DaBecco and Mollick Win At PPMS

Nico Dabecco won Saturdays Crate feature at PPMS

April 26, 2014

On Saturday night, Nico DaBecco took the checkered flag in the Precise Racing Products Rush Late Model division at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway. Toronto, Ohio’s John Mollick claimed victory in the Diehl of Robinson DIRTcar Super Late Model feature, while Christian Schneider recorded a win in the Sunoco Race Fuels Sportsman Division. Joe Podolinsky of Oakdale, David Ostrander of Carnegie and Kelvin Kohan won in the Miley BP Hobby Stock, Imperial Heights Garage Young Guns and ¾ Late Model features respectively.

In the Precise Racing Products Rush Late Model feature, Michael Reft started off strong and led the first 8 laps of the race. However, Pittsburgh’s Nico DaBecco charged to the front on the pack after starting 4th and took the lead on lap 9. After a couple of cautions, DaBecco increased his lead while Reft was shuffled toward the back of the pack. Meanwhile, last week’s feature winner Josh Holtgraver took advantage of the restarts and made his way up to the second spot. In the end, it was DaBecco in first, Holtgraver in second, and Burgettstown’s Kyle Lukon in third. They were followed by Daryl Charlier (driving the 88, in a tribute to his dad Dale and grandfather Tub), Justin Lamb, Mark Moats, Jr., Corey McPherson, Robby Marhefka, Reft, Greg Belyea and David McDonald (both from Ontario, Canada), Jeremy Adamik, Chuck Medved, Ben Policz, and Matt Latta. This was Nico DaBecco’s first win since August of 2013 and his third win overall in the division.

Starting 3rd, John Mollick took the lead soon after the green flag waved and at times had a half lap lead through the first half of the Diehl of Robinson DIRTcar Super Late Model race. But veteran driver Ben Miley slowly cut that lead down and almost made a charge to first place but couldn’t pass the lap car of Colton Flinner before the checkered flag dropped. Mollick claimed his first win since May of 2010. Miley finished second, and Saxonburg’s Alex Ferree finished in third. John Flinner, Derek Stefanik, Colton Flinner, Sam Eichelberger and Bill Yohe took the fourth through eighth positions.

Seventeen year old Christian Schneider of Robinson Township took the lead on lap two and never looked back, running a great race and holding off the charges of Jake Simmons in the Sunoco Race Fuels Sportsman feature. Schneider, last year’s Hobby Stock champion and former Young Guns driver, has progressively made his mark at the track and is becoming a force to be reckoned with in the Sportsman division. Young driver Todd Weldon also ran a strong race. Weldon started in the tail position and carefully made his way through the pack, passing a number of cars, to finish third. Schneider, Simmons and Weldon finished in the top three, followed by Brian Huchko, Bill Robertson, AJ Poljak, Ricky Steigerwald, Josh Langer, and Jarrod Westover. Fan favorite Nick Kocuba broke in the heats and did not start the feature.

Driving the Dylan Bolind 3D car, Joe Podolinsky held the first position throughout the 12 lap feature race in the Miley BP Car Wash Hobby Stock division. Podolinsky was followed by John Wiser, Steve Pyeritz, Chad Gorring, Karlee Kovacs (pulling double duty again, filling in for the vacationing Hannah Ramsey), and Jacob Wiser, who crashed hard in turn four and left the race on lap 5.

Carnegie’s David Ostrander ran a strong race and claimed the victory, his first this season, in the Imperial Heights Garage Young Guns feature race. Jarrett Sugar finished second, followed by Michael Jackson, Karlee Kovacs, Devin Black, Dave Ostrander, and Jonathan Miller.

In their second feature appearance of the season, ¾ Late Model driver Kelvin Kohan finished first, followed by Colton Flinner, Jim Thompson, car 19 and Carl Kohan.