Gracey Claims First 358 Summer Series Event With Lincoln Win

Story By: BILL MEYER / LINCOLN SPEEDWAY – ABBOTTSTOWN, PA – Todd Gracey was hoping to win one more race while he was still in his 40’s. And he did, with just two days to spare.

And he picked a good one to win; the first K1 Race Gear Summer Series event of the year in Saturday’s 25-lap, $1,500 to win 358 sprint car feature at Lincoln Speedway Saturday night.

For most of the race, it looked like fifth-starting Jeff Halligan was going to run away from the field. Polesitter Kody Hartlaub paced the field for the first six laps. Halligan methodically worked his way to the front, driving around Gracey for third on the fifth lap, got by Kyle Abrahims for second on the sixth lap, and took the lead from Hartlaub on lap seven.

From there, Halligan was the class of the field, and opened up a straightaway lead before he caught lapped traffic on lap 11. He was working his way through heavy lapped traffic when disaster struck on lap 19. Brent Shearer and Kevin Nouse got together in turns one and two, with Shearer flipping and collecting Halligan in the process.

Hartlaub assumed the race lead for the restart, but a double-file restart put Gracey alongside Hartlaub. He took the lead at the drop of the green and led the rest of the way.

“Jeff (Halligan)’s bad luck turned the race over to me. I definitely wouldn’t have caught him,” said Gracey upon exiting the Evan Taylor/Blue Ribbon Exteriors #19G in victory lane, “I was trying to get to second, and I didn’t think I was going to get that far. With these double-file restarts, it’s actually benefits you if you’re running second or third. This is a 2004 car that we put back together. Seems like it works.”

A hard charging tenth-starting Chandler Leiby closed the gap over the final laps, but settled for second .68 seconds behind. Third through fifth were Tyler Ross (Halligan’s teammate for the night), 12th-starting Chase Dietz, and Scott Fisher.

Heats for the 41 “358” Sprints were won by Fisher, Hartlaub, Doug Hammaker, and Ross, with hard charger Adrian Shaffer (who advanced from 21st stating spot to finish tenth in the feature) winning the consolation.

Lebanon’s Richie Hirtzler held off Aaron Bowes to win the 20-lap feature for the visiting 600 Xcel modifieds. His final margin of victory over the only driver to ever win an Xcel race at Lincoln was .44 seconds, with Korey Inglin, early race leader Jon Josko (who led laps 2-16), and Steve Sterner completing the top five in a tightly-contested event between the top four.

Heats for the 21 600 Xcel Modifieds were won by Josko and Nathan Brinker.

Travis McClelland completed a perfect night by racing to the win in the 20-lap All-American Outlaw feature.

McClelland led the first lap from the pole, yielded to outside front row starter Tim Fake for the next seven laps, then reclaimed the top spot for good on lap nine. Fake settled for second, with Jeff McCauley, Jim Minter, and Danny Holmes rounding out the top five.

Heats for the 11 All-American Outlaws were won by McClelland and Gary Moreland, Sr.

Lincoln Speedway is back in action next Saturday, July 15th, with the Annual JOHN GLEIM JR. EXCAVATING NIGHT featuring the 410 Sprints, Super Sportsman, and Central PA Legends. Gates will open at 5:30 PM, with racing scheduled to begin at 7:30 PM.

To get all the latest news, results, schedule changes and rule changes, visit Lincoln Speedway’s website at http://www.lincolnspeedway.com to stay up-to-date on all the action or pending weather conditions at Central Pennsylvania’s “Premier” Saturday night race track – The Fabulous Lincoln Speedway.

RACE RESULTS
Saturday, July 8, 2017
LINCOLN SPEEDWAY
Abbottstown, PA
K1 RaceGear 358 Sprint Summer Series

358 Sprint Feature Finish (25 Laps) – 1. 19G-Todd Gracey ($1,500); 2. 119-Chandler Leiby; 3. 41B-Tyler Ross; 4. 4R-Chase Dietz; 5. 21T-Scott Fisher; 6. 11D-Cody Hartlaub; 7. 66-Doug Hammaker; 8. 21X-Kyle Abrahims; 9. 23-Chris Arnold; 10. 27S-Adrian Shaffer; 11. 28-Matt Findley; 12. 00-Chris Frank; 13. 5-Phil Walter; 14. 23R-Todd Rittenhouse, Jr.; 15. 19-Troy Wagaman, Jr.; 16. 66A-Cody Fletcher; 17. 19S-Steve Drevicki; 18. 13-Ryan Higgins; 19. 59-Steve Wilbur; 20. 97-Brie Hershey; 21. 4-Dwight Leppo; 22. 41-Jeff Halligan; 23. 1J-Kevin Nouse; 24. 12-Brent Shearer. No Time

Lap Leaders – Cody Hartlaub (1-6), Jeff Halligan (7-19), Todd Gracey (20-25)

358 Sprint Heat One Finish (10 laps/5 to qualify) – 1. 21T-Scott Fisher; 2. 4R-Chase Dietz; 3. 28-Matt Findley; 4. 59-Steve Wilbur; 5. 12-Brent Shearer; 6. 27S-Adrian Shaffer; 7. 39-JB Cunningham; 8. 7-Trey Hivner; 9. 56M-DJ Montgomery; 10. 5A-Zachary Allman; 11. 51N-Nick Palmerino. Time – 2:30.94

358 Sprint Heat Two Finish (10 laps/5 to qualify) – 1. 11D-Kody Hartlaub; 2. 119-Chandler Leiby; 3. 21X-Kyle Abrahims; 4. 5-Phil Walter; 5. 66A-Cody Fletcher; 6. 15S-Shai Morris; 7. 97-Brie Hershey; 8. 89-Ashley Cappetta; 9. 19-Troy Wagaman, Jr.; 10. 22M-Nyle Berkes. No Time

358 Sprint Heat Three Finish (10 laps/5 to qualify) – 1. 66-Doug Hammaker; 2. 19G-Todd Gracey; 3. 23-Chris Arnold; 4. 23R-Todd Rittenhouse, Jr.; 5. 4-Dwight Leppo; 6. 9-Dalton Dietrich; 7. 19D-Wyatt Hinkle; 8. 23J-Jake Eldreth; 9. 47-Michael Hamer; 10. 59T-Tim Stallings. No Time

358 Sprint Heat Four Finish (10 laps/5 to qualify) – 1. 41B-Tyler Ross; 2. 41-Jeff Halligan; 3. 00-Chris Franks; 4. 13-Ryan Higgins; 5. 19S-Steve Drevicki; 6. 5Q-Ryan Quackenbush; 7. 8-Kenny Kuhn; 8. 51-Austin Treuchet; 9. 1J-Kevin Nouse; 10. 38D-Kyle Denmyer. No Time

358 Sprint Consolation Finish (12 laps/4 to qualify) – 1. 27S-Adrian Shaffer; 2. 1J-Kevin Nouse; 3. 19-Troy Wagaman, Jr.; 4. 97-Brie Hershey; 5. 5Q-Ryan Quackenbush; 6. 38D-Kyle Denmyer; 7. 7-Trey Hivner; 8. 19D-Wyatt Hinkle; 9. 89-Ashley Cappetta; 10. 5A-Zachary Allman; 11. 22M-Nyle Berkes; 12. 8-Kenny Kuhn; 13. 47-Michael Hamer; 14. 15S-Shai Morris; 15. 51-Austin Treuchet. DNS – 9-Dalton Dietrich, 39-JB Cunningham, 23J-Jake Eldreth, 56M-DJ Montgomery, 59T-Tim Stallings, 51N-Nick Palmerino. No Time

600 Xcel Modifieds

Xcel Modifieds Feature Finish (20 Laps) – 1. 9-Richie Hitzler; 2. 4-Aaron Bowes; 3. 127-Korey Inglin; 4. 08-Jon Josko; 5. 7-Steve Sterner; 6. 24-DJ Hunt; 7. 28-Chuck Bower; 8. 11-Travis Rigante; 9. 94-Hunter Diehl; 10. 5-Ray Gladwell; 11. 26-Grant Schibilia; 12. 62-Shawna Schibilia; 13. 77-Kyle Inglin; 14. SUN-Nathan Brinker; 15. 93-Gabby Meixell; 16. 27-Josh Pepe; 17. 93-Gabby Meixell; 18. 211-Brian Blankenbiller; 19. 7-Steve Sterner; DNS – 8-Tiffany Hitzler, 71-Travis Fichter. No Time

Lap Leaders – Josh Pepe (1), Jon Josko (2-16), Richie Hitzler (17-20)

Xcel Modifieds Heat One Finish (8 laps) – 1. 08-Jon Josko; 2. 24-DJ Hunt; 3. 27-Josh Pepe; 4. 127-Korey Inglin; 5. 11-Travis Rigante; 6. 64-Aaron Bowes; 7. 77-Kyle Inglin; 8. 62-Shawna Schibilia; 9. 98-Matt Werner; 10. 7-Steve Sterner; 11. 17-Jon Pepe. No Time

Xcel Modifieds Heat Two Finish (8 laps) – 1. SUN-Nathan Brinker; 2. 71-Travis Fichter; 3. 9-Richie Hitzler; 4. 28-Chuck Bower; 5. 26-Grant Schibilia; 6. 94-Hunter Diehl; 7. 5-Ray Gradwell; 8. 93-Gabby Meixell; 9. 8-Tiffany Hitzler. No Time

ALL-AMERICAN OUTLAWS

All-American Outlaws Feature Finish (20 Laps) – 1. 6-Travis McClelland; 2. 100-Tim Fake; 3. 8-Jeff McCauley; 4. 55-Jim Minter; 5. 23-Danny Holmes; 6. 61-Shaun Miller; 7. 13M-Gary Moreland, Sr.; 8. 31M-Gary Moreland, Jr.; 9. 53-Tony Jorda (DNF); DNS – 01-Brad Alexander. No Time

Lap Leaders – Travis McClelland (1-7), Tim Fake (8), Travis McClelland (9-20)

All-American Outlaws Heat One Finish (6 laps) – 1. 6-Travis McClelland; 2. 100-Tim Fake; 3. 8-Jeff McCauley; 4. 53-Tony Jorda; 5. 01-Brad Alexander. No Time

All-American Outlaws Heat Two Finish (6 laps) – 1. 13M-Gary Moreland, Sr.; 2. 55-Jim Minter; 3. 61-Shaun Miller; 4. 23-Danny Holmes; 5. 31M-Gary Moreland, Jr. Time – 2:03.03