Contact: Eric Westendorf
Lernerville Speedway Public Relations
ewestendorf@dirtcar.com | (724) 664-1075
Budweiser Championships heavily contested with two weeks left!
Mat Williamson looks to clinch this Friday in the Diehl Mods
MRO Injured Driver Benefit Auction before and during the races
Sarver, PA (August 21, 2013) The chase to the 2013 Budweiser Track Championships has come to a green-white-checkered finish with just two weeks of Fab Four Racing left on the 2013 schedule. A total of 13 drivers have a shot at the title, though Mat Williamson could clinch his first Lernerville Track Championship on Friday Night and eliminate three drivers from that equation. The Peoples TWP Sprints, Precise Late Models and Pic-A-Part Sportsman divisions, however, appear to be going right down to the wire.
Though Brandon Spithaler has held the lead in the Peoples TWP DIRTcar Sprints for most of the summer, Brandon Matus, Carl Bowser and Eric Williams have all been chipping away at his lead in recent weeks as Spithaler has been experiencing engine issues and bad luck. Matus rides in second by just six points off the strength of last Friday’s feature win. Carl Bowser is just 17 points out of the lead, followed by Eric Williams who is 26 points out. All four drivers have feature wins to their credit this season and the winner(s) of the next two features could play a major role in determining who sits at the head table at next year’s banquet!
The Precise Racing Products DIRTcar Late Models title hunt is a three-car battle between former Three-Time Track Champion Alex Ferree, Defending Track Champion Jared Miley and Sarver’s own John Garvin Jr. Ferree wrested the Budweiser Points lead from Garvin in July and continues to be on a hot streak reminiscent of his breakout season in 2007; the first of his three consecutive titles. Dating back to Fireworks Night on Friday, June 14, Ferree has scored seven consecutive podium finishes with three feature wins including the $3,000-to-win ULMS race and last Friday’s $1,700-to-win Dave Hoffman Memorial. Miley also has three feature wins, most recently on Friday, July 26 and trails Ferree by 25 points. Garvin, who led the points for most of the season, has been suffering through a rough streak of bad luck, but a feature win this Friday night could put him right back in the mix for his first career Track Championship.
Speaking of first career Track Championships, Mat Williamson is well on the way to his first in the Diehl Auto Group DIRTcar Northeast Modifieds in his first full season at the Action Track. In fact, carrying a 53-point lead, the Canadian Sensation could clinch the title this Friday night. Amazingly, Williamson hasn’t finished outside the top four all season long! Defending Track Champion Brian Swartzlander and former Track Champions Dave Murdick and Jeremiah Shingledecker are still mathematically in the hunt, but would need a miraculous set of circumstances to catch and pass Williamson in the points.
Another driver looking for his first Track Championship is third-generation star AJ Flick whose father Mark (1994 Modifieds) and grandfather PeeWee (1973 Late Models) are former Track Champions. Flick will have to fend off Defending Track Champion Corey McPherson to sit at the head table. McPherson has as many feature wins (six) as he is points behind Flick heading into the final two Fast Fridays of Fab Four Racing. Despite winning back-to-back and three of the past four features, Mike Miller remains a distant long shot to score his second title, as he sits more than 50 points behind Flick.
Jackie Matus, proud mother of last Friday’s feature winning Brandon Matus, will host the MRO Injured Drivers Benefit Auction this Friday Night. Fans are encouraged to bring some extra cash to buy tickets and drivers are encouraged to bring t-shirts, car parts or anything collectible that fans might want to get their hands on. Some early items submitted for the auction include an autographed wing panel from Danny Holtgraver, a gift basket from the Justin Fabus Band and VIP Passes to both the World of Outlaws Commonwealth Clash and DIRTcar Round Up Steel City Stampede.
Friday Night is also Senior Citizens Night and all seniors will receive an additional discount of $3 and will pay just $7 to get into general admission. Next Friday, August 30 is Championship Night and thus the final Fab Four Racing program of the 2013 season. Action shifts to Saturday Nights in September starting with Autumn-Motive Fest 2013 on Saturday, September 7 featuring the Sportsman/Stock Spectacular and the $1,000-to-win Enduro 100. “Back to School” Bus & Kids Bike races follow on Saturday, September 14 with Powder Puff, Senior Series, Figure 8s and a Demolition Derby also on the card that night. The World of Outlaws STP Sprints return on Saturday, September 21 for the Commonwealth Clash presented by GottaRace.com. Then, after a month-long hiatus, we’ll throw the checkered flag on the 2013 season with the DIRTcar Round Up Steel City Stampede on Thursday-Friday-Saturday, October 24-25-26.