Lynch Collects First Lernerville Victory; King Sr. Edges King Jr. In Modifieds

Story By: GARY HEEMAN / LERNERVILLE SPEEDWAY – SARVER, PA – Morning and early afternoon clouds and drizzle dissipated as the day progressed on Friday at The Action Track, clearing the way for a night of racing that contained dramatic moments and thrilling action all evening long as the Fab4 Fueled by Turners Premium Iced Tea kicked off action for the final month of the regular season.

When the dust settled, a legendary car known to many found it’s way to Terry Bowser Victory Lane with a driver behind the wheel that made his first appearance there in his young career.

Sye Lynch started on the front row of the 25 lap Peoples Gas DIRTcar Sprint main event and put the field behind him soon after shaking off an early challenge from the invading central Pennsylvania driver Gerard McIntyre. Lynch found himself with several large batches of lapped traffic to deal with at various points in the race, but managed to increase his lead over McIntyre to a straightaway while hammering the top side of the speedway. Meanwhile, Jack Sodeman Jr. managed to shrink points leader AJ Flick’s 16 point advantage to a more manageable nine points as he rounded out the podium with a third place finish. But the night and the moment belonged to Lynch who parked the familiar looking 2L machine in victory lane for the first time in his career, much to the delight of fans on hand.

In Precise Racing DIRTcar Late Model action, Michael Norris came within a mere car length of lapping the entire field of cars on hand en route to his seventh victory of the season. Following a caution on the very first lap that ruined the chances of victory for Michael Lake and Andrew Wylie, Norris quickly made his way to the front from his 10th starting spot to the lead in less than a handful of laps. Once out front, Norris set a blistering pace and managed to lap all but Joshua Powell who managed his best career finish at Lernerville.

J.R. McGinley started on the front row and looked impressive early in Diehl Automotive DIRTcar Big Block Modified action as he led past the five lap mark. However, he would be overcome first by Jim Weller Jr. and all would eventually succumb to a pair of Kings who made their way forward with authority. Rex King Sr. and Jr. joined the front with the elder King would take the lead from Weller on lap 14. King would then have to hold off King Jr. who had been challenged for the third spot by McGinley whom had found a great deal of forward bite at the top of the speedway. McGinley would slip off the speedway on lap 17 and King Jr made his way under Weller for the second spot on lap 20 where he would chase his father down, but come up just short as the checkered flag waved over King Sr. who managed his first Lernerville victory since 2015.

Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than to be good, and in the Millerstown Pic-A-Part DIRTcar/RUSH Pro Stock main event, Corey McPherson found himself caught up in a precarious position on the back stretch facing the wrong way with a field of cars headed straight for him. McPherson would manage to avoid disaster following the spin and kept his car straight and fast the rest of the way as he collected his fourth win of the season. Meanwhile, title contender and points leader coming into the night Tyler Dietz suffered a rough series of unfortunate turns as mechanical gremlins in hot laps forced him from his car into John Hartman’s ride for the remainder of the night. Dietz held the lead twice early on in the main event but had a rear tire go flat. Dietz would get a new tire and move forward from the tail of the field as he scratched out a determined fourth place finish which helped minimize the damage while McPherson found himself atop the season standings heading into next Friday night

Peoples Natural Gas DIRTcar Sprint Main Event (25 Laps)
1. (2L) Sye Lynch
2. (07) Gerard McIntyre
3. (23J) Jack Sodeman Jr.
4. (33) John Garvin Jr.
5. (2) A.J. Flick
6. (08) Dan Kuriger
7. (98) Carl Bowser
8. (51) Brent Matus
9. (4N) Dale Blaney
10. (13) Brandon Matus
11. (55) Gary Kriess
12. (08F) Andy Feil
13. (56) Ralph Spithaler
14. (29P) Dan Shetler
15. (46) Michael Bauer
16. (24) Jeremy Hill
17. (4K) Bill Kiley
18. (91) Sadie Siegel
19. (23) Darren Pifer
20. (23c) Jerry Hairhoger

Precise Racing Products DIRTcar Late Model Main Event (25 Laps)
1. (72) Michael Norris
2. (11) Josh Powell
3. (61) Jon Lee
4. (55) Chris Schneider
5. (10L) Gary Lyle
6. (29) Kenny Schaltenbrand
7. (91) Tommy Beck
8. (13) Todd Weldon
9. (14R) Clay Ruffo
10. (81) Mike Miller
11. (84) Andrew Wylie
12. (27) Michael Lake
13. (15) Kelvin Kohan- Did Not Start
14. (4T8) Colton Flinner- Did Not Start

Diehl Automotive DIRTcar Big Block Modified Main Event (25 Laps)

1. (65) Rex King Sr.
2. (165) Rex King Jr.
3. (31) Jim Weller Jr.
4. (10s) Garrett Krummert
5. (61) Dave Murdick
6. (45) Steve Feder
7. (4J) John Mollick
8. (13) Rick Regalski
9. (25) Chris Rudolph
10. (18) Colton Walters
11. (83) Brian Swartzlander
12. (66) J.R. McGinley
13. (88) Shawn Fleeger
14. (29s) Steve Slater
15. (5) Brian Sadler
16. (22) Kevin Long
17. (63) Jessica Kriegisch
18. (89) Erik Bowser
19. (75) Jeff Miller
20. (132) Brandon Michaud
21. (37MD) Jeremiah Shingledecker

Millerstown Pic-A-Part DIRTcar RUSH Pro Stock Main Event (20 Laps)

1. (C33) Corey McPherson
2. (13X) Ryan Moyer
3. (31) Noah Brunell
4. (27) Tyler Dietz
5. (32) Mark Sanders
6. (948) Joey Zambotti
7. (26) Mike Bordt
8. (25) Greg Beach
9. (35B) Jacob Dietz
10. (22J) Chase Lambert
11. (21) Jeff Miller
12. (29B) Scott Byers
13. (17) Sam Eichelberger
14. (77) Heath Close
15. (66) Joe Kelley
16. (30) Bob Egley
17. (310) Dale Tuche

Peoples Natural Gas DIRTcar Sprint Heat 1
1. (2L) Sye Lynch
2. (08F) Andy Feil
3. (46) Michael Bauer
4. (2) AJ Flick
5. (98) Carl Bowser
6. (56) Ralph Spithaler
7. (91) Sadie Siegel
8. (23) Darren Pifer
9. (00) Alan Free

Peoples Natural Gas DIRTcar Sprint Heat 2
1. (33) John Garvin Jr.
2. (07) Gerard McIntyre
3. (55) Gary Kriess Jr.
4. (51) Brent Matus
5. (23c) Jerry Hairhoger
6. (38) Dennis Wagner
7. (154) Shamus O’Donnell
8. (23s) Russ Sansosti- Did Not Start
9. (29P) Dan Shetler- Did Not Start

Peoples Natural Gas DIRTcar Sprint Heat 3
1. (23J) Jack Sodeman Jr.
2. (08) Dan Kuriger
3. (40) George Hobaugh
4. (4N) Dale Blaney
5. (13) Brandon Matus
6. (4K) Bill Kiley
7. (24) Jeremy Hill
8. (34M) Mike Marano II

Peoples Natural Gas DIRTcar Sprint BMain (10 Laps)
1. (56) Ralph Spithaler
2. (29P) Dan Shetler
3. (4K) Bill Kiley
4. (23) Darren Pifer
5. (91) Sadie Siegel
6. (24) Jeremy Hill- DNQ
7. (00) Alan Free- DNQ
8. (38) Dennis Wagner- Did Not Start
9. (154) Shaums O’Donnell- Did Not Start
10. (34M) Mike Marano II- Did Not Start
11. (23s) Russ Sansosti- Did Not Start

Precise Racing DIRTcar Late Model Heat 1
1. (72) Michael Norris
2. (4T8) Colton Flinner
3. (84) Andrew Wylie
4. (61) Jon Lee
5. (27) Michael Lake
6. (55) Chris Schneider
7. (13) Todd Weldon

Precise Racing DIRTcar Late Model Heat 2
1. (10L) Gary Lyle
2. (91T) Tommy Beck
3. (81) Mike Miller
4. (29) Ken Schaltenbrand
5. (11) Joshua Powell
6. (14R) Clay Ruffo
7. (15) Kelvin Kohan

Diehl Automotive DIRTcar Big Block Modified Heat 1
1. (65) Rex King Sr.
2. (165) Rex King Jr.
3. (31) Jim Weller Jr.
4. (66) J.R. McGinley
5. (37M) Jeremiah Shingledecker
6. (29s) Steve Slater
7. (75) Jeff Miller
8. (132) Brandon Michaud
9. (5) Brian Sadler
10. (63) Jessica Kriegisch

Diehl Automotive DIRTcar Big Block Modified Heat 2
1. (83) Brian Swartzlander
2. (10s) Garrett Krummert
3. (45) Steve Feder
4. (4J) John Mollick
5. (13) Rick Regalski
6. (61) Dave Murdick
7. (25) Chris Rudolph
8. (88) Shawn Fleeger
9. (89) Erik Bowser
10. (18) Colton Walters

Millerstown Pic-A-Part DIRTcar/RUSH Pro Stock Heat 1
1. (C33) Corey McPherson
2. (29B) Scott Byers
3. (32) Mark Sanders
4. (66) Joe Kelley
5. (26) Mike Bordt
6. (310) Dale Tuche
7. (30) Bob Egley
8. (31) Noah Brunell
9. (22J) Chase Lambert

Millerstown Pic-A-Part DIRTcar/RUSH Pro Stock Heat 2
1. (13x) Ryan Moyer
2. (948) Joey Zambotti
3. (27) Tyler Dietz
4. (17) Sam Eichelberger
5. (25) Greg Beach
6. (35B) Greg Beach
7. (35B) Jacob Dietz
8. (21) Jeff Miller
9. (77) Heath Close

Peoples Natural Gas DIRTcar Sprints: 26
Precise Racing DIRTcar Late Models: 14
Diehl Automotive DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds: 21
Millerstown Pic-A-Part DIRTcar/RUSH Pro Stocks: 18
Total Car Count: 79