|
Hagerstown Speedway
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (September 11) - At the right place at the right time, Dan Stone took over with six laps remaining and later scored the $3,000 Three State Flyers Late Model series 35-lap finale at Hagerstown Speedway Saturday night when Roy Deese Jr. broke an axle. It was a first time triumph and career 100th for the likeable driver from Thompson, Pa. and came by 2.008 seconds over TSF series champion Jason Covert.
In the special 20-lap event for the top 20 in TSF points, Scott LeBarron of Dover, Pa. topped the 13 car field to pocket the $2,000 win and score his first ever feature at Hagerstown by .53 seconds over Covert. Dillsburg, Pa veteran super sportsman driver Rich Eichelberger also was a first time winner south of the border after taking the lead from Russ Mitten on lap nine of the 20-lap event and later capturing the win over him by ten lengths.
Finishing third in the dash, Stone squeezed into second ahead of pole sitter Covert as Deese took over from the outside. Stone put the pressure on Deese nearly every lap and was no further back than a length most of the race but suddenly, he was off the pace on the 29th lap with Stone in charge with Covert on his bumper for the restart. Stone began to stretch his lead and pulled away to just over a two second victory.
"We've been trying to win here for a long time," Stone said. "I'll tell you what. We've lost a lot of races like Roy just did. I think he had a better car there at the end we just hung in there and our car lasted. So I guess we'll take it any way we can get it. This is great. We've been trying to win one of these Three State Flyers races and this actually is my 100th career win. It's pretty awesome to do it here."
Deese quickly surged forward to grab the late model lead over Covert as Stone moved into second and began looking under Deese by the fifth lap. While Stone was keeping the pressure on Deese, Alan Sagi was on the move from seventh and closed on Covert to actually get past on lap 12 only to have the pass negated when Bryan Bernheisel spun.
Deese opened a little breathing room on Stone following the restart as Covert kept Sagi at a distance. Following Deese's retiring to the pits on lap 29, Stone toured the track for the final six laps and eased away slightly from Covert each circuit until having the two second margin at the finish.
"I knew I just had to keep it straight," Stone said. "I knew as long as I didn't screw up too bad, he (Covert) was going to have to be really good to get by me."
Sagi and Marvin Winters were next followed by Kyle Lear who came from 11th to finish fifth. Frankie Plessinger ended sixth with DeHaven Jr., Andy Anderson, Al Shawver Jr. (15th) and 22nd starter, J. T. Spence to complete the top ten. Covert, DeHaven Jr, Deese Jr. and Stone won the heats while Brian Booze was the consy winner.
From luck of the draw, LeBarron began from the pole in the TSF final points event as DeHaven Jr. took over and began to speed away only to have the distributor cap come off on the second lap with LeBarron taking over a lap later after passing Spence. Covert moved into second on lap five as they pulled away from Spence. LeBarron continually held just under a second interval on him as Covert was better in turns three and four to close the gap but settled for a close second at the checkered. LeBarron became the 12th different late model winner this season.
"This feels pretty good," LeBarron said. "There's a long list of everyone to get us here. Everyone adds up in it. It takes the whole team to make it work."
Spence, D. J. Myers and Sagi completed the top ten.
Eichelberger started eighth in the 24 car super sportsman field and was into second by lap seven to pressure Mitten and get past three laps later. He had no problems as he opened and maintained a comfortable distance around the track to later score his overall third win of the season and first since a double over Memorial Day weekend.
"We were pretty good, "Eichelberger said. "I had to hit my marks just right. You had to be easy on and easy off. We're real happy with the win. That's what we're racing for. The last month has been tough. I just want to thank everyone at Hagerstown. This track is great. This is the best track we run on; smooth, fast, racy…I'm glad you have us."
Mitten ended third with Jay Fannasy, John Garman and John Stehman completing the top five. Lanny Hake, Stan Wanner and Steve Wilbur were the heat winners as Jared Miller took the consolation event.
The speedway returns to action this Friday and Saturday evenings (Sept 17-18) with the 4th Annual Small Car Nationals. Qualifying for the late model sportsman, pure stocks and four cylinders is held Friday evening with feature events scheduled for Saturday along with the Derek Riley Enduro Championship and a powder puff. Check the speedway website for any changes in the weather at: www.hagerstownspeedway.com or contact the speedway office at 301-582-0640.
Hagerstown Speedway Results
Three State Flyers Late Models Finale, 35 Laps, 36 entries (Lap Leaders- Roy Deese Jr. 1-29, Dan Stone 30-35): 1.Dan Stone; 2.Jason Covert; 3.Alan Sagi; 4.Marvin Winters; 5.Kyle Lear: 6.Frankie Plessinger; 7.Ronnie DeHaven Jr.; 8.Andy Anderson; 9.Al Shawver Jr.; 10.J.T. Spence; 11.Derek Byler; 12.Mike Lupfer; 13.Ashley Barrett.;14.Jere Wierman, 15.Brian Booze; 16.Wesley Bonebrake; 17.Scott LeBarron;18.Bryan Bernheisel; 19.Roy Deese Jr.; 20.Jonathan DeHaven; 21.D. J. Myers; 22.Richard Walls; 23.Ricky Elliott; 24.Randy Burkholder, DNQ - David Williams, Kyle Hardy, Brad Omps, Tim Burkholder, Mike Mort, Matt Murphy, Bob Dunn, DNS - Jerry Bard, Tim Murphy, Matt Parks, Gary Stuhler
Three State Flyers Late Models Top Points, 20 Laps, 13 entries, (Lap Leaders - Ronnie DeHaven Jr 1-2, J. T. Spence 3, Scott LeBarron 4-20) 1.Scott LeBarron; 2.Jason Covert; 3.J. T. Spence; 4.D. J. Myers; 5.Alan Sagi; 6.Gary Stuhler; 7.Andy Anderson; 8.Frankie Plessinger; 9.Matt Parks; 10.Brian Booze; 11.Bryan Bernheisel; 12.Ronnie DeHaven Jr.; DNS-- Randy Burkholder
Super Sportsman, 20 laps, 25 entries (Lap Leaders - Lanny Hake 1-3, Russ Mitten 4-9, Rich Eichelberger 10-20: 1.Rich Eichelberger; 2.Russ Mitten; 3.Jan Fannasy; 4.John Garmen; 5.John Stehman; 6.Carmen Perigo Jr.; 7.Rick Barr; 8.Dave Socks; 9.Mike Enders; 10.Lanny Hake; 11.Steve Wilbur; 12.Duaine Smith; 13.Gary Johnson; 14.Paul Miller; 15.Frankie Herr; 16.Scott Dellinger; 17.Bobby Hockenberry; 18.Jared Miller; 19.Stan Wanner; 20.Bill Devine; 21.John Snook; 22.Dave Berkheimer; 23.Gregg Foster; 24.Ryan Rupp, DNQ - Tom Wyckoff
|
