Jeremiah Kuntz, of Mahaffey, PA, maintained his lead in the season-long championship standings by winning his fourth Martella’s Pharmacies Late Model division race of 2017, on Saturday August 26 at Jennerstown Speedway Complex. The touring Super Cup Stock Car Series competed in a pair of races, which will be nationally broadcast on the MAV-TV Network at a later date, and earning victories among the 23 competitors were West Virginia’s Codie Rohrbaugh and Indiana’s J.P. Crabtree. Other winners were Chris Brink (Stoystown Auto Wreckers Modifieds), Shawn Beam (J&J Truck Equipment Street Stocks), Jason Pritts (Farmers Union Co-Op Chargers), and Andrew Pluta (Somerset Trust Company Fast ‘n Furious 4-Cylinders). Auntie Ann’s Pretzels gave away hundreds of fidget spinners and thousands of free samples during pre-race activities on the Jennerstown Midway.
The 30-lap feature race for the Martella’s Pharmacies Late Models began with young Joe Maruca taking the early lead. Maruca, seeking his first career victory, has shown notable improvement while racing among the seasoned veterans in recent weeks. He opened up a comfortable margin over Mike “Hollywood” Hemminger in the first stages of the race. Hemminger maintained the runner-up spot until lap five, when both Jeremiah Kuntz and Barry Awtey slipped by him. Kuntz and Awtey entered the night as three-time winners, and are the two drivers vying for the title of 2017 Champion. By the time Kuntz and Awtey passed Hemminger, Maruca’s lead seemed insurmountable. Kuntz and Awtey began a war for second place, during which Awtey pulled even with Kuntz more than once. The duel lasted several laps, with some side-by-side challenges, but Kuntz remained the runner up each lap. The pair caught leader Maruca while dicing for the second spot, and with ten laps to go, Maruca went from the lead to third place. Both Kuntz and Awtey roared by Maruca at the same time, with Kuntz officially leading lap 20. Kuntz repeatedly slid his car onto the front straight, after displaying a very loose handling condition each lap in turn four. But with Awtey challenging him in the inside groove, lap after lap, Kuntz rode the high lane of the speedway to a division-leading fourth victory of 2017. Kuntz started seventh in the race, after winning the preliminary heat early in the night, aboard his Kuntz Chrysler/Dodge Charger. Kuntz now has a five point lead over Awtey, in the quest for his first Jennerstown Championship. Awtey, the defending Champion, started sixth in the race and claimed second place, in front of Maruca in third position, previous week’s winner Teddy Gibala in fourth, and Hemminger in fifth position.
After Jim Bodizak led the first lap of the Stoystown Auto Wreckers Modifieds’ 20-lap feature, rookie Jarred Barclay moved into the top spot. Barclay started fifth, seeking his first-ever victory. Tom Golik, a winner this year, moved into second position, as Barclay ran away from all competitors. On lap eight, Golik surrendered second place to points leader Chris Brink. Brink, the leading winner at Jennerstown in 2017, was far behind leader Barclay at the midpoint of the event. But, on lap 14, after a restart brought the field closer together, Brink became the leader. After starting ninth, Brink went on to claim his eighth victory of the season. Barclay’s best career run earned him the second place honors, with two time winner “Racin’ Jason” Busch finishing third after starting eighth. Golik placed fourth with recent winner and defending Champion Zane Ferrell finished fifth.
For the second straight week, a crash changed the Championship outlook in the J&J Truck Equipment Street Stocks division. Before one lap was completed a multi-car collision severely damaged the car of points leader Lauren Butler. Butler, a three time winner, was uninjured but her car was destroyed. Andrew Kostelnik was scheduled to start eleventh, but with several cars in the pits or moved to the tail of the field, the former Champion led the first official lap after the restart. He drove around three time winner Josh Coughenour and veteran Jason Holder and pulled away from the field, early in the 20-lap contest. On lap six, defending Champ Shawn Beam passed Coughenour for second place, with Kostelnik far ahead. But just after the midpoint of the race, Beam quickly snatched the lead, and cruised to his division-leading sixth win of 2017, as Kostelnik earned second place. Championship contender Coughenour, who crashed the previous week to surrender the point standings lead, finished third, and closed to within five points of Butler for the title. Former Champion Anthony Aiello finished fourth and young Zac Todaro had a strong run, placing fifth.
An action-packed 15-lap feature for the Farmers Union Co-Op Chargers began with Cody Gaynor showing his competition that he is now a contender. The young driver took the early lead seeking a first win, as veterans battled three-wide behind him. On lap eight, two-time winner Dale Kimberly took the lead. But, points leader Jason Pritts grabbed the top spot from Kimberly on lap twelve. Recent winner Scott Mitchell advanced to second spot, and when the checkered flag was displayed, Pritts earned his fifth win of the season, after starting in sixth place. Mitchell started ninth and earned second position, with Kimberly, Gaynor, and 2017 winner Tanner Friedline completing the top five.
Joe Laposky has been quick all year in the Somerset Trust Company Fast ‘n Furious 4-Cylinders, and he started the 15-lap feature from the pole position. Looking poised for his first win, he lead seven laps before Andrew Pluta made the winning move for the lead, on lap eight. Laposky held the runner up spot until the last lap, as Pluta went on to claim win number four of 2017, after starting in tenth place. Two-time winner Casey Fleegle started twelfth and placed second, with Laposky crossing the line in third position. Recent winner David Campbell started 13th and placed fourth, with two-time winner Evan Nibert finishing fifth.
Saturday, September 2, the divisional point tallying will come to end, as “Champions Night” will crown title winners in all five divisions of racing. Also, the rained out “Shane Shaffer 75” for the Ron’s Collision Center Enduro Series” will be contested, with a four-wide standing start, following the stock car racing. Gates open at 4pm, with music, clowns, face painting, and the opening of the Midway. Racing begins at 6pm. For more information, log on to www.jennerstown.org