Furious finish
BUFFALO TWP — It's not where you start, but where you finish.
Jim Fosnaught can attest.
The veteran driver at Lernerville Speedway began Friday night's 20-lap Sportsman Stock feature in 12th place, but gained the lead in the second half of the race and earned the checkered flag.
It was Fosnaught's second straight victory here and fourth this season. He also won May 16 and May 30 and leads the division's point standings.
“The car has been working well,” he said. “I really don't know what else to say.”
Joe Kelley, who began the night in seventh place in points, 75 behind Fosnaught, led the pack for the first 13 laps, but then surrendered the top spot to the latter. With two laps to go, a pair of caution flags slowed the pace, but Fosnaught never did relinquish the lead, with Kelley placing second.
Two Butler drivers, Aaron Easler and Terry Young, finished third and fourth, respectively.
“We've been running on used tires,” Fosnaught said. “They're pretty bad and I don't know how they are getting any traction. But we've only had to make very minor adjustments to the car.”
In the Renegades of Dirt Modified event, Rich Michael, Jr. stole the show. The New York resident led for the final 15 laps and had to negotiate lap traffic late in the race.
“It was tough,” Michael said. “I didn't know which way to go, high or low. I was just glad the second-place car (Jacob Hawkins) was a ways behind me.”
On the second lap, several cars near the front of the field collided coming out of turn two. No caution flag was needed, however, and Hawkins, who began the sequence in second place, somehow avoided the logjam and raced down the back straightaway to a sizeable lead. It wasn't until the 11th lap when Michael moved in front.It was the Renegade tour's first trip to the Sarver oval. The slate usually includes stops in Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio and New York.“I've raced here before with (E-Modifieds),” Michael said. “It's a fun track and wide open.”For much of the Elite 8 Late Model feature, the last two track champions battled each other, with Jared Miley coming out on top.Miley, who won the points title here in 2012, bided his time against 2013 champ and Saxonburg resident Alex Ferree. Except for the 14th lap, when Miley briefly nudged ahead, Ferree succeeded in setting the pace. But on the 21st lap, the former took the lead for good as Ferree fell back to third.Miley's 4.4-second lead over Davey Johnson was tempered by a red flag on the 27th lap, but he regained momentum and won the race by nearly four seconds.“I didn't have to push it too hard to keep up with him,” Miley said of his battle with Ferree earlier in the race. “I was just waiting for my opportunity. We were good tonight. The car was awesome.”The night's final race was the Sportsman Modified event, which included just seven entrants. The winner, Adam Hilton, found the Lernerville surface to his liking.“I love slick tracks. That's what I race on up in New York,” said Hilton, who lives in Buffalo. “Two weeks ago, we were struggling for bite, so we went with a tighter setup tonight.“It's great to come down here,” he added. “The track is beautiful and the people are nice.”Fab Four racing resumes next Friday.
July 18Elite 8 Super Late Models30 Laps(Top 15 finishers)1-Jared Miley (South Park), 2-Davey Johnson (Greensburg), 3-Alex Ferree (Saxonburg), 4-Mike Pegher, Jr. (Wexford), 5-John Garvin, Jr. (Sarver), 6-Michael Norris (Sarver), 7-Brian Swartzlander (Leechburg), 8-Gary Lyle (Hyde Park), 9-Brandon Wearing (Callery), 10-Jordan Eck (Corry), 11-Herman Bertolini (Creighton), 12-Gregg Satterlee (Indiana), 13-John Mollick (Toronto, OH), 14-Dan Angelicchio (Greensburg), 15-Max Blair (Titusville)Heat Winners1st Heat: Dan Angelicchio, 2nd Heat: John Garvin, Jr.Renegade Modifieds25 Laps(Top 15 finishers)1-Rich Michael, Jr. (Ishva, N.Y.), 2-Jacob Hawkins (Fairmont, W.Va.), 3-Chris Basich (Adena, OH), 4-Steve Dixon (Smethport), 5-Evan Taylor (Saltsburg), 6-Kyle Strickler (Mooresville, N.C.), 7-Shane Crotty (Corry), 8-Travis Dickson (Gallipolis, OH), 9-Tyler Nicely (Owensboro, Kent.), 10-Jonathan Taylor (Saltsburg), 11-Mike Smith (Arkport, N.Y.), 12-Patrick Lyon (Gastonia, N.C.), 13-Robbie Evans (Mineral Wells, W.Va.), 14-Carl McKinney (Mars), 15-Mark Dickson (Gallipolis, OH)Heat Winners1st Heat: Jacob Hawkins, 2nd Heat: Tyler Nicely, 3rd Heat: Rich Michael, Jr., B-Main: Kyle StricklerSportsman Modifieds15 Laps(Top 7 finishers)1-Adam Hilton (Buffalo, N.Y.), 2-Rocky Kugel (East Liverpool, OH), 3-Jeremy Paup (Polk), 4-Jamie Duncan (Brookfield, OH), 5-Jeremy Zufall (Greensburg), 6-Will Schaffer (Ellwood City), 7-Chelsie Kriegisch (Ellwood City)Heat Winners1st Heat: Rocky KugelSportsman Stocks20 Laps(Top 15 finishers)1-Jim Fosnaught (Bairdford), 2-Joe Kelley (Mt. Pleasant), 3-Aaron Easler (Butler), 4-Terry Young (Butler), 5-Pat Hanley (Monroeville), 6-Mike Miller (Chicora), 7-Corey McPherson (Tarentum), 8-Paul Schreckengost (Creighton), 9-Mark Sanders (Lowellville, OH), 10-Rob Shook (Creighton), 11-Brett McDonald (Saxonburg), 12-Neal Tristani (Tarentum), 13-Eric Piotrowski (Cranberry Township), 14-Jeff Miller (Natrona Heights), 15-Scott Byers (Butler)Heat Winners1st Heat: Corey McPherson, 2nd Heat: Jim Fosnaught
