by Gary Heeman

All Stars Grace The Clay At Lernerville Friday Night

 

 

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Sarver, PA (May 31, 2017)  Lernerville Speedway will be invaded Friday night as Tony Stewart’s Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions get ready to tangle with a strong local and regional contingent for $5,000 and all the bragging rights that come along.  Series points leader Chad Kemenah comes into the Friday’s festivities with a 94 point lead and will be looking to add to it.  But to do so, he’ll have to fend off some strong competition including series mates Caleb Armstrong, Caleb Helms, Ryan Smith and “The Steel City Outlaw” Tim Shaffer, a driver who knows how to get it done all to well at The Action Track.

Shaffer has accumulated four All Star wins at Lernerville over the years as well as a track championship in 1993 and might represent the best chance to bring home the win for the All Star side, having had a terrific start to the 2017 campaign thus far. Caleb Helms has one previous start at Lernerville this season and almost took the win, falling just short of catching Logan Wagner in a feature earlier in April.

Friday will also serve as a homecoming of sorts for former weekly drivers Brandon Matus, Brent Matus, John Garvin and Brandon Spithaler who set out on the All Star trail earlier this season. Spithaler has looked very impressive at different points early in the season, including a performance that saw him break a track record at Angell Park Speedway before rains put a stop to the racing.

They’ll be facing a home side that has some big race experience under it’s belt though.

Dan Shetler has scored a feature win at Lernerville so far in 2017 and also managed a top five finish with the All Stars in action at Bedford Speedway earlier this season. And former track champion AJ Flick has been taking his game to Central Pennsylvania on Saturday nights, competing at Port Royal Speedway on several occasions in addition to weekly action at Lernerville where he currently leads the points and is coming off back to back second place finishes.

“It absolutely helps,” Flick said regarding being able to sharpen his skills against a high level of competition. “I feel like our setups are a bit more advanced and useful. Maybe a bit more diverse and we should be more prepared for different types of track conditions. But when its said and done, no setup with help you qualify against the bigger dollar equipment. It’ll come down to driving hard and having a bit of luck on your side to make the show.”

The young pilot also spoke of what a good performance might be able to do for his momentum at this point of the year.

“A podium finish against a travelling series would be monumental and locally would definitely be the area for it to happen. Its crazy the good things that can come your way with some extra confidence. We just need to make sure to bring our A” game to every race and take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself. As long as we make sure we learn every time the car hits the speedway, we will have a better chance at winning during the 2nd half of the year.”
Running well of late at The Action Track are Dan Kuriger and Gary Kreiss. Kuriger took his first win of the season last Friday night, inheriting the lead from Kreiss late in the race as he ran out of fuel.  While Kreiss got some redemption later on, besting a field of 16 Sprints at Pittsburgh Pennsylvania’s Motor Speedway last Saturday night.
The All Stars will be joined by the RUSH Sportsman Modifieds who make their second appearance of the season. Rocky Kugel took the RUSH Sportsman victory on opening night, his second win in less than a year at Lernerville.  And also joining the action with be the Allegheny Sprint Tour. Now in their inaugural season, the 305 cubic inch, Winged Sprint Car class will be making the rounds at area speedways in 2017 as they make a stop this Friday night.
Pits will open at 4 PM Friday night with grandstands opening at 5 PM. Hot Laps should begin at 6:30 PM and will be followed with time trials for the All Star Sprints before racing begins at 7:30 PM.
Grandstand admission is $25 on Friday night, children 10 years of age and under are free, students are $15 and Pit Passes are $40.

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