PERLEY TOPS LAST YEAR’S WIN TOTAL WITH A VICTORY AT THE WORLD SERIES

Thompson, CT – Chris Perley put a cap on another phenomenal race season by adding the ISMA portion of the Thompson World series to his feature win list on Sunday. His eleventh win of the year topped his record-breaking ten win total of 2006. It also upped his All-Time ISMA wins to 50. While he had already claimed his fourth ISMA-Wirtgen championship, the victory was satisfying nonetheless. His main competition was once again Dave McKnight and for a while it seemed like Canadians were everywhere near the front fighting for the win. But, at the end, it was the Rowley Rocket carrying the checkered flag around the Connecticut oval.

" It was tough out there," said Chris in victory lane. "I knew Dave and Mike were going to be my toughest competitors because of the way they both were running yesterday in the heats. For a while I didn’t have much for Dave. I was just trying to keep in touch with him. He’d get through the lap traffic and he’d get some distance on me. So I just tried to stay with him. He ended up getting a little tight. I was a little loose. Then my car kind of came around toward the end. I didn’t know if I could stick on the outside but I thought if I could show him a wheel I might be able to hold him down. That was the only shot I had.

"What a race. This is just awesome. I want to thank everybody for coming out and watching us here today. I hope we put on a good show. My R& R engine really came to life today. And thanks Ed Shea, what a benefit he’s been to our team. All my sponsors are important. I just can’t say enough about my crew and my car owner. To win another championship this year is unbelievable. It’s been one heck of a season. I’m just really proud to be part of this team. I have to say a special thanks to my family for putting up with me while I do this. My wife and kids, my dad at work - all of my family– they are the ones that give me the opportunity. I couldn’t do it without them."

Dave McKnight caught up to his teammate and race leader Mike Lichty just before halfway of the 50-lapper, taking over the lead with a move on the front straight. But, McKnight, in an oft-repeated scene this season, lost the point to Perley just thirteen laps shy of the finish. The Brampton, Ontario driver has become resigned to finishing second to the champ. "Hats off to the whole team. Hats off to Paul and Glenn of Fourth and Fourth Racing. They built us a great motor this year. What can I say? Chris has been dominant all season. Here I am second again. This is getting old. Hey what can you do? He’s raised the bar. But, we’re getting close. We just have to tune up a little bit more and then we’ll see what happens next year."

Another Canadian followed McKnight to the finish. Mark Sammut capped off a great season also with a third place in the race and a possible third place in points after the tallies are in. "I’ve got to hand it to Chris Perley and Vic. They are the class of the field. Dave and Mike were definitely faster than we were today. We were decent all day, all weekend really. But we ran our own race and at the end of the day we were happy to finish third. I think we may have ended up third in points and if we did that would jack up a good year."

Joe Petro and Ohioan Gene Lee Gibson, in his first Thompson appearance since 1995, led the way to green. Petro grabbed the lead for one lap before Mike Lichty stormed past in three to take over, trying one more time to get that elusive first ISMA win. Petro stayed in second until young Michael Barnes took over on lap 7.

Caution flew for Vern Romanoski one lap later with pitstops being made by Lou Cicconi and Bentley Warren, driving the LaPrade 68. Romanoski and Warren restarted at the tail while Cicconi was out of the action.

Three laps after the restart, Dave McKnight moved past Petro for third and began pursuit of Lichty and Barnes while Perley moved into fifth.

Jamie Timmons brought out the next yellow with a broken wing strut. John Payne and Jeff Holbrook pulled in here with Holbrook ending his day.

McKnight, a master of restarts, used this one to take over second with Barnes, a relative newcomer to the winged scene, left to try his best to hold back Perley. On lap 16 he lost the battle as the 11 moved into third.

The top four began to dive in and out of heavy traffic as Mark Sammut stayed in touch in fifth. Barnes began to drift back as 22 clicked on the counter leaving Lichty, McKnight and Perley to battle alone. McKnight came away with the lead on lap 24 leaving Lichty to now fend off Perley. Barnes, Sammut, Doug Didero and Gibson were still in healthy pursuit.

Perley moved into second one lap later and the race between the 94 and 11 was on again. In and out of traffic the duo darted while Barnes moved back into third, as Lichty appeared to be slowing while his teammate seemed to be getting faster out front.

Barnes’ great run ended in the wall between three and four when something may have broken in the Double Deuce Racing 22, putting him on his side against the cement. While the track was being cleared Joe Petro called it a night at the same time.

The restart of this lap failed when Lichty stopped between one and two with a flat tire. He got in and made the change and restarted at the rear.

Again the restart did not make muster as Bobby Haynes Jr. pulled off the track with flames and fluid spewing from the 44. He too was done for the day. Joey Payne, trying to help keep the Lehnert 92 in the top ten in points, made a last pit.

When the green finally fell, it was Perley and McKnight fighting tooth and nail for the lead, almost brushing at one point until Perley came out on top to lead lap 37 and the rest of the way home to victory. The win was Chris’ fifth in the 34-years of World Series supermodified action. McKnight was unchallenged for second while Sammut had taken over Lichty’s third spot earlier. Doug Didero moved into fourth with Lichty charging back up for fifth. The battle for sixth between Mike Ordway Jr., Justin Belfiore and Scott Martel was won by Ordway. Belfiore, Martel, Otto Sitterly and Dave Trytek finished up the top ten.

SUMMARY

Saturday, Oct. 13 qualifying:

Heat 1: Dave McKnight, Gene Lee Gibson, Joey Payne, Jeff Holbrook, Lou Cicconi, Bobby Haynes Jr., Scott Martel, Bobby Bond, Craig Rayvals, Randy Wimert

Heat 2: Chris Perley, Joe Petro, Mark Sammut, Doug Didero, Mike Ordway Jr., Dave Trytek, Johnny Payne, Eric Lewis, Bob Timmons Sr., Bentley Warren

Heat 3: Mike Lichty, Michael Barnes, Justin Belfiore, Jamie Timmons, Brandon Bellinger, Bobby Magner, Vern Romanoski, Otto Sitterly, Bob Timmons Jr., Mike Keeler, Jeff Abold

Consi: Otto Sitterly, Bobby Bond, Eric Lewis, Craig Rayvals, Bob Timmons Sr., Bentley Warren, Bob Timmons Jr., Randy Wimert, Mike Keeler, Jeff Abold.

Rob Summers (blown motor in practice dns). Eric Emhoff (mechanical dns)

ISMA-WIRTGEN World Series 50.

1. Chris Perley (11), 2. Dave McKnight (94), 3. Mark Sammut (78), 4. Doug Didero (61), 5. Mike Lichty (84), 6. Mike Ordway Jr. (10), 7. Justin Belfiore (8), 8. Scott Martel (88), 9. Otto Sitterly (6), 10. Dave Trytek (70), 11. Brandon Bellinger (02), 12. Bobby Bond (25), 13. Bentley Warren (68), 14. Vern Romanoski (5), 15. Joey Payne Jr. (92), 16. Michael Barnes (22), 17. Bobby Haynes Jr, (44), 18. Joe Petro (33), 19. Bobby Magner (40), 20. Gene Lee Gibson (0), 21. Eric Lewis (28), 22. Johnny Payne (67), 23. Jamie Timmons (27), 24. Jeff Holbrook (35), 25. Lou Cicconi (75), 26. Bob Timmons Sr. (13), 27. Craig Rayvals (95), 28. Rob Summers (97) dns,

JUSTIN BELFIORE TAKES HIS FIRST ALL-STAR CLASSIC AND THIRD CAREER ISMA WIN

Epping, NH – Ipswich, Mass. driver Justin Belfiore took a dominating win of the All-Star Classic Saturday night – a race he’d always dreamed of winning. He led the way after the first segment of the race, reformatted this year into two 75-lap segments. He then went on to dominate the second portion, especially after ISMA point leader Chris Perley had been eliminated late in the first race in a hard crash off the first turn. Justin acquired his third career ISMA-Wirtgen race by taking the prestigious Classic win and he also was able to give his young son Justin, a sweet birthday present to remember.

"I can’t believe it," said Belfiore in victory lane. "The lap traffic was kind of tough. I’ve been doing this for a long time. I had a perfect car. My luck finally held out. I ran lean in practice and the team made it just right. I thought Chris was going to be tough there as the race went on. He and I were kind of swapping spots a couple times but then he got in that accident. I didn’t know if I had anyone to race with. He was the only one that was passing cars the way I was.

"First of all I’d like to wish my son a happy birthday. It’s his birthday. He was born on the Star Classic like five years ago. This is pretty cool. And, D&G Modular Homes, without them I wouldn’t even be racing. I’ve been through a lot of bad luck the past few weeks and I’ll tell you I would be here without him. My father – what can I say? He gave me a perfect racecar. He’s heart and soul with this car. He’s out in the garage every single night. I don’t know how he puts up with me. I don’t even know what to say. I’m at a loss for words."

After a rearranging of the order after a scoring check, Jeff Holbrook, driving the Brian Allegresso built 35, was determined the second place finisher. Jeff was a tired, but ecstatic guy in the post-race interview back in the pits. "I started 19th and finished 2nd. The longer the car ran, the better it got and the more tired I got. I’m ready to run some twin 35’s somewhere instead of 75. Seriously, the season has been disappointing for Brian and those guys. I was just glad that I could get my head together and do a good job today. It’s my best finish ever with a wing on. I’m sorry Bobby and Dave didn’t have better luck. This is a tough track. I don’t think I ran the right line until the last 25 laps. Brian was working with me all weekend to get me to drive the right groove. I finally got it at the end there. The highlight of my race was passing Russ Wood because I look up to Russell after him driving my cars before. That was fun chasing him down and passing him. And, passing Bentley, too. They are two of the greats."

The third place finisher was none other than five-time Classic winner Russ Wood. Wood had been thought to be a lap down, as had been Holbrook, but the recheck said no. Driving the Martel Motorsports 14, Russ had come to life in the second half, ala Classics of old. Car owner Scotty Martel said it best. "Russell Wood was driving like the Russell Wood of old. The changes we made after the first 75 obviously worked. He drove his butt off. He gave us a 100% just like we knew he would."

Russ was elated with a top five, wherever it might be and it was third. "We’re really happy with a top five. The guys worked really hard all day on the car and they got it in good shape. We lasted the whole thing. Everyone had to deal with the two 75’s, which was kind of cool. It changed the whole strategy of the race. I did get into Jon McKennedy there. I made a mistake and I feel bad about that. I hit him in the left rear and spun him around. It was a racing thing. All in all we’re happy to be here in one piece. I liked the two segments. It allowed the guys who were hurting to change things and come back in the second part. It might have made it a little more interesting or Justin might have lapped the whole field."

The first half of the 150 lapper started with Mark Sammut into the wall, but able to restart. Bob Magner, from the pole quickly took the point with Kyle Carpenter, in the Roundy 76, right behind. While this young duo maintained the front spots, the cars behind were playing out their strategy as Jon McKennedy, in the Dunigan Motorsports 79, Robbie Summers and Lou Cicconi third through fifth.

A yellow slowed the race on lap 20 with Scotty Martel going off the first turn in sparks. On the restart of this lap, Jeff Holbrook spun around but regained his car and went to the rear to start his trek forward.

Magner, Carpenter, McKennedy, Cicconi and Summers awaited the onslaught as Joe Petro, Mike Lichty, and Jamie Timmons tried to hold off Chris Perley and Justin Belfiore who looked to be the fast men. Jeffrey Abold in his first-ever visit to All-Star and Mike Ordway Jr. were running wheel to wheel next in line.

Lap 34 saw Robbie Summers making contact with the Cicconi 75 and both went pit side.

A couple more quick cautions fell between 35 and 37, one a precautionary for Perley, who bobbled and then kept going. The second was for Mike Lichty who was having car problems.

With twenty-two laps to go in segment one and Magner well out front, yellow flew for John Payne who had spun in turn three. Unfortunately, a slowing Kyle Carpenter in front of Chris Perley, who had just moved into third, caught the 11 up and sent him hard into the wall off turn one. His quest for a third Classic win was over before halfway.

One more yellow on lap 54 came before the first 75 was checkered when Dave Trytek and John Payne came together. Both restarted.

Justin Belfiore, who had moved methodically forward was now third behind Magner and Carpenter. After the restart, he was second. On lap 57, Justin swung the Belfiore-built 8 around leader Magner and off he went.

Justin Belfiore quickly built to his huge lead. Bob Magner, Carpenter, McKennedy, Petro, Jamie Timmons, Abold, Ordway Jr., Wood and Bentley Warren were the unofficial top ten at the break.

Due to the lateness of the hour after rain had put a delay on the day’s activities earlier, only a short time elapsed before the start of the next 75, which would never be completed.

Belfiore had a couple lap cars in line behind him on the straight up restart and off he went, leaving second Carpenter, having lost power steering, McKennedy and Abold were waging one great battle behind.

On lap 22 Abold and McKennedy brushed sending Abold out of his first Classic. A few more yellows affected Jamie Timmons, Mike Lichty and Magner with Timmons the only returner here. On lap 28 Russ Wood slid into McKennedy to send him out. The top ten runners were being eliminated rapidly.

Justin was well in command as the race resumed. Wood, Petro, Holbrook, Haynes, Ordway Jr. and Timmons were about the only lead lap cars remaining as Justin charged around his hometown track. Unfortunately, while the laps wound down, so did the time, which was mandated the race end at midnight.

Haynes, who had finished top ten in the Oswego Classic the previous weekend, saw his second top ten fail with a smoking car and a black flag on lap 56.

Jamie Timmons, running fifth, was about to befall the Belfiore charge when yellow flew on lap 65. Time was up for the race at that point and the checkered was thrown shortly thereafter. The clock tolled midnight and end of the race. Justin Belfiore was the certain winner, dominating much of the race while Joe Petro and Jamie Timmons was called to the podium. Unfortunately they were moved back a few spots after the recheck.

Petro said briefly not quite accepting a second place in victory lane, "At the beginning of the race my car was really good and at the end it was super loose. It was pushing. We didn’t know what to do at the break there so we just left it. We haven’t run the entire season this year and this is great."

Timmons wasn’t really sure where he was either. "I’m not really sure how I made it. We made some changes after the first yellow. We put a different right rear on and tightened up the stagger. Tonight wherever I finished – it’s a good run. I have to thank everyone who helped me out and everybody who’s stayed with me through the years. And my sponsors Red’s Speed Shop, Woody’s Auto and Kinglsey Automotive. It’s good to come back to the home track where I used to run the small block and have a great run in the Classic."

SUMMARY ALL-STAR CLASSIC 150

Time Trials: Fastest time Chris Perley 11.696.

Top twelve time trials inverted for start with next four in line.

Perley, Lichty, Abold, Ordway Jr., Summers, Cicconi, Martel, Timmons, McKennedy, Petro, Carpenter, Magner, Belfiore, Wood, Lewis and McKnight, top 16.

Consi 1 (4 qualify): Mark Sammut, Jeff Holbrook, John Payne, Bob Haynes Jr., Brandon Bellinger, Billy Buyck, Kelly Miller

Consi 2 (3 qualify): Dave Trytek, Vern Romanoski, Bentley Warren, RD Timmons, Larry Lehnert, Eric Emhoff (dns) Timmons Jr. and Sanborn eliminated in warm-ups.

All-Star Classic 150 (shortened): 1. Justin Belfiore (8), 2. Jeff Holbrook (35), 3. Russ Wood (14), 4. Joe Petro (33), 5. Jamie Timmons (27), 6. Mike Ordway Jr. (10), 7. Vern Romanoski (5), 8. Dave Trytek (70), 9, Bob Magner (40), 10. Bob Haynes Jr. (44), 11. Mark Sammut (78), 12. Jon McKennedy (79), 13. Bentley Warren (71), 14. Robbie Summers (97), 15. Jeff Abold (95), 16. Kyle Carpenter (76), 17. Mike Lichty (84), 18. John Payne (67), 19. Chris Perley (11), 20. Dave McKnight (94), 21. Lou Cicconi (75), 22. Scott Martel (88), 23. Larry Lehnert (92), 24. Eric Lewis (28)

DAVE SHULLICK JR TAKES ISMA SUPER NATIONALS FRIDAY NIGHT; CHRIS PERLEY LOOSES LEAD ON LAST LAP

Oswego, NY – It looked like Chris Perley was well on his way to win number ten on the ISMA-Wirtgen season Friday night at Oswego’s Bud Light Super Nationals. Perley took the white flag and suddenly the yellow flew for the Vic Miller 11 when a pass attempt at a slower car failed. Perley was able to get restarted but the road ahead was long and the race was short. Ohio’s Dave Shullick Jr. was quite capable of taking over for Perley after chasing him for half the 50-lap event. Dave easily pulled away from Joey Payne, driving the Cicconi 75 and young Mike Ordway Jr. to take the $5,000 win. It was the first ISMA win for car owner Steve Stout and Shullick’s career second.

Dave said, following a ride around the Big O before a cheering crowd, "This is awesome. It was a great run. The crew gives me a great car every time out. We didn’t have the best car here today. We probably had the second best car. Chris had it hands down. I almost spun myself out a couple of times trying to keep up with him. It was unfortunate for him, but we’ll take them any way we can get them. We made a really drastic change because the car was tight. The car was really good early but it got really loose toward the end of the race. It was a handful toward the end. But it worked out. I’d like to say congratulations to Steve Stout. He’s tried for a long time to get his first ISMA win and this is it. Congratulations to him and his whole team."

The second place finisher was Joey Payne who was in his first super ride in over two years. Aboard Lou Cicconi’s 75 for the first time that day, Payne started fifth on the field of 26 moving quickly into third where he stayed much of the race until Perley’s demise put him second. Payne would have liked to step it up one notch to dedicate a win to his lost NJ comrade, John Blewett who would have been behind the wheel of the same car Friday night had things been different. "I’ve got to thank Liquid Lou and the whole Cicconi team. They gave me a great car. It’s great to be back here at Oswego racing a super. It’s been a couple years of a dry spell for me. To come back here and finish second and to be contending for the win – it doesn’t get any better than that. I’d like to thank the fans for coming out. I wish we could have gotten the win for John Blewett. He was a good friend. He drove this car at Mansfield. He was looking forward to driving it car this weekend at Oswego. It’s a great loss and we’re going to miss him a lot."

The mover of the race had to be Ordway Jr. who had time trialed poorly then had a mishap in his heat. He started fifteenth in the strong field but moved tenaciously through the pack in his first race at Oswego Speedway where his father had claimed so much glory. Mikey’s road to the third was a tough one and exciting to watch.

Said Ordway Jr. on the podium, "I wish we could have gotten a win, but we’ll take third. I just have to thank my sponsors – Harrington Trucking, Vinal Excavating, Glenn Shanks Oil, and Wirtgen. It’s always been a dream to come here to Oswego and race. Now I finally haven gotten here in a super. I just drove the wheels off of it. It was bad luck for Perley and that kind of stinks. I have to thank the Perley crew because they helped me a ton. I wish we could have gotten Joey (Payne) at the end but we didn’t have anything for him today."

Mark Sammut and Eric Shirey sat on the front row for the 14th annual Bud Light Super Nationals and it was Sammut out front from the green. The determined Canadian took off to a good lead over Kelly Miller and Joey Payne until yellows bunched the field on lap 7 and then again on lap 11 as several cars were struggling to find the setup, including Bob Magner and Dave Trytek of the Holbrook stable.

On each restart Perley was picking off a car or two and by lap 11’s restart he was third having just gotten Dave Shullick Jr. One lap later he was second. With a move off turn two on lap 14, Perley took control. Sammut stayed second with Miller, Shullick, Payne, Lichty, McKnight and Ordway Jr. the next in line.

Yellow flew again on lap 23 affecting Jeff Holbrook as a number of cars dove in and out of the pits. History repeated on the restart as several jumbles sent cars flying. This time hooks brought in Shirey and Joe Scanlon while Lilje and Cicconi, driving for Soule Racing, declared their nights finished. Vern Romanoski limped in and out as Justin Belfiore, Holbrook and defending race champ Bentley Warren made pit stops.

On each restart Perley pulled easily away. Lap 29 saw another quick yellow for Rich Reid and this would be the last until the last lap flag flew for the Rowley Rocket himself.

While Perley cruised out front, Dave Shullick Jr. tried to catch up, driving as hard as he could. Kelly Miller held off Mark Sammut, Payne, Ordway and Dave McKnight. Unfortunately McKnight was under penalty for a jump on the lap 29 restart. As the laps wore down rapidly now, Miller’s 16 began to falter and he slid backwards. He would be Perley’s demise as he slid back to meet Perley coming in from behind. Coming up in the field was Greg Furlong who suddenly was on fire as he came around Miller, running seventh on lap 41.

With Perley in command at the point, Payne and Ordway Jr. – the vet and the kid – put on a show for third behind Shullick as Sammut and McKnight (not yet serving his penalty) held off Furlong.

Perley took the white flag and suddenly a half a lap later, yellow flew and the Miller 11 sat on the backstretch in a cloud of smoke. Perley described the events as only Perley can, which led to the yellow. "I had been trying to get around this guy. Maybe I shouldn’t have. I tried to get under and he came across in front of me. If I didn’t hit the brakes I would have run over him."

Perley was pushed away to the rear and the race resumed with Dave Shullick Jr., Payne Ordway Jr., Furlong and Sammut the top five under the checkers shortly thereafter.

Mike Lichty, Kelly Miller, Bentley Warren, Rob Summers and Vern Romanoski finished up the top ten.

SUMMARY BUD LIGHT SUPER NATIONALS

Time Trials: Chris Perley, fastest, 15.742

Top 18 inverted into heats.

Heat 1: Mark Sammut, Moe Lilje, Jeff Holbrook, Dave McKnight, Bentley Warren, Jason Spaulding, Bob Haynes Jr., Howard Page, Dave Trytek, Bob Magner (dns)

Heat 2: Dave Shullick Jr., Mike Lichty, Eric Shirey, Justin Belfiore, Lou Cicconi, Greg Furlong, Jamie Timmons, Gene Gibson, Terry Gibson, Larry Lehnert

Heat 3: Chris Perley, Joey Payne, Kelly Miller, Robbie Summers, Mike Ordway Jr., Joey Scanlon, Vern Romanoski, Dave Sanborn, Charlie Shultz, Rich Reid

Consi: Howie Page, Dave Trytek, Bob Magner, Dave Sanborn, Rich Reid, Larry Lehnert, Jamie Timmons, Terry Gibson

Super Nationals 50: 1. Dave Shullick Jr. (49), 2. Joey Payne (75), 3. Mike Ordway Jr. (10), 4. Greg Furlong (72), 5. Mark Sammut (78), 6. Mike Lichty (84), 7. Kelly Miller (16), 8. Bentley Warren (71) 9. Rob Summers (97), 10. Vern Romanoski (5), 11. Bobby Haynes Jr. (44), 12. Chris Perley (11), 13. Rich Reid (55), 14. Dave McKnight (94), 15. Bob Magner (40), 16. Dave Trytek (70), 17. Justin Belfiore (8), 18. Dave Sanborn (24), 19. Jeff Holbrook (35), 20. Eric Shirey (V2), 21. Joey Scanlon (51), 22. Lou Cicconi Jr. (32), 23. Moe Lilje (19), 24. Jason Spaulding (23), 25. Larry Lehnert (92), 26. Howie Page (18).

PERLEY STANDS ALONE ATOP THE ISMA ALL-TIME FEATURE WIN LIST AFTER TAKING OXFORD MAINE CLASSIC 75 SATURDAY NIGHT

Oxford, Maine – Saturday night’s drive for the checkered for Chris Perley was like any other of late except this ninth win of the ISMA-Wirtgen season also placed him atop the ISMA All-Time feature win list passing Bentley Warren and Russ Wood who held the one-two spots until recently. At Oxford Plains Speedway, ironically, Perley had to pass the legendary Warren driving one of the cars that has brought the Rowley driver to that pinnacle. Warren took the lead in the Oxford Maine Classic on lap 14 but lost it to Perley on lap 21restart for a 3-car tangle happened right in front of both the Vic Miller machines. Perley is still amazing himself at what he has done since the start of last season.

"I was out there knowing that I had the old car and that Bentley had the newer car," said Chris. "And, you know something, old things just don’t go away. I figured I was going to be out there racing against Bentley instead of myself. I just wanted the lead and I figured if anybody was going to go by me I was going to make him work for it. I can’t believe we took the lead in the ISMA All-Time feature wins list. To be in that company is just amazing. I just want to say hats off to all the crew because this car is awesome. Anybody can see it. It’s a blast to drive and I can’t believe I just keep ending up here in victory lane."

And, he paused after almost wrecking his 11 in a post-race attempt at a donut as an errant super was heading back to the pits, to thank all those people who have helped bring him to this level. "I have awesome motors by R&R Competition Engines. Ed Shea Concrete has helped us so much with the engine program and all the way through the car. We have Perley’s Marina and Blink’s Fry Doe now, New England Motor Racing Supply, Barrett’s Transportation, Cook’s Enterprises and a whole bunch of people that back me in each and every race. I just want to say thanks to all my sponsors and to all the fans that hung around to watch. I hope we gave you something to watch tonight."

The sage Bentley Warren smiled broadly after his run and as he listened to the crowd applause which accompanies his every race achievement. "This was fun," said the man of few words. "I had a good time. The car ran wicked good. I tried to stay out front but Chris just goes too fast. He’s just so good."

Robbie Summers brought the Lane 97 home for a podium finish at Oxford after a fifth place at Lee. It was tough going through the traffic after an early pit stop. "We had some problems there at the beginning and had to pit. The car started to come on and we worked back up from the rear to battle by Sammut and Lichty for fourth. That probably would have been it had Vern not pulled out late in the race. Thanks again to Howie and the crew for their hard work."

After three qualifying heats won by Justin Belfiore, Dave Trytek and Perley, Mike Keeler and Vern Romanoski sat on the front row for the 75-lap main. Romanoski, from Strong, Maine, was determined to put on a show for his friends, family and fans in attendance. Unfortunately in a scene from at Lee, only one lap was in the books before caution flew. This time a nasty accident took place when Dave McKnight caught a wheel coming out of turn four, sending him hard into the front straight concrete. Dave was shaken after the hit and was transported to a Lewiston Hospital for a thorough checkup.

After the red Romanoski took up the lead and began to pull away only to have the yellow fly on lap 6 for a spin by Bob Timmons’ 31. Brandon Bellinger went pit side on this one.

Back underway; Vern soon had Kennebunkport’s Bentley Warren breathing down his neck. The two Maine residents took charge out front as Romanoski held off the 71 with Scotty Martel, Jon Gambuti and Perley third through fifth. Mike Keeler’s 56 brought out the yellow on lap 11 to slow the action. The 10 of Mikey Ordway swung into the pits at his crew’s request and then re=entered the fray.

This yellow was Romanoski’s demise as the 66-year old Warren drove past on the outside in the backstretch to take over the lead on lap 14. Bentley only was out front two laps before the 56 brushed the back straight wall hard, with yellow flying. He was able to continue and this time Robbie Summers used the time to pit quickly.

As Bentley held a solid lead with Romanoski right behind, eyes were on the "other" black and orange car of Perley who had methodically worked up to third. Perley worked Vern high and low for a couple laps and then made his move. The powerful front duo of Warren and Perley didn’t have much time to pull away as a three-car pileup occurred right as the 71 and 11 approached to lap on the fast 3/8ths. Jamie Timmons, Bob Timmons and Keeler were involved.

Perley had the "old man" in his sites on the restart and punched it out of two to take the lead. Justin Belfiore’s 8 also used the restart to take third from Romanoski.

Perley, as has been the norm, set the car on cruise and pulled away from teammate Warren as Belfiore, Romanoski and Scotty Martel stayed top five trailed by Mark Sammut, Mikey Ordway Jr and Mike Lichty. Two more yellows flew for spins on laps 24 and 26 by Timmons and Keeler. Keeler was called pit side for his third encounter.

The slowdown allowed Bentley and Belfiore to close the gap on Perley and away they went weaving through some tough traffic with finesse. Belfiore was on fire and on lap 34 he charged by Bentley and had only the 11 in his way to a potential win. Unfortunately for Justin, the 8’s motor blew big time on lap 36 and red was called for cleanup and a refueling.

Romanoski had his third place back and Bentley his second place but now a long green stretch found the dynamic duo leaving the country as they dove in and out of some pretty scary traffic. Romanoski kept them in sight but the battle was now between Mark Sammut. Robbie Summers and Lichty as they were three wide at times all going for fourth. When Summers and Sammut finally claimed their real estate, Scotty Martel, Mike Lichty and Mike Ordway Jr were the next trio to watch as the laps ticked away.

With ten to go it was evident that nothing was stopping the front two except another yellow. It came on lap 72 when Larry Lehnert drove off the track in three and came back on in four. As the lineup was sorting out for the final laps, Vern Romanoski’s 5 slowed suddenly and entered the pits in a heartbreaking conclusion to what would have been his best and probably proudest race to date. Vern recapped the end of his race; "I went down underneath the 14 and got up beside him going into three and four. The 24 was straight ahead of me. I was going to swing in and then swing out and pass him on the outside going into one and two. I believe he said he lost his collector off the exhaust and I ran over it. It got my left front tire, my fuel line and an oil line. We had four laps to go. It would have been nice to finish behind Perley and the legend Bentley. I run one of Bentley’s old numbers, the 5, and it would have been a great finish for me in Maine in front of the people who support me and came out to see me tonight."

With lap cars scattered throughout the running order, Perley and Warren were divided by one or two cars on the restart while Summers, Sammut and Lichty were the top five. Sammut ended his best New England run saying, "The car was awful all day. The only race it was even close was the feature. It was great really for where we came from. We started fourteenth and ended up fourth. We could have had third but Summers was a little stronger than we were at the end. All in all this was a great weekend. We’ll take that anytime. Hopefully we’ll keep plugging away in the points and see what happens."

For Lichty standing in the pits next to his teammates mangled 94, it was a bittersweet fifth. One car is in one piece. It was unfortunate for my teammate Dave. It happened right in front of me. It was a hard impact and I just hope everything is all right with him. We just missed the setup another night. These are two of my worst tracks – Lee and Oxford. I don’t have any enjoyment coming up to these places. But, my car is in one piece and I think we gained a little more on Ordway in points. We’ll just have to keep it up."

ISMA is off until Oswego’s Super Nationals on Friday, Aug. 31 and to the All-Star Speedway Classic featuring a new split 150-lap format with 75 laps each segment.

SUMMARY ISMA-WIRTGEN EVENT #11

Heat #1: Justin Belfiore, Vern Romanoski, Robbie Summers, Jeff Holbrook, Mike Ordway Jr., Bob Timmons, R.D. Timmons, Billy Buyck

Heat #2: Dave Trytek Jamie Timmons, Dave McKnight, Bentley Warren, Mark Sammut, Jon Gambuti, Randy Wimert (Kelly Miller ofn)

Heat #3: Chris Perley, Mike Keeler, Mike Lichty, Scotty Martel, Brandon Bellinger, Dave Sanborn, Larry Lehnert

Oxford Plains Classic 75: 1. Chris Perley (11), 2. Bentley Warren (71), 3. Robbie Summers (97), 4. Mark Sammut (78), 5. Mike Lichty (84), 6. Mike Ordway Jr. (10), 7. Scott Martel (88), 8. Jon Gambuti (14), 9. Dave Trytek (40), 10. Bob Timmons Sr. (13), 11. Dave Sanborn (24), 12. Larry Lehnert (92), 13. Vern Romanoski (5), 14. Randy Wimert (60), 15. Bob Timmons Jr. (31), 16. Jamie Timmons (27), 17. Justin Belfiore (8), 18. Mike Keeler (56), 19. Billy Buyck (38), 20. Brandon Bellinger (02), 21. Dave McKnight (94), 22. Jeff Holbrook (35).

CHRIS PERLEY KEEPS ROLLING AS HE TAKES OLLIE SILVA CLASSIC AT LEE AND TIES WOOD FOR ALL-TIME ISMA WINS

Lee, NH – The Ollie Silva Memorial 75 got off to a real rough start at Lee USA Speedway Friday night but when all was said and done, Chris Perley came away with his eighth win of the season, and a tie for the ISMA All-Time win list. What was purported to be one of the largest crowds in years saw one hometown boy – Perley – take the lead on lap 38 from another hometown boy – Justin Belfiore. Another young hometown boy, Mike Ordway Jr., gained second on lap 42, to chase Perley to the checkers. It was a popular podium finish.

"It’s awesome to bring one home for the hometown crowd. There are so many people who came out. There’s a lot of pressure. You’re afraid you’re going to be an idiot out there. The first lap, the back of the car got drilled. The car lifted up. I was sideways. I thought we were all done. I just got lucky and plugged away. I’m just ecstatic. We’re still on a roll and that new bucket of luck still has some in it, so we’ll keep on rolling on to Oxford. To be tied for the top spot in the ISMA all-time wins is amazing. It’s great to just be among those guys at the top."

Mikey Ordway pressured Belfiore and then Perley, but after loosing brakes on lap 45, settled into a strong second. His running mate of just a week ago, John Blewett III, was on the teenager’s mind all the while. "The car was awesome. It was real loose in practice and I didn’t know how good we were going to be for the feature. We got it fixed up pretty good and I just followed Perley around. We lost the brakes on lap 45 and that made it tough. I wish we could have gotten the win for Johnny Blewett but I’ll take a second to Perley. We’ll keep John in our prayers. And, hopefully we’ll give Perley another run for his money tomorrow night."

Justin Belfiore, coming back after a crash at Sandusky, had a strong run out front before Perley took over. "It was kind of a weird night. My car was good all day. I just think I ran it a little too hard at the beginning. I was hoping I could keep those guys behind me and that the laps would wear down quicker. But, Chris and Mikey were hooked up. I’ll take the third. Those two have been racing every week and they’re into it a little more right now. We’ll be back. We’ve got a good car now."

The race started out with four straight yellows before one lap was in. Affected were Mike Keeler, Kelly Miller, Eric Emhoff, Vern Romanoski, Joe Petro and Bob Timmons Jr. Miller and Emhoff were the only cars not to restart at this juncture.

It was Jon Gambuti, driving the Martel 14, out front when the race finally took hold. Belfiore was right there as was Robbie Summers and Dave McKnight. Belfiore moved in to take the lead from the New Jersey driver on lap 4. As things started to settle into green flag racing, Jeff Holbrook, Scott Martel, Jamie Timmons, Mark Sammut and Chris Perley were the men up front behind the 8 and 14.

Yellow flew again on lap 13 when the 31 spun again and Joe Petro headed into the pits. Billy Buyck in the Bushley 38, also pitted here.

Belfiore charged out front on the restart chased by Dave McKnight who had come by Gambuti and Summers but Justin quickly put some distance between his car and the Canadian.

Things just couldn’t seem to stay green however as poor Belfiore found the field bunched behind him on restarts. One came on lap 18 when Bob Timmons finally parked it and both Dave McKnight and Mike Lichty were pitside. Lichty came back out but McKnight was done. Just as Belfiore pulled away from Gambuti again, yellow flew on lap 21 for Vern Romanoski and Jamie Timmons. Vern got back on track only to find himself sliding into the grass with R.D. Timmons joining him on lap 22.

Finally, the yellow fever was cured and Justin took off out front as Gambuti, Scotty Martel, Summers, Perley, and Ordway began their assault of the front spot. But, as often has been the story this summer, it was Perley making the most moves the fastest. He described it this way. "I realized there was nothing on the bottom and I move way to the outside. Then I basically did kind of a Dale Earnhardt rim riding effect. That was the only place I could get some bite. It seemed to work and it allowed me to save the tires for the end."

By lap 25, Perley was third. On lap 28 he had moved by Gambuti for second as Martel fought his own car in fourth and Mikey Ordway Jr moved into fifth.

Justin was able to hold on until lap 38 when Perley took over the front spot, leaving Belfiore to fend off Mikey Ordway. Gambuti, Martel, Mark Sammut, and Summers were swapping spots just behind.

Lap 42 saw Ordway by Belfiore and the two black and orange machines kept together for a while until Ordway lost brakes and began to fade back from the high flying Rowley driver. Ordway was reported to be smoking with about 20 to go and when the yellow flew on lap 61, he was asked to stop out front for a check while the 55 of Joey Scanlon was attended to. With many caution laps already run, it was decided to do a quick refueling while the tech men checked over the 10 which was deemed okay.

On the restart, Ordway tried to stick with Perley but couldn’t. In the meantime Belfiore closed in on Ordway for several laps. Unfortunately for Gambuti he was penalized for jumping on the lap 61 restart, and although running fourth on the track, he was no longer holding that position. Mark Sammut moved into fourth with Gambuti and Summers the next in line behind Perley and Ordway when the checkered fell on lap 75. Gambuti was scored at the tail of the lead lap giving Summers fifth.

Sammut, who had never run well at the New Hampshire oval commented, "I’m glad to get a fourth coming out of here. We usually run terrible here. We were a little looser than we needed to be. Too bad we didn’t tighten it just a bit more. We might have been better. The car was actually coming back around toward the end. We’re happy with fourth. I could see Justin and Mikey Ordway so we were close. We just need a bit more."

Summers, off a streak of bad luck, was happy with fifth. "We had a decent car and we got out in one piece. The past couple weeks have been real tough on the whole team and they worked real hard to get the car back together. We were just a little too tight tonight. So, we’ll go on to Oxford and hope we do a little better."

SUMMARY ISMA-WIRTGEN EVENT #10

Lee USA Speedway

Heat 1: Justin Belfiore, Kelly Miller, Mark Sammut, Jeff Holbrook, R.D. Timmons, Bob Timmons, Brandon Bellinger, Mike Keeler

Heat 2: Chris Perley, Jon Gambuti, Dave McKnight, Mike Ordway, Jr., Vern Romanoski, Dave Trytek, Joey Scanlon, Larry Lehnert

Heat 3: Robbie Summers, Scott Martel, Mike Lichty, Jamie Timmons, Dave Sanborn, Billy Buyck, Joe Petro. Eric Emhoff (dns)

Ollie Silva Memorial 75: 1. Chris Perley (11), 2. Mike Ordway Jr. (10), 3. Justin Belfiore (8), 4. Mark Sammut (78), 5. Rob Summers (97), 6. Scott Martel (88), 7. Jon Gambuti (14), 8. Jeff Holbrook (35), 9. Joey Scanlon (55), 10. Dave Trytek (40), 11. Mike Lichty (84), 12. Brandon Bellinger (02), 13. Mike Keeler (56), 14. Dave Sanborn (24), 15. RD Timmons (13), 16. Jamie Timmons (27), 17. Vern Romanoski (5), 18. Bob Timmons (31), 19. Dave McKnight (94), 20. Joe Petro Jr. (33), 21. Billy Buyck (38), 22. Larry Lehnert (92), 23. Kelly Miller (16), 24. Eric Emhoff (22).

CHRIS PERLEY OPENS A NEW BATCH OF LUCK TO TAKE MANSFIELD SATURDAY ISMA SHOW

Mansfield, OH – Chris Perley said Friday night at Mansfield that he’d run out of luck after a minor wreck on lap six put him out of the 40-lap ISMA-Wirtgen event. But, he added kidding, that he had a new bucket of luck in the trailer, unopened. Saturday night he put that new batch of luck to good use as he stood in victory lane next to a hissing rear tire, which would go flat moments after his post-race interview. A lap or two more and he would not have been there. But, that’s the way things have been going this year – and last, for Perley and the Vic Miller team. Perley’s seventh win of the season puts him two races away from taking over the ISMA all-time feature win list from Pelham, NH’s Russ Wood.

Said Perley, "We just opened that new bucket of good luck because I don’t know if you can hear it, but my tire has a big hole in it. So we pulled this one off tonight. We got lucky. The car was just awesome. Last night was a bit of a disappointment but we just come back and try to do the best we can the next day. And the crew said ‘we’re going to give you a car tonight that will get the job done’ and boy did they because this thing was on a rail.

"I’ll tell you I never thought I'd be here - to be in the company of Russ Wood and Bentley and those guys in all-time wins. It's just awesome. I’m just so lucky to be with this team. They work so hard and I can’t say enough for them. Vic Miller is the best car owner in the world. Don’t tell him I said that because it will go to his head. I have awesome motors built by R&R Automotive and I have great sponsors in Ed Shea and in Perley’s Marina, New England Motor Racing Supply, KidsFirstUSA and I want to thank all the fans for coming out and watching us. I hope we put on a good show tonight."

Perley took the lead from Canadian Mark Sammut on a lap 32 restart, slipping under the 78 to lead on lap 33. Trying hard to stay out front eventually cost Sammut his second place when Ohio’s Charlie Schultz grabbed the spot with less than five laps to go. Charlie, driving the May Motorsports 7, was ecstatic with second. . "We weren’t real good last night. When I got here this afternoon I made some changes in the car. We still weren’t real good. Then I tried something kind of spur of the moment before the last hot lap session and then the car was like three times faster. I thought we might be on to something here. The car was really raceable all night. It was good enough to come up second. Chris got through some of the lap cars better than I did. They said Chris had a tire going down and if the race had been 100 laps it might have been somebody else different in victory lane. I just want to thank my sponsors, Dave and Lori May, my mom and dad, my entire crew, Performance Race Fuels, Hempel Transport, Burke’s Home Center, DEI – everybody who works on this car. I’d also like to thank Lou Cicconi. He came down and helped us out too. It ended up being a pretty good day."

Sammut, still yearning for that first win, settled in for third and a podium finish. He had to run the wheels off his car to even hope for that first one. "Starting where I started I had no choice but to go right off the start. I held it down for everything it had and maybe that was a mistake. By the end I was out of tires and just hanging on. It probably cost us second. We fought the car all weekend and this was definitely the best the car has been. We’ll take third place anytime running ISMA. We’ll just keep plugging and doing what we need to do. Maybe one of these days things will go our way and that first win will come."

After time trials and the first heat was run, won by Dave McKnight, a horrendous crash occurred in the second heat, which caused hearts to stop and some anxious moments. While Robbie Summers led out front, a crash involving Johnny Torrese and Vern Romanoski stopped the action and saw Torrese airlifted to a local hospital. On lap 9, the 91 apparently lost a wheel nut, which caused the spline to break. Torrese, coming into turn three, caught Romanoski, spun around and slammed hard into the soft walls pretty much destroying the 91. Torrese was being x-rayed for a possible broken shoulder at press time, but otherwise had escaped serious injury.

Racing resumed with Bob Dawson beating out Perley for the third heat win.

The 23-car field was led immediately from the green by Sammut who started outside front row. Sammut knew he had to get out as fast and as far as he could. He did just that. By lap 15 he was well out front of Kelly Miller, Schultz, Perley, John Blewett and Dave McKnight. On lap 17, his efforts were negated as yellow flew for the 24 of Dave Sanborn who had a flat tire and was towed to the pits.

On the restart, Schultz and Perley fought by Miller for second and third as Sammut once again tried to flee. Behind that trio, Mike Ordway Jr., McKnight and Blewett were furiously swapping spots. One lap later, Perley was by Schultz and tucked up behind Sammut, but Sammut was not giving up easily.

The 78 held off the 11 until a lap 33 yellow, which saw the 16 of Miller, go up in smoke as he headed into the pits. A couple lap cars now sat between first and second while McKnight, Blewett, Ordway, Bob Dawson, Jeff Holbrook, Mike Lichty, Ray Graham Jr. and Robbie Summers were still fighting for top ten spots.

This restart was Sammut’s demise as Perley got along side and rode next to Sammut for half a lap before taking over the lead on lap 33. In a scene repeated six other times this season, it was bye, bye Perley. Sammut, Schultz, McKnight, Blewett and Ordway, however, were putting on one heck of a show well behind as the laps ticked away.

The flap fifty mark had the order behind Perley showing Sammut, Schultz, McKnight and now Ordway, Blewett, as the youngster battled with one of the modified world’s best for the second straight night. Ordway Jr. was the one to watch as he put away McKnight on lap 65 as McKnight’s car began to have its fuel problem once again. With less than ten to go it was Perley, several lap cars, then Sammut, Schultz, Ordway, McKnight and Blewett.

With five to go, Schultz had used traffic to move past Sammut and Blewett had moved into fifth past McKnight. And, that’s the way they passed under the checkered with Perley’s tire hissing as he pulled into victory lane with Schultz and Sammut parking nearby.

Second-generation driver Mikey Ordway had another fine run, holding off Blewett. "We were joking around all day that John and I were going to get stuck with each other again. He’s just a great driver. He ran me clean both nights. Louie helped me out a ton this weekend. John was helping me out – he’s great with the chassis stuff. I have to thank Lee Vinal Excavating, Harrington Trucking and Harrington Paving, Glenn Shanks Oil, my dad, Ricky Wentworth, Vic Miller and all those guys, because they helped me out a ton again. The car was good. The car came on great at the end. I told Perley’s guys if it had been a 100 laps, I would have passed him too. It’s just unbelievable. Hopefully we can go home to Lee and run good there."

And, Blewett, in only his second supermodified run ever, was all smiles after finishing a strong fifth. "I just have to thank the Cicconi's. I had a really great time. The guys worked their tail off trying to get the car where we thought it needed to be. It was an opportunity for me to come out and do something different from what I usually do. It was fun. This is a great group of guys – a great organization. I don’t race much with no radios and no mirrors. I think a lot of series could take a page off of this series where the guys drive with a lot more respect than we have on say the Whelen Tour and even the weekly series. I see radio driving a lot. I didn’t know who was around me or behind me when I was running. I was cautious and listening for guys coming around me. It’s nice when you’re running with guys who are racing hard, but clean. Like I said, I have to thank the Cicconi family for having me come out here. The closest thing to a super I’ve raced are the modifieds we ran at Flemington. We had a lot of horsepower there. I’ve never driven anything with a wing before. It’s similar to the midget I ran at Atlantic City for Lou but that track is small and tight and you can’t use the horsepower. This is definitely not like anything I’ve ever driven before."

McKnight, Mike Lichty who had indicated they’d missed the setup on his 84 that night, Summers, Bobby Dawson and Jeff Holbrook, rounded out the top ten.

Notes… Bob Magner sat out Saturday night’s event after Friday night’s wreck left him extremely sore…Vern Romanoski tried in vain to make the feature after his heat race incident that also involved Torrese… Viewers likened the damage to Torrese’s 91 to his car owner, Ray Graham’s bad accident at Oswego earlier this year….Kelly Miller discovered a cracked axle on the 16 prior to the feature with hasty repairs made….A piece of aluminum was found in Perley’s tire after the race….Larry Lehnert’s 92 had overheating problems after that team had managed to work all night to get a second car back in competition after Friday’s wreck…The Lane team spent a long night on spindle-rack and pinion repair to get Robbie Summers back into the fray on Saturday… Gene Lee Gibson reported that his 0 was damaged beyond repair on Friday and may not be out the rest of the year…

SUMMARY Mansfield Motorsports Park 75

Time Trials: Fast time Chris Perley, 13.705

Heat 1: Dave McKnight, John Blewett III, Charlie Schultz, Ray Graham, Jr., Brandon Bellinger, Terry Gibson, Ryan Klingelhofer, Larry Lehnert

Heat 2: Robbie Summers, Kelly Miller, Jeff Holbrook, Mike Lichty, Jack Smith, Dave Sanborn, John Torrese, Vern Romanoski

Heat 3: Bobby Dawson, Chris Perley, Mark Sammut, Mike Ordway Jr., Dave Trytek, Rich Reid, Jon Henes, Dave Mumaw.

Feature ISMA-Wirtgen 75: 1. Chris Perley (11), 2. Charlie Schultz (7), 3. Mark Sammut (78), 4. Mike Ordway Jr. (10), 5. John Blewett III (75), 6. Dave McKnight (94), 7. Mike Lichty (84), 8. Rob Summers (97), 9. Bobby Dawson (28), 10. Jeff Holbrook (35), 11. Dave Trytek (40), 12. Rich Reid (55), 13. Brandon Bellinger (02), 14. Terry Gibson (2), 15. Ray Graham Jr. (99), 16. Jack Smith (09), 17. Jon Henes (36), 18. Kelly Miller (16), 19. Larry Lehnert (92), 20. Dave Sanborn (24), 21. Dave Mumaw (14), 22. Ryan Klingelhofer (77). Romanoski dns

RAY GRAHAM TAKES HIS ISMA FIRST AT MANSFIELD FRIDAY EVENT

Mansfield, OH – Ray Graham Jr. took off from the pole at Mansfield Motorsports Park in Friday night’s ISMA-Wirtgen Super Series 40-lapper and stayed right there to finish in the same spot. It was a career first for the Iowa resident who has been in the hunt on many an occasion. Surviving a red and a couple yellows, Graham looked to be running away with the short sprint, but with ten to go, his 99 car began to falter and Dave Trytek and then young Mike Lichty came on to challenge. Lichty made a last lap, last corner attempt to take what would have been his career first also, but fell short as Graham brought his first win home. Six time winner to date, Chris Perley was out of the action on lap six after a brush, ironically, with Lichty. But it was Graham’s night to shine.

Said Ray in the post race interview; "The car was handling really well in the heat race until the motor started skipping. We thought we had it fixed but in the last ten to twelve laps of the race it started again. I could hear them coming but the motor just wouldn’t go. It kept sputtering. We have something in the fuel system that’s making the motor skip. It plugged up the motor after the heat race. So we’re going to have to find out what that is. If there were another five laps, they probably would have had me. I didn’t know whether it was Mike or Dave at the end there. I just put the car in the middle of the track and if they were going to go around, they were going to work hard for it. The first win feels good. "I feel good for the guys who do all the work. I just show up at the track"

Once again Mike Lichty stood on the podium just shy of his goal. In the waning laps of the race he did everything he could to pull off his first win, but once again fell short by one spot. "We had a good car. We just missed a little bit for a 40-lap run. I probably spent two or three extra laps trying to get around Dave than I should have, but he was running good and pretty tough to pass. Hats off to the whole crew. The Patco Transportation Stage Door 84 car is getting close. We’ve got a 100-lapper tomorrow so we’ll see what’s going to happen."

Third place finisher Dave Trytek was the only member of the Holbrook team to finish and he made it a good one. "Tonight the car was good," Dave said smiling. "When we unloaded tonight, it was good. In the heat race we did good. In the feature we started up front and finished up front which is good. I’m very happy. Unfortunately our other two cars didn’t fare so well, but at least one car was salvaged. We’ve run good here before. I wish we could have held on for second, but I’m happy with a podium finish. It’s my first one."

The 40-lap Mansfield prelim got off to a bad start when after one lap, red fell with a major pileup in between 1 and 2. A jumble toward the back of the pack saw eight cars end up with some kind of damage after all was said and done. Included in the melee which saw Larry Lehnert hit do some air time and hit hard into the soft walls in turn two, were Dave Shullick jr., Rich Reid, Gene Gibson, Dave McKnight, Dave Mumaw, Terry Gibson and Jeff Holbrook. After a lengthy red, a flatbed and a bunch of tow jobs, the race resumed with none of the aforementioned making it back out.

Graham quickly pulled away from Dave Trytek, Bob Dawson, Mikey Ordway and John Blewett III, driving his first super race in the Cicconi 75. Right behind Blewett, the current point leader and six-time feature winner this season, Chris Perley looked to be making his run forward. Unfortunately while coming under Mike Lichty, the two brushed and Perley spun bringing out the yellow and a hook. Perley was to watch the remainder of the 34 laps from the infield. He would say later, "I ran out of luck. I got a new bucket of luck in the truck though. I haven’t even opened it up. It was just a racing accident. I got too close. It was awesome to see the race finish that we had tonight. The exciting end – new people winning – it was great. You can’t beat that with a stick!"

Lichty concurred. "I think I pinched Perley a little bit coming down but it was two tough guys running for the same spot. It was just one of those deals."

On the green, Graham took off again and put some distance between his car and Trytek’s. Bob Dawson, Moe Lilje, John Blewett, Mike Lichty and Mike Ordway Jr. were battling behind, but it was Lichty on the move forward.

By lap ten, Lichty had fought past Blewett who was left to fend off the advances of young Ordway.

By lap 20, Graham had put two lap cars behind him and second place runner Trytek. Dawson held third, while Lilje in the Stout 19 and Lichty were top five.

Yellow flew on lap 23 for the 91 of John Torrese who had slowed and was coasting into the pits.

Everyone behind Graham only got a quick glimpse of the rapidly moving 99 machine as Ray ran and hid once more. Lichty was still fighting forward as he came by first Lilje and then Dawson. With ten to go things started to heat up in the decimated field. With Lichty third and Trytek second, Graham’s motor began to sputter. Lichty was not about to miss out on the opportunity to run the 99 down.

Each lap the second and third place runners got closer and closer to the leader. On lap 38, Lichty made a breathtaking move around Trytek and headed for Graham. On lap 39 in the last turn, The Canadian driver described his last ditch attempt. "I just needed one more lap to get by Ray. I drove it in a ton there at the end but the car just washed up the race track. If it had stuck we probably would have made the pass. There’s only so much real estate you can use over there."

Graham sputtered to his very first ISMA win with Lichty, Trytek, Dawson and Lilje on his tail.

Said fourth place runner Dawson," Fourth place is fine. We’re happy with it. The car worked good. It helped with the inversion and stuff. We had a good night. The car was just about neutral. We’re looking forward to the long race tomorrow. This is my best ISMA finish but there’s more coming!"

Lilje was content with fifth. "We had a solid run. We came home a lot better than some of the other cars that came back on the hook. I’m a little bit disappointed that I really couldn’t move through traffic. I could see the leader at the end of the race and you know the win’s right there. We’re content with coming home fifth. Everybody runs pretty good in ISMA so a top five with these guys is a pretty good run."

Eleven cars remained of the original 26 starters with Mike Ordway Jr., John Blewett III, Mark Sammut, Charlie Schultz and Brandon Bellinger the top ten and Vern Romanoski the last finisher.

SUMMARY Mansfield ISMA 40

Heat 1: Ray Graham Jr., Mike Ordway Jr., Mike Lichty, Chris Perley, Mark Sammut, Terry Gibson, Dave Mumaw, Larry Lehnert, Jeff Holbrook

Heat 2: Dave Shullick Jr., Johnny Torrese, Bob Dawson, John Blewett, Brandon Bellinger, Kelly Miller, Ryan Klingelhofer, Bob Magner, Bobby Haynes Jr. (dns). Race checkered after a Magner wreck on lap 9 to allow for car removal.

Heat 3: Dave Trytek, Rich Reid, Moe Lilje, Gene Gibson, Charlie Schultz, Vern Romanoski, Dave Sanborn, Dave McKnight. (90 and 97 dns).

Mansfield 40: 1. Ray Graham Jr. (99), 2. Mike Lichty (84), 3. Dave Trytek (70), 4. Bobby Dawson (28), 5. Moe Lilje (19), 6. Mike Ordway Jr. (10), 7. John Blewett III (75), 8. Mark Sammut (78), 9. Charlie Schultz (7), 10. Brandon Bellinger (02), 11. Vern Romanoski (5), 12. Kelly Miller (16), 13. Johnny Torrese (91), 14. Ryan Klingelhofer (77), 15. Chris Perley (11), 16. Dave Sanborn (24), 17. Rich Reid (55), 18. Gene Lee Gibson (0), 19. Dave Shullick Jr. (49), 20. Terry Gibson (2), 21. Dave McKnight (94), 22. Dave Mumaw (14), 23. Larry Lehnert (92), 24. Jeff Holbrook (35), 25. Bobby Magner (90) ( 97 Summers dns)

PERLEY SWEEPS HY-MILER WEEKEND TAKING 30th ANNUAL EVENT ON SATURDAY

Sandusky, OH – Chris Perley and the Vic Miller crew continue to roll over the competition and Saturday night at Sandusky, it was not easy task. But, Perley seemed to make it look that way. Starting 12th in the 28-car field, which included one of the strongest Hy-Miler fields in a while, Perley took over the lead just shy of the halfway mark, dodged some bullets and went on to lap almost the entire field. The prestigious 30th annual Hy-Miler 100-lap victory was the team’s sixth win to date on the ISMA-Wirtgen tour this year. It also earned Perley a guaranteed spot in the Budweiser Int’l Classic, Sept. 2 and the East-West Shootout in November.

Once again Perley acknowledged his amazement on what has transpired over the last season and a half and he conceded the winning hasn’t gotten old yet. He philosophized a bit after the race, "People get on rolls and half the time you don’t know what starts them. And, then you don’t know what stops them. And right now I have no clue. I know we’re still doing good and trying not to screw up. We’re hoping it continues but nobody knows. It’s crazy. There’s no reason for it to happen. We didn’t pass many cars out there tonight for the lead. They were all wrecking in front of us. Everybody is just doing what they can with what they have. Things just didn’t fall into their hands tonight; it fell into ours. The car didn’t break. We barely missed a couple deals out there tonight. We made it through them. It’s just awesome. I love Ohio. Two years ago I couldn’t finish here."

He continued, "I can’t believe how good the car was. We started out a little loose and I was a little scared of everybody behind me. I figured if I didn’t have the car for it tonight, I’d get the lead and make them go by me. And, then the car actually turned tight. It just got better and better. To come to Sandusky and win this race again is just unbelievable. I have to thank everyone on the team. And the awesome motors by R&R, Ed Shea, Perley’s Marina, New England Motor Racing Supply, Vic Miller… everyone."

While Perley was out front riding the rails, the action heated behind and in the waning laps, the shuffling was in the top five spots. With five to go it was Mike Lichty, Dave Shullick Jr., Doug Didero and Dave McKnight out front of the Rowley Rocket who was lapping at their heels. As the checkered flew for Perley, Lichty’s 84 sputtered and Shoe II grabbed second as Lichty dropped back to fourth behind Didero.

The second-generation driver was happy with the runner-up spot. "It was a pretty good race. These guys are a good group of drivers. The lap traffic was tough but it was a good race all around. I got by dad on a restart and it was unfortunate that he got wrapped up in that incident. I think he would have been up there. I’m sure he’ll live to race another day. It was another good Hy-Miler."

Doug Didero, who had a wing strut break in time trials, had a long way to go for third. With no time trial for handicapping, he worked his way through the heats and consi to start 17th. Hot and tired in victory lane, he was smiling nonetheless. It was a very exciting race. It seemed like so many things happened right in front of us and we avoided them all and got through it all. And, we ended up with a really good finish at the end. The way we struggled this weekend I never thought we’d have this good of a finish at Sandusky. We didn’t even get a time trial and we had to start last of everybody throughout the whole day and just keep working at it every race. We had to run up to the front from the back. And, that’s what we had to do in the feature tonight.
Everything stayed good. The car stayed pretty consistent all race long. We’re just ecstatic. We had some really great racing at the end there. It was a clean race tonight. Everybody drove real well. That’s what makes it fun. We’re happy to be leaving here with a third. This may be a good starting spot for all the ISMA shows. We’re looking forward to Mansfield.

Thirty-nine cars returned for Saturday’s 30th running of the first leg of supermodified’s big three extra-distance events with the field pared to 28 after time trials, heats and consis. Jeff Holbrook and Ohio racing legend Dave Shullick Sr. brought the field to green with Holbrook, in his new Allegresso designed machine, grabbing the initial lead. He held the top spot until Gene Lee Gibson passed him just prior to a yellow that flew on lap 11. Nokie Fornoro had expelled fluids on the speedway which collected Gibson and sent several others spinning around as the yellow changed to red. Fornoro was out. Gibson was out. Rob Summers, who had had a tough weekend already, was into the pits. Jeff Holbrook was into the pits and ofn.

When the dust settled, the top two cars were in the pits and Mike Lichty was the leader trailed by Timmy Jedrzejek, Mark Sammut and Dave McKnight. The battle up front would involve Lichty and Jedrzejek for the next ten laps or so as Timmy J tried every which way to get around Lichty for the lead. Just behind the dueling duo were Mark Sammut, Dave McKnight, Justin Belfiore, Dave Shullick Sr. Perley and Dave Shullick Jr.

On lap 20 Jack Smith slowed dramatically off turn two and while trying to limp to the pits, was accosted by Justin Belfiore who was full throttle trying to hold off Perley’s charge to the front. The yellow flew and both cars were towed away.

It was still Lichty, Timmy J, Sammut and McKnight out front of Perley as the yellow flew again on lap 24 for a spin by Vern Romanoski. This was easily taken car of but on the restart, mayhem ensued. Bobby Dawson, who was running strong, lost a wheel and in so doing, shot across the track right in front of Shullick Sr. while cars scattered down the front straight to try and miss the accident. Involved were Rich Reid, Bob Magner, Michael Barnes, Mike Ordway Jr. and Lou Cicconi, who spun to avoid. Red was out and refueling allowed as the cleanup took place. Out of the action were Shullick Sr. and Dawson. Ordway was able to get back on track as was Magner, Barnes and Cicconi, who went to the rear because of a no-spin to avoid rule adopted by ISMA last year.

Back underway, Lichty was still in command with Timmy J breathing down his back. The action was heated as Canadians Sammut and McKnight tried to hold Perley back. It didn’t work for too long as the 11 moved into third on lap 28. Behind the 94 and 78 were Didero, Shullick Jr., Charlie Shultz, Moe Lilje and Johnny Benson Jr.

On lap 30, Lichty seemed to be pulling away from Timmy J out front. Perley continued his march and was second by lap 34. On lap 37, Perley was able to get ahead of Lichty but yellow saved the young driver when Rich Reid spun in 3.

On the restart Lichty was well aware of who was knocking on the door and he was able to slam it several times before Perley got alongside on lap 44. The pair rode around side by side for almost a lap before Perley nosed ahead for the lead.

Lap cars started to dot the way between Perley and Lichty as the halfway mark came and went. Lichty, Timmy J, McKnight and now Shullick Jr. also had to contend with the cars Perley left in his wake. The final yellow of the race fell on lap 60 when Charlie Shultz had a tire going down. He was able to pit and return.

The race was Perley’s now to lose and that was not about to happen. In the interim Mark Sammut’s good run came to an end with a broken steering arm.

Perley laid waste to the field in the remaining twenty laps as Lichty, McKnight, Shullick Jr, Didero and Timmy J wove through traffic behind him. On lap 93 Perley was up behind Didero. Chris said later that he was just trying to keep the guys behind him who soon ended up ahead of him as he lapped them. Lichty’s fine run fell short of fuel giving Shullick Jr. second, Didero third, the 84 fourth and teammate McKnight fifth as Perley was doing his victory lap.

Lichty settled for fourth but would have liked the second. "We had a good run going there. We just missed a bit on the tires and Perley got by us. I mean boy is he tough. He was just flying tonight. I don’t even know if we had the tires we could have run with him or not. We were just a little bit off from the tires and that hurt us. We definitely had second wrapped up until the white flag when we ran out of fuel. I’m not sure what happened. Last night was my night and I made a mistake. Tonight it was someone else’s. I guess that evens it out."

Dave McKnight was once again in the Perley hunt. "Fifth place. What can we say? All three cars had a good run. We’re all in one piece. We’re still struggling. We haven’t got quite what we need. Hats off to Chris again. That team is just on a roll. So, we’ll just have to get our stuff together and go to Mansfield and see what happens. We seem to be right there all the time but in the bridesmaid spot. We just have to stay focused and keep working at it. We’ll get it. All in all we’re happy with the Patco-Stage Door team performance tonight."

Rounding out the top ten were Moe Lilje, Charlie Schultz, Timmy J, Michael Barnes and Johnny Benson Jr.

SUMMARY. ISMA-Wirtgen Hy-Miler

Sat., July 28.

Time Trials (top 12): Chris Perley (14.529), Shullick Jr., Belfiore, Smith, Reid, McKnight, Jedrzejek, Barnes, Sammut, Lichty, Gibson, Shullick Sr.

Heat 1: Jack Smith, Dave Shullick Sr., Jeff Holbrook, Bob Dawson, Rob Summers, Michael Barnes, Eric Lewis, Aaron Pierce (07), Ray Graham Jr., Steve Shellenberger

Heat 2: Gene Gibson, Timmy Jedrzejek, Justin Belfiore, Lou Cicconi, Charlie Schultz, Larry Lehnert, Johnny Benson Jr., Jeff Banyas, Danny Shirey, Terry Gibson

Heat 3: Mike Lichty, Dave McKnight, Dave Shullick Jr., Nokie Fornoro, Bob Magner, Doug Didero, Vern Romanoski, Johnny Torrese, Dave Trytek, Kelly Miller

Heat 4: Chris Perley, Rich Reid, Mark Sammut, Mike Ordway Jr., Pat Lavery, Moe Lilje, Brandon Bellinger, Jon Henes, Dave Sanborn

Consi 1: Doug Didero, Bob Magner, Michael Barnes, Eric Lewis, Aaron Pierce, Vern Romanoski, Dave Trytek, Kelly Miller, John Torrese, Steve Shellenberger, Robbie Summers, Ray Graham Jr.

Consi 2: Charlie Schultz, Larry Lehnert, Moe Lilje, Pat Lavery, Johnny Benson Jr., Brandon Bellinger, Jeff Banyas, Jon Henes, Danny Shirey, Dave Sanborn, Terry Gibson

30th annual Hy-Miler Nationals: 1. Chris Perley (11), 2. Dave Shullick Jr. (49), 3. Doug Didero (61), 4. Mike Lichty (84), 5. Dave McKnight (94), 6. Moe Lilje (19), 7. Charlie Schultz (7), 8. Timmy Jedrzejek (82), 9. Michael Barnes (22), 10. John Benson Jr. (74), 11. Mike Ordway Jr. (10), 12. Bob Magner (40), 13. Rich Reid (55), 14. Vern Romanoski (5), 15. Pat Lavery (98), 16. Mark Sammut (78), 17. Lou Cicconi (75), 18. Eric Lewis (08), 19. Larry Lehnert (92), 20. Bob Dawson (28), 21. Dave Shullick Sr. (52), 22. Justin Belfiore (8), 23. Jack Smith (09), 24. Gene Lee Gibson (0), 25. Jeff Holbrook (35), 26. Nokie Fornoro (32), 27. Robbie Summers (97), 28. Jon Henes (36).

CHRIS PERLEY CLAIMS FRIDAY AT SANDUSKY’S HY-MILER WEEKEND

Sandusky, OH – Chris Perley continued his unbelievable performance on the ISMA-Wirtgen super series circuit Friday night at Sandusky. And, Perley continues to shake his head in disbelief. He once again set fast time and after starting 12th in a strong field of winged supers he worked his way quickly to the front. A challenge of his seemingly omnipresent rival Dave McKnight came once again as McKnight took the lead of the 40-lapper on lap 21 with Perley behind him. On lap 30, the 11 slung outside by the 94 off the fourth corner of the Sandusky half-mile, to take the lead from the Canadian – once again.

Standing in victory lane for the second consecutive year at Sandusky’s Hy-Miler prelim moments later Perley exclaimed, "This is crazy," said the Rowley Rocket. "This was an intense, intense forty lapper. I got there and I couldn’t get there. On the restarts I was slower and couldn’t get going. I caught Dave and then I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t get to the outside. I thought I’d used it all up and then my car starting coming in. I just kept it out there – heating up the tires. Then all of a sudden I had a shot. I bounced off his right rear once down in three and four. Luckily it didn’t hurt either one of us. I made it stick. It’s phenomenal. I’d even take a second over a first if I can’t have a first. We’ll just see what tomorrow brings."

McKnight, who had taken over the lead after his teammate Mike Lichty lost the lead to a spin on lap 21, was once again standing in second next to Perley on the podium. "Always the bridesmaid it seems this year… always the same car," said the Brampton, Ontario driver. "The wreck at the beginning of the year set us back, but we’re real close. We’ll work on it some more and maybe we’ll have something for Chris. Again, it was a great job for Chris and hats off to the team. Everybody there did a great job and my guys did a great job too. We’re real happy."

Finishing third after a great move in traffic in the waning laps was Dave Shullick Jr. He had passed under both Nokie Fornoro and Lou Cicconi – no easy task- to take the spot. He had passed his dad, filling in for the injured Randy Burch, earlier in the race, also in traffic. Said the Shullick Jr., "We know how traffic goes here. All three of us were about pretty much the same. I just tried to bide my time. They were being pretty aggressive and Nokie got pushed up there and I tried to take advantage of it. I just tried to capitalize on restarts. I got my father on one. Other than that it was a pretty clean race. Dad did pretty good. He got loose a couple times and was able to save it. He had never driven that car and he’ll be back tomorrow to see if he can do even better. Perley is a tough nut to crack but we’ll go home and keep working on it. We’ll come back tomorrow and hopefully we can one better him."

Despite threatening rain, things progressed nicely at the Friday Hy-Miler prelim. With 41 supers in the pits and after time trials, four heats and two consis, the 26-car field was filled. Lou Cicconi and Mike Lichty were out front at the green with Lichty taking the front spot from the git go only to see the yellow fly for Gene Gibson who had brushed the wall and exited the race.

Lichty, who narrowly lost both legs of the Sandusky tradition last year, took off again in the lead on the restart. He was lapping cars by the eleventh circuit as Dave McKnight and Lou Cicconi battled for second.

When the yellow flew again on lap 13, Robbie Summers, the most recent ISMA winner at Stafford, was off the track in turn one. A brush with Doug Didero was the possible cause. The yellow fell again due to a jumble on this restart between Joe Grunda, Ray Graham, Jr. and Larry Lehnert.

The race resumed with Lichty holding a lengthy lead as McKnight, Cicconi, Nokie Fornoro and now Perley, in the top five. Sitting a tick back were Dave Shullick Sr. and Shullick Jr., Mark Sammut and Jeff Holbrook.

By lap 19, the Perley had put the Vic Miller 11 into third in a scenario oft repeated in the past year and a half. On lap 21, leader Lichty was the cause of the final race yellow, as he got up in the loose stuff between three and four. He was able to restart, but his lead was gone.

Dave McKnight was now the new leader but that left Perley in second right behind. Cicconi and Fornoro had the "Shoes" right behind as Sammut, Holbrook, Didero, Timmy Jedrzejek and Moe Lilje were still locked in battle behind.

For the next seven laps, Perley tried to maneuver around McKnight, but Dave, bent on getting that elusive win, held him off.

On lap 29, Perley tried McKnight but the door was shut. On lap 30, Chris put the 11 outside McKnight off the fourth turn and made it stick this time. He was on his way to win number five on the season. Dave was able to get close in traffic in the last laps, but never close enough to pass. Working every lap behind, Dave Shullick Jr. was able to pass not only his legendary father but also Nokie Fornoro and Lou Cicconi to take the third spot. Cicconi and Fornoro settle into the top five.

Cicconi, who had just a couple races on his new 75, was content with fourth. "Everything was good tonight. We’ve made a lot of progress on the car. I really enjoy working with Timmy, Eddie and Matt. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race."

Fornoro applauded Perley’s prowess once again. "Hopefully everyone had a good, safe night and it seemed like everyone did. Once again congratulations to Vic and Chris on their win. Hopefully we can have something for them tomorrow. It was great that there was a great crowd tonight. Thanks to the Soule racing team for a great job and all the sponsors for supporting us."

Dave Shullick Sr., jumped aboard the Burch 52 and showed he hadn’t lost much after a four-year hiatus. Even getting passed by his son, didn’t faze the driver in his fourth decade of supermodified running. "The car felt really good tonight. It didn’t go away. To be honest I was a little conservative. We wanted to save it and make some changes for tomorrow. I physically felt very good. I had a cramp in my leg and my side earlier, but it all went away. I was really disappointed when the white flag came out because I was just starting to get my groove on. I didn’t want to see it end. Earlier I wasn’t sure I could do this. It’s been four years since I was racing a lot. I did one race a few years ago, but I felt very comfortable in the car."

Mark Sammut, Timmy Jedrzejek, Moe Lilje and Jeff Holbrook rounded out the top ten.

SUMMARY

ISMA-Wirtgen Super Series Event #7

Time Trials: Chris Perley 14.876, followed by Dave Shullick Jr., Rob Summers, Jeff Holbrook, Moe Lilje, Jack Smith, Mark Sammut, Doug Didero, Ray Graham Jr., Nokie Fornoro, Dave McKnight, Dave Shullick Sr. (top 12)

Heat 1: Doug Didero, Gene Gibson, Dave Shullick Sr., Rob Summers, Bob Magner, Larry Lehnert, Michael Barnes, John Torrese, Terry Gibson, Steve Shellenberger

Heat 2: Dave McKnight, Mark Sammut, Dave Shullick Jr., Mike Ordway Jr., Timmy Jedrzejek, Charlie Schultz, Dave Trytek, Vern Romanoski, Jeff Banyas, Dave Mumaw (dns)

Heat 3: Chris Perley, Nokie Fornoro, Mike Lichty, Jack Smith, Bob Dawson, Pat Lavery, Rich Reid, Kelly Miller, Dave Sanborn, Matt Palmer

Heat 4: Moe Lilje, Lou Cicconi, Jeff Holbrook, Ray Graham Jr., Justin Belfiore, Joe Grunda, Brandon Bellinger, Eric Lewis, Bob Haynes Jr.

Consi 1: Bob Magner, Bob Dawson, Larry Lehnert, Pat Lavery, Rich Reid, Michael Barnes, John Torrese, Dave Sanborn, Terry Gibson, Matt Palmer, Kelly Miller

Consi 2: Timmy Jedrzejek, Justin Belfiore, Charlie Schultz, Joe Grunda, Dave Trytek, Bobby Haynes Jr., Brandon Bellinger, Vern Romanoski, Steve Shellenberger, Eric Lewis, Jeff Banyas

4 qualify from each. Added Bellinger ISMA option, Banyas Promoters option

Hy-Miler 40: 1. Chris Perley (11), 2. Dave McKnight (94), 3. Dave Shullick Jr. (49), 4. Lou Cicconi (75), 5. Nokie Fornoro (32), 6. Dave Shullick Sr. (52), 7. Mark Sammut (78), 8. Tom Jedrzejek (82), 9. Moe Lilje (19), 10. Jeff Holbrook (35), 11. Jack Smith (09), 12. Mike Ordway Jr. (10), 13. Charlie Schultz (7), 14. Mike Lichty (84), 15. Bobby Dawson (28), 16. Bobby Magner (40), 17. Jeff Banyas (18), 18. Brandon Bellinger (02), 19. Pat Lavery (98), 20. Doug Didero (61), 21 Justin Belfiore (8), 22. Rob Summers (97), 23. Ray Graham Jr. (99), 24. Larry Lehnert (92), 25. Joe Grunda (1), 26. Gene Lee Gibson (0).

ROBBIE SUMMERS PASSES PERLEY FOR STAFFORD ISMA WIN

Stafford Springs, CT 7-10-07 – Robbie Summers fulfilled a dream Tuesday night at Stafford Motor Speedway. While successful in several divisions of auto racing in the Northeast, Summers’ secret love has been the potent winged supermodifieds. After only a half season of competition in 2006, Summers had made a fulltime commitment to drive the Howie Lane 97 this year. In the Xtreme Tuesday main event, Summers not only kept up with the pretty much invincible Chris Perley after Perley took the lead on lap 17, but he dogged the point leader until a bobble up front by a lap car gave the Vernon, CT driver his chance and he took it. On lap 37, Summers took the lead and the eventual win. It was his career-first on the ISMA-Wirtgen super series circuit.

Summers reviewed his achievement. "This is something I’ve always dreamed of. It’s probably the biggest race of my career. This is big. I’ve been wanting this one for a while. Ever since I was a kid I was intrigued with supermodifieds. They were always the coolest cars to me and to win in one of them is great.

"The longer I went tonight, the better my car got. We had it perfect tonight. Howie and the crew had the car the best it’s been since I’ve been driving it. I can’t thank them enough. With these supers the right rear is everything. We had the car tight in the beginning and it was tough to get by some of the cars. But, once the car came in it was on rails."

After catching up to Perley – no easy task by any means - Summers awaited his opportunity. "When Bob Magner got sideways there, and I didn’t see a caution, I was gone. I was close one other time. I think we were about the same speed. Lap traffic was something. I got hit once and bounced off the back stretch wall. I was holding my breath. Last Saturday was pretty disappointing at Jennerstown. The guys worked their butts off in pretty much one day to get the car back together and I won. It was particularly rewarding to win at Stafford. I love this place. I’ve had a lot of laps here. We’ve struggled with the Tour car here but thank god the super was perfect today. It’s a big booster for us."

Getting by was one thing. Staying there was another. Summers knew Perley would not go away. "Once I got by Perley I knew I had to get by that lap traffic because there is no one better in lap traffic than Chris. That’s why I was trying to get through it whether I had to knock or crash through it. I knew he was right on my heels. I had no idea where he was but I figured he was right there. I got sick of seeing that 11 pass by every week, driving by me on the outside like I have an anchor hanging off the car. To beat Chris tonight is big. He’s the best of the best!"

After winning four features to date, second place finisher Perley reiterated some of Summers comments, "I got the lead and was kind of on cruise control and then Robbie showed me a wheel and woke me up. He got me going. I thought we might have him covered. Then Magner got crossed up and I didn’t know which direction he was going. I got by and then I got back on the throttle and nothing happened. It just loaded up and I thought it was going to shut off for a minute. Then Robbie came up beside me and then he got out front. It was a great race. We were really evenly matched. It was going to be whoever was out front at the right time. Hats off to Robbie and the team. They’ve been working hard. We’ll take a second. I’m very happy with that. Traffic was interesting at times. Everybody was trying to drive their own race and hang on to their car. It makes it tough to pay attention I guess. All in all it was a good night."

Mike Lichty, for the third time in three races, had a podium finish. Still looking for that first win, he’s certainly gaining. "It’s been a great four days for the whole team. The cars came out in one piece. We can’t complain about three thirds in three races. We’re just a little off still. We’re having a problem with the tightness in the car; trying to get the front end gripping on corner entry. It looks like we’re going to have to go back to the drawing board and figure it out. All in all the Patco Transportation, Stage Door team did a helluva job!"

A very hot and humid night did not deter the great racing that ensued. Twenty-five cars started the 50-lapper with three more broken before feature time. Dave Trytek jumped from his pole position to build up an early lead ahead of his teammate Jeff Holbrook, Summers, Lichty and Dave McKnight. By lap ten Dave was slicing through the tail of the field until lap 13 when the first yellow fell for Brent Roundy who lost a tire.

The field now bunched behind Trytek, but he pulled away. Back in the pack though, Perley was methodically picking off car after car. He was third behind Trytek and Holbrook when the next yellow came for the third Holbrook car of Bob Magner. Magner had slid off the track and into the grass. He recovered and pitted momentarily while the yellow flew.

On the restart, Perley just drove by Holbrook in turn two and Trytek in turn four to take the lead. Summers, however, did not lose track of the 11 as he followed him.

The last caution came on lap 23 when Dave Sanborn stopped on the track.

The field bunched behind Perley with Summers, Trytek, Holbrook, Lichty, Fornoro and McKnight the closest contesters. Perley could not lose Summers as the laps ticked away. Lichty moved by Holbrook to take fourth behind Trytek on lap 27.

On lap 32, Summers was obviously getting stronger and he tucked up behind the Perley car, even getting alongside on lap 33 as traffic played a major role here. On lap 37 the Magner slide gave Summers his chance and the lead. Now he also knew he would not lose Perley easily and for ten laps he dove down and up around lap cars with Perley in hot pursuit. In the waning laps Mike Lichty and Dave McKnight got by early leader Trytek and the checkered fell non-to soon for Summers for his career-first with Perley settling for second. Lichty, McKnight and Trytek stayed in that order.

McKnight, who has had an up and down season to date, was pleased with fourth. "Outside of the heat, everything is good. The Patco, Stage Door team did a good job. We’ve been struggling since the crash. We’ve had this power steering problem and we’re still having it. Hopefully we’ll get that straightened out. It was a great effort by everybody involved. I’m happy with the finish. We’re slowly getting back on track. It was a great day, everything is in one piece and now we’ll go to Sandusky and see what we’ve got."

And, Trytek, likewise, was satisfied with his early lead and eventual finish. "Starting on the pole helps a ton. The car was pretty good; it just got tighter and tighter as we went on and we lost a couple spots at the end there. But, I’ll take the fifth. I haven’t had that in a long time."

Nokie Fornoro, Mark Sammut, Lou Cicconi, Vern Romanoski and Jeff Holbrook completed the top ten.

Notes: Time trials had to be scratched due to a computer failure but Bentley Warren had unofficially set a track record of 16.797 before the demise. Half the cars had not taken time…Erica Santos, older sister to Bobby Santos, became the first woman ever to win a NEMA event as she held off Joey Payne for the win… Fornoro and Cicconi did double duty…ISMA is off until the Sandusky Hy-Miler on July 27-28.Mike Badessa and Bobby Haynes Jr. were scratches prior to the heats…Jeff Holbrook brushed with Lou Cicconi after the checkered and ended up in the wall…Bentley Warren, having recuperated from knee surgery was in his first race of the season. He said the car was sliding around due to a tire going down.

SUMMARY ISMA-WIRTGEN Event #5

Stafford Motor Speedway, July 10, 2006

Heat 1: Jeff Holbrook, Chris Perley, Mike Lichty, Justin Belfiore, Mark Sammut, Brandon Bellinger, Brent Roundy (Larry Lehnert dns –motor)

Heat 2: Ray Graham Jr., Robbie Summers, Nokie Fornoro, Bob Magner, Bentley Warren, Scott Martel, Dave Sanborn, Kelly Miller, Eric Emhoff

Heat 3: Dave Trytek, Dave McKnight, Vern Romanoski, Lou Cicconi, Mike Ordway Jr., Jamie Timmons, Eric Lewis, John Torrese, Mike Keeler

Xtreme Tuesday ISMA-Wirtgen 50: 1. Robbie Summers (97), 2. Chris Perley (11), 3. Mike Lichty (84), 4. Dave McKnight (94), 5. Dave Trytek (70), 6. Nokie Fornoro (32), 7. Mark Sammut (78), 8. Lou Cicconi (75), 9. Vern Romanoski (5), 10. Jeff Holbrook (35), 11. Bentley Warren (71), 12. John Torrese (91), 13. Mike Ordway Jr. (10), 14. Scott Martel (88), 15. Jamie Timmons (27), 16. Bob Magner (40), 17. Brandon Bellinger (02), 18. Ray Graham Jr. (99), 19. Justin Belfiore (8), 20. Dave Sanborn (24), 21. Brent Roundy (76), 22. Eric Lewis (28), 23. Kelly Miller (16), 24. Eric Emhoff (22), 25. Mike Keller (56).

CHRIS PERLEY UNSTOPPABLE AT JENNERSTOWN ISMA TWIN 30’S

Jennerstown, PA – Five ISMA features run to date. Four wins. Chris Perley has been unstoppable except for one young second-generation driver named Ordway. But a lot of people are trying to do what Ordway did at M-40 and Chris Perley knows they are out there. At Jennerstown on Saturday night Perley came home with his third and fourth wins of the season by taking both legs of the Twin 30 events. It was the second year in a row for that feat for the Rowley, Mass. driver. In the first 30-circuit main Perley was trailed by Dave McKnight and Mike Lichty. In the second it was Bob Magner and Mike Lichty.

After the finale, Perley acknowledged," Jennerstown is my new favorite track. The car has never turned so good here. We had wicked good corner speed. The first race we gave it everything because who knows what you’re going to have left for the second race and the second race we had everything left. We still had to work on everybody and everybody got a little harder to pass. Magner put on a good show. It was tough to get around him. It was all I had to get by him. And, luckily I was able to stay out in front until the end and I didn’t hit anything. Now, I’m in trouble because I have to compete against Bentley in this very car."

Mike Lichty, coming ever so close to that elusive first ISMA win, had a good shot at it by starting outside pole for the first race. But, as luck would have it, both 30-lappers went by quickly and saw only one caution each. Lichty took the lead from the beginning and had a formidable opponent in polesitter Ray Graham Jr. in his first race since a rib-breaking accident at Oswego on June 9.

Lichty tried in vain to fend off Graham as the laps ticked rapidly away and while Chris Perley was picking off a car a lap in pursuit. By lap 9 Perley had moved up to fourth with only Jeff Holbrook, Graham and Lichty ahead of him. By lap 11 he was third.

Lap 13 saw Robbie Summers break a hub on the Lane 97, sending a tire flying into the first turn and Summers into the pits.

On the restart, Perley continued his forward charge taking Graham in one lap and then Lichty in another. The Rocket was launched once again while Lichty began to lose sight of the 11. Graham, McKnight, Mark Sammut, Nokie Fornoro, Vern Romanoski and Mike Ordway Jr. continued a race of their own behind.

While Perley melded into lap traffic Dave McKnight used the slower cars to moved into third then second around his teammate Mike Lichty. Graham and Sammut finished up the top five with Fornoro, Ordway, Romanoski, Lou Cicconi and Justin Belfiore completing the top ten.

Perley commented after his first win of the night. "It was awesome. Dave’s been there and it’s just tough to get around them. It’s great racing with them. I don’t know what to say. The car loves it here. It was great from the get-go. And, we came home winning."

The bridesmaid again, McKnight, said of his race. "Second again. What can I tell you? It just seems that way I guess. The guys did a great job. We’ve been struggling with a bit of an oil leak tonight and it was bothering my vision in the car. The car seemed to get a little better as the race went on. We got jammed up there in traffic with Chris but we’ll see what the second 30 brings."

Mike Lichty, who lost his second place to McKnight in the waning laps, related, "After the caution there I think we got a flat tire. We picked up a big, big push. Perley got me on the restart and Dave got me with three to go. The car just picked up a huge push. I just have to thank everybody – Patco Transportation, Stage Door and hats off to the whole crew. We worked hard this weekend and we still have one more feature to go. We’ll see what we can do in that one. We’ve got a new motor in the car, it’s making some power and we’ll see what happens in the next 30. I’d still like to pull off that first one. I was looking for it in this one with outside pole and everything."

Ray Graham Jr. was very content with his fourth. "It felt good just to be able to race again. The car was pretty good. The guys did a great job putting a car back together in less than a week from one that was pretty much destroyed a couple weeks ago. I’m pretty happy."

As was Mark Sammut with a fifth." The car was actually pretty decent. It was a little bit tight to start. As the race went on the car came in but it was a 50-lap racecar in a thirty-lap race. I needed a couple more laps at the end there and I think I could have gotten Mike and Ray. But, that’s the way it goes in a 30-lapper."

The second Twin 30 saw Graham once again on the pole due to the handicapping; Vern Romanoski outside pole this time and sitting back in 12th was Chris Perley. Could he do it again? The answer came quickly.

Graham took up the point this time but the quickest car in practice, Bob Magner, was up from third and into first by lap 12. But, by lap 5, Perley was already fifth as he glided around the fast Jennerstown oval. By lap 10, he was third behind Magner and Graham.

The only yellow of this event came on lap 13 and it was for Graham whose car slowed and stopped before he could pit. Dave Sanborn and Dave McKnight, who was fighting an ill-steering car, also pulled pitside. All returned to the tail of the field.

Back underway it was now Magner with the unenviable task of trying to hold off the black and orange 11 for 17 laps. And, although the young Oswegonian tried valiantly, Perley finally drove by on lap 17 off the fourth corner.

While Perley left the scene with Magner tagging along as closely as anyone can get when the 11 checks out, the racing behind had the fans on the edge of their seats. Mike Lichty and Mike Ordway Jr. were going at it tooth and nail while Nokie Fornoro, Vern Romanoski, Justin Belfiore, and Mark Sammut, still were fighting for spots.

On lap 20 while the 11 and 40 were alone out front, Ordway Jr, who was in his first race ever at Jennerstown, was trying every which way to get by Lichty as the two young lions fought for third. By lap 25, the leaders hit a large pack of lap traffic. Perley glided through while Magner got bogged behind Brandon Bellinger. This allowed Lichty and Ordway Jr. a chance to grab a big spot, while Fornoro, and Belfiore also closed in.

The last exciting five saw Ordway Jr. make a last ditch attempt at Magner while Lichty did the same at Ordway. Diving in and out with sparks flying Ordway made the charge but when the dust settled it was Magner, Lichty, Ordway Jr. and Fornoro the top five.

Chris Perley gave credit to his winning to his car builder and owner Vic Miller and his crew. "Anybody can drive this car right now. It’s just awesome. I’m just the lucky one to be in the seat. The car was great in both races. I think we were a little tighter in the second one. But it had enough. I can’t complain at all. It’s just unbelievable. I was just good enough not to hit anybody and to not get myself in a situation coming up through. Stafford will be a completely different show. I’m going to have a little more competition with Bentley in this car."

Magner, who was repeating a finish of a year ago, said, "I’m happy with second. I’ve been here before and been behind Chris here before I’m just happy that all the cars are in one piece and we can go home and get ready for Tuesday. The car came together. I don’t think I drove on most of the track throughout the race. It was down in the corners and almost to the grass. It doesn’t matter. You can pretty much race anywhere here. It’s a great place. I’d really like to thank Jeff Holbrook. Because without him I couldn’t drive this car because it wouldn’t be here and neither would I. My Uncle John puts his heart and soul in these things. He’s in the garage all week long. My father is here. My family is here. Without all those guys you can’t do it. Thank you all. I appreciate it and thanks for coming this weekend!"

Lichty, who once again settled into a third spot after trying so hard for a first, chuckled and said, "The whole crew worked so hard this weekend and now we’ll go play at Stafford. I will go there to try and win. That’s why we race. But, we just have to get around that number 11 car first off. I mean I gave my resume to Vic (Miller) and I’m still waiting on him so we’ll see what happens"

Ordway Jr., fresh off his first-career win at M-40, was all smiles. He’d had fun! "We ran good. Perley went by us just before that restart. I tried to stay with him but he took off. The car was really good and I got by Nokie and a couple other guys. Then I got by Lichty for third. With two to go, going into three I thought I could be the hero and go by Magner while he was going by a lap car. I tried to take them three wide and I got in the loose stuff and pushed up. Mike got back by me. But, this is probably the most fun I’ve had all year in a race. It was cool to win but this place is just so fast. It’s out of control and it was fun."

Nokie Fornoro, who had blown a motor at Toledo, the first in a Soule car in about 17 years, was more than pleased to be back on track with a fifth, coupled with a sixth in the first go. "We were tight in the first one and loose in the second one. What are you going to do? We were good in the warm-ups. I’m just glad that it was s safe race and everybody had a good time. And, congratulations to that god damned Perley and the Miller team. I wish them all the best. They’ve got everything going for them."

Belfiore, Romanoski, Sammut, Gene Lee Gibson and Jeff Holbrook rounded out the top ten.

Note: It was announced in the driver’s meeting that a new qualifying procedure would begin at Stafford with Time Trials replacing the Money Won Handicapping system. The top twelve in time trials will be inverted into the heats and the top four from each heat will lineup by their times in the feature.

SUMMARY ISMA-WIRTGEN EVENT #5 (Twin 30s)

Jennerstown Speedway, July 7, 2007

Heat 1: Mike Lichty, Ray Graham Jr., Mark Sammut, Brandon Bellinger, Dave Trytek, Bobby Haynes Jr., Joe Grunda, Mike Keeler

Heat 2: Chris Perley, Dave McKnight, Jeff Holbrook, Mike Ordway Jr., John Torrese, Larry Lehnert, Kelly Miller

Heat 3: Vern Romanoski, Robbie Summers, Gene Gibson, Nokie Fornoro, Lou Cicconi, Justin Belfiore, Bob Magner, Dave Sanborn

TWIN 30 #1: 1. Chris Perley (11), 2. Dave McKnight (94), 3. Mike Lichty (84), 4. Ray Graham Jr. (99), 5. Mark Sammut (78), 6. Nokie Fornoro (32), 7. Mike Ordway Jr. (10), 8. Vern Romanoski (5), 9. Lou Cicconi (75), 10. Justin Belfiore (8), 11. Gene Lee Gibson (0), 12. Bobby Magner (40), 13. Kelly Miller (16), 14. Jeff Holbrook (35), 15. Brandon Bellinger (02), 16. Larry Lehnert (92), 17. Dave Trytek (70), 18. Johnny Torrese (91), 19. Bobby Haynes Jr. (44), 20. Joe Grunda (1), 21. Rob Summers (97), 22. Dave Sanborn (24), 23. Mike Keeler (56).

TWIN 30 #2: 1. Chris Perley (11), 2. Bobby Magner (40), 3. Mike Lichty (84), 4. Mike Ordway Jr. (10), 5. Nokie Fornoro (32), 6. Justin Belfiore (8), 7. Vern Romanoski (5), 8. Mark Sammut (78), 9. Gene Gibson (0), 10. Jeff Holbrook (35), 11. Kelly Miller (16), 12. Dave McKnight (94), 13. Rob Summers (97), 14. Brandon Bellinger (02), 15. Johnny Torrese (91), 16. Dave Trytek (70), 17. Dave Sanborn (24), 18. Joe Grunda (1), 19. Bobby Haynes Jr. (44), 20. Larry Lehnert (92), 21. Ray Graham Jr. (99), 22. Lou Cicconi (75), 23. Mike Keeler (56).

Toledo, OH – You might have thought Chris Perley would have been more confident about winning Toledo Speedway’s 50-lap ISMA event on Friday night. He’s been winning a lot the past year or so. At Toledo’s half-mile oval he broke his own track record in Time Trials with a quick 13.116 lap. But, the 2006 ISMA champ has been there before and has not been able to finish the past two years. He was a bit apprehensive as he approached the second event of the season. On his way to a record 10 wins in 2006, Chris had three dnf’s – one of which came at Waterford and one at Toledo. On May 26, 2007 he beat Waterford. Friday night he beat Toledo. Lady luck riding in the sidecar and liking it.

"It’s all awesome these wins," said Chris. "I don’t think it will ever get old. I came into this race going ‘we didn’t finish here last year and we didn’t finish at Waterford last year and we ended up winning there this year. I thought I’d be asking a lot to try and win this one too.’ I don’t know it just worked out great."

And it wasn’t an easy win for the 11. He had to get by Dave McKnight and Mark Sammut, the early leader, who were both running strong. "This is a great place to race," Chris described his Toledo run. "There is a lot of room out there to play and big banking so it holds your car in the ball park. At the beginning of the race the car was slipping and sliding. I didn’t know if I had enough. I got up to fifth and everybody got harder and harder to pass. I got behind Dave and was running in third for I don’t know how long. Then he said he lost his power steering. One time I’d come up on him and he’d drive away from me and the next time I’d run over him. He was trying to peddle his car and Sammut was running scared out there looking for his first win. I’m sorry he didn’t get it tonight. On lap 22 I thought he was going to win but the red flag helped my tires out and let the car settle in. It was just awesome. I enjoyed it. It was even better to finish here."

Dave McKnight, who had the Waterford win almost in hand and brushed with Perley on the last lap, had a little deja vu in this 50-lapper. "The Patco, Back Stage Door number 94 team did a great job. We struggled after the crash while leading at Waterford and we worked really hard to get the car back together. We came out strong and ran well all day here. I lost the power steering on lap 18 or 19 and I was able to hang on until lap 32. But, I had just nothing left in my arms. So we’re lucky to come home with a second. All in all we’re happy and hats off to Chris Perley. I think we have something for Chris. I think we had it tonight but lost the power steering. Chris is definitely going to be the guy to catch and I’m looking forward to tomorrow after we get everything fixed."

Canadian Mark Sammut once again knocked on the door of his first career ISMA win, but ran into Perley and McKnight who dashed the possibility. Said Mark after his podium finish, "We struggled early but were lucky enough to get the pole for the feature. We made some changes and the car was about the best it had been all day. Those guys just had a little bit more than I did by the time the race went that far along. Hey, we’re happy with third. The car ran great. We just need some more to run with those guys."

Time trials began the ISMA event with the top 12 of the 25 cars who took time inverted for the heats. Chris Perley was fastest on the day with a new track record, which broke his old track record. Even the True Value sprints couldn’t beat the 11. Brandon Bellinger, Eric Torrese and Mike Keeler did not time as Bellinger had a right rear go down in warm-ups and he hit the wall. Torrese and Keeler had mechanical woes.

Fellow Canadians Mark Sammut and Mike Lichty led the 24-car field to green and Sammut grabbed the point only to have another countryman, Ryan Litt, bring out the yellow soon thereafter. Litt was able to restart and Sammut led the pack once again as Lichty, Dave McKnight. Bob Magner and Robbie Summers settled into the top five.

On lap 8 Burdette Bennett spun the 63 with Dave Shullick Jr. getting a tap from Johnny Benson Jr., driving the Lichty 74. Shullick spun around also and restarted at the rear.

Sammut was lapping cars by lap 10 while Chris Perley was picking his way through a tough field. Just before a lap 22 red, Perley had broken into the Canadian trio of Sammut, McKnight and Lichty to take over third. The red would be for Lichty who came off turn four and blew up in turn one. Lichty’s teammate for the night, Benson, was just getting ready to park his ride prior to Lichty’s demise. The Craftsman truck star said later, " The engine looked like it started to tighten up on me. So I thought I’d shut it off before it broke. Mike had a problem almost on the same lap. I was just moving out of the way and he had a problem. It was fun for us. I’ve got to thank Brad and Mike Lichty and Dave McKnight for giving an opportunity to come down and play with these guys."

During this cleanup Larry Lehnert was checked for overheating and Dave Trytek, sitting in sixth, could not restart due to a faulty fuel pump. Attrition was mounting.

On the restart, Sammut had McKnight and Perley stuck like glue while Bob Magner, Summers and Shullick Jr. were next in line. On lap 24 McKnight drove by Sammut. One lap later, Perley drove by Sammut while Magner and Shullick moved up on Mark.

It was now a battle up front between McKnight, struggling with no power steering, and Perley, whose 11 was running a little hot. Finally on lap 29 McKnight slipped a little out of turn two and Perley was underneath like a shot, disappearing into the sunset.

The last 20 laps sped by as Perley dove in and out of traffic and McKnight manhandled his machine. Sammut held on to third as Shullick had moved into fourth. Magner lost the battle for fifth when Summers took the spot in the last laps.

Shullick, coming off his first-ever Oswego Speedway win, indicated that "Chris Perley was gone. He was faster than everybody. I think we had a second place car but at the start of the race there was a spin out and Johnny Benson Jr. ran into the back of me and spun me out. I had to go to the back of the pack and had to pass a whole bunch of cars to finish fourth."

Summers, a modified competitor who is gaining interest in the supers, just couldn’t keep his head straight, literally. "We had a good car," said Robbie. "I just had some problems trying to keep the helmet on my head. The wind was buffeting it so much, it was moving up and down because you go so fast. It’s something I just have to get used to with these cars. Howie and the whole crew gave me a great car and we’ll take the fifth place and go on to M40."

Magner, Moe Lilje, Dave Sanborn, Vern Romanoski and Bobby Haynes Jr. finished up the top ten.

SUMMARY ISMA-WIRTGEN EVENT #2

Toledo Speedway, June 15

Time Trials. Chris Perley 13.116 (track record)

Moe Lilje, Nokie Fornoro, Dave Shullick Jr., Rick Wentworth, Johnny Benson Jr., Mike Lichty, Jeff Holbrook, Rob Summers, Bobby Magner, Bob Dawson and McKnight, top 12 quickest. Inverted to heats

Heat 1: Dave McKnight, Rob Summers, Dave Trytek, Rick Wentworth, Dave Sanborn, Larry Lehnert, Bobby Haynes, Nokie Fornoro (blown motor)

Heat 2: Jeff Holbrook (new Allegresso-built 35), Moe Lilje, Johnny Benson Jr., Mark Sammut, Vern Romanoski. Ryan Litt, John Torrese, Bob Dawson

Heat 3: Bob Magner, Moe Lilje, Mike Lichty, Chris Perley, Gene Lee Gibson, Dave Mumaw, Terry Gibson, Doug Didero (driveline).

All American Coach 50: 1. Chris Perley (11), 2. Dave McKnight (94), 3. Mark Sammut (78), 4. Dave Shullick Jr. (49), 5. Rob Summers (97), 6. Bobby Magner (40), 7. Moe Lilje (19), 8. Dave Sanborn (24), 9. Vern Romanoski (5), 10. Bobby Haynes Jr. (44), 11. Terry Gibson (2), 12. Johnny Torrese (91), 13. Gene Lee Gibson (0), 14. Dave Mumaw (14), 15. Mike Lichty (84), 16. Dave Trytek (70), 17. Jeff Holbrook (35), 18. Johnny Benson Jr. (74), 19. Larry Lehnert (92), 20. Rick Wentworth (10), 21. Burdette Bennett (63), 22. Eric Torrese (99), 23. Doug Didero (61), 24. Ryan Little (07).