9/12/2004

JOHN JULICHER, WAYNE BERNHARD, FRANK BATISTA JR., AND DAVE WOLLABER CLINCH LRP TRACK TITLES

Lancaster Raceway Park put the finishing touches on the 2004 regular season with its annual "Fabulous '50s night". Fifty lap features would decide the track championships in the Late Models, Jerry Gradl Motors Super Stocks, and Glen Campbell Chevrolet Street Stocks. All three titles were still up for grabs, with every point crucial for the drivers in contention. 

John Julicher led Tom MacLeod by 17 points in the Late Model for their final race. Following the heats, MacLeod would cut the margin to 11 after winning his qualifier. In the 50-lap finale, Julicher would get the better of MacLeod. He passed MacLeod for second on lap 15 and then took the lead from Ron Nurmi on lap 19. Julicher would hold off MacLeod and Nurmi for his fifth win of the season. It was also the exclamation point on his ninth career Late Model track championship at Lancaster. He ties Sege Fidanza for most overall championships in LRP history. MacLeod would finish twice to Julicher on this night, in the race and in the points. It is the fourth time he has finished runner up in the standings. Bill Adamczyk, Bob Weber, and Nurmi would complete the on-track top five. 

In the Jerry Gradl Motors Super Stocks, Rich Skora began the night with a 6-points lead over Wayne Bernhard in the standings. Bernhard would get back four of the points with a second place finish in his heat race. As for the feature, Rich Skora would be ahead of Bernhard on lap 20 but would develop a mechanical problem. Bernhard would get by Skora, finished second and claimed the 2004 Super Stock title. It was Bernhard's second-straight track title after tying Jay Mudra for the title last season. Doug Evans would cross the finish line second but after post-race inspection was awarded the win when the original winner was disqualified. AJ Cole would finish third. Mark Hoch and Tom Carney completed the top five. 

Frank Batista Jr., Jim Offhaus, and Tom Agen entered the final points race for the Glen Campbell Chevrolet Street Stocks with 35 points separating them for the division championship. Offhaus would lead 35 of 50 laps to win his third feature of the season, however, Batista Jr. would finish second and earn enough points to win the title. Dave Johnson would finish third to the championship contenders. It was Johnson's second week back after a 10-year hiatus from racing. Agen would bounce back from an early race miscue to finish fourth. John Shurmatz would take home fifth place. 

James Michael Friesen led all 20 laps of the season finale for the TQ Midgets to score his first win of the season. Dave Wollaber finished second to clinch his third career TQ Midget track title. He now becomes the first ever driver in speedway history to win multiple division titles in the same season after winning the Modified championship the week before. Dan Lawrence would finish third. Wollaber's teammates, Jamie Collard and Vinny Christiano Jr., would round out the top five. 

While the regular season has come to a conclusion, Lancaster Raceway Park still has one more stock car event in 2004. The 16th annual US Open, September 24-26, will once again showcase one of the best gathering of drivers in the Northeast. The weekend gets under way on Friday with an open practice session followed by the first official US Open Kickoff Party. There will be music, food, a bonfire, and a driver autograph session to begin LRP's biggest show of the season. Saturday night will be headlined by the 75-lap feature for the Super Short Track Series Sportsman. Lancaster Sportsman stars such as, Bobby Holmes, Jerry Gradl Jr., and Justin Shepker will face off against the best of the SST series including, Bill Hebing, Brian Bowen, and Patti Pruitt. The Cup Lites will also run their feature on Saturday, plus qualifying heats for all divisions. 

On Sunday, the remaining feature will be run. The Street Stocks, Super Stocks, and TQ Midgets will compete in 30-lap main events. The Late Models will do battle for 75 laps, while the Sunoco Race of Champions Modified Tour will compete in their 125-lap series finale. Tickets are now available by contacting the Lancaster office at (716) 759-6818. Weekend camping is free. For more information, log on to www.lancasterracing.com. 

RESULTS 

LATE MODELS 

Heat Winners - Tom MacLeod, Mike Ticco 

Feature - JOHN JULICHER, Tom MacLeod, Bill Adamczyk, Bob Weber, Ron Nurmi, Dave Russell, Mike Ticco, Joe Carbone, T.J. Johnson, Terry Weldy, Dan Habuda, Jason Petri, Mike Stahl, Scott Jarrell, Mark Pennell, Jerry Hruby, Paul Madsen, Art Hill, Mike Catalano, Tim DiPasquale, and Scott Nurmi. 

JERRY GRADL MOTORS SUPER STOCKS 

Heat Winners - J.W. Flagler, Tom Carney 

Feature - DOUG EVANS, Wayne Bernhard, A.J. Cole, Mark Hoch, Tom Carney, Ed Lechner, Mike Scott, Jay Mudra, Jason Gwin, Rich Skora, J.W. Flagler, Ben Harms, and Jay Canonico. DQ: Jeff Merritt 

GLEN CAMPBELL CHEVROLET STREET STOCKS 

Heat Winners - Joe Mergl, Rick Widmer 

Feature - JIM OFFHAUS, Frank Batista Jr., Dave Johnson, Tom Agen, John Shurmatz, Rick Widmer,Tim Garlock, Jerry Carpenter, Mike Mitchell, Jim Stein, Don Deville, Gary Light, Scott Mutka, Tim Offhaus, Paul Tessier, Pete Hackett, Lou Easterday, Mike Maggiore, Tom Deville, Gary Bartella, Kyle Volk, Wayne Lavis, Jason Lovell, Joe Mergl, Bobby Hanel, Joe Light, John Kraemer, Dennis Pieczynski, Bob Blaszak, and Rob Bulger. 

TQ MIDGETS 

Heat Winners - Dan Lawrence, D.J. Sossong 

Feature - JAMES MICHAEL FRIESEN, Dave Wollaber, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Collard, Vinny Christiano Jr., A.J. Hessler, Curtis Friesen, Charlie DiRosa, Mike Blair, Dan Dadswell, D.J. Sossong, Arik McGruder, Gordon Steffan, Shawn Szejnar, Joe Brzezowski, Bob Reis, Ryan Zitzka, and Wayne Turnbull. 

Source:  Dave Buchanan/Lancaster Raceway Park PR
Posted:  September 12, 2004