Motorsports Monday

Apparently there was another show in town besides the Penguins. Both local speedways were in action over the weekend, including Motordrome Speedway’s 100-lap feature race.

Motordrome Speedway
Smithton, Pa. – June 12

Super Late Models – 100-lap feature
1. Shawn Pilla
2. Will Thomas
3. Mark Cottone
4. Rick Miller
5. Gary Wiltrout

Chargers
1. Tracy Keller
2. Matthew Gardner
3. Vic Keller
4. Kristen Etling
5. Steve Settle

Super Compacts
1. Matt Sever
2. Gene Zerfoss
3. Larry Dunmyer
4. Bill Schwartz
5. Troy Knight

Street Stocks
1. Dink Colarusso
2. Shawn Phillips
3. Mike Bakalon
4. Adam Kostelnik
5. Thomas Knight Sr.


Pennsylvania Motor Speedway
Imperial, Pa. – June 13

Super Late Models – 25-lap feature
1. Steve Baker
2. Jared Miley
3. Jim Stephans
4. Lynn Geisler
5. Ben Miley

Pro Late Models – 20-lap feature
1. Colton Flinner
2. Rocky Kugel
3. Beau Glemba
4. Josh Holtgraver
5. Jason Rider

Sportsman – 15-lap feature
1. Jake Simmons
2. Bill Robertson
3. Bob Schwartzmiller
4. Pat Weldon
5. Nick Kocuba

Modifieds – 12-lap feature
1. Kari Gasser
2. Chuck Kennedy
3. Daryl Charlier
4. J.J. Bametzrieder
5. J.E. Stalder

Stocks – 10-lap feature
1. Curt Bish
2. Brian Huchko
3. Robby Torrens
4. Gary Koteles
5. Garrett O'Patchen

Young Guns Sport Compacts – 8-lap feature
1. Ricky Steigerwald
2. Daniel White
3. Justin Pons
4. Nico Dabecco
5. Tyler Carson

The end is nigh

Where is the guy with the sandwich board predicting the end of days? Because, that time is near for NASCAR fans. General Motors announced today it is cutting back its Chevrolet factory support for several lower-level NASCAR teams, which could eventually trickle up to the Sprint Cup Series. The Nationwide teams owned by Kevin and DeLana Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. already got the boot, although Chevy has not announced any changes to Cup… yet. This is all part of GM’s bankruptcy reorganization plans, and I can’t fault the manufacturer for doing this. Tough decisions will have to be made, and unfortunately for NASCAR, it’s sitting directly in the bankruptcy bull’s eye.

My biggest question is which car manufacturer Earnhardt will choose for his Nationwide team? The man and his father have been associated with Chevy most of their careers. In fact, one of the reported reasons why Earnhardt went to Hendrick was because of the Chevy brand. He spurned Gibbs’ offer because that team planned to change over to Toyota. Now, this isn’t the most important development in the world, but NASCAR Nation might vomit in its mouth a little bit if an Earnhardt ever steps foot in a Toyota.

Motocross invades Greene County

By Joe Tuscano
Staff writer
jtuscano@observer-reporter.com

For one glorious weekend, the sleepy little town of Mt. Morris will be engulfed in a solid wall of sound, cameras, microphones and finish line celebrations.

Oh, and expectations are that an intimate gathering of about 20,000 will show up to drink in the atmosphere, along with a few cold ones when the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship circuit arrives at High Point Raceway this weekend.

This tournament is the first in the sport's Triple Crown. The other two will be held at Buchanan, Mich., July 4 and Mechanicsville, Md., Aug. 22.

Motocross has penciled in an event at the Mt. Morris raceway for decades, but this event will be special because it will mark the first live broadcast by a national television station, in this case NBC.

"This is the first time it's ever happened and we are excited about it," said Brandon Short, media manager of the event. "We've had NBC here before but it's always been on a tape-delayed basis. We expect the event to be viewed by 400,000 world-wide."

NBC begins its coverage at 4:30 p.m., Saturday but some of the smaller events begin today.

The network will air three races and three others are scheduled for the Speed network. For those who follow motocross, plenty of storylines punctuate this event.

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America's meth addiction

For a while now, I’ve reserved judgment on this Jeremy Mayfield controversy because NASCAR refused to release many details about his positive drug test. But the recent revelation that Mayfield allegedly took meth is an undisputed game-changer. Methamphetamine is a dangerous and highly addictive drug, as I learned in my police reporting days at the Charleston (W.Va.) Daily Mail. The drug has spread across the country and usually settles in rural areas, so it shouldn’t be surprising it eventually snagged a NASCAR driver.

It is considered the poor man’s cocaine because most addicts able cook meth inside their homes using household cleaners and chemicals to alter over-the-counter drugs, sometimes with their children nearby. The effects on a person's face and physique are unmistakable, so others should have been able to see some signs of Mayfield's alleged use.

This will be a long fight for Mayfield because these allegations are a helluva lot different than a bad cocktail of prescription and over-the-counter drugs he claims caused the positive tests. It will be interesting to see how NASCAR handles the ensuing courtroom battle as it tries to bar it’s biggest violator from every stepping into a race car again.

UFo and other results

John Flinner took the checkered flag in Saturday night’s United Force series race at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway. Flinner, of Zelienople, Pa., won the Penn National 33 race – the second UFo event of the season – by beating a field of 17 other cars. PPMS and Motordrome Speedway also held their normally scheduled races over the weekend. Motordrome Speedway will hold a 100-lap event for its super late model cars this Friday night.

Pennsylvania Motor Speedway
Imperial, Pa. – June 6

UFO Super Late Models – 33-lap feature
1. John Flinner
2. Alex Ferree
3. Al Atallah
4. Brandon Burgoon
5. John Mollick

Sprints – 20-lap feature
1. Kevin Schaeffer
2. Rod George
3. Jack Sodeman Jr.
4. Danny Holtgraver
5. Andy McKisson

Pro Late Models – 20-lap feature
1. Mark Moats Jr.
2. Rocky Kugel
3. Michael Reft
4. Justin Lamb
5. Josh Holtgraver

Sportsman – 15-lap feature
1. Chris Schneider
2. Jake Simmons
3. Pat Weldon
4. Bob Schwartzmiller
5. Craig Koteles

Modifieds – 12-lap feature
1. Daryl Charlier
2. Chuck Kennedy
3. J E Stalder,
4. Tom Martineck
5. Kari Gasser

Stocks – 12-lap feature
1. Rich Mason
2. Brian Huchko
3.Gary Koteles
4. Curt Bish
5. Garrett O'Patchen

Young Guns Sport Compacts – 8-lap feature
1. Justin Pons
2. Daniel White
3. Tyler Carson
4. Alec Broniszewski
5. Ricky Steigerwald,

Motordrome Speedway
Smithton, Pa. – June 5

Late Models – 50-lap feature
1. Neil Brown
2. Mark Poole
3. Bobby Henry
4. Mark Cottone
5. Gary Wiltrout

Modifieds – 30-lap feature
1. Bobby Shipp
2. Adam Kostelnik
3. Bryan Shipp
4. Lonnie Hoffman
5. George Nicola

Street Stocks – 25-lap feature
1. Mike Bakalon
2. Shawn Phillips
3. Johnathan Hileman
4. Dink Colarusso
5. Andrew Kostelnik

Chargers – 15-lap feature
1. Zane Ferrell
2. Tracy Keller
3. Matthew Garedner
4. Ed McConnell
5. Ed Neidhardt

Super Compacts – 15-lap feature
1. Larry Dunmyer
2. Gene Zerfoss
3. Matt Sever
4. Ed Dineen
5. Troy Knight

Penske's Saturn rocket

Could Kurt Busch and Helio Castroneves be tooling around on the track in a Saturn Aura soon? Well, probably not. But apparently their team owner, Roger Penske, will be doing exactly that. The Associated Press is reporting that Penske is poised to purchase the Saturn brand and dealer network from the troubled auto manufacturer General Motors GM would continue to make the Saturn cars into the near future, but Penske eventually would turn that task over to other automakers.

Now, I don’t expect Penske to start putting Saturns on the highbanks of Daytona, but I would not be surprised if he introduces the company’s name to the IRL. At one time, GM built engines for Indy cars and slapped the Chevrolet and Oldsmobile logos on the side of the cars. It shouldn’t be surprising if a car tycoon like Penske does the same exact thing.

Motorsports Monday

What a gorgeous weekend for grilling, watching Stanley Cup hockey and racing. The grilled chicken on my back porch turned out better than the Penguins in the first two games of the Finals. And the two local speedways went racing. Here are the results from the weekend.

Motordrome Speedway
Smithton, Pa. - May 29

Super Late Models
1. Neil Brown
2. Bobby Henry
3. Mark Cottone
4. Dave Marrow
5. Barry Awtey

Modifieds
1. Bryan Shipp
2. Adam Kostelnik
3. George Nicola
4. Lonnie Hoffman
5. Jim Nicola

Street Stocks
1. Dink Colarusso
2. Shawn Phillips
3. Jonathan Hileman
4. Mike Bakalon
5. Jason Holder

Chargers
1. Tracy Keller
2. Roger Bryan
3. Kristen Etling
4. A.J. Poljak
5. Denny Keller

Super Compacts
1. Paull Koffler, Jr.
2. Matt Sever
3. Eugene Zerfoss
4. Larry Dunmyer
5. Makr Seiler

Pennsylvania Motor Speedway
Imperial, Pa. - May 30

Super Late Models
1. Brandon Burgoon
2. Daryl Charlier
3. Tommy Beck
4. Kyle Lukon
5. Al Atallah

ProLate Models
1. Kyle Lukon,
2. Mark Moats Jr.
3. Rocky Kugel
4. Jason Rider
5. Justin Lamb

Modifieds
1. Vince Laboon
2. Kevin Miller
3. J.J. Bametzrider
4. Shawn Domhoff
5. Clayton Kennedy

Sportsman
1. Pat Weldon
2. Vince Kamicker
3. Bob Schwartzmiller
4. Jake Simmons
5. Bill Robertson

Stocks
1. Craig Koteles
2. Brian Huchko
3. Curt Bish
4. Adam Chytil
5. Rich Mason

Young Guns
1. Ricky Steigerwald
2. Danny White
3. Alec Broniszewski Jr.
4. Tyler Atkinson
5. Tyler Carson