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Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of the events of Sept 11th. |
July 16, 2003 - FINALLY !!!!! Saturday July 12th the Alix Racing Team finally scored their first win in a Modified at Lancaster Motorsports Park. Matt Started third in the field with the fast cars of Bill Mislin and Dave Wollaber on the front row. As Matt was passing for the lead Bill Putney made it three wide going into turn one and grabbed the top spot. Putneys lead would be short lived as Matt used the low groove to take over the lead on lap ten. A caution on lap 16 allowed the field to bunch back up, now with Brett Scherrer in second. For the final laps Brett stayed glued to Matt's bumper, however was unable to get by the Bar-Chel # 72 for the win. This not only was Matt's first ever win in a Mod, but his first ever win at Lancaster Motorsports Park. With the win, Matt moved to second in the points standings - only 18 points out of the lead behind Sege Fidanza. This weekend the Mods are off at lancaster for the 100 lap Race of Champions race at Holland Speedway. Matt and the team will make the trek to Holland hoping for back to back Mod wins. Many people have asked why we are taking a chance of wrecking the car to go to Holland for a non points race? The main reason is because of our sponsors, Bar-Chel John Deere, and Slippys Collision are from that area and we want to make sure they are getting the most out of their advertising dollar. |
Dave Buchanans Overview "MAGIC MATT" ALIX EARNS HIS FIRST-EVER MODIFIED WIN For the second-straight week rain played a factor in the racing at the Lancaster Motorsports Park last Saturday on Bobcat of Buffalo/Freightliner Fleet Maintenance night. Steady rains earlier in the afternoon caused about an hour delay to the start time of racing action but it went on as scheduled. It was night filled with close racing, wrecks, and two first-time feature winners. For the second race in a row there would be a first-time feature winner in the Visteon Modifieds as the race came down 2 drivers both hungry for a first Mod win. Bill Mislin and Dave Wollaber shared the front row for the 30-lap affair, which saw plenty of cautions. The first of which came on lap 1 as Tim Mangus spun after making racing contact with Brett Scherrer. Mangus spun in turn 3 and then collected Tom McGrath and Kirk Rutherford. McGrath and Rutherford were able to continue, but Mangus was forced to retire. Racing resumed with Mislin taking the lead in the RE Speed #81 but the yellow flew again on lap 3. Donny Staubitz spun in turn 4 as all the cars running around him checked up on the brakes. Staubitz got turned around somehow and he spun collecting Sege Fidanza, Kenny Troyer, and Rutherford. On the restart, Mislin raced 3-wide with Matt Alix and Bill Putney going into turn 1. Mislin got loose but somehow saved it and continued on as Putney and Alix took over the top 2 spots. As Putney led you could tell there was something wrong with the car as it developed a terrible push in the turns. It turned out to be a tire going down for the points leader. Alix was able to get under Putney and take the lead on lap 10. Putney drifted back and eventually pitted during a caution on lap 15 for the flat. Brett Scherrer had moved up to the second spot by then and was followed by Dave Wollaber. Alix and Scherrer ran nose to tail, with Scherrer looking to have the faster car. Karl Hehr moved up to fourth on lap 19. He was running in the same spot on lap 1 but pitted to fix the throttle that was getting hung up. As the laps wore down, Alix's car seemed to run better than Scherrer's in the long run and was able to pull away. Scherrer would have to settle for a career best second place, as Alix would lead the final 20 laps for his first ever win in a Modified at Lancaster. "Magic Matt" celebrated in victory lane with a roof dance on the Signworks #72. It has been a rough year for the Alix team, as their racing program lives week-to-week due to lack of funding. Despite this they have managed improve greatly from last year and have become a consistent top five team. Alix is no stranger to winning though, having won a Late Model championship at the Holland Speedway in 2000. Ron Nurmi and Bobby Weber renewed their rivalry in the Tops Markets Late Models. They traded the lead back and forth during the final stages of the feature with Nurmi taking the lead in turn 4 on the final lap. Art Hill finished third which is a career best for the long time car owner turned driver. Mark Pennell beat out John Julicher for the fourth spot. Half of the field was wiped out during a multi-car pileup on the front stretch with just 10 laps to go. Eight cars were involved including the top 2 in points, Joe Carbone and Todd Hoddick. Rookie driver, Bobby Holmes, recorded his second win of the year in the Bobcat of Buffalo Sportsman. Holmes played the waiting game while following Jerry Gradl Jr. for the lead. He was waiting for that one shot and he got when Gradl got loose coming off of turn 2 late in the race. Holmes drove on by and would cruise to the win. Gradl held off Nick Cappelli for second, with Ed Weber and Ed Grimmer completing the top five. Terry Weldy took home win #3 of the season in the Jerry Gradl Motors Super Stocks. He had Jay Mudra right on his back bumper at the finish but held strong. It keeps the points race close in the Super Stocks. The night began with Doug Evans leading by 1 point over Weldy and Mudra, and Wayne Bernhard just 2 back. Evans was saved by last week's rain out after tore up his car in a wreck during the Thursday show on July 3rd. He didn't have a car ready for July 5th but the rain kept his lead alive. Evans finished repairs in time for last Saturday and finish fourth. Wayne Bernahrd was fifth keeping things all jammed at the top of the leaderboard. Pete Hackett was a first time winner in the Glen Campbell Chevrolet Street Stocks. The "Slime Green 6" of Hackett started third and took the lead on lap 3. He would never look back as rookie Kyle Sharpe tried to chase him down late in the race. It was a well-deserved win for Hackett after 3 years of hard work. With 2 top five finishes this year, he was due to get that first win. Points leader Jim Offhaus was knocked out of the race on lap 3 after a wreck on the front stretch. Bobby Hanel also made an early exit after blowing a motor. It was all relative in the FM Communications TQ Midget feature with the Turnbull family stealing the show. Wayne Turnbull returned to victory lane in his #31 with son Jared right behind him in second. It was the elder-Turnbull's first win in a year and makes him the most winning driver ever in the Midgets with 12 career wins. Dave Wollaber recorded his first of 2 third-palce finishes of the night which is where he finished in the Modified feature. This weekend is "Summer Heat" weekend at Lancaster. Friday night's IHRA drag racing program will be headlined by the jet-powered '57 Chevy truck of Scott Shockley plus the "Cool Bus" and "Ladder 33" wheelstanders. Saturday night the legendary "Robosaurus" returns to Lancaster for his annual visit. Kids love the fire-breathing car-eating metal dinosaur that will come to life right on the Lancaster front stretch. "Robo" joins great night stock car racing making it a night of fun for everyone in the family. Racing starts at 5 PM on Friday and 6 PM on Saturday. RESULTS VISTEON MODIFIEDS Heat Winners Brett Scherrer, Bill Mislin Feature MATT ALIX, Brett Scherrer, Dave Wollaber, Karl Hehr, Tom McGrath, Donny Staubitz, Sege Fidanza, Bill Mislin, Ed Murray, Sean O' Neill, Jim Flanigan, Kenny Troyer, Kirk Rutherford, Tim Mangus TOPS MARKETS LATE MODELS Heat Winners Todd Hoddick, Mike Catalano Feature RON NURMI, Bobby Weber, Art Hill, Mark Pennell, John Julicher, Mike Ticco, Mike Davis, Mark Krupczyk, Brian Richael, Daryl McKay, Mark Faltisko, Joe Carbone, Scott Nurmi, Mike Catalano, Todd Hoddick, Karl Schafer BOBCAT OF BUFFALO SPORTSMAN Heat Winners Jerry Gradl Jr., Bobby Homes Feature BOBBY HOLMES, Jerry Gradl Jr., Nick Cappelli, Ed Weber, Ed Grimmer, Russ Gian, Frank Booker, Jim Pierce, Roger Baranyi, Greg Martin, Mike Rogers, Kirk Rutherford, Ken Heckler, Justin Shepker, Dave Powis, Kevin Ekerich JERRY GRADL MOTORS SUPER STOCKS Heat Winners Jay Mudra, Ed Lechner Feature TERRY WELDY, Jay Mudra, Ed Collver, Doug Evans, Wayne Bernhard, Ed Lechner, Rich Skora, Craig Orr, Wayne Stevens, Cory Sawyer, Jeff Merritt, Brian Richael, JW Flagler, AJ Cole, Jason Gwin, Tom Carney GLEN CAMPBELL CHEVROLET STREET STOCKS Heat Winners Gary Light, Mark Pew Feature PETE HACKETT, Kyle Sharpe, John Shurmatz, Frank Batista, Rick Widmer, Tom Agen, Scott Mutka, Don Deville, Mark Pew, Mike Maggiore, Jim Stein, Tim Offhaus, Jim Jackson, Gary Light, Jim Strohlein, Neal Poodry, Tim Garlock, Shawn Warthling, Frank Green, Lou Easterday, Brendan Northrup, Jim Offhaus, Bobby Hanel FM COMMUNICATIONS TQ MIDGETS Heat Winners Chris Bandelian, Dan Lawrence Feature WAYNE TURNBULL, Jared Turnbull, Dave Wollaber, Jamie Collard, Chris Bandelian, Dan Lawrence, Ryan Zitzka, James Friesen, Craig Macy, Mel Rabb, Arik McGruder, Chad Haywood, Tony Marrano, Shawn Szejnar, DJ Sossong, Jim Fleischmann, Ron Blair, Vinny Christiano Jr., AJ Hessler |
