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Ufo PR
PITTSBURGH, Penn. (June 1) - The Unified Force Race Championship Super Late Model Tour presented by Comcast visited Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway on Sunday night for the running of the Pizza Hut F-2 Shockwave, featuring Twin 30 lap features. The first feature was won by Steve Baker from Fairmont, WV. Winning the second feature was Al Atallah from Bridgeville, PA.
With a field of 37 cars on hand, four qualifying races were run. Heat 1 was won by Alex Ferree from fifth starting position, as Steve Baker took Heat 2 also from fifth. Heat 3 went to Al Atallah from seventh starting spot, with Lynn Geisler winning Heat 4 from second starting spot. Doug Drown took the B-Main, and with four added starters, the field of 32 cars was set for Feature 1 of the F-2 Shockwave.
In the redraw for the top 12 starting positions, the last two positions drew were positions two and one, leaving Lou Bradich and Ben Miley with front row starting spots for the 30 lap race. Third starting Lynn Geisler passed both front row starters, and would be the race leader as lap 1 was scored, before the first caution appeared for a spin by Nick Duratz. Geisler chose the outside lane for the double file restart, but it worked against him as Bradich regained the lead at lap 2, with fourth starting Steve Baker grabbing second. Baker continued his early charge, as he passed Bradich to take the lead on lap 3. Fifth starting Al Atallah raced into second before a lap 4 caution, also for a Duratz spin.
Baker also chose the outside for the restart, but unlike Geisler earlier, this time he blasted into the lead with Atallah, Geisler, and Alex Ferree taking up the chase. Baker, nicknamed "The West Virginia Rim Rider," took to the high side of the track and began pulling away from the field, catching the tail of the field by lap 9. In an amazing display of driving, Baker zoomed high and low around the dirt superspeedway as he raced his way past traffic, dropping them off of the lead lap. By the halfway mark at lap 15, Baker's torrid pace had half of the starters a lap down, as he continued scorching the field. Atallah began to close on Baker past lap 20, as 12th starting Jared Miley passed Geisler for third at lap 23. Atallah bumped the outside wall in traffic on lap 25, and by this point Baker's flying pace had but seven cars on the lead lap.
A Greg Satterlee spin on lap 28 was the only thing that could slow Baker's sizzling pace, forcing the third caution period of the race. With track rules utilizing a rule where all lapped cars get one lap back on caution periods, the number of cars on the lead lap tripled from 6 to 18. And now, with lapped cars put to the tail, Baker would see Atallah lined up along side, as Baker selected the outside for the restart. Back to green, Baker led the way to turn one, as Atallah's attempt to pass on the inside was unsuccessful. Down the backstretch, Atallah again tried the inside entering turn three. This time, he got the necessary traction and would sweep by Baker to lead at the white flag. Entering turn one, Baker swept to the bottom and passed Atallah back. Atallah slipped high and bumped the outside wall again, slowing his progress. That allowed Baker to race back as the winner. Atallah's slip allowed Geisler to nose him for second place. Miley crossed the line fourth, with Ferree fifth. Filling the top ten were Davey Johnson, John Flinner, Bradich, Dave Wade, and Kyle Lukon.
In a draw of the possible numbers of 9, 12, and 14 for the position invert for the second feature, a fan in the grandstand pulled the 14 to put Keith Barbara and Jim Stephans on the front row for the second 30 lap main. On the initial green, fifth starting Kyle Lukon spun, and the field behind made very good evasive maneuvers to avoid contact, though it forced a complete restart. Keith Barbara nosed ahead as green flag racing began, but third starting Mike Johnson moved up to challenge. Barbara led lap 1 by inches over Johnson, as their side-by-side battle continued. Johnson led lap 2 by inches, as the yellow appeared again for Michael Davis spinning in turn four. First race winner Steve Baker got a piece of this incident, and made a pit stop to replace a flat left rear tire. Barbara regained the lead at lap 3 inches ahead of Johnson, as the yellow again came for a tangle where Lou Bradich spun around in turn two.
Barbara again controlled the restart with Johnson, Alex Ferree, Jared Miley, and Al Atallah in pursuit. Barbara led with the next yellow appearing at lap 5 for a slowing Lynn Geisler. This restart saw Barbara leading lap 6, with Johnson back ahead on lap 7. At this point, another yellow appeared for fifth running Davey Johnson, who went hard into the front stretch wall.
The slow pace of the race picked up at this point, as Mike Johnson continued to lead over Ferree, Barbara, and Miley. Miley passed Barbara for third a lap later, as Atallah took fourth on lap 10. The red flag waved on lap 12 for Rodney Sweitzer who made hard contact with the turn one wall, heavily damaging his mount. Baker's charge back from the tail had him back to the eighth position.
This would be the final restart of the event, and on the restart it was Ferree using the outside to pass Johnson for the lead. His lead would be short-lived, as Atallah blasted around the outside to gain the lead at lap 14, one he would hold to the finish. Ferree and Miley locked into a superb inside-outside battle that lasted many laps, with Miley finally gaining the spot for good on lap 20. Baker charged up to pass Ferree on lap 27, and he ended up third after his pit stop. Ferree held on for fourth, but remains the UFo Series point leader. John Flinner made a last lap pass of Johnson for fifth, with Geisler, Kyle Lukon back from the tail, Barbara, and Brandon Burgoon rounding out the top ten.
UFo Contingency Connection winners of this event included Pass-Maximum Award winners Mike Johnson and John Mollick. In Feature 1, Johnson advanced 11 positions from 23rd to 11th at the finish. Mollick advanced 15 positions in Feature 2, from 26th at the start to 11th at the finish. Herman Bertolini was the high point car 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 Thursday, July 3, at Central Pennsylvania Speedway in Clearfield, PA. The running of the annual Yankee Doodle event will be on tap, and the winner of the prestigious event will pocket $7,000.
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 - Rob Blair winner.
May 25 / Central PA Speedway / The Grizzly / 51 laps / $5,000 - John Flinner winner.
June 1* / Pittsburgh's PA Motor Speedway / F-2 Shockwave / 2 x 30 laps / $5,100 Total - winners
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 Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway for Sunday, June 1, 2008.
Car count - 37.
Feature 1 - with finish, start, car, driver, and hometown
1, 4, 0, Steve Baker, Fairmont, WV
2, 3, 1C, Lynn Geisler, Cranberry Twp., PA
3, 5, 02, Al Atallah, Bridgeville, PA
4, 12, H1, Jared Miley, South Park, PA
5, 7, 4, Alex Ferree, Saxonburg, PA
6, 13, 1J, Davey Johnson, Latrobe, PA
7, 8, 48, John Flinner, Zelienople, PA
8, 1, 09, Lou Bradich, Chester, WV
9, 6, 76, Dave Wade, Clinton, PA
10, 9, 1, Kyle Lukon, Burgettstown, PA
11, 10, 17, Brandon Burgoon, McDonald, PA
12, 23, 2J, Mike Johnson, Imperial, PA
13, 20, 38, Jim Stephans, Pittsburgh, PA
14, 17, 17B, Keith Barbara, South Park, PA
15, 14, 7M, Michael Davis, Wayland, PA
16, 2, 99, Ben Miley, Venecia, PA
17, 25, 79, Doug Drown, Wooster, OH
18, 15, 22, Gregg Satterlee, Rochester Mills, PA
19, 18, 29R, Keith Rodriguez, Crescent, PA
20, 24, 81, D.J. Miller, Hookstown, PA
21, 30, 75, Mel Minnick, Jr., Uniontown, PA
22, 26, 84, Rodney Sweitzer, Stoystown, PA
23, 21, 6, Jim Lepro, Midway, PA
24, 19, 21, Tony Mosolino, Scott Township, PA
25, 22, 23, Mark Moats, Hookstown, PA
26, 28, 8H, Shawn McGarvey, Coalport, PA
27, 11, 4J, John Mollick, Toronto, OH
28, 29, 0K, Kari Gasser, Girard, OH
29, 16, 07R, Brent Rhebergen, Clymer, NY
30, 32, D42, Matt Dobnak, West Mifflin, PA
31, 27, 17M, Larry Marks, West Mifflin, PA
32, 31, 11, Nick Duratz, Canonsburg, PA
Feature 1 Lead Changes - 4.
Geisler 1
Bradich 2
Baker 3-28
Atallah 29
Baker 30
Did not qualify - T8, Steve Banal, Mooresville,NC. 2M, C.A. Medved, Imperial, PA. 55D, Tom Duratz, Carnegie, PA. 21A, Rick Armstrong, Bloomingdale, OH. 7X, Herman Bertolini, Creighton, PA.
Feature 2 - with finish, start, car, driver, and hometown
1, 12, 02, Al Atallah, Bridgeville, PA
2, 11, H1, Jared Miley, South Park, PA
3, 14, 0, Steve Baker, Fairmont, WV
4, 10, 4, Alex Ferree, Saxonburg, PA
5, 8, 48, John Flinner, Zelienople, PA
6, 3, 2J, Mike Johnson, Imperial, PA
7, 13, 1C, Lynn Geisler, Cranberry Twp., PA
8, 5, 1, Kyle Lukon, Burgettstown, PA
9, 1, 17B, Keith Barbara, South Park, PA
10, 4, 17, Brandon Burgoon, McDonald, PA
11, 26, 4J, John Mollick, Toronto, OH
12, 2, 38, Jim Stephans, Pittsburgh, PA
13, 20, 81, D.J. Miller, Hookstown, PA
14, 28, 07R, Brent Rhebergen, Clymer, NY
15, 18, 22, Gregg Satterlee, Rochester Mills, PA
16, 7, 09, Lou Bradich, Chester, WV
17, 27, 0K, Kari Gasser, Girard, OH
18, 23, 6, Jim Lepro, Midway, PA
19, 32, 2M, C.A. Medved, Imperial, PA
20, 30, 11, Nick Duratz, Canonsburg, PA
21, 29, D42, Matt Dobnak, West Mifflin, PA
22, 17, 79, Doug Drown, Wooster, OH
23, 25, 8H, Shawn McGarvey, Coalport, PA
24, 21, 75, Mel Minnick, Jr., Uniontown, PA
25, 22, 84, Rodney Sweitzer, Stoystown, PA
26, 9, 1J, Davey Johnson, Latrobe, PA
27, 16, 99, Ben Miley, Venecia, PA
28, 24, 23, Mark Moats, Hookstown, PA
29, 31, T8, Steve Banal, Mooresville,NC
30, 19, 29R, Keith Rodriguez, Crescent, PA
31, 6, 76, Dave Wade, Clinton, PA
32, 15, 7M, Michael Davis, Wayland, PA
Feature 2 Lead Changes - 5.
Barbara 1
Mike Johnson 2
Barbara 3-6
Johnson 7-12
Ferree 13
Atallah 14-30
Did not start - 21, Tony Musolino, Scott Township, PA. 17M, Larry Marks, West Mifflin, PA. Did not qualify - 55D, Tom Duratz, Carnegie, PA. 21A, Rick Armstrong, Bloomingdale, OH. 7X, Herman Bertolini, Creighton, PA.
Heat 1 - 1, Alex Ferree. 2, John Flinner. 3, John Mollick. 4, Davey Johnson. 5, Keith Barbara. 6, Jim Lepro. 7, Doug Drown. 8, Kari Gasser. 9, Herman Bertolini.
Heat 2 - 1, Steve Baker. 2, Jared Miley. 3, Brandon Burgoon. 4, Michael Davis. 5, Keith Rodriguez. 6, Mark Moats. 7, Larry Marks. 8, C.A. Medved. 9, Tom Duratz.
Heat 3 - 1, Al Atallah. 2, Kyle Lukon. 3, Ben Miley. 4, Gregg Satterlee. 5, Tony Mosolino. 6, Mike Johnson. 7, Rodney Sweitzer. 8, Shawn McGarvey. 9, Steve Banal.
Heat 4 - 1, Lynn Geisler. 2, Dave Wade. 3, Lou Bradich. 4, Brent Rhebergen. 5, Jim Stephans. 6, D.J. Miller. 7, Mel Minnick, Jr. 8, Nick Duratz. 9, Rick Armstrong. 10, Matt Dobnak.
B-Main - 1, Doug Drown. 2, Rodney Sweitzer. 3, Larry Marks. 4, Shawn McGarvey. 5, Kari Gasser. 6, Mel Minnick, Jr. 7, Steve Banal. 8, C.A. Medved. 9, Tom Duratz. 10, Nick Duratz. 11, Matt Dobnak. 12, Rick Armstrong. 13, Herman Bertolini.
Updated UFo Series point standings -
1, 269.5, Alex Ferree.
2, 256.5, Jared Miley.
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