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Mike Leone
HARTFORD, Ohio. (September 18) - The FASTRAK Northeast Late Model Touring Series returned to Sharon Speedway on Saturday night for the third and final time of the 2010 racing season and once again as part of the "Apple Festival Nationals". The two-day event saw a FASTRAK Weekly Series event on Friday night followed by race #18 of 20 on the Northeast Touring Series on Saturday night.
The score sheets may show Max Blair leading all 25 laps of the FASTRAK Northeast Late Model Touring Series feature event, but it won't tell the true story of Josh Double's challenge of the National Weekly Series and Touring Series point leader. The 17-year-old started fourth and hounded Blair the entire race- many times turning the fastest lap, but just wasn't able to get enough momentum or have Blair make a mistake on the smooth, slick surface. Blair's $1,200 victory was the fourth of the season and all-time leading ninth of his career in Northeast Touring Series competition.
"The race track was more my style tonight," explained the 20-year-old Centerville, Pa. racer, who finished just seventh on Friday night. "It blew off on the top and there was no dust. I wish it was like this every night. I've struggled here for six years since I ran E-Mods. Josh Double is always tough here. He won this race last year, but came up light and in my mind he was the winner. He's a real good kid and is going to win plenty of races. My crew was yelling and waving at me under the last caution to get my elbows up!"
Blair drew the number two pill and with the outside the preferred line all night long, took the lead over pole-sitter Billy Cunningham. Double used the outside to drive around the inside row one and two starters of Cunningham and Josh Holtgraver for second. Sixth starting Dan Angelicchio did the same moving from sixth to third after the completion of lap one.
It didn't take long for Double to begin pressuring Blair as he drove to the inside of the leader on lap three as the two raced side-by-side. Angelicchio joined in making it a three-car race for the lead before West Virginia racer Shawn Jett spun to bring out the caution with three laps scored. The caution certainly wasn't what Double or Angelicchio wanted to see.
When racing resumed, Blair took off ahead of Double, while Cunningham and fifth starting Bryan Force overtook Angelicchio for third and fourth respectively. Eighth starting Joe Martin also got by Angelicchio for fifth. By lap seven, Blair and Double pulled away from the pack. Double really applied the pressure trying every move possible to get around, but Blair was running right where Double wanted to be as he continued to lead.
While the front two battled, it was a five-car race for third with Cunningham trying to fend off Force, Martin, Angelicchio, and Mike Pegher, Jr. On lap 11, Pegher worked his way by both Angelicchio and Martin for fifth. Something had to give and it did on lap 12 when Pegher made contact with Force sending the two around and collecting Angelicchio.
On the ensuing restart, Martin passed Cunningham for third with Bud Watson and Alan Dellinger trailing in fourth and fifth. The top three of Blair, Double, and Martin quickly pulled away. The last 14 laps went non-stop. Double and Martin threw everything but the kitchen sink at Blair, but they just couldn't make the pass on the nation's top winner.
Blair, who just recently won his first career Sharon feature in a $1,000 to-win Weekly Series event on August 28, made it two out of the last three at Sharon in his Specialty Products/4 Your Car Connection/Moody & Son Welding/Bossard's Sales & Service-sponsored #111.
Fresh off his career best Touring Series finish of ninth on September 5 at Tri-City, Double certainly turned up the wick with a stellar runner-up performance just one year after a heartbreaking defeat at Sharon on the scales. Martin, who won the $1,000 Weekly Series event at Sharon on July 31, recorded a strong third place finish for his best since winning his career first Touring Series race on August 6 at Dog Hollow Speedway.
Bud Watson, who won his career first Touring Series race in the last outing on September 5 at Tri-City, completed a strong weekend behind the wheel of the John and Janet Powell #100 with a fourth place finish after finishing fifth on Friday night. Speaking of Friday night, Alan Dellinger won what was probably the best FASTRAK feature ever witnessed when he withstood a furious challenge with five cars coming down to the checkered flag for the $1,000 payday in the Bob Williams #8. It wasn't quite as a good night for Dellinger, but he did make his way from the 11th starting spot to finish fifth in just his second Touring Series start of the season for the 2007 champion.
Mr. Consistency, Butch Lambert, had another strong run coming from 15th to finish sixth to record his 12th top 10 finish of the season on the Touring Series. Lambert finished fourth on Friday night improving on his National Weekly Series standings. In three prior Touring Series starts, Cunningham had never finished better than 21st. He changed that with a solid seventh place effort. Holtgraver, who won the May 29 Sharon Touring Series event, dropped to eighth at the finish. Jim Frank was ninth, while West Virginia racer Kyle Thomas completed the top 10 after starting 21st.
Heat winners were West Virginia's Daniel Hill, Blair, and Martin, while Jett captured the B main. A total of 31 different cars competed over the two days of action. Jeremy Zufall made his first career Touring Series start, qualified for the feature, and came from 22nd to a 13th place finish. After making his first Touring Series start at Tri-City and finishing 12th, Rod Laskey followed the Tour to Sharon. Laskey got in the feature with a next-to-last lap pass in the B main and then came from 24th to 14th at the finish.
FASTRAK Northeast Late Model Touring Series Race #18 (25 laps, $1,200 to-win): 1. MAX BLAIR (111) 2. Josh Double (38) 3. Joe Martin (55) 4. Bud Watson (Powell 100) 5. Alan Dellinger (Williams 8) 6. Butch Lambert (27) 7. Billy Cunningham, Jr. (44c) 8. Josh Holtgraver (00) 9. Jim Frank (14*) 10. Kyle Thomas (57) 11. Mike Pegher, Jr. (Geisler 1c) 12. Mike Blose (5) 13. Jeremy Zufall (20) 14. Rod Laskey (1R) 15. Dan Angelicchio (14) 16. Andrew Wylie (84) 17. Troy Shields (11) 18. Chad Wright (6) 19. Shawn Jett (1J) 20. Bryan Force (31) 21. Daniel Hill (8) 22. Dave Airgood, Jr. (42JR) 23. Gary Knollinger (38K) 24. Bill Cunningham, Sr. (59).
B main non-qualifiers: 7. Ben Black (27B) 8. Jason Stanke (44) 9. Justin Kreider (29).
Heat winners: Hill, Blair, Martin
B main winner: Jett
Lap leaders: Blair (1-25)
Car count: 27
The FASTRAK Northeast Late Model Touring Series will resume action on Friday, September 25 at McKean County Raceway for Race #19 of 20. The $1,200 to-win event is part of the "Fall Classic".
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