SOUTH RISES AGAIN WITH MYERS' WIN AT NORTH-SOUTH SHOOTOUT
McKnight Super Winner & Christopher Crowned SK Champ
For
the first time in six years, a Southern competitor
has earned the title of
North-South Shootout champion. Burt Myers of Kernersville, NC, waved
the confederate flag from victory lane after winning the 6th Annual
John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout ™ Modified 125
presented by Town & Country Ford. It was a sweep for Myers who also
earned the DMC Pole Award with his fast lap of 15.238 seconds. Myers
also earned an impressive $11,280 in cash and prizes for the
victory.
Dave McKnight of Brampton, Ontario, Canada, scored the victory in
the 2nd Annual East-West Supermodified Shootout. His efforts earned
him a cool $4,590 in cash and prizes. Ted Christopher of Plainville,
CT, survived a very physical SK-Type Modified main event to score
the victory. With lap money and contingency sponsorships,
Christopher earned $4,890.
Young Erick Rudolph laid down an impressive lap to start on the
outside of the front row. He capitalized on his starting position to
lead the opening laps taking the defending champion Matt Hirschman
along for the ride. Rudolph continued to lead Hirschman, Myers,
George Brunnhoelzl III, and Ted Christopher through the first
caution on lap 19 for a spin by Daren Scherer. On the ensuing
restart, Hirschman was able to catapult into the lead while Myers
faded back slightly. During a green flag run, Hirschman began to
pull away from the field. Ryan Preece made his first appearance
inside the top five.
The second yellow flag of the event flew for an incident that
involved Carl Pasteryak, Pete Brittain, and Rick Kluth. Green flag
racing was short-lived when a spin by Gene Pack brought out the
third caution of the event. Under the caution, a handful of teams
headed to pit road for the mandatory pit stop including Hirschman,
Rudolph, Brunnhoelzl, Christopher, Preece, Beers, and a host of
others. Myers, Jimmy Blewett, Ronnie Silk, and Les Hinckley made up
the top five of the running order after the pit stops.
After another quick caution, Myers and Blewett swapped the lead
back and forth. The battle for the lead allowed Silk to catch the
lead duo. Bobby Santos III had worked his way into the top-five.
The teams struggled near lap 47 when a host of cautions slowed the
field. The likes of Eddie Flemke, Jr. and Charlie Pasteryak were
involved in separate incidents. On the second attempt at a restart,
Blewett got out of shape slightly. As the field checked up a number
of cars stacked up on the front stretch including Rowan Pennink,
Todd Szegedy, and Chris Whitenight, Jr. Woody Pitkat. Glenn Reen,
and Earl Paules, were also involved.
When green flag racing resumed Myers continued to lead Silk and
Christopher. Hirschman got around Santos to rejoin the top-five once
again. Myers was beginning to stretch out his lead while Christopher
and Hirschman were both getting racy at this stage of the event.
Brunnhoelzl came back to life as well.
As the race approached halfway, Myers enjoyed a five-car length
advantage over Silk, who had little breathing room back to
Christopher. Hirschman was a distance back in fourth. Eric Beers was
using the high groove in an effort to get to Brunnhoelzl and Santos.
Myers meticulously motored his way through lapped traffic to
maintain his comfortable lead. The remainder of the top-five now ran
nose-to-tail. Myers had yet to make his pit stop that was required
between laps 30-110.
The caution flew on lap #98 when Santos spun in turn four. The
caution allowed Myers the opportunity to head to pit road. He was
joined by Silk, Szegedy, Rusty Smith and others. With the stop,
Hirschman had inherited the top spot. The ensuing restart meant
problems for another front runner Christopher, who spun in turn one.
After a false start, Hirschman was able to jump out to the lead over
Preece and Beers. Preece lost a quick battle for the second spot.
Beers began to run down Hirschman. It looked for awhile that it
might be a repeat of last year’s finish with the Northampton, PA
residents running at the front.
There was a scary moment at lap 104 when the Hillbilly Racing
teammates Silk and Flemke split Southern Whelen Modified Tour
champion Brian Loftin to make it three-wide exiting turn four. All
three cars came through the corner unscathed. Myers, meanwhile, was
picking his way back to the front of the pack. He passed his brother
Jason, then Flemke, and Brunnhoelzl to find the top-five.
Myers’ march to the front continued by taking the fourth spot from
Silk. He immediately erased the distance between himself and Preece.
Just as quickly he disposed of Preece. With only four laps
remaining, the field was single file with Hirschman at the helm.
Beers was losing ground to Hirschman while Myers continued to gain
it.
The caution flew on lap 118 when contact dislodged one of the foam
blocks placed on the track for safety. Ryan Preece watched his great
fun come to an end when he headed to pit road for fuel. A spin by
Flemke forced another caution in the event.
With two laps remaining, Hirschman lined up ahead of Beers, Myers,
Silk, and Brunnhoelzl. Beers faltered on the restart giving way to
Myers and others. With the crowd on their feet, Myers got a great
run to move ahead of Hirschman to take the lead. The enthusiasm
could not quell even when the 13th and final caution flew when the
#9 of Beers stalled on the front stretch.
Myers pulled away on the final restart to streak under the checkers
as the 2008 North-South Shootout champion. Myers was ecstatic in
victory lane and proud of his Southern heritage. The two-time winner
Hirschman had to settle for second. Silk joined the duo on the
podium. Christopher and Santos completed the top five. It was the
best showing for the Southern competitors with Brunnhoelzl finishing
sixth followed by J. Meyers. Glen Reen, Chuck Hossfeld, and Rusty
Smith rounded out the top-ten.
Earlier in the day, Jay Mize bested the field in the non-qualifiers
event. The Southern Modified tour competitor was given the
opportunity to take his earnings or advance to the main event. Mize
opted to start the main event.
In the early going of the East-West Supermodified Shootout, David
Shullick, Jr. of Ridgeville, OH, had checked out by nearly a full
straightaway lead over McKnight. Within 13 laps, Shullick had
encountered lapped traffic. Disaster struck for the leader when
something broke in the left front sending Shullick hard into the
foam blocks between turns one and two.
McKnight inherited the lead with Randy Burch taking chase in second
and Charlie Schultz in third. The action was slowed again when Tim
Ice spun leaving debris on the speedway. On the ensuing restart,
Schultz looked high to make a move on Burch but settled back to run
in third. Under green, McKnight was able to pull away from Burch.
Schultz fell back slightly while the Lane Racing Teammates Robbie
Summers and Bobby Santos III ran nose to tail.
Santos began to get racy looking to make a pass on his teammate. At
halfway, McKnight continued to lead Burch, Summers, and Santos. On
lap 31, Burch lost the handle on his mount
exiting turn four to bring out the caution. Shultz moved up to
second over Summers and Santos. In striking distance, Shultz made a
quick bid on McKnight’s lead to no avail.
Mike Litchey began to make his presence known moving past Santos.
He immediately applied pressure to Summers. The battle was
short-lived; however, as the left rear tire broke lose on Summers’
car stranding him at the end of the front stretch. Under the
caution, Jeff Russell, who had towed in from Boise, ID retired from
the event.
Although McKnight resumed his lead, Litchey was the one to watch.
On a lap 34 restart, there was slight contact between Schultz and
Litchey. Lap-after-lap, Litchey looked high trying to make a move
around Schultz. The efforts paid off when Litchey was able to take
over the second spot on lap 39. The sparks continued to fly when
Litchey had reeled in McKnight.
With only three laps to go, McKnight and Litchey made contact. Both
were able to continue and McKnight retained his lead. McKnight went
on to take the victory over Litchey. Schultz, Mark Sammut, and Scott
Martel completed the top five.
Christopher took top honors in the caution-filled main event for
the SK-Type Modifieds. It took several attempts to get the 50-lapper
underway. A multi-car accident in turn three that involved Mike
Carpenter, Henry Stampfl, Shaun Carrig, Ryan Preece and others
required the first of two complete restarts. On the second attempt
at a start, contact between Kenny Horton and Steven Reed sent Horton
spinning and the caution flag flying once again. Jeffrey Earnhardt,
making his SK-Type Modified debut, was also involved.
With green flag racing finally underway, pole sitter Ronnie Silk
showed the way with Reed in tow. Cravenho pressured Christopher for
third while Jimmy Blewett and Ron Yuhas, Jr. jockeyed for position.
A pass on lap five put Christopher at the head of the field.
Keith Rocco, who had started scratch on the field after missing
qualifying to attend the early portion of the NASCAR All-American
Series banquet, found himself comfortably inside the top ten and
making fast tracks to the top-five. His progress was slowed when
Richard Schwartz and Michael Carpenter where involved in an incident
on lap seven to bring out the caution again.
On lap 9, Rocco was able to make his way passed Yuhas and set sail
for Cravenho for third. Up front Christopher continued to chase
Silk. Sparks began to fly between Rocco and Cravenho as they battled
for position. The two made contact. Yuhas went low to move by both
competitors; however, contact with Cravenho sent Yuhas hard into the
outside wall. Cravenho was sent to the tail end of the field for his
involvement.
Doug Coby was on the move after a lap 16 restart taking the fourth
spot from Eric Beers, aboard the TS Haulers #5. Jimmy Blewett was
also making his way to the front. Blewett passed Tommy Farrell to
take over the fifth spot. While battling for the
second position with Silk, Rocco watched his bid for victory end in
the turn two wall. Silk was penalized for his involvement. The
running order at halfway found Christopher leading Coby, Beers,
Blewett, and Farrell.
Things settled down for a portion of the event with Coby taking
chase of Christopher through lapped traffic. With only four laps
remaining Farrell spun exiting turn four. Christopher watched his
sizeable lead disappear with the yellow. Beers encountered
mechanical problems falling off the pace on the final restart.
Christopher was able to pull away from Coby. Blewett made his move
after the restart to grab second from Coby. A scary looking incident
that involved Gary Young, Jr. and Marc Nappi slowed the event with
only two laps remaining. Christopher was up to the challenge on the
final restart to take the victory in the 50 lap main event. Blewett
settled for second. Steven Reed also earned a podium finish. Farrell
recovered from an early incident to finish fourth. Coby fell back to
fifth at the checkers. Horton also rebounded nicely to finish sixth.
Reed received the RH2Way bonus as the highest finishing driver to
compete in only the SK-Type Modified division.
In support division action, Pete Brittain of Oakhurst, NJ, who was
doing triple duty on the weekend, scored the victory in Vintage
action. Jeff Melton was the victor in the Street Stock main event
that was held on Friday night.
A host of specialty and contingency awards were awarded for the 6th
Annual John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout. A complete
rundown will be available in the near future.
6th Annual John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout
Tour Modified 125 Lap Feature Finish
(Pos. North/South Designation) Car #
Driver’s Name, Hometown):
1. (S) 1 Burt Myers, Kernersville, NC; 2. (N) 60 Matt Hirschman,
Northampton, PA; 3. (N) 79x Ronnie Silk, Norwalk, CT; 4. (N) 36 Ted
Christopher, Plainville, CT; 5. (N) 98 Bobby Santos III, Franklin,
MA; 6. (S) 28 George Brunnhoelzl III, Mooresville, NC; 7. (S) 4
Jason Myers, Walnut Cove, NC; 8. (N) 17 Glen Reen, Wilbraham, MA; 9.
(N) 98H Chuck Hossfeld, Ransomville, NY; 10. (N) 34 Rusty Smith,
Oxford, NY; 11. (N) 2 Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, CT; 12. (S) 23 Brian
Loftin, Lexington, NC; 13. (N) 45 Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, NY;
14. (N) 40 Ryan Preece, Kensington, CT; 15. (N) 88 Woody Pitkat,
Stafford, CT; 16. (N) 79 Ed Flemke, Jr., Berlin, CT; 17. (N) 5
Charlie Pasteryak, Lisbon, CT; 18. (N) 75 Carl Pasteryak, Lisbon,
CT; 19. (S) 8 Jay Mize, Clemmons, NC; 20. (N) 93 Rowan Pennink,
Huntingdon Valley, PA; 21. (N) 9 Eric Beers, N. Hampton, PA; 22. (S)
07 Frank Fleming, Mount Airy, NC; 23. (N) 659 Danny Bohn, Rockwell,
NC; 24. (S) 31 Gene Pack, Walkertown, NC; 25. (N) 8 Earl Paules,
Palmerton, PA; 26. (S) 19 Jimmy Blewett, Howell, NJ; 27. (N) 06 Les
Hinckley, Windsor Locks, CT; 28. (N) 17 Chris Whitenight, Jr.,
Berwick, PA; 29. (N) 99 Jamie Tomaino, Howell, NJ; 30. (N) 08 Thomas
Farrell III, Neptune, NJ; 31. (N) 44 Rick Kluth, Brockport, NY; 32.
(N) 66 Pete Brittain, Oakhurst, NJ; 33. (N) 3 Daren Scherer,
Binghamton, NY; DNS (S) 34 Josh Nichols, Cleveland, NC.
6th Annual John Blewett
III Memorial North-South Shootout Tour Modified 25 Lap
Non-Qualifiers Event Finish
(Pos. North/South Designation) Car # Driver’s Name, Hometown):
1. (S) 8 Jay Mize, Clemmons, NC; 2. (S) 98 Richie Kuiken, Jr.,
Staffordville, NJ; 3. (N) 4 Barry Callavini, Hazleton, PA; 4. (N) 29
Kenny Horton, Guilford, CT; 5. (N) 76 Jason Trinchere, Easton, PA;
6. (S) 03 Luke Fleming, Mount Airy, NC; DNS-(N) 00 Keith Rocco,
Wallingford, CT; (N) 22 Lloyd Agor, New Milford, CT; (N) 68 Johnny
Bush, Huntington Station, NY.
East-West Supermodified
Shootout 50 Lap Feature Event Finish
(Pos. Car # Driver’s Name, Hometown):
1. 94 Dave McKnight, Brampton, ONT; 2. 84 Mike Litchey, Concord, NC;
3. 7 Charlie Schultz, Lorain, OH; 4. 78 Mark Sammut, London, ONT; 5.
14 Scott Martel, Bradford, MA; 6. 9 Bobby Santos, Franklin, MA; 7.
92 Larry Lehnert, Lagrange, OH; 8. 77 Tim Ice, Seville, OH; 9. 38
Randy Burch, Middlebury Heights, OH; 10. 97 Rob Summers, Vernon, CT;
11. 85 Jeff Russell, Boise, ID; 12. 32 Doug Didero, Mooresville, NC;
13. 61 David Shullick, Jr., Ridgeville, OH.
6th Annual John Blewett
III Memorial North-South Shootout Tour Modified 50 Lap SK-Type
Modified Feature Finish
(Pos. Car # Driver’s Name, Hometown):
1. 00 Ted Christopher, Plainville, CT; 2. 12 Jimmy Blewett, Howell,
NJ; 3. 55 Steven Reed, Freehold, NJ; 4. 8 Thomas Farrell III ,
Neptune, NJ; 5. 10 Doug Coby, Milford, CT; 6. 19 Kenny Horton,
Guilford, CT; 7. 81 Ryan Preece, Kensington, CT; 8. 91 Shaun Carrig,
Little Falls, NJ; 9. 12 Kevin Flockhart, Jr., Whiting, NJ; 10. 5
Eric Beers, Northampton, PA; 11. 61 Richie Evans, Jr., Sea Girt, NJ;
12. 51 Rob Janovic, Jr., Waterford, CT; 13. 3 Henry Stampfl,
Norwood, MA; 14. 8 Jeffrey Earnhardt, Mooresville, NC; 15. 8 Patti
Pruitt, Owego, NY; 16. 45 Gary Young, Jr., Burlington, NC; 17. 31
Tommy Cravenho, Raynham, MA; 18. 58 Ronnie Silk, Norwalk, CT; 19. 27
Adam LaCicero, Lavallette, NJ; 20. 74 Sherri Hogan, Belwood,
Ontario; 21. 71 Jimmy Zacharias, Candor, NY; 22. 14 Marc Nappi,
Howell, NJ; 23. 48 Rick Kluth, Brockport, NY; 24. 11 Pete Brittain,
Oakhurst, NJ; 25. 6 Keith Rocco, Wallingford, CT; 26. 4 Ron Yuhas,
Jr., Groton, CT; 27. 38 Robert Schwartz, Jr., Cornelius, NC; 28. 77
Michael Carpenter, Brick, NJ; 29. 1 Richard Knapp, Jr., Mooresville,
NC; DNS 8 Earl Paules, Palmerton, PA.
Vintage Feature Finish: 1. Pete Brittain; 2. Brian
Janik; 3. Dean Slappey; 4. Anthony Colosimo; 5. Randy McAnulty; 6.
Willie Wall; 7. Shaun Magum; 8. Ken Pullen; 9. Johnny Gregory; 10.
David Poskit. DNS Don Skaggs
Street Stocks Feature Finish: 1. Jeff Melton; 2. AJ
Sanders; 3. Brian Love; 4. Charles Hutto; 5. Archie Sanders; 6.
David Miller; 7. Patty Markin; 8. Debbie Hickman; 9. Jay Mudra; 10.
Terry Price.
THE END