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Week #11 of Mountain Madness from July 8th

So, we’re already half way through the season! Friday afternoon I was ready to write the ‘cancellation’ press release, but to everyone’s surprise, the sun was shining by the time the heat races took to the track. I have to say thanks to all the teams for the bike and ball donations. It was great to see everyone playing football at intermission. Now, on to it!

The Balliet’s Country Corner’s split twin 20 features seemed to go pretty well. I think that was a great idea and made things much more exciting! Congrats to Defebo and Pecko, on a job well done! Adams and Hartzell were also very impressive, and Reed hung in there for good finishes in both events. One driver, who has been plagued with bad luck all year, seemed to turn things around in the second 20-lapper. Congrats to Wayne Szerencsits on his third place finish, plus leading seven laps. Wayne is definitely on the fast track at Mountain Speedway.

How about Mike Rodriguez, Jr’s first career late model victory? Was he ecstatic or what? I mean, who can blame him, especially after the season they’ve had so far. Congrats to the young hot shoe. With double points on the line next week for the late models, it would only be right for the driver on the fast track to be awarded for consistency. Who you ask? How about the current point leader, Larry Fisher? Fisher only has one feature finish this season outside of the top five. Along with four-feature win, he also has many second place finishes, with his latest on Friday. Welcome to the fast track Larry!

On to the closest division points battle….street stocks. Jim Yamelski was in bad shape before one lap was even scored, but quick crew work got him back in the race. Plus, he nailed a 6th place finish down by the end of the fearure..nice work guys! Kline’s 3rd place finish cut a pretty decent chunk into Yamelski’s lead, and a 2nd place effort by Meckes did the same. Todd Ahner did a great job holding the others off for his second win of the season, but a strong 4th place run by his teammate, Brian Labar, puts him on the street stock fast track. Labar has also had his share of bad luck in recent weeks, and is still looking for that elusive win of ’05.

It was no surprise that Bill Price Jr. picked up his 5th thriller feature win of the season. I mean the guy just dominates the division! Tough break again for Marissa Nelmes and Mark Paine, when they were involved in another incident. Last week’s winner, Steve Hoffman looked strong, as did Uncle Petey and Dr. Destruction, Howie Bott. However, take a look at last year’s four-cylinder thriller champion, Pat Verwys. Pat lost an engine earlier this season, and has had many other problems. He didn’t let it bring him down. Pat didn’t lead any feature laps this week, but the strong second place effort puts him on the fast track to success in Mountain’s thriller ranks.

Congrats to all the drivers who are ‘on the fast track’ to success at Mountain Speedway! You can pick up your awards at the photo booth after the drivers meeting. See you soon at Mountain Speedway for more Friday night thunder. Tune in next week for more ‘Mountain Madness’, brought to you by Valley Service Equipment Repair, J&J Contractors and CAD Visers, Inc.

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