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Rich Berry
CLEARFIELD, Penn. (July 3) - Keith Barbara was the winner of the 33rd Annual Yankee Doodle 50, presented by C&B Bank and the Nevasky Foundation on Thursday night at Central PA Speedway. The South Park, PA driver survived two rain delays that stretched the 52 lap feature race to over three hours in the event for the Unified Force Race Championship Super Late Model Tour presented by Comcast .
With a field of 34 cars on hand, four qualifying races were run. Heat 1 was won by Rodney Sweitzer from the outside pole, a fete duplicated by Tim Fedder in Heat 2. Heat 3 went to D.J. Myers also from outside row 1, with Alex Ferree winning Heat 4 from starting position 4. With threatening weather throughout the area for the duration of the race day, track management graciously announced that they would eliminate the need for any Last Chance Races, by allowing all 34 cars the chance to run the feature event.
In the redraw for the top 12 starting positions, the higher positions went early, with the two front row positions still available to the last three drivers to draw. The tenth driver to draw, Jared Miley, finally nabbed the pole position. Gregg Satterlee was next to draw, and nabbed position 2, and the 34-car starting field was set to go. 33 cars would start the 33rd running of the Yankee Doodle, with just nationally-known Hooters Pro Cup Series point leader Benny Gordon, making a rare dirt race start, unable to answer the call due to car problems in his heat race.
The 33rd Annual Yankee Doodle 50 was set, running a distance of 51 laps in regards to UFo Area 51 procedure. With Jared Miley and Gregg Satterlee leading the field to green at exactly 9:00 PM, Satterlee blasted into the lead in turn two, but the caution flag immediately replaced the green as Josh Kennelley spun at the flagstand. The second try for a start was a good one, as Satterlee again used a good run through turn two on the outside to grab the lead. Lap 2 saw the caution appear, and during this caution period a few drops of rain started to fall. It caused the race to go into a rain delay, as the track crew immediately went to work to help prepare the soggy surface into shape. After 51 minute delay, the racing was able to resume.
An incident on the attempted restart saw a tangle that knocked UFo point leader Alex Ferree from competition. Racing resumed with Satterlee leading, but eighth starting Keith Barbara got a good run on the inside as he advanced from fifth at the break to second. Miley settled into third, with Mike Johnson and Chub Frank trailing. Frank and D.J. Myers passed Johnson to take fourth and fifth on lap 4. With the leaders quickly catching the tail of the field, lap 6 saw Barbara use the inside of turn two to take the lead at lap 7. Miley grabbed second from Satterlee on lap 8, as the caution appeared.
On a lap 11 restart, Barbara continued to show the way, with Miley and Satterlee now racing for second. Satterlee used the outside to take second on lap 14, with Frank passing Miley a lap later. Frank passed Satterlee for second on lap 16, and closed quickly on leader Barbara. Barbara and Frank were side by side at the line on lap 17 with Barbara still inches ahead. Frank moved ahead through turns one and two, but the move was wiped out by a yellow flag before the next lap could be scored.
Barbara was good again on the low side of turn one on the restart, pulling to a comfortable lead. Shawn McGarvey had advanced quietly to third after starting 14th, and now slipped past Frank to take second. Satterlee and Mike Blose from 15th now filled the top five. Caution again waved on lap 19, with a couple sprinkles showing again. Barbara again showed the way, but McGarvey challenged for the lead at lap 20. The two were racing hard for the lead entering turn one, and McGarvey spun to force the yellow at lap 20. Blose was now third, ahead of Satterlee and Miley.
Frank slowed with a flat tire the next time by for another caution. Rain concerns saw yellow flag laps count on this caution period only, and racing resumed on lap 26. Blose, Miley, 21st starting Jason Witherite, and Satterlee now filled the top five. Rain once again slowed the pace, causing a second rain delay with 29 laps complete. This delay lasted over an hour, with racing resuming as Patsy Cline was singing "Walking After Midnight."
Back to green, lap 30 had Barbara leading Blose, Miley, Witherite, and Chris Farrell. Farrell then spun in turn three to force the caution. McGarvey made ground on this restart, passing Witherite to take third on lap 32. Frank moved back to fourth as caution waved with 34 complete. Tim Fedder moved into fifth as things stabilized at the front. A ragged restart on lap 39 shuffled the top five again, with the next lap showing Barbara over Frank, Blose, Miley, and McGarvey, as caution appeared again at lap 40.
With the race winding down, Chub Frank passed Barbara for the lead on the back straight, but Barbar retook the lead from Frank with a hard drive into turn 4. A last lap caution forced two laps to be run, but at the finish it was Barbara getting the prestigious victory. Frank was second after two visits to the pits. Blose was a solid third. Miley rallied in the late laps for fourth, and in the process took over the UFo point lead. McGarvey came back for fifth, with Satterlee, Witherite, Tim Fedder, Matt Gaston, and Rodney Sweitzer filling the top ten.
UFo Contingency Connection winners of this event included Pass-Maximum Award winners were Jerry Redden, Chris Farrell, and Herman Bertolini. Each driver advanced 15 positions in the main event. 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, July 13 at Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway for the running of the Red Miley Memorial 53. The winner of the 53 lap main event will pocket $5,300, and with lap money included, it is possible for the winner to earn as much as $8,109. Semi-Lates and Cadets under UFo rules will also be on the card. Pittsburgh's PA Motor Speedway is located at Imperial, PA, west of Pittsburgh off of US 22/30 at the Noblestown exit. PPMS information may be obtained at http://www.ppms.com or by calling 412-279-7223.
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://comcast.com http://www.hoosiermidatlantic.com, http://liastire.com , http://bryandecals.com and http://contingencyconnection.com.
2008 UFo Race Championship presented by Comcast Schedule
Date / Track / Event / Laps / To Win
April 13 / Challenger Raceway / PA State Short Track Championships / 51 laps / $5,000 - won by Robbie Blair
May 25 / Central PA Speedway / The Grizzly / 51 laps / $5,000 - won by John Flinner
June 1* / Pittsburgh's PA Motor Speedway / F-2 Shockwave / 2 x 30 laps / $5,100 Total winners were Steve Baker and Al Atallah
July 3 / Central PA Speedway / Yankee Doodle / 51 laps / $7,000 - won by Keith Barbara
July 13 / Pittsburgh's PA Motor Speedway / Red Miley 53 / 53 laps / $5,300 + $2,809 lap money
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 / Challenger Raceway / Mega-Blitz 2008 / 33 laps/ $3,000
Oct 10-11* / Challenger Raceway / The Ultimate / 91 laps / $22,000
*To be televised on CN8, the Comcast Network
Unified Force Championship Tour presented by Comcast Super Late Model results for Central Pennsylvania Speedway for Thursday, July 3, 2008.
Car count - 34.
Feature - with finish, start, car, driver, and hometown
1, 8, 17, Keith Barbara, South Park, PA
2, 5, 1* , Chub Frank, Bear Lake, PA
3, 15, 5, Mike Blose, Dayton, PA
4, 1, H1, Jared Miley, South Park, PA
5, 14, 8H, Shawn McGarvey, Coalport, PA
6, 2, 22, Gregg Satterlee, Rochester Mills, PA
7, 21, 24M, Jason Witherite, Luthersburg, PA
8, 9, 8, Tim Fedder, Millerstown, PA
9 , 20, 47, Matt Gaston, Rochester Mills, PA
10, 7, 84, Rodney Sweitzer, Stoystown, PA
11, 4, 2J, Mike Johnson, Imperial, PA
12, 27, 5R , Jerry Redden, Mahaffey, PA
13, 28, 53, Chris Farrell, Clearfield, PA
14, 23, 33, Bernie Whiteford, Hastings, PA
15, 11, 1B, Dwayne Brooks, Falls Creek, PA
16, 26, 7J, Josh Young, Berwick, PA
17, 30, D42, Matt Dobnak, West Mifflin, PA
18, 33, 7X, Herman Bertolini, Creighton, PA
19, 29, W1, Tim Smith, Jr., McVeytown, PA
20, 32, 55, Denny Fenton, Clearfield, PA
21, 13, 51, Chuck Kennedy, Brockway, PA
22, 24, 34D , Bob Dunn, East Waterford, PA
23, 10, 70J, D.J. Myers, Greencastle, PA
24, 19, 27, Bobby Stokes, Milton, PA
25, 3, 231, George Fultz, Beech Creek, PA
26, 18, 17B, Todd Baumgardner, West Decatur, PA
27, 25, 4W, Keith Witherite, Mahaffey, PA
28, 6, 75, Mel Minnick, Jr., Uniontown, PA
29, 16, 32, Billy Dickson, West Decatur, PA
30, 22, 82G, Ted Gallaher, Irvona, PA
31, 12, 4, Alex Ferree, Saxonburg, PA
32, 17, 19C, Chris Clark, Curwensville, PA
33, 31, 23, Josh Kennelley, Blanchard, PA
Did not start, Benny Gordon, DuBois, PA
Feature 1 Lead Changes - 1.
Satterlee 1-6
Barbara 7-52.
Heat 1 - 1, Rodney Sweitzer. 2 , George Fultz. 3, Mel Minnick, Jr. 4, Chuck Kennedy. 5, Chris Clark. 6, Jason Witherite. 7, Keith Witherite. 8, Benny Gordon.
Heat 2 - 1, Tim Fedder. 2, Dwayne Brooks. 3, Jared Miley. 4, Shawn McGarvey. 5, Todd Baumgardner. 6, Ted Gallaher. 7, Josh Young. 8, Tim Smith, Jr. 9, Denny Fenton.
Heat 3 - 1, D.J. Myers. 2, Chub Frank. 3, Gregg Satterlee. 4, Mike Blose. 5, Bobby Stokes. 6, Bernie Whiteford. 7, Jerry Redden. 8, Matt Dobnak.
Heat 4 - 1, Alex Ferree. 2, Keith Barbara. 3, Mike Johnson. 4 , Billy Dickson. 5, Matt Gaston. 6, Bob Dunn. 7, Chris Farrell. 8, Josh Kennelley. 9, Herman Bertolini.
Updated UFo Series point standings -
1, 347.5, Jared Miley.
2, 344.5, Alex Ferree
3, 336.5, Keith Barbara
4, 324.5, Gregg Satterlee
5, 324, Shawn McGarvey
6, 310, Mike Johnson
7, 308, Rodney Sweitzer
8, 288, Matt Dobnak
9, 287, Herman Bertolini
10, 285, Mel Minnick, Jr.
11, 239, Matt Gaston
12, 227, Chris Farrell
13, 225, Bobby Stokes
14, 189, John Flinner
15, 184, Mike Blose
16, 173.5, Steve Baker
17, 169, Jason Witherite
18, 167, Lynn Geisler
19, 164 , Dwayne Brooks and Bob Dunn.
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