Hess rising
BUFFALO TWP — Some unexpected, yet well-timed winners found their way to Victory Lane Friday night at Lernerville Speedway.
All four feature winners — Brandon Matus in the Sprints, Dave Hess Jr. in Late Models, Slippery Rock's Dave Murdick in Modifieds and Corey McPherson in Sportsman Stocks — are now guaranteed starting spots in the most prestigious races of the year in their respective divisions at Lernerville.
Those guarantees came as part of the Sarver ovals Midseason Championship Night.
Hess was probably the most surprising winner of the night.
The driver of the No. 44 Late Model out of Waterford made his first appearance of the season at Lernerville and only his seventh race of the season overall. And he started from the 13th spot.
“When I saw the cars in front of me and what I was up against ... I figured, no way,” Hess admitted. “But this track is always racy and if you have a good car, you can pass people here.
“I always leave this place with a smile on my face. This was probably the most exciting win I've ever had.”
And one of the longest.
The Late Model feature had eight cautions in the first 14 laps. Only 11 of the 20 cars that began the race were still on the track by the 14th lap.
“It was pretty wild out there,” said Brian Swartzlander, who started 17th and finished fifth. “That rain that fell earlier tonight made this a different track.”
“There's no explaining it,” said Murdick, who won the Modified feature earlier with only one caution. “These things (Late Models) can turn into endurance races sometimes.”
Hess didn't mind. He could use the seat time.
Friday marked his first feature win since Opening Night at Lernerville last year. He got married in July of 2013 and his son turned three weeks old Friday.
That combination added up to a limited racing schedule the past couple of years.
“I've had a lot of family time,” said Hess, who won the Late Model points title here in 2010 and 2011. “We would have raced more late last season, but we lost an engine with a month to go and shut it down.
“The schedule's been limited so far this year, but it will pick up now.”
Hess grabbed the lead off Turn 23 of the 22nd lap when track points leader Alex Ferree bobbled along the cushion in front of him. Ferree had to settle for second.
“Coming off Turn 2, cars were sliding up on that slick track and wound up too high on that cushion,” Hess said. “Alex got a little conservative late in the race and it probably cost him.“If he didn't bobble, he and I were headed for quite a finish.”Hess' win gives him a starting spot in next weekend's Firecracker 100.“We'll be trying to do well and qualify regardless,” Hess said. “But it's nice to have that guaranteed spot to fall back on if we need it.”Murdick started on the pole in the Modified feature and nearly led wire to wire. He briefly gave up the lead to Rex King Jr. on the 13th lap, but got it right back off Turn 2 of the 14th lap.“Starting up front definitely helped me tonight,” Murdick said. “I didn't think I had the motor to get this done. With the cars (starting) right behind me, I figured I had to hammer down and go.”Defending points champion Mat Williamson started fourth, King sixth and Swartzlander eighth. Those three drivers quickly moved into positions right behind Murdick. Swartzlander appeared primed to make a move for the lead, but got too high into the cushion.“I tweaked the bar a little bit and couldn't run the high groove anymore,” Swartzlander said of the mishap early in the race. “I had to switch down low and the car wasn't set up for that.”Swartzlander settled for third while Williamson took second.“I got out-motored,” Williamson said. “That's what happens when you show up with a motor that can't win races.”Murdick's win was his second in as many weeks and the 30th of his career at Lernerville. The victory hands him a spot in the Steel City Stampede, scheduled here in Ociober.Matus won the Sprint feature — and a berth in next month's Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup, by taking the lead on the 10th lap. Race leader Carl Bowser of Sarver had to pit with a flat tire after brushing against the wall on the front straightaway. He had a big lead at the time.Matus held the lead from there. Bowser's team frantically tried changing the tire to get the No. 10 car back on the track before the 10th-lap restart, but just missed. After the race stayed green for the next couple of laps, Bowser vacated the starting gate and went back to the pits.“Carl breaking definitely had a lot to do with this,” Matus said. “But I've been in that position. A break finally went my way for a change.”The win was the 19-year-old's third career Sprint triumph at Lernerville and first this season. He has two second-place and two third-place finishes this year.“That was a pretty physical track,” Matus said. “I haven't been able to beat (Bowser) fair and square, so I'll take this.”McPherson led the Sportsman Stock feature from wire to wire. It was the 17th Lernerville win of his career, third this season and 10th in the past two years.It also guarantees him a spot in the Sportsman Spectacular here in September.Notes: There were 82 cars in the pits. ... Modified driver Tom Winkle of Mars and Sprint driver Scott Priester of Rimersburg won their first heat races of the season. Priester's night ended in the feature with a nasty flip off Turn 1 that sheared virtually everything off his car expect the roll cage protecting him. He was unhurt.Two other drivers — Michael Norris of Sarver in the Late Models and David Sugar of Petersburg, Ohio in the Sportsman Stocks, also had violent flips in their respective features that brought out stoppages. They were unhurt as well. ... Cranberry Township's Lynn Geisler raced his No. 1C at Lernerville for the first time this season, replacing Mike Pegher Jr. at the wheel. Pegher's father died earlier this week. Geisler finished sixth in the feature and second in his heat race.
