Rohrbaugh doubles up in Super Cup. Sever, Kostelnik, Shelpman, Shipp and Koffler return to Victory Lane. Hall of Famers inducted.

Published: August 23, 2015

Rohrbaugh doubles up in Super Cup.   Sever, Kostelnik, Shelpman, Shipp and Koffler return to Victory Lane.  Hall of Famers inducted.

Jennerstown, PA   (August 22, 2015):   Martella’s Pharmacy Night at Jennerstown Speedway Complex saw a mixture of close competition, heart-stopping crashes and a little post-race drama.  Highlighting the evening was the return of the Super Cup Stock Car Series.  In their final contest of 2015, a series-record 19 cars made the trek to the Laurel Highlands oval to compete in twin 35-lap features.  The sentiment of many drivers in the pit area was that this was the smoothest track they have ever raced on.  Petersburg, West Virginia’s Codie Rohrbaugh won both events, but not without some late-race and Victory Lane drama.  Also victorious during Saturday Night Thunder were repeat winners: Matt Sever (Martella’s Pharmacy Late Models), Bryan Shipp (Modifieds), Adam Kostelnik (J&J Truck Bodies and Trailers Street Stocks), Stephen Shelpman (Chargers) and Paul Koffler, Jr. (Somerset Trust Company Fast ‘N Furious 4’s).  Prior to the night’s feature events, Jennerstown’s Hall of Fame Class of 2015 was inducted.  They included former drivers Jerry Claar, Jeff Dunmyer, Phil “Hoss” Grubbs, who was enshrined posthumously, and longtime track official Fred Foster.

Dan Bainey came into Saturday with a 50-point lead over Harvey Harrison in the touring series’ point standings.  Due to a redraw of the Top 6 qualifiers, the Clearfield, Pennsylvania driver would start outside of the first row for the first of two 35-lap events.  Polesitter JJ Pack, a winner at Jennerstown in 2014, held the initial lead of the race before the first yellow flag flew for a hard crash in Turn 1 by Larry Berg.  On the restart, Codie Rohrbaugh, who set fast time and drew the fifth-starting spot, would challenge Bainey for 2nd Place before settling into the third spot in the early stages of the race.  A Lap 8 crash by Tim McLaughlin into the Turn 4 wall would slow the field once again.  One lap after the restart, Bainey would pull even with Pack for the lead with Rohrbaugh right on their rear bumpers.  The front three would run this way for another three laps before Pack slowed; leaving Bainey in sole possession of the top spot with Rohrbaugh in hot pursuit.  Harvey Harrison, his son, Brian, and Brent Nelson were the other Top 5 runners at this point.  On Lap 20, Rohrbaugh worked under Bainey in a battle for the lead.  Rohrbaugh, who won a Super Cup Stock Car Series race at Jennerstown in 2014, took the top spot one lap later before a spin by Walnut Port, Pennsylvania’s Kevin Kromer would bring out the third caution.  Rohrbaugh pulled away on the restart while Bainey tried to withstand the challenge for 2nd Place from Harvey Harrison who had his ride sideways many times in his attempts to overtake Bainey… and gain valuable points on the series leader.  Brian Harrison and Nelson waged a spirited battle for the the fourth spot as Rohrbaugh led the rest of the way to collect the checkers.  Bainey held off Harvey Harrison for 2nd Place while Nelson was able to take the fourth spot from Brian Harrison, whose car dropped a valve and could not compete in the second 35-lap feature.

By leading the midpoint of the first feature and finishing one position ahead of Harvey Harrison, Dan Bainey increased his points lead by 20 points heading into the final Super Cup Stock Car Series of 2015.  Although mathematically still in contention, Harrison would need a strong finish and misfortune for Bainey in order to claim the series crown.   Brent Nelson would start the second twin 35-lapper from the pole position with former NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Mike Potter to his outside.  The Top 2 finishers from the first feature, Bainey and Codie Rohrbaugh, made a charge to the front from their fourth and fifth place starting positions respectively.  On the second lap, they made it three-wide at the start/finish line with third-starting Bill Ashton being the meat in the sandwich.  Once clear of Ashton, Rohrbaugh claimed the runner-up position from Potter with Bainey taking the third spot as Potter fell back through the field.  A crash by Trent Gossar into the Turn 3 wall brought out the caution on Lap 4.  While pacing under the yellow flag, Rohrbaugh pitted with a flat left rear tire.  Caution laps do not count in Super Cup competition.  Rohrbaugh returned to the track while track crews tended to the accident scene.  Rohrbaugh again returned to pit road; now with a flat left front tire.  He returned to action before the green flag was displayed again, albeit in the 13th spot.  Once back up to speed, Nelson continued to lead Bainey, Harrison and JJ Pack.  It would only take four laps for Rohrbaugh to make his way from 13th to 6th.  Another circuit later, on Lap 9, Rohrbaugh was up to 5th Place although a quarter of a lap behind the leaders.  As the leaders came up on the tail of the field on Lap 13, Nelson got trapped to the high side on the backstretch, allowing Harrison to dive low to take the lead with Pack in tow.  When all was sorted out, Bainey was running in 4th Place followed by Nelson.  Pack worked under Harrison exiting Turn 4 on Lap 16 to take the lead.  A lap later, Bainey shuffled Harrison back to the third position.  The caution flag was again displayed on Lap 21 for the smoking machine of Manns Choice driver Lou Ansel.  Bainey ran side-by-side to the outside of Pack on the restart, but dove underneath Pack exiting Turn 4 to take the top spot before they had completed the first lap back under green.  Meanwhile, Rohrbaugh flexed his muscles as he passed Nelson and Harrison in successive laps to move into 3rd Place.  Pack was within a car length of the leader with seven laps to go when he began to slow, bringing out the yellow flag.  Bainey and Rohrbaugh raced door-to-door on the restart with Bainey gaining the advantage by time the Top 2 drivers reached Turn 3 on the first lap back to green.  With two laps to go, Rohrbaugh got into Bainey’s machine exiting Turn 2.  Although Bainey gained control of his out-of-shape machine, he lost some distance to Rohrbaugh in the process.  Rohrbaugh led the rest of the way to record a Super Cup sweep at Jennerstown.  There were some heated exchanges between the teams of the race winner and newly crowned champion, although no physical altercations.  Harrison, Nelson and Ashton rounded out the Top 5.  After the race, Jennerstown Speedway Complex owners and Super Cup Stock Car Series owner, Joe Schmaling, made the announcement that the series will return to Somerset County speedway twice in 2016; on July 9th and August 20th.

Going into Saturday’s action, the points race in the Martella’s Pharmacy Late Models was the tightest among the track’s five divisions.   After winning last week’s feature, West Newton’s Matt Sever pulled to within one point of 4-time and defending champion, Barry Awtey.   Awtey, from nearby Jenners, would start the 40-lap feature in the 4th position with Sever right behind him in 6th.  Slickville’s Joe Maruca and Shawn Phillips from Jefferson comprised the front row.  At the drop of the green, Mark Poole would work under Phillips in Turn 2 and Maruca in Turn 4 to take the lead before one lap was completed.  Sever was in the second spot by Lap 2 with Awtey in close pursuit.  By Lap 3, Sever had pulled even with Poole at the line and gained sole possession of the lead one lap later.  Awtey and Poole, who won a heat race earlier in the evening, would race side-by-side for a number of laps while Somerset’s Garry Wiltrout rode on their back bumpers before brushing the frontstretch wall and losing 3rd Place to Mahaffey’s Jeremiah Kuntz.   A caution for an incident between Maruca and rookie Teddy Gibala slowed the field on Lap 23.  On the restart, Awtey cleared Poole by Turn 2 to take the lead while Wiltrout retook 3rd from Kuntz.  Exiting Turn 4 on Lap 26, Wiltrout passed Poole for the third spot.  With 10 laps to go, Sever had a 7 car length lead over Awtey.  Four circuits later, Wiltrout worked the outside of Awtey to beat him back to the line for the runner-up position.  Over the final five laps, Wiltrout closed on Sever by running different lines through the turns, yet came up a little short as Sever went on to garner his third win on 2015.  Awtey held onto 3rd ahead of Poole and Kuntz.  Sever, who also won his heat race, moved to the points lead over Awtey, who now trails by six markers.

The 20-lap Modified feature would become a survival of the fittest.  McKeeport’s Michael Walker started on the pole position, but was slow to get up to speed at the drop of the green.  Jason Busch, Lonnie Hoffman and Tom Golik would all maneuver around Walker during the first lap.  Hoffman would ride Busch’s back bumper for the first few circuits.  As the Top 2 came down to complete Lap 6, Busch got a little out of shape exiting Turn 4.  In an effort to regain control, he made contact with Hoffman who ended up crashing hard into the Turn 1 wall; ending the night for the Smithton driver.  Busch continued to lead the event.  After the restart, Busch, Golik and points leader Bryan Shipp each had about a three car length gap between themselves.  Just past the midway point of the race, Golik began to close on Busch.  As they came down to complete Lap 15, Busch’s engine let go; slowing his progress.  With little time to react, Golik collided with Busch’s machine, sending both Modifieds into the Turn 1 wall.  Shipp was also involved, yet continued on with some body damage to the back of his mount.  Despite a damaged ride, Shipp pulled away from Walker on the restart and cruised to his third win this season.  Following him across the line were Walker, Brad Milburn and John Gerula.   Despite not finishing the race, Busch was credited with 5th Place.  Hoffman won the division’s heat race.  Shipp, from Scottsdale, extended his lead over Golik by seven markers to led by 22 points heading into Saturday’s season finale.

With three victories in only four starts this season coming into Saturday’s program, Adam Kostelnik has continued to increase his numbers as the all-time winner in the J&J Truck Bodies and Trailers Street Stock division.    To add to his total, the East McKeesport driver would have to do so from the 10th starting position.  Ron Eiford III and Ligonier’s Rick Anderson would lead the field to the start of their 25-lap feature.  Eiford would hold the point for the first two laps before the first caution flag would come out.  On the restart, AJ Poljak would work the outside of Eiford to take the lead.  By this point of the race, Kostelnik had already charged his way up to the the fourth position.  Anderson would lose 3rd Place to Kostelnik on Lap 6 while 2nd Place runner Eiford would lose his position to Kostelnik two circuits later.  Points leader Anthony Aiello slowed on Lap 9 to allow Kostelnik to close the gap on his HB Motorsports teammate.   For the next several laps, Poljak and Kostelnik ran door-to-door with Kostelnik actually gaining the lead by inches as the crossed the line to complete Lap 14.  Two laps later, Poljak regained the top spot, only to lose it one circuit later when he pushed high in Turns 3 and 4.  This opened the door for Kostelnik to regain the lead.  Meanwhile, Aiello recovered from his earlier misfortune to take the fifth spot from Hollidaysburg’s Mel Wilt on the backstretch of Lap 19.  Kostelnik would maintain a two car lengths advantage over Poljak to claim his fourth victory of 2015.  Eiford held onto 3rd with Aiello coming home in 4th Place ahead of Anderson.  Aiello and Kostelnik won their heat races.  Aiello’s points advantage over Eiford now stands at 24.

Charger division points leader Ron Eiford, Jr. would start outside of the front row for their 15-lap feature event.  On the pole position was his closest title pursuer, Jon Scott.  They would run side-by-side dueling for the top spot with Stephen Shelpman and Steve Long also door-to-door in their tire tracks during the first lap.  Eiford would be scored the leader of the first lap while Scott battled back to capture the point position on the next trip around the half-mile oval.  Shelpman would shuffle Eiford back a spot on Lap 3 although the Top 4 seemed to be glued together.  On Lap 4, Eiford would take a hard, head-on collision into the Turn 2 wall; thus ending his evening.  Scott, Shelpman and Long pulled away from the field on the restart.  While Scott held the point, Long and Shelpman waged a side-by-side battle right on Scott’s back bumper.  On Lap 11, Shelpman worked his way under Scott to gain a slight lead.  On the next trip around the track, Shelpman cleared Scott who then lost 2nd Place to Long.  Over the last three laps, Shelpman held a two car length advantage over Long to take the checkers.  Scott crossed the line in 3rd ahead of 14 year old rookie PJ Molnar and Jason Garchak.   The heat race win went to Shelpman.  Despite his misfortune, Eiford still holds a commanding 43-point lead over Scott in the standings.

Although he has been one of the most dominating drivers in the Somerset Trust Company Fast ‘N Furious 4’s this season with four wins, Paul Koffler, Jr. has also had mechanical setbacks which have left him second in points behind Cindy Rhodes.  The two points leaders made up the second row for Saturday’s 15-lap feature.  While outside front row starter Casey Fleegle jumped to the lead, pole sitter Brian Sprauge and Koffler tangled on the backstretch, slowing Sprauge’s progress to where he went pitside.  By Lap 2, Andrew Pluta had worked his way up to the 4th position from his 10th starting spot.  Pluta then disposed of 3rd Place running Paul Koffler III on Lap 5.  While Koffler was diving under Fleegle in several attempts to take the lead, Pluta began closing on the lead duo.  During this period of the event, Rhodes was engaged in a close battle with defending champion Steve Settle for 5th Place.  Before the twelfth circuit was completed, Fleegle attempted to negotiate around a car at the tail of the field.  Their cars collided, stacking up the field.  Pluta and Rhodes were both innocent victims of the melee.  Damage to their race cars ended their evenings.  Fleegle, a rookie from Friedens seeking his first victory on asphalt, was able to continue on.  Koffler Jr. would get the jump on Fleegle on the restart while Settle would pass the younger Koffler for 3rd Place.  Paul Koffler, Jr. led the last four laps of the event to pick up Win #5 of the season.  Fleegle held onto the runner-up spot ahead of Paul Koffler III, Settle and Mount Pleasant’s Bently Miller who was making his first Jennerstown start.  Heat race wins went to Paul Koffler, Jr. and Steve Settle.  Koffler, the leader in feature wins at Jennerstown this season is now tied with Rhodes for the division points lead.  18 cars started the feature; the highest field of the season.

Saturday Night Thunder return this Saturday, August 29th, for it’s $10 Carload “Back To School” Special.  *** Must abide by PA traffic laws ***  In addition to our five-division program, the Martella’s Pharmacy Late Models will run a 40-lap make-up feature from June 13th. Spectator gates open at 4PM.