Satterlee Doubles Up At PPMS Pittsburgher
6 min read
The Pittsburgher 26 did not disappoint with great racing action among some of the area’s best late model drivers; Gregg Satterlee took home the top prize by finishing first in the field in the Diehl of Robinson Super Late Model $5,000 to win event. The Precise Racing Products Pro Lates held a 25 lap feature event with Colton Flinner earning the victory in the last lap of the exciting race. Also featured for the night was an open rules race in the Sunoco Race Fuels Sportsman division and had Ricky Steigerwald earning his first win of the year in that event. Joe Podilinsky and Karlee Kovacs both added to their win totals for the year in the Miley BP Car Wash and Imperial Heights Garage Young Guns classes.
Davey Johnson posted the fastest time in the qualifying runs, with a lap time of 20.202. Qualifying determined how the 4 heats were lined up. During qualifying, Tony Musolino had to retire to the pits for the night after the front end of his car sustained some serious damage. Johnson, Gregg Satterlee, Mason Ziegler and Jared Miley all finished in the top spot in their heats. Heat 2 saw Michael Davis take a hard turn into the wall coming out of turn 3 thus ending his chances to take the win in the feature event. Satterlee started on the outside pole as the green flag waved and quickly moved to the top spot and maintained that position to easily lead all 50 laps in the Diehl of Robinson Super Late Model Pittsburgher 26. At one point, PPMS track champion Alex Ferree made an impressive charge to try and pass Satterlee, but he couldn’t quite complete the pass and ended up finishing 2nd. Lynn Geisler worked his way through the pack and finished 3rd after starting in the 13th spot. Dylan Yoder and local track favorite Jared Miley rounded out the top five.
The Precise Racing Products Rush Late Models showcased some great racing, starting with their three heat qualifying events. Tommy Schirnhofer, Ryan Montgomery and Chad Ruhlman were winners in their heats. Next up was a 10 lap B-Main event and John Waters earned the win in that event. A four lap dash followed and Chad McClelland placed first at the checkers. The 25 lap feature event had 27 drivers scheduled to start, but before the race started track champion and Rookie of the Year driver at PPMS Corey McPherson dropped out due to car troubles. The 1W of William Stile was also a scratch. Josh Holtgraver started on the pole but quickly fell toward the back of the lead pack, as did Jason Rider who also led a few laps. Points leader Ryan Montgomery was in a hard crash that took him out before the race reached the halfway point. However, it was Chad Ruhlman who made the charge to the front and looked to have the win in the bag until his car experienced motor trouble on the white flag lap. This allowed Colton Flinner, who started in the 11th spot and worked his way toward the front of the pack, to take the checkered flag at the finish. Daryl Charlier, John Waters, Nico DaBecco and 13 year old sensation Michael Lake followed.
An open rule event was held for the Sunoco Race Fuels Sportsman feature, and Ricky Steigerwald, who struggled during the regular season, earned his first win in that division. He held off charges by Nick Kocuba, who had another strong night of racing. Joey Koteles, Jake Simmons and Bryan Mitchell finished in the remaining top spots. Koteles and Bill Robertson finished first in their heats. Robertson lost a drive shaft early in the feature and had to drop out for the night.
The Miley BP Car Wash Hobby Stocks 12 lap feature was won by Joe Podolinsky. He was followed by Jacob Wiser, Steve Pyeritz and Dave Sheriff.
Sixteen year old Chartiers Valley High School student Karlee Kovacs earned her 7th feature win in the Imperial Heights Garage Young Guns feature event. Kovacs shot to the lead on the first lap and held off a run by O.B. Huff, who finished second. Michael Jackson and 34 year old newcomer Michael Kirkpatrick followed at the finish. Marc Simmons dropped out due to car issues after lap one.
The second action event for the Pittsburgher 26 weekend was held Sunday evening and showcased some of the best racing of the year during the 50 lap $5,000 to win Herb Scott Memorial in the Diehl of Robinson Super Late Model division. Gregg Satterlee collected his second win of the weekend by holding off a number of challenges from other drivers during restarts. Colton Flinner was also a double winner this weekend as he took the checkered flag in the Precise Racing Products Rush Late Model feature. Track champion Christian Schneider capped off his winning season by collecting another win in the Sunoco Race Fuels Sportsman main event. Joe Podolinsky and Karlee Kovacs were also repeat winners this weekend in the Miley BP Car Wash Hobby Stock and Imperial Heights Garage Young Guns divisions. Kelvin Kohan added another victory to his feature win total in the ¾ Late Model division.
In the four division heats for the Diehl of Robinson Super Late Models, Jared Miley, Devin Moran, Davey Johnson and Alex Ferree all claimed the top spot. As the field of cars lined up for the Herb Scott Memorial, Brandon Burgoon and Jared Miley were at the front of the pack, with Johnson, Satterlee, Ferree and Moran behind them. As the green flag dropped, the drivers jockeyed for position and Burgoon was able to hold on to lead the first lap. However, Satterlee took over the top spot on lap two and didn’t look back as he led the remainder of the field for the rest of the race. Meanwhile, Moran tried to hunt down the leader but just couldn’t overtake Satterlee. Johnson and Miley finished third and fourth, while Russ King and Dylan Yoder put on an excellent show while they jockeyed for position behind the leaders; King wound up in the fifth position.
Colton Flinner and Daryl Charlier started in the third and fourth positions in the Precise Racing Products Rush Late Model feature, but they quickly took over the top two spots and put on a fantastic show and they battled for the top spot. Flinner was out front, but with each passing lap Charlier was able to shave time off and eventually caught up to Flinner. The two drivers were neck and neck heading into turn four, but Flinner was able to hold off Charlier to sweep the weekend in the Rush division. Nico DaBecco had another solid race to finish third, and Justin Lamb and Tommy Schirnhofer rounded out the top five.
Former track champion Jake Simmons started in the top spot for the Sunoco Race Fuels Sportsman race and led the first seven laps of the event, but he was unable to hold off the challenges from young drivers Ricky Steigerwald, Christian Schneider and Todd Weldon. Steigerwald had the lead for lap 8 but it was Schneider who took over the lead after that to hold on for the win to cap off his stellar season. Nick Kocuba worked his way through the field to take over the third spot, and as the checkered flag waved, Weldon and Simmons finished in the fourth and fifth positions.
The Miley BP Hobby Stocks feature was won by Joe Podolinsky, his second win of the weekend. At the finish, he was followed by Steve Pyeritz, Dave Sheriff, Jacob Wiser, and John Dotten.
Karlee Kovacs was also a repeat winner in the Imperial Heights Garage Young Guns class. David Ostrander, O.B. Huff, Marc Simmons and Michael Jackson followed. This was her 8th feature win of the season. Besides being a winning race car driver, Kovacs is also an accomplished trumpet player in the show band at Chartiers Valley High School.
¾ Late Model track champion Kelvin Kohan easily won the feature event in that division, with Jim Thompson, Chris Kohan, Carl Kohan and Colton Flinner behind.
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