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FASTRAK NE Tour Mercer Raceway Park July 14 story & results


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Posted 15 July 2012 - 08:19 AM

WILL THOMAS BEATS OUT ANGELICCHIO FOR FASTRAK NE LATE MODEL TOUR WIN IN 1ST EVER MERCER START By Mike Leone July 14, 2012 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Mercer, PA)…The Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC Pace Performance FASTRAK Northeast Late Model Touring Series made a return to Mercer Raceway Park on Saturday night for the first time in two years. It was race #14 of 25 on the 2012 slate at the track that FASTRAK Northeast Co-Director Vicki Emig owned for over 11 years, which is now under the ownership of Bill Altman for the third year. Despite storms in the forecast all day and night, it was dry at the speedway throughout the day and night with blue sky for the evening hours. A great multi-groove, smooth surface was prepared for the racers that provided side-by-side racing all night long. Will Thomas III and Dan Angelicchio put on a quite a show for the fans in the Series return to Mercer Raceway Park. The duo battled for much of the event running side-by-side swapping the lead back and forth as seventh starting Thomas made a late race pass and then pulled away over the final four laps for his second series win. The $1,200 victory came in the 25-lap event and was the first time the former asphalt racer had ever competed at Mercer. The three-time Weekly Series Sharon winner recently picked up his first career Tour win on July 4 at Expo Speedway. “We had a great car and wanted to run Danny (Angelicchio) as clean as we could,” explained the 36-year-old Sharpsville, Pa. resident. “Our car would really pivot well on the bottom and could get free off the bottom so I was just trying to bide my time. I definitely didn’t want to make any contact with him. It feels great to win these Tour races. This is as hard of racing as it is. Max Blair, Pegher, Angelicchio, all of these guys have been doing it a long time and it feels great to come out here and run with these guys. It felt great to get some dirt wins under our belt at Sharon after running pavement cars for a long time. You know you have done something when you come here and win against Blair and Pegher that have won everything in this FASTRAK deal.” Angelicchio used the outside to power into the lead past Jamie Brown on the start with Josh Double moving into second after one lap. Fifth starting Andrew Wylie and Thomas made their way into third and fourth past Brown on lap two. Following a pair of spins by Brian Booher and Rusty Cade with three laps completed, Thomas overtook Wylie on the outside for third with eighth starting Chad Ruhlman following in fourth. Double, who won his first career FASTRAK race at Mercer in 2010, caught Angelicchio and began applying pressure on lap five. Thomas joined the battle on lap six as the top three began to distance themselves from the field. On lap seven, Double pulled even with Angelicchio but slipped up and lost the runner-up spot to Thomas, while 10th starting Max Blair cracked the top five with a pass of Wylie. Angelicchio was running around the cushion as Thomas had his mount stuck on the bottom as he ran caught the leader on lap eight and pulled alongside on the ninth circuit. Thomas made the inside work off turn four to lead lap 10 before Brad Kling came to rest bringing out the caution with 10 laps scored. Back under green, Angelicchio ran around the cushion and had the momentum off turn four to lead lap 11. Two more cautions for Justin Kreider and Bobby Whiting with 12 laps scored were the final stoppages of the night as the last 13 went green-to-checkered. Whitling’s misfortunate earned him his first Brake Man “Tough Brake of the Night”. After swapping the positions on a couple different occasions, Blair was able to get by Ruhlman for good on lap 13 for fourth. Josh Holtgraver had made his way from 11th into the top five when he passed Ruhlman on lap 15. Blair, Holtgraver, and Ruhlman really went at it with a great race for fourth. Back up front, Angelicchio and Thomas continued their side-by-side battle with Angelicchio riding around the cushion and Thomas smooth on the bottom. The duo never touched lap after lap. On lap 21, Thomas really made his car stick off the bottom of turn two and won the drag race down the backstretch. This time, Angelicchio didn’t have enough momentum off the top in turn four as Thomas regained the lead. Once in front, Thomas pulled away in his Colonial Metals/Barris Supply/All Star Motorstate/Sweet Manufacturing/Quarter Master-sponsored #9 to win by 1.715 seconds. Coming off the five-night Original Pizza Logs “Cross the Borders” Speedweek where he came up three points shy to Blair for the title, Thomas has now been the Series top point getter over the past six races to move up the ladder in the standings. Angelicchio’s runner-up was his fourth of the season and third in the past five races as he moved into fifth place in points. “It’s getting frustrating,” acknowledged the Greensburg, Pa. racer on another second place run. “I thought we had him. My car was a little too tight. Twenty laps into it and to get passed with four to go killed me. My car was pushing up the track in turn two and I did everything I could to find bite. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.” Double’s third place finish was his best Tour effort since a runner-up on September 18, 2010. “I’m still messing around with this new car,” described the Cortland, Ohio driver. “I thought I had something there for Dan (Angelicchio), but I slipped up and Will got underneath me. He’s been really good all year and it’s tough to pass someone back like that once they get in front of you. I was just a little off, but I think I needed to drive better than anything getting used to the new car. This has been my goal to get one of these races. I thought tonight might be it, but it slipped by. Third place is definitely a good step.” Blair’s fourth was his 11th top five in 14 starts and received the $100 Genesis Shocks “Top Dog of the Night” for being the highest finisher on Genesis Shocks. Holtgraver’s fifth was his best Tour finish since last year’s finale at Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex. Ruhlman was sixth as he pulled within two points of Mike Pegher, Jr., who finished seventh, in the race for runner-up in points. Pegher received his first $100 Precise Racing Products “Pedal Down” Hard Charger certificate for passing the most cars (seven). Fresh off his Series first win last Sunday at Eriez, Matt Latta came home eighth and leapfrogged three positions in points up to ninth. John Over and Wylie rounded out the top 10. Shane Weaver finished 16th as the final car on the lead lap and received his first free Utsinger’s Towing Hoosier Tire of the season awarded by Big Daddy’s Speed Center. Weaver, who is currently second in the Pace Performance “Futures Cup” points, moved into the top 10 in Tour points for the first time in his career. The non-stop heat race winners were Over, Angelicchio and Thomas. Brian Booher became the 11th different K&N “Cold Air Induction” Dash winner in 15 races. Booher received the $100 K&N certificate, while Pegher received the $50 one. Steve Dixon and Eric Wilson earned $25 cash for finishing third and fourth. Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC Pace Performance FASTRAK Northeast Late Model Touring Series Race #14 (25 laps, $1,200 to-win): 1. WILL THOMAS III (9) 2. Dan Angelicchio (14) 3. Josh Double (38) 4. Max Blair (111) 5. Josh Holtgraver (00) 6. Chad Ruhlman (Suppa 4s) 7. Mike Pegher, Jr. (Geisler 1c) 8. Matt Latta (Bidwell B1D) 9. John Over (K2) 10. Andrew Wylie (84) 11. Garrett Mott (43x) 12. Steve Dixon (50) 13. Ryan Montgomery (12) 14. Jason Knowles (4) 15. Jamie Brown (135) 16. Shane Weaver (Ruffner 325x) 17. Rusty Cade (47) 18. Justin Kreider (Pinckney 11) 19. Bryan Salisbury (126) 20. Eric Wilson (27) 21. Bobby Whitling (7W) 22. Brad Kling (Powell 100) 23. Clay Ruffo (14R) 24. Brian Booher (Hoover 00H). Heat Winners: Over, Angelicchio & Thomas K&N Cold Air Induction Dash: 1. Brian Booher 2. Mike Pegher, Jr. 3. Steve Dixon 4. Eric Wilson Feature Lap Leaders: Angelicchio (1-9), Thomas (10), Angelicchio (11-20), Thomas (21-25) Car Count: 24 Genesis Shocks “Top Dog of the Night”: Max Blair Precise Racing Products “Pedal Down” Hard Charger: Mike Pegher, Jr. Utsinger’s Towing Hoosier Tire Giveaway: Shane Weaver (Big Daddy’s Speed Center) Brake Man “Tough Brake of the Night”: Bobby Whitling 2012 Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC FASTRAK Northeast Late Model Touring Series Results Date/Track/State/Winner/# of Wins/To-Win Amount/Car Count April 1 Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex (PA)/Max Blair (1)/$3,000/47 April 20 Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex (PA)/Mike Pegher, Jr. (1)/$1,200/42 May 13 Eriez Speedway (PA)/Max Blair (2)/$1,200/32 May 20 Humberstone Speedway (ON)/Max Blair (3)/$2,000/26 May 26 Sharon Speedway (OH)/Max Blair (4)/$1,500/34 May 27 Sharon Speedway (OH)/Feature to be made up 8/18/12/$1,500/31 June 8 Dog Hollow Speedway (PA) /Max Blair (5)/$1,200/32 (41 between the 2 nights) June 16 McKean County Raceway (PA)/Ryan Montgomery (1)/$1,200/24 June 23 Sharon Speedway (OH)/Joe Martin (1)/$2,000/35 July 4 Expo Speedway (OH)/Will Thomas (1)/$2,000/30 July 5 McKean County Raceway (PA)/Max Blair (6)/$1,200/49 July 6 Raceway 7 (OH)/Max Blair (7)/$1,200/33 July 7 Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway (PA)/Chad Ruhlman (1)/41 July 8 Eriez Speedway (PA)/Matt Latta (1)/22 July 14 Mercer Raceway Park (PA)/Will Thomas III (2)/24 The next race for the Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC Pace Performance FASTRAK Northeast Late Model Touring Series will be this Saturday, July 21 at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Oho for the $2,000 Sweeney Chevrolet night. Sweeney will giveaway a GM 604 engine to one lucky racer! 2012 FASTRAK Northeast marketing partners include Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC, Pace Performance, Hoosier Tires, Original Pizza Logs, K&N Filters, The Brake Man, Utsinger’s Towing, Precise Racing Products, Genesis Shocks, VP Fuels, Beyea Custom Headers, H&H Racing Equipment, High Gear Speed Shop, Hyperco, Jake’s Golf Carts, Lincoln Electric, Wrisco Aluminum, and Wylie Race Cars. You can reach co-directors Vicki Emig and Mike Leone at the FASTRAK Northeast office at 724-964-9300. E-mail to info@fastraknortheast.com and snail mail to 4368 Route 422, Pulaski, PA 16143. The office is open daily late mornings and after 1:30 p.m. For more information, check out the FASTRAK Northeast website at www.fastraknortheast.com. Become our fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fastraknortheast. ###



 




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