Racing at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 31 again proved to be fast and furious, especially during the running of the 3rd Annual Ed Laboon 20 in the Sportsman division. Brandon Burgoon was the feature winner in the Diehl of Robinson DIRTcar Super Late Model race. Oil City’s Curt Bish, Jr. took the checkered flag to claim victory in the Ed Laboon 20, which was also the inaugural race of the Penn/OH Pro Stock Series. Young driver Ryan Montgomery won the feature race in the Precise Racing Products Late Model event, and Hannah Ramsey followed last week’s feature win with a repeat performance to claim first place in the Miley BP Car Wash Hobby Stock main event. Oakdale’s Devin Black added another win to his total this season in the Imperial Heights Garage Young Gun feature, and Jim Bryce was the winner in the ¾ late model division.
The first heat race in the Diehl of Robinson DIRTcar Super Late Model had John Mollick thundering ahead to take the first spot away from pole sitter Scott Gunn. Mollick developed an impressive lead that the other drivers could not overcome and finished first. Steve Baker started first and was able to hold onto the top spot in the second super late model heat. After the top 12 redraw, the feature event had Imperial’s Brandon Burgoon starting in first. Burgoon was pursued by veteran drivers Lynn Geisler and Ben Miley, but he held on and took the checkered flag. Geisler, Miley, Colton Flinner and Baker followed.
The 3rd Annual Ed Laboon 20 showcased an impressive field of 46 cars, which was also the inaugural race of the Penn/OH Pro Stock Series. Kudos to Vince Laboon for all the hard work in organizing the drivers, sponsors and impressive payout and bonuses in the Sportsman feature. The 5 heat races were lined up determined by qualifying earlier in the evening. A horrific wreck in the first heat had driver Larry McDonald crashing into the turn 4 wall and safety fence, leaving a light stand hanging over the track. The track crew rushed to pull McDonald to safety, who thankfully was able to walk to the ambulance with a little assistance. After track personnel righted the pole and checked to make sure the night could safely go on, racing continued. In the same heat, Rusty Martz of Brookville set a new track record in the Sportsman division, completing his fastest lap in 21.043 seconds at a speed of almost 107 mph. Martz claimed the top spot in the first heat. Tim Burns, Rob Shook, Jeff Broniszewski and Christian Schneider also finished first in the remaining heats. Two B-Main races allowed Pat and Todd Weldon, Kyle Shannon, Jim Fosnaught, Tom Scott, Ricky Steigerwald, Joey Koteles and Shawn Fawcett to start in the 20 lap feature event. The main event featured 28 drivers with Martz on the pole, followed by Broniszewski, Fawcett and Shaun Hooks. The track was fast and produced some exciting side-by-side racing, with lead changes taking place a number of times and drivers jockeying for position behind the leader. On lap 14, Curt Bish, Jr. of Oil City charged to the front of the pack after starting 13th and was able to hold onto the lead and become the feature winner and hard charger of the night. Bish was closely followed by Broniszewski, Martz, Fawcett and Schneider.
The Precise Racing Products Rush Late Models first heat race had Nico DaBecco finishing in the top spot after starting on the pole. The second heat race was won by by Tarentum’s Corey McPherson, who continues to impress after starting 8th. The main event featured Fairmont, West Virginia’s Ryan Montgomery taking the checkered flag with Josh Holtgraver, McPherson, Russ Kolesar and Justin Lamb finishing in the remaining top 5 spots.
Hannah Ramsey continues to improve her driving skills by winning her second feature in a row in the Miley BP Car Wash Hobby Stock race. Steve Pyeritz and Dylan Bolind followed. Pyeritz won the heat race.
Devin Black made a pass on the second lap to take first place in the Imperial Heights Garage Young Guns division event, followed by Michael Jackson, David Ostrander, O.B. Huff, Roman O’Neill, and Marc Simmons.
The action-packed evening was capped off with a ¾ Late Model feature, which was called after a serious wreck by Jake Wrecker and time constraints on the third lap. Jim Bryce finished first, followed by Kelvin Kohan, Wrecker, Carl Kohan and Colton Flinner.