6/18/07

SKORA, RUDOLPH, ROESCH, GARLOCK, SCHULZ & WIELAND TAKE LRP WINS

 
Lancaster, NY: Another perfect night for racing greeted fans at Lancaster Raceway Park last Saturday night at AAA and Stedman Landscaping presented a full card of racing. Mark Schulz, Dan Wieland, and George Roesch picked up their first Lancaster checkered flags while Tim Garlock rebounded from a hard crash last week to take the win. Erick Rudolph and Scott Skora notched their second career wins at Lancaster in a night filled with great racing action.

Up first were the Probity Group TQ Midgets racing on Lancaster’s inner oval. Mark Schulz started on the pole and immediately took the lead although a red flag for the rolled over car of Chad Haywood stopped the racing on lap 2. Schulz again took the lead on the restart and was followed by Chris Bandelian and Dave Wollaber. Although a few cautions dotted the race, Schulz was able to capitalize on every restart and maintain his lead. Behind him a fierce batted for second was waged between Bandelian and Wollaber with Wollaber eventually taking second with just four laps to go in the feature. With only a handful of laps remaining Wollaber was unable to challenge for the lead and Mark Schulz took home his first TQ Midget career win.

Quickly becoming a fan favorite are the Thiel Motorsports Fast & Furious 4 Cylinders. Ten cars were on hand for the beating and banging racing action on the inner oval. Dan Wieland, who started from the third position on the grid, quickly took the lead at the drop of the green and held onto it for the entire race. Behind him however Tim Haniszewski Jr., Don Roesch, Brandon Hirsch and the rest of the field battled for position. The win was Wieland’s first in the division at Lancaster.

Another fan favorite – the McGard Street Stocks – were up next on the agenda. Tim Garlock started on the pole after winning his heat race. Garlock was involved in a hard crash on June 9th, tagging the front stretch wall and totaling his race car. His crew worked non-stop throughout the week to get a new car ready and their efforts paid off. At the drop of the green, Garlock took the lead while the rest of the field sorted themselves out behind him. By halfway, the top four runners of Garlock, John Julicher Jr., Jeff Madill, and Tom Agen Sr. had separated themselves from the rest of the pack. A secondary group of Andy Jankowiak, Jim Bryant, Cory Gallagher, and Russell Knutsen raced for fifth position on back. Throughout the race Garlock held the lead, withstanding heavy pressure from Julicher and Madill. Crossing the finish line first was Garlock who took his second win of the season.

The Ray Laks Resale Super Stocks took to the track for their feature with Goerge Roesch starting on the outside pole. Dave Johnson and Wayne Bernhard, who have dominated the win column in the division this year, started third and fourth respectively. At the drop of the green, Roesch jumped into the lead and immediately had Johnson and Bernhard pressuring him while running in the second and third spots. Soon the top three runners had separated themselves from the rest of the field. Bernhard was the first to take a stab at trying to take the top spot from Roesch. Bernhard tried to make the outside line work to get around the low running Roesch but just couldn’t make it happen. Johnson soon took over the second spot and he also tried running the high line against Roesch but he as well couldn’t make the pass happen. Roesch took command of the lead for good and Johnson and Bernhard faded back a bit and raced side by side, with Bernhard eventually take the second spot. Roesch took the win which was his first at Lancaster Raceway Park in a Super Stock.

Twelve SST Sportsman hit the track next for their twenty lap feature. Craig Dolphin started on the pole and took the lead with the start of the race. Billy Burd, who had started sixth, and Erick Rudolph, who had started seventh, immediately began their march to the front of the field. At the halfway point of the race Dolphin was the leader but he was facing heavy pressure from second place Burd, Rudolph, and last week’s 75 lap feature winner Nick Cappelli. As Burd looked for a way around Dolphin, Rudolph was sizing up Burd for second. With five laps left to go, Rudolph grabbed the second spot from Burd and just two laps later took the lead from Dolphin. Burd and Cappelli took to the high line to get around Dolphin while Rudolph checked out on the field. A last lap spin by Dolphin created a yellow-checkered finish as Erick Rudolph took his second career SST Sportsman win on Lancaster’s 1/2 mile oval.

Rounding out the night’s action were the Bobcat of Buffalo Late Models. Sixteen cars were on hand for the night’s action. Scott Skora started from the pole position but on the first lap of action a three car accident brought out the yellow flag. A complete restart was called for and S. Skora was again was the leader at the drop of the green flag. Behind him the field was having a rough time sorting themselves out and two more caution flags followed before the halfway point of the race. After a lap eight restart, Jeff Brown, who had been running in the second position behind S. Skora, ran into left rear of Skora, crumpling Skora’s quarter panel and puncturing a tire on his own car, forcing him to retire to the infield. Surprisingly S. Skora was able to continue and maintain his lead. The top four of S.Skora, Ron Nurmi, Bobby Weber, and Todd Hoddick, who had battled his way back up to the front after an earlier accident, began to pull away from the field. While Nurmi looked for a way around S.Skora, Weber and Hoddick put on a great show, racing side by side, with Hoddick eventually taking the third spot. With three laps left, Hoddick set his sights on Nurmi but time ran out. S.Skora captured his second Late Model win at Lancaster Raceway Park and was followed by Nurmi, Hoddick, Weber, and Matt Alix.

Next week on Saturday, June 23rd Lancaster Raceway Park and Bobcat of Buffalo presents a “Night at the Races” and fireworks. For more information visit www.lancasterracing.com or call the track office at 716-758-6818.

Probity Group TQ Midgets Feature Finish: Mark Schulz, Dave Wollaber, Chris Bandelian, Bobby Holmes, Wayne Turnbull, Vinny Christiano Jr., AJ Hessler, Arik McGruder, Dan Lawrence, Curtis Friesen, Shawn Szejenar, Chester Haywood, Cam Barber, James Michael Friesen, Chad Haywood

Lap Leaders: Laps 1-20 Schulz
Heat Winners: Lawrence, Holmes

Thiel Motorsports Fast & Furious 4 Cylinders Feature Finish: Dan Wieland, Don Roesch, Tim Haniszewski Jr., Driver 55, Kevin Morreale, Driver 56, Brandon Hirsch, Margaret McDonald, Driver 57 and Ken Hejna.

Lap Leaders: Laps 1-20 Wieland

McGard Street Stock Feature Finish: Tim Garlock, John Julicher Jr., Jeff Madill, Andy Jankowiak, Tom Agen Sr., Cory Gallagher, Russell Knutsen, Jim Bryant, Scott Mutka, Mike Maggiore, Gary Light, Tom DeVille, Ed Nowak, Gary Denea, Gary Bartella, Steve Cochran, Bob Blaszak Jr., Paul Tessier, Tim Neis, Matt Jarek, Debbie Jarek, Mark Loveland (subbing for Rob Bulger), Joe Light, Jim Stein and Rick Ortwein. DNS: Jeff Guidotti.

Lap Leaders: Laps 1-20 Garlock
Heat Winners: Bryant, DeVille, Garlock

Ray Laks Resale Super Stock Feature Finish: George Roesch, Wayne Bernhard, Dave Johnson, Rick Widmer, John Kraemer, James Kron III, Jay Canonico and Jason Gwin. DNS: Frank Batista Jr.

Lap Leaders: Laps 1-20 Roesch
Heat Winner: Roesch

SST Sportsman Feature Finish: Erick Rudolph, Billy Burd, Nick Cappelli, Russ Gian, Tom MacLeod, Neil Hopkins (subbing for Eddie Murray), Sherri Hogan, David Tedesco, Mike Bliss, Mike Stevenson, Craig Dolphin and Ed Weber.

Lap Leaders: Laps 1-6 Dolphin, Laps 17-20 Rudolph
Heat Winners: Burd, Dolphin

Bobcat of Buffalo Feature Finish: Scott Skora, Ron Nurmi, Todd Hoddick, Bobby Weber, Matt Alix, George Skora III, Tommy Reese, David Rigan, Kevin Benish, Eldon King III, Jeff Brown Jr., Mark Pennell, Dan Habuda, Phil Hayne, Cory Lischer and John McClurg.

Lap Leaders: Laps 1-7 Skora; Lap 8 Nurmi; Laps 9-25 Skora
Heat Winners: Hoddick, Skora

Source: Lori Overdorf/Lancaster PR
Additions: Mark Southcott/NYRaceZone.com
Posted with photos added: June 18, 2007