Sarver, PA (June 10, 2022) There was plenty at stake on Friday, June 17 at Lernerville Speedway as the Fab4 Revved Up with Marburger Farm Dairy drivers competed in the annual Mid-Season Championships that offered guaranteed starting spots for each the division’s premier events throughout the rest of the season. The Peoples Natural Gas Sprints were racing for a spot in the ‘Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup XXXI’ sanctioned by the Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions while the Precise Racing Products Late Models had a spot for next week’s, $50,000 to-win, ‘Firecracker 100 presented by Big River Steel’ featuring the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series on the line. A starting spot for the BRP Modified Tour stop at ‘The Action Track’ during the 14th Annual ‘Steel City Stamped’ was up for grabs for the Diehl Automotive Big Block Modifieds, and for the Millerstown Pic-A-Part Pro Stocks it was a position in the Penn/Ohio Pro Stock Championship Series event scheduled for August 5th.

Outsider, Anthony Tramontana from Vineland, NJ and last week’s winner, Chas Wolbert led the Diehl Modifieds to the green flag with Tramontana taking the early advantage as the field completed the first lap. Wolbert held tough and briefly took the lead in turn one on lap 2 until Jeremiah Shingledecker made it three-wide with Tramontana and Wolbert for the lead out of turn two to propel him to the lead from his third starting position. As Shingledecker set the pace, Wolbert and Tramontana continued to race side-by-side for the second spot. The two swapped the runner-up spot multiple times as Brad Rapp followed in fourth. On lap 6, Rapp made his way by Wolbert for third while eighth starting Brian Swartzlander also got by Wolbert for fourth on lap 7. One circuit later, Swartzlander got past Rapp for the third spot and set his sights on Tramontana. Shingledecker had stretched his lead out to almost four seconds by lap 10 as Swartzlander and Tramontana made slight contact in turn two which got Tramontana sideways. With Tramontana losing momentum, the fourth-place car of Garrett Krummert made contact which started a chain reaction behind him as Brad Rapp and Dave Murdick got together to bring out the caution. Unfortunately for Rapp, his night was over, but Krummert and Murdick were able to continue after going pit side for repairs.

When racing resumed it was still Shingledecker out front as Swartzlander and Tramontana continued to fight for the second spot as Rex King, Jr., threw his hat into the ring while running fourth. On lap 14, Swartzlander was finally able to get past Tramontana before King slowed on the front stretch on lap 16 to bring out the final caution of the race. When the green flag fell again, Swartzlander made his bid for the lead as he and Shingledecker raced side-by-side until lap 19 when Swartzlander was able to complete the pass as Krummert, who restarted at the tail of the field on lap 10, found himself back up to third and began to pressure Shingledecker for second. Krummert made the pass for second as Swartzlander would go on to take his 99th career win at Lernerville Speedway and earn the guaranteed starting spot in this year’s ‘Steel City Stampede’. Krummert crossed the line in second followed by Shingledecker in third, Colton Walters finished fourth with Dave Murdick rallying for a fifth-place finish.

‘I told the boys (crew), man, it’s been so long since I’ve been in victory lane, I don’t know if can find it,’ Swartzlander said while celebrating his 99th win in Terry Bowser Excavating Victory Lane. ‘It feels good to win this one, it was a good race, it was a rough race, but it was fun. I want to dedicate this win to Doc Harmon, he passed away over the winter, he was a good Modified driver here, he was an inspiration to me and it’s hard to see those guys go.’ Swartzlander continued, ‘It’d be nice (to get win 100) but we just try to take them one at a time, I try not to put much too much on that, we want to win every night out. If we get it, that’d be great!’

Current point leader and four-time 2022 winner, A.J. Flick and Darin Gallagher led the Peoples Sprints to the green flag for their Mid-Season Championship feature event with Flick taking command off turn two on lap one. Flick would dominate the 25-lap event and at times had a lead of over three seconds. The event was slowed twice by cautions with the last one falling on lap 23 which put Flick’s dominance in jeopardy as the field was bunched up for the restart. The second-place car of Dan Shetler and third running Darin Gallagher could still not mount a challenge on Flick as pulled away in the final two laps to secure his fourth Lernerville win in a row and fifth overall by 2.6 seconds over Gallagher, who got by Shetler on lap 24. Shelter held on for third followed by 10th starting Brandon Matus in fourth and Sye Lynch rounded out the top-five. The win guarantee’s Flick a starting spot in the upcoming Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup on Wednesday, July 6.

‘Dan (Bauman) has had so much moisture in the track this year that tonight was a little bit of a curveball. I’m glad we got something a bit different to race on because that is going to prepare us for the Silver Cup that’s coming up.’ Flick said in Victory Lane about the slick surface. ‘I still think we need to improve; I didn’t feel that comfortable. I was so patient in to try to get through (turns) one and two and I couldn’t even get around any of the lapped cars on the outside so just had to get in the lane and pray that no one got underneath me, but we were able to rip through (turns) three and four pretty good. Starting on the pole definitely helped, but I do believe we had a good enough car to pass from the rear again too.’

With a spot in next week’s Lucas Oil sanctioned ‘Firecracker’ 100 on the line, Tommy Beck and Michael Norris brought the Precise Late Models to the green flag with Norris taking the lead at the start with sixth starting Daryl Charlier blasting his way to the second spot after a great opening lap. Norris was the class of the field early as by lap five he had pulled out to a 3.7 second lead over the field. After a quick caution on lap 6, Norris continued to lead as Charlier, Alex Ferree and Floridian Mark Whitener battled for the runner-up spot. Ferree had the second spot as the trio crossed the line on lap 7 but Whitener, using the bottom side of turns three and four was able to gain the advantage on lap 8 and focus on catching race leader Norris. After another quick caution on lap 11 put Norris and Whitener side-by-side for the restart with Norris controlling the lead down the backstretch. Whitener, only a few car lengths back threw his Big Frog Motorsports entry hard into turn three and slid up in front of Norris to take command of the race on lap 12. Whitener would go on to lead the rest of the event to capture the win and the benefit of having a spot in the ‘Firecracker 100’. Norris came home second, Ferree in third, followed by 10th starting Colton Flinner in fourth Tyler Dietz in fifth.

‘I figured if I was going to do it (got for the lead), I was going to have to slide him,’ Whitener said in Terry Bowser Excavating Victory Lane. ‘He (Norris) was fast on the top, and I needed to do it on a restart. When you’d get behind a car, those crumbs would get you and you couldn’t leave the corner. I knew if I got out front, I could try to hold him there. This place is awesome, I like this place.’

Todd Weldon grabbed the early lead in the Pic-A-Part Pro Stocks feature event as Mike Bordt and sixth starting Cody Koteles battled for the second spot. Koteles found his way to the runner-up spot as Chris Schneider got by Bordt on lap 6 for the third position. Weldon continued to lead until a caution for debris fell on lap 12 which put Koteles, Schneider, and Joey Zambotti all together for the restart. Zambotti, who started 14th, made his way up to second during the restart before Koteles powered his way back by on lap 13. Patiently waiting in the fourth spot was Schneider who pounced on Zambotti on lap 16 to take over the third spot and into the second spot past Koteles just one lap later. With Weldon in his sights, Schneider pulled the trigger for the lead as the field took the white flag and led the final lap to punch his ticket into the Penn/Ohio Touring Series event set for August. Weldon settled for second followed by Koteles in third. Zambotti finished fourth and claimed the night’s Penske Truck Leasing Hard Charger award by gaining 10 positions as Bordt held on for a fifth-place finish.

‘I’d like to see either one of those guys win,’ Schneider said in Victory Lane when asked about denying both Todd Weldon and Cody Koteles their first career wins. ‘They’re two good dudes but, I wasn’t going to cut them any slack, you just can’t do that.’ Schneider was asked about his 30 Lernerville wins and joked, ’30 was my goal, now I can quit,’ Chris said with a smile.

Peoples Natural Gas Sprints Results:

Ferguson Heating and Air Conditioning Heat 1: (Finish-Name-[Start]) 1. 14-Sean Rayhall[2]; 2. 2-AJ Flick[3]; 3. 29-Dan Shetler[8]; 4. 42-Sye Lynch[7]; 5. 35W-Jeremy Weaver[6]; 6. 23JR-Jack Sodeman Jr[9]; 7. 40-George Hobaugh Jr[4]; 8. 28-Gray Leadbetter[1]; 9. 33-Brent Matus[5]; 10. 4G-Justin Kovach[10]

Glassmere Fuel Service Heat 2: (Finish-Name-[Start]) 1. 12-Darin Gallagher[2]; 2. 13-Brandon Matus[7]; 3. 08-Danny Kuriger[6]; 4. 27K-Ricky Peterson[5]; 5. 11-Carl Bowser[8]; 6. 20B-Cody Bova[4]; 7. 23-Darren Pifer[3]; 8. 13B-Steve Bright[1]; 9. 4K-William Kiley[9]

Peoples Natural Gas Sprint Car Feature: (Finish-Name-[Start]) 1. 2-AJ Flick[1]; 2. 12-Darin Gallagher[2]; 3. 29-Dan Shetler[5]; 4. 13-Brandon Matus[10]; 5. 42-Sye Lynch[3]; 6. 23JR-Jack Sodeman Jr[11]; 7. 11-Carl Bowser[8]; 8. 08-Danny Kuriger[6]; 9. 27K-Ricky Peterson[9]; 10. 14-Sean Rayhall[4]; 11. 20B-Cody Bova[12]; 12. 33-Brent Matus[17]; 13. 35W-Jeremy Weaver[7]; 14. 13B-Steve Bright[16]; 15. 4K-William Kiley[18]; 16. 40-George Hobaugh Jr[13]; 17. 28-Gray Leadbetter[15]; 18. 23-Darren Pifer[14]; 19. 4G-Justin Kovach[19]

Precise Racing Products Late Models Results:

1Cochran Heat 1: (Finish-Name-[Start]) 1. 77-Tyler Dietz[4]; 2. 1C-Alex Ferree[7]; 3. 58-Mark Whitener[9]; 4. 1Z-Logan Zarin[5]; 5. 91-Tommy Beck[6]; 6. 10-Gary Lyle[1]; 7. B1-Brandon Wearing[3]; 8. 11-Joshua Powell[8]; 9. 14-Travis Hayes[10]; 10. (DNS) F1-Mike Miller

GetPhil.com Heat 2: (Finish-Name-[Start]) 1. 72-Michael Norris[6]; 2. J4-John Garvin Jr[3]; 3. 21-Matt Lux[2]; 4. 3RK-Daryl Charlier[8]; 5. 48-Colton Flinner[7]; 6. 29-Ken Schaltenbrand[5]; 7. 9-Levi Yetter[4]; 8. 8S-Tommy Schirnhofer Jr[1]; 9. 10K-Zachary Kane[9]

Precise Racing Products Feature: (Finish-Name-[Start]) 1. 58-Mark Whitener[8]; 2. 72-Michael Norris[2]; 3. 1C-Alex Ferree[3]; 4. 48-Colton Flinner[10]; 5. 77-Tyler Dietz[5]; 6. 1Z-Logan Zarin[7]; 7. 21-Matt Lux[4]; 8. J4-John Garvin Jr[9]; 9. 10-Gary Lyle[11]; 10. 9-Levi Yetter[14]; 11. 29-Ken Schaltenbrand[12]; 12. 3RK-Daryl Charlier[6]; 13. 11-Joshua Powell[15]; 14. 10K-Zachary Kane[18]; 15. 8S-Tommy Schirnhofer Jr[16]; 16. B1-Brandon Wearing[13]; 17. 91-Tommy Beck[1]; 18. 14-Travis Hayes[17]; 19. (DNS) F1-Mike Miller

Diehl Automotive Big Block Modifieds Results:

McCutcheon Enterprises Heat 1: (Finish-Name-[Start]) 1. 29-Garrett Krummert[1]; 2. 83-Brian Swartzlander[4]; 3. 165-Rex King Jr[3]; 4. 35-Steve Slater[2]; 5. 96-Anthony Tramontana[5]; 6. 45-Steve Feder[7]; 7. 18-Colton Walters[8]; 8. 88-Shawn Fleeger[6]

Thermo Twin Windows Heat 2: (Finish-Name-[Start]) 1. 61-Dave Murdick[1]; 2. 11R-Brad Rapp[2]; 3. C3-Chas Wolbert[3]; 4. 37MD-Jeremiah Shingledecker[5]; 5. 22-Kevin Long[6]; 6. 03-Mark Frankhouser[4]; 7. 64-Rodney Beltz[7]

Diehl Automotive Feature: (Finish-Name-[Start]) 1. 83-Brian Swartzlander[8]; 2. 29-Garrett Krummert[6]; 3. 37MD-Jeremiah Shingledecker[3]; 4. 18-Colton Walters[13]; 5. 61-Dave Murdick[5]; 6. 96-Anthony Tramontana[1]; 7. C3-Chas Wolbert[2]; 8. 45-Steve Feder[11]; 9. 22-Kevin Long[9]; 10. 35-Steve Slater[7]; 11. 88-Shawn Fleeger[15]; 12. 03-Mark Frankhouser[12]; 13. 165-Rex King Jr[10]; 14. 11R-Brad Rapp[4]; 15. (DNS) 64-Rodney Beltz

Millerstown Pic-A-Part Pro Stocks Results:

Hovis Auto and Truck Supply Heat 1: (Finish-Name-[Start]) 1. 55S-Chris Schneider[6]; 2. 1K-Cody Koteles[2]; 3. 10-Nick Kocuba[3]; 4. 72B-Jim Kurpakus[5]; 5. 26-Mike Bordt[7]; 6. 8C-Brandon Doland[4]; 7. 71-Joey Anderson[8]; 8. 87-Jacob Weyer[1]

McCann & Chester Heat 2: (Finish-Name-[Start]) 1. 45-Todd Weldon[2]; 2. 00-Tyler Dietz[5]; 3. 27-Jacob Dietz[4]; 4. 81-Mike Miller[1]; 5. 25-Brett McDonald[8]; 6. 22-Chase Lambert[7]; 7. 948-Joey Zambotti III[6]; 8. 28Y-Terry Young[3]

Millerstown Pic-A-Part Feature: (Finish-Name-[Start]) 1. 55S-Chris Schneider[5]; 2. 45-Todd Weldon[2]; 3. 1K-Cody Koteles[6]; 4. 948-Joey Zambotti III[14]; 5. 26-Mike Bordt[1]; 6. 8C-Brandon Doland[11]; 7. 87-Jacob Weyer[15]; 8. 28Y-Terry Young[16]; 9. 25-Brett McDonald[7]; 10. 10-Nick Kocuba[10]; 11. 27-Jacob Dietz[4]; 12. 71-Joey Anderson[13]; 13. 81-Mike Miller[9]; 14. 22-Chase Lambert[12]; 15. 72B-Jim Kurpakus[8]; 16. 00-Tyler Dietz[3]

Up next, at ‘The Action Track’ is the largest event in the storied history of the Lernerville Speedway as the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series makes their first ever visit to the Sarver, PA oval for the 16th Annual, $50,000 to-win ‘Firecracker 100 presented by Big River Steel’ on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, June 23, 24, & 25. Also on the card next weekend is the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Late Models who will be racing for a whopping $20,000 to-win prize in the ‘Bill Emig Memorial presented by Sunoco Race Fuels’.

Next week’s Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Late Model Series ‘Bill Emig Memorial presented by Sunoco Race Fuels’ and all Fab4 Revved Up with Marburger Farm Dairy shows will be livestreamed on Lernerville.TV.

Tickets for the $50,000 to-win ‘Firecracker 100’ presented by Big River Steel featuring the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, the $25,000 to-win ‘Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup XXXI’ sanctioned by the Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions and all other upcoming events can be purchased at www.Lernerville.com, the online home of Lernerville Speedway.

For more information on Lernerville Speedway including schedule, ticket prices, and FAQ’s, please visit www.Lernerville.com.

About The Author