Quarrick wins ARCA Truck Series thriller.

Published: August 9, 2015

Quarrick wins ARCA Truck Series thriller.

Jennerstown, PA  (August 8, 2015): On Saturday, Riggs Industries presented the ARCA Truck Series at Jennerstown Speedway Complex.  Sparks would fly during the last laps of the touring series’ 50-lap event.  When the dust had settled, Uniontown, Pennsylvania’s Cody Quarrick garnered his second career win on the fast Somerset County oval.  Also victorious during Saturday Night Thunder were Barry Awtey (Martella’s Pharmacy Late Models), Paul Koffler, Jr. (Somerset Trust Company Fast ‘N Furious 4’s), Adam Kostelnik (J&J Truck Bodies and Trailers Street Stocks) and Ron Eiford, Jr. (Chargers).

Jennerstown Speedway Complex was Stop #7 on the 2015 ARCA Truck Series schedule.  The 50-lap race was split into two segments of 25 laps.   Pennsylvania was represented by three drivers competing in the Midwest-based series event, including current points leader Cody Quarrick from Uniontown.  Quarrick, the 2008 Rookie of the Year, won one of two ARCA Truck Series races held at the speedway in 2014.  Michigan’s Jeff Myers, Jr. set fast time during “Rocco Kirsch” pole qualifying    A roll of the dice to determine the inversion for the feature placed Myers in the eleventh starting position in the 13-truck field.  Matt Sever from West Newton, a regular in Jennerstown’s Martella’s Pharmacy Late Model division, started on the pole position in a second truck fielded by Quarrick.  3rd Place starter Bob Mikolajczyk would lead the early stages of the race while Myers and Quarrick charged quickly through the field.  By the fourth lap, Myers had taken the lead with Quarrick in tow.  The lead duo extended their lead over the 3rd place truck of Brandon Huff, who started the race in the 10th position.   A spin by BJ Wollerman brought out the caution flag on Lap 18.  On the restart, Quarrick rocketed to Myer’s outside and into the lead.  Shawn Szep, a two-time winner on the tour this season, joined the mix as he moved into the 4th position.   Quarrick maintained the lead as he paced the field to the Lap 25 mark.  Teams went pitside and were allowed to make changes to their trucks, excluding tires.  The final twenty-five laps were resumed after Jennerstown’s weekly divisions had concluded their features.  An inversion for the second half placed Quarrick in the 5th starting spot behind Myers, Huff, Szep and South Park’s Chris Bailey, Jr. who led the field back to green from the inside of the front row.  Huff and Szep ran door-to-door for the runner-up position, allowing Bailey to lead the field for a couple of laps before Huff worked under Bailey through Turns 3 and 4 to take the top spot.  Myers and Quarrick would both shuffle Bailey back in the order two laps later.  Huff paced the field under a Lap 38 caution.  Once back to green flag racing, Myers worked to the outside of Huff to take the point position while it also opened the door for Quarrick to move into 2nd Place.  In the closing laps, Myers withstood Quarrick’s challenges for the lead until, with just a lap and a half to go, a shock mount broke on Myer’s machine.  Quarrick slid by for the lead as sparks flew from Myer’s truck.  Quarrick held off Huff for his second ARCA Truck Series victory at Jennerstown Speedway.  Despite an ill-handling truck, Myers was able to edge out Szep for the 3rd spot.  Bailey came home in 5th Place.  Sever finished 7th.  The series heads to Fremont, Indiana’s Angola Motorsport Speedway in two weeks.

4-time and defending Martella’s Pharmacy Late Model division champion Barry Awtey trailed Matt Sever by one point entering Saturday’s program.  An incident during his heat race heavily damaged his #75 mount.  Hailing from nearby Jenners, members of his crew were sent to bring Awtey’s backup car to the track while repairs continued on his primary car.  The Awtey team and members of other teams worked feverishly to fix his damaged machine; which did make it to the starting grid.  Awtey would start in the 8th position with Jeremiah Kuntz and Rick Boyer leading the field to the green for their 40-lap feature.  Kuntz held the initial lead of the race before a Lap 2 caution involving Travis Fisher and Teddy Gibala slowed the field.  Both cars received light damage and continued on.  Two laps after the restart, Awtey and Garry Wiltrout, who started 10th, were running 3rd and 4th respectively behind Kuntz and Bedford’s Todd Price.  On Lap 8, Awtey worked under Price through Turns 1 and 2 to take over the runner-up position.  This also opened the door for Wiltrout and Joe Maruca to shuffle Price back to 5th.  By the fifteenth circuit, Awtey was within five car lengths of the leader while extending his gap over Wiltrout.  Exiting the second corner on Lap 20, Awtey drove under the Kuntz machine and into the lead.  Kuntz would lose another position to Wiltrout four laps later.  Sever, riding in the 5th spot, pressured Maruca during the last ten laps of the event, but could not overtake the Slickville driver.  Awtey maintained about a second lead over Wiltrout over the remainder of the feature to collect his third feature win of the season.  Wiltrout, Kuntz, Maruca and Sever rounded out the Top 5.  Sever and Wiltrout won their respective heat races.  Awtey’s victory propelled him back to the points lead.  He now has a four-point advantage over Sever.

The ulra-smooth surface of Jennerstown Speedway can lead to high speeds, which creates intense competition and even heart-stopping collisions.  Such was the case during Saturday’s 25-lap J&J Truck Bodies and Trailers Street Stock feature event.  Pole sitter Andrew Kostelnik jumped out to the early lead before the engine of points leader Ron Eiford III grenaded to bring out the caution with only one lap in the books. Once back under green, Adam Kostelnik worked his way to the point position while points leader Anthony Aiello challenged Andrew Kostelnik for 2nd Place.  Going into Turn 1 on Lap 4, Aiello’s car appeared to push up into Andrew Kostelnik, causing drivers to take evasive action to avoid the slowed racers.    Scott Aiello’s car came to a rest in the turn only to be hit at nearly full speed by David Baehr.  Aiello’s machine was then sent skidding towards the inner portion of the track where it came to rest on top of the wall.  Despite the impact, Aiello, Anthony’s father and current points leader at Motordrome Speedway, only required some medical attention at the track and was released.  Adam Kostelnik paced the field during the remainder of the feature.  Anthony Aiello would overtake rookie Dustin Gursky on Lap 6 for 2nd Place.  Andrew Kostelnik would shuffle Gursky back another spot on the next lap.  During the latter stages of the race, Adam Kostelnik, the all-time feature winner in Street Stock competition at Jennerstown, maintained a two-second lead over Aiello on his way to his victory.  Andrew Kostelnik finish 3rd ahead of Michelle Sabatula who raced in place of her fiancee, Jeff Thomas.  Gursky was credited with 5th Place after pitting on Lap 9.     Anthony Aiello and Adam Kostelnik won the division’s heat races.  Aiello, who came into the evening one point behind in the standings to Eiford, now has a 16-point lead in the chase for the division title at Jennerstown Speedway.

The 15-lap Somerset Trust Company Fast ‘N Furious 4’s feature would turn out to be The Koffler and Koffler Show.  Points leader Cindy Rhodes came into the evening with a 36-point gap over her closest title contender, Evan Nibert.  Paul Koffler, Jr., third in the standings, was 44 markers behind Rhodes.  Rhodes, from Somerset, started on the pole position flanked by Ligonier’s Brian Sprauge.  While Rhodes held the lead early in the race, Paul Koffler, Jr. was flying through the field after starting the feature in the 10th position.  By the third lap, he had moved into the 2nd spot with his son, Paul Koffler III, on his heels.  By Lap 7, the elder Koffler had reached the back bumper of Rhodes.  Rhodes and Koffler raced side-by-side through Turns 3 and 4 before Koffler was able to edge past Rhodes as they completed the eighth lap.  On Lap 11 as they were lapping slower cars, Rhodes had to go high into Turn 1 to pass a backmarker.  Rhodes lost traction in the “marbles” and brushed the outside retaining wall; damaging her mount.  She continued on until spinning on the backstretch to bring out the caution.  Although she went pitside to get repairs, Rhodes had to park her car for the rest of the event.  Rhodes’ misfortune moved Paul Koffler III up to the 2nd spot followed by rookie Casey Fleegle, defending champion Steve Settle and Sprauge.  While Koffler Jr. was trying to hold off his son for the lead, Settle and Fleegle waged a spirited battle for 3rd with Fleegle eventually securing the position.  Down the stretch it was father and son 1-2 as the checkers flew.  Fleegle, Settle and Sprauge completed the top 5.  With his fourth victory of the season, Koffler moved into second in the standings; just 15 points behind Rhodes.  The Kofflers won their respective heat races.

Points leader Ron Eiford Jr. and Jon Scott led the Chargers to the start of their 15-lap feature.  Eiford would jump out to the lead at the drop of the green while Scott and Stephen Shelpman battled for the runnner-up position.   Shelpman would secure the spot by the time the field completed the first lap.  For the first nine laps, the running order was: Eiford, Shelpman, Scott, Steve Singo and rookie Frank Novak.  Eiford maintained about a four car length lead over Shelpman during the early stages of the race.  By Lap 7, Shelpman was running in the shadow of Eiford.  On Lap 9 while making a move on the leader, Shelpman spun in Turns 3 and 4 to bring out the yellow.  Singo, driving the car usually fielded by Steve Long, challenged Scott for 2nd Place for the first couple of laps after the restart.  Scott pushed high through Turn 4 on Lap 11, opening the door for Singo and Shelpman to pass him to the lower side.  While Eiford continued to lead the way, Singo tried to close the gap with Scott working the outside of Shelpman to regain a position.  Eiford, who won his first career race two weeks ago, held off Singo to garner the victory.  Shelpman held onto 3rd ahead of Scott and Novak.  Scott won the division’s sole heat race.

Saturday Night Thunder returns August 15th.  In addition to Jennerstown Speedway’s 5-division program, the track will host the Big John’s 100; a 100-lap enduro race paying $2,000 to win.  Spectator gates open at 4PM.