RPW Column: Tremont & Towslee Lift The Lids At Lebanon Valley; Take Victories In Season Opener

Column By: BOBBY CHALMERS / RPW – WEST LEBANON, NY – The season opener may have looked different, the date may be switched to 2020, but the result looked very familiar as defending Lebanon Valley Speedway Champion Kenny Tremont sat in victory lane Saturday night, taking the lid lifter for the Modifieds.

By luck of the draw for heat race starting positions, Tremont won the second qualifying race which put him on the inside front row for the 30-lap Modified main event, and the Sand Lake Slingshot wasted no time, pulling a very bold slide job on pole-sitter Marc Johnson heading into turn three on the initial lap to take the top spot.

That was a position he would not relinquish as Tremont went on to lead all 30 laps and take the $2,000 payday.

“The car was really good tonight and the motor from Dan Bedell ran real strong,” Tremont said. “There was good competition here tonight, just like every week, but thankfully this car performed really well.”

While it was Tremont sitting in victory lane, the show and probably the story of the race was Modified rookie campaigner Brett Haas. Haas, through luck of the draw as well after winning his heat, started in the third position and was able to take advantage as well on of the Tremont slider, moving into the the runner-up position.

From then on, you would have thought Tremont would run away and hide. That was not the case. Haas, carrying one of the spec Lebanon Valley engines between the pipes of his #55 built by Motor Man Mike Petrucci, hounded the 115 the entire race.

Even with all of the cautions that plagued the Modified feature, the Mac Tools Bicknell never left the back bumper of Tremont.

In the end, after a restart with a handful of circuits remaining, Haas gave it one final shot on the last lap, getting within a half car length of the veteran leader, but had to settle for the runner-up position.

“It really hasn’t sunk in yet that we just finished second in my first Modified race,” Haas said. “It’s a whirlwind of emotion to even be in contention to win and with one of the best ever on the high banks at that.”

Haas was throwing everything he could at Tremont. While the leader was running the high groove, Haas stuck to the bottom lane and the two put on a spirited battle for most of the event.

“Kenny had us covered at the beginning of the race,” he said. “Towards the end, it seemed like his tires were starting to give up a little and we were able to close the gap. I was really trying to make sure I didnt get too excited and miss my marks. At one point, I thought I could have possibly made a last lap pass, but he was just a little too strong.”

Still, this had to be one of the best moments of Haas’ career, and now a big shot in the arm as he moves forward in his rookie season.

“I had the confidence behind the wheel hat we had a good car,” he said. “Obviously, anything could happen, especially being our first race, but this confirms all the hard work we did in the off-season paid off. It’s pretty surreal to be honest.”

Marc Johnson rebounded nicely to give car owner Scott Hamlin a fine third place finish in the team’s new Bicknell Race Car while Wayne Jelley, who slowed near the two-thirds mark of the feature and had to go to the rear of the field, rebounded for an impressive fourth place finish, while Rob Pitcher rounded out the top five.

In the 15th Annual, 23-lap Bubba Tanner Pro Stock Classic, it was car number 23, driven by Scott Towslee, that was parked in victory lane. However, it was no cake walk.

Towslee had to fend off the 25 of Chad Jeseo for the entire feature event, including the last lap where Jeseo made a bold move to the inside of 23 in turn’s three and four. The two made contact, banging doors and fenders coming to the line, but in the end, the Vermont racer Towslee prevailed.

“I knew Chad was there all 23 laps,” Towslee said after the race. “To be in victory lane, to win this race, or any race at Lebanon Valley, is just awesome.”

Even though Towslee is young, he knows the prestige that comes with winning the Bubba Tanner Classic. His father, Chuck, never was able to, getting to the podium however on several occasions, but never a win. Now, his son has been able to.

“This is one of the biggest events that’d like to win, at any track,” he said. “It’s just so cool that it’s also a 23 lapper.”

For Jeseo, he gave it everything he could to try and get by the Towslee car, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

“Look at my car right now,” Jeseo said with a laugh. “I tried every way I could to get by him. The door’s beat up, the front fenders are caved in. The quarter’s wrinkled, but we had a hell of a race. I’d like to be in victory lane, but it was a fun race.”

Third place on the night was Jason Casey, who was able to get by the 178 of Steven Larochelle late in the going to get to the podium position. Defending track champion Jay Casey stayed up front all night and came away with a solid fifth to start his title defense.

Modified Results (30 Laps) – 1) Kenny Tremont Jr, 2) Brett Haas, 3) Marc Johnson, 4) Wayne Jelley, 5) Rob Pitcher, 6) Andy Bachetti, 7) Kyle Sheldon, 8) L.J Lombardo, 9) Eddie Marshall, 10) Peter Britten, 11) J.R. Heffner, 12) Josh Marcus, 13) Brian Berger, 14) Kyle Armstrong, 15) Kolby Schroder, 16) Bobby Hackel IV, 17) Keith Flach, 18) Steve Hough, 19) Olden Dwyer, 20) Mike King, 21) Paul Gilardi, 22) John Virgillio, 23) Ronnie Johnson,

Pro Stock Results (23 Laps) -1) Scott Towslee, 2) Chad Jeseo, 3) Jason Casey, 4) Steven LaRochelle, 5) Jay Casey, 6) Nick Hilt, 7) Tony Markou, 8) Zach Seyerlein, 9) Phil Arnold, 10) Tom O’Connor, 11) Shawn Perez, 12) Brian Keough, 13) Dave Stickles, 14) Tom Dean, 15) Jason Meltz, 16) Rob Yetman, 17) Gary Silkey, 18) Ed Bishop, 19) Johnny Rivers,