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Gremlins Abound in Super Saturday Five
August 8, 2010
Gerald Laurie

There was no full moon aloft over Madera Speedway Saturday Night, but the happenings in the Supermodified Feature Event had everyone scanning the skies for a bright lunar orb. More on that later. Madera’s fifth big Open Wheel Event of the season featured the the Open Supermodifieds and the 360 Supermodifieds as usual. In addition, the Sprint Cars of the USAC Western States Series were added as a bonus to the fans. All of the open wheel groups ran a full program of time trials, dashes, heat races, and features.

The Sprints qualified first among the open wheelers with Tony Hunt fastest on the 1/3 mile oval at 13.628 seconds. Luis Ramos III at 13.674 and Scott Pierovich at 13.734 rounded out the top three.

The 360 Supermodifieds were paced by Kenny Kinchen with a lap of 13.359 seconds followed by Kyle Vanderpool at 13.649, and Willie Northammer at 14.066.

The Open Supermodifieds were the final challengers to the clock with Lonnie Adamson in control at 12.504, followed by Jim Birges at 12.572, and Kody Swanson at 12.710.

The Sprint Car Trophy Dash lined up with Tanner Swanson and Scott Pierovich on the front row and Luis Ramos and Tony Hunt in the back. Swanson got the jump at the green for any inside pass with Ramos following him through on the backstretch. Pierovich and Hunt rounded out the field after one lap. And the start was the gist of the race with the lap four checkers falling over the same order.

The 360 Supermodifed Dash line-up consisted of Willie Northammer, Kyle Vanderpool, Kenny Kinchen, and Larry Hinz replacing Lance Jackson who had loaded up to head for the shop for emergency repairs to a collapsed shock mount. Vanderpool led lap one over Northammer, Kinchen, and Hinz. Laps two and three looked the same. However, Northammer rolled to a stop in turn two after the white flag making the final order Vanderpool, Kinchen, Hinz, and Northammer.

The Open Supermodified Dash was paced by Jeff Collins followed by Kody Swanson, Jim Birges, and Lonnie Adamson. The outside line roared around Collins in the South turn complex to make the lap one order Swanson, Adamson, Birges, and Collins. Adamson made two major attempts to pass Swanson in the short four lapper but was never able to get completely alongside. Swanson held sway over Adamson, Birges, and Collins.

Heat Races were the next order of business. The first Sprint Car eight lapper featured Gordon Rogers, Jo Jo Helberg, Scott Pierovich, and Tony Hunt. Helberg took the point over Hunt Pierovich and Rogers as Gordon faltered on the start. Hunt was then all over the Helberg’s tail tank for the entire eight laps as tried numerous times to pass. All was to no avail as the eighth lap was scored the same as the first.

The second Sprint heat race included Justin Kawahata, Tim Skoglund, Tanner Swanson, Luis Ramos, and late arrival Marvin Mitchell(68). At the green, the second row leap-frogged the front row with Swanson leading over Ramos, Skoglund, and Kawahata as Mitchell headed for the pits with a stuck throttle. And once again, the race was settled on the first circuit with Swanson leading every lap.

The 360 Supermodified Heat lined up with Kenny Kinchen pacing Kyle Vanderpool, Willie Northammer, Dan Vanderpool, and Larry Hinz. Kenchin blasted off from the inside with Kyle claiming second followed by Dan, Northammer and Hinz. And sounding like a broken record, that was the extent of the passing. Kinchen won over the Vanderpool Clan (son, then father) Northammer, and Hinz.

The Open Supers lined up with Jim Birges inside Lonnie Adamson on the front row with Kody Swanson, Jeff Collins, and Ray Stebbins rounding out the field. With Birges holding a very tight line, he and Adamson ran three laps side by side before Birges finally cleared his adversary and pulled in front. At the end of eight laps, the finish was the same as the line-up with Birges besting Adamson, Swanson, Collins and Stebbins.

The United States Auto Club Sprint Cars were next up for their fifty lap feature event. Tim Skoglund held down the pole flanked by Jo Jo Helberg. Tanner Swanson, Scott Pierovich, Luis Ramos III ,and Tony Hunt rounded out the six car invert. Gordon Rogers, Justin Kawahata, and Marvin Mitchell completed the line-up. Swanason swept around the front row to lead Helberg, Pierovich, Ramos, and Hunt after one lap. Pierovich passed Helberg on lap four and Mitchell was lapped on the sixth go around. First Ramos on lap eight and then both Hunt and Skoglund on lap ten passed Helberg who had slowed dramatically. After ten laps, the order was Swanson, Pierovich, Ramos, Hunt, and Skoglund.

Helberg repassed Skoglund on lap twelve and then Pierovich stalled on the front stretch to bring out the yellow on lap thirteen. An inspection of the 3 car during the yellow sent Helberg(leaking oil) to join Pierovich in the infield . The restart order was Swanson, Ramos, Hunt, Skoglund, and Rogers. Hunt jumped around Ramos at the resumption of green flag racing and set out after Swanson. For the next 36 laps the distance between Swanson and Hunt waxed and waned as Hunt would push very hard and then cool the tires to try again several times. However, he was never able to move a head of Swanson who moved to the low line to protect his position. Both Skoglund and Rogers eventually were lapped, held on to top five positions. At the end Swanson was victorious over Hunt, Ramos, Skoglund, and Rogers.

With the 360 Supers and Open Supers combined for the fifty-lap Main Event, the gremlins suddenly launched Lunarly happenings into the inner workings of the planned sequence of events. Larry Hinz and Lance Jackson (after fabricating an entire right front shock tower and welding same to his venerable Beach Buggy) filled row one. Just behind were Willie Northammer, Kyle Vanderpoool, Kenny Kinchen, and Dan Vanderpool. The open cars completed the field with Jeff Collins and Kody Swanson in row four followed by Jim Birges, Lonnie Adamson, and Ray Stebbins rounding out the field.
When the green flew for the first time, the inside row backed up a bit sending Willie Northammer into no man’s land between the inside and outside rows. The ensuing wheel banging sent Willie into the left front corner of Adamson’s mount sending Adamson to the wall. Both were done for the evening. A red flag clean up ensued.

With a complete restart sans the victims, Hinz was still on pole flanked by Jackson. K. Vanderpool, Kinchen, D. Vanderpool, and Collins made up rows two and three. Birges and Stebbins made up the rest of the field. Before the green, Collins headed for the infield with a u-bolt failure in a driveline joint. On the second green flag, the inside line again backed up with Kinchen dropping very low to come alongside Hinz at the line. There was contact between the two sending Hinz into the front stretch wall and Kinchen grinding to halt as well. The second red hanky of the evening was blowing in the breeze. Hinz was the main victim in this one as Kinchen was able to continue. The third starting line-up for this event got shorter and single file still with Jackson pacing over K. Vanderpool, Kinchen, D. Vanderpool, Swanson, Birges, and Stebbins.

The third time was a charm and Jackson led lap one over Kinchen, Kyle, Swanson, and Birges. On lap two Swanson went outside and Birges went inside to make 360 sandwiches with Kody leading lap two over Jackson, Birges, Kinchen, and Vanderpool the younger. Birges and Kinchen both got Jackson on lap three and the race settled down as it began to string out. Stebbins headed for the pits after eight laps with thirty car appearing to be steam powered rather than methanol powered. The yellow flew on lap ten when Swanson rolled to a stop on the back straightaway. When the engine refused to fire (suspected magneto problem), Swanson was pushed to infield and the race restarted with Birges leading lap ten over Kinchen, K. Vanderpool, Jackson, and D. Vandrpool.

With but five cars remaining and Open Supermodified of Birges in the lead, the race went into long term cruise mode. Birges left the local area code and sprinted away. And the remaining characters stayed in their roles .Birges lapped D. Vanderpool on lap 22, Jackson on lap 23, and Kyle Vanderpool on lap twenty five while building nearly 2/3 of a lap lead over Kinchen. By lap thirty, Birges had Kinchen’s second place car in sight and planning his lapping policy when the water temp went to 250 degrees. Birges slowed a bit and the temp stabilized. He then put the pink 32 on cruise control and kept the second place car in sight but decided better of pushing the pursuit. When the fifty lapper was complete, the winner was Birges with Kinchen second (the top 360 and the only other car on the lead lap), follwed Kyle Vanderpool, Dan Vandrpool, and Lance Jackson. Everyone else already had a party (more like a wake) going in the infield.

After running a non stop green white checkers fifty lapper in July in just over twelve minutes, the supers could not seem to get this feature event started. Between a slow acceleration away from the green flag and the racer’s never ending quest to win, there were some silly moves on lap one that eliminated some very competitive cars early on. I don’t know where the gremlims were hiding all night, but they became abundantly evident during the Super Feature.

My next event coverage is planned for Roseville. CA in two weeks.      

Madera Speedway Super Saturday No. 5, Aug. 7, 2010
USAC Western states Sprint Cars.
Qualifications: 1. 56 Tony Hunt, 13.628; 2. 21 Luis Ramos III, 13.674; 3. 14 Scott Pierovich, 13.734; 4. 15 Tanner Swanson, 13.772; 5. 3F Jo Jo Helberg, 14.018; 6.50 Tim Skoglund, 14.295; 7. 94 Gordon Rogers, 14.589; 8. 15X Justin Kawahata. 15.196;
Trophy Dash: 1. Swanson; 2. Ramos; 3. Pierovich; 4. Hunt.
Heat 1: 1. Helberg; 2. Hunt; 3. Pierovich; 4. Rogers.
Heat 2: 1. Swanson; 2. Ramos; 3.0 Skoglund; 4. Kawahata; 5. Mitchell.
Feature: 1. Swanson; 2. Hunt; 3. Ramos; 4. Skoglund; 5. Rogers; 6. Mitchell; 7. Helberg;  8. Pierovich; 9. Kawahata.
360 Supermodifieds.
Qualifications: 1. 5 Kenny Kinchen, 13.359; 2. 1 Kyle Vanderpool, 13.649; 3. 29 Willie Northammer, 14.066; 4. 18 Lance Jackson, 14.188; 5. 4 Larry Hinz, 14.416; 6. 17 Dan Vanderpool, N/T.
Trophy Dash: 1. K. Vanderpool; 2. Kinchen; 3. Hinz; 4. Northammer.
Heat: 1. Kinchen; 2. K. Vanderpool; 3. D. Vanderpool; 4. Northammer; 5. Hinz.
Supermodifieds
Qualifications: 1. 98 Lonnie Adamson, 12.504; 2. 32 Jim Birges, 12.572; 3. 72 Kody Swanson, 12.710; 4. 89 Jeff Collins; 13.691; 5 30 Ray Stebbins, 14.168.
Trophy Dash: 1. Swanson;  2. Adamson; 3. Birges; 4. Collins
Heat: 1. Birges; 2. Adamson; 3. Swanson; 4. Collins; 5. Stebbins.
Combined Feature: 1. Birges; 2. Kinchen*; 3. K. Vanderpool*; 4. D. Vanderpool*; 5. Jackson*; 6. Swanson; 7. Stebbins; 8. Hinz*; 9. Nothammer*; 10. Collin; 11. Adamson.

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ROB SUMMERS CRUISES TO ISMA WIN AT DELAWARE ON SATURDAY
August 8, 2010
Carol D Haynes, ISMA PR

Delaware, Ont.  – Rob Summers became the sixth different winner in the eight races run to date on the ISMA tour Saturday night at Delaware Speedway in Canada. Summers took over the Jeff Holbrook-owned 35 ride earlier this year and since then he’s been getting closer and closer to a victory. The Vernon, CT driver came to the half-mile oval on Friday after two strong second place runs at Sandusky and finished a competitive fourth following some of ISMA’s best. Saturday was his turn to be the one to follow. Starting tenth in the field, he was up to third by lap ten. A slip on lap 15 by Mike Lichty who was trying to pass leader Bob Dawson, gave Summers a shot at second and then on lap 27, he drove by Dawson in traffic going into turn two.  Summers pulled away from Lichty and was on his way to victory. The win was the second in his supermodified career. 

As always, Summers gave praise to his car owner and team. “The car has been on rails ever since we unloaded it this weekend. The crew did such an awesome job - Jerry, Mike, Brian Allegresso, and the whole JWJ team. They gave me one of the best cars I’ve ever driven. It was unreal – it went on the outside and inside. After I made the pass for the lead I was able to kind of just ride around out there.  Again I can’t thank Jeff Holbrook enough for giving me the opportunity to drive that car.”

Mike Lichty also picked up his second podium finish of the weekend as he chased Summers to the checkers.

“It’s been a good weekend for us – third last night and second tonight. It seemed like the pace was pretty quick. All the cars in the top ten seemed to be running within a tenth or two of one another. That made it quite difficult to pass. I tried Bobby Dawson on the outside and the car bottomed out really bad and that allowed Robbie to get underneath me. After that we just got tighter and tighter as the race went on. Hats off to Robbie. I’d just like to thank Patco Transportation for sponsoring last night.  Without my mother and father I wouldn’t be doing this gig. Also definitely thanks to Rockway Building Supply. They put their name on the car this weekend along with Stage Door Transportation.”

Russ Wood, the second half of the Holbrook team in the top three commented on his run. “We struggled earlier in the day. We were kind of loose and then in the feature we were a little too tight. It’s tough passing here and Rob was really, really hooked up so he definitely checked out. It was a good race for the team – a first and a third. Mike Lichty’s been tough and he’s going to be tough all year obviously. He’s on a roll. All and all it’s not a bad night for us.”

Bobby Haynes had the pole for the ISMA 50-lapper and used it to jump to an early lead but a lap four restart for a stopped car, allowed the outside pole sitter Bob Dawson, to take over the spot. Dawson immediately tried to pull away but Mike Lichty was quickly up behind the 28 to challenge as Rob Summers put the 35 into third past Haynes.

On lap 15 Lichty made a move on Ohian Dawson but slipped up in the process allowing Summers to duck under for the runner-up spot. For almost another 15 laps, the Dawson, Summers, Lichty trio ran nose to tail around the track while Ben Seitz, Russ Wood and Mike Ordway Sr. raced behind a slight distance away.

Summers finally seized the opportunity to get the drop on Dawson in traffic and took over the point on lap 27. Robbie put the 35 on cruise and sailed away from Lichty and soon to be third place runner Russ Wood.

Only one more yellow, a spin by Bob Bond on lap 37, allowed the challengers to take a last shot at the leader, but to no avail. On the restart, Lichty, Wood, Ordway, Shullick Jr., and Seitz could not get close to the leader.

Summers crossed under the double checkers all alone ahead of Lichty, Wood, Ordway and Seitz for his first win with the Holbrook 35 moments later.

Ordway, who had crashed just after his Friday night victory, was happy to be in fourth.

“This is pretty good after what we went through after wrecking it last night. Fourth, we’ll take it. The water pump went this morning and we had to change that. Everything seemed to work out pretty good for the feature. If we had made a few more changes we might have been a little better off and maybe had something for the leaders. That’s racing. You don’t hit it right all the time.”

Seitz, who is also in his first year with a new team, was very pleased with his second top five in as many nights.  Said the Bourne, Mass. former NEMA midget champion, “The car was definitely good tonight. We’re starting to learn what this car wants. We still have some to go, but we’ll get there. Again I have to thank my sponsors – Sam Lorusso Heavy Equipment, S.M. Lorusso and Cape Cod Aggregates. And I have to thank the crew, my parents, Buck, Gilbert – my car owner Dickie Bien who works so hard and makes this whole deal happen. I can’t thank those guys enough.”

Ryan Coniam, Dave Duggan, Bobby Dawson, Joey Scanlon and Jeff Locke completed the top ten.

SUMMARY

ISMA Event #8, Delaware Speedway, August 7, 2010

Heat 1: Bob Dawson, Jeff Locke, Mike Ordway Jr., Denny Fisher, Mark Sammut, Ryan Coniam

Heat 2: Bobby Haynes, Dave Shullick Sr, Jeff Locke, Ben Seitz, Joey Scanlon, Rich Reid

Heat 3: Mike Lichty, Dave Duggan, Russ Wood, Dave Shullick Jr., Bob Bond, Danny Lane. Terry Simpson (3) dns

ISMA 50: 1. Rob Summers (35), 2. Mike Lichty (84), 3. Russ Wood (29), 4. Mike Ordway (1), 5. Ben Seitz (17), 6. Ryan Coniam (74), 7. Dave Duggan (51), 8. Bobby Dawson (28), 9. Joey Scanlon (88), 10. Jeff Locke (37), 11. Bobby Bond (25), 12. Dave Shullick Jr. (61), 13. Dave Shullick Sr. (8), 14. Bobby Haynes Jr. (44), 15. Dan Lane (97), 16. Denny Fisher (81), 17. Rich Reid (92), 18. Mark Sammut (70), 19. Terry Simpson (3)

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MIKE ORDWAY WINS DELAWARE ISMA 30 FRIDAY NIGHT THEN CRASHES
August 6, 2010
Carol D Haynes, ISMA PR

Delaware, Ontario – Mike Ordway Sr.’s victory at Delaware Speedway on Friday night ended in a rather bizarre fashion, when after crossing under the double checkers, his Vic Miller-owned supermodified crashed in the first turn wall. Instead of parking in victory lane, Ordway exited his mount halfway from the finish line, and watched as it was towed away. Ordway had been chased throughout the short sprint of a feature by Dave Shullick Jr., but was able to fend off those challenges until after the race was over. He described the finish of his second ISMA feature wins this season.

“I won the race and got down across the line and into one when the left front brake rotor broke. That was all it took. It just locked up the front wheel and it went around. There was nothing I could do about it at that point. Other than that the car was really good. It’s going to be good for tomorrow night, but I don’t know about now though. I was happy to win and to see all the fans that came out. We put on a good show I think, going 20 laps without a caution. That was good.”

Dave Shullick Jr. accepted his runner-up spot happily, after a disappointing Hy-Miler 100 two weeks ago. “It was a good run. We’ll take it. I got to second and the car was really, really good. I thought I’d have something for Mike. We were both running about the same speed and that’s what it boiled down to. I could get to his rear bumper and then do nothing with him because we were so close in speed. I would have needed traffic. I think I was a hair more drivable then he was, because when we got into traffic I could move around a little better, but not when we were by ourselves. After the restart, he moved away about 3 or 4 car lengths but as the run went on I started to reel him back in. I think if it had been a 50-lap race we probably would have got him. So, we’re looking forward to tomorrow. I think it will be good.”

Current ISMA point leader Mike Lichty ran third or fourth for most of the quick 30-lapper racing mainly with the 17 of Ben Seitz who he finally got by in the late laps.

Said Lichty as he was swamped by well wishers in attendance for the PATCO Transportation-sponsored night.

 “We’ll take third. Actually it was a cool race between Ben Seitz and I. We probably ran wheel to wheel for five or six laps. That was definitely interesting and fun too. I like racing Ben. It was hard to pass on the outside. I tried to get outside Ben earlier and that’s when DJ got by me. It looked like the only place I was going to pass anybody was on the bottom. We learned some things for tomorrow. It’s 50 laps and we’ll see what happens. I’d like to thank Rockway Building Supply for giving us a hand this weekend, supporting us and obviously my dad with PATCO and everybody from there who came here to watch.”

Lichty led off the night’s racing by taking the first of three qualifying heats but action was stopped for a lengthy period at the start of the second heat when Hy-Miler winner Mark Sammut was pushed to the wall just after the green, got out of shape and caught a wheel causing his 78 and that of Rod Sauder, driving the Morton 70, to do a double flip down the back straight. Sammut did some aerial acrobatics, landing finally on all four tires while Sauder ended up on his side. Neither driver was hurt but Sammut’s car was later determined pretty much unfixable – at least overnight. Morton thought he’d be able to return for the next night’s racing. Dave Shullick Jr. claimed the heat win while last year’s Friday night winner, Jeff Locke, took the third heat checkered.

Ordway Sr., from the front row, wasted no time jumping out to the lead of the remaining 18-car field and with 20 straight green flag laps ahead, he was able to pull away from second place runner Ben Seitz as Mike Lichty, Shullick Jr, Russ Wood, Dave Duggan, Rob Summers and Danny Lane tried the catch the flying 1.

Just prior to halfway, Shullick Jr. moved by Seitz and the two leaders pulled away as they passed by Bobby Haynes Jr. and then sandwiched Rich Reid driving the Lehnert 92 to add some markers between them and the rest of the field.

The race slowed with the one and only yellow flying on lap 20 when the Jeff Locke 37 spun.

On that restart, Shullick knocked on the door of the 1 but as he said, could do nothing after that. Mike Lichty finally moved into third around Seitz on lap 22 as Summers, Wood and Dave McKnight in the Lichty 74, battled for fifth.

Time ran out for any further challenges and Ordway appeared to be headed for victory. He was, and then landed in the first turn wall, not doing much damage, but bringing his victory to a somewhat unglorious conclusion. Shullick Jr and Lichty shared the podium with Ordway while Summers grabbed fourth in the waning two laps from Seitz.

Summers enjoyed his race to a fourth place. “We had a good car. The JWJ team did a great job again. We started kind of deep in the field and I think we had one of the best cars out there. With only 30 laps I’m happy with the way we finished. This place is a fun place to run at night. It’s a real racy track. I think tomorrow’s 50 lapper will be fun.”

Ben Seitz was more than happy with fifth.  “We had a good race for most of the way and then got loose after that. We set it up aggressive because we knew it was a short race. I need to thank my sponsors Sammy Larusso of Larusso Heavy Equipment, Cape Cod Aggregates and S.M. Larusso and Sons. Without them we wouldn’t be here. I’d also like to thank the car owner Dickie Bien because he’s been working his butt off. We’ve had a rough season so it’s nice to finally bring home a nice finish for everybody. We’re looking forward to tomorrow. We should be all right. I’m optimistic.”

McKnight, Wood, Duggan, Bob Dawson and Bob Bond completed the top ten.

Note… A scary incident took place in the Haynes 44 hauler after practice when a faulty electric fuel pump ignited methanol while it was being transferred to a fuel jug. The quick work by the Delaware safety crew averted what could have been a truly explosive situation. Peg Haynes, mother of driver Bob, was treated for burns on her arms.

Summary ISMA Event #7

Delaware (Ont) Speedway, Aug. 6, 2010

Heat 1: Mike Lichty, Danny Lane, Dave Shullick Sr., Russ Wood, Bobby Haynes, Denny Fisher, Rich Reid

Heat 2: Dave Shullick Jr., Ben Seitz, Dave Duggan, Joey Scanlon, Terry Simpson, Rod Sauder, Mark Sammut

Heat 3: Jeff Locke, Mike Ordway, Dave McKnight, Rob Summers, Bob Dawson, Bob Bond.

ISMA 30: 1. Mike Ordway (1), 2. Dave Shullick Jr. (61), 3. Mike Lichty (84), 4. Rob Summers (35), 5. Ben Seitz (17), 6. Dave McKnight Jr. (74), 7. Russ Wood (29), 8. Dave Duggan (51), 9. Bobby Dawson (28), 10. Bob Bond (25), 11. Joey Scanlon (88), 12. Danny Lane (97), 13. Denny Fisher (81), 14. Jeff Locke (37), 15. Dave Shullick Sr. (8), 16. Bobby Haynes Jr. (44), 17. Rich Reid (92), 18. Terry Simpson (3)

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CANADIAN MARK SAMMUT CLAIMS FIRST CAREER HY-MILER WIN
July 25

Sandusky, OH – London, Ontario’s Mark Sammut finally won his first and second winged ISMA features in 2009 after more than a decade of trying. He finished runner-up in ISMA points at year’s end. But, 2010 had not gone as well as the 78 team would have liked. In the first five races of the ISMA season, their best finish had been a sixth, that is until Saturday night’s 33rd annual Hy-Miler Nationals at Sandusky Speedway.  Sammut took the early lead, lost it to fellow Canadian Mike Lichty and then quietly stayed with the 84 until he was ready to reclaim the point. On lap 77 Sammut pulled alongside Lichty. The duo ran side by side until turn four when Sammut plucked the Hy-Miler prize. It was Sammut’s race to lose now, and for the final 22 laps he held on for the biggest win of his supermodified career.  He also became only the second Canadian to win the prestigious Hy-Miler race;  the first being Dave McKnight in 2001. Sammut recapped his road to victory.

“This is something. We had a really bad car all weekend long. We kept messing with it and messing with it. Finally before time trials today we thought it was coming around so we just pushed it a bit in that direction. We had a decent run in time trials. We had a decent run in the heat. I knew then that if we could stick with it we’d have a good car at the end of 100 laps. And we did. It was great.

“I had a touch more when Mike went by me. I knew I couldn’t go that pace and have anything left at the end so I just kind of let him go. I was just hoping I’d get some breaks and get back to him. If we didn’t, there was nothing I could do about it. As it turned out it worked out perfect. We were right where we wanted to be at the end of the race!

How did this win rank in his long career that has included numerous TQ midget wins and championships over the years?

“I was beginning to wonder if we were ever going to win another race, let alone a Classic. To put my name on the same list as some of the guys that have won this race, whether Canadian or American, like the Shoe, Doug Heveron - the list goes on and on - is unbelievable. To be put in the same category with all those guys is amazing.

“I have to especially thank my family. They put up with this all summer long – working on the racecar, going to the races almost every weekend. And the there are my sponsors. They have been with us for what seems to be forever. Curry Steel Erecting, he’s my biggest one and has been for years and years. Wells Foundry and Mobile Striping and Sweeping – they’ve all put us here and if it wasn’t for those three guys we wouldn’t be doing this at all. I have to thank them.”

The race concluded with a series of strange events, some of which helped Vernon, CT driver Rob Summers get to his second runner-up spot in the two races run on Saturday. With six laps to go, Summers was fifth, but by the checkered he was second as several cars ahead of him had or were running out of fuel.

Summers acknowledged the fact in victory lane. “It was quite a race. I was really surprised to finish where we did. We were fighting a hanging throttle for most of the race. The throttle was giving me a real headache. The car was set up good. Eric Lewis helped us out today. He was a real big help. Brian Allegresso, Doc, Caswell, Russ Wood, JWJ, Jeff Holbrook – all those guys. Two seconds - it was a great weekend!”

Third place finisher Jeff Locke acquired the podium spot on the last lap when Mike Lichty’s 84 began to fade gasping for fuel. Locke, in only his second year of competition in the big block supers was very happy.

“What a great race. I’m glad the fans stuck around. This is an awesome place to come to. There’s a lot of tradition and it’s a real honor to be in the top three on the podium here tonight. I have to thank Richard Witkum. He had to stay home this week and I know he’s wishing he were here right now. But, we did it. I’d like too thank my father obviously. I wouldn’t be here without him. He believed in me when not a lot of people did. So that’s the reason I’m here. The car is starting to run better. R&R Competition Engines builds awesome motors with awesome horsepower. This is unbelievable. I love it.”

To say that there was a full day of racing at Sandusky Saturday would be an understatement. Starting with the rained out 40-lapper bright and early at 10:30 am and ending with the last checkered 12 hours later, there was something for everyone.

Twenty-eight cars took time trials for the Hy-Miler with several – Bob Dawson, Justin Belfiore, Kyle Edwards. Michael Barnes and Brandon Bellinger experiencing problems prior to the start of qualifying. For the second day, Dave Shullick Jr. claimed the top spot on the list of 18 locked into the heats with a 14.493, bettering his Friday time.

Heats went to Jim Paller for his first ever ISMA checkered, Lichty and 4-time Hy-Miler winner Russ Wood with no consi necessary due to several cars dropping by the wayside with blown motors or other problems.

Mark Sammut sat outside of Ben Seitz as the field lined up to start the 33rd running of the Hy-Miler Nationals. The sky, unfortunately, was darkening and once again threats of rain played a key role in the events unfolding. Sammut wasted no time in taking the initial lead and Mike Lichty soon tucked in behind.

Jim Paller brought out the first of too many yellows on lap 9 and joined Michael Barnes and Craig Rayvals, already in the pits. Jim would come back but not for long.

Mike Lichty tried to battle by Sammut on the restart to no avail but he’d get another chance 3 laps later when the 19 of Trent Stephens brought out the second flag.

Dave Shullick Jr., the day’s fastest man, moved into third on this restart but the two Canadians out front pulled away to their own battle.  Behind Shullick a torrid race was developing between Ben Seitz, Russ Wood, Johnny Benson Jr. and Charlie Schultz. 

A scary moment for leader Sammut came on lap 20 when he brushed slightly with a slower car he was about to lap. No harm came of the move and Sammut continued his lead but not for long as Lichty was about to pounce. On lap 23, Lichty got around the 78 as the pair approached a lap car.

Lap 26 saw a yellow for Charlie Schultz, who had to be considered a strong contender for the win. Mike Ordway Sr. also pitted here having problems with the Miller 1. He returned at the tail.

Leader Lichty took off trailed by Sammut, Shullick Jr., Seitz, Benson, Wood, Randy Burch and Lou Cicconi and the race was able to maintain a fast flow until two consecutive yellows flew on lap 33 which put Schultz, Dave Shullick Sr. and Mike Ordway Sr. all out of the race due to mechanical ills.

On the restart of lap 33, Shullick Jr. dove past Sammut and headed for leader Lichty, but by lap 40, Lichty was able to pull away a bit until on lap 41 when Jon Henes hit the wall in four sending fluid onto the track. With 40 completed laps, refueling took place. Concern was now developing as to what the weather was going to do. The sky was beginning to light up in the distance. The hot, humid day was predictably going to produce more rain. When, was the question. Eleven more laps would complete the race according to rules. The decisions here, as to how much fuel to load, may have made critical to the race’s finishing order.

The green flag produced some scurrying for position behind Lichty and Shullick as Sammut had Randy Burch, who had started 18th, hot on his tail. Russ Wood looked to be playing the Hy-Miler game to his liking as he now moved into fifth around Seitz, Benson and Rob Summers. Cicconi and Tim Ice were right behind this trio.

Lichty and Shullick crossed the line at the halfway mark several car lengths head of the seven-car train behind them. The race was over if the rain came now. But it held off.

On lap 60, the 08 of Kyle Edwards slowed and was trying to dive into the pits just as the leaders approached creating one scary moment. But everyone got by cleanly and Edwards was pushed in.

On the restart, it was Lichty, Shullick Jr., Sammut, Burch, Wood, Seitz, Benson, Summers, Ice, Cicconi and Locke. Moments later, a huge gasp went up from the crowd as the 61 of Shullick Jr. slowed and headed into the pits off turn 4, out of contention.  The lower shaft in the rear end had broken, costing Shoe II a possible double victory. Car owner Clyde Booth said later, “We should have changed that after the wreck at Toledo and we didn’t. You change everything you think you should but just missed it. But, that happens.”

Now an onslaught of yellows flew fast and furious as position mattered on every lap as the skies lit up. On lap 63, fifth and sixth place runners Ben Seitz and Johnny Benson collided, sending Seitz into the inner rail, a massive puddle and out of the race on the flatbed. Benson was able to pit and re-enter.

Another collision occurred on the restart when the 49 of Cicconi and 37 of Locke brushed in 2. Both restarted but Randy Burch’s pass of Mark Sammut for second was negated in the process.

Green fell, but was followed by yellow as the 08 car was pushed onto the speedway and was unable to remain started.

Finally, after three attempts, the next restart stuck and Lichty led Sammut and now Burch to the green. On lap 64 Johnny Benson called it a night and pitted.

Another long green streak saw Lichty and Sammut pull away again while Burch held off Wood, Summers and Ice. Not many cars had survived this long.

All eyes were on the front pair now as lap after lap Sammut tried to get by Lichty and finally on lap 77, Mark made the pass off turn four to become the last leader the 100-lapper would see. He immediately put his foot into it putting a lap car between his 78 and Lichty’s 84.

On lap 96, it appeared evident that Sammut was headed for his first Hy-Miler win. Randy Burch, in a strong run, nailed Lichty for second when all hell broke loose. First, Russ Wood’s 29 in fourth, slowed and pitted. He was followed by Burch and Danny Lane, who also moved in for a gulp of fuel.

By lap 97, it was Sammut, Lichty, Summers, Locke and Ice out front by virtue of some low fuel cells. But someone else up front was getting down to fumes – Lichty. He tried to hold on but couldn’t as first Summers and then Locke moved in for the kill. Lichty settled for fourth as Ice claimed fifth. During the victory lane ceremonies, raindrops began to fall, too late for some, but not enough to dampen Mark Sammut’s parade!

Fourth place finisher Mike Lichty was the first to admit he was praying for the drops to fall earlier.

“ First off, hats off to Sammut. That’s awesome for him to win. We were so good right from the get-go to probably lap 60 right when Sammut started closing in and got by us. Caution after caution after caution. I don’t know what happened to the tire but right after the last restart we just got so loose and we junked the tire. There is nothing left of the right rear. Man, I wanted to win this one so bad. And, we had the car for it. We ran out of fuel coming down for the line and Jeff Locke got us for third there. I don’t know. We’ll just try it again next year. I was thinking after half way, seeing the lightning and saying man, rain, rain. The bugs were so bad I lost tearoffs. I couldn’t see. It was a complete disaster for us. But, we’ll take it. A fourth this morning and a fourth tonight. There was something definitely weird with the track. Usually we never get loose here. When I got by Sammut at the beginning I noticed he set the car up tight. It definitely paid off for him. We’ll have to go back to the drawing board and see what we have heading for Delaware.”

Tim Ice had a bittersweet description of his fifth place, which he felt could have been a fourth.

“I thought I was pretty decent but on that last restart I got jumped before the green and then he (37) ran into my left front wheel on the way by. No one seemed to see that. It was on the rim the last lap. I lost a spot on that. I was lucky to finish. I guess you take your chances. Maybe I’ll have to do that someday. Earlier in the race when somebody jumped, they put him to the tail. That’s where the 37 should have gone.

“I still don’t think the track conditions were very good this weekend. This just isn’t what we used to have here normally. I think all and all it was a pretty good race. There was a lot of hard racing. It was hard to pass so you saw a few get together out there. I don’t think anything was deliberate, just hard racing. My thing was I got the nose wing bent up early and I got a little tight. I was still able to get in the top five and pull away from that bunch.”

Randy Burch, Russ Wood and Bob Magner were the last cars in the lead lap in sixth through 8th. Dave Duggan and Lou Cicconi Jr. rounded out the top ten, 1 lap down.

SUMMARY Saturday, July 24, 2010, Sandusky Hy-Miler

Fast Time: Dave Shullick Jr. 14. 493.

Heat 1: Jim Paller, Johnny Benson Jr., Lou Cicconi, Trent Stephens, Rob Summers, Bob Magner, Jon Henes, Danny Lane, Michael Barnes (dns), Justin Belfiore (dns)

Heat 2: Mike Lichty, Ben Seitz, Dave Shullick Sr., Mike Ordway, Charlie Schultz, Kyle Edwards, Craig Rayvals, Jack Smith, Dave Duggan

Heat 3: Russ Wood, Dave Shullick Jr., Mark Sammut, Tim Ice, Jeff Locke, Randy Burch, Bobby Haynes Jr., Gene Lee Gibson, Brandon Bellinger

33rd Hy-Miler Nationals. 1. Mark Sammut (78), 2. Rob Summers (35), 3. Jeff Locke (37), 4. Mike Lichty (84), 5. Tim Ice (77), 6. Randy Burch (52), 7. Russ Wood (29), 8. Bob Magner (41), 9. Dave Duggan (51), 10. Lou Cicconi (49), 11. Danny Lane (97), 12. Johnny Benson Jr. (74), 13. Ben Seitz (17), 14. Kyle Edwards (08), 15. Dave Shullick Jr. (61), 16. Bobby Haynes Jr. (44), 17. Gene Lee Gibson (0), 18. Trent Stephens (19), 19. Jon Henes (36), 20. Jack Smith (09), 21. Dave Shullick Sr. (8), 22. Charlie Schultz (7), 23. Mike Ordway (1), 24. Jim Paller (64), 25. Craig Rayvals (04), 26. Brandon Bellinger (02), 27. Michael Barnes (70)