Geisler back in driver's seat at Lernerville

By JOHN ENRIETTO Eagle Sports Editor

August 09, 2005 Last Updated: August 09, 2005 02:46 PM Amateur

BUFFALO TWP - Lynn Geisler's performance has been backing up the number painted on the side of his race car.

The Cranberry Township resident and veteran driver of the No. 1 Late Model has won four features at Lernerville Speedway since July 1. He has finished first or second in six of the last seven Late Model points races at the Sarver track.

That's shades of the old Lynn Geisler - mainly because he went back to being the old Lynn Geisler.

After three years of racing with a GRT chassis, Geisler returned to the Rocket chassis this season.

"It's not that one is any better than the other," Geisler said. "It's all in what suits the driver and his program.

"The Rocket suits me and I've been growing more confidence with it."

And in the racing game, confidence breeds momentum.

"When you're confident you can win, it helps," Geisler admitted. "You drive a little differently when you believe you're going to win.

"My crew's been patient with me. We've re-adjusted as a team and it's paying off."

Geisler hasn't won a points title at Lernerville since 1994. He hasn't been particularly racing for one in recent years as he's traveled to other tracks and won the Mid-Atlantic Championship Series a couple of times.

But times have changed.

"The MACS expanded into a traveling series and we just can't do that circuit anymore," longtime Geisler crew member Jim Ross said. "It used to be a fairly local series and that was good for us."

Geisler's racing schedule was slightly affected by his son, Travis, who had been competing in the Busch Series until June of this year.

"Lynn liked to set a little time aside when Travis was racing," Ross said. "Now that Travis isn't running, that's changed a little bit.

"At the beginning of the year, we weren't thinking about the Lernerville points championship. But, yes, it's on our mind now."

Geisler expects his son to make a comeback of his own.

"He's looking for a ride," he said. "Travis isn't through with racing yet."

With two weeks of points racing remaining, Geisler has a 10-point lead on runner-up John Flinner, a 28-point lead on Bob Wearing Jr. and a 32-point lead on Nick Jones.

Jones said the Rocket chassis is mostly responsible for getting Geisler back in the game.

"Their problem was the equipment on the car, not Lynn Geisler driving the car," Jones said. "Lynn never lost his ability to win races."

Geisler said the points lead isn't as important to him as the closeness of the points race.

"A good, tight points race down the stretch is great for the fans and this sport is all about the fans," he said. "Sure, I'd love to win it. But I love the fact that it's going to the wire."

Geisler has not won a feature anywhere but Lernerville so far this year. He owns four second-place finishes at Pittsburgh, Pa. Motor Speedway.

Geisler is sixth in points at PPMS."He's done everything but win a race there," Ross said. "It will come. We've made minor changes in our set-up - we've been tweaking it all year - and it's finally come together."Something as small as changing the spring weight can have a positive affect. Last year, everything just went wrong. If there was a bad break out there, we found it."This year, Geisler has returned to the top of the heap."The guy deserves it," Jones said. "He's helped me along in racing so much, not only with general knowledge of a race car, but in how to look at racing and how to go after racing in general."He's helped me with the business of racing, how to set up a program, everything about the sport … Lynn's been a big help to me."Now he's trying to help himself."It's all about feeling comfortable," Geisler said. "And I'm feeling comfortable again."Lernerville Speedway Points Standings(top 15 through Aug. 5)SprintsEd Lynch Jr. 370, Rod George 317, Kevin Schaeffer 299, Arnie Kent 272, Charlie Holben 219, Scott Bonnell 219, Brent Matus 212, Cory Good 208, Carl Bowser 201, Jody Keegan 198, Gary Rankin 191, Jack Sodeman Jr. 184, Mike Shearer 183, Davey Jones 176, Dan Shetler 136Late ModelsLynn Geisler 325, John Flinner 315, Bob Wearing Jr. 297, Nick Jones 293, Mike Blose 270, Ken Schaltenbrand 252, Chuck Kennedy 229, Chris Schneider 204, Jared Miley 186, Gary Lyle 175, Keith Zimmerman 161, Tom Tuite 143, Carl McKinney 142, David Scott 133, John Mollick 129ModifiedsDave Murdick 316, Brian Swartzlander 279, JR McGinley 256, Tom Winkle 255, Jim Weller Jr. 243, Kevin Bolland 234, Mark Flick 228, Chanda Reitz 205, Gary Risch Jr. 187, Pete Simpson 184, Keith Swartzlander 167, Rodney Beltz 148, Carl Murdick 146, Mike Turner 145, Del Rougeux Jr. 144Pure StocksGreg Beach 280, Butch Lambert 280, Mike Pegher Jr. 278, Bob Egley 274, Paul Schreckengost 258, Bob Lipinski 254, Jake Ayers 247, Dave Spangler 221, Mike Turner 220, Wayne Carbo 205, Terry Young 158, Bobby Whitling 143, Pat Hanley 138, Chuck Gebauer 132, Rob Marks 123