June 15th,2003 - Bob Craig Won Four Cylinder Championship on J.D. Byrider Night and
Rich Gardner Wins Super Late Race
at Eriez Speedway
by Glenn Slocum

             Summer finally arrived at Eriez Speedway with J.D. Byrider Night. The Four Cylinder division was featured in a Championship race and the Enduro Cars competed in a 25 lap special event. Wade Slaney won the special Enduro event with Luke Rutsky second and Bill Baker Jr. third. The story of the evening was the courage of John Lobb who after sustaining a broken ankle in a racing incident on Friday evening won the American Racer Dash in his Super Late Model, finished second in his qualifying heat and sixth in the Super Late Model Feature. Rich Gardner won the event from the pole surviving several restarts to win by several car lengths over Doug Eck. Nathan Short led every lap of the Outlaw Cadet event notching his second win of the year. Merle Burlingham won his second Spectator feature and Steve Keith his third. Dave Cummings Jr. won his second Budweiser Super Sportsman feature. Dave Hess recovered from early problems to win the E-Mod feature making it four wins in six attempts. Paul Briggs broke while leading the Limited Late event and veteran Mike Moore was there to take the win.  

              It was a past Champion front row with Rich Gardner on the pole and Rod Maloy on the outside. Gardner showed the way around on lap one with Doug Eck second and Maloy third. Lap two was marred with an accident in turn one which brought out the caution. Andy Kania, Steve Halpainy, Ward Schell and Wendell Pinckney were involved. Kania remained on the speedway while all of the others went to the pits and returned. Gardner was out front on the restart followed by Eck , Scott Gurdak and Al Crocker. Dusty Franklin was spun on lap six bringing out the second caution. The top four remained the same with Maloy fifth and John Lobb sixth. Gardner was able to pull away from the field on the restart quickly building a ten-car length advantage over Eck. Chris Hackett and Dave Hess Jr. brought out the yellow with thirteen laps complete. It was all Gardner on the next four laps then a spin by Hess caused a caution allowing the field to catch Gardner. The restart saw Kania and George LaBarbera spin before crossing the start finish line. The next restart proved to be the final restart of the event as Gardner would not be challenged winning by several car lengths over Eck. Scott Gurdak was third then Crocker, Maloy and Lobb.

              The inaugural Enduro 25 Lap feature event at Eriez featured twenty-five cars. Luke Rutsky was on top after one followed by Jim and Derek Frank. Wade Slaney was in the fourth spot. Greg Johnson took the third spot on lap six and began challenging Jim Frank for the number two spot. Johnson was second by lap ten and he trailed Rutsky through lap traffic. Johnson had problems just before half way letting Jim Frank into the second then Frank quickly took the first spot. On lap fourteen Jim Frank slowed on the back stretch and pulled into the infield but Wade Slaney was there to take the lead. Slaney ran through heavy lap traffic for the next eight laps as cars completely encircled the speedway. Jason Garou made heavy contact with the front stretch concrete with two laps remaining then stopped driver side to traffic on the front straight causing the yellow to appear for the first time in the event. Slaney could not be caught after taking the green with two laps remaining, Rutsky after leading early finished second and Bill Baker Jr. was third.       

            Ken Wanzer got the big jump on the initial start of the Four Cylinder Championship event. Jr. Cross and Larry Boumans caught Wanzer on lap three as he slowed. Cross and Boumans raced nose to tail for then next three laps then Boumans got under Cross on lap seven completing the pass for the lead three two corners later. Bob Craig was third with Dan Osborne fourth with five to go. Craig was right behind Cross with two to go. Boumans tangled with a lap car coming to the white flag then was involved with Dan Osborne in a crash in turn one bringing out the caution for the first time. Craig took advantage of the leaders problems to take the lead followed by Cross and Larry Taylor. Cross and Craig swapped paint on the one lap dash for the win with Craig coming out on top by a fender at the finish line.

              Lee Rider led the first lap of the first Spectator feature but lost the lead to Fred McClanahan on lap three. An incident in turn two involving Ron Watson, Ken Lamp and Ron Fish brought the yellow out on the fourth circuit. Jim Wyant spun on the restart causing the second caution. Justin Krieder with some help from Barrett Brown spun in turn two on the restart losing the second spot as he and Brown were sent to the rear of the field. Early leader Ryder was second behind McClanahan followed by Wayne Watson and Merle Burlingham. Lee went high in one on the start lost the handle allowing the field to go by. Burlingham moved up to challenge McClanahan and passed the leader on lap six. Dale McDonald spun while running fifth on lap eight collecting Ken Jackson. Burlingham took the green with two laps remaining and never looked back as McClanahan, Watson and Krieder fought for second. Burlingham won with McClanahan second and Watson third.

              The initial start of the second Spectator feature did not go well as Dennis Lunger and Josh Lucas had problems. Once the field was realigned Paul Norman but a spin by Jason Heslop stopped the race before a lap could be completed. Dan McGarvie won the next restart with Norman second and Jason Stetson third. Rush Firestone spun on lap two and was sent to the rear of field for the restart. Debris on the speedway brought out the caution before a lap could be completed. McGarvie was first into turn one on the restart but Steve Keith was the leader at the stripe. Firestone and Lunger had more troubles after two complete and the yellow came out again. Keith remained the leader on the restart but Mark Ramsey and Tommy Fox were in second and third and Mark Thompson fourth. Fox had trouble in tow on lap seven and Thompson got by for the third spot. Thompson spun on lap with one to go letting Fox have the third spot but Keith held on for the win with Ramsey second.

              Nathan Short was the first across the line in the Outlaw Cadet feature followed by Dustin Eckman and Mike Knight. Short set a blistering pace building a half a straightaway advantage by lap four just before the yellow appeared for Alex Feisler who had spun coming out of turn four. Mike Knight took the second spot from Eckman on the restart then Pete Alspaugh spun at the front of the field bringing out the yellow with five laps complete. Short was first followed by  Knight, Louis DeDionisio and Eckman on the restart. Dave Tolon spun onto the edge of the speedway in turn two on lap six collecting George Cole for the next caution. One lap after the restart Chuck Parker stopped in turn four for the fourth caution with seven laps completed. Knight spun on lap eight collecting Bill Dunn, Dewey Kinnear, DeDionisio and Cole. Short escaped the incident and was still the leader with Eckman back in second followed by Ron Seeley and Terry Daniels. Dave Tolon moved into the top five on lap nine as Short led by fifteen car lengths. The race was for fourth with Pete Alspaugh defeating Tolon at the line. Short won his second of the season with Eckman second and Ron Seeley third.

              Dave Cummings Jr. was the leader after one complete in the Budweiser Super Sportsman feature. Gary Foster was running second with J.R. Nocero third and Pat McGuire fourth. Pat McGuire was third on lap three trailed closely by brother Don. Nocero fell to fifth. Cummings was building his lead as Foster held off the McGuire brothers. Bobby Rohrer brought out the caution on lap six. The battle resumed on the restart with Cummings out front and Foster in front of the two McGuire boys. Foster suffered mechanical problems one lap later stopping on the front stretch. Cummings was able to maintain the lead on the restart and won the event as neither Pat or Dan McGuire could mount a challenge. 

            Chris Peterson and Jason Illig were out in front after two laps of the E-Mod main event when Stu Rickart spun. Mike and Dave Hess were third and fourth on the restart followed by Tom Anderson and Brad Pease. Tom Anderson, Dave Surrena, Stu Rickart and Justin Carlson tangled on lap three just as Mike Hess and Dave Hess Jr. took the two top spots. Peterson was relegated to third with Pease fourth and Bill Thomas fifth. Anderson had troubles on lap four as Mike Hess led. Anderson retired from the event and the field was realigned. The restart failed because of a spin by Illig. Dave Hess was ahead at the line on lap five with Mike Hess second and Bill Thomas third. Justin Carlson up behind Thomas challenging for third. A car stopped in turn one on lap eight. Carlson faded after the restart but Dave Hess did not handily winning the event with Mike Hess second and Thomas third.

              Tom Hagberg spun while running second in the Limited Late Model feature causing the first yellow on lap two. Paul Briggs was the leader with Bob Vogt second followed by Tom Schnars and Brian Fardink. Mike Moore took fourth on the restart then passed Schnars for third on lap four. Briggs was out front by several car lengths as Vogt and Moore fought for second. John Pencille took fourth from Schnars on lap seven. Ten were complete when Ron Bem spun on the back straight and went into the pits. Briggs led Vogt, Moore and Pencille around for the restart. McGuire passed Schnars on the restart as Briggs once more moved away from the field. Vogt slipped up the speedway on lap fourteen allowing Moore to take second and Pencille passed McGuire for the fourth spot. Briggs lost power on lap seventeen pulling into the infield as Joe Weber rolled over in turn one stopping the event. Weber was not injured and the filed was reset with Moore in first followed by Vogt, McGuire and Pencille. Moore ran the final three laps of the event unchallenged for the win with Vogt second and McGuire third.

Results:  

   Enduro:

     Heat 1: Derek Frank, Jim Frank, Gordy Overturf
     Heat 2: Luke Rutsky, Wade Slaney, Craig Darling

     Feature: Wade Slaney, Luke Rutsky, Bill Baker Jr., Randy Baker, Eric McCray, Derek Frank, Glen Slaney, Craig Darling, Chris Withers, Andrew Moore

   Spectators:

      Heat 1:  Wayne Watson, Dale MacDonald, Ron Fish

      Heat 2: Merle Burlingham, Paul Norman, Jason Stetson

      Heat 3: Mark Ramsey, Tommy Fox, Mark Thompson

      Feature 1: Merle Burlingham, Dave McClanahan, Wayne Watson, Jeremy English, Bob Kinne, Walt Johnson, Jason Krieder, Ken Jackson, Dale MacDonald, Ray Churchill

      Feature 2: Steve Keith, Mark Ramsey, Tommy Fox, Paul Norman, Rush Firestone, Dan McGarvie, Mark Thompson, Jason Stetson, Matt Emmerling, Joe Heslop

   4-Cylinder Sportsmen

      Heat 1: Bob Craig, Larry Taylor, Bob Harrison

      Heat 2: Dan Osborne, J.R. Cross, Larry Boumans

      Feature: Bob Craig, J.R. Cross, Tom Bean, Larry Taylor, Dan Osborne, Larry Boumans, Stanley Davis, Bob Harrison, Ken Wanzer, Boyd Hess

  Outlaw Cadets

      Heat 1: Dave Tolon, Matt Lamphere, Jeff Campbell

      Heat 2: Mike Knight, Nathan Short, Louis DeDionisio

      Feature: Nathan Short, Dustin Eckman, Ron Seeley, Pete Alspaugh, Dave Tolon, Dewey Kinnear, George Cole, Bill Dunn, Louis DeDionisio

  E-Mods:

     Heat 1: Stu Rickart, Chris Peterson, Tom Anderson

      Heat 2: Bill Thomas, Mike Boyd, Dave Hess Jr.

      Feature: Dave Hess Jr., Mike Hess, Bill Thomas, Brad Pease, Stu Rickart, Chris Peterson, James Irwin, Jason Illig, Justine Carlson, Dave Surrena

   Budweiser Super Sportsmen:

      Heat 1: Don McGuire, Randy Parmenter, Aaron Robinson

      Feature: Dave Cummings Jr., Pat McGuire, Don McGuire, Pete Volpe, Randy Parmenter, Hank Francis, J.R. Nocero, Aaron Robinson, Don Standley, Brent Crandall

   Limited Late Models:

      Heat 1: Tom Hagberg, Mike Coyle, Gary Eicher

      Heat 2:  Bob Vogt, John Pencille, Tom Schnars

      Feature: Mike Moore, Bob Vogt, Pat McGuire, John Pencille, Tom Schnars, Gary Eicher, Bobby Rohrer, Tom Hagberg, Mike Coyle, Brian Fardink

   American Racer Dash: John Lobb, Dave Shagla, Wendell Pinckney

   Super Late Models:

      Heat 1: Rich Gardner, Scott Gurdak, John Lobb, Dave Lyon, John Lacki

      Heat 2: Rod Maloy, Al Crocker, Dave Shagla, Steve Halpainy, Andy Kania

      Heat 3: Doug Eck, Chris Blose, Wendell Pinckney, Ward Schell, Chris Hackett

      Feature: Rich Gardner, Doug Eck, Scott Gurdak, Al Crocker, Rod Maloy, John Lobb, John Lacki, Dave Shagla, Chris Blose, Dave Lyons, Merle Terry, George LaBarbera, Wally Fox, Steve Halpainy, Andy Kania, Chris Hackett, Andy Boozel, Ward Schell, Wendell Pinckney, Dave Hess Jr., Dusty Franklin, Jason Morell