FRIESE WINS $1500 FOR DR. ZACHARY CROUSE DVM LEGENDS SUMMER SLAM RACE AT PATH VALLEY
By Judy McGee Timmons
Devin Friese & Tyler Rampmeyer sat in the top positions of the
Dr. Crouse East Coast Legends Summer Slam Line-Up for their
25 lap feature on Saturday evening at Path Valley Speedway,
when Friese pulled ahead of Seth Kearchner, Rampmeyer,
Scott Houdeshell & Owen Wagaman.
Dalton Friese brought his 8th place starting position racer into
the top five by lap 3, before a 4-car accident brought out the first
caution, with all returning to the rear. Devin Friese, Kearchner,
Rampmeyer, Houdeshell, & Dalton Friese were at the top on
the restart, where they remained till contact in turn 4, had racers
going in all directions. Devin Smith, Dan Wirfel & Justin Wagaman
retired their racers for the evening by lap 12, with a reline of Devin
Friese, Rampmeyer, Houdeshell, Kearchner & Dalton Friese holding
the top 5, with Brock Doyle & Jeremy Ott closing in.
The racers ran 9 nonstop laps, but the competition was intensifying, as the top 5 ran less than 2 seconds apart with Houdeshell taking the lead for 2 laps in a fierce side by side run with Friese.
Six laps remained when Friese reclaimed the lead as Rampmeyer & Dalton Friese kept the action at full scale in the top 4 as Ott passed Doyle for the top 5 spot, where they finished, with Devin Friese taking the win. Scott Houdeshell had the best lap, running at 66.642 MPH in 13.505 seconds. Devin Friese’s best lap was 13.512 seconds. K.J. Massey received the Hard Charger Award, & Scott Montgomery received the Hard Luck Award.
The T.A. Ward Construction 270 Sprints line up had Aidan Crouse & Colton Guiher on the pole, with Crouse taking the lead, as Guiher, Brett Kauffman, John Williams Jr., & Jason Houtz made claim to the top 5. A caution was shown when Cameron McClure went high out of turn 3, putting his racer to the pits, as Crouse led the reline. Zach Glass came from 7th to take control of 2nd, followed by Jason Houtz, Bradyn Kuhn & Guiher.
Midrace was approaching, when Stephanie Welk came to a stop on the backstretch, ending her competition for the evening as Crouse held the lead on the restart. Houtz moved into 2nd, ahead of Glass & Kuhn as Cory Myers followed the pattern, passing Kuhn, then moving to 3rd after Glass exited the oval on lap 15. Brett Kauffman brought his racer back to 5th place, where he finished behind Crouse, Houtz, Myers & Kuhn. Myers had the fastest lap, traveling 75.201 MPH in 11.968 seconds. Winner, Aidan Crouse, ran a best lap of 12.050 seconds.
The Metzler Auto Truck & Trailer Wingless Super Sportsman 30 lap feature event had Brad Cowan as the starting leader, with Donnie Fariling, Eric Walker, Steve Wilbur & Luke Lenker running the top 5 for 7 laps till Craig Perigo & Brandon Shearer advanced by Lenker. Walker had the pressure on Cowan, with Farlling running 3rd, while Wilbur & Shearer had some wheel to wheel action for 4th place. Ten laps were remaining on the clock when Brad Mellott’s racer went into a high flip out of turn 3, after making contact with another racer’s tire, bringing out an immediate red flag. Mellott was assisted by track & ambulance attendants, walking away from the incident, to the applause of all the fans.
Cowan, Walker, Farlling, Wilbur & Shearer remained in the top 5 positions on the restart, until 11th place starter, Brett Perigo, brought his ride through the line, passing a car per lap as he headed for the win. Cowan held his lead for 7 more laps till Perigo made his final move, being the first across the line as the checkered flag waved 3 laps later. Walker had moved by Cowan in the increased battle at the end, putting Cowan in 3rd, with Shearer & Farlling in the top five. Walker had the fastest lap, going 74.454 MPH in 12.088 seconds. Brett Perigo, the winner, had a fast lap in 12.287 seconds.
The Cisney’s Auto Parts 4 Cylinder Thunder Cars feature front row seats were shared by Kenny Hill & Eric Seibert, with Seibert taking the lead, while Hill & Dave Yoder went into a door to door scuffle for 2nd, before Roger Traxler brought out a caution, when he lost control on turn 2, putting him to the rear. Seibert led Yoder, Hill, Jake Shoup & Tyler Stine to the green with Stine & Kevin Bard passing Shoup before a caution for Chase Beidel, Traxler, & Mac Cramer waved, putting all 3 runners to the back on the restart.
Seibert, Yoder, Hill, Stine & Bard were the top five runners with Shoup in 6th position till his racer had issues on the frontstretch, putting him to the back of the line. On green, Stine & Bard had some side to side experiences, with Bard passing Stine, while Jeremy Eutzy appeared behind Stine to claim 6th place. Bill Sterner’s racer showed a flat tire, putting him to the pits for an exchange, after which he returned to the oval, joined by Keith Johnson, who spun out, putting both to the back.
Seibert, Yoder, Bard, Hill & Stine were the top five for 5 laps, till Bard passed Yoder with 4 laps to go. Ronnie Buck Jr. came from 13th place to pull by Eutzy & Yoder, taking the top 5 position. Seibert led the field to the checkered, taking the win ahead of Bard, Yoder, Stine & Buck Jr. The best lap was run by Buck at 62.836 MPH in 14.323 seconds. Winner, Eric Seibert, had a best time of 14.558 seconds.
The Macri Concrete 600 Sprints were brought to the green by racers Darren Kauffman & Jarred Cavalet, with Cavalet pulling to the lead ahead of Kauffman, Randy Kunkle, Cole Armstrong & Jim Young. Kunkle moved to 2nd on lap 6, as Armstrong & Young held the top 5 spots for 4 laps, before Young passed Armstrong to claim 4th. Leader, Cavalet, ran into misfortune when his racer got into the turn 4 infield, putting the leader to the rear.
Kunkle, Kauffman, Young, Dominic Ciucci, & Armstrong, now sat in the top five, briefly, till 4th place runner, Ciucci, brought out a caution, when he had problems getting into the infield, repositioning him to the rear. Kunkle led the racers to the green, with Young passing Kauffman to claim 2nd, as Shawn Rumbaugh came from 10th to take control of 5th & Vincent Gaudiosi putting his racer into 6th. Ciucci went to the pits but returned to the back of the line with 4 laps to go, while Cavalet retired his racer for the evening.
Kunkle, Young, Kauffman, Armstrong, & Gaudiosi were the final 5 on the restart, with Armstrong passing Kauffman to take 3rd place behind Kunkle & Young as they passed the checkered flag. Kunkle had the fastest lap, racing at 79.547 MPH in 11.314 seconds. Jim Young’s best time was 11.495 seconds.
Path Valley returns to racing on Sept 19th, on Williamson Salvage Night, with a $500.00 to win for the T.A. Ward Construction 270 Sprints. Also on the racing card will be the Macri Concrete 600 Sprints, Dr. Zachary Crouse DVM Limited Late Models, & the PASS 305 Sprints.
ON SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20TH, THE PA POSSE 410 SPRINTS WILL BE INVADING THE PATH VALLEY OVAL FOR THE FINAL TIME THIS SEASON, & WILL BE JOINED BY THE CISNEY AUTO PARTS 4 CYLINDER THUNDER CARS PAYING $500 TO WIN THANKS TO T.B’s BODY SHOP.
Special thanks to Saturday night’s nightly sponsors, Path Valley Market & Agett/ Lakjer Funeral Home for providing trophies.