VETERAN RACER JIM YOUNG CONTROLS 600 FEATURE
By Judy McGee Timmons
Jim Young, a driver at Path Valley Speedway since 1988, took control
of the lead from his pole position, in the Macri Concrete 600 Micro Sprint
feature, maintaining his position for 20 laps till he collected the checkered
flag, ahead of Randy Kunkle, Tanner Pressley, Darren Kauffman, & Ben
Freels, his top competitors.
Young & Kunkle Jr. led the sprints to the green, with Young pulling to the
lead, as Kunkle, Cooper, Pressley & Freels raced the top five spots.
A caution for Kevin Conner & Brandon Shearer in turn four, relined the
field as both drivers returned to the rear. The top runners held their
positions for six laps till Kauffman passed Freels on lap ten. Ben Irvin’s
racer got turned coming out of turn three, putting his ride to the pits,
with ten laps complete. The restart showed Kauffman passing Cooper
to claim fourth place, as Vincent Gaudiosi also went by Cooper, moving
into the top five, where the racers held positions for three laps. Cooper’s
ride started to show issues, as he lost positions, coming to a stop, going into turn two, then entering the pits with four laps remaining. On the reline, top five runner, Gaudiosi, entered the pits, moving Freels to fifth, as Young led Kunkle, Pressley, & Kauffman, to collect the checkered flag win. Young had the best lap, traveling at 78.098 MPH in 11.524 seconds.
The Metzler’s Auto Truck & Trailer Wingless Super Sportsman were chauffeured to the green by Brett Perigo & Donnie Farlling, resulting in a top five of Farlling, Perigo, Steve Wilbur, Brandon Shearer, & Marty Brian, for their 30-lap feature event.
Farlling & Brett Perigo pulled away from their competition, as they ran non-stop, till midrace, when Perigo passed Farlling to take the lead, with Shearer, Craig Perigo, Marty Brian, running in the top 5, as 11th place starter, Luke Lenker, moved into sixth. Twenty-five, no caution laps, were complete, when Josh Smith’s racer turned in the wrong direction, putting him to the back of the pack. When the green waved, Brian passed Shearer, moving into fourth, where he finished behind Perigo, Farlling, & Craig Perigo. Brett Perigo had the best lap, racing at 68.405 MPH in 13.157 seconds.
The Zachary D. Crouse DVM & Friese Motorsports LLC East Coast Legends were brought to the green by Owen Wagaman & Logan Jones, with Jones controlling the lead as Tyler Rampmeyer, Wagaman, Hunter McElroy, & Dalton Friese controlled the top 5. Jones pulled away from his rivals, while Rampmeyer & McElroy got into some wheel-to-wheel action, with McElroy moving to second position, as Rampmeyer, Wagaman, & Dalton Friese held the top five. Bill Diehl’s racer went out of control in turn two, on lap nine, putting him to the rear. The top racers ran five laps, till Conner Tracy had issues in turn four, from which he had to be towed to the pit area.
The top five remained the same, with Wagaman, Scott Musselman, Scott Houdeshell, Kelby Friese & Jeremy Ott running in the top ten. Kelby Friese & Houdeshell were running almost door to door, behind Mussellman, when Friese went into a turbulent flip on the backstretch. Minutes seemed like hours, till Kelby walked from the wreckage, with assistance, to the ambulance, and to the applause of the concerned fans.
Jones, McElroy, Rampmeyer, Wagaman, & Dalton Friese, were at the top of the restart, racing till two laps remained, when Justin Wagaman’s racer slid into the turns one & two infield, putting him to the rear. Jeremy Ott pulled by Dalton Friese to claim fifth place as Logan Jones crossed the finish line. Hunter McElroy had the best lap, racing at 64.080 MPH in 14.045 seconds.
The Cisney’s Auto Parts 4 Cylinder Thunder Car feature had Tyler Stine in the lead, but a prelap caution for Charlie Stallman & Ronnie Buck in turn two, put the racers back into an original restart.
Stine, Robert McQuade, Eric Seibert, & Jackson & Jeremy Eutzy, were at the front till contact was made, putting Jeremy Eutzy into a spin in turn two, which put him to the rear. Stine led the racers to the green, charting two laps before Wesley Young had problems in turn two, putting his ride to the infield. The racer of Tara Sales, came to a stop going into turn three, but regained power, putting her to the end of the line.
McQuade continued the caution cycle when he spun out in turn four, also going to the rear. Stine brought the restart to action, with Jackson Eutzy putting on the pressure, placing his ride side by side with Stine, taking over the lead. Seibert, Updegraff, & Buck went into a three-way showdown for fourth position, with Buck gaining the spot.
As midrace approached, the field became more aggressive, with Stallman passing Stine after door-to-door action, taking second. Buck & Updegraff were also closing the gap with Stine, passing him, to move into line behind Jackson Eutzy & Charlie Stallman for the final six laps. Jackson Eutzy also had the best lap, racing at 60.801 MPH in 14.778 seconds.
The T.A. Ward Construction 270 Sprints began their race with Zach Glass taking the first lap lead, while Parker Lucas, Jason Houtz, Cameron McClure & Nash Lucas, took possession of the top five positions.
Sean McAndrew, left the oval with four laps complete, followed by Jamie Connelly & Chris Diehl, after five complete laps. Jordon Knable was towed from turn two after an accident, giving him a six-lap credit for the evening. Glass, Parker Lucas, Houtz, McClure & Cory Myers led the racers till nine laps were complete, before Eric Forsythe Sr.’s ride went on its side in turn four returning to the race at the rear. Lucas passed Glass on the restart, as Houtz, Myers, & McClure pulled into the top five spots with five laps remaining. Myers passed Houtz, moving to third place behind Parker Lucas, & Zach Glass, & ahead of Houtz & McClure. Parker Lucas had the best lap, running at 74.745 MPH in 12.041 seconds.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Kelby Friese for a quick recovery from tonight’s accident. Path Valley Speedway would like to thank Path Valley Restaurant for being our nightly sponsor for April 18th.
A Special Thank You to TB’s Body Shop, in Shippensburg, Pa. Foran extra $150.00 given to the 4 Cylinder Thunder car feature winner, & for the $50.00 Hard Luck Award {Wesley Young} & the $50.00 Hard Charger Award {Aaron Updegraff} for the same division.