SARVER, PA. - (9-4-2011) - There are certain tracks and dates that sprint car drivers circle on their calendar and Lernerville Speedway is one two-time All Star Circuit of Champions titlist Tim Shaffer highlights every year. The "Steel City Outlaw" is nearly unstoppable at "The Action Track," and Friday he proved that, taking the lead from David Gravel on a late-race restart and going on to his second straight series' victory.
Shaffer, a former Lernerville track champion, earned his eighth All Star win of 2011 and took the lead in the $20,000-to-win Ohio region point standings after already claiming the $10,000 Great Plains Region title. Shaffer, who also leads the All Stars' National Points, now has 43 career All Star wins, to put him into a tie for eighth on the series' all-time victory list with Bobby Allen. Another All Star win and Shaffer would be tied with former All Star champion Kevin Huntley and Dave Blaney for sixth.
Despite a bevy of wild crashes in both the B-main and A-main - including former Lernerville and three time All Star champion Dale Blaney while running third late in the feature - Shaffer put on a show for the hometown crowd. Shaffer would earn his third major Lernerville win in the last four attempts in the last calendar year. He won this same event last September, then scored his second career Silver Cup victory against the World of Outlaws this summer. His only miss in the past year at his home track was last year's Commonwealth Clash where he finished third.
It looked like All Star regular David Gravel would get his second career series' win as he led from the drop of the green. But, when Blaney went sailing off the apex of turns three and four and landed in the catch fence between the track and the pit grandstands, Shaffer knew he had a shot. On the ensuing restart Shaffer threw his Aaron Call-Janet Holbrook Motorsports #83 low and hard in turns one and two, stealing the lead away from Gravel. Once at the point, Shaffer is nearly unstoppable and he quickly checked out for his second straight win at this event at the Action Track.
Gravel would hold on for second ahead of two-time All Star champion Greg Wilson, Danny Smith, Lernerville regular Rod George, defending Lernerville champion Danny Holtgraver (who recovered from an early spin), Brian Ellenberger, previous week Lernerville winner Andy McKisson (after starting 22nd), Ed Lynch Jr. and Rob Chaney.
"To tie Bobby Allen in wins is really cool. He was one of my heroes when I first started racing," said Shaffer beside his Kistler Racing Products/Kistler Engines/VRP Shocks backed machine. "David was faster than us...I don't think I had anything for him. But, anything can and usually does happen in dirt track racing...that's what makes it so exciting. When we had that restart I figured that was the only opportunity I was going to get and I threw it in there and it stuck. Brian (Kemenah, crew chief) and the guys once again gave me a perfect car to drive. We have the best TEAM in sprint car racing."
For Gravel, who keeps his race team at Kemenah's shop in Fremont, Ohio, another second place run has him excited about the rest of the season.
"I left the door open on that restart with four laps to go. Tim finally got a good restart - I had him on all the others, but on that last one I went high and he dove under me and slid me. But, since Tyler (Swank, crew chief) and I hooked up after Knoxville, we've been really fast. I'm excited about the rest of the year," said Gravel beside his JRC Transportation/DDR Motorsports #89G.
Wilson's third place run was a shot in the arm for the Benton Ridge, Ohio driver.
The opening lap of the A-main was marred by a spectacular crash involving Cole Duncan and Eric Williams. Williams' car landed on Duncan's, and though unharmed, Duncan was trapped in his car for several minutes under the upside down car of Williams. Carl Bowser, Jessica Zemken and Ellenberger were also involved and/or stopped on the track near the scene with Bower and Ellenberger able to return to action. Then mid-race, Lynch spun due to a flat left rear tire, collecting 2010 All Star Rookie of the Year Cap henry who flipped trying to avoid him.
The carnage actually began in the B-main when Dan Shetler and Scott Priester touched tires, sending Priester down towards the back pit entranced where he hit a tree. A few laps later, Lindsay Enscoe made heavy contact with the front wall, sending her upside down.
All drivers walked away unharmed.
Lernerville Spedway - 9/2/2011
All Star Circuit of Champions (34 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position
Qualifying - Kistler Engines
1. 2L-Ed Lynch Jr, 12.972
2. 1Z-Jessica Zemken, 12.995
3. 89G-David Gravel, 13.079
4. D4-Danny Holtgraver, 13.137
5. 83-Tim Shaffer, 13.233
6. 2-Dale Blaney, 13.253
7. 45-Rob Chaney, 13.255
8. 0X-Andy McKisson, 13.259
9. O4-Cap Henry, 13.270
10. 4-Danny Smith, 13.280
11. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.296
12. 5-Jac Haudenschild, 13.299
13. 8-Cole Duncan, 13.381
14. 4G-Rod George, 13.384
15. 7-Eric Williams, 13.446
16. 21N-Andy Priest, 13.454
17. 10-Carl Bowser, 13.469
18. 20E-Brian Ellenberger, 13.516
19. 22S-Brandon Spithaler, 13.590
20. O8-Dan Kuriger, 13.668
21. 9-Kevin Schaffer, 13.677
22. 23-Jimmy Light, 13.686
23. O-Lee Jacobs, 13.692
24. 5T-Travis Philo, 13.779
25. 7K-Dan Shettler, 13.892
26. 33-Brent Matus, 14.046
27. 96-Lindsay Enscoe, 14.245
28. 5V-Vern Wasson, 14.355
29. 13-Brandon Matus, 14.363
30. 15-Scott Priester, 14.441
31. 4K-Bill Kiley, 14.571
32. 3-Pete Miller III, 14.606
33. 1R-Gale Ruth, 14.818
34. 12-Jared Ridge, 99.999
Heat 1 - Kears Speed Shop (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 10-Carl Bowser[2]
2. O4-Cap Henry[4]
3. 2L-Ed Lynch Jr[6]
4. 83-Tim Shaffer[5]
5. 8-Cole Duncan[3]
6. 9-Kevin Schaffer[1]
7. 7K-Dan Shettler[7]
8. 13-Brandon Matus[8]
9. 1R-Gale Ruth[9]
Heat 2 - All Pro Heads (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 4G-Rod George[3]
2. 23-Jimmy Light[1]
3. 20E-Brian Ellenberger[2]
4. 4-Danny Smith[4]
5. 2-Dale Blaney[5]
6. 1Z-Jessica Zemken[6]
7. 33-Brent Matus[7]
8. 15-Scott Priester[8]
9. 12-Jared Ridge[9]
Heat 3 - MSD Ignition (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. O-Lee Jacobs[1]
2. 7-Eric Williams[3]
3. 45-Rob Chaney[5]
4. W20-Greg Wilson[4]
5. 89G-David Gravel[6]
6. 22S-Brandon Spithaler[2]
7. 96-Lindsay Enscoe[7]
8. 4K-Bill Kiley[8]
Heat 4 - Kinsler Fuel Injection (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. O8-Dan Kuriger[2]
2. 5-Jac Haudenschild[4]
3. D4-Danny Holtgraver[6]
4. 5T-Travis Philo[1]
5. 21N-Andy Priest[3]
6. 0X-Andy McKisson[5]
7. 3-Pete Miller III[8]
8. 5V-Vern Wasson[7]
Dash - Outerwears Performance Products (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 6 starting positions of A-feature
1. 2L-Ed Lynch Jr[1]
2. 89G-David Gravel[2]
3. 83-Tim Shaffer[3]
4. 45-Rob Chaney[4]
5. 2-Dale Blaney[6]
6. D4-Danny Holtgraver[5]
B-Main - University of Northwestern Ohio (12 Laps - Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 0X-Andy McKisson[2]
2. 1Z-Jessica Zemken[1]
3. 9-Kevin Schaffer[4]
4. 33-Brent Matus[6]
5. 22S-Brandon Spithaler[3]
6. 13-Brandon Matus[9]
7. 1R-Gale Ruth[13]
8. 96-Lindsay Enscoe[7]
9. 15-Scott Priester[10]
10. 7K-Dan Shettler[5]
11. 3-Pete Miller III[12]
12. 4K-Bill Kiley[11]
13. 5V-Vern Wasson[8]
A-Main - (30 Laps)
1. 83-Tim Shaffer[3]
2. 89G-David Gravel[2]
3. W20-Greg Wilson[9]
4. 4-Danny Smith[8]
5. 4G-Rod George[14]
6. D4-Danny Holtgraver[6]
7. 20E-Brian Ellenberger[18]
8. O-Lee Jacobs[22]
9. 2L-Ed Lynch Jr[1]
10. 45-Rob Chaney[4]
11. 21N-Andy Priest[16]
12. 10-Carl Bowser[17]
13. 9-Kevin Schaffer[20]
14. 0X-Andy McKisson[12]
15. 33-Brent Matus[24]
16. 2-Dale Blaney[5]
17. 5-Jac Haudenschild[10]
18. O4-Cap Henry[7]
19. O8-Dan Kuriger[19]
20. 23-Jimmy Light[21]
21. 5T-Travis Philo[23]
22. 8-Cole Duncan[13]
23. 7-Eric Williams[15]
24. 1Z-Jessica Zemken[11]
Hard Charger: O-Lee Jacobs[+14]
©2011 - Results Provided by: Computer Man Inc. Fremont, OH
|
The UNOH College of Applied Technologies' High Performance Department's reputation for producing highly-educated graduates means your diploma or associate degree will give you a distinct advantage in a competitive workplace.The University of Northwestern Ohio invented the high performance/motorsports program in 1992 and has been training students with the latest technology available in the industry since. 
The All Stars are one of the premier sprint car sanctioning bodies in the USA. It is owned by an Illinois businessman, and now in their 30th year of operation, the All Stars take pride in their reputation of providing highly competitive, fair, exciting racing for outlaw sprint cars with many different winners in a year. About 400 drivers participate in All Star races yearly in front of an average of 5,000 spectators per event. Currently 40+ races are scheduled in numerous states, such as Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, Nebraska, West Virginia, and Kansas. 
Ohio Sprint Speedweek proves to be one of the most competitive weeks in racing during the 2010 All Star season. Tough battles happened in the 2010 Ohio Sprint Speedweek season, as it included nine straight nights of racing action in the buckeye state, it challenged the best of the best, but young David Gravel- DDR Motorsports was crowned the 2010 champion.