KUNKLE COLLECTS FIRST WIN OF SEASON
By Judy McGee Timmons
Randy Kunkle JR. took the green from his pole position in the Macri
Concrete 600 Micro Sprint feature, taking the lead, where he remained
till the checkered, deferring the fierce competition in pursuit.
Kunkle & Jim Young were pole mates, with Young taking second,
while Vincent Gaudiosi, Dylan Anderson, & Heath Walton raced to the
top five spots, remaining in their positions till lap eight, when Walton
passed Anderson for fourth. Kunkle raced a strong line, but Young
had the pressure on, piloting his racer by less than half a second
behind the leader. Walton took control of third after passing Gaudiosi
& Anderson, while Ben Freels & Brice Harro moved forward into the
top five.
As the racers approached the final laps, a car went sideways into the middle of the turns one & two infield, causing havoc as cars went in all directions to avoid collision. Kunkle made it through, but Young’s machine had a release of smoke, which turned into fire, as he came to a stop in turn two, with the smoke engulfing the car, as track personale & EMT’s worked to assist Young out of his damaged vehicle.
Kunkle led the racers on the restart, with Walton, Anderson, Ben Freels, & Bruce Harro sitting in the top five as Kunkle passed the checkered flag. Kunkle had the best lap, traveling at 79.724 MPH in 11.289 seconds. The 600 sprint heats were won by Jim Young &Vincent Gaudiosi.
Cameron McClure & Jason Houtz were at the top of the lineup for the T.A. Ward Construction 270 Micro Sprints event, with fourth place starter, Cory Myers, taking the lead.
Jason Houtz, Cameron McClure, Dakota Yeingst & Tyler Brown pulled into the top five, when a caution for Chris Diehl was flown, when his ride had issues on the backstretch, ending his run for the evening. Matthew Dixson left the oval with four laps complete, and a major overhaul in lineup was created with eight completed laps, when a mishap put Mark Knable, Tyler Brown, Chanler Heasley, & Chad Trout, in the pits. Brett Kauffman moved his ride into the top five, before midrace, then continued his advancement to fourth after passing Yeingst.
Myers continued with a strong lead till two laps remained in the race, at which time he exited the circuit at the turn two ramp. Houtz, who ran in second the entire race, also came to a halt out of turn two, ending his racing for the evening, and putting Zach Glass at the front of the restart. Zach pulled to the lead, finishing the race ahead of Brett Kauffman, Travis Hodge, Eric Forsythe SR., & Dylan Mickey. Myers had the best lap traveling 78.459 MPH in 11.471 seconds. Cory Myers & Tyler Brown were the heat event winners, with Dakota Yeingst claiming the win for the consi.
The Cisney’s Auto Parts Four Cylinder Thunder Cars driver, Ronnie Buck, took the lead on green & kept the hammer down to the finish, taking the green to checkered win. Brock Foster immediately put his racer inches behind Buck, with Jackson Eutzy, Tyler Stine & Jeremy Eutzy in a battle for third place.
Tara Sales brought out the first caution when her racer spun into the opposite direction out of turn two, putting her to the end of the line. Buck led on the restart, with Foster hot on his trail, when a second caution was shown for Justin Bucher in turn two, resulting in his ride also going to the back of the pack. Buck was ahead of a major pursuit, as Foster kept his pace, waiting for an advantage point to take the lead. Jackson Eutzy brought his racer past Stine & Jeremy Eutzy, pulling behind Foster, to take charge of third place. Jackson continued to decrease the distance between his racer & Foster’s, going wheel to wheel, till he gained the momentum to pass Foster with nine laps complete. At midrace, Stine & Updegraff went into competition for fifth place, with Updegraff moving past Stine for the position. Jackson Eutzy ran in second for seven laps before Foster pulled his racer into Eutzy’s space, regaining his second place position.
Buck claimed the checkered win ahead of Foster, Jackson Eutzy, Jeremy Eutzy & Aaron Updegraff. Dave Yoder had the best lap, racing at 63.541 MPH in 14.164 seconds. Gunner Walls, Jackson Eutzy, & Tyler Stine won the Thunder Car Heats, with Kenny Yoder taking the win for the consi event.
The Metzler’s Auto, Truck & Trailer Wingless Super Sportsman took the green with polesitter, Luke Lenker, taking the lead ahead of Billy Doyle, Brad Mellott, Craig Perigo, & Sam Leonard. Brad Cowan brought his ride from eighth starting position to the top five on lap five, then continued to third place, after passing Mellott on lap nine.
Lenker & Doyle stayed in position for 17 of the 30 laps, till Craig Perigo passed Doyle to take second. Cowan raced for two laps behind Doyle, before moving into Doyle’s third place position, as Brett Perigo came from his 14th starting spot, to pull into the top five with six laps remaining. Lenker held back the advances of Craig Perigo for four of the final six laps, while Brett Perigo passed Doyle & Cowan to take control of third. Craig Perigo made a final attempt to gain the lead from Lenker with two laps remaining, making the pass, & taking over the lead.
Craig Perigo claimed the win, finishing ahead of Lenker, Brett Perigo, Brad Cowan and Billy Doyle. Billy Doyle had the best lap, racing at 70.655 MPH in 12.738 seconds. Brad Cowan, Eric Walker & Craig Perigo won the WSS heat races.
The Dr. Zachary Crouse DVM / Friese Motorsports LLC, East Coast Legends, began their feature event with Owen Wagaman & Scott Musselman at the helm of the 24 car field.
Musselman, Wagaman, Lincoln Kearchner, Jeremy Ott, & Justin Wagaman were the top five contenders on green, with Musselman taking the lead for four laps, before Jeremy Ott passed the top three to take the lead by lap five. Musselman ran second till lap ten when Lincoln Kearchner drove his racer into second, ahead of Musselman, Seth Kearchner, & Tyler Rampmeyer.
Ott had a strong lead, ahead of the top five, but ninth place starter, Colton Friese, was moving forward to gain positions, pulling into fifth place by midrace. As the laps counted down, the racing intensified as the top runners started to shift in positions, with Seth Kearchner passing Musselman to take third place, followed by Colton Friese passing Musselman, putting him in fourth. As the final lap came into view, Friese passed Seth Kearchner, taking control of third place, as Ott crossed the line for the checkered flag win, ahead of Lincoln Kearchner, Colton Friese, Seth Kearchner, & Scott Musselman. Jeremy Ott had the best lap, running at 67.966 MPH in 13.242 seconds. The Legend heat races were won by Colton Friese, Dalton Friese, Seth Kearchner & Jeremy Ott. The Legend consolation event was won by Scott Montgomery.
Community State Bank of Orbisonia was the Nightly sponsor for the May 16th race, with representatives on hand to award the feature winners with their trophies. They also were available to answer any questions about the Community State Bank & the services they provide to their patrons. Path Valley Speedway is very thankful for the Community State Bank’s continued annual support, & looks forward to their future sponsorships.
Path Valley Speedway will not be racing Saturday, May 23rd, but will be returning on May 30th. The T.A. Ward Construction 270 Micro Sprints, Macri Concrete 600 Micro Sprints, Metzler’s Auto Truck & Trailer Wingless Super Sportsman, Cisney’s Auto Parts 4 Cylinder Thunder Cars, Dr. Zachary Crouse DVM & Friese Motorsports East Coast Legends & The E.M.M.R. will be on the racing card for May 30th.