Taneyhill, Jason Walker.
Did not quailfy - 1W, Jason Walker, Bigler, PA; 2J, Mike Johnson, Imperial, PA; 5, Jeremy Ohl, Jersey Shore, PA; 5R, Jerry Redden, Mahaffey, PA; 7, Cody Schultz, Hyde, PA; 7J, Josh Young, Berwick, PA; 7X, Herman Bertolini, Creighton, PA; 8W, Larry Wingard, Punxsutawney, PA; CR9, Chris Rhodes, Windber, PA; 17B, Todd Baumgardner, West Decatur, PA; 19C, Chris Clark, Kirwansville, PA; 21A, Pete Alspaugh, Russell, PA; D42, Matt Dobnak, West Mifflin, PA; 55B, Jake Shady, Beech Creek, PA; 66, Todd Bachman, Sarver, PA; 75, Mel Minnick, Jr., Uniontown, PA; 81, Dwayne Taneyhill, Bellwood, PA; 102, Richard Maxim, Reynoldsville, PA.
Updated UFo Series point standings - 179, Alex Ferree. 163, Jared Miley. 162, Sam Stile. 159, Shawn McGarvey. 157, Gregg Satterlee. 153, Keith Barbara, Matt Gaston. 150, Bobby Stokes. 148, Rodney Sweitzer. 145, Chris Farrell. 140, Tommy Shaffer, Mike Johnson, Herman Bertolini, Matt Dobnak, Mel Minnick, Jr. 100, Rob Blair, John Flinner. 96, John Britsky, Josh Richards. 93, Dave Hess, Jr. 91, David Scott, Mike Blose. 90, Billy Drake. 89, Bob Dunn. 88, Alan Dellinger, Tracy Gregory.
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