bwa39
09-01-2008, 03:03 AM
RUTHERFORD & MARRIOTT WIN CLYDE MARTIN SHOOTOUT
Brickerville, PA - Mike Rutherford and Brian Marriott carried the biggest paychecks out of Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway on Sunday night, with each driver earning $1,000 for their victories in the club's annual Labor Day Shootout.
Rutherford captured the Hyper Racing 600cc main event, while Marriott notched the win in the Hyper Racing 270cc feature. Others who triumphed in the two-day event included Billy Logeman in the 125cc class; Kenny Miller in the Sportsman headliner; Richie Hartman recorded the victory in the main event for the 250cc Four-Stroke micros; and Alex Swift won the feature for the 250cc Stock class.
Rutherford started on the pole in the A-Main for the 600's, by virtue of his victory in Saturday's Dash race. The Newmanstown, Pa. wheel-twister led all 30-laps to win his second of the year in this class, but his Guhl Motors/ RTS No. 33 almost didn't make it to the finish line.
"We started blowing up about seven laps from the finish," explained Rutherford in the winner's circle. "We're lucky to be standing here right now."
With Rutherford leading by a comfortable margin, the racing behind him was fierce. Kenny Miller's No. 5m was running second, but a loose condition allowed Jimmy Glenn to get by him just after the halfway mark of the event.
A couple of circuits later, Tim Buckwalter, the new pilot in Gary Spotts' No. 5x, slipped past Miller for third.
Glenn was reeling in the leader, pulling up to Rutherford's rear bumper with less than ten to go. With Rutherford slowing because of his engine trouble, Glenn attempted to sneak to the inside, but Rutherford's mount had just enough to protect the bottom complete the entire 30 trips around the Clyde Martin oval.
The victory went to Rutherford, and Buckwalter was moved up to second after Glenn's team refused technical inspection when the race concluded. Miller, Shane Lewis, and Heath Hehnly rounded out the top five when the official finish was posted.
A total of 65 cars entered the 600cc portion of the Shootout.
The 270cc micros pulled a field of 53, with Marriott starting on the pole and leading all the way to register his second Shootout triumph.
It wasn't an easy win for the Micro-Sprint veteran, though, as three of the Clyde Martin regulars tried their best to steal the top spot from him.
As the first 12 revolutions went clean and green, Rutherford looked high and low in his attempts to unseat Marriott from the lead. The Interstate Batteries No. 18 fought off all of the attacks to maintain the point.
On one occasion, Rutherford shoved his nose alongside the leader as they raced through turns three and four. He and Marriott got together, and both cars slid sideways, appearing to stall, but the duo somehow kept their engines running. Both drivers were able to continue without stopping, and Marriott remained in front.
Rutherford's No. 5k washed up the track as the race entered its final laps, opening the door for Heath Hehnly and Richie Hartman to speed by him. Now it was Hehnly's turn to challenge Marriott, but Heath also had difficulty in wrestling the top spot away from the No. 18. Hehnly motored to the inside of Marriott with eight to go, but drifted up as they passed the flagstand, just as Marriott moved down a bit to begin his entry into turn one. The two cars made contact, with Hehnly's Gold Rush Trailer Sales No. 82 bouncing off Marriott's car and heading for the infield. Hehnly was able to regain control, but not until Richie Hartman and Rutherford whizzed by him.
Hartman chased Marriott to the finish line, with Rutherford, Hehnly, and Ryan Smith completing the top five.
Billy Logeman, a Lanco regular in the Sportsman class, was given the opportunity to steer the Grube No. 3D cars in the 125cc and 270cc divisions at the Shootout. And Logeman made the most of his busy weekend, winning the 125cc event.
His victory in Saturday night's Dash put Logeman on the pole for the A-Main. He darted out to a four-car length advantage over Airport's Barry Pollard, then held that cushion for the first 18-laps of the race.
Pollard dropped out with 12 to go, putting Greg Miller into the runner-up position. Miller hounded Logeman in lapped traffic, but couldn't find a way to get by the leader.
As the checkered flag waved to end this 30-lapper, Logeman beat Miller to the stripe. Sonny Sweitzer raced to a third-place payday, with Phil Durham, Jesse Maurer, and Heath Hehnly rounding out the first five to cross the finish line.
Kenny Miller visited victory lane for the sixth time this season in the A-Main for the Sportsman class.
Miller started third, then took the lead on lap three by diving under pole-sitter Mark Ludwig.
A fast-closing Logeman made things interesting near the end, but Miller was too fast and hung on for the win.
Steve Drevicki came from the back, twice, to claim third. Drevicki appeared to have the fastest car at the end, but simply ran out of laps before he could get to Logeman and Miller. Ludwig and Dwayne Mathias finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Richie Hartman recorded his ninth victory of the year in the main event for the 250cc Four-Strokes. His evening nearly ended prematurely, however, while he was lapping two cars in the middle of the pack.
Hartman led all the way, but contact with George Potts III pushed his No. 88 into the left side of Lew Kepple's micro in turn two. The brush with Kepple caused Hartman's car to bicycle wildly, but Richie managed to gather control of his mount without spinning. Hartman had a huge lead at the time, luckily, and he continued on, eventually romping to a dominant win.
Rutherford surprised his teammate, Chad Rhoads, on a restart in the middle stages of the race, to slip into the runner-up position. Hartman had already checked out by that time, though, so Rutherford had to be content with a second-place finish.
Ryan Shupp, a former champion of the Four-Stroke class, also passed Rhoads to finish third. Rhoads hung on for fourth, with a returning Kim Trout scoring a strong fifth.
The 250cc Stock Micro-Sprints were added to the Shootout's menu, and Alex Swift showed everyone why he is a six-time winner in this class at Airport Speedway.
Swift took the green from the outside of row one, immediately rocketing into the lead over Phil Durham. Swift then ran away from his pursuers to win handily over Durham.
The JP Racing duo of Durham and Barry Pollard battled for the runner-up in the early going, with Durham slamming the outside guardrail at one point, causing him to fall back in the field.
The top wing mounts on Pollard's car broke, causing him to lose several positions with ten circuits remaining. With Pollard slowing, Marco Michetti flew into second. Before he could muster a challenge to the leader, Michetti, who won this race in 2007, fell victim to mechanical problems that forced his retirement from the event.
Sammy Lamothe was now the runner-up, and the young charger ducked under Swift on a restart with two to go. Lamothe snatched the lead away from Swift, but Alex came roaring back as they throttled down the backstretch, reclaiming the top spot entering turn three.
Swift held on for the win, and Lamothe came up light at the scales after the race, giving the runner-up finish to Durham. Ava Mercado and Stephanie Palmai made up the top five when it was all over.
Shootout Notes...during the lucrative weekend, which boasted a total purse of more than $20,000, a collection was taken to aid injured 410 Sprint Car driver Jeff Shepard. With Ms. Motorsports, Tiffany Skias, and several drivers assisting by going through the stands with their helmets, just over $700 was raised to help Shepard with his medical expenses.
Most of the Shootout's qualifying was completed on a long Saturday, as 202 cars took to the track in time trials, heat races, and consolations for the six classes of Micro-Sprints.
[END]
Brickerville, PA - Mike Rutherford and Brian Marriott carried the biggest paychecks out of Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway on Sunday night, with each driver earning $1,000 for their victories in the club's annual Labor Day Shootout.
Rutherford captured the Hyper Racing 600cc main event, while Marriott notched the win in the Hyper Racing 270cc feature. Others who triumphed in the two-day event included Billy Logeman in the 125cc class; Kenny Miller in the Sportsman headliner; Richie Hartman recorded the victory in the main event for the 250cc Four-Stroke micros; and Alex Swift won the feature for the 250cc Stock class.
Rutherford started on the pole in the A-Main for the 600's, by virtue of his victory in Saturday's Dash race. The Newmanstown, Pa. wheel-twister led all 30-laps to win his second of the year in this class, but his Guhl Motors/ RTS No. 33 almost didn't make it to the finish line.
"We started blowing up about seven laps from the finish," explained Rutherford in the winner's circle. "We're lucky to be standing here right now."
With Rutherford leading by a comfortable margin, the racing behind him was fierce. Kenny Miller's No. 5m was running second, but a loose condition allowed Jimmy Glenn to get by him just after the halfway mark of the event.
A couple of circuits later, Tim Buckwalter, the new pilot in Gary Spotts' No. 5x, slipped past Miller for third.
Glenn was reeling in the leader, pulling up to Rutherford's rear bumper with less than ten to go. With Rutherford slowing because of his engine trouble, Glenn attempted to sneak to the inside, but Rutherford's mount had just enough to protect the bottom complete the entire 30 trips around the Clyde Martin oval.
The victory went to Rutherford, and Buckwalter was moved up to second after Glenn's team refused technical inspection when the race concluded. Miller, Shane Lewis, and Heath Hehnly rounded out the top five when the official finish was posted.
A total of 65 cars entered the 600cc portion of the Shootout.
The 270cc micros pulled a field of 53, with Marriott starting on the pole and leading all the way to register his second Shootout triumph.
It wasn't an easy win for the Micro-Sprint veteran, though, as three of the Clyde Martin regulars tried their best to steal the top spot from him.
As the first 12 revolutions went clean and green, Rutherford looked high and low in his attempts to unseat Marriott from the lead. The Interstate Batteries No. 18 fought off all of the attacks to maintain the point.
On one occasion, Rutherford shoved his nose alongside the leader as they raced through turns three and four. He and Marriott got together, and both cars slid sideways, appearing to stall, but the duo somehow kept their engines running. Both drivers were able to continue without stopping, and Marriott remained in front.
Rutherford's No. 5k washed up the track as the race entered its final laps, opening the door for Heath Hehnly and Richie Hartman to speed by him. Now it was Hehnly's turn to challenge Marriott, but Heath also had difficulty in wrestling the top spot away from the No. 18. Hehnly motored to the inside of Marriott with eight to go, but drifted up as they passed the flagstand, just as Marriott moved down a bit to begin his entry into turn one. The two cars made contact, with Hehnly's Gold Rush Trailer Sales No. 82 bouncing off Marriott's car and heading for the infield. Hehnly was able to regain control, but not until Richie Hartman and Rutherford whizzed by him.
Hartman chased Marriott to the finish line, with Rutherford, Hehnly, and Ryan Smith completing the top five.
Billy Logeman, a Lanco regular in the Sportsman class, was given the opportunity to steer the Grube No. 3D cars in the 125cc and 270cc divisions at the Shootout. And Logeman made the most of his busy weekend, winning the 125cc event.
His victory in Saturday night's Dash put Logeman on the pole for the A-Main. He darted out to a four-car length advantage over Airport's Barry Pollard, then held that cushion for the first 18-laps of the race.
Pollard dropped out with 12 to go, putting Greg Miller into the runner-up position. Miller hounded Logeman in lapped traffic, but couldn't find a way to get by the leader.
As the checkered flag waved to end this 30-lapper, Logeman beat Miller to the stripe. Sonny Sweitzer raced to a third-place payday, with Phil Durham, Jesse Maurer, and Heath Hehnly rounding out the first five to cross the finish line.
Kenny Miller visited victory lane for the sixth time this season in the A-Main for the Sportsman class.
Miller started third, then took the lead on lap three by diving under pole-sitter Mark Ludwig.
A fast-closing Logeman made things interesting near the end, but Miller was too fast and hung on for the win.
Steve Drevicki came from the back, twice, to claim third. Drevicki appeared to have the fastest car at the end, but simply ran out of laps before he could get to Logeman and Miller. Ludwig and Dwayne Mathias finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Richie Hartman recorded his ninth victory of the year in the main event for the 250cc Four-Strokes. His evening nearly ended prematurely, however, while he was lapping two cars in the middle of the pack.
Hartman led all the way, but contact with George Potts III pushed his No. 88 into the left side of Lew Kepple's micro in turn two. The brush with Kepple caused Hartman's car to bicycle wildly, but Richie managed to gather control of his mount without spinning. Hartman had a huge lead at the time, luckily, and he continued on, eventually romping to a dominant win.
Rutherford surprised his teammate, Chad Rhoads, on a restart in the middle stages of the race, to slip into the runner-up position. Hartman had already checked out by that time, though, so Rutherford had to be content with a second-place finish.
Ryan Shupp, a former champion of the Four-Stroke class, also passed Rhoads to finish third. Rhoads hung on for fourth, with a returning Kim Trout scoring a strong fifth.
The 250cc Stock Micro-Sprints were added to the Shootout's menu, and Alex Swift showed everyone why he is a six-time winner in this class at Airport Speedway.
Swift took the green from the outside of row one, immediately rocketing into the lead over Phil Durham. Swift then ran away from his pursuers to win handily over Durham.
The JP Racing duo of Durham and Barry Pollard battled for the runner-up in the early going, with Durham slamming the outside guardrail at one point, causing him to fall back in the field.
The top wing mounts on Pollard's car broke, causing him to lose several positions with ten circuits remaining. With Pollard slowing, Marco Michetti flew into second. Before he could muster a challenge to the leader, Michetti, who won this race in 2007, fell victim to mechanical problems that forced his retirement from the event.
Sammy Lamothe was now the runner-up, and the young charger ducked under Swift on a restart with two to go. Lamothe snatched the lead away from Swift, but Alex came roaring back as they throttled down the backstretch, reclaiming the top spot entering turn three.
Swift held on for the win, and Lamothe came up light at the scales after the race, giving the runner-up finish to Durham. Ava Mercado and Stephanie Palmai made up the top five when it was all over.
Shootout Notes...during the lucrative weekend, which boasted a total purse of more than $20,000, a collection was taken to aid injured 410 Sprint Car driver Jeff Shepard. With Ms. Motorsports, Tiffany Skias, and several drivers assisting by going through the stands with their helmets, just over $700 was raised to help Shepard with his medical expenses.
Most of the Shootout's qualifying was completed on a long Saturday, as 202 cars took to the track in time trials, heat races, and consolations for the six classes of Micro-Sprints.
[END]