BLANEY MEMORIAL SET FOR INTERNET BROADCAST
Officials of the BRP/Hoosier Tire Modified Tour, Sharon Speedway and The Dirt Track Channel are pleased to announce that the 2010 Lou Blaney Memorial will be aired on a tape-delayed basis. The race will be held on Wednesday, July 7. But, if you can’t be there, or if you want to re-live the thrilling experience, tune in to Shawn Wood’s broadcast at www.thedirttrackchannel.com. The Big Block Modified portion of the program will hit the internet on Thursday, July 8, at 8:00 p.m., and the 410 Sprint action will be aired on Thursday, July 9, also at 8:00 p.m.
Wood, a real Modified enthusiast, has broadcast several Modified Tour events in the past. “I have had the pleasure of working with Shawn on Modified Tour broadcasts and at the Hagerstown Speedway, and he always gives the fans an exciting and informative show,” said Mod Tour President Lou Long. “Adding Shawn and The Dirt Track Channel to this event will make it even more special.”
The Modified Tour, Inc. would like to thank the 2010 series sponsors: Bicknell Racing Products; Hoosier Racing Tire Corp.; Sunoco Racing Fuel – Bazell Oil Co., Inc.; World Racing Group – DIRTcar; Approved Toilet Rentals, Inc.; Behrent’s Speed Center, Inc.; Bert Transmission; Big Daddy’s Speed Center Inc.; Engles Trucking Services, Inc.; Bilstein Shocks – Fastline Performance; Fast Axle, LLC; Frankland Racing Supply; ISC Racers Tape; Hall’s Safety Equipment Corp.; Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG); Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Inc.; King Brothers; Kirkey Racing Fabrication Inc.; Landrum Spring; McCool’s Signs and Graphics; Motorsports World; Oyler Photos & More; Pennsylvania Army National Guard; Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP; Preist Enterprises, Inc.; Pro Shocks; RaceQuip; Ray’s Racing Collectibles; Red Bear Hand Cleaner; Schaeffer’s Specialized Lubricants; Slippery Rock Sportswear; Smokey’s; SpeedBear Fasteners; Turbo Start Batteries; Ultra-Shield Race Products; Valken Wheels; Wedge Motorsports, LLC; Winters Performance Products Inc.; and Wrisco Industries Inc.
The Modified Tour, Inc. racing series is a non-profit organization established in 1998 to give the V-8 Modifieds in the Western Pennsylvania area the opportunity to compete for higher purses and for a seasonal point fund. It has had great success at bringing the local cars together at tracks throughout the tri-state area and in expanding the profile for this exciting brand of motorsports.
SHINGLEDECKER DOUBLES ON TOUR
Jeremiah Shingledecker saved the best for last, at last lap pass for the win, that is. Using the high side in turn two, Shingledecker passed leader Rex King, Sr., bringing the fans to their feet and roaring with approval. The win at Mercer Raceway Park was his second straight on the BRP/Hoosier Tire Modified Tour.
Shingledecker may have benefited from a rare tactical error by the three-time and defending Modified Tour Champion. Facing a green-checker finish, King Sr. chose the inside line for the final restart. Previously, King had used the outside lane to maintain his advantage on restarts. With regard to the lane switch, Shingledecker said “I thought he might give me the top. The caution before the last worked well for me allowing me to restart on the inside. He was running the bottom the last couple laps, so I thought the outside was worth a try.”
The luck of the draw placed Rob Kristyak and Del Rougeux, Jr. on the first row for the feature event. With storm clouds gathering overhead, Rougeux thundered into an early lead. His good fortune was short-lived, however. While racing through the first and second turns after the first caution in the thirty-lapper (for a spin by Gary Smoker), the flywheel of Rougeux’s battered Modified shattered. Pieces pierced the body panels and severed a fuel line. Rougeux was not hurt, but he nursed his car off the turn three exit and into the pits. For the popular driver, it was the second night in a row that he encountered misfortune while leading. Friday, at Lernerville Speedway, Rougeux tangled with a lapped car, and his trusty mount still showed the battle scars when it rolled out of the trailer at the Park.
With Rougeux limping down the backstretch, veteran Tommy Kristyak slipped past Dave Murdick to gain the lead. Kristyak, one of the biggest winners in the history of Mercer Raceway Park, led four circuits before surrendering the lead to King Sr. King Sr. had methodically worked his way up from the ninth starting spot. To get to the front, King Sr. used the inside line.
Once in the lead, King Sr. moved around on the speedway, searching for more speed. He maintained a comfortable margin over T. Kristyak, D. Murdick, R. Kristyak, and Jeremy Paup.
On lap 20, the race was red flagged due to a fire aboard Carl Murdick’s car. The veteran of 51 years of racing expertly maneuvered his car to the infield, where fire crews knocked down the flames. Although the scene was quite scary, C. Murdick was unhurt.
On the restart, King Sr. resumed command over T. Kristyak and D. Murdick. Brad Rapp took advantage of the restart and broke into the top five.
As the laps clicked off, Shingledecker came to life, and now he, too, was in the top five. He worked his way into third by lap 28 and second by lap 29.
It did not appear as though Shingledecker would be able to challenge for the win, however, as King Sr. seemed to be running on rails. However, a final caution set up the one-lap dash for the cash. As noted above, King dropped to the inside for the restart, putting Shingledecker on the high side.
Shingledecker mustered the power on the outside on the restart and took the win away from King Sr.
T. Kristyak held on for third, followed by Rapp and D. Murdick.
R. Kristyak, Paup, Kevin Hoffman, Jimmy Holden and Tommy Mattocks rounded out the top ten. Holden was the highest-placing regular from mercer raceway Park.
Heat wins for the 45 car field went to Shingledecker, D. Murdick, Rougeux and R. Kristyak.
The B Mains were taken by Rod Jones (making his first Big Block Modified start) and Smoker.
Mike Leone contributed to this story.
The next event for the BRP/Hoosier Tire Modified Tour will be at Expo Speedway, Cortland, OH, on Thursday, July 1, highlighting the Trumbull County Fair. The ground-pounding Big Block Modifieds will be back at Tri-City Speedway, Franklin, PA, for the Kodiak Memorial on Sunday, July 4. A very busy week concludes with the Lou Blaney Memorial on Wednesday, July 7, at Sharon Speedway, in Hartford, OH.
BRP/Hoosier Tire Modified Tour Round Three: June 19, 2010: Mercer Raceway Park, Mercer, PA: 30 Laps: 1. (37MD) Jeremiah Shingledecker, Polk ($1300); 2. (65) Rex King Sr., Bristolville, OH ($870); 3. (26Z) Tommy Kristyak, Soneboro ($650); 4. (11R) Brad Rapp, Shippenville ($550); 5. (61) Dave Murdick, Slippery Rock ($500); 6. (00) Robby Kristyak, Bristolville, OH ($420); 7. (X) Jeremy Paup, Polk ($400); 8. (17H) Kevin Hoffman, Franklin ($380); 9. (28H) Jimmy Holden , Tiona ($360); 10. (69) Tommy Mattocks, Franklin ($330); 11. (Rex King, Jr., Bristolville, OH ($320); 12. (58) Lonnie Riggs, Volant ($310); 13. (3E) Eric Gabany, Mercder ($300); 14. (8J) Dean Pearson, Harrsville (290); 15. (19) Joe Kubiniek, Lockport, NY ($280); 16. (66) J.R. McGinley, Fairmount City ($260); 17. (516) Gary Smoker, Mercer ($240); 18. (66F) Kyle Fink, Starttanville ($230); 19. (820) Rod Jones, West Middlesex ($220); 20. (96) Mike Turner, Butler ($200); 21. (75) Jeff Miller, Sarver ($200); 22. (333) Ron Eperthener, Jr., Grove City ($200); 23. (17M) Skip Moore, Jackson Center ($200); 24. (6) Carl Murdick, Butler ($200); 25. (20D) Del Rougeux, Frenchville ($200); 26. (10) Jeff Schaffer, Fombell ($200).
DNQ (all $100): Mark Frankhouser; Kevin Green; Shawn Fleeger; Richard Whitney; Dave Shook; Dillon Barr; Frank Guidace; Steve Feder; Ryan Hall; Dillon McElrath; Chris Haines; Steve Barr; Matt Reeher; Greg Unrue, Jr.; Arnie kent; Dustin Martin; Dave Reges; Mike Miller; Don Brown.
The Modified Tour, Inc. would like to thank the 2010 series sponsors: Bicknell Racing Products; Hoosier Racing Tire Corp.; Sunoco Racing Fuel – Bazell Oil Co., Inc.; World Racing Group – DIRTcar; Approved Toilet Rentals, Inc.; Behrent’s Speed Center, Inc.; Bert Transmission; Big Daddy’s Speed Center Inc.; Engles Trucking Services, Inc.; Bilstein Shocks – Fastline Performance; Fast Axle, LLC; Frankland Racing Supply; ISC Racers Tape; Hall’s Safety Equipment Corp.; Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG); Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Inc.; King Brothers; Kirkey Racing Fabrication Inc.; Landrum Spring; McCool’s Signs and Graphics; Motorsports World; Oyler Photos & More; Pennsylvania Army National Guard; Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP; Preist Enterprises, Inc.; Pro Shocks; RaceQuip; Ray’s Racing Collectibles; Red Bear Hand Cleaner; Schaeffer’s Specialized Lubricants; Slippery Rock Sportswear; Smokey’s; SpeedBear Fasteners; Turbo Start Batteries; Ultra-Shield Race Products; Valken Wheels; Wedge Motorsports, LLC; Winters Performance Products Inc.; and Wrisco Industries Inc.
The Modified Tour, Inc. racing series is a non-profit organization established in 1998 to give the V-8 Modifieds in the Western Pennsylvania area the opportunity to compete for higher purses and for a seasonal point fund. It has had great success at bringing the local cars together at tracks throughout the tri-state area and in expanding the profile for this exciting brand of motorsports.
SHINGLEDECKER TAMES THE MONSTER
Jeremiah Shingledecker, the hottest driver in Big Block Modifieds these days, took the win in Modisaurus X-2 at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway. It was his first win of the season on the BRP/Hoosier Tire Modified Tour and fifth overall.
Shingledecker needed some good luck to overcome a tactical error. On a lap 11 restart, he chose the inside lane. That gave the high groove to Brad Rapp. Although Shingledecker fired first, Rapp’s momentum through turns one and two gave him a commanding lead as the pack thundered down the back stretch. Rapp appeared to have the win well in hand when an oil leak sent him pitside. That gave Shingledecker the lead and the win.
“I did not realize that I had the lane choice,” Shingledecker said. He explained that he was having difficulty hearing the race director giving commands over the RaceCeiver radio system. “I had nothing for him, it is a shame that he broke like that,” he added.
“That was the best car I’ve had in a long time,” Rapp said dejectedly. Rapp thought that he could have made it to the finish had the race stayed green, but the caution period allowed track officials to discover that the oil leak was too severe to allow him to continue. “We think the leak came from a loose seal on the oil filter,” he lamented. “We think it didn’t hurt the engine at all.”
Shingledecker drew the pole position for the feature event. Steve Feder lined up beside him. At the drop of the green, Shingledecker got the lead, with Feder close behind. However, Rapp showed his muscle early, sweeping past Feder as the pair raced through turn three. Eric Gabany followed him into third.
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MURDICK AND KING LEAD MODIFIED TOUR INTO PPMS
It is not unusual to see the names of Murdick and King atop the point standings of the BRP/Hoosier Tire Modified Tour. After all, Dave Murdick is a former Champion (2001) and he was leading the series points when the Big Block Modifieds last appeared at Dirt’s Monster Half Mile. Rex King, Sr. (2005, 2006 and 2009) and Russell King (2007) are former Champions, as well. However, what is different this time around is that the driver tied with Murdick is Rex King, Jr. Cooter, as he is affectionately called, is off to a great start with the Modified Tour in 2010 and he would like nothing better than to claim sole possession of the points lead at the conclusion of Saturday’s action.
Murdick opened the Modified Tour season with a big win at Lernerville Speedway last Friday. To do so, he had to survive a skirmish with a lapped car and withstand the charges of King Jr. and Brian Swartzlander over the final nine laps of the race. When the Modifieds last raced at PPMS in September, Murdick crashed on the frontstretch, destroying his 2007 Troyer chassied car. Remarkably, he will be back at PPMS with the same car Saturday. Murdick and company rebuilt the car over the winter and brought it up to 2010 specifications. The way it sailed around the top of Lernerville after the near disaster may be a signal to all that the bad luck he encountered at PPMS last year is behind him.
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