When the intermittent drizzle turned to a steady shower after the completion of heat races, officials of Lernerville Speedway, the DIRTcar series and The BRP/Hoosier Tire Modified Tour reluctantly pulled the plug on the highly anticipated 75 lap showdown. The race will now be made up as part of the big Steel City Stampede on October 23-24.
Friday’s program opened with time trials for the 40 car field. Super Matt Sheppard, at DIRTcar regular who sits second in that series’ seasonal points, set a new track record of 15.858 seconds. Just a few ticks behind was another DIRTcar veteran, multi-time champion Billy Decker, at 15.985. Kevin Bolland led the way for the Modified Tour, clocking in thirteenth overall, at 16.578. He was closely followed by Dave Murdick and Bryan Swartzlander. Sheppard was awarded $100, courtesy of Intgra Shocks, for setting the quick time of the night.
The four heat races, presented by The Pennsylvania Army National Guard, went to Sheppard, DIRTcar Series points leader Brett “the Jet” Hearn, Jimmy Phelps and Larry Wight. Bolland and Murdick placed second in their respective heat races. Swartzlander took a third in his heat.
The heat races allowed Murdick to close in on Modified Tour points leader Rex King, Sr. King was scheduled to go in the same heat as Murdick, but he was involved in an early tangle that sent him to the pits for repairs. King was unable to complete the race and earned no points. Because of the “race within a race” scoring system being used by the Modified Tour for this event only, Murick gained six points on King Sr. They will now enter the Russ King Memorial at Sharon Speedway next Saturday separated by just five markers.
The Modifed Tour championship will be decided whan the balance of the program is completed on Friday, October 23.
Wristbands and rain checks from Friday’s race will be honored on October 23. The Modifieds will also be eligible to race in the qualifications that night for the Steel City Stampede. However, the Stampede will not carry points towards the Modified Tour championship. The feature event for the Stampede will be held on Saturday, October 24.
Any new cars wishing to compete in the DIRTcar/Modified Tour Showdown will be allowed to tag the tails of the twin B Mains on October 23. Four cars will qualify from each of the B Mains. There will be one Modified Tour provisional starting position available.
The line-ups for the B Mains are as follows:
B Main 1
Mike Storms
Ryan Hall
Rob Kristyak
Jeff Miller
Mark Frankhouser
J.R. McGinley
Mike Miller
Carl Murdick
Rodney Beltz
Garrett Krummert
B Main 2
Rex King, Jr.
Billy Dunn
Ted Ryan
Mike Turner
Steve Barr
Dave Reges
Rex King, Sr.
The twenty-one cars already locked into the A Main will line-up as follows:
Brian Swartzlander
Jeff Brownell
Brett Hearn
Matt Sheppard
Steve Feder
Larry Wight
Jimmy Phelps
Billy Decker
Danny Johnson
Dave Murdick
Kevin Bolland
Alan Johnson
Jeremiah Shingledecker
Rich Scagliotta
Justin Haers
Gary Tomkins
Tommy Kristyak
Joe Crawford
Ryan Phelps
Del Rougeux, Jr.
Gary Smoker
The next BRP/Hoosier Tire Modified Tour event will be Saturday, September 19, at Sharon Speedway, Hartford, OH.
For more information, check our website at www.modifiedtourinc.com.
The BRP Modified Tour ’09 would like to thank the following series sponsors: Bicknell Racing Products, Hoosier Race Tire, Sunoco Race Fuel, Pennsylvania Army National Guard, Bilstein Shocks, Keizer Racing Wheels, Landrum Spring, ISC Racerstape, Wrisco Aluminum, Fast Axle, LLC, Smokey’s, Ray’s Racing Collectibles, Approved Toilet Rentals, Inc., Hall’s Safety Equipment, Engles Trucking, Big Daddy’s Speed Center, King Brothers Feed and Supply, Oyler Action Photos, McCool’s Signs and Graphics, Hometown Pharmacy, Wedge Motorsports, Red Bear Hand Cleaner, Motorsports World, and Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP.
The Modified Tour, Inc. racing series is a non-profit organization established to give the V-8 Modifieds in the Western Pennsylvania area the opportunity to compete for higher purses and for a seasonal point fund. 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.