Kent Makes History At Lernerville, Winning Inaugural RUSH Sprint Car Battle

Story By: GARY HEEMAN / LERNERVILLE SPEEDWAY – SARVER, PA – History was made at The Action Track on Wednesday night as Arnie Kent became the first winner of a RUSH Sprint Car main event in the first installment of the RK Virgile Wednesday Night Mayhem Series.

The veteran Sprint Car pilot overtook pole sitter Dalton Daniels on the first lap for the lead and held off a very determined Gale Ruth Sr. who spent the much of the race applying pressure to the race leader in the hopes of finding a crack to slip by. Kent never offered up the opportunity however as he hit his marks with near perfection and left no open door for Ruth who crossed the line in second place.

Daniels wound up on the podium by fending off both Dave and Scott Hawkins and a strong run from Joe McEwan who battled toward the front the entire race to preserve his third place finish. The racing provided the first look of the new Non-Wing Sprint Cars, and if their opening night performance was any indication, fans can expect thrilling battles on a nightly basis as the pack stayed fairly tight and the cautions were at a minimum.

In the American Steel Processing 4 Cylinders, Dillon Speer, competing in only his second year on the track, managed to find away around a strong running Patrick Crawford to take victory in the 15 lap main event. Matthew Rubright turned in a strong performance, looking fast both in his heat race and in the feature where he came from the mid pack to the front in a very efficient manner. And in the Gellners Sales and Service UTV’s, Pat McGuire made some adjust after coming home second in his heat, found some additional speed and beat the competition to turn one in the 12 lap main event and never looked back in collecting the first win in the series at Lernerville.
RUSH Sprint Cars-Main Event (20 Laps)

1. (18) Arnie Kent
2. (1C) Gale Ruth Sr.
3. (23) Dalton Daniels
4. (27H) Dave Hawkins
5. (37) Scott Hawkins
6. (9J) Joe McEwan
7. (36) Shawn Smith
8. (35) Tyler Powell
9. (86) Mike Lutz
10. (27) Zach Morrow
11. (56) Steve Cousins
12. (12) Darin Gallagher
Amercian Steel Processing 4 Cylinder- Main Event (15 Laps)
1. (07) Dillon Speer
2. (4) Patrick Crawford
3. (44) Matthew Rubright
4. (16K) Steve Longwell Sr.
5. (42) Kelly Clark
6. (13J) Jay Swager Jr
7. (54) Tim Callahan
8. (81s) David Smail
9. (X) Dale Rubright
10. (14) John Shannon
11. (40C) Joe Cambpell
12. (26K) Pat Hanlon
13. (69) Michael Phillipson

Gellners Sales And Service UTVs- Main Event (12 Laps)

1. (591) Pat McGuire
2. (321) Daniel Merritt
3. (321) Joe Scugoza
4. (57) Ken Hesley Jr.- Pro Mod
5. (55) Matt Sherlock- Pro Mod

Rush Sprints- Heat 1 (8 Laps)

1. (18) Arnie Kent
2. (23) Dalton Daniels
3. (37) Scott Hawkins
4. (86) Mike Lutz
5. (12) Darrin Gallagher
6. (35) Tyler Powell

Rush Sprints Heat 2 (8 Laps)

1. (9J) Joe MeEwen
2. (1C) Gale Ruth Jr.
3. (27) Zach Morrow
4. (27H) Dave Hawkins
5. (56) Steve Cousins
6. (36) Shawn Smith

American Steel Processing 4 Cylinders Heat 1 (8 Laps)

1. (07) Dillon Speer
2. (4) Patrick Crawford
3. (81s) David Smail
4. (42) Kelly Clark
5. (X) Dale Rubright
6. (40c) Joe Cambpell

American Steel Processing 4 Cylinders Heat 2 (8 Laps)

1. (16K) Steve Longwell Sr.
2. (44) Matthew Rubright
3. (54) Tim Callahan
4. (26K) Pat Hanlon
5. (14) John Shannon
6. (13J) Jay Swager Jr.
7. (69) Michael Phillipson

Gellners Sales And Services Heat (6 Laps)

1. (321) Joe Scugoza
2. (591) Pat McGuire
3. (321) Daniel Merritt
4. (57) Ken Heasley Jr.
5. (55) Matt Sherlock