Welcome to LenigRacing.com! Please bookmark our site and check back for racing updates and new photos from the track. Please take a few minutes to surf through our site. Be sure to visit our sponsor page and see who supports our top notch operation. If you would like further information about the team or would be interested in adding your company's name to our growing list of sponsors, please contact us about our proposal package. Thanks for your interest in our team and enjoy your visit.
LATEST NEWS
ACCORD SPEEDWAY RESCHEDULES ARDC MIDGETS FOR AUGUST 13TH
The drivers of the American Racing Drivers Club Midgets will return to
Accord Speedway on Friday August 13, 2010 to makeup the race that was
rained out on July 16th.
Accord Speedway Media Relations Director
Steve Pados said, “Upcoming events at the speedway will include the
re-scheduled ARDC event on August 13th.” “The speedway and ARDC
management are confident the new date will work out for all parties
involved.” “The ACOT Old Timers have been invited to return to allow
the racing fans to take a look at racing the way it was done in the
past.” “Selected Grand Marshall Johnny Heydenreich will be unable to
make the return back to the speedway for the re-scheduled date due to a
prior scheduled appearance.” “Additional information will be
available shortly regarding the re-scheduled event.”
RYAN SMITH AND
BRUCE BUCKWALTER JR. GRAB VICTORIES AT WILLIAMS GROVE ON TOPLESS NIGHT
Before any
engines were fired on Saturday at Williams Grove Speedway ARDC Midget
owner Jerry Steward talked about how much a win at Williams Grove would
mean to him. Steward’s driver Ryan Smith, who has many wins in many
different divisions agreed, so when Smith remarked, “Hey, it’s Williams
Grove” while standing in Victory Lane, after winning the first of two 20
lap features, it was understandable that both owner and driver had huge
smiles on their faces.
The 20 lap nightcap for the Wingless
Midgets looked like it would have a Cinderella story finish for 24-3/4
laps but a late race caution and run to the checkers gave Bruce
Buckwalter Jr. his first win of the season.
In the first ARDC
feature, which was a holdover after their last visit on May 8th, started
with Andrew Hannula grabbing the lead from the outside pole position.
Hannula looked stout but all eyes were on a couple of drivers who
started deep in the field and charged quickly to the front.
Moving
into second after the first lap was 10th starting Drew Heistand
followed by polesitter, Steve Craig and eighth starting Ryan Smith.
Smith
was able to get by Craig and was dicing for second with Heistand as
Hannula was able to drive away. Smith kept tremendous pressure on
Heistand when he bobbled in the second turn and gave Smith a lane into
second spot.
Heistand followed Smith to Hannulas’ rear bumper and
on the 16th go-round, Smith passed for the lead on the high side of
turn four. Heistand followed around Hannula as did point leader Steve
Buckwalter.
Smith held the point for the final four circuits over
Heistand to pickup his second ARDC Midget win of the season.
Finishing a close second was Drew Heistand followed by Steve Buckwalter,
Frank Polimeda and Eric Heydenreich.
The second feature got
underway with Steve Lenig bolting into the lead from his outside
starting position. Lenig led the first two laps when rookie, Steve
Bull, who had started fourth, ducked under Lenig in the second turn, for
the lead.
The first of six cautions slowed the field on the
fourth lap and on the restart, another rookie, Alex Bright got by Lenig
for second, putting two newcomers in front of the pack.
The two
youngsters held sway over the rest of the field until Bright was forced
to the pits under yellow with a flat right rear tire. This moved
Lenig, back into second with Bruce Buckwalter Jr. on his tail.
Buckwalter
Jr. was able to get by Lenig on the ensuing lap with a pass off of the
second turn and took off after Bull.
With Buckwalter Jr’s brakes
fading Bull was able to again pull to a comfortable lead and had a 15
car gap coming off the fourth turn on the final lap, ready to take the
checkered flag, when the yellow flag came out for a car spinning in turn
two.
On the restart Bull’s engine stuttered because of low fuel
and this allowed Buckwalter Jr. and Nick Wean to draw even as the three
passed under the flag stand three wide. Buckwalter Jr. was able to
secure the lead going into one and was able to ward off a fast closing
Drew Heistand for the win.
“I come here every Friday with Steve
(Cousin Steve Buckwalter, who races 410 Sprint Cars at Williams Grove)
and I watch the guys get around and it really helped” said Buckwalter
Jr. in victory lane. “We have a victory at Dixieland (speedway in
North Carolina) and now we have one in Pennsylvania.”
Finishing
third was Wean with PJ Gargiulo fourth and Steve Buckwalter rounding out
the top five.
Heat race winners for the 26 Midgets were, PJ
Gargiulo, Drew Heistand and Steve Buckwalter.
NOTES: Quote of
the evening “I had to keep looking; I thought it was Ray Bull in the
01.” Referring to the run by Bull’s nephew, rookie Steve Bull in the
second feature. Ray Bull was the ARDC Champion from 2000 until 2005.
USAC Midget 1998 Rookie of the Year, Bryan Stanfill, was scheduled to
race Andrew Hannulas’ car but moved into Chris Zrinski’s Midget when
Hannula had engine problems in the first feature. Likewise Zrinski’s
car had problems and Stanfill was done for the evening. Hannula has
moved to Indiana and will be competing in the POWRI Midget series.
Parker Evans and Justin Grosz, both of whom, just recently came back
after taking a few races off because of High School graduation, will cut
their seasons short to attend college. Evans will attend and play
football at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY while Grosz will become a
Pittsburgh Panther. Bull was not the only car to run out of fuel in
the second feature. Ryan Smith also ran low and missed a top five
finish. ARDC honored the memory of Joe Ferrel with the missing man
formation at the start of the second feature. Ferrel, who passed away
Saturday morning, was a former car owner with ARDC and a big supporter
of racing at Williams Grove.
WILLIAMS GROVE SPEEDWAY JULY 10,2010
ARDC MIDGETS 20
LAPS (Makeup Feature from 5-8-10)
1) 34 Ryan Smith, 2) 12 Drew
Heistand, 3) 0 Steve Buckwalter, 4) 44 Frank Polimeda, 5) 11 Eric
Heydenreich, 6) 89 Andrew Hannula, 7) 78 Nick Wean, 8) 16 Dave Shirk,
9)77 Alex Bright, 10) 83 Bruce Buckwalter Jr., 11) 55 Steve Craig, 12)
46 Brett Arndt, 13) 91 Donnie Trent, 14) 2 Tracy Readinger, 15) 4
Jeff Furlong, 16) 19 Steve Drevicki 17) 39 Justin Grosz, 18) 17 Donnie
Hoffman, 19) 9 Steve Lenig, 20) 01 Steve Bull, 21) 51 PJ Gargiulo,
22) 52 Tim Buckwalter, 23) 25 Chris Zrinski, DNS 61 Parker Evans
WILLIAMS
GROVE SPEEDWAY JULY 10,2010
ARDC MIDGETS 20 LAPS (Regular Feature)
1) 83 Bruce
Buckwalter Jr., 2) 12 Drew Heistand, 3) 78 Nick Wean, 4) 51 PJ Gargiulo,
5) 0 Steve Buckwalter, 6) 19 Steve Drevicki, 7) 9 Steve Lenig, 8) 44
Frank Polimeda, 9) 77 Alex Bright, 10) 4 Jeff Furlong, 11) 91 Donnie
Trent, 12) 34 Ryan Smith, 13) 01 Steve Bull, 14) 46 Brett Arndt, 15) 17
Donnie Hoffman, 16) 39 Justin Grosz, 17) 6 Dusty Heistand, 18) 11 Eric
Heydenreich, 19) 55 Steve Craig, 20) 16 Dave Shirk, 21) 52 Tim
Buckwalter, 22) 53 Randy Reid 23) 2T Tracy Readinger, DNS 25 Bryan
Stanfill, 61 Parker Evans
Lenig Racing would like to thank their sponsors: Nye’s Body Shop, R.W. Maust Garage, Gingrich & Associates, Susquehanna Valley Speed Shop, Simpson, Aeroquip, Valvoline, ISC Racer’s Tape, and Permatex.
Next Three Races:
Friday, July 30th,
2010............Clinton County Speedway
Saturday, July 31st,
2010.........Mercer Raceway
Friday, August 6th,
2010..........Dixieland Speedway