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Will Thomas Wins Big In Piney Lasky Fall Fest II; Flick, Kostelnik,Ferrell,and Sever Celebrate Wins Date Posted: 10/5/2009 Smithton, PA) Saturday night when Will Thomas took the checkered flag to win the "Piney Lasy Memorial 100" he earned the $5,000 winner's prize. He also, earned over $480 in lap leader bonus money. Additionally he collected the $3,000 "Bounty Bonus" offered to any driver who could defeat the Motordrome weekly competitors. In victory lane, when Thomas celebrated alongside second and third place finishers Barry Awtey and John Komarinski, fans cheered as the outside invaders were shut out of the top positions by local heroes. In order to establish the criteria for offering the "Bounty Bonus" promoter Stan Lasky chose to determine an "outsider" as any driver not inside the top 25 in the 2009 Motordrome point standings. Thomas, who spent the first half of the season with Bentz Motorsports, earned top five finishes and enough points to be well inside the top 25 at the regular season's end. However, he was released from that team several weeks ago. Thomas was awarded the $3,000 bonus after winning with his own Will Thomas Racing #9 machine on October 2. Thomas has been competeting semi-regularly for three seasons and had two prior wins at Motordrome, so many fans consider him a "local" driver, in spite of his commute of more than two hours from the northwest corner of PA (Mercer County). But, true to his word to offer the $3,000 bonus, Lasky handed over a total paycheck of over $8,480 Saturday night to Thomas, after a hard-fought win. Other winners during the Fall Festival II were Mark Flick (Wyotech Modifieds), Adam Kostelnik (Napa Street Stocks), Zane Ferrell (Pro Auto Supply Service Chargers), and Matt Sever (Coca Cola Super Compacts). After rain washed out Friday s portion of the program, two days of racing were jammed into one action packed Saturday. Will Thomas set fast time for the Subway Super Late Models during qualifications for the Piney Lasky Memorial, but a random draw for the top twelve starting spots placed former Track Champion Bobby Henry on the pole position alongside Barry Awtey; both were winners in 2009. Before one lap was completed, Henry and Awtey made contact, sending Awtey for a spin. Awtey pitted but returned to action on the lead lap, while Henry sustained body damage, but led the first circuit of green flag racing. Third starting Mark Poole, a three time winner during the regular season, passed Henry on lap two and Ohio s Jack Smith took second place. Also on lap two, Lake Erie Speedway Champions Thomas and Glenn Gault, Jr. made contact with Thomas spinning, and making a pit stop. Poole then set a blistering pace, opening up a huge lead interval over Smith, a NASCAR Truck Series racer who won an ASA event at Motordrome in 2006. Smith held the second spot until lap 16, when three-time Champion Rick Miller became the runner up after starting ninth. Poole was lapping cars inside the top ten, with a lead of more than a full straightaway in the middle stages of the event. North Carolinan Colt James was involved in the Awtey spin on lap two, and although a lap down, he impressed the fans by passing cars in exciting fashion. More conservatively, Thomas was passing cars for positions and when the caution flag waved on lap 48, Thomas had rallied back to third place behind Miller. Awtey had advanced to fourth for the restart. Thomas passed Miller for second on lap 54, but was unable to gain on the leader immediately. Another caution on lap 56 placed James back on the lead lap as the lucky dog procedure (for being the first car among those one lap down), where he would restart ninth with Poole, Thomas, Miller, Awtey, and Garry Wiltrout in the top five. When the green flag waved, Thomas stayed glued to Poole s rear bumper and the duo ran away from the field. After racing side by side, Thomas took the lead on lap 77, to complete his ascendance from the back of the pack. On lap 86, the battle for third took an ugly turn, when Miller and the advancing James made contact, sending Miller for a spin. With two laps to go disaster struck Poole, as a touch from James sent him hard into the inside wall, destroying the car that led the most laps while battling for second. James was penalized to the rear of the lead-lap line. Thomas then led the final two laps to claim the prestigious title of Piney Lasky Memorial winner for his third career Motordrome win. Awtey passed every car on the track but one, to finish second after his opening lap collision, and John Komarinski made late race passes of Wiltrout and Tommy Beck to earn a podium finish, with a remarkable display of tire management. Beck finished fourth after starting 15th, and Wiltrout finished fifth after starting 16th, thus the Motordrome regulars defended their home turf throughout the top five, against the outside invaders. This place was never very good to me until tonight, the elated Thomas admitted in victory lane. This is our Lake Erie weekly car, and my crew worked so hard since Thursday to make it right this hot rod was better on lap 90 than it was on lap one. It was the first Motordrome win of 2009, for the superstar who has won special events on seven tracks in three states during his career. The biggest news in the pit area during Fall Festival weekend was the driver change at Viglione Motorsports, as Mark Flick was the man at the controls of the #60, for the team with six consecutive Championships in the Wyotech Modifieds. Flick started eighth, and was fourth different leader of the event when he took the checkered flag for his first win at Motordrome since 2002. Flick, the former Mod Champion (who has been racing dirt track Modifieds since his last Motordrome title) took the lead from five-time Lake Erie Speedway winner Terry Akerly on lap 22, and cruised to the win in the 40-lap special event. In addition to Akerly, Bobby Shipp, and Marion Reno, Jr. also led. Lonnie Hoffman made a race of it at the finish, as he started tenth finished a close second after a late race restart. Shipp recovered from a pit stop to place third, Akerly was fourth in his first start of the year, and Reno held on for fifth. Chris Brink set fast time for the Mods, over a field that included five drivers making their first Motordrome visit of 2009. Former Napa Street Stock Champion Adam Kostelnik was the fastest qualifier and drew the fifth starting position for the 40-lap special event. After pole starter Tom Knight, Sr. led three circuits, Kostelnik took the lead and destroyed the field in a car that he d only driven a few times. The Modified winner of the 2008 Fall Festival maintained a big lead throughout the race, and at the finish sixth-starting Teddy Gibala was second, Mike Bakalon was third, Jonathan Hileman was fourth, and recent winner Dustin Blank was fifth. After Roger Bryan and Tracy Keller won heat races for the Pro Auto Supply Service Chargers, young Zane Ferrell dominated the 25-lap feature. The rookie s third win was a convincing one, over Tracy Keller, Ron Eifford, III, Jimmy Christofel, and Ed McConnell who led lap one. Ferrell started third and took the lead on lap two for the season-ending checkered flag. The highest finishing outsider at Fall Festival II was Dave McAvoy, from Freedonia, NY. In the Coca Cola Super Compacts, McAvoy won a heat race and led five laps of the 25-lapper for 4-Cylinder cars. McAvoy also races Modifieds at Lake Erie Speedway, but he was no match for Matt Sever, the Motordrome Champion who took the lead on lap six, and won his tenth feature of the season. McAvoy was second to the teenager, with young Bill Schwartz in third, Steve Settle fourth, and New York s Jamie Hebner fifth driving a dirt track car. PINEY LASKY FALL FEST II RACE RESULTS Subway Super Late Models Piney Lasky Memorial 100 Feature Finish: 1. Will Thomas 2. Barry Awtey 3. John Komarinski 4. Tommy Beck 5. Gary Wiltrout 6. Rick Miller 7. George Skora, III 8. Chris Bailey 9. Jack Smith 10. Mark Cottone 11. Colt James 12. Robbie Marhefka 13. Scott Wylie 14. Steve Black 15. Todd Price 16. Mark Poole 17. Scott Nurmi 18. Joe Moose 19. Dusty Rhoads 20. Shawn Pilla 21. Gregory Kelly 22. Scott Baker 23. Glenn Gault Jr. 24. Bobby Henry 25. Mike Fiedelkorn 26. Josh John 27. Nathan Russell DNS WyoTech Modifieds: Feature Finish: 1. Mark Flick 2. Lonnie Hoffman 3. Bobby Shipp 4. Terry Akerly 5. Marion Reno 6. Harry Opfer 7. George Nicola 8. Troy Knight 9. James-Paul Wesser 10. Carter Mook 11. Billy Hribar 12. Rich Nicola 13. Chris Brink 14. Adam Kostelnik 15. Jim Nicola 16. Matt Pania 17. Jim Nicola Jr. 18. Bryan Shipp 19. Eric McCray 20. Mike Lemley NAPA Street Stocks Feature Finish: 1. Adam Kostelnik 2. Ted Gibala 3. Mike Bakalon 4. Johnathan Hileman 5. Dustin Blank 6. Andrew Kostelnik 7. Jeff Zillweger 8. Jeff Campbell 9. Steve Long 10. Dink Colarusso 11. Thomas Knight Sr. 12. Jason Holder 13. Tony Manganello Pro Auto Supply Service Chargers Heat Winners: Roger Bryan, Tracy Keller Feature Finish: 1. Zane Ferrell 2. Tracy Keller 3. Ron Eifford 4. Jimmy Christofel 5. Ed McConnell 6. Roger Bryan 7. Robert Garchak Jr. 8. Mary Catherine Shimko 9. Vic Keller 10. Chris Spadacene 11. Jamie Shipley DNS 12. Dustin Blank DNS Coca-Cola Super Compacts Heat Winners: Matt Sever, Dave McAvoy Feature Finish: 1. Matt Sever 2. Dave McAvoy 3. Bill Schwartz 4. Terry Schwartz 5. Kevin Ludwick 6. Troy Knight 7. Paul Koffler Sr. 8. Kevin Keffer 9. Jessica Knight 10. Mitch Fralick 11. Dan Brink 12. Andy Zottola 13. Mary Catherine Shimko 14. Paul Koffler III 15. Mark Tringes Jr. 16. Mark Tringes, Sr. 17. Michael George DNS |
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