Young lion Wyatt Scott wins Super Late Model barn burner as Brewer, Gurdak, Card, Covey, Hess Jr. and Mease all score victories on Championship Night!

August 23, 2021

Busti, NY (Aug 21, 2021) by Marc Hoegerl: After receiving well over an inch of rain Saturday afternoon, The Scott Family and crew were not going to let mother nature spoil Championship Night at Stateline Speedway. The track crew showed their muscle and had the track in beautiful shape and ready to go by 8:20.

After a very successful regular season at Stateline Speedway, Six Champions were crowned. Dave Hess Jr. after having a dream season in the Super Late Model Division picked up his first ever Stateline Super Late Model Track Championship. Hess had 8 feature wins to his credit and won 8 out of the 13 feature events. Albion PA’s, Dennis Lunger was crowned the 2021 RUSH Pro-Mod Champ. Veteran Scott Gurdak would put his name in the record books being crowned the RUSH Crate Late Models Champion. Dave Hess Jr. added more to his impressive resume by capturing the UMP Modifieds 2021 title. John Boardman earned the championship trophy in the Penn-Ohio Pro Stocks. Chris Horton etched his name on his Championship Trophy by earning the 2021 Challenger Track Championship.

First main event to hit the 1/3 mile speed plant was the RUSH Pro-Mods. Greg Johnson and Cody Stronghart would bring the 18 car field to green. The talented wheelman Johnson would get the initial jump with fourth place starter Chad Ramsey, on his bumper to complete lap 1. In the first 6 laps of the event with Johnson holding a narrow advantage, you could throw a blanket over the top six, as it looked like it could be anyone’s race. On lap 5 Johnson, Stronghart and Ramsey would go three wide at the flag stand. Stronghart would find his momentum and take the top spot from Johnson on lap 6. On lap 8, 8th place starter Al Brewer would take the 3rd spot away from Ramsey. Lap 9 Johnson would once again take over the top spot for the races 3rd lead change. Johnson would narrowly hold on to that top spot, as Brewer would move into 2nd on the very same lap. A determined Brewer would find the hole he needed to take the driver’s seat from Johnson on lap 11, and cruise the rest of the way to pick up another 2021 RUSH Pro-Mod victory. Johnson, Ramsey, Michael Eschrich, and 13th place starter Scott Gurdak would round out your top 5.

Next up would be the highly competitive RUSH Crate Late Models. As soon as the green flag waved the caution would be shown for a three car pile-up involving, Khole Wanzer, Darrell Bossard, and Ward Schell as the field entered turns one and two. On the restart, pole sitter Steve Dixon would get the jump, but Jason Genco would grab the lead back as they approached lap 1. The race would see three more caution periods that would slow the event with only two laps recorded. Genco would hold down the lead between cautions for the first three laps, until Scott Gurdak would muscle his way around Genco for the top spot on lap 4. There was a good mid race battle going on for 2nd between Genco and David Parker, where the two exchange positions twice until Genco would finally take full command of the spot. Gurdak would weather a few more cautions, and go the rest of the way uncontested, as well as sewing up the 2021 RUSH Crate Late Models Points Title. Genco rode home 2nd, Parker came home a solid 3rd, Steve Dixon was 4th, and Matthew Sipes rounded out the top 5.

The guest Mini Late Models division would be third on the card. The class seemed to take well liking to the fans, with an entertaining and competitive 20 Lap feature. The class may have only brought 6 entries, but the main event was a good one. Christopher Whyte set the pace at the onset. Whyte and Ryan Card would put on a whale of a show, with Whyte and Card running side by side almost the entire feature. Card would grab his first lead of the race on lap 16, but Whyte would once again grab the top spot on lap 17. Card would use an outside move on lap 18 to finally preserve the lead and hold on the remaining two circuits to pick up the win. Christopher Whyte, Jarrod Lyon, Kyle Coons, Jack Black, and Treyton White would round out the 6 car field.

As the Penn-Ohio Pro Stocks would take the green. Doug Eck would lead the 19 car field into turn 1. Eck would hold the point for the first 6 laps with constant pressure from Jason Covey, which started to turn into a four car battle with Joe Stajnrajh and 10th place starter Shane Applebee joining the mix. On lap 7 Covey would motor around Eck, but Eck wouldn’t let Covey out of his grasp, as the two would pull even twice on laps 8 and 9. Covey would find clean air on lap 11 and go the rest of the distance to pick up the win. William Reeves would come home in the bridesmaid position after finally getting around Eck with two remaining. Eck settled for 3rd, John Boardman would seal the deal, wrapping up the 2021 championship crown with his 4th place finish, as Matt Sampson would round at the top five.

The Super Late Models would hit the track with 16 of the best wheelmen in our region getting set to take the green in the 25 lap headliner. But, before the field would take the green, Jake Finnerty would park his ride in turn 1 with an evident fire under the hood. Stateline’s always quick to respond fire team was on the scene in a matter of seconds to take care of the issue and make sure the racer was brought to safety, if needed. Once cleanup was taken care of the field would get underway with their main event. Veteran Greg Oakes would grab the top spot as the green would fly, with Ryan Scott and Dave Hess Jr. in tow. With Oakes leading the first three laps, Hess would use his patent move going to the extreme top side of the speedway to overtake Oakes on lap 4. With Hess looking like he had found some breathing room, Oakes and second generation driver, Wyatt Scott would engage in a fierce battle for 2nd. The battle would go on for the next 12 laps, as Scott would finally overtake Oakes for the runner-up spot on lap 16. Scott was seemingly the fastest car on the speedway at the time and was narrowing the margin on leader Hess as they approached heavy lapped traffic, then the races only caution would fly. On the restart, Oakes would grab back the second spot from Scott on lap 17. Lap 18 would see Scott once again overtake Oakes and set his sights on the leader Hess. With Hess running an uncharacteristic lower line, Scott was gaining momentum on the high side, and would pull alongside of Hess as the white flag was shown. As Hess and Scott were side-by-side going down the backstretch on the final lap, Scott would do a courageous divebomb slider on Hess going into turn 3, almost bringing Hess to a complete stop, but enough to make the winning pass in the final corner of the final lap to pick up his 3rd win of the 2021 campaign. This may have arguably been Stateline’s race of the year. Hess would bring home another podium finish in the runner-up spot. Oakes came home third, Ryan Scott and Darrell Bossard would round out the events top five.

As the very talented field of UMP Modifieds took the green. Pole sitter Casey Bowers would take the point. With Bowers in the lead, the second spot was the position everyone had their eyes on as the position would change numerous times, between Dave Lanphere, Cale Crocker, and Butch Southwell. With the second position battle going on, the familiar #44 of Dave Hess Jr., was picking off cars and cracked the top five on lap 3, from his 8th place starting position, and climb into 4th on lap 7. As the field saw lap 9, Bowers, Crocker, and Southwell were engaged in a three car battle for the lead. Crocker and Southwell would get by Bowers in lapped traffic on lap 10. Hess would join the top 3 on lap 11, then take over the runner-up spot on lap 14, giving chase to race leader Crocker. On laps 16 and 17 the two front runners would pull even. Hess would make his winning move coming out of turn two on lap 18, and stay there the remaining two laps to rack up another 2021 UMP Modified win, and the 2021 Track Title. Crocker, Southwell, Michael McGee, and Lanphere would round out the top 5.

In the nights finale. The ever so popular Challengers would hit the track. Matthew Haskins would take the lead as the green was shown, to only have pole sitter John Seekings take over on lap 1. Lap 2 would see another lead change as 7th place starter Holden Heineman would take over the lead. On lap 5 second place runner Peter Volpe would come to a stop on the backstretch in a cloud of smoke, bringing out the caution. Heineman would maintain the lead once again as the race would resume. As the next 4 laps would click down a four car battle, that looked like it could be anyone’s race ,was brewing between Heineman, 11th place starter John Mease, 10th place starter Rick Feeley, and Chris Horton. Mease would pull even with Heineman on lap 9, then Mease muster the top spot on lap 10. Mease would hold off his competition the remaining two circuits to bring home the win. Feeley got around Heineman on the final lap for runner-up honors. Heineman settled for 3rd, Horton came home 4th, and Tommy Labarbera completed the top 5.

Super Late Models (14 Entries)

Heat 1: 1) Dave Hess Jr. 2) Ryan Scott 3) Jason Genco 4) Dutch Davies 5) Khole Wanzer 6) Anthony Marotto 7) Easton Hedman
Heat 2: 1) Greg Oakes 2) Jake Finnerty 3) Wyatt Scott 4) Kyle Scott 5) Kyle Bedell 6) Bump Hedman 7) Darrell Bossard

Feature: 1) Wyatt Scott 2) Dave Hess Jr. 3) Greg Oakes 4) Ryan Scott 5) Darrell Bossard 6) Jason Genco 7) Kyle Scott 8) Kyle Bedell 9) Bump Hedman 10) Khole Wanzer 11) Anthony Marotto 12) Dutch Davies 13) Easton Hedman 14) Jacob Finnerty
Lap Leaders: Oakes(1-3), Hess Jr.(4-24), W. Scott(25)

RUSH Crate Late Models (21 Entries)

Heat 1: 1) Scott Gurdak 2) Khole Wanzer 3) Jason Genco 4) Ward Schell 5) Rodney Houser 6) Scott Jordan 7) Mitchell Hoffman
Heat 2: 1) Darrell Bossard 2) Darrin Waldron 3) Steve Dixon 4) Paul Norman 5) Gary Youngs 6) Chad Clement 7) Lonnie Waldron
Heat 3: 1) David Parker 2) Brian Larson 3) Matthew Sipes 4) Randy Hall 5) D.J. Krug 6) Steve Houser 7) Hunter Proctor

Feature: 1) Scott Gurdak 2) Jason Genco 3) David Parker 4) Steve Dixon 5) Matthew Sipes 6) Randy Hall 7) Darrell Bossard 8) Ward Schell 9) Paul Norman 10) DJ Krug 11) Khole Wanzer 12) Brian Larson 13) Rodney Houser 14) Chad Clement 15) Darrin Waldron 16) Gary Youngs 17) Mitchell Hoffman 18) Lonnie Waldron 19) Hunter Proctor 20) Steve Houser 21) Scott Jordan
Lap Leaders: Genco(1-3), Gurdak(4-20)

UMP Modifieds (22 Entries)

Heat 1: 1) Troy Johnson 2) Cale Crocker 3) Butch Southwell 4) Zach Johnson 5) Paul Nelson 6) Brian Mohawk 7) Joe Lanphere 8) James Wilburn
Heat 2: 1) Michael McGee 2) Casey Bowers 3) Ron Seeley 4) Tim Peterson 5) Dennis Asel 6) Mason Lobb 7) Byron Johnson
Heat 3: 1) Dave Hess Jr. 2) Dave Lanphere 3) Timothy Rockwell 4) Justin Carlson 5) Jimmy Diabo 6) Davis Warrior 7) Mitchell Rex

Feature: 1) Dave Hess Jr. 2) Cale Crocker 3) Butch Southwell 4) Michael McGee 5) Dave Lanphere 6) Justin Carlson 7) Troy Johnson 8) Zach Johnson 9) Mason Lobb 10) Ron Seeley 11) Timothy Rockwell 12) Brian Mohawk 13) Jimmy Diabo 14) Paul Nelson 15) David Warrior 16) James Wilburn 17) Casey Bowers 18) Tim Peterson 19) Joel Lanphere 20) Mitchell Rex 21) Bryon Johnson 22) Dennis Asel
Lap Leaders: Bowers(1-9), Crocker(11-17), Hess Jr.(18-20)

RUSH Pro Mods (18 Entries)

Heat 1: 1) Dennis Lunger 2) Al Brewer 3) Tyler Oakes 4) Michael Eschrich 5) Scott Gurdak 6) Tyler Sutton
Heat 2: 1) Cody Stronghart 2) Vaughn Nystrom 3) Chad Ramsey 4) Derek Peterson 5) Donald May Jr. 6) Scott Lee
Heat 3: 1) Greg Johnson 2) Adam Ashcraft 3) Stu Richard 4) Wayne Mohawk 5) Thomas Root 6) Deven Dudenhoeffer

Feature: 1) Al Brewer 2) Greg Johnson 3) Chad Ramsey 4) Michael Eschrich 5) Scott Gurdak 6) Adam Ashcroft 7) Dennis Lunger 8) Tyler Oakes 9) Vaughn Nystrom 10) Cody Stronghart 11) Stu Richard 12) Thomas Root 13) Wayne Mohawk 14) Tyler Sutton 15) Derek Peterson 16) Deven Dudenhoeffer 17) Scott Lee 18) Donald May Jr.
Lap Leaders: Johnson (1-5), Stronghart (6-8), Johnson (9,10) & Brewer (11-20)

Penn-Ohio Pro Stocks (19 Entries)

Heat 1: 1) Joe Stajnrajh 2) Tanner Ramsey 3) William Reeves 4) Steve Yokom 5) Michael Reed 6) David Baker 7) John Cline
Heat 2: 1) Jason Covey 2) Gary Fisher 3) John Boardman 4) Shane Applebee 5) Josh Beckstrom 6) Michael Oakes
Heat 3: 1) Jason Black 2) Matt Sampson 3) Doug Eck 4) Bill Applebee 5) David Tower 6) Kole Stelmack

Feature: 1) Jason Covey 2) William Reeves 3) Doug Eck 4) John Boardman 5) Matt Sampson 6) Steve Yokom 7) Gary Fisher 8) Michael Reed 9) Bill Applebee 10) Michael Oakes 11) Joseph Stajnrajh 12) Tanner Ramsey 13) David Parker 14) Kole Stelmack 15) Josh Beckstrom 16) Shane Applebee 17) David Tower 18) Jason Black 19) John Cline
Lap Leaders: Eck (1-6), Covey (7-15)

Challengers (21 Entries)

Heat 1: 1) Chris Horton 2) Holden Heineman 3) Mark Lawrence 4) Rick Feely 5) David Moller 6) Kim Davis 7) Casey Markham
Heat 2: 1) Tommy Labarbera 2) Mark Winans 3) Matthew Haskins 4) John Mease 5) William Sunderlin 6) Rachelle Moller 7) Ashley Parmenter
Heat 3: 1) Charles Houser 2) Jon Seekings 3) Peter Volpe 4) Tammy Watson 5) Joseph Foti 6) Gregory Marsh 7) Ben Swarthout

Feature: 1)John Mease 2)Rick Feely 3)Holden Heineman 4)Chris Horton 5)Tommy Labarbera 6)Mark Winans 7)William Sunderlin 8)Matthew Haskins 9)David Moller 10)Kimberly Davis 11)Joseph Foti 12)Ashley Parmenter 13)Mark Lawrence 14)Jon Seekings 15)Peter Volpe 16)Tammy Watson 17)Ben Swarthout 18)Rachell Moller 19)Kasey Markham 20)Terry Houser
Lap Leader: Jon Seekings(1) Holden Heineman(2-9) John Mease (10-12)

Mini Late Models (6 Entries)

Heat: 1) Christopher Whyte 2) Ryan Card 3) Treyton Whyte 4) Jarrod Lyon 5) Jack Black 6) Kyle Coons

Feature: 1) Ryan Card 2) Christopher Wythe 3) Jarrod Lyon 4) Kyle Coons 5) Jack Black 6) Treyton Whyte
Lap Leaders: C. Whyte(1-15), Card(16) C. Whyte(17), Card(18-20)