Champions crowned in 2015 finale at Jennerstown Speedway

Published: August 31, 2015

Champions crowned in 2015 finale at Jennerstown Speedway

Jennerstown, PA   (August 29, 2015):   On Saturday, Jennerstown Speedway Complex closed the curtain on the 2015 season.   Some close points races and misfortune led to championships not being decided until the checkers fell.  The evening’s program began with a 40-lap feature for the Martella’s Pharmacy Late Models; a make-up race from June 13th which was won by Mahaffey’s Jeremiah Kuntz.   Others victorious during Saturday Night Thunder were Cody Quarrick (Martella’s Pharmacy Late Models), Tom Golik (Modifieds), Adam Kostelnik (J&J Truck Bodies and Trailers Street Stocks), Steve Singo (Chargers) and Paul Koffler, Jr. (Somerset Trust Company Fast ‘N Furious 4’s).  Division champions were: Matt Sever (Martella’s Pharmacy Late Models), Bryan Shipp (Modifieds), Anthony Aiello (J&J Truck Bodies and Trailers Street Stocks), Ron Eiford, Jr. (Chargers) and Paul Koffler, Jr. (Somerset Trust Company Fast ‘N Furious 4’s).

The running of a make-up feature from June 13th gave Martella’s Pharmacy Late Model drivers two opportunities to score a victory before the 2015 season came to a close.  West Newton’s Matt Sever came into the evening with a 6-point advantage on defending champion Barry Awtey from nearby Jenners.  The fact that Awtey’s shop is not far from the Laurel Highlands half-mile oval would play a significant role in the battle for the championship.  Jeremiah Kuntz and Bedford’s Todd Price made up the front row to start the first of two 40-lap events.  While Kuntz led Price into the first turn after the green flag had waved, 4th-starting Garry Wiltrout pushed high through Turn #2; losing four positions in the process.  The next trip around the ultra-smooth half-miler, Joe Maruca broke an oil line and spun in Turn 2.  Behind him, Awtey also spun in the oil deposited by Maruca’s machine.  Awtey’s Wheeler and Family Show Cattle Chevrolet backed into the outer wall exiting the turn; destroying the entire back end of the machine.  Rick Boyer, Mark Poole, Wiltrout, Cody Quarrick, Bobby Henry, Shawn Phillips and Teddy Gibala were also caught up in the melee although they were able to continue in the race.  Within minutes, Awtey’s crew was on their way to load up his backup car.  With Awtey’s misfortune, Sever seemed to be in a position to gain many points on his closest title challenger.   On the restart, Sever would pass Price for 2nd Place before another lap was completed.  On Lap 6, Price would lose another spot to Phillips.  On the next circuit, Quarrick, Wiltrout and Henry would shuffle Price back even further in the field.  As the field was working on their tenth lap, disaster struck Sever.  The rearend of his car failed; ending his hopes to stretch his points lead over Awtey heading into the night’s second Late Model feature.   As it was, Sever only gained four points on Awtey, increasing his lead to ten points.  Kuntz would lead the field again once back to green flag racing.  Over the next couple of laps after the restart, Quarrick and Witlrout would move closer to the front with passes on 2nd-place runner Phillips.  Philips would spin on the frontstretch to bring out the caution on Lap 15.  Quarrick would continue to chase Kuntz after the restart only to lose the runner-up position to Wiltrout on Lap 19.  By the halfway mark, Gibala and Henry were running inside of the Top 5.  Kuntz continued his strong run to the finish to pick up his first win of 2015.  Wiltrout and Quarrick held onto their positions during the second half of the race while Poole finished 4th ahead of Price.

Mark Poole started on the pole position for the regular Martella’s Pharmacy Late Model 40-lap feature.  The driver from Eighty-four, Pennsylvania was making his last start after 20 years behind the wheel of a racecar.  Cody Quarrick from Uniontown, a winner of an ARCA Truck Series event just weeks ago at Jennerstown Speedway, started to Poole’s outside of the front row and pressured the veteran driver for the lead during the early laps of the feature.   Top championship contenders Matt Sever and defending champ Barry Awtey both won their heat races, thus allowing Sever to take his 10-point lead over Awtey into the last race of 2015.  Awtey, Jeremiah Kuntz, winner of the first feature of the evening, and Sever rounded out the Top 5 during the early stages of the race.  On Lap 12, Sever would work the outside of Kuntz to take over the fourth spot in the running order.  On Lap 22, Quarrick would muscle his way past Poole and into the lead.  Four laps later, Awtey shuffled Poole back to 3rd Place.  Poole would lose that position to Sever on Lap 29.  Over the course of the next few laps, Awtey and Sever would swap the runner-up spot with Sever holding the position when a spin by Joe Maruca would bring out the yellow flag with only two laps remaining.  Quarrick got a great jump on the restart with Awtey working under Sever to take over 2nd Place.  Over the last mile of the event, Quarrick held off Awtey to garner his first win at Jennertown in Late Model competition.  Following the Top 2 across the line were Sever, Garry Wiltrout and Poole.   Although he finished a position ahead of Sever, Awtey fell eight points short in picking up his fifth Late Model title at Jennerstown Speedway.  For Sever, it was his first Late Model championship after success in 4-cylinder and Street Stock competition.

Lou Botti and Tom Golik made up the front row to start the 15-lap Modified feature.  Working the outside of Botti, Golik took the lead by the time the lead duo exited Turn 2.  Points leader Bryan Shipp from Scottdale clinched the championship simply by starting the feature.  Shipp would conservatively run in the third spot ahead of Brad Milburn and John Gerula.  Golik, who just weeks ago won his first race on asphalt, opened up a 10-car length lead over Botti.  With a couple of laps to go, Shipp began to challenge Botti for the runner-up spot, but fell short as Golik cruised to the win over Botti, Shipp, Milburn and Gerula.  Golik won the heat race, but fell 17 points shy of Shipp for the Modified title.

By winning his heat race, J&J Truck Bodies and Trailers Street Stock points leader Anthony Aiello opened up his gap over his closest title challenger, Ron Eiford III, by 26 points.  Aiello and Eiford started from the third row for their 25-lap feature.  Polesitter Zane Ferrell would lead the first five laps of the event before Aiello would take the point position.  Two laps later, Adam Kostelnik, from his 8th-starting position, would take over 2nd Place with a run inside of Ferrell.   During the middle stages of the race, Kostelnik road in the tire tracks of his HB Motorsports teammate while Ferrell, Jerod Brougher and Eiford waged a tight battle for the third spot.  Kostelnik, the all-time winner in Street Stock competition at Jennerstown, began to work the outside of Aiello and eventually took the lead on Lap 15.  Brougher took 3rd Place away from Ferrell on Lap 20 with Eiford shuffling Ferrell back another spot with two laps to go.  Down the stretch, Kostelnik was able to open up a lead of three car lengths over Aiello to claim his fifth victory of 2015.  Rounding out the Top 5 were Brougher, Eiford and Ferrell.  Aiello, in his first full season of Street Stock competition, collected three wins and won the title over Eiford by 30 points.

While his son fell short in his bid for a division championship, Ron Eiford, Jr. only needed to start the 15-lap Charger feature to secure his first points title.  From his 4th-starting position, Eiford ran a conservative race while polesitter Steve Singo, driving in place of Steve Long, paced the field from the drop of the green.  McKeeport’s Jamie Shipley was Singo’s first challenger for the point position before Jon Scott would work under him for the position on Lap 5.  One lap later, Andrew Kostelnik, who early won the Charger heat race, overtook Shipley to move into 3rd Place while Singo continue to hold the top spot.  By Lap 11, Scott had began to work the outside of Singo for the lead, only to get loose off of Turn 4 on Lap 12 and loose ground to the Hooversville driver.  Singo, who has battled cancer the past two years, maintained a four car length advantage over Scott down the stretch to capture his first career win.  A tight battle within the Top 5 saw Kostelnik come home in 3rd place with Shipley claiming 4th over Eiford.  Eiford, from Scottdale, won the title by 35 points over Scott.

Going into Saturday’s action, the closest championship battle was being waged in the Somerset Trust Company Fast ‘N Furious 4’s division.   Paul Koffler, Jr., on the strength of winning his fifth feature of the year last week, evened the title hunt with Somerset’s Cindy Rhodes who suffered mechanical woes during same event.  With a win in one of two heat races, coupled with Rhodes’ 3rd Place heat race finish, Koffler gained two points on his closest championship contender.  Rhodes would start 3rd in the 15-lap feature with Koffler taking the green in the eighth position.  Rhodes dove under polesitter Joe Laposky in Turn 1 on the first lap and secured the top spot by the time they reached Turn 4.  Casey Fleegle, in his first year of racing on asphalt, and Koffler overtook Laposky on the next trip around the track with Paul Koffler III and defending champion Steve Settle following suit.  Fleegle and Koffler swapped positions on Lap 4.  On Lap 6, Koffler dove under Rhodes in Turn 1 to take over the lead.  While Koffler began to open up his advantage on the field, Rhodes, Fleegle and the junior Koffler all ran about two car lengths from each other.  Paul Koffler III began to pressure Fleegle for 3rd Place in the latter stages of the race, allowing Rhodes to open the gap on the duo.  Paul Koffler Jr. would run the rest of the race uncontested to garner his sixth win of the season and wrap up the division title with a four-point gap between himself and Rhodes.  Rhodes held onto 2nd Place in the feature.  Fleegle, who won the other heat race, came home in 3rd ahead of Paul Koffler III and Settle.

Jennerstown Speedway Complex will hold a Flea Market and Racing Swap Meet on Sunday, September 13th, from 6am to 2pm.  Admission is free to the public.  It is just $15 for vendors.  Concessions will be available.  Jennerstown Speedway’s First Annual End of the Year Banquet will be held on Saturday, October 24th, at the Bakersville Fire Hall in Somerset.  Drivers and race teams have until September 15th to pre-register.  After September 15th, registration will be open to the public.