results Jason Rochelle, Nick Wean and Mike Renn Take Top Mountain Honors

July 24, 2005
by Gene Ostrowski

ST. JOHNS, PA -- Current Keystone Legend point leader, Jason Rochelle, took the checkered flag in the 20-car field Sunday at Mountain Speedway. Nick Wean took top honors in the USAC Ford Focus Midget Posse, while Mike Renn picked up the 4C-modified victory. Matt Barndt and Joseph Burns were both victorious in their Long Island Mini Cups.

Originally, the SST Modified tour was on the card, but schedule conflicts caused the modified show to be rescheduled for Friday, July 29 th .

Pat Zellers started from the pole in the 20-lap Keystone Legends feature, but before one circuit was completed Bill Carver jumped out front. On lap four, the field slowed when Dan Praetorius spun on the front stretch.

On the restart, Paul Rochelle grabbed the top spot. Meanwhile Paul's brother, Jason Rochelle had worked his way into the fourth slot after starting ninth.

On lap seven, Jason Rochelle moved into second and set his sights on the leader. While entering turn two, Paul Rochelle wiggled and was tagged by Jason Rochelle, which sent the leader into a spin, and brought out the caution. Paul Rochelle had to restart from the tail of the field.

The fifth and final caution of the event waved on lap fifteen when Roy Danner and Lamar Shafer made contact in turns three and four.

On the restart, Jason Rochelle held off fierce charges by Craig Rochelle and Tim Tomson enroot to the win. Rochelle's teammate, Ron Dunstan finished fourth and Bryan Gardella rounded out the top five.

Roy Danner, Jason Rochelle and Tim Tomson were heat winners.

The USAC Ford Focus Midget Posse was on hand for a 20-lap feature. These ‘sprint-type' machines are basically USAC cars with the exception of a ‘sealed' Ford Focus engine.

Ginny Quinone brought the field to the green and held the point until lap five, when Nick Wean drove by to take over the top spot. Meanwhile, heat winner, Ryan Smith had worked his way into second. Unfortunately for Smith, he had problems a few laps later and was forced to the pits.

Wean put some distance on Quinone and picked up the win. Jesse State finished third and fourth was Mike Hoffman.

Mike Renn started on the pole for the 20-lap feature, after winning the heat race earlier in the day for the 4C modifieds.

Renn immediately lurched out front with Woot Lawrence in toe. On the sixth circuit, John Udes was able to get underneath Wes Gilbert for third.

On lap nine, Gilbert experienced problems while entering turn three. The result was a damaged machine and the only caution of the event. Gilbert headed to the pits for repairs and rejoined the field a few laps down

Lawrence pressured Renn on the restart but never got another chance, as Renn went on to take the checkers over Lawrence, John Udes, Fred Bertand and Wes Gilbert.

Fred Bollard started from the pole in the 15-lap adult Long Island Mini Cup feature after winning the heat race. On the first circuit, Matt Barndt made a pass for the lead on Ballard.

The caution waved on lap twelve when the muffler from Leon Simmons left his machine and flew into the grass by the retaining fence on the front stretch. The hot muffler started a small fire, which was the reason for the caution. The fire was quickly extinguished.

On the restart the top two drivers battled practically side-by-side over the remaining circuits, but when the checkers flew it was Barndt taking the win over Bollard, Kevin Vail and Leon Simmons.

After winning the heat race, Stephen Hershey led the junior Long Island Mini Cups to the green flag in their 15-lap feature. Hershey immediately took control of the caution free event.

On the thirteenth circuit, Joseph Burns was able to get underneath Hershey on the exit of turn two and took over the point. The two drivers dueled over the next two laps.

When the checkers waved, it was Joseph Burns picking up the win over Stephen Hershey, Matthew Evans and Johnny Burns.

The next Mountain Speedway event is Friday, July 29 th . The card features the popular SST Modified Tour, along with the street stocks, thrillers and four cylinder thrillers. The winner of the street stock feature will automatically qualify for the August 11 th 100-lap ‘Street Stock Shootout'.

Saturday, July 30 th will be ‘Racers Night Out' for all NEETS and Mountain Speedway drivers, crew and family. All the festivities, which will take place in the speedway pit area, will begin at 8 PM, after NEETS ‘happy hour'. Any NEETS drivers are also welcome to come and practice for the July 31 st NEETS race on Saturday between 6-8 PM.

The NEETS Holiday Stock Cars Series will again invade Mountain Speedway on Sunday, July 31 st with the running of a special non-points event; NEETS NASCARE (NEETS All Star Copy and Retro Enduro), which will feature two 100-lap events for the four cylinder and six/eight cylinder divisions. Many enduro cars will showcase Nextel Cup paint schemes of the past and present. The charity for the race is Checkered Dreams, a racing charity designed for seriously ill children.

The recently announced ‘Big Dog 100' for the Balliet's Country Corners small block modifieds is scheduled for Sunday, August 21 st . A variety of drivers across the northeast including track champions are planning to compete, along with drivers from the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and the RoC Touring Series. Two 25-lap ‘Big Dog Qualifiers' are scheduled for Friday, August 12 th , where the winners will automatically qualify for the Big Dog 100-lapper.

For more information regarding the Mountain Speedway schedule, results and point standings, please visit www.mountainspeedway.com

Keystone Legends (20-laps)

1. Jason Rochelle 2. Craig Rochelle 3. Tim Tomson 4. Ron Dunstan 5. Bryan Gardella 6. Paul Rochelle 7. Bill Carver 8. Mike Fulton 9. Lamar Shafer 10. Jim Baker 11. George Abt 12. JJ Shandor 13. Dan Praetorius 14. Clint Penkauskas 15. Pat Zellers 16. John Schirk 17.Roy Danner 18. Ryan Steckel 19. Stephen Nederostek 20. Mike Brannon

USAC Ford Focus Midget Posse (20-laps)

1. Nick Wean 2. Ginny Quinone 3. Jesse State 4. Mike Hoffman 5. Ryan Smith

Long Island Mini Cups-Adult (15-laps)

1. Matt Barndt 2. Fred Bollard 3. Kevin Vail 4. Leon Simmons

Long Island Mini Cups-Junior (15-laps)

1. Joseph Burns 2. Stephen Hershy 3. Matthew Evans 4. Johnny Burns

4C Modifieds (20-laps)

1. Mike Renn 2. Woot Lawrence 3. John Udes 4. Fred Bertand 5. Wes Gilbert

results archive