Alex Ferree and Dave Hess Jr. dominate ULMS/UEMS features
Mike Miller prevails over Joe Kelley & AJ Flick to score victory
Sarver, PA (July 19, 2013) Lernerville Speedway welcome Mindy Norris as the new trophy girl Friday Night and said goodbye to outgoing Makayla Guidace. They were joined in Sheetz Victory Lane by Dave Hess Jr. and Alex Ferree who dominated the UEMS Modified and ULMS Late Model features respectively and by Pic-A-Part Sportsman feature winner Mike Miller.
Dave Hess Jr. pulled double duty again Friday Night piloting both his UEMS Modified and ULMS Late Model. Hess won his heat race in both divisions and then led all 25-laps of the UEMS Modified feature from the outside pole. A handful of cautions prevented Hess from driving away from the field, but he led all 25 laps en route to his fifth career EMod win at the Action Track. UEMS Points leader Steve Dixon won his heat and chased Hess to the checkers but never mounted a serious challenge to his lead. Randy Hall also won his heat race and finished on the podium with Hess and Dixon. Brothers Jonathan and Evan Taylor rounded out the UEMS top five ahead of Chris Basich, Shane Crotty, Carmen Perigo, Vic Vena and Carl McKinney. The UEMS Mods will be back at Lernerville Speedway in October for the DIRTcar Round Up Steel City Stampede.
After a quick trip to Sheetz Victory Lane, Hess hustled back to the pits to strap into his ULMS Late Model mount and was part of the early race battle for the lead along with outside polesitter Alex Ferree, (who took the lead at the drop of the green flag around the top of turns one & two), polesitter Dan Stone and a lightning fast Garrett Krummert. With $2,500 on the line, the action was fast and furious during short green flag sessions that were repeatedly marred by cautions. And while the tops of turns one & two were bad fast, the top of turn two refused to hold drivers, as contenders Garrett Krummert and Dan Stone both slid off the top and surrendered front spots. Hess, himself eventually surrendered a podium position by jumping, bicycling and almost flipping over the cushion at the apex of turns three & four. Hess (21st) and Krummert (22nd) were scored as DNFs, while Stone had to settle for a finish outside the top five.
Through all the cautions and restarts, former Three-Time Track Champion Alex Ferree never wavered and led all 30 laps on the way to his 21st career Late Model feature win; tying his father Ed for 7th all time. Car owner Joe Corado and Integra Shocks guru Brian Daugherty joined an exuberant Alex Ferree in Sheetz Victory Lane to celebrate the $2,500 payday.
Jared Miley avoided all the carnage between his 11th starting position and the checkered flag to score a second place finish. Miley quickly made his way to third by mid-race and made a handful of slidejob attempts at Ferree’s lead, but never could make one stick to score his third win of the season. Uncle Sam 30 winner Russell King returned to the Action Track and scored a podium finish behind Ferree and Miley in third. Boom Briggs and Mike Blose came from mid-pack on the starting grid to finish fourth and fifth respectively. Early lead contender Dan Stone finished sixth ahead of Mike Pegher Jr., Chuck Sarver, Dan Angelicchio and Mike Knight. Alex Ferree set quick time in fast lap qualifying with a lap of 15.050 seconds; just .05 seconds off Rick Eckert’s Late Model Track Record of 15 seconds flat set during the 2011 Firecracker 100 Night 1 preliminary time trials. Knight, Stone and Hess won the three ULMS heat races and Doug Eck won the B-Main.
While Hess and Ferree lead all 30 and 25 laps of their respective features, the Millerstown Pic-A-Part DIRTcar Sportsman 20-lap feature saw multiple lead changes between Mike Miller, AJ Flick, Joe Kelley and eventually Mike Miller again who scored his second win of the season. Miller drew the pole and was flanked on the grid by Budweiser Points co-leader AJ Flick. Miller took the early lead on the same top groove the Late Models used to the front, but Flick dove under and past Miller into the lead in turns three & four to take the lead on lap three. Flick would lead the next five circuits until All Time division wins leader Super Joe Kelley used the same bottom line through three & four to wrest the lead from the third-generation star. But Miller, whose car stubbornly wouldn’t launch on restarts, continued to pound the top of the turns and eventually drove around Kelley exiting turn two and down the back straightaway. With an open track and green flag conditions, Miller motored to his second win of the season, while Kelley and Flick were left to battle for second.
Kelley held of Flick for second at the checkered flag, while Flick’s co-leader in the Budweiser Points Corey McPherson charged to a fourth place finish from 12th on the grid. Jim Fosnaught used a last lap, last turn pass of Brett McDonald to score another top five finish. McDonald had to settle for sixth ahead of Bob Egley, Mark Sanders, Rob Shook and Bob Lipinski. Heats went to McPherson, Fosnaught and Miller. After 10 nights of racing and for a second straight week, Flick and McPherson sit tied for the Pic-A-Part Sportsman lead in Budweiser Points.
Fab Four Racing returns for the first of six straight Fast Fridays to the Budweiser Title hunt next Friday, July 26. Fab Four Racing Championship Night is scheduled for Friday, August 30. Next Friday, July 26 is also Turner Dairy Night and the Turner’s Premium Iced TeaBird will be back at the track for pre-race samplings and to turn more laps around the Action Track!
Contact: Lernerville Speedway
Eric J. Westendorf, Public Relations Director
(724) 664-1075 / ewestendorf@dirtcar.com
Photos Courtesy of John Stivason/Stivason Photos