Lernerville gets ready for 2005 season

By JOHN ENRIETTO Eagle Sports Editor

March 07, 2005 Last Updated: March 07, 2005 01:15 PM Amateur

BUTLER TWP - The ownership is different. The names remain the same.

While DIRT Motorsports, Inc., reached an agreement to buy Lernerville Speedway during the off-season, the racetrack's 37th annual awards banquet was put together by familiar names and honored familiar faces Saturday night at the Days Inn.

Barb Bauman Bartley and Tom Roenigk, co-directors of Lernerville last year, return in that capacity for the regular Friday night shows this spring and summer.

"I took a little kid with me to the track years ago and for 20 years, I thought he kept going as a favor to me," Lernerville promoter Albert "Ouch" Roenigk said of his son, Tom. "Little did I know he was more into racing than I was.

"The risk (of running a racetrack) is real. You sign a lot of papers, make a lot of commitments. Barb and Tom knew it would be hard work before they ever got into it. I couldn't be prouder of them."

Bartley said the support of track officials and drivers - along with her own mother, who also works at Lernerville - made the transition easier.

"It's a family at Lernerville," she said. "The sponsors, drivers, fans and employees make it a family. "I'm thankful Helen and Patty (Martin) had confidence in us in 2004 and we'll be back in 2005."

But first, they took care of honoring the standouts of last season during Saturday night's fete.

Lernerville's four points champions - Ed Lynch Jr. in the Sprint division, John Flinner of Zelienople in Late Models, Dave Murdick of Slippery Rock in Modifieds and Joe Kelley in Pure Stocks - received their trophies along with the top 10 point-finishers in each division.

Lynch and Kelley also received Cavalcade points awards as the top point-getters in their respective divisions in Western Pennsylvania. Lynch won 16 features in 2004 - 10 at Lernerville - and had 23 top-three finishes.

Kelley won 15 features - three at Lernerville - and had 23 top-three finishes.

"We have a special race track right here and, thanks to Tom and Barb, we're going to have a 38th season," Lynch said. "And I'm going to try to stay fast."

Lynch's 74 Sprint feature wins at Lernerville are the most in the track's history. The Cavalcade award was the fifth in the program's 32-year history. Only Johnny Beaber, who won six from 1978-87, has won more Cavalcade titles in a Sprint car.

Kelley won his sixth Pure Stock points title in the past seven years at Lernerville. He joins Bob Wearing Sr., Lou Blaney and Lou Gentile as the only drivers to win six titles in one division at the Sarver track.

Flinner won his fourth consecutive Late Model title. No driver has ever won five consecutive points championships in any division at Lernerville.

"If I quit tomorrow, I've had a great career," Flinner said. "I honestly thought I'd be giving up racing by the time I was 35. Now I'm 44 and still doing it.

"My girls tell me that if I quit, what are we gonna do? They love this and I think they're kind of proud of me right now."

Flinner has no problem with the love-hate relationship fans seem to have for his aggressive driving style.

"The fans are great, whether they love me or hate me," he said. "If they weren't out there cheering or booing, I'd probably just stay in my shop and work."

Murdick's Modified points title was his first in 25 years of racing. His father, Carl Murdick, won the Modified points at Lernerville in 1970.

The Murdicks became the sixth father-son duo to win points titles at Lernerville, joining Ed Lynch and Ed Lynch Jr., Bob Wearing Sr. and Bob Wearing Jr., Lou and Dale Blaney, Dick and Craig Rankin, and Pee Wee and Mark Flick.

"My Dad taught me a lot about racing and about life," Murdick said. "He showed me the way. We didn't have the fastest car, but we had the most consistent car."

Murdick won only one feature last year, but had 11 top-five finishes in 14 points races.

Carl Murdick announced he would return for his 38th year at Lernerville. He is the only driver to compete during each year of the track's existence.

Among the special award winners was Lynn Geisler of Cranberry Township, who received the Milestone in Racing Award for recording his 100th career Lernerville Late Model feature win.

"I just happen to be the guy who drives the car," Geisler said. "The five or six guys who work on the car are the reason we've done this. Some of those guys were with me back when we didn't know if we'd ever win a feature or not."

Lernerville's 2005 season opens March 25. World of Outlaws Late Model Shows are April 29 and Aug. 12. World of Outlaws Sprint Shows are May 20-21, July 19 and Oct. 4.