Mike Hess is the Corry Chrysler Plymouth E-Mod Champion and Dave Hess Jr. Wins the Super Late Feature 
at Eriez Speedway
by Glenn Slocum

     The new E-Mod division was in the spotlight on Sunday evening as Corry Chrysler Plymouth sponsored the first E-Mod Championship event at Eriez Speedway. Mike Hess won the inaugural event with Dave Hess Jr. in second. Dave Hess won the Super Late Model event with an exciting high side pass of the leaders. Gary Eicher survived a crash filled Outlaw Cadet feature for his third win of the season. Pat McGuire wins number two in the Budweiser Super Sportsman class. Bobby Rohrer help off a hard charging Pat McGuire to win his fourth feature of the season. Eric Buell and Brian Crandall won their first feature of the season in the Spectator division and Larry Bouman won the Four-Cylinder event.

Eric Kimmy jumped to the early lead in the first Spectator feature but before one lap could be completed Joshua Lucas drove up on a tractor tire separating the racing surface and the infield then colleted Dave Surenna before coming to rest against the fence on the front stretch. Surenna was able to continue but Kimmy was towed to the pits. Joe Heslop and Jim Conner tangled at the end of lap one as Kimmy led. Kimmy retired to the infield on lap two with a smoking racecar and Rich Becker took over the lead with Eric Buell in second. Buell passed Becker for the lead on lap five surviving two more cautions to win the event with Becker second and Dan Shellhouse third.

Matt Guzowski took control of the second Spectator feature with a mad scramble for second between Rush Firestone, Mike Boyd, Brian Crandall and Mark Ramsey. Firestone spun in four on lap three and Dennis Lunger and Merle Burlingham collided in turn two for the first yellow. Guzowski led with Crandall second and Boyd third. Guzowski and Crandall raced side by side for two laps with Guzowski getting the advantage on lap four. Art Churchill lost a drive shaft on the front stretch and Ray Houser and Burlingham tangle on the back straight for the second caution. Crandall grabbed the inside and lead on the restart. Guzowski slid to third as Boyd moved buy with three to go. Boyd and Crandall battled for two laps with Crandall coming out on top as the checkers flew. Rush Firestone had passed Guzowski for third.

 Jim Tolan, Steve Forstein and Larry Bouman were the lead trio in the Four-cylinder feature event. Tolan led the first five with Bouman passing going into turn one on the sixth lap. Craig Hardway spun on lap six. Bouman controlled the restart and Tom Liberatore and Forstein got by Tolan for second and third. Bouman won his second feature with Liberatore second and Forstein third.

Twenty-one Outlaw Cadets were on hand for the Outlaw Cadet main event with Wade Slaney and Gary Eicher on the front row. Jeff Campbell and Chris Blose were in row two. Dewey Kinnear and Mark Hall ruined the first attempted start. Shawn McArdle and Brian Zimmerly ruined the second attempted start. One lap was finally completed with Eicher leading but Jim Hilyer and George Cole spun on lap two for the third caution. Eicher led lap two but Joe Harvey slowed in turn four for the fourth caution. Blose slipped to fifth as Eicher led with Slaney second Campbell third and points leader John Pencille fourth. Matt Lamphere spun on lap four for caution five. Vern Plymire caused caution six with a spin in three on lap five. The next lap saw caution number seven as Dewey Kinnear came to rest at the exit of turn four. Pencille beat Campbell on this restart for the third spot as Eicher moved out to a ten-car length lead over Slaney. Matt Lamphere and Joe Harvey spun on lap nine as the caution flew for the ninth time in the event. The tenth caution occurred with five to go involving George Cole, Bill Dunn and Dustin Eckman. Eicher ran away from the field on the restart and won going away with Wade Slaney second and Jeff Campbell third.

The Four-Cylinders were the fourth feature of the evening and the first one run under the lights. Gary Foster sporting a bright yellow paint job led laps one and two. Dave Cummings spun on lap three for the first yellow of the event. Foster led on the restart with Pat McGuire and Randy Parmenter giving chase. Pat McGuire moved into the led on the start of lap eight as Foster fell to third allowing Parmenter by also. Foster fought back and took over second with one to go. Cummings moved by Parmenter for third and McGuire won with Foster second.

 The E-Mods were next on the card for the Corry Chrysler Plymouth E-Mod Championship event. Bill Taylor was the early leader leading the first four until giving way to Mike Hess and Chad Ruhlman. A caution on lap seven involving Brian Snow and Jason Covey allowed the field to close on Hess. Dave Hess Jr. moved into third on the restart. Snow was involved in another incident on lap eleven for the second caution. Dale Applebee was now running fourth moving up to battle with Dave Hess and Chad Ruhlman for second. Ruhlman, Dave Hess and Applebee ran in group for the remaining five laps with Ruhlman and Applebee low and Dave Hess on the high side. Dave Hess was able to get by Ruhlman at the finish line for second as Mike Hess ran away for the win.

Twenty-two Super Late Models took Spanky Hall’s green flag for their feature event with Ron Maloy on the pole and Dave Hess Jr. on the outside. George LaBarbera spun on initial start causing a complete restart of the event. Maloy move out to the front early with Ron Olson Second and Hess third but Randy Lobb quickly moved by Hess and Olson to chasse Maloy. Point leader Rich Gardner was running fifth and Scott Gurdak sixth. Ron Olson puffed smoke and left the speedway on lap giving Gardner fourth. At halfway Hess was trying to get around Randy Lobb on the outside with Maloy barely holding on to the lead. Hess passed both Lobb and Maloy on lap fifteen to take over the lead. Kelly Frederes swerved in front of the leaders almost collecting Gardner as the second caution flag of the event flew on with sixteen laps down. Chris Hackett, John Lobb, Doug Eck and Bump Hedman tangled on the front stretch during lap seventeen resulting in John Lobb and Hedman coming to a stop for the third caution. Dave Hess was the leader with Maloy second, Randy Lobb third, Gardner fourth, Eck fifth and Gurdak sixth. Randy Lobb tried the high groove on lap nineteen and lost a spot to Gardner who then passed a struggling Maloy. A stalled Al Crocker brought out the yellow on lap twenty-two with Hess still in control but Gardner was now second, Maloy third, Randy Lobb fourth and Eck still in fifth. Maloy moved under Gardner on the restart but could not make the pass as Hess got the two to go from Spanky Hall. Maloy slowed then was tapped by Randy Lobb in turn one of the white flag lap setting up a one-lap dash to the checkers. Gardner tried a move under Hess at the line but fell short. Dave Hess Jr. won his second feature of the year with another exciting high side move around the leaders. Gardner was second and Randy Lobb third.

Bobby Rohrer was on the pole for the Limited Late Model feature and quickly moved out to a five car lead with Bob Vogt second and Pat McGuire third. Vogt slid up the track on lap three giving McGuire just enough room to get by for second. Rohrer and McGuire out distanced the field as they ran nose to tail through lap eight when a spinning Andy Sweetland brought out the yellow flag. Mike Moore helped Bob Vogt around on lap nine for the second caution. Rohrer held on to the lead through lap twelve when Paul Briggs stopped high in turn three for the fourth caution. McGuire led lap thirteen but Rohrer slammed the door in one to lead the next lap as the McGuire was relentless in his pursuit of the lead. With two to go Mike Moore moved in to challenge McGuire and ruined any further attempt by McGuire to get by Rohrer. It was Rohrer’s fourth feature win of the season.

Results:

   Spectators:

      Heat 1: Rich Becker, Joe Heslop, Eric Kinney

      Heat 2: Mark Ramsey, Barrett Brown, Mark Thompson

      Heat 3: Brian Crandall, Matt Lazowski, Brad Pease

      Feature 1: Eric Buell, Rich Becker, Dan Shellhouse, Justin Kriener, Dave Surenna, Brian Johnson, Jim Leonard, Danielle Wilbur, Ron Watson, Joe Heslop

      Feature 2: Brian Crandall, Mike Boyd, Rush Firestone, Kevin Brumett, Matt Thomas, Matt Guzowski, Brian Guzowski, Mark Thompson, Mark Ramsey, Art Churchill

   4-Cylinder Sportsmen

      Heat 1: Tom Liberatore, Steve Forstein, J.R. Cross

      Feature: Larry Bouman, Tom Liberatore, Steve Forstein, Jim Tolan, Bethany Pease, Wendell Pinkney, Jason Smith, Ken Wanzer, J.R. Cross, Craig Hardaway

Cadets

      Heat 1: Mark Hall, Wade Slaney, Jeff Campbell

      Heat 2:  Gary Eicher, Chris Blose, John Pencille

      Feature : Gary Eicher, Wade Slaney, Jeff Campbell, John Pencille, Chris Blose, Louie DeDionisio, Herm Hilyer, Terry Daniels, Vern Plymire, Rick Loomis, Phil Knight, Pete Alspaugh, Joe Harvey, George Cole, Dustin Eckman, Bill Dunn, Matt Lamphere, Shawn McArdle, Dewey Kinnear, Mark Hall

  E-Mods:

     Heat 1: Mike Hess, Dale Applebee, Bill Taylor

      Feature: Mike Hess, Dave Hess Jr., Chad Ruhlman, Dale Applebee, Justin Carlson, Bill Taylor, Kurt Thorpe, Ryan Snow, Jeff Wick, Tom Anderson

   Budweiser Super Sportsmen:

      Heat 1: Dave Cummings, Randy Parmenter, Pat McGuire

      Feature: Pat McGuire, Gary Foster, Dave Cummings, Randy Parmenter, Don McGuire, J.R. Nocero, John Robinson, Mike Murray

   Limited Late Models:

      Heat 1: Bobby Rohrer, Al Cressley, Aaron Robinson

      Heat 2: Andy Sweetland, Bob Vogt, Pat McGuire

      Feature: Bobby Rohrer, Pat McGuire, Mike Moore, Tom Hagberg, Al Cressley, Bob Vogt, Mike Coyle, Andy Sweetland, Brian Fardink, Ed Simmer, Paul Briggs, Aaron Robinson, Ron Seeley

   American Racer Dash: Rich Gardner, Randy Lobb, Scott Gurdak

   Super Late Models:

      Heat 1: Rod Maloy, Rich Gardner, George LaBarbera

      Heat 2: Ron Olson, Scott Gurdak, Doug Eck

      Heat 3: Dave Hess Jr., Randy Lobb, Andy Boozel

      Feature: Dave Hess Jr., Rich Gardner, Randy Lobb, Doug Eck, Scott Gurdak, Chris Hackett, Andy Boozel, John Lacki, Andy Kania, Jason Morrell, Steve Halpainy, Rod Maloy, Bump Hedman, Al Crocker, Mark Gilbert, Chuck Steinle, John Lobb, Chevy Scott, Scott Johnson, Kelly Frederes, Ron Olson, George LaBarbera