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Banquet Culminates Magical 2015 Season

(Somerset, PA) October 24, 2015: On Saturday, Jennerstown Speedway Complex officials, teams and fans celebrated a 2015 racing season, which was successful beyond any expectations, with their awards banquet at the Bakersville Fire Hall in Somerset. Track announcer Mike Sotosky, Billy Hribar and Zach Damico presented the Top 10 in each of the speedway’s five weekly divisions. 2015 Jennerstown Speedway champions are Matt Sever (Martella’s Pharmacy Late Models), Bryan Shipp (Modifieds), Anthony Aiello (Riggs Industries Street Stocks), Ron Eiford, Jr. (Chargers) and Paul Koffler, Jr. (Somerset Trust Company Fast N Furious 4’s). Rookies of the Year were recognized as well along with two individuals who were selected for special awards by track officials. Charger driver Steve Long was chosen as the Sportsman of the Year. Along with his hardware for winning his division’s title, Paul Koffler, Jr. was named as the Mechanic of the Year.

The fact that there was even a season to celebrate this year was one of the topics discussed throughout the banquet hall during the course of the evening. In 2014, the Laurel Highlands facility was renovated and returned to racing condition after sitting idle for five years. By Spring of 2015, it appeared that the ultra-smooth half-mile oval would again sit quietly for this season and possibly beyond. A group of six local businessmen stepped forward. With various backgrounds in racing, their vision was to return the track to the glory of years past. Co-owner John Morocco of Morocco Welding echoed the sentiments of his partners. “I knew it had to be saved. There were so many people that worked so hard down there in the year before trying to make it go. And, when I saw all of the people involved that spent their own time down there, I had to jump in and help. I had to be a part of it.” Morocco is joined by a group of successful business leaders who have had previous ties to the race track. They include Dennis Neri and Doug Damico of Boswell Lumber, Rich Pologruto of Speclin Emergency Vehicles, Dr. Larry Hemminger of North Star Equipment and Snooky Williams, a former driver at many venues across the region. Their efforts are supported by speedway employees and volunteers.

The efforts of Matt Sever and his crew led to the 2015 Martella’s Pharmacy Late Model Championship at Jennerstown Speedway. “It has been probably about a month and a half now and it hasn’t fully sunk in”. The West Newton driver added, “I still feel even after this that we’re not fully at the top tier of where we need to be. I feel like we still have a lot of room to improve.” Sever finished second to Barry Awtey for the points title in 2014. Those two drivers again battled to the finish lap of the season to determine a champion. A rain out from June resulted in Twin 40-lap features to be ran on the final night of racing. Sever came into the evening with a 6-point advantage over Awtey. Only two laps into the first feature, oil on the track sent Awtey’s car hard into the outer retaining wall. With his primary mount too damaged to compete, some of Awtey’s crew left the track to retrieve the backup car from their shop in nearby Jenners. With Awtey’s misfortune, it seemed that Sever had all but wrapped up the title. However, only a few laps later the rearend of Sever’s Late Model failed; ending his race as well. Pitted side-by-side in the pits, some of Awtey’s crew prepped their backup car for the second race while there was a mad scramble under Sever’s ride to get it race-ready. Crews from throughout the pits, including Awtey’s, lent a hand in the effort. The drama of the first feature led way to the second which saw Sever now with a 10-point gap over Awtey. Sever secured his first Late Model championship with a 3rd Place finish in the second 40-lap feature; one position behind Awtey. Reflecting on that dramatic season finale in August, Sever says, “The way things unfolded. To race the 75 down to the wire. The crazy night that happened. You can’t write something like that. It’s something I don’t think it’s something I fully understand yet. But, I think it’s something none of us will forget”. Sever indicated that his team plans to return to defend their Late Model title. Sever has also raced in the ARCA Truck Series; at Jennerstown and most recently at Lake County Speedway. Teddy Gibala, the 2014 Jennerstown Speedway Street Stock champion, was named as the Rookie of the Year.

Bryan Shipp had no plans to race at Jennerstown in 2015… let alone race for a championship. The Scottdale driver said at the awards banquet that he had never ran well at the Somerset County speedway. Strong runs early in the season, coupled with multiple wins, led the way to Shipp’s crowning as the 2015 Jennerstown Speedway Modified champion. Schellburg’s Brad Milburn earned the Rookie of the Year award.

HB Motorsports is a powerful force in Street Stock and Modified competition in Western Pennsylvania. One of their pilots, 19 year old Anthony Aiello from North Huntingdon, took top honors in the Riggs Industries Street Stocks at Jennerstown in 2015. Victories, consistency and strong runs, many times against his own teammates, paved the way to Aiello’s division title. The Rookie of the Year award went to Ron Eiford III; a graduate from the Charger division.

Generally, racers follow in the footsteps of their elders. In a role reversal, after guiding his son’s racing career, Ron Eiford, Jr. decided to try his hand behind the wheel of a racecar a couple of years ago. 2015 saw the driver from Scottdale not only win his first feature, but capture his first points title as Eiford raced to the Charger championship at Jennerstown Speedway. 14 Year Old Paul Molnar from West Mifflin was crowned the Charger’s 2015 Rookie of the Year.

The battle for the 2015 Somerset Trust Company Fast N Furious 4’s championship was the closest of Jennerstown’s five divisions. Somerset’s Cindy Rhodes used consistency, including a feature win, to lead the standings for most of the season. Heading into the season finale, Paul Koffler, Jr, from West Leisenring had won five features; the most of any driver at Jennerstown in 2015. Yet, mechanical woes hindered him in the points. Koffler and Rhodes were tied for the division lead before racing began their final event of 2015. Koffler opened the gap with a heat race victory and went on to garner Win #6 in the feature with Rhodes coming home in 2nd. Koffler’s 4-point margin enabled him to be crowned the Fast N Furious 4’s champion for 2015. Ligonier’s Joe Laposky was named the 2015 Rookie of the Year.

Two special awards were presented on Saturday. Sportsman of the Year went to Charger driver Steve Long. The Rockwood driver’s selfless actions shine as an example of what’s good in the racing world. Long, the defending champion, finished 3rd in the final 2015 point standings despite not racing in every event. At times he turned his ride over to Steve Singo, who had battled cancer for over a year. Singo would use the opportunity to capture his first ever feature win. When friend and fellow competitor Jon Scott faced losing points in the standings following an engine failure in a heat race, Long loaned Scott his car that evening to stay in the hunt. Long’s emotional acceptance speech drew a standing ovation.

Mechanic of the Year honors went to Paul Koffler, Jr. Koffler is known for his assistance with fellow drivers and mechanical skills. Koffler is stepping aside from full-time racing and will assist Jennerstown Speedway officials in 2016.

While it was time to reflect on this past season, much focus is being made towards the 2016 racing year at Jennerstown Speedway Complex. 2016 Rules have been posted to their website, www.jennerstown.org. The 2016 schedule will be released in the coming weeks. Saturday, May 7, 2016 will see an open practice at the track with opening night the following Saturday which will again feature a five-division program along with an Enduro race. Track officials look forward to an even greater season next year. Jennerstown co-owner Snooky Williams notes, “I know we did in eight weeks what it would take eight months to do. And the only way that could be accomplished was if we had a lot of people pulling from a lot of different directions. And, some things got done twice. But, it didn’t matter. The end result is what we have today. We have record crowds. We built excitement into a lot of things for next year. Drivers are building cars and looking forward to coming and racing at our track. Jennerstown is the place to be in 2016.”

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