The Season Opener Brings 2 First Time Winners At PPMS

After a long off-season, race teams and fans alike were ready for some racing action as the calendar turned to May for the season opener on Saturday night. PPMS would see six heat races, and five feature events, plus two first-time winners! Kyle Lukon (184L), from Burgettstown, would pick up his first win of the season at Dirt’s Monster Half-Mile for the Rohrich RUSH Late Model Dirt Series. Noah Brunell (18), from New Alexandria, would bring home the win for the Penn Ohio Pro Stocks, as he was driving for Mike Harris (18). It was Burnell’s first career win at PPMS. Stephen Shelpman (17S), from Pleasant Hills, picked up where he left off last season and brought home the win for the Hobby Stock division. Bill Tennant (2), from Colliers, West Virginia, dominated the Crawford Auto Repair Four Cylinder feature, picking up another win. Cameron Hollister (44), from McDonald, got his first career win at PPMS in the All Ways Safe Young Guns division.

The Rohrich RUSH Late Model Dirt Series had 20 cars entered and they were split into two heat races, 10 and 10. In the first heat, Mike Reft (9R), from Whitehall had the lead, but after a few cautions, Daryl Charlier (114), from Midway, was able to pass Reft (9R) for the lead and won the heat. The second heat race had Lukon (184L) dominating it, as the second heat went green to checkers. Lukon (184L) had a whole straightaway lead by the end of heat number two. The top six from each heat would enter the re-draw.

During the Rohrich RUSH Late Model 20-lap feature, Tony White (27T) from Aliquippa, would start on the pole. To his outside was Zach Morrow (48), from Gibsonia. When the green flag dropped, White (27T) would take the early lead but Morrow (48) would take over the lead by lap two. A caution on lap two would slow the pace. Morrow (48) and White (27T) would lead the field on the restart and when the field returned to green-flag conditions, Morrow (48) would retain the lead, but the caution was thrown again for another car that spun in turn two. Again, Morrow (48) and White (27T) would lead the restart with Morrow (48) choosing the inside. Noah Brunell (31), from New Alexandria, was in third, Lukon (184L) was in fourth, and Reft(9R) was in fifth. When the green flag waved, Morrow (48) and White (27T) would battle for the lead with Morrow (48) taking the lead at the line, while Lukon (184L) had moved into second place on lap five. On the same lap, another caution would occur, slowing the pace once again. Morrow (48) would choose the inside on the restart with Lukon (184L) to his outside in second place, White (27T) in third, Charlier (114) in fourth, and Reft (9R) in fifth. When the green flag dropped, Morrow (48), Lukon (184L), and Charlier (114) would battle for the lead as they entered turns one and two, but another car would have trouble in turn two, bringing out another caution. Since a lap wasn’t completed, a complete restart would ensue. When the green flag dropped again, Lukon (184L) would take over the lead. Lap seven had another caution when a car spun out in turn four. Track officials decided to do single-foul restarts for the remainder of the race. Lukon (184L) would lead the field on the restart with Morrow (48) right behind him. One lap would be completed before the caution was back out on lap eight. On the single-foul restart, Lukon (184L) would lead the field with Reft (9R) in second, Charlier (114) in third, Logan Zarin (1Z) from Moon in fourth, Cole Petrelle (184P), from Weirton, West Virginia, in fifth. When the green flag waved, Lukon (184L) would keep the lead and by lap 16, he would enter lapped traffic. Lukon (184L) was on a rail and would go the distance, picking up his first PPMS win of the season. Following him to the line was Zarin (1Z) in second, Reft (9R) in third, Petrelle (184P) in fourth, Dan Lepro (2L) in fifth, Zach Gunn (17G) in sixth, White (27T) in seventh, Bill Kessler (09) in eighth, Joe Squatriglia (15X) in ninth, and Brunell (31) would round out the top 10.

The Penn Ohio Pro Stocks had seven cars entered but only six would compete in their single heat race. During the start, Noah Brunell (18) and Jamie Duncan (67J) would battle for the lead in turn one, but Nick Kocuba would go to the high-side and pass both of them for the lead. There was a caution on lap three for debris on the track and during the restart, Kocuba would take off like a rocket, but Charlier (114) would go to the high-side to steal the lead in turns one and two. On the last lap of the heat, Charlier (114) had car trouble coming to the line and Brunell (18) was able to take the win.

In the Penn Ohio Pro Stock 15-lap feature, Brunell (18) would be the pole-sitter. Kocuba (10) would be outside starting in second place. Chase Lambert (22), from Mars, would start in third, Duncan (67J) would start in fourth. When the green flag dropped, Kocuba (10) would take off with the early lead. Brunell (18) was battling hard to pass Kocuba (10), but Kocuba (10) would keep the lead for now. A caution would slow the pace on lap two. Kocuba (10) would take the outside on the restart with Brunell (10) to his inside. Kocuba (10) would keep the lead with Brunell (18) in second and Lambert (22) in third. Brunell (18) was right behind Kocuba (10) with Kocuba (10) keeping the lead through lap six. Kocuba (10) started to have car trouble on lap nine and Brunell (18) was able to take over the lead and lead the remaining laps of the event, picking up his first career PPMS victory. Following him to the line was Kocuba (10) in second, Lambert (22) in third, and Duncan (67J) in fourth.

The Hobby Stocks would have 22 cars entered for the season-opener. They were broken into two heat races with the top six from each going to the redraw. In heat one, when the green flag waved, track officials called a no-start and they would line up and give it another try. The second start was good and Frank Magill (05), from Jefferson Hills, and S. Shelpman (17S) would battle for the lead with F. Magill (05) taking the high-side and S. Shelpman (17S) on the low-side racing side by side. S. Shelpman (17S) would take the lead and Adam Ferree (29), from Jefferson Hills, would pass F. Magill (05) for second place. As Ferree (29) and S.Shelpman (17S) would come out of turn four and drag race to the checkered flag, Ferree (29) was able to pass S. Shelpman (17S) at the line to pick up the win in heat race number one. In heat two, Ben Anton (13), from Jefferson Hills, would lead the field to the green flag with Kayla McManus (00K) to his outside. B. Anton (13) and McManus (00K) would battle side by side for the lead. A first lap caution would slow the pace and on the restart John Cain (06), from North Versailles, would take over the lead. Cain (06) would win heat race number two with McManus (00K) in second and B. Anton (13) in third.

During the Hobby Stock 15-lap feature, Matt Benard (15B) would be the pole-sitter with Ferree (29) to his outside starting in second place. Tony Magill (5), from Jefferson Hills, would start in third, and S. Shelpman (17S) would start in fourth. When the green flag waved, a lap wasn’t completed before the caution was out, so a complete restart would ensue. When the field returned to green-flag conditions, Ferree (29) and S. Shelpman (17S) would battle for the lead. By lap two, S. Shelpman (17S) had the lead with Ferree (29) in second. Another caution would come on lap two when B. Anton (13) and T. Magill (5) would tangle on the front stretch. Both cars were in bad shape but the drivers were okay. With 13 laps remaining in the event, S. Shelpman (17S) and Ferree (29) would lead the field on the restart with S. Shelpman (17S) keeping the lead and Ferree (29) was right behind him. Lap six had S. Shelpman (17S) still leading the field with Ferree (29) in second, Karlee Kovacs (221K), from Carnegie, in third, F. Magill (05) in fourth, and Benard (15B) in fifth. S. Shelpman (17S) would enter lapped traffic on lap nine and another caution would slow the pace on lap 11 when a car spun out in turn four. On the restart, S. Shelpman (17S), Ferree (29), and F. Magill (05) would go three-wide into turns one and two with S. Shelpman (17S) taking the lead at the line. S. Shelpman (17S) would go the distance, picking up his first PPMS win of the season. He was followed to the line by Ferree (29) in second, F. Magill (05) in third, Kovacs (221K) in fourth, Benard (15B) in fifth, Robert Betz (22) in sixth, McManus (00K) in seventh, Ed Shelpman (17P) in eighth, Tom Anton (64) in ninth, and Cody Behanna (25) completed the top 10.

The Crawford Auto Repair Four Cylinders had 10 cars total with one heat race. Noah Bubeck (2B), from Washington, would start on the pole with Lucas Weaver (11W) to his outside starting in second. When the field came under green-flag conditions, Kyle Janas (88), from Coraopolis, took the lead from his third-place starting spot, but B. Tennant (2) was hot on his heels. B. Tennant (2) went to the low-side in turns one and two to pass Janas (88) for the lead. B. Tennant (2) would go the distance in the six-lap heat to take the win.

In the Crawford Auto Repair Open Four-Cylinder 12-lap feature, N. Bubeck (2B) would start on the pole with Weaver (11W) to his outside and starting in second, while Janas (88) would start in third, and B. Tennant (2) starting in fourth. When the green flag dropped, N Bubeck (2B) and B. Tennant (2) would battle for the lead on lap two. A caution would come on the same lap as N. Bubeck (2B) spun out on the backstretch and was forced to tag the field on the restart. B. Tennant (2) would lead the restart and would keep his lead over the field. N Bubeck (2B) was making his way back to the front of the field and was up to third place by lap five when another caution would slow the pace when a car had trouble in turn two. With seven laps remaining in the event, B Tennant (2) would choose the outside on the restart and when the green flag dropped, he would keep the lead over the field. B. Tennant (2) would lead the remaining laps of the event, picking up his first PPMS win of the season. He was followed to the line by Matt Kessel (2) in second, Weaver (11W) in third, John Gill (19G) in fourth, Matt Knight (71) in fifth, Eric Reynolds (53) in sixth, Craig Rudolph (5R) in seventh, Janas (88) in eighth, Noah Bubeck (2B) completed the nine-car field. Derek Quigley (65Q) was a DNS.

In the All Ways Safe Young Guns eight-lap feature, Cameron Lambert (223), from Mars, started on the pole. Cameron Hollister (44) was to his outside starting in second. Liv Hicks (05) started in third, while Logan Koteles (5K) started in fourth, and Gavin Kokoves (91) rounded out the five-car field. When the green flag dropped, Hollister (44) would take the early lead. By lap four, Hollister (44) was already into lapped traffic but a caution flag would reset the field on lap five when a car had trouble in turn two. As the field was pacing for the restart, C. Lambert (223) blew a left front tire and had to enter the pits to have it changed. His crew changed it quite fast and had him back out to tag the field before the green flag. Hollister (44) would keep his lead on the restart and would go the distance to pick up his first career PPMS victory. He was followed to the line by C. Lambert (223) in second, Gavin Kokoves (91) in third, Liv Hicks (05) in fourth, and Logan Koteles (5K) would round out the five-car field.

Racing resumes at Dirt’s Monster Half-Mile next Saturday, May 8, featuring The Rohrich RUSH Late Model Dirt Series, The RUSH Sprint Car Series, The Penn Ohio Pro Stocks, The Hobby Stocks, The All Ways Safe Young Guns, and the Crawford Auto Repair 4 Cylinders. Gates open at 5 p.m., hot laps begin at 6 p.m., and the racing action will commence at 7 p.m. Visit our schedule section for pricing and tickets. Happy Racing!

RESULTS

Rohrich Rush Late Model Dirt Series Feature (20) – Laps

Finishing Spot, Starting Spot, Driver Name (Car Number) – Hometown

1 – 7 – Kyle Lukon (184L) – Burgettstown

2 – 17 – Logan Zarin (1Z) – Moon

3 – 4 – Mike Reft (9R) – Whitehall

4 – 8 – Cole Petrelle (184P) – Weirton, WV

5 – 13 – Dan Lepro (2L) – Midway

6 – 19 – Zach Gunn (17G) – McDonald

7 – 1 – Tony White (27T) – Aliquippa

8 – 5 – Bill Kessler (09) – Freedom

9 – 18 – Joe Squatriglia (15X) – Pittsburgh

10 – 3 – Noah Brunell (31) – New Alexandria

11 – 11 – Daryl Charlier (114) – Midway

12 – 10 – Tommy Schirnhofer (8S) – Dormont

13 – 14 – Eric Hamilton Jr. (33X) – Imperial

14 – 2 – Zach Morrow (48) – Gibsonia

15 – 15 – Philip Bubeck (2) – Washington

16 – 12 – Michael Duritsky (90J) – Masontown

17 – 6 – Jake Gunn (14G) – McDonald

18 – 9 – Tom Duratz (55D) – Pittsburgh

19 – 16 – Kassidy Kamicker (72B) – Aliquippa

DNS Colby Beighey (36) – Taylor, MI

Rohrich RUSH Late Model Dirt Series Heat 1 (8) – Laps

Finishing Spot, Driver Name – Car Number – [Starting Spot]

Daryl Charlier – 114 – [2]; 2. Mike Reft – 9R – [1]; 3. Tommy Schirnhofer – 8S – [9]; 4. Jake Gunn – 14G – [5]; 5. Noah Brunell – 31 – [10]; 6. Bill Kessler – 09 – [7]; 7. Dan Lepro – 2L – [3]; 8. Philip Bubeck – 2 – [4]; 9. Logan Zarin – 1Z – [8]; 10. Zach Gunn – 17G – [6];
Rohrich RUSH Late Model Dirt Series Heat 2 (8) – Laps

Finishing Spot, Driver Name – Car Number – [Starting Spot]

Kyle Lukon – 184L – [2]; 2. Michael Duritsky – 90J – [1]; 3. Cole Petrelle – 184P – [3]; 4. Tom Duratz – 55D – [4]; 5. Tony White – 27T – [6]; 6. Zach Morrow – 48 – [9]; 7. Eric Hamilton Jr. – 33X – [7]; 8. Kassidy Kamicker – 72B – [8]; 9. Joe Squatriglia – 15X – [10]; 10. Colby Beighey – 36 – [5];
Penn Ohio Pro Stocks Feature (15) – Laps

Finishing Spot, Starting Spot, Driver Name (Car Number) – Hometown

1 – 1 – Noah Brunell (18) – New Alexandria 2 – 2 – Nick Kocuba (10) – Burgettstown

3 – 3 – Chase Lambert (22) – Mars

4 – 4 – Jamie Duncan (67J) –

DNS Jordan Perkins (13J) – Sharpsville

DNS Brian Hutcko (60H) –

DNS Daryl Charlier (114) – Midway

Penn Ohio Pro Stock Heat 1 (8) – Laps

Finishing Spot, Driver Name – Car Number – [Starting Spot]

Noah Brunell – 18 – [1]; 2. Brian Hutchko – 60H – [5]; 3. Daryl Charlier – 114 – [5]; 4. Nick Kocub – 10 – [4]; 5. Chase Lambert – 22 – [3]; 6. Jamie Duncan – 67J – [2]; DNS – Jordan Perkins – 13J –
Hobby Stocks Feature (15) – Laps

Finishing Spot, Starting Spot, Driver Name (Car Number) – Hometown

1 – 4 – Stephen Shelpman (17S) – Pleasant Hills

2 – 2 – Adam Ferree – (Jefferson Hills)

3 – 5 – Frank Magill – (Jefferson Hills)

4 – 8 – Karlee Kovacs – (Carnegie)

5 – 1 – Matthew Benard (!5B) – Oakdale

6 – 7 – Robert Betz (22) – South Heights

7 – 6 – Kayla McManus (00K) – Elizabeth

8 – 10 – Ed Shelpman (17P) – Pleasant Hills

9 – 13 – Tom Anton (64) – Jefferson Hills

10 – 16 – Cody Behanna (25) – Finleyville

11 – 19 – Cody Tokarski (26T) – Pittsburgh

12 – 12 – Rick Ours (70) – Pittsburgh

13 – 18 – Jonathan Koteles (2K) – Springdale

14 – 14 – Joe Anthony (69X) – Pittsburgh

15 – 3 – Tony Magill (5) – Jefferson Hills

16 – 11 – Ben Anton (13) – Jefferson Hills

17 – 15 – Ken Heasely Jr. (57) – Pittsburgh

18 – 17 – Joe Brown (74) – Pittsburgh

DNS John Cain (06) – North Versailles

DNS Make Tropeck (47) – McDonald

DNS Marc Corio (14) –

DNS Cody Koteles (1K) – Stockdale

Hobby Stock Heat 1 (8) Laps

Finishing Spot, Driver Name – Car Number – [Starting Spot]

Adam Ferree – 29 – [7]; 2. Stephen Shelpman – 17S – [4]; 3. Frank Magill – 05 – [3]; 4. Ed Shelpman – 17P – [5]; 5. Tony Magill – 5 – [6]; 6. Cody Tokarski – 26T – [8]; 7. Rick Ours – 70 – [9]; 8. Joe Anthony – 69x – [2]; 9; Cody Behanna – 25 – [1]; DNS Cody Koteles – 1K – DNS Jonathan Koteles – 2K –
Hobby Stocks Heat 2 (8) – laps

John Cain – 06 – [3]; 2. Kayla McManus – 00K – [2]; 3. Ben Anton – 13 – [1]; 4. Robert Betz – 22 – [6]; 5. Matthew Benard – 15B – [7]; 6. Karlee Kovacs – 221K – [8]; 7. Tom Anton – 64 – [5]; 8. Ken Heasley Jr. – 57 – [11]; 9. Joe Brown – 74 – [9]; 10. Mike Tropeck – 47 – [4]; 11. Marc Corio – 14 – [10;]
Crawford Auto Repair Open Four Cylinder Feature (12) – Laps

Finishing Spot, Starting Spot, Driver Name (Car Number) – Hometown

1 – 4 – Bill Tennant (2) – Colliers, West Virginia

2 – 5 – Matt Kessel (3K) –

3 – 2 – Lucas Weaver (11W) –

4 – 8 – John Gill (19G) – Burgettstown

5 – 6 – Matt Knight (71) –

6 – 7 – Eric Reynolds (53) –

7 – 9 – Craig Rudolph (5R) – Steubenville

8 – 3 – Kyle Janas (88) – Coraopolis

9 – 1 – Noah Brunell (2B) – New Alexandria

DNS – Derek Quigley (65Q) –

Crawford Auto Repair Open 4’s Heat 1 (6) – Laps

Finishing Spot, Driver Name – Car Number – [Starting Spot]

Bill Tennant – 2 – [8]; 2. Kyle Janas – 88 – [1]; 3. Lucas Weaver – 11W – [7]; 4. Noah Brunell – 2B – [9]; 5. Matt Kessel – 3 – [6]; 6. Matt Knight – 71 – [5]; 7. Eric Reynolds – 53 – [4]; 8. John Gill – 19G – [3]; 9. Derek Quigley – 65Q – [2]; DNS – Craig Rudolph – 5R
All Ways Safe Young Guns Feature (12) – Laps

Finishing Spot, Starting Spot, Driver Name (Car Number) – Hometown

1 – 2 – Cameron Hollister (44) – McDonald

2 – 1 – Cameron Lambert (223) – Mars

3 – 5 – Gavin Kokoves (91) –

4 – 3 – Liv Hicks (05) – Jefferson Hills

5 – 5 – Logan Koteles (5K) – Stockdale

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