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Sunday, January 31, 2016

My thoughts on a 2016 racing season to come....The 2016 racing schedule edition!!!!

Hello folks, 2016 is about to get started in Central PA as Lincoln Speedway is less than a month away from kicking off the racing season. Finally all the race tracks have released their schedules (still have no idea what takes them so darn long) so I wanted to take a look at them and give my thoughts and opinions on that is getting ready to begin. I'm going to take a look at the number of races we have in Central PA for the top 4 sprint car classes that I am going to try and keep up with the 410's, 358's, 360's and the Super Sportsman. I'm also going to make a fantasy schedule out of all the local race tracks schedules and let you all know what I think are the best races to attend each week from start to finish, and for that matter where I would be if I was rich and didn't have to worry about a racing budget and a family.

First off lets look at the number of races we have in Central PA. Williams Grove Speedway tops all the local race tracks with 33 scheduled 410 races in 2016. They have 1 mid week show on June 22nd which is a Super DIRT car Series race along with the 360 sprinters. Speaking of 360's they will see action at the track 5 times in 2016 along with 11 358 races and 2 sportsman shows.

Port Royal has 29 410 races on their 2016 schedule along with 2 360 races.

Lincoln Speedway host the 410's 27 times in 2016 the 358 sprinters 20 times and 4 Super Sportsman shows. They host 3 mid week races 1 being the World Of Outlaws and then USAC and midget series as well.

Susquehanna Speedway will host the Super Sportsman 19 times in 2016 along with 6 410 shows, 4 358 races and 1 358/360 challenge race.

Selinsgrove Speedway will have the 360 division for 17 races in 2016 along with 5 410 races and 4 special Sunday night races.  The big thing that stood out to me when looking at their schedule is they have 7 off weeks. I'll get to that in a few minutes.

Trail Way Speedway will host the 358's 16 times in 2016 along with a special 410 race on a Sunday night.

Now looking at the numbers that means the 410's have 101 total races between the 6 tracks. That's not including Speedweek or other special races that are scheduled at other race tracks around Central PA. The 358 division will run 51 times, the 360's will race 25 times as do the Super Sportsman (if my math is correct). 

Now I might be in the minority here but I think that's way to many races for the top 2 divisions here in Central PA. Yeah I know Central PA is known for giving race teams over a 100 races a season for race teams to run, and that is what made Central PA what it is today. I believe that should be a thing of the past. Sprint car racing is not like it was 20 or 30 years ago. It cost way to much money to race a sprint car in 2016 and my opinion is the tracks should give the teams more opportunities to stop, relax, catch their breath, and try and re group as the season goes along. Yeah I can hear you all right now saying "Nobody makes the race teams run every week" and I agree and wish more race teams would stay home once in a while and re charge their batteries, but then if they do we have race fans complaining because some tracks get "screwed" by never getting full fields and drivers who are scared to run at certain race tracks. If race tracks wouldn't try and schedule a race every night then maybe race teams could run more "special" shows at different race tracks. 

The second thing I know I'm in the minority with is I think the season is way to long. Why do we have to start the racing season in the middle of winter? Do we really need to kick off the season in February? Lincoln Speedway starts on Feb 27th and the last race of the season is on November 5th. Guess what folks that's 37 straight weeks of racing. 37 out of 52 weeks. Do we really need that much? I tend to get burned out and I know some track people who get the shits of going all the time as well.  Some people and race teams could use a week off now and again, to take their family's on vacation or to just hangout at home. Yes I know we get rain outs here and their and trust me some race teams absolutely love seeing rain in the forecast. Gives them a chance to chill out and relax for a night. Maybe catch a movie or actually spend a Friday or Saturday night with their kids at home. Something some drivers just don't get to do all that often. Remember folks some of our heroes are parents to. I think the season shouldn't kick off till the end of March beginning of April and run till November maybe the last race being on Thanksgiving weekend. The day races we sit through at the beginning of the season when the temps barely get to 45 degrees could be moved to November when It's still warm out during the day. The average temperature in November is 49 degrees while in February it's 41 degrees. Thats a big difference when it's freezing and windy. Extra added benefit of changing the schedule would be less wear and tear on equipment. The freezing cold temps do not help the motors out a whole lot. I think less races equals better car counts. Seems to be working for the 358 division for which I am glad to see less races on the schedule again in 2016.

Fantasy schedule time....

Going over the schedules for all 6 local race tracks I have decided to share my idea on where I think the best or biggest race of the night will be, and where if I had no job and unlimited funds I would be every week. Now keep in mind I like to go to every track in Central PA, and don't care if it's 410's, 358's, 360's or Super Sportsman headlining the show. If it's a special show or a bigger paying show or just a darn good promotion I would be there. So without further ado here is my fantasy schedule for 2016...

 Feb 27th Lincoln Speedway Opening Day
March 5th Lincoln Speedway
March 12th Lincoln Speedway then off to Port Royal for their Opening Day
March 18th Opening night at Williams Grove Speedway
March 19th Selinsgrove Speedway
March 25th Williams Grove 
March 26th Lincoln Speedway
April 1st Williams Grove Speedway
April 2nd Susquehanna Speedway
April 8th  Trail Way Speedway 358 opener
April 9th Port Royal $1 Hot Dog Night
April 10th Susquehanna Speedway 410/358 double header
April 15th Williams Grove Speedway 
April 16th Selinsgrove Speedway Spring Showdown for 360's
April 22nd Trail Way Speedway
April 23rd Port Royal Keith Kauffman Classic
April 29th Williams Grove Speedway 410's and 360's
April 30th Selinsgrove Speedway Jack Gunn Memorial 
May 6th Williams Grove Speedway 410/358 double header
May 7th Lincoln Speedway
May 8th Susquehanna Speedway Kevin Gobrecht Classic
May 13th Williams Grove Speedway
May 14th Port Royal
May 20th Trail Way Speedway 358 spring championship
May 21st Williams Grove Speedway World of Outlaws
May 27th Trail Way Speedway Armed Forces Appreciation Night
May 28th Susquehanna Speedway $2,000 to win
May 29th Port Royal Speedway 410/360 YCRC night
June 3rd Williams Grove Speedway 410/360 YCRC night
June 4th Lincoln Speedway 410/358 YCRC Night
June 8th USAC 
June 10th Williams Grove Speedway USAC Silver Crown 100
June 11th Lincoln Speedway Dirt Classic Showcase
June 12th Susquehanna Speedway USAC
June 17th Williams Grove Speedway 410's/ 358 Nouse Summer Shootout race
June 18th Selinsgrove Speedway Joe Whitcomb Memorial
June 24th Williams Grove Speedway Speedweek
June 25th Lincoln Speedway Speedweek
July 1st Trail Way Speedway
July 2nd Lincoln Speedway 358 Nouse Summer Shootout
July 3rd Selinsgrove Speedway Speedweek
July 8th Williams Grove Speedway
July 9th Port Royal Speedway
July 10th Trail Way Speedway 410's
July 15th Williams Grove Speedway
July 16th Port Royal Speedway
July 22nd Trail Way Speedway
July 23rd Williams Grove Speedway
July 29th Trail Way Speedway Kids race car rides
July 30th Selinsgrove Speedway Mach 1 Chassis National Open
Aug 5th Williams Grove Speedway 
Aug 6th Port Royal Speedway 
Aug 12th Williams Grove Speedway
Aug 13th Lincoln Speedway National Fallen Firefighters Night
Aug 14th Susquehanna Speedway USAC Midgets
Aug 19th Trail Way Speedway Trone Outdoor Championship
Aug 20th Lincoln Speedway ASCoc
Aug 21st Susquehanna Speedway
Aug 26th Williams Grove Speedway
Aug 27th Lincoln Speedway
Sept 2nd Williams Grove 
Sept 3rd Lincoln Speedway
Sept 4th Selinsgrove Speedway Outlaw Late Models
Sept 5th Port Royal Speedway
Sept 9th Port Royal Speedway
Sept 10th Susquehanna Speedway Sportsman 100
Sept 16th Williams Grove Speedway
Sept 17th Selinsgrove Speedway Jim Nace Memorial
Sept 23rd Williams Grove Speedway
Sept 24th Lincoln Speedway Dirt Classic
Sept 29th 30th and Oct 1st Williams Grove Speedway Natty Open
Oct 7th Williams Grove Speedway
Oct 8th Susquehanna Speedway $2,000 to win Super Sportsman event
Oct 15th Port Royal Speedway Outlaws
Oct 22nd Port Royal Speedway twin 30's fo4 410's and 350's
Oct 29th Susquehanna Speedway Candy Bowl
Nov 5th Susquehanna Speedway 

Thats 78 freaking races folks. Just looking at that list makes me wonder how many people could actually pull off a schedule like that? I know I could never do it. I would hate racing by June if I ever tried that. But hey sounds like a great experiment that if I hit the powerball I might just try, only because it would make for an interesting article lol.

Well thats it for today. Hope you all have a great week and I will see everyone Saturday in York for the Racing Extravaganza that is this coming weekend.

©Bill McIntyre and Central PA Racing Scene 2016



Sunday, January 10, 2016

Lasoski Victorious in Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown Finale, Stewart Claims Event Title

(Photo by Matt Hill)
Inside Line Promotions – SOMERTON, Ariz. (Jan. 9, 2016) – Two faces familiar to Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown Victory Lane stood atop the podium on Saturday during the 2nd edition of the marquee event at Cocopah Speedway.
Danny Lasoski, who captured the inaugural title in 2015, led the final 29 laps of the finale to score his first victory of the year. Meanwhile, Shane Stewart, who won back-to-back features entering Saturday, charged from 19th to seventh place to garner the 2016 championship by eight points over Dale Blaney.
“We didn’t really change a whole lot from our package that we had last year,” Stewart said. “The main thing was we came here and raced. We got ourselves back in the groove. I think this will help us going to Florida (next month to start the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series season).”
The feature began with Lasoski quickly advancing to second place from his fourth starting position. He then passed Greg Hodnett, who led the first lap, with a slide job entering turn three on Lap 2.
The lone caution of the race came on Lap 6 as polesitter Jason Johnson, who was running third, spun exiting turn two. Lasoski quickly built a sizable advantage following the restart and Daryn Pittman wasted little time passing Hodnett for the runner-up position.
Traffic came into play on Lap 11 and remained heavy until the checkered flag. With Lasoski mired behind traffic on the bottom groove, Pittman inched to the top of the track in turns three and four and reeled in the leader – a scene eerily similar to Friday night, when Stewart used a late-race pass by powering around the top groove to steal the victory from Lasoski.
“I wasn’t going to let that happen twice,” Lasoski said. “I knew what I did last night was completely driver error. We had a really good race car tonight. Hopefully we can come back next year.”
Pittman closed within a car length of Lasoski on multiple occasions, but was unable to make a bid for the lead. Pittman settled for a second-place finish, which was his best result of the Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown.
“We made some changes there for the feature that, man, made all the difference in the world,” said Pittman, who placed third in the event standings. “I was really good on the top in (turns) three and four and then it got really clean. It started to rubber a little on the bottom in (turn) three and four. If it hadn’t done that I thought we had a shot at it, especially in traffic.”
Hodnett rounded out the podium, which wrapped up a fourth-place result in the standings.
“We put different bars, different shocks on it for the feature and just weren’t good enough,” he said. “The other guys were way better. We’re fortunate to come out of here with another top three.”
While the battle up front was intense, Stewart’s charge through the field was impressive. His Larson Marks Racing team was forced to change an engine following a qualifier and Stewart narrowly made it onto the track in time for a B Main, where a runner-up finish transferred him into the 19th starting position for the main event.
“We struggled a little bit,” he said. “Our team is really good. They just put their heads down when we have a little bit of an issue and just get through it.”
Stewart advanced inside the top 10 by Lap 11 of the feature and he gained three more positions during the second half of the feature. That kept him in the lead of the championship standings, which paid $4,000 to win thanks to Cometic Gasket, JE Pistons and K1 Technologies.
Blaney, Pittman, Hodnett and Lasoski, who, respectively, placed second through fifth in the event standings, each received $1,500.
Blaney finished fourth in Saturday’s main event with NASCAR star Kasey Kahne in fifth.
Logan Schuchart was sixth with Stewart, Roger Crockett, Trey Starks and Dominic Scelzi rounding out the top 10, respectively.
Logan Forler, Terry McCarl, Lasoski, Jason Solwold and Johnson each won a heat race with Joey Saldana, Kahne, Starks, Bill Balog and Bud Kaeding claiming a qualifier. Rico Abreu and Aaron Reutzel were triumphant in the twin B Mains.
Saturday’s event began with a special announcement as Henry Van Dam received the Big Al Sportsmanship Award, which was established for this year’s event in honor of Al Tschider. Tschider founded the Big Al Kids & Motorsports Foundation, which was created to provide motor sports trips and racing opportunities for children battling life-threatening conditions and illnesses, and he passed away suddenly last August.
“He was able to do a lot of special things for kids that were just amazing,” Van Dam said. “To win the award is awesome because I know how much effort he put into the foundation and to be a part of that is huge.”
NOTES: Greg Hodnett was awarded $1,000 by Here 2 Wire, Inc., for earning the most passing points throughout the event. … Shark Racing (drivers Logan Schuchart and Jacob Allen) garnered $500 from Here 2 Wire, Inc., for the long haul award. … Shane Stewart was awarded a $250 gift card from SpeedMart and a $75 certificate from TiLUBE Motorsport Lubricants for being the Hard Charger Award winner. … Jacob Allen received $150 from Ron’s Lawn Service in Sharpsville, Pa., for being the first non-qualifier in the first B Main. … Ryan Smith and Paul McMahan captured $100 each from Carlile Transportation Heavy Haul Division in Anchorage, Alaska, and Tacoma, Wash., for placing sixth in a B Main. … Logan Forler earned a $50 certificate from TiLUBE Motorsport Lubricants for being the first non-qualifier in the second B Main. … Aaron Reutzel’s car owner Shane Liebig won a $150 gift card to Outback Steakhouse in the SpeedMart fuel draw.
JAN. 9 RESULTS –
Heat Race 1 (8 laps): 1. 2l-Logan Forler (1); 2. 121-Greg Hodnett (6); 3. 6g-Bryan Gossel (2); 4. 88n-D.J. Netto (7); 5. 11c-Roger Crockett (8); 6. 21-Robbie Price (3); 7. 1m-Jim Moughan Jr. (4); 8. 7-Paul McMahan (5).
Heat Race 2 (8 laps): 1. 24-Terry McCarl (2); 2. 17a-Austin McCarl (3); 3. 97-Parker Price-Miller (1); 4. 68-Chase Johnson (4); 5. 83-Joey Saldana (5); 6. 3c-Craig Dollansky (8); 7. 7t-Tasker Phillips (6); 8. 4s-Michael Kofoid (7).
Heat Race 3 (8 laps): 1. 33-Danny Lasoski (1); 2. 9k-Daryn Pittman (2); 3. 2b-Dale Blaney (5); 4. 4-Kasey Kahne (3); 5. 49-Tanner Thorson (7); 6. 24r-Rico Abreu (8); 7. 5h-Willie Croft (6); 8. 99-Skylar Gee (4).
Heat Race 4 (8 laps): 1. 18-Jason Solwold (2); 2. 55-Aaron Reutzel (3); 3. 41s-Dominic Scelzi (1); 4. 1s-Logan Schuchart (6); 5. 9-Ryan Smith (4); 6. 11-Steve Kinser (5); 7. 26-Bud Kaeding (8); 8. 33v-Henry Van Dam (7).
Heat Race 5 (8 laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson (2); 2. 2-Shane Stewart (4); 3. 1g-Christopher Bell (1); 4. 55t-Trey Starks (3); 5. 1a-Jacob Allen (8); 6. 17b-Bill Balog (5); 7. 21b-Brian Brown (7); 8. 2c-Wayne Johnson (6).
Qualifier 1 (10 laps): 1. 83-Joey Saldana (1); 2. 68-Chase Johnson (2); 3. 6g-Bryan Gossel (3); 4. 88n-D.J. Netto (4); 5. 121-Greg Hodnett (6); 6. 2l-Logan Forler (5); 7. 21-Robbie Price (7); 8. 4s-Michael Kofoid (8).
Qualifier 2 (10 laps): 1. 4-Kasey Kahne (2); 2. 9-Ryan Smith (1); 3. 9k-Daryn Pittman (4); 4. 33-Danny Lasoski (5); 5. 24-Terry McCarl (6); 6. 97-Parker Price-Miller (3); 7. 21b-Brian Brown (7); 8. 33v-Henry Van Dam (8).
Qualifier 3 (10 laps): 1. 55t-Trey Starks (2); 2. 41s-Dominic Scelzi (3); 3. 1s-Logan Schuchart (4); 4. 17a-Austin McCarl (5); 5. 7t-Tasker Phillips (7); 6. 18-Jason Solwold (6); 7. 2c-Wayne Johnson (8); 8. 11-Steve Kinser (DNS).
Qualifier 4 (10 laps): 1. 17b-Bill Balog (1); 2. 3c-Craig Dollansky (2); 3. 11c-Roger Crockett (4); 4. 41-Jason Johnson (6); 5. 1g-Christopher Bell (3); 6. 55-Aaron Reutzel (5); 7. 7-Paul McMahan (8); 8. 5h-Willie Croft (7).
Qualifier 5 (10 laps): 1. 26-Bud Kaeding (1); 2. 24r-Rico Abreu (2); 3. 49-Tanner Thorson (3); 4. 1b-Dale Blaney (5); 5. 1a-Jacob Allen (4); 6. 2-Shane Stewart (6); 7. 1m-Jim Moughan Jr. (7); 8. 99-Skylar Gee (8).
B Main 1 (15 laps/4 transfer): 1. 24r-Rico Abreu (2); 2. 2-Shane Stewart (3); 3. 18-Jason Solwold (1); 4. 17b-Bill Balog (4); 5. 1a-Jacob Allen (6); 6. 9-Ryan Smith (5); 7. 97-Parker Price-Miller (7); 8. 21-Robbie Price (8); 9. 4s-Michael Kofoid (11); 10. 99-Skylar Gee (12); 11. 1m-Jim Moughan Jr. (9); 12. 2c-Wayne Johnson (10).
B Main 2 (15 laps/4 transfer): 1. 55-Aaron Reutzel (5); 2. 21b-Brian Brown (8); 3. 1g-Christopher Bell (6); 4. 7t-Tasker Phillips (7); 5. 2l-Logan Forler (3); 6. 7-Paul McMahan (9); 7. 33v-Henry Van Dam (11); 8. 26-Bud Kaeding (4); 9. 3c-Craig Dollansky (1); 10. 49-Tanner Thorson (2); 11. 5h-Willie Croft (DNS); 12. 11-Steve Kinser (DNS).
A Main (30 laps): 1. 33-Danny Lasoski (4); 2. 9k-Daryn Pittman (3); 3. 121-Greg Hodnett (2); 4. 1b-Dale Blaney (9); 5. 4-Kasey Kahne (5); 6. 1s-Logan Schuchart (8); 7. 2-Shane Stewart (19); 8. 11c-Roger Crockett (10); 9. 55t-Trey Starks (6); 10. 41s-Dominic Scelzi (12); 11. 83-Joey Saldana (14); 12. 21b-Brian Brown (20); 13. 24-Terry McCarl (7); 14. 24r-Rico Abreu (17); 15. 17a-Austin McCarl (11); 16. 1g-Christopher Bell (22); 17. 68-Chase Johnson (15); 18. 88n-D.J. Netto (13); 19. 55-Aaron Reutzel (18); 20. 18-Jason Solwold (21); 21. 7t-Tasker Phillips (24); 22. 17b-Bill Balog (23); 23. 6g-Bryan Gossel (16); 24. 41-Jason Johnson (1).
(Top 30 in passing and finishing points in the heat races were inverted in the qualifiers. The top 16 in passing and finishing points following the qualifiers locked into the A Main.)
UNOFFICIAL FINAL POINTS –
.1. 2-Shane Stewart 920; 2. 1b-Dale Blaney 912; 3. 9k-Daryn Pittman 887; T4. 121-Greg Hodnett 864; T4. 33-Danny Lasoski 864; 6. 83-Joey Saldana 852; 7. 24-Terry McCarl 803; 8. 88n-D.J. Netto 777; 9. 1g-Christopher Bell 767; 10. 21b-Brian Brown 738; 11. 3c-Craig Dollansky 730; 12. 24r-Rico Abreu 725; 13. 9-Ryan Smith 716; 14. 7-Paul McMahan 714; T15. 41-Jason Johnson 702; T15. 7t-Tasker Phillips 702; 17. 18-Jason Solwold 685; 18. 17a-Austin McCarl 672; 19. 11c-Roger Crockett 671; 20. 49-Tanner Thorson 666; 21. 2l-Logan Forler 664; 22. 68-Chase Johnson 642; 23. 55-Aaron Reutzel 626; 24. 21-Robbie Price 614; 25. 2c-Wayne Johnson 597; 26. 33v-Henry Van Dam 584; 27. 11-Steve Kinser 578; 28. 4s-Michael Kofoid 570; 29. 1a-Jacob Allen 562; 30. 57-Kyle Larson 561; 31. 99-Skylar Gee 554; 32. 17b-Bill Balog 552; 33. 55t-Trey Starks 550; 34. 41s-Dominic Scelzi 537; 35. 1s-Logan Schuchart 500; 36. 97-Parker Price-Miller 499; 37. 6g-Bryan Gossel 485; 38. 26-Bud Kaeding 448; 39. 5h-Willie Croft 429; 40. 23-Seth Bergman 420; 41. 15h-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 392; 42. 81w-Danny Wood 385; 43. 1m-Jim Moughan Jr. 358; 44. 45x-Johnny Herrera 346; 45. 17w-Bryan Clauson 321; 46. 4-Kasey Kahne 294; 47. 1-Justin Henderson 202; 48. 9r-Reece Goetz 2.
2016 WINTER HEAT SPRINT CAR SHOWDOWN –
Dates: Jan. 1-2, Jan. 5 and Jan. 8-9, 2016
Track: Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz.
Prize: $12,000-to-win, $1,000-to-start each night (Jan. 1-2, 8-9); $5,000-to-win (Jan. 5); approximately $250,000 total prize money
Type: 410ci sprint cars
MEDIA LINKS –
TICKETS –
General admission tickets for the event are on sale by visiting http://www.CocopahWinterHeat.com. Kids 12 and under get in free. There is a discount for military members and senior citizens.
PAY-PER-VIEW –
Speed Shift TV will be broadcasting live Pay-Per-View video of the 2nd annual Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown for only $24.95 per night. Also, a 20-percent discount is available for those who purchase all five nights. Visit http://www.SpeedShiftTV.com/WinterHeat for more information.
THE EVENT –
The 2nd annual Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown will showcase the top sprint car drivers in the world in sunny Southwest Arizona during the first two weeks of January in 2016. The four weekend races pay $12,000 to the winner and at least $1,000 to every driver who advances to the main event with the midweek show paying $5,000 to win.
POINTS FUND –
The 2nd annual Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown features a $10,000 points fund thanks to Cometic Gasket, JE Pistons and K1 Technologies. The driver who garners the most overall points throughout all five races receives $4,000 for winning the championship with drivers finishing second through fifth each recording a $1,500 bonus.
COCOPAH SPEEDWAY –
Cocopah Speedway is a semi-banked, 3/8-mile dirt track located in Somerton, Ariz. It has a concrete wall perimeter, television-quality lighting and the pits are located outside turns three and four. There is also dry camping free of charge on the property. For more information, visithttp://www.CocopahSpeedway.com.

Saturday, January 09, 2016

Stewart Goes Back to Back at Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown Following Friday Win

(Photo by Matt Hill)
Inside Line Promotions – SOMERTON, Ariz. (Jan. 8, 2016) – Shane Stewart became the first back-to-back feature winner in Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown history on Friday at Cocopah Speedway.
Stewart passed defending event champion Danny Lasoski for the lead in turns three and four with five laps remaining to claim the $12,000 top prize as well as the lead in the championship standings heading into Saturday’s event finale, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. (Mountain).
“I told myself to be patient getting into (turn) three because that was where I was going to pass him,” said Stewart, who has earned three straight top-two finishes at the marquee event. “He was a little bit better than I was in (turns) one and two. I just needed him to get bottled up behind a lapped car, which is kind of what happened. We were able to get a good run going into (turn) three and get by him coming off of (turn) four.”
The 30-lap feature began with a caution on the opening lap for D.J. Netto, who broke a front end and spun into the infield. Lasoski, who garnered the pole position after earning the most combined points during heat race and qualifier competition, rocketed into the lead on the complete restart and he built a sizeable advantage by the time he entered traffic on Lap 8.
Stewart powered into fourth place on that lap and into third on Lap 12. He drove into the runner-up position on Lap 13 and began to chase Lasoski, who owned nearly a straightaway advantage. While Lasoski and most of the drivers favored the bottom lane, Stewart hustled to the top groove and reeled in Lasoski, who struggled for several circuits to lap Tasker Phillips.
Lasoski and Stewart were nose to tail on Lap 19, but it took several laps for Stewart’s lane to propel him into the top spot. With five laps remaining Stewart made the race-winning pass by driving around Lasoski in turns three and four.
“We plain and simple got beat,” Lasoski said. “That No. 2 car has been rolling all week and they just caught me in lapped traffic. I couldn’t get by a lapped car and he did what he had to do. He drove by me.”
The final caution came with four laps remaining as Bud Kaeding, who was running 10th, stopped in turn three. Stewart got a clean restart and cruised to his second triumph in the past three nights.
“We have a great race car,” he said. “We’ve got a great team. It’s just a pleasure to drive this thing. You just can’t ever count us out. For us to pass the teams that we did and the drivers that we did and pick up another win is really special for me, special for my guys and makes all their hard work worth all the effort.”
Dale Blaney, who ranks second in the event standings – 18 points behind Stewart – rounded out the podium after maneuvering from fifth to third place on the frontstretch with 10 laps remaining.
“You could move around a little bit,” he said. “I looked up and there set Shane and there set Danny right in front of me. We were pretty good. We weren’t balanced the best. To come out of here with a third is awesome.”
Brian Brown posted a fourth-place result with Greg Hodnett ending fifth.
Chirstopher Bell, Daryn Pittman, Ryan Smith, Joey Saldana and Paul McMahan rounded out the top 10, respectively.
Danny Wood, Bell, Smith, Pittman and Lasoski each won a heat race with Saldana, Terry McCarl, Tanner Thorson, Kaeding and Logan Schuchart each capturing a qualifier. Aaron Reutzel and Rico Abreu claimed the B Mains.
NOTES: Shane Stewart was awarded a $250 gift card from SpeedMart and a $75 certificate from TiLUBE Motorsport Lubricants for being the Hard Charger Award winner. … Parker Price-Miller received $150 from Ron’s Lawn Service in Sharpsville, Pa., for being the first non-qualifier in the first B Main. … Craig Dollansky and Logan Forler captured $100 each from Carlile Transportation Heavy Haul Division in Anchorage, Alaska, for placing sixth in a B Main. … Henry Van Dam earned a $50 certificate from TiLUBE Motorsport Lubricants for being the first non-qualifier in the second B Main.
JAN. 8 RESULTS –
Heat Race 1 (8 laps): 1. 81w-Danny Wood (2); 2. 7t-Tasker Phillips (1); 3. 7-Paul McMahan (5); 4. 18-Jason Solwold (6); 5. 49-Tanner Thorson (3); 6. 41s-Dominic Scelzi (8); 7. 17a-Austin McCarl (7); 8. 99-Skylar Gee (9); 9. 4-Kasey Kahne (DQ).
Heat Race 2 (8 laps): 1. 1g-Christopher Bell (3); 2. 33v-Henry Van Dam (4); 3. 1a-Jacob Allen (6); 4. 21-Robbie Price (2): 5. 55t-Trey Starks (7); 6. 26-Bud Kaeding (8); 7. 1m-Jim Moughan Jr. (5); 8. 68-Chase Johnson (9); 9. 15h-Sam Hafertepe Jr. (1).
Heat Race 3 (8 laps): 1. 9-Ryan Smith (1); 2. 21b-Brian Brown (5); 3. 24-Rico Abreu (4); 4. 1b-Dale Blaney (9); 5. 11c-Roger Crockett (8); 6. 2l-Logan Forler (6); 7. 2c-Wayne Johnson (7); 8. 45x-Johnny Herrera (2); 9. 11-Steve Kinser (DNS).
Heat Race 4 (8 laps): 1. 9k-Daryn Pittman (2); 2. 121-Greg Hodnett (3); 3. 2-Shane Stewart (5); 4. 17b-Bill Balog (1); 5. 24-Terry McCarl (4); 6. 83-Joey Saldana (9); 7. 88n-D.J. Netto (7); 8. 4s-Michael Kofoid (6); 9. 41-Jason Johnson (8).
Heat Race 5 (8 laps): 1. 33-Danny Lasoski (3); 2. 5h-Willie Croft (2); 3. 55-Aaron Reutzel (4); 4. 17w-Bryan Clauson (5); 5. 97-Parker Price-Miller (1); 6. 1s-Logan Schuchart (8); 7. 3c-Craig Dollansky (7); 8. 6g-Bryan Gossel (6).
Qualifier 1 (10 laps): 1. 83-Joey Saldana (2); 2. 7-Paul McMahan (4); 3. 1b-Dale Blaney (5); 4. 17b-Bill Balog (1); 5. 55-Aaron Reutzel (3); 6. 1g-Christopher Bell (6); 7. 17a-Austin McCarl (7); 8. 68-Chase Johnson (8); 9. 45x-Johnny Herrera (DNS).
Qualifier 2 (10 laps): 1. 24-Terry McCarl (1); 2. 2-Shane Stewart (4); 3. 33-Danny Lasoski (6); 4. 21-Robbie Price (2); 5. 2c-Wayne Johnson (7); 6. 4-Kasey Kahne (9); 7. 1m-Jim Moughan Jr. (8); 8. 33v-Henry Van Dam (5); 9. 18-Jason Solwold (3).
Qualifier 3 (10 laps): 1. 49-Tanner Thorson (1); 2. 11c-Roger Crockett (3); 3. 21b-Brian Brown (6); 4. 5h-Willie Croft (4); 5. 88n-D.J. Netto (7); 6. 4s-Michael Kofoid (8); 7. 1a-Jacob Allen (5); 8. 11-Steve Kinser (9); 9. 41s-Dominic Scelzi (2).
Qualifier 4 (10 laps): 1. 26-Bud Kaeding (2); 2. 9-Ryan Smith (5); 3. 97-Parker Price-Miller (1); 4. 17w-Bryan Clauson (3); 5. 3c-Craig Dollansky (7); 6. 7t-Tasker Phillips (4); 7. 6g-Bryan Gossel (8); 8. 81w-Danny Wood (DNS). 9. 15h-Sam Hafertepe Jr. (DNS).
Qualifier 5 (10 laps): 1. 1s-Logan Schuchart (2); 2. 121-Greg Hodnett (5); 3. 2l-Logan Forler (1); 4. 55t-Trey Starks (3); 5. 9k-Daryn Pittman (6); 6. 24r-Rico Abreu (4); 7. 41-Jason Johnson (8); 8. 99-Skylar Gee (7).
B Main 1 (15 laps/4 transfer): 1. 55-Aaron Reutzel (1); 2. 7t-Tasker Phillips (3); 3. 55t-Trey Starks (2); 4. 21-Robbie Price (4); 5. 97-Parker Price-Miller (5); 6. 3c-Craig Dollansky (7); 7. 2c-Wayne Johnson (6); 8. 41-Jason Johnson (12); 9. 68-Chase Johnson (9); 10. 4-Kasey Kahne (10); 11. 41s-Dominic Scelzi (11); 12. 11-Steve Kinser (13); 13. 18-Jason Solwold (DNS).
B Main 2 (15 laps/4 transfer): 1. 24r-Rico Abreu (3); 2. 1a-Jacob Allen (2); 3. 17w-Bryan Clauson (1); 4. 88n-D.J. Netto (6); 5. 33v-Henry Van Dam (4); 6. 2l-Logan Forler (5); 7. 17a-Austin McCarl (7); 8. 4s-Michael Kofoid (8); 9. 99-Skylar Gee (11); 10. 1m-Jim Moughan Jr. (9); 11. 17b-Bill Balog (DNS); 12. 6g-Bryan Gossel (DNS); 13. 15h-Sam Hafertepe Jr. (DNS).
A Main (30 laps): 1. 2-Shane Stewart (7); 2. 33-Danny Lasoski (1); 3. 1b-Dale Blaney (5); 4. 21b-Brian Brown (2); 5. 121-Greg Hodnett (4); 6. 1g-Christopher Bell (8); 7. 9k-Daryn Pittman (11); 8. 9-Ryan Smith (3); 9. 83-Joey Saldana (9); 10. 7-Paul McMahan (6); 11. 49-Tanner Thorson (16); 12. 24-Terry McCarl (15); 13. 11c-Roger Crockett (10); 14. 1s-Logan Schuchart (11); 15. 5h-Willie Croft (14); 16. 17w-Bryan Clauson (22); 17. 24r-Rico Abreu (18); 18. 55t-Trey Starks (21); 19. 7t-Tasker Phillips (19); 20. 21-Robbie Price (23); 21. 55-Aaron Reutzel (17); 22. 26-Bud Kaeding (12); 23. 1a-Jacob Allen (20); 24. 88n-D.J. Netto (24).
(Top 30 in passing and finishing points in the heat races were inverted in the qualifiers. The top 16 in passing and finishing points following the qualifiers locked into the A Main.)
UNOFFICIAL POINTS AFTER NIGHT 4 –
.1. 2-Shane Stewart 747; 2. 1b-Dale Blaney 729; 3. 9k-Daryn Pittman 695; 4. 83-Joey Saldana 688; 5. 121-Greg Hodnett 678; 6. 33-Danny Lasoski 667; 7. 24-Terry McCarl 643; 8. 88n-D.J. Netto 629; 9. 1g-Christopher Bell 615; 10. 3c-Craig Dollansky 611; 11. 7-Paul McMahan 594; 12. 9-Ryan Smith 588; 13. 21b-Brian Brown 584; 14. 11-Steve Kinser 573; 15. 24r-Rico Abreu 569; 16. 7t-Tasker Phillips 564; 17. 41-Jason Johnson 563; 18. 57-Kyle Larson 561; 19. 49-Tanner Thorson 545; 20. 18-Jason Solwold 540; 21. 2l-Logan Forler 534; 22. 17a-Austin McCarl 516; 23. 11c-Roger Crockett 501; 24. 21-Robbie Price 496; 25. 68-Chase Johnson 490; 26. 2c-Wayne Johnson 489; 27. 55-Aaron Reutzel 480; 28. 33v-Henry Van Dam 467; 29. 4s-Michael Kofoid 457; 30. 99-Skylar Gee 443; 31. 1a-Jacob Allen 435; 32. 5h-Willie Croft 422; 33. 23-Seth Bergman 420; 34. 17b-Bill Balog 411; 35. 15h-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 392; 36. 81w-Danny Wood 385; 37. 55t-Trey Starks 380; 38. 97-Parker Price-Miller 375; 39. 41s-Dominic Scelzi 370; 40. 45x-Johnny Herrera 346; 41. 6g-Bryan Gossel 345; 42. 26-Bud Kaeding 325; 43. 1s-Logan Schuchart 323; 44. 17w-Bryan Clauson 321; 45. 1m-Jim Moughan Jr. 247; 46. 1-Justin Henderson 202; 47. 4-Kasey Kahne 112; 48. 9r-Reece Goetz 2.
2016 WINTER HEAT SPRINT CAR SHOWDOWN –
Dates: Jan. 1-2, Jan. 5 and Jan. 8-9, 2016
Track: Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz.
Prize: $12,000-to-win, $1,000-to-start each night (Jan. 1-2, 8-9); $5,000-to-win (Jan. 5); approximately $250,000 total prize money
Type: 410ci sprint cars
MEDIA LINKS –
TICKETS –
General admission tickets for the event are on sale by visiting http://www.CocopahWinterHeat.com. Kids 12 and under get in free. There is a discount for military members and senior citizens.
PAY-PER-VIEW –
Speed Shift TV will be broadcasting live Pay-Per-View video of the 2nd annual Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown for only $24.95 per night. Also, a 20-percent discount is available for those who purchase all five nights. Visit http://www.SpeedShiftTV.com/WinterHeat for more information.
THE EVENT –
The 2nd annual Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown will showcase the top sprint car drivers in the world in sunny Southwest Arizona during the first two weeks of January in 2016. The four weekend races pay $12,000 to the winner and at least $1,000 to every driver who advances to the main event with the midweek show paying $5,000 to win.
POINTS FUND –
The 2nd annual Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown features a $10,000 points fund thanks to Cometic Gasket, JE Pistons and K1 Technologies. The driver who garners the most overall points throughout all five races receives $4,000 for winning the championship with drivers finishing second through fifth each recording a $1,500 bonus.
COCOPAH SPEEDWAY –
Cocopah Speedway is a semi-banked, 3/8-mile dirt track located in Somerton, Ariz. It has a concrete wall perimeter, television-quality lighting and the pits are located outside turns three and four. There is also dry camping free of charge on the property. For more information, visithttp://www.CocopahSpeedway.com.

Thursday, January 07, 2016

Stewart Uses Late-Race Pass on Larson to Claim Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown Round 3

(Photo by Bobby McMorris)
Inside Line Promotions – SOMERTON, Ariz. (Jan. 6, 2016) – Mother Nature made her own plans for the midweek race during the 2nd annual Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown.
Weather postponed the third round of the five-race series at Cocopah Speedway one day until Wednesday, when another brief shower in the middle of the program resulted in an ultra-fast surface for the 43 competitors who battled for the $5,000 top prize on the elbows-up track.
Shane Stewart hustled past his car owner, NASCAR star Kyle Larson, on Lap 25 en route to his first career victory at the Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown.
“I’m just glad Mother Nature cooperated a little bit,” said Stewart, who won by more than seven seconds and lapped up to eighth place. “I’m very happy we were able to get the race in. It’s always a pleasure racing Kyle. He’s so darn good that he’s almost like racing Donny (Schatz) honestly. He sets such a strong pace.
“Everything worked out good for me. Sometimes it’s not always good to be leading. When he dropped down there and hit that hole I had a pretty good run on him and when he got sideways we were able to sneak by.”
The pass was the peak of a wild feature, which began with Larson quickly powering into the lead from his pole position. While Stewart was able to remain within striking distance, Larson hit traffic on Lap 4 and had lapped up to 14th place before the first caution of the race on Lap 12 for Terry McCarl.
Stewart, who restarted with two lapped cars between him and Larson, got by one lapped car before the second-and-final caution on Lap 14 for Seth Bergman.
Stewart quickly maneuvered by the lapped car and slowly reeled Larson back in. The duo entered traffic on Lap 20 and Stewart nearly crashed in turn two on the ensuing lap. However, he saved his car and position before once again closing the gap on Larson.
Meanwhile, traffic was thick and most of the lapped cars remained on the bottom groove, which forced Larson to run the tricky cushion several lanes up the track. Larson hit a hole and bobbled exiting turn two with six laps remaining and Stewart was there to capitalize.
While Stewart zipped around him and took the lead, Larson spun completely sideways and came down the track toward the infield as his fellow competitors dodged him at more than 100 miles per hour.
“Thankfully we still finished second,” he said. “I all but spun out or turned over off (turn) two there. I was pointed at the field and could see Tasker Phillips coming at me. I must have missed him by a foot. (I’m) just disappointed, but glad I didn’t get hit there.”
Larson held on to the runner-up position, which propelled him into the lead of the Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown championship standings.
Meanwhile, Jason Solwold put together another consistent night. He finished third – more than seven seconds behind Larson and 14 behind Stewart – to advance to second in the event standings.
“We kind of set up to run the bottom,” Solwold said. “We were a little too snug to run the top. Those guys kinda got checked out there. We got into lapped traffic and I was just about the same speed as everyone else was in dirty air. All in all, we had a pretty good night.”
Daryn Pittman recorded a fourth-place result with D.J. Netto placing fifth.
Craig Dollansky ended sixth, Aaron Reutzel seventh, Joey Saldana eighth, Bryan Clauson ninth and Greg Hodnett rounded out the top 10.
Larson, Logan Forler, McCarl, Steve Kinser and Rico Abreu each won a heat race with Stewart, Dollansky, Bergman, Sam Hafertepe Jr. and Austin McCarl each claiming a qualifier. Dale Blaney and Ryan Smith scored B Main victories.
NOTES: Tasker Phillips was awarded $500 from Here 2 Wire, Inc., and a $75 certificate from TiLUBE Motorsport Lubricants for being the Hard Charger Award winner. … Sam Hafertepe Jr. received $150 from Ron’s Lawn Service in Sharpsville, Pa., for being the first non-qualifier in the first B Main. … Henry Van Dam and Brian Brown captured $100 each from Carlile Transportation in Anchorage, Alaska, for placing sixth in a B Main. … Danny Lasoski earned a $50 certificate from TiLUBE Motorsport Lubricants for being the first non-qualifier in the second B Main. … Here 2 Wire, Inc., also donated $650 to the purse.
JAN. 6 RESULTS –
Heat Race 1 (8 laps): 1. 57-Kyle Larson (2); 2. 7-Paul McMahan (1); 3. 83-Joey Saldana (5); 4. 41s-Dominic Scelzi (4); 5. 81w-Danny Wood (3); 6. 21-Robbie Price (6); 7. 33v-Henry Van Dam (8); 8. 49-Tanner Thorson (9); 9. 1m-Jim Moughan Jr. (7).
Heat Race 2 (8 laps): 1. 2l-Logan Forler (1); 2. 1a-Jacob Allen (2); 3. 1b-Dale Blaney (4); 4. 2-Shane Stewart (6); 5. 99-Skylar Gee (3); 6. 3c-Craig Dollansky (8); 7. 4s-Michael Kofoid (5); 8. 97-Parker Price-Miller (9); 9. 55t-Trey Starks (7).
Heat Race 3 (8 laps): 1. 24-Terry McCarl (1); 2. 55-Aaron Reutzel (2); 3. 9k-Daryn Pittman (4); 4. 121-Greg Hodnett (5); 5. 17a-Austin McCarl (3); 6. 23-Seth Bergman (6); 7. 68-Chase Johnson (8); 8. 1g-Christopher Bell (7); 9. 33-Danny Lasoski (9).
Heat Race 4 (8 laps): 1. 11-Steve Kinser (3); 2. 41-Jason Johnson (1); 3. 18-Jason Solwold (6); 4. 17w-Bryan Clauson (5); 5. 7t-Tasker Phillips (4); 6. 15h-Sam Hafertepe Jr. (8); 7. 21b-Brian Brown (7); 8. 1s-Logan Schuchart (2).
Heat Race 5 (8 laps): 1. 24r-Rico Abreu (1); 2. 88n-D.J. Netto (2); 3. 9-Ryan Smith (6); 4. 2c-Wayne Johnson (4); 5. 17b-Bill Balog (8); 6. 6g-Bryan Gossel (3); 7. 11c-Roger Crockett (7); 8. 45x-Johnny Herrera (5).
Qualifier 1 (10 laps): 1. 2-Shane Stewart (3); 2. 7t-Tasker Phillips (1); 3. 2c-Wayne Johnson (2); 4. 7-Paul McMahan (4); 5. 24r-Rico Abreu (5); 6. 11-Steve Kinser (6); 7. 68-Chase Johnson (7); 8. 1m-Jim Moughan Jr. (9); 9. 97-Parker Price-Miller (8).
Qualifier 2 (10 laps): 1. 3c-Craig Dollansky (2); 2. 21-Robbie Price (1); 3. 57-Kyle Larson (6); 4. 83-Joey Saldana (5); 5. 41-Jason Johnson (4); 6. 17b-Bill Balog (3); 7. 4s-Michael Kofoid (8); 8. 6g-Bryan Gossel (7); 9. 55t-Trey Starks (9).
Qualifier 3 (10 laps): 1. 23-Seth Bergman (1); 2. 81w-Danny Wood (2); 3. 121-Greg Hodnett (3); 4. 1b-Dale Blaney (4); 5. 1a-Jacob Allen (5); 6. 9-Ryan Smith (6); 7. 21b-Brian Brown (7); 8. 1g-Christopher Bell (8); 9. 1s-Logan Schuchart (9).
Qualifier 4 (10 laps): 1. 15h-Sam Hafertepe Jr. (1); 2. 17w-Bryan Clauson (3); 3. 9k-Daryn Pittman (4); 4. 55-Aaron Reutzel (5); 5. 2l-Logan Forler (6); 6. 99-Skylar Gee (2); 7. 11c-Roger Crockett (7); 8. 45x-Johnny Herrera (8).
Qualifier 5 (10 laps): 1. 17a-Austin McCarl (2); 2. 18-Jason Solwold (4); 3. 88n-D.J. Netto (5); 4. 33-Danny Lasoski (8); 5. 24-Terry McCarl (6); 6. 49-Tanner Thorson (7); 7. 41s-Dominic Scelzi (3); 8. 33v-Henry Van Dam (1).
B Main 1 (15 laps/4 transfer): 1. 1b-Dale Blaney (1); 2. 1a-Jacob Allen (2); 3. 41-Jason Johnson (4); 4. 7t-Tasker Phillips (5); 5. 15h-Sam Hafertepe Jr. (3); 6. 33v-Henry Van Dam (11); 7. 49-Tanner Thorson (8); 8. 1m-Jim Moughan Jr. (13); 9. 4s-Michael Kofoid (9); 10. 15b-Bill Balog (6); 11. 41s-Dominic Scelzi (DNS); 12. 11c-Roger Crockett (DNS); 13. 97-Parker Price-Miller (DNS); 14. 1s-Logan Schuchart (DNS).
B Main 2 (15 laps/4 transfer): 1. 9-Ryan Smith (1); 2. Seth Bergman (2); 3. 2c-Wayne Johnson (3); 4. 81w-Danny Wood (4); 5. 33-Danny Lasoski (6); 6. 21b-Brian Brown (9); 7. 68-Chase Johnson (8); 8. 21-Robbie Price (5); 9. 45x-Johnny Herrera (12); 10. 99-Skylar Gee (7); 11. 6g-Bryan Gossel (12); 12. 1g-Christopher Bell (11); 13. 55t-Trey Starks (DNS).
A Main (30 laps): 1. 2-Shane Stewart (2); 2. 57-Kyle Larson (1); 3. 18-Jason Solwold (3); 4. 9k-Daryn Pittman (5); 5. 88n-D.J. Netto (4); 6. 3c-Craig Dollansky (7); 7. 55-Aaron Reutzel (9); 8. 83-Joey Saldana (8); 9. 17w-Bryan Clauson (6); 10. 121-Greg Hodnett (16); 11. 24r-Rico Abreu (14); 12. 1b-Dale Blaney (17); 13. 11-Steve Kinser (12); 14. 2l-Logan Forler (10); 15. 7-Paul McMahan (15); 16. 7t-Tasker Phillips (23); 17. 41-Jason Johnson (21); 18. 17a-Austin McCarl (13); 19. 23-Seth Bergman (20); 20. 24-Terry McCarl (11); 21. 81w-Danny Wood (24); 22. 9-Ryan Smith (18); 23. 1a-Jacob Allen (19); 24. 2c-Wayne Johnson (22).
(Top 30 in passing and finishing points in the heat races were inverted in the qualifiers. The top 16 in passing and finishing points following the qualifiers locked into the A Main.)
UNOFFICIAL POINTS AFTER NIGHT 3 –
.1. 57-Kyle Larson 561; 2. 18-Jason Solwold 551; 3. 2-Shane Stewart 550; 4. 1b-Dale Blaney 543; T5. 9k-Daryn Pittman 520; T5. 83-Joey Saldana 520; 7. 88n-D.J. Netto 497; 8. 121 Greg Hodnett 495; 9. 3c-Craig Dollansky 488; 10. 24-Terry McCarl 481; 11. 33-Danny Lasoski 474; 12. 11-Steve Kinser 467; 13. 41-Jason Johnson 448; 14. 1g-Christopher Bell 437; 15. 7-Paul McMahan 427; T16. 24r-Rico Abreu 420; T16. 23-Seth Bergman 420; 18. 7t-Tasker Phillips 418; 19. 9-Ryan Smith 413; 20. 2l-Logan Forler 408; 21. 17b-Bill Balog 401; 22. 21b-Brian Brown 399; 23. 17a-Austin McCarl 396; 24. 15h-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 390; 25. 49-Tanner Thorson 381; 26. 68-Chase Johnson 376; 27. 81w-Danny Wood 375; 28. 2c-Wayne Johnson 368; 29. 21-Robbie Price 352; 30. 45x-Johnny Herrera 343; 31. 11c-Roger Crockett 342; T32. 33v-Henry Van Dam 340; T32. 4s-Michael Kofoid 340; 34. 6g-Bryan Gossel 338; 35. 55-Aaron Reutzel 337; 36. 99-Skylar Gee 330; 37. 1a-Jacob Allen 299; 38. 5h-Willie Croft 266; 39. 41s-Dominic Scelzi 260; 40. 97-Parker Price-Miller 247; 41. 55t-Trey Starks 233; 42. 1-Justin Henderson 202; 43. 26-Bud Kaeding 184; 44. 17w-Bryan Clauson 169; 45. 1s-Logan Schuchart 166; 46. 1m-Jim Moughan Jr. 134; 47. 9r-Reece Goetz 2.
2016 WINTER HEAT SPRINT CAR SHOWDOWN –
Dates: Jan. 1-2, Jan. 5 and Jan. 8-9, 2016
Track: Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz.
Prize: $12,000-to-win, $1,000-to-start each night (Jan. 1-2, 8-9); $5,000-to-win (Jan. 5); approximately $250,000 total prize money
Type: 410ci sprint cars
MEDIA LINKS –
TICKETS –
General admission tickets for the event are on sale by visiting http://www.CocopahWinterHeat.com. Kids 12 and under get in free. There is a discount for military members and senior citizens.
PAY-PER-VIEW –
Speed Shift TV will be broadcasting live Pay-Per-View video of the 2nd annual Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown for only $24.95 per night. Also, a 20-percent discount is available for those who purchase all five nights. Visit http://www.SpeedShiftTV.com/WinterHeat for more information.
THE EVENT –
The 2nd annual Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown will showcase the top sprint car drivers in the world in sunny Southwest Arizona during the first two weeks of January in 2016. The four weekend races pay $12,000 to the winner and at least $1,000 to every driver who advances to the main event with the midweek show paying $5,000 to win.
POINTS FUND –
The 2nd annual Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown features a $10,000 points fund thanks to Cometic Gasket, JE Pistons and K1 Technologies. The driver who garners the most overall points throughout all five races receives $4,000 for winning the championship with drivers finishing second through fifth each recording a $1,500 bonus.
COCOPAH SPEEDWAY –
Cocopah Speedway is a semi-banked, 3/8-mile dirt track located in Somerton, Ariz. It has a concrete wall perimeter, television-quality lighting and the pits are located outside turns three and four. There is also dry camping free of charge on the property. For more information, visithttp://www.CocopahSpeedway.com.

Monday, January 04, 2016

Welcome to the 2016 racing season......

Hello folks and welcome to 2016. The new year is upon us and before we know it the 2016 racing season will be kicking off at Lincoln Speedway in a few short weeks. Before we get started on the 2016 racing season I wanted to drop a line to everyone and let them know about the cool changes I am making for this year. Last season I kept track of the 410 and 358 racing divisions here in Central PA. Well I'm going to try and up my game this season, I am going to post all the stats for not only the 410's and 358's but also the 360's, Super Sportsman and to add to my misery the World of Outlaws and the All Star Circuit of Champions. I will be keeping track of the feature winners, Heat winners, and the top 5's and top 10's for all 6 of these “Divisions” and series. I hope depending on my work schedule to have everything updated the morning after the races are completed as well as have the press releases posted in the morning as well. Just bare with me race fans, I do work for a living.

I also plan on starting a Facebook page for the website to help those who are not followers of me on twitter, and you should be BTW :-). On the page I will be posting all the pictures I take every weekend at our local racetracks to make it easier for everyone to find and see. Look for that in the coming weeks , and when it is created I will post the link on the top of the website for everyone to find easily.

Now as the 2016 racing season gets started I wanted to ask you all a question.

WHAT IS A REAL RACE FAN?

Now I'm not really sure how to answer that and maybe you aren't either. But hey it's my site so I'm going to try. The reason I ask this is back in October during Natty Open weekend at Williams Grove Speedway I skipped the Sunday night running of the feature because I chose to stay home and get some sleep for the impending work night. Sounds like the grown up thing to do, but I had a friend of mine who skipped sleep to go see the race tell me I'm not a real race fan because I stayed home instead of going to see the Natty Open. When I told her I have not seen a Natty Open in 4 years, she lost her head. She couldn't believe a race fan would stay home from the biggest paying race in Central PA. I kind of agree with her on that and made me re think if I am a real race fan or not. Am I?

Now before I can answer that I think we need to try and figure out what a real race fan is. Is a real race fan a fan who can name every sponsor of every driver and tell you what kind of chassis each driver runs? Is it the BeerHill Gang? Is it the fan who goes to 140 races a year at 60 different race tracks in 20 different states? Or is it the guy who works all week to take his family to 1 race on the weekend at his favorite race track ? Is it the photographer who spends his money to get into the race track and shoots 1,000s of pictures, and then spend all of the next day getting them ready to be put on the internet for everyone to look at, and in some cases steal and print out for their man cave?

I tend to think it's all the above if I'm going to be honest. No fan is better then the next just because they choose to stay home from a nights race because they think it's to cold, or if they have something else to do. Now yes I know I'm just as guilty as anyone of saying this to people, and even on this very website. I called out fans for pulling into the parking lot at Lincoln Speedway and when they found out the 358's where headlining that night instead of the 410's, they got back in their car and pulled away. I've also called out race fans for sitting at home on a Friday night after 1 race track cancels even though 30 minutes down the road another race track was still running with the sun shining. I've made the comment on twitter for years that a real race fan will go to a 358 race if nothing else is racing. While my heart was in the right place, it was stupid on my part.


Others should look at it and think the same thing, and here is why. Local short track racing is a very small niche sport. Regardless of how long we spend in the proverbial racing bubble, or how big we think the sport is, it really isn't. I have been going to Lincoln Speedway and Trail Way Speedway since I was 5 years old. I thought everybody from my area knew about the race track and sprint car racing. Guess what folks? I was way wrong. I can't tell you how many people have no clue what a sprint car is, or that we have one of the best local race tracks in the country 10 minutes from their house. That came as a huge shock to me. How the hell have you never been to Lincoln Speedway when you grew up in Hanover your whole life? WTF have you been doing for the past 35 years on a Saturday night?

I'm sure we all know people just like that. We need to stop making the race fans feel inferior just to make ourselves look better. We need to stop telling people on social media and messages boards that if they don't like it then don't come next week. Guess what folks, people have stopped coming. Just look in the stands on Friday night's. They are not as packed as they were 10 years ago.

One last thing, I tweeted an article the other day from tjslidways.com about people sharing negative thoughts on social media and how race tracks are blaming them for decreased attendance at their race tracks. Guess what race tracks, its not social media that is hurting your race tracks, it's the dire hard race fans, and you yourselves that are hurting attendance. Is everything people complain about valid? Absolutely not, but if you shift through the bullshit, you will find things that every race track could do to make it more enjoyable for people who do want to attend a race at your race track. With that said it does no good for anyone, myself included, to sit on the computer and piss and moan about every little thing a race track does wrong. I did it one night at Williams Grove when I watched a very boring 410 feature. I tweeted something about it and ended up in a pissing match with a member of BeerHill over which race track had the better action on Friday night's. Guess what? It was pointless and did no good to either race tracks in the long run. All it did was make us both look like idiots, and turn off someone who might have been thinking about going to either one of those tracks in the near feature. Remember what our grandparents used to say? If you don't have anything nice to say then don't say it. Well sometimes we all need to remember that before getting on social media and bitching about something. I know I have tried to reign in my complaining in the past year or so since reading a sprint car driver and friend making the comment one time that all Bill McIntyre does is bitch and complain about everything. Was he right? Yeah he was to a point. Still think the article I wrote was spot on and needed to be written, but a few other things I said in the past didn't and shouldn't.

So in closing, think about how lucky we all are to be able to go to 2 different race tracks within 30 minutes of each other on Friday nights, and now 4 different race tracks within 90 min or so from each other on Saturday nights. We truly are lucky to have what we have, lets do more to preserve that instead of tearing 1 track down to make another track look good.

With all of that, thanks again for taking the time to check out the site and this article. If your new to the site, hope you all stick around and come back throughout the racing season. You will be able to catch up on all the results from all the racing action here the morning after a race, along with regular My Thoughts on a racing weekend gone by articles. If you have been a regular to the site, THANK YOU for sticking around and coming back again and again. I truly do all of this for each and every one of you. This is and always will be a labor of love. So thanks for sharing it with me.

Until the next time, have a safe winter, and see everyone soon at a car show or race track near you.

©Bill McIntyre & Central PA Racing Scene 2016  

Sunday, January 03, 2016

NASCAR’s Kyle Larson Takes Advantage of Rare Dirt Start to Win Round 2 of Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown

(Photo by Pole Position Photo)
Inside Line Promotions – SOMERTON, Ariz. (Jan. 2, 2016) – Kyle Larson seemed somewhat surprised at his margin of victory Saturday night at Cocopah Speedway, where he powered to his first victory of the new year during Round 2 of the 2nd annual Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown.
“I was checked out?” he asked a crew member prior to the Victory Lane celebration at the offseason’s premier 410ci winged sprint car event in the United States.
Larson, who was driving for Paul Silva, lapped up to 14th place and he won by more than five seconds on the semi-banked, 3/8-mile oval to score the $12,000 winner’s share. It also made him the first repeat winner during seven Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown main events.
“I had a lot of fun,” he said. “You had to be really aggressive, but then you also had to be careful, too. To run the top you had to be aggressive, keep your wheel spin up so you wouldn’t get sucked into the cushion like I did a couple of times. It was a tricky race track. It made it a lot of fun.”
Larson, who started the 30-lap feature on the outside of the front row, inherited the lead when polesitter Greg Hodnett spun in turn two on Lap 8. From that point the race was all Larson, who pulled away from the field following restarts on Lap 9 and Lap 11 en route to the triumph.
“The cushion got bigger and bigger throughout the race and got trickier to run and (I) kind of had to run off of it a little bit when I caught traffic,” he said. “I made a lot of mistakes actually, but I think I had a big enough lead I could stay somewhat comfortable.”
Shane Stewart, who pilots a sprint car for Larson with the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, advanced from sixth to second place in his Larson-Marks Racing entry.
“Obviously a great night for LMR,” he said. “It was really cool to see Kyle come out here and race. The kid is just really, really good. Every time he jumps into a sprint car he proves it. He just makes it look so easy. This was his type of track, slick to a big curb.
“I needed to be a little tighter. We got a little free there toward the end. I had to be really cautious when I got to lapped traffic. At one point I actually thought I could see him, but, hell, it was another white car. He checked out on me pretty good.”
Danny Lasoski, who is the defending champion of the event, used a late rally by running in the middle of the track to round out the podium after he dropped outside the top 10 in the early laps.
“You have to go as fast the last 10 (laps) as you do the first 20,” he said. “When you’re racing this kind of race track you have to go where they’re not. Our car seemed to work pretty good in the middle as long as I two-footed it.”
Friday’s feature winner, Dale Blaney, finished fourth with Jason Johnson placing fifth.
Joey Saldana rallied from 14th to sixth place to earn the Hard Charger Award with Christopher Bell, D.J. Netto, Terry McCarl and Daryn Pittman rounding out the top 10, respectively.
Craig Dollansky, Larson, Willie Croft, Netto and Hodnett won heat races with Jason Solwold, Bell, Hodnett, Pittman and McCarl claiming qualifiers. Sam Hafertepe Jr. and Roger Crockett picked up B Main victories.
Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown action resumes on Tuesday with Opening Ceremonies scheduled to begin at approximately 7 p.m. (Mountain). It will be the final Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown race for Larson, who is spending next weekend in Florida testing for the Rolex 24 at Daytona. However, fellow NASCAR star Kasey Kahne is expected to arrive at Cocopah Speedway on Tuesday to contest the final three Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown features following his recent racing trip overseas.
NOTES: Joey Saldana was awarded a $250 gift card from SpeedMart and a $75 certificate from TiLUBE Motorsport Lubricants for being the Hard Charger Award winner. … Rico Abreu earned a $50 certificate from TiLUBE Motorsports Lubricants for being the first non-qualifier.
JAN. 2 RESULTS –
Heat Race 1 (8 laps): 1. 3c-Craig Dollansky (1); 2. 1s-Logan Schuchart (2); 3. 2c-Wayne Johnson (4); 4. 97-Parker Price-Miller (3); 5. 15h-Sam Hafertepe Jr. (6); 6. 45x-Johnny Herrera (5); 7. 83-Joey Saldana (8); 8. 17a-Austin McCarl (7); 9. 11c-Roger Crockett (10); 10. 21b-Brian Brown (9).
Heat Race 2 (8 laps): 1. 57-Kyle Larson (1); 2. 1-Justin Henderson (2); 3. 21-Robbie Price (4); 4. 7t-Tasker Phillips (5); 5. 4s-Michael Kofoid (3); 6. 2l-Logan Forler (9); 7. 41s-Dominic Scelzi (8); 8. 55t-Trey Starks (7); 9. 24r-Rico Abreu (6).
Heat Race 3 (8 laps): 1. 5h-Willie Croft (2); 2. 55-Aaron Reutzel (4); 3. 1m-Jim Moughan Jr. (1); 4. 7-Paul McMahan (5); 5. 9-Ryan Smith (3); 6. 9k-Daryn Pittman (8); 7. 17b-Bill Balog (6); 8. 99-Skylar Gee (9); 9. 9r-Reece Goetz (7).
Heat Race 4 (8 laps): 1. 88n-D.J. Netto (2); 2. 41-Jason Johnson (4); 3. 1b-Dale Blaney (7); 4. 1a-Jacob Allen (3); 5. 11-Steve Kinser (6); 6. 24-Terry McCarl (8); 7. 49-Tanner Thorson (9); 8. 26-Bud Kaeding (1); 9. 6g-Bryan Gossel (5).
Heat Race 5 (8 laps): 1. 121-Greg Hodnett (1); 2. 2-Shane Stewart (3); 3. 68-Chase Johnson (2); 4. 33-Danny Lasoski (4); 5. 18-Jason Solwold (5); 6. 1g-Christopher Bell (7); 7. 23-Seth Bergman (6); 8. 81w-Danny Wood (8); 9. 33v-Henry Van Dam (9).
Qualifier 1 (10 laps): 1. 18-Jason Solwold (1); 2. 1a-Jacob Allen (2); 3. 1b-Dale Blaney (6); 4. 7-Paul McMahan (3); 5. 21b-Brian Brown (10); 6. 3c-Craig Dollansky (5); 7. 45x-Johnny Herrera (7); 8. 33v-Henry Van Dam (9); 9. 99-Skylar Gee (8); 10. 1-Justin Henderson (DNS).
Qualifier 2 (10 laps): 1. 1g-Christopher Bell (1); 2. 57-Kyle Larson (5); 3. 83-Joey Saldana (7); 4. 15h-Sam Hafertepe Jr. (2); 5. 1m-Jim Moughan Jr. (3); 6. 81w-Danny Wood (8); 7. 5h-Willie Croft (6); 8. 2c-Wayne Johnson (4); 9. 9r-Reece Goetz (9).
Qualifier 3 (10 laps): 1. 121-Greg Hodnett (5); 2. 11-Steve Kinser (2); 3. 88n-D.J. Netto (6); 4. 41s-Dominic Scelzi (7); 5. 4s-Michael Kofoid (1); 6. 2l-Logan Forler (3); 7. 17a-Austin McCarl (8); 8. 21-Robbie Price (4); 9. 26-Bud Kaeding (DNS).
Qualifier 4 (10 laps): 1. 9k-Daryn Pittman (2); 2. 33-Danny Lasoski (3); 3. 9-Ryan Smith (1); 4. 2-Shane Stewart (5); 5. 17b-Bill Balog (7); 6. 68-Chase Johnson (4); 7. 55-Aaron Reutzel (6); 8. 24r-Rico Abreu (9); 9. 55t-Trey Starks (8).
Qualifier 5 (10 laps): 1. 24-Terry McCarl (2); 2. 49-Tanner Thorson (1); 3. 41-Jason Johnson (6); 4. 11c-Roger Crockett (8); 5. 97-Parker Price-Miller (3); 6. 23-Seth Bergman (7); 7. 7t-Tasker Phillips (4); 8. 6g-Bryan Gossel (9); 9. 1s-Logan Schuchart (5).
B Main 1 (15 laps/4 transfer): 1. 15h-Sam Hafertepe Jr. (3); 2. 9-Ryan Smith (4); 3. 49-Tanner Thorson (2); 4. 68-Chase Johnson (5); 5. 24r-Rico Abreu (13); 6. 7t-Tasker Phillips (7); 7. 2l-Logan Forler (6); 8. 45x-Johnny Herrera (11); 9. 81w-Danny Wood (10); 10. 33v-Henry Van Dam (12); 11. 21-Robbie Price (8); 12. 5h-Willie Croft (DNS); 13. 1s-Logan Schuchart (DNS); 14. 1-Justin Henderson (DNS).
B Main 2 (15 laps/4 transfer): 1. 11c-Roger Crockett (4); 2. 55-Aaron Reutzel (1); 3. 17b-Bill Balog (6); 4. 23-Seth Bergman (9); 5. 97-Parker Price-Miller (5); 6. 17a-Austin McCarl (11); 7. 21b-Brian Brown (10); 8. 55t-Trey Starks (14); 9. 4s-Michael Kofoid (8); 10. 6g-Bryan Gossel (13); 11. 99-Skylar Gee (12); 12. 2c-Wayne Johnson (7); 13. 41s-Dominic Scelzi (2); 14. 1m-Jim Moughan Jr. (DNS).
A Main (30 laps): 1. 57-Kyle Larson (2); 2. 2-Shane Stewart (6); 3. 33-Danny Lasoski (9); 4. 1b-Dale Blaney (5); 5. 41-Jason Johnson (4); 6. 83-Joey Saldana (14); 7. 1g-Christopher Bell (12); 8. 88n-D.J. Netto (3); 9. 24-Terry McCarl (8); 10. 9k-Daryn Pittman (7); 11. 18-Jason Solwold (10); 12. 55-Aaron Reutzel (20); 13. 3c-Craig Dollansky (15); 14. 11-Steve Kinser (13); 15. 11c-Roger Crockett (18); 16. 23-Seth Bergman (24); 17. 17b-Bill Balog (22); 18. 1a-Jacob Allen (11); 19. 68-Chase Johnson (23); 20. 9-Ryan Smith (19); 21. 7-Paul McMahan (16); 22. 49-Tanner Thorson (21); 23. 121-Greg Hodnett (1); 24. 15h-Sam Hafertepe Jr. (17).
(Top 30 in passing and finishing points in the heat races were inverted in the qualifiers. The top 16 in passing and finishing points following the qualifiers locked into the A Main.)
2016 WINTER HEAT SPRINT CAR SHOWDOWN –
Dates: Jan. 1-2, Jan. 5 and Jan. 8-9, 2016
Track: Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz.
Prize: $12,000-to-win, $1,000-to-start each night (Jan. 1-2, 8-9); $5,000-to-win (Jan. 5); approximately $250,000 total prize money
Type: 410ci sprint cars
MEDIA LINKS –
TICKETS –
General admission tickets for the event are on sale by visiting http://www.CocopahWinterHeat.com. Kids 12 and under get in free. There is a discount for military members and senior citizens.
PAY-PER-VIEW –
Speed Shift TV will be broadcasting live Pay-Per-View video of the 2nd annual Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown for only $24.95 per night. Also, a 20-percent discount is available for those who purchase all five nights. Visit http://www.SpeedShiftTV.com/WinterHeat for more information.
THE EVENT –
The 2nd annual Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown will showcase the top sprint car drivers in the world in sunny Southwest Arizona during the first two weeks of January in 2016. The four weekend races pay $12,000 to the winner and at least $1,000 to every driver who advances to the main event with the midweek show paying $5,000 to win.
POINTS FUND –
The 2nd annual Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown features a $10,000 points fund thanks to Cometic Gasket, JE Pistons and K1 Technologies. The driver who garners the most overall points throughout all five races receives $4,000 for winning the championship with drivers finishing second through fifth each recording a $1,500 bonus.
COCOPAH SPEEDWAY –
Cocopah Speedway is a semi-banked, 3/8-mile dirt track located in Somerton, Ariz. It has a concrete wall perimeter, television-quality lighting and the pits are located outside turns three and four. There is also dry camping free of charge on the property. For more information, visithttp://www.CocopahSpeedway.com.