Boom Briggs of Bear Lake, PA held off the 2009 O’Reilly All Star Late Model Series Champion and current 2010 point leader Rob Blair, Titusville, PA and Bruceton Mills, WV hard charger Doug Horton to capture his first ASLMS win of the 2010 season and fourth ASLMS win of his career at Sharon Speedway’s $4,000 to-win ‘All Star 40?.

It all started with Briggs and Horton leading the star-studded 24 car field to the green flag with Boom taking command early. Briggs set a torrid pace around the 3/8th mile high banked Ohio oval with Horton basically strapped to his rear deck-lid. Briggs was glued to the bottom of the speedway as Horton was forced to maneuver around to find a lane to get along side of Boom. Horton would show his nose on the outside a few times but couldn’t make a move stick.

The pace was slowed for the first time on lap ten as Stevensville, ONT’s Darren Peters would lose the handle of his mount to bring out the events first caution. That caution was quickly followed by another caution on lap 11 as Jared Hawkins, Jim Rasey, Chris Hackett, Matt Lux, and Corey Ruffo were all collected in turn two. As racing resumed Blair added himself into the mix by challenging Horton for the second position. With the pressure Horton had coming from Blair, it seemed that Doug was able to up the ante and reel in race leader Briggs after a lap 16 caution. By Lap 21, Horton was able to make his way around Boom to capture the lead.

Horton was never able to pull away from the pack though as Briggs and Blair stayed right with the Bobby Lake Motorsports Warrior Chassis. After two more quick cautions on laps 25 and 26, Briggs changed his line in turns three and four and was able to pull alongside of Horton and around to re-capture the lead on lap 33. The excitement wasn’t over though as Horton continued to mount a charge on the bottom while Blair worked the outside. The three were almost three-wide at times battling for the lead with two laps to go as Sarver, PA’s John Garvin Jr., who earlier won his first ever ASLMS Rocket Chassis Heat Race, came to a stop on the front stretch setting up a two lap dash to the checkers.

Briggs was able to hold off Horton and Blair by .942 seconds for the $4,000 payday as Blair made his way around Horton for second. Dave Hess Jr. was credited with fourth as Gregg Satterlee rounded out the top five. Zack Dohm was sixth followed by Mike Knight in seventh, Keith Barbara eighth, Greg Oakes ninth, and John Mollick tenth.

Event Recap:
O’Reilly All Star Late Models at Sharon Speedway – June 8, 2010
Event title: Sharon All Star 40
Finish / Start / Car # / Driver Name
1. (1) 99B Boom Briggs
2. (3) W11 Rob Blair
3. (2) 46 Doug Horton
4. (12) 44H Dave Hess Jr.
5. (9) 22S Gregg Satterlee
6. (13) 17D Zack Dohm
7. (5) 9K Mike Knight
8. (10) 17 Keith Barbara
9. (7) 22 Greg Oakes
10. (15) 4J John Mollick
11. (14) H1 Jared Miley
12. (22) Brent Rhebergen
13. (8) 37 Jared Hawkins
14. (19) 17L Dennis Lunger Jr.
15. (18) 1P Darren Peters
16. (4) 32R Jim Rasey
17. (23) 32R Corey Ruffo
18. (6) J4 John Garvin
19. (24) 67 Charles Supplee
20. (21) 21* Bill Henry
21. (20) 2J Mike Johnson
22. (11) 33 Chris Hackett
23. (16) 21 Matt Lux
24. (17) 16* Derek Frank
DNS: 56K Russ King

Car Count: 27
Time of the Event: 31 Min; 43 Sec
Caution Laps: 10, 11, 16, 25, 26, 38
Lead Changes: 2
Lap Leaders: 1 – 20 Briggs, 21 – 32 Horton, 33 – 40 Briggs
Red Flags: None
Frankland Racing Supply Hard Charger: 44H Dave Hess Jr.

Track Record: Set in August of 2006 is 15.383 and is held by Robbie Scott.

Victory Signs Time Trials presented by Fleming Design Solutions:
Car # / Driver Name / Time
46 Doug Horton 15.791
17D Zack Dohm 15.930
W11 Rob Blair 15.995
9K Mike Knight 16.155
22S Gregg Satterlee 16.247
56K Russ King 16.344
32R Jim Rasey 16.438
21 Matt Lux 16.458
J4 John Garvin 16.463
37 Jared Hawkins 16.470
99B Boom Briggs 16.478
33 Chris Hackett 16.599
21* Bill Henry 16.623
07R Brent Rhebergen 16.742
2J Mike Johnson 16.748
22 Greg Oakes 16.749
17 Keith Barbara 16.761
16* Derek Frank 16.782
44H Dave Hess Jr. 16.847
H1 Jared Miley 16.924
4J John Mollick 16.969
17L Dennis Lunger Jr. 17.008
1P Darren Peters 17.049
25B Greg Beylea 17.121
67 Charles Supplee 17.241
144 Anthony Kinkade 17.247
38R Cory Ruffo 17.395

Rocket Chassis Heat Race #1: W11 Rob Blair, 46 Doug Horton, 22S Gregg Satterlee, 44H Dave Hess Jr., 21 Matt Lux, 21* Bill Henry, 38R Corey Ruffo

Rocket Chassis Heat Race #2: 9K Mike Knight, 37 Jared Hawkins, 56K Russ King, 17D Zack Dohm, 2J Mike Johnson, 67 Charles Supplee

Rocket Chassis Heat Race #3: 99B Boom Briggs, 32R Jim Rasey, 17 Keith Barbara, H1 Jared Miley, 07R Brent Rhebergen, 25B Greg Beylea, 17L Dennis Lunger Jr.

Rocket Chassis Heat Race #4: J4 John Garvin, 22 Greg Oakes, 33 Chris Hackett, 4J John Mollick, 16* Derek Frank, 1P Darren Peters, 144 Anthony Kinkade

Dirtfix.net B-Main presented by Stivason Photos: 21 Matt Lux, 16* Derek Frank, 1P Darren Peters, 17L Dennis Lunger Jr., 2J Mike Johnson, 21* Bill Henry, 07R Brent Rhebergen, 38R Corey Ruffo, 67 Charles Supplee, 25B Greg Beylea, 144 Anthony Kinkade

Briggs drives his family owned #99B Rocket Chassis with a Custom Racing Engine and American Racer Tires. Sponsors include Horton Equipment, Sorbera Family Chiropractic, CJ’s Auto Transport, Briggs Transport, Sunset Dairy, and American Racer Tires.

O’Reilly All Star Late Model Series Statistics:
The win was Boom’s fourth career win with the Series. Series career win leader board (Modern Era): Boom Briggs – 4, Rob Blair – 3, Eddie Carrier Jr. – 3, Duane Chamberlain – 1, Shane Clanton – 1, Rod Conley – 1, Chub Frank – 1, Jamie Lathroum – 1, Jared Miley – 1, D.J. Myers – 1, Brady Smith – 1.

2010 O’Reilly All Star Late Model Series Event Winners:
April 30 – Lernerville Speedway – Sarver, PA – Rob Blair, Titusville, PA
May 1 – KC Raceway – Chillcothe, OH – Weather
May 15 – Hilltop Speedway – Millersburg, OH – Dave Hess Jr., Waterford, PA
May 16 – West Virginia Motor Speedway – Mineral Wells, WV – Postponed
May 29/30 – Central PA Speedway – Clearfield, PA – Rob Blair, Titusville, PA
June 8 – Sharon Speedway – Hartford, OH – Boom Briggs, Bear Lake, PA

The average car count per event is: 30

2010 O’Reilly All Star Late Model Series Point Standings:
1. W11 Rob Blair 878
2. 99B Boom Briggs 852
3. H1 Jared Miley 826
4. 22S Gregg Satterlee 814
5. 37 Jared Hawkins 802
6. 22 Greg Oakes 800
7. 21 Matt Lux 722
8. J4 John Garvin Jr. 720
9. 1P Darren Peters 692
10. Dave Hess Jr. 576

2010 Frankland Racing Supply Hard Charger Points:
Car # / Name / Points
1. H1 Jared Miley 21
2. 37 Jared Hawkins 15
3. 22 Greg Oakes 11
4. 21 Matt Lux 10
5. W11 Rob Blair 11
6. 44 Dave Hess Jr. 11
7. 22S Gregg Satterlee 6
8. 1P Darren Peters 4
9. 99B Boom Briggs 2
10. 71R Rod Conley 2
11. J4 John Garvin Jr. 1

Additional information on the O’Reilly All Star Late Model Series can be found on www.oreillyallstars.com.

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By Mike Leone

March 27, 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mercer, PA…Mercer Raceway Park opened the 59^th anniversary season with a bang on Saturday night.  The grandstands and pits were full of eager racers and fans as the 2010 western Pennsylvania racing season kicked off with the “Chiller Thriller”.  Capturing wins were Mike Knight-UFo Super Late Models, Joel Watson-United E-Mod Series, Dan Lewis-open Stock Cars, and Kevin Kilgore-Mini Stocks.

Despite one of the snowiest winters on record and snow two nights prior, Saturday matched the earliest opener back to the inaugural “Chiller Thriller” on March 27, 2004.  The track was in excellent condition allowing three and four-wide racing and drivers coming from the rear all night long.

Mike Knight won a race many fans won’t forget.  Knight captured his first career Mercer victory charging from the 15^th starting spot to win over talent-laden field in the “Mach 41” UFo Super Late Model feature worth $2.500.  The race marked the 40^th anniversary since Late Models first appeared at Mercer in 1970.

“That’s a heck of a way to get the year started,” exclaimed the Ripley, NY racer.  “We’re pretty happy with that!  I came from a long way back.  It was tough and I had to work for it.  I had a good car in the heat race, but the track was kind of one lane and hard to get by so we didn’t even change anything for the feature.  I’m really happy for my guys- they worked their butts off to get ready.  They all have full time jobs and they dedicate their time to me.”    

Interesting enough the front row was made up of the last two Mercer Late Model winners with John Flinner, Jr. and John Mollick leading the field to green.   Flinner raced out front to lead the opening lap with the duo running side-by-side on laps two and three with Mollick getting under the leader off turn two to lead the lap.

Dave Hess, Jr. quickly moved into contention.  Despite starting 10^th, Hess was up to third on lap five when he dropped Denton Boyer, who was making his first ever Mercer start, back to fourth.  After 13 consecutive green flag laps, Doug Eck slowed to bring out the caution.  When racing resumed, it was four-wide for second with Flinner the odd man out as Hess moved into second with eighth starting Gregg Satterlee third, and Knight now up to fourth.

Following the restart for a spin by Tim Burns, Knight grabbed second from Hess on lap 17.  Knight ran down Mollick and the two ran side-by-side for the lead on lap 21 and 22.  Knight pressured Mollick on the bottom, but Mollick had just enough to hold on to the lead.  With Mollick and Knight battling, Hess and Satterlee joined in making it a four-car race for the lead on lap 23.  Knight and Mollick again ran side-by-side on laps 25 and 26 before a caution for Clate Copeman with 26 laps completed.

When racing resumed, it was three-wide for the lead as Knight took over the top spot on lap 27.  Satterlee then grabbed third from Hess, while 12^th starting Chad Valone quietly snuck into contention moving into the top five on lap 28.  One lap later, Valone took fourth from Hess.  Valone then made a great move with a three-wide pass on lap 31 to jump into second past Satterlee and Mollick.

Valone had one restart with a shot at Knight, but Knight was too much in his Jay’s Auto Wrecking/Key Pointe Realty/Keystone Alliance Insurance-sponsored #9K.  Valone’s runner-up finish was his best ever at Mercer.  Hess held on to third.  Kevin Barbara, who started 18^th, got around Mollick on lap 38 to finish fourth.  Mollick dropped to fifth.  Sixth through tenth were Satterlee, Flinner, John Garvin, Jr., Chad McClellan, and Jim Kutas.  Heat winners over the 28-car field were Dave Murdick, Greg Oakes, and Flinner.  Kutas won the B main in his first ever Mercer appearance.

If 15^th to 1^st wasn’t good enough for the fans, Joel Watson was able to top that coming all the way from the 21^st starting spot to win the 25-lap United E-Mod Series opener worth $1,000.  “When I moved into fifth or sixth I was thinking this is a miracle,” described the Conneaut, Ohio driver.  “As good as my car was, I knew they were in trouble.  It didn’t matter where they let me run I was going to pass them.  It ain’t all that often you get a car that good when there is money on the line- I’ll take it when I get it.”

Tim Peterson led the opening lap until Randy Hall made the move for the lead on lap two with Rich Michael, Jr. following.  Fifth starting Dave Hess, Jr. grabbed third from Peterson on lap three.  Hess inherited second when Michael spun with seven laps completed.   When racing resumed, Hess was able to lead the ensuing lap as he snuck past Hall on the outside of turn four brushing the frontstretch wall.

Watson worked his way to the front as he took third from Peterson on lap 14 then ducked under Hall for second on lap 20 before a caution for Kari Gasser.  Watson made the winning move driving under and by Hess in turn four on lap 21 and survived three restarts in the final three laps for his second career win in the Derrick Cooper-owned #92.  The win may have been bittersweet as Watson had to be pushed to victory lane with a possible blown motor.

On lap 24, Hess slipped off the track allowing Brent Rhebergen and Carl McKinney by for second and third.  Rhebergen edged McKinney for the runner-up spot after restarting from the tail on lap six.  Hess and Hall dropped to fourth and fifth respectively.  Justin Carlson, Mike Knight, Tim Engles, Michael, and Greg Johnson rounded out the top five.  Heat winners over the 25-car field were Michael, Peterson, and Hall.

Dan Lewis was awarded the 25-lap Stock Car win after Greg Fenno failed a post-race tech inspection.  Fenno and Lewis put on an excellent side-by-side clean race over the event’s last 18 laps.  Lewis’ victory was the fifth of his career at Mercer with ironically three of them being $1,000 to-win races.

Mike Duritsky charged into the lead at the start.  Fenno, who started fourth, passed Matt Lozowski for third on lap one then advanced to second past Chris Schneider on lap three.  A three-wide battle for the lead on lap four allowed Chris Schneider to take over the top spot with Fenno and Lewis to second and third.

Following a caution with four laps completed, Fenno took the lead away from Schneider.  Lewis then moved to second on lap seven dropping Schneider to third.  One lap later, Schneider exited the event, which moved Duritsky back to third.

Lewis and Fenno battled hard for the lead.  The two ran side-by-side on laps 14 and 15 with Lewis nudging ahead to lead the 15^th circuit, but Fenno inched back ahead at the line to lead lap 16.  Lewis was all over Fenno once again on lap 21 and the two ran side-by-side on lap 22.  Fenno finally broke away by a couple car lengths in the following laps, but Lewis was right there and made one last ditch effort entering turn three and through turn four, but Fenno had just enough for the apparent win by a car-length.

Fenno’s win was stripped in post race tech due to the fact he had a non-approved carburetor for the spec “358” weight class he had claimed, which meant he was light for the open weight class.  Lewis’ win came in his #64 and was his first at Mercer since his preliminary night “Little Guy Nationals” win on September 28, 2007.

After starting eighth, Chris Haines was credited with second.  Russ Coyne had a great running coming from 12^th to place third.  Duritsky dropped to fourth with Shaun Hooks coming from the tail to finish fifth.  Sixth through tenth were Levi Ardery, Rod Laskey, Ken Zimmer, John Kinsey, and Jamie Price.  Topping the heat races over the 32-car field were Price, Lewis, Martz, and Duritsky.  Ardery and Zimmer won the two B mains.

Kevin Kilgore ended the 2009 season as the “Warlock 30” winner after subbing for his son Cory and opened the year winning the “Chiller Thriller” for Mini Stocks once again subbing for his son.  Kilgore’s 15-lap win was worth $100.   “Usually it’s my boy running it, but he had to work tonight so I got lucky tonight,” explained the Kittanning, PA driver.  “We’re going to run here all year.  This car really seems to run good here.”

Kilgore drew the pole position and went out and led the entire way.  His only real challenge was from 2008 track champion Dillon Kineston.  Kineston started seventh and was up to second past Shawn Hadden on lap two.  Kineston was all over Kilgore in the closing laps and nearly got by in lapped traffic at the finish.  Kilgore had just enough to hold on in the Smith’s Auto Sales #0.

Kineston was disqualified in post-race tech for illegal heads, which moved Hadden to second.  John Shannon was third.  Defending champion Jamey Lee raced from 12^th to finish fourth in a race that had just two cautions- both coming in the first lap.  Jerry Batcher was fifth.  Lucas Miller of Andolsheim, France drove Carlos Aponte’s #1 to an eighth place finish in his first ever Mercer start.  Heat victors over the 21-car field were Batcher and Kilgore.

UFO Super Late Models (41 laps, $2,500 to-win): 1. MIKE KNIGHT (9K)  2. Chad Valone (2V)  3. Dave Hess, Jr. (44)  4. Keith Barbara (17)  5. John Mollick (4J)  6. Gregg Satterlee (22)  7. John Flinner, Jr. (48)  8. John Garvin, Jr. (J4)  9. Chad McClellan (119)  10. Jim Kutas (Settie S1)  11. Denton Boyer (56)  12. Greg Oakes (22)  13. Tom Decker, Jr. (43)  14. Dwayne Pond (Bidwell B1D)  15. Jared Miley (H1)  16. Ron Davies (Schwartz 17D)  17. Tim Burns (*2B)  18. Tony Musolino (21)  19. Clate Copeman (28c)  20. Tommy Beck (91)  21. Dereck Frank (16*) 22. Jim Stephens (38)  23. Dave Murdick (Peterman 1)  24. Doug Eck (03)  DNQ: Justin Kreider (29), Ben Porter (16B), Dennis Lunger, Jr. (Schwartz 17L), Ray Kroll, Sr. (15).

United E-Mod Series (25 laps, $1,000 to-win): 1. JOEL WATSON (Cooper 92)  2. Brent Rhebergen (Suppa 4s)  3. Carl McKinney (Hendrickson 6M)  4. Dave Hess, Jr. (44H)  5. Randy Hall (10)  6. Justin Carlson (16)  7. Mike Knight (Clinger *222)  8. Tim Engles (68)  9. Rich Michael, Jr. (17x)  10. Greg Johnson (05)  11. Dave Atkinson (30)  12. Kari Gasser (0K)  13. Craig Bedell (44)  14. Tim Peterson (07P)  15. Jordan Eck (20)  16. Nick Cramer (18c)  17. Mike Eschrich (9E)  18. Vic Vena (01)  19. Rich Gardner (Clinger 222)  20. Howard Fraley (17)  21. Dan Davies (71D)  22. T.J. Downs (03)  23. Clayton Kennedy (9)  24. Shane Crotty (4)  25. Darren Tarabori (6)-DNS.

Stock Cars (25 laps, $1,000 to-win): 1. DAN LEWIS (64)  2. Chris Haines (35H)  3. Russ Coyne (8c)  4. Mike Duritsky (90)  5. Shaun Hooks (Janovick 65)  6. Levi Ardery (27)  7. Rod Laskey (Sloss 44s)  8. Ken Zimmer (62)  9. John Kinsey (27J)  10. Jamie Price (137)  11. Chris Withers (21W)  12. Dwight Boice (528)  13. Bill Lanigan (142)  14. Dan McEwen (44M)  15. Matt Lozowski (7)  16. Jason Johns (31)  17. Josh Seippel (84)  18. Tim Deutsch (11D)  19. Steve D’Apolito (84)  20. Chris Schneider (55)  21. Rusty Wheeler (Howell 5RT)  22. Rusty Martz (16M)  23. Dave Ferringer (02)  24. Greg Fenno (71)-DSQ  25. Tim Bish (1B)-DNS  DNQ: Jason Fosnaught (Seitz J19), Dale Yeaney (21Y), Shaun Fawcett (224), Russ Byler (06R), Matt Wagner (12), Brandon Johnston (14J), Kevin Hill (98).

Mini Stocks (15 laps, $100 to-win): 1. KEVIN KILGORE (0)  2. Shawn Hadden (3H)  3. John Shannon (14)  4. Jamey Lee (44J)  5. Jerry Batcher (Blazczak 7)  6. Dan Bish (4x)  7. Ed Haylett (8-ball)  8. Lucas Miller (Aponte 1)  9. Brad Shaffer (17)  10. Cory Eckels (5)  11. Doug Ehrenberg (D57)  12. Pete Blazczak (77)  13. Troy Lehnortt (46)  14. Wally Stearns, Jr. (33)  15. Matt McNany (141)  16. Adam Pletcher (13)  17. Randy Sprouse (23s)  18. Zach Hawk (47)  19. Lucas Sprouse (24s)  20. Dillon Kineston (19)-DSQ  21. Tim Callahan (54)-DNS.

Upcoming Events:

4/03 Sprint Cars, Modifieds, FASTRAK Late Models, Stock Cars, & Mini Stocks. Points start.

4/07 Open practice for all divisions.  Pits open at 4 PM.  Practice 5 PM until dark.  Rain date 4/8

4/10 Sprints, Mods, FASTRAK Late Models, E-Mods, & Mini Stocks.

4/17 Sprints, Mods, FASTRAK Late Models, E-Mods, Stocks, Mini Stocks.

Pits open at 3:30 PM.  Grandstands at 4:30. Hot laps at 6:15.  Racing at 7.

Mercer Raceway Park is a 3/8-mile dirt track located minutes from both Interstate 79 and 80 just off Route 19 on Fairground Road in Mercer, Pa. Dirt track racing and quality family entertainment are presented weekly late March through early October. The office in New Bedford, Pa. is open year-round late mornings and after 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information call the office at 724-964-9300 or the track on race day at 724-662-1310. Check out our website at www.mercerracewaypark.com for the latest. Go to www.twitter.com/mercerraceway or Mercer Raceway Park at www.facebook.com/mercerracewaypark to stay up to date.