Bechtelsville, Pa- The NEETS “Junkathon” got under way Sunday at Grandview Speedway with the running of two 100-lap enduros, along with a special 25-lap ladies race. In typical NEETS fashion, the excitement was elevated as fans witnessed Pat Hires, Dave Bentley and Stephanie Kramer score enduro victories.
John “Critter” Haraczka started on the pole position in the 100-lap “Salvage 100” 6/8-cylinder enduro.
Steve Haegele and Mike Fiskaldo battled for the top spot from the drop of the green and the rest of the field followed closely behind.
A quick red flag for a stuck car at the pit gate on lap 13 showed Fiskaldo in the lead with Howie Bott in second and Haegele in third. Bott got the jump on Fiskaldo taking the lead away, but Fiskaldo battled back for the top spot a few laps later with Pat Hires not far behind.
A terrific battle ensued for several laps with Hires getting the best of Fiskaldo by lap 33. Lap 37 revealed the red flag once more for Bott, who's motor expired at the pit gate. Fiskaldo also had to retire to the pits with overheating issues of his own. Hires, with a considerable lead over Jason Brown, Chris Reichert and Haegele continued the hunt at a blistering pace.
A spectacular roll over by Joel Pilgert in turn three caused another red flag to be displayed on lap 59. Pilgert climbed out from the wreckage under his own power to the relief of everyone present and the race continued with Hires never being seriously challenged for the win over Jason Brown, Duane Eidem, Chris Reichert and Tim Pauch.
Pole Sitter Steve Sapp confidently led his fellow competitors to the start of the 100-lap “Hogwash 100” 4-cylinder event. Brian Yelk taking charge at the start, however, an unscheduled pit stop for Yelk found Sapp back in the lead with Mike Wahl not far behind.
By lap 13, Wahl overtook Sapp for the lead while weaving his way in and out between lapped traffic. Lap 39 found Sapp losing a tire leaving Matt Wahl and John Saccomondi battling it out for second spot. It was an exciting swapping of positions back and forth until a red flag was displayed for John Hoffman who ended up stuck at the pit gate entrance. At the same time Matt Wahl tagged the front stretch wall. Wahl had to retire to the pits as well. With Mike Wahl still in the lead, Dave Bentley, Jr was now close to Wahl's bumper at the drop of the green. Mike Wahl spun in turn two on lap 66 and gave Bentley the lead with Steve Wilson and Wahl duking it out for second. An exciting finish found Bentley taking the checkers followed closely by Wahl, Wilson, Chuck Miller and Art Kulik.
Lindsey Rummel led her fellow women competitors to the start of the 25-lap lady race nightcap. However, it was Tracy Berger-Carmen in the lead by lap one who began to pull away from the rest of the field. With Rummel in second, Carrie Pyle began to pressure the second place runner for the spot taking it away and setting her sights on Berger-Carmen.
Flying into the corners at top speed, Pyle began to make up some serious ground and was on Berger-Carmen's bumper by lap 15. Lapped traffic came into play as Pyle took the high side, Berger-Carmen taking the low line with Pyle coming out on top.
Carmen stayed close behind Pyle but disaster struck on lap 20 as Pyle lost control of her car crossing in front of Berger-Carmen's path hitting head on into the backstretch wall. With nowhere to go, Berger-Carmen T-boned Pyle and then Rummel, the third place runner T-boned Berger-Carmen. An immediate red flag was thrown to check on all drivers, who were thankfully fine.
Racing resumed with Stephanie Kramer, who was scored as the leader, never looked back and took her second straight win over Pyle, Jennifer Schwager, Brenda Moore and Berger-Carmen.
FM 102.9 WMGK "Philadelphia's Classic Rock Station" was on hand to collect owinter coats for the less fortunate along with Sportscaster Joe Krause. Joe Krause collected over 40 coats for the drive that will be dispursed to the less fortunate of the tri-state area this winter by Joe and his crew. The WMGK crew was impressed over how organized the event was and how quickly the large turn out of cars were lined-up and ready to race. NEETS and WMGK will be working hand in hand during the 2010 season at Grandview Speedway to broadcast the enduro events on both FM 102.9 WMGK and AM 950, ESPN.
The next NEETS event is scheduled for Saturday, November 14, at Grandview Speedway. This will be the final race of the 2009 NEETS racing season at Grandview Speedway and will feature two 150-lap championship enduros with double points and double purse on the line and two Top 10 dash-4-cash races. With possibly $2,000 to be won at this event, the car counts are looking to be higher than ever before. NEETS will be collecting new, unwrapped, toys this day as well to be donated to Toys for Tots! The event will start at 1PM sharp, pits open at 8AM. For more details on thsi event, please visit the Official NEETS Racing Website,
www.neetsracing.com.
