Tri-City Photos Added
Posted by Flash McDirt on
May 31, 2007
The photos from Sunday’s race at Tri-City have been added to our Photos page.
RUSSELL KING CAPTURES BRP MOD TOUR 07 OPENER
Posted by Flash McDirt on
May 28, 2007
RUSSELL KING CAPTURES BRP MOD TOUR 07 OPENER
Submitted by: Marcie L. Barlow, BRP Modified Tour Media Relations
May 28, 2007
Eighteen year old Russell King of Bristolville, OH captured the BRP/Hoosier Tire Modified Tour ‘07 sanctioned running of the Fourth Annual Dick Rankin Memorial on Sunday evening, May 27th at the Tri-City Speedway in Franklin, PA. King’s victory, which came in a Dave and Carol Schrader owned backup car, makes him the first repeat winner of the event that was first run in 2004 in memory of Western PA Modified star Dick Rankin, who was tragically killed in a construction accident.
Andy Priest and Dave Schrader led the 26 car field to the green flag with Schrader leading the first two circuits. Priest took command on the next circuit but his motor expired during a caution period on the same lap forcing the Ted Hull owned #41 to the pits. Schrader inherited the lead but the red flag soon waved as Rob Curtis flipped at the start/finish line. Mike Miller and Carl Murdick were also involved in the accident and fortunately all of the drives were uninjured.
Mother Nature then intervened as a brief shower caused a 40 minute delay in the racing action. Schrader once again led the field to the green but Russell King grabbed the lead away from Schrader with Macedon, NY driver Charlie Donk close behind. The two dueled for the lead with Donk using the outside groove to pass King on lap 23. King slid under Donk on the next circuit with the two making heavy contact. King grabbed the lead back and went onto capture his first victory of 2007.
King was quick to thank Dave and Carol Schrader for allowing him to use their backup car after his motor expired the previous evening at the Sharon Speedway. “Dave and Carol Schrader are my second parents, and they know how much I love to race. I really appreciate them letting me use their car,†stated a very happy King in victory lane. “Charlie got me clean and I went to the bottom on the next lap. I threw a slider in turns three and four and came up a little short. I hope he is not too made at me but we come to win and we don’t come to run second,†continued King.
Hamburg, NY driver and three time BRP Modified Tour Champion Ron Smoker came home in second with defending Tour Champion Rex King finishing third. Dave Murdick and Donk rounded out the top five.
Donk, Priest, Brian Swartzlander and Smoker captured the heat race events with Rick Hall winning the B-Main.
The BRP Modified Tour 07 now heads to the Lernerville Speedway on Friday, June 1st. For additional information on this event please stop by the Tour’s website, www.modifiedtourinc.com or the Lernerville Speedway website at www.lernerville.com. The Tour would also everyone to know that the show tentative scheduled for the Lake Erie Speedway in September has been cancelled.
In addition the BRP Modified Tour 07 would like to thank the following series sponsors: Bicknell Racing Products, Hoosier Race Tire, Sunoco race Fuel, Bilstein Shocks, Ray’s Racing Collectibles, Approved Toilet Rental, Lowry Auto Body, Lake Erie Speed Specialties, Hall’s Safety Equipment, Engles Trucking, Big Daddy’s Speed Center, Precise Racing Products, Finishline Fabrication, Wilkinson Awards, McCool’s Signs and Graphics, Hands on Concepts, Waldo’s Towing, Hooter Chassis and Hobby, Jim’s Supermarket, Pennewell Sandblasting and Painting and King Brothers.
The Modified Tour Inc. racing series is a non-profit organization established to give the V-8 Modifieds in the Western Pennsylvania area a chance to compete with one another for a higher purse structure and for a point fund for the races that are run. Started in 1998 by Tim Engles, Lon and Pam Baker and Randy Myers the Modified Tour has had great success at bringing the local cars together at the area racetracks.
BRP Modified Tour 07 DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds (30 Laps):
1. Russell King, 2. Ron Smoker, 3. Rex King, 4. Dave Murdick, 5. Charlie Donk, 6. Del Rougeux Jr., 7. Brian Swartzlander, 8. Chris Schiffer, 9. Dave Schrader, 10. Kevin Hoffman, 11. J.R. McGinley, 12. Brad Rapp, 13. Skip Moore, 14. Jason Reagle, 15. Garrett Krummert, 16. Mike Turner, 17. Rick Hall, 18. Jeremiah Shingledecker, 19. Jeremy Paup, 20. Steve Feder, 21. Matt Baker, 22. Andy Priest, 23. Chanda Leibold, 24. Rob Curtis, 25. Mike Miller, 26. Carl Murdick. DNS: Kevin Bolland. DNQ: Gary Rankin, Doug Fleeger, Lenny Leibold Jr., Jay Priest, Rex King Jr.