8/2/2010
ASCS
Dan Shetler Slides to ASCS Patriot/ Sprint Express Win at Woodhull
Rich Vleck, WOODHULL, N.Y. (July 31, 2010)- Dan Shetler entered the ASCS Patriot/ Sprint Express Shootout Weekend as a lesser known “outsider” from Western PA. After a quiet top-10 on Friday, he found his way to the front late in the Woodhull Feature in the event and did all he could to hang on to it.
Shetler, of Johnstown, PA, picked up the $2,500 pay day after inheriting the lead when George Suprick got together with Chuck Hebing battling for the race lead and then would out duel Friday winner Alan Cole on the final lap to complete a thrilling night of racing.
“This is a real neat little race track,” declared Shetler in Victory Lane. “I do pretty well on bull rings and this place had some really good racing.”
The driver of the No. 7k drew the outside pole for the 25-lap Feature at the high-banked 1/3-mile Woodhull Raceway for the fourth event in the Insinger Race Fuels King of the Southern Tier Series, but was still not a major factor in the minds of the massive crowd until late in the show as Chuck Hebing had captured everyone’s imagination.
Hebing, who won the make-up event earlier in the night and won his heat race in convincing fashion, appeared to be in a different league entering the feature event. Polesitter Blake Breen had something to say about it though as he put his No. 8 in front and kept his younger brother, Bobby, and Hebing at bay for the opening seven laps.
On the seventh circuit, former Woodhull Owner Vern Wasson crashed hard into the guardrail above the berm in turn two, which would result in a nearly 30-minute stoppage for repair. When the field went back to action, Hebing wasted no time getting by Breen and looked to complete the double on the night.
After a lap 17 caution flag for a Shayne Ely spin, the complexion of the race changed in a major way as a number of the Sprint Express competitors started to see their cars begin to come in. Shetler would make a bid for the lead on the restart and drag race Hebing down the back stretch on lap 18. Shetler attempted a slide job in turn four, but “Cobra” dove back underneath the No. 7k and would return the favor the next time down the backstretch. As those two swapped the lead, George Suprick moved his No. 87 to third and then by Shetler for second to become a new dancing partner for Hebing.
Suprick, who saw his share of the honor as the winningest sprint car driver at Woodhull go away earlier in the night, was on a mission as the 2004 Patriot Champion began to fly from his ninth starting position with a new line utilizing the middle of turn one and the bottom of turn two to get a launch down the backstretch. He would instantly reel in Hebing and begin to go after him for the lead.
Coming to the completion of lap 23, Suprick dove low on Hebing in turn four and looked to clear him coming off the corner. Hebing fought back hard and when Suprick drove up the track, clipped the front wing of the No. 45, sending Hebing into the wall and cutting the right rear on Suprick’s car. When the dust settled, Shettler was the new frontrunner.
In the three lap shootout to the finish, Shetler moved out to an early advantage, but Alan Cole, who had resided outside of the top five most of the feature, blasted around Bobby Breen on the restart for second and looked to make the same pass on Shetler for the lead.
Coming off the second corner on the final lap, Cole pulled even with Shetler on the outside and appeared that he could swing around the 7k in the final set of corners. Shetler would dive in hard on the bottom though, slide up and block the run the No. 4a had built up on the top. As Shetler drove back to the stripe of the win, Cole was practically sideways coming by in second.
“I knew Alan was going to have a big run on the top so I just tried to him my mark on the bottom,” said Shetler. “The car pushed more than I wanted and I knew I lost all my momentum so I just tried to hang on.”
As Shetler and crew were jubilant after the event, a host of drivers were dejected at what could have been, including Cole, who decided to make the trip North to Woodhull for the first time around lunchtime. His run would allow him to solidify his stranglehold on the Sprint Express points.
Bobby Breen would cross in third as the highest finish Patriot. Breen noted after the event that bottom seemed to give up later in the event and his car could not react to the changing conditions.
Tim Kelly would complete a solid weekend as the 1999 Woodhull Winner scored his second fourth place showing on the night in familiar No. 12.
Daryl Stimeling also found the fast way around the 1/3-mile late in the event, charging up to finish in fifth.
Early leader Blake Breen slid back to sixth, holding off late-charging John Smith. Bryan Howland took over the point lead by virtue of his eighth place showing ahead of Bubba Broderick and Jared Zimbardi, his nearest point chasers, who completed the top-10.
A total of 31 sprint cars signed into the pits. Kyle Moffit and Gary Troutman suffered engine issues early in the night. Mark and Clint Ide also had a similar fate. Ryan Lynn’s first trip to Woodhull would also be short lived as he made just one lap in his heat.
ASCS Patriots Results: 7/31/10, Woodhull Raceway, Woodhull, NY.
Insinger A-Main (25 Laps)- 1. Dan Shetler (7k), 2. Alan Cole (4a), 3. Bobby Breen (9), 4. Tim Kelly (12), 5. Daryl Stimeling (30), 6. Blake Breen (8), 7. John Smith (42), 8. Bryan Howland (51), 9. Bubba Broderick (5), 10. Jared Zimbardi (35), 11. Scott Kreutter (87k), 12. Davey Sammons (79), 13. Kyle Drum (22R), 14. Jamie Bodo (808), 15. Shayne Ely (90e), 16. Chuck Hebing (45), 17. George Suprick (87), 18. Matt Johnson (70), 19. Kevin Ward Jr. (13), 20. Coleman Gulick (1k), 21. Don Adamczyk (21), 22. Vern Wasson (5v), 23. Dylan Swiernik (7c), 24. Chris Muhleisen (10M).
Lap Leaders- Bl. Breen 1-7, Hebing 8-22, Shetler 23-25.
B-Main (Top 6 Transfer to A-Main)- 1. Kyle Drum (22R), 2. Shayne Ely (90e), 3. Scott Kreutter (87k), 4. Matt Johnson (70), 5. Jamie Bodo (808), 6. Chris Muhleisen (10M), 7. Austin Ely (90x), 8. Chuck Brion (5B), 9. Kyle Moffit (7), 10. Gary Troutman (44), 11. Mark Ide (2), 12. Clint Ide (3), 13. Ryan Lynn (26).
New York State Apple Sales Four Laps of Fame Dash (4 Laps)- 1. George Suprick (87), 2. Bryan Howland (51), 3. Bubba Broderick (5), 4. Don Adamczyk (21), 5. Daryl Stimeling (30), 6. Jared Zimbardi (35).
National Parts Peddler Heats (8 Laps Each)-
Race 1: 1. Tim Kelly (12), 2. Blake Breen (8), 3. Dan Shetler (7k), 4. Jared Zimbardi (35), 5. Matt Johnson (70), 6. Kyle Drum (22R), 7. Mark Ide (2), 8. Kyle Moffit (7).
Race 2: 1. Chuck Hebing (45), 2. Davey Sammons (79), 3. Daryl Stimeling (30), 4. Dylan Swiernik (7c), 5. Chuck Brion (5B), 6. Scott Kreutter (87k), 7. Chris Muhleisen (10M), 8. Ryan Lynn (26).
Race 3: 1. Bobby Breen (9), 2. Bubba Broderick (5), 3. Bryan Howland (51), 4. Don Adamczyk (21), 5. John Smith (42), 6. Shayne Ely (90e), 7. Jamie Bodo (808), 8. Austin Ely (90x).
Race 4: 1. Alan Cole (4a), 2. Vern Wasson (5v), 3. George Suprick (87), 4. Kevin Ward (13), 5. Coleman Gulick (1k), 6. Clint Ide (3), 7. Gary Troutman (44).
Insinger Race Fuels King of the Southern Tier Standings (Top-10)- 1. Bryan Howland 547, 2. Bubba Broderick 521, 3. Jared Zimbardi 508, 4. Tim Kelly 493, 5. Don Adamczyk 475, 6. Vern Wasson 424, 7. George Surpick 384, Tie-8. Kyle Moffit and Kevin Ward Jr. 339, 10. Dylan Swiernik 313.
Gater Racing News Hard Charger of the Season (Top Five)- 1. Jared Zimbardi 31, 2. Don Adamczyk 29, 3. Shawn Donath 26, 4. Bubba Broderick 25, Tie-5. Tim Kelly and Alain Bergeron 24.
ASCS Patriot Points (Top Ten): 1. Bryan Howland 1,786, 2. Jared Zimbardi 1,778, 3. Tim Kelly 1,693, 4. Bubba Broderick 1,689, 5. Don Adamczyk 1,431, 6. Vern Wasson 1,274, 7. Bobby Breen 1,052, 8. Shayne Ely 925, 9. Kyle Moffit 905, 10. Blake Breen 856.
Submitted By: Lonnie Wheatley
