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ACMotorsports - 2008 Results |
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"4
Abreast salute to the fans" |
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at the
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National
Open for 358 sprint cars Saturday September 20, 2008 at
Selinsgrove Speedway |
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Picture ©
Steve Williams Photo.
Thanks Steve! |
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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Saturday September
20, 2008 |
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(Some of this write up are
excerpts from the Selinsgrove Speedway web site) |
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At the start of
the Open, alternate starter Jessica Anderson hit
the first turn guardrail and turned over in her
race car. On the second attempt to start the
race, pole sitter Phil Walter powered into the
lead. Walter and second-place starter Larry
Kelleher dueled in a high-speed chase for the
lead until the caution flag unfurled again when
Chris Borich slammed the inside front stretch
wall.
On the lap two restart, Walter, Kelleher and
eighth-place starter Pat Cannon streaked away
from the field. The sixth lap saw Kelleher make
an inside pass by Walter in turns one and two
for the lead. Misfortune struck Kelleher on the
11th circuit when his race car developed
mechanical problems and stopped in turn four.
The lap seven restart saw Cannon drive
underneath Walter for the lead entering turn
one. By lap 15, ninth-place starter Blane
Heimbach advanced to fourth. The race was
stopped on lap 17 for refueling.
When the race resumed, Heimbach stormed into
second and set his sites on Cannon, while P.
Walter, fourth-place starter Mike Walter, and
third-place starter Jason Shultz raced in the
top five.
On the final lap, Heimbach reeled in Cannon in
lapped traffic and made a last-ditch effort on
the low side coming off turn to take the lead
and win to no avail. Cannon was victorious by
half a second over Heimbach. P. Walter, M.
Walter, and Shultz completed the top five.
Mark Freeland, who flipped his race car
violently through turns three and four on the
checkered flag lap, escaped injury.
Mark's a little sore, but doing fine. We would
like to thank everyone who stopped by or called
to see how Mark was doing! |
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(Check back later
for the full weekend results) |
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Hagerstown Speedway -
Hagerstown, MD
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Saturday September
13, 2008 |
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| Mark Freeland
finished 3rd in the Heat race, and started 11th
in the A Main. Mark drove the 7A to a 7th place finish
just behind 6th place finisher, Lincoln
358 Champion, Jeff Rohrbaugh (Lincoln Speedway -
Abbottstown, PA). |
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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Saturday September 6, 2008 |
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RAINED OUT |
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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Saturday August 30, 2008 |
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The following article is from the Selinsgrove Speedway
Web Site! |
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Only 55 Points
Separate 15th Through 20th: Who Makes It In To The "Mean 15"
?
Now that the hype over the 358
Sprint car championship between Pat Cannon and Blane
Heimbach is over, the watchful eye of the "points watching"
fans, drivers & crews, now switches to the remaining top
fifteen.
With the number one and number two spots already set in
stone with Cannon and Heimbach, the next closest race near
the top of the rankings is Mike Walter and Larry Kelleher,
who are in a battle for the, "best of the rest" spot, and a
third place finish in the standings. Kelleher jumped over
Walter by 40 points, who previously owned that position for
several weeks, as Larry finished with a third place run.
Mark Freeland made the biggest jump in the standings this
week heading into the points finale, by moving himself into
the top ten for the first time all year with his sixth place
finish last week. Mark can still realistically move up to
the seventh spot if he can continue his strong late season
run this weekend.
But it gets real interesting and more
meaningful back in the fifteenth spot. A spot owned by last
years track champion, Dave Calaman. Although Dave has'nt
been in competition for several weeks due to an illness, he
has not been forgotten. In fact, he has been dearly missed
by thousands of fans, and his competitors. Unfortunately,
with Calaman out of action the rest of the season, he will
fall out of the top fifteen in the points standings
following this weekend's program. That will allow one more
sprint driver to earn that spot.
A fifteenth place finish is'nt much to "write home about",
but what it does, is gets you a trip on stage to participate
in the year ending awards banquet, and to be recognized as
one of the "best 15", 358 Sprint Car drivers at Selinsgrove
Speedway. An elite group of individuals among the best 358
drivers in the east coast. It is surely an honor. The
competition at Selinsgrove in the sprint ranks is second to
none, as no other track comes close to the weekly
competition, that the Snyder county oval has to offer.
In my eyes, and thousands of others as well, know that Dave
will be our, "honorary" top finisher this season, no matter
where he finishes in the standings. Dave started out the
season as hot as he left 2007 with two victories. It would
have been exciting to see Dave in the points chase battling
Cannon and Heimbach in the end, but it's something to
possibly look forward to next season.
Replacing a legend in 15th spot like Dave Calaman, will be a
proud moment for one of five eligible contestants. And the
nominees are: Joey Borich, Ryan Kissinger, Joel Vanbuskirk,
Matt Heimbach, & Rookie Chuck Paige. That is an
unbelievable
list of fast drivers each week at Selinsgrove Speedway. A
list that you would think were vying for the top ten. But
that goes to show how tough the 358 division is at
Selinsgrove. Although none of those drivers have wins in
2008, they all have seen the lead in main events this year.
Just 55 points separate all five. One driver will finish
15th and get a ballroom ticket to the lights of the banquet
stage, while one will fall to 20th. No matter how they end
up, none will be forgotten for the clean fast entertainment
that all of them have given us this season at the fastest
half mile on the east coast. No doubt, that those five
drivers are near the top of the list of drivers, that fans
would love to see pull their car into victory lane. What a
way to end the season if one of those fine drivers could
pull off that feat.
In last seasons 358 finale', Phil Walter picked up an
emotional win, which was his first victory of the season.
Phil finished second numerous times throughout the year, but
a win eluded him every week until the last one. It was a
well deserved win for the Ritter / Walter owned team. In
2006, Jamie Swartz was on his way to capturing his first
ever win at Selinsgrove, when Blane Heimbach made a late
race pass to capture his second consecutive 358 Track title.
And in 2004, we all remember Kyle Bachman pulling his number
99 sprinter into victory lane for his emotional first ever
358 Sprint Car victory. So anything can happen when the
winged warriors take the final points race green flag, in
just a couple of days.
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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Saturday August 30, 2008 |
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Mark Freeland
drove the 7A to a 6th place finish. |
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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Saturday August 23, 2008 |
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We were
in the 4th heat race, starting 5th with the first three to
invert. At the drop of the green Freeland
charged forward in the 7A. By lap 4 he had passed the 2nd
place car for the lead and then checked out winning the heat
race. The boys had the JEI working pretty good again this
weekend and with Freeland's sound driving ability we were
able to keep the car moving forward once again. Thanks
Mark!
The 7A started 9th in the A Main . At the drop of the green
the 12 car got into another car which spun the 99 car of
Keller, the 49 car and the 56 car of Nate Snyder, which
flipped him. At the restart of the race Freeland drove the
car forward and a battle ensued for the 7th and 8th spot
with the #10 car of Jeff Furlong. Furlong got by Freeland
for the spot. It took 2 laps for Freeland to get the spot
back, he didn't want to play with Furlong any longer and
drove away. Freeland got the 7A into the 7th spot and held
on until the checkered flag. Good Job Mark!
I'd like to thank driver Mark Freeland and crew Mike Weber,
Brint Hockenberry, Tony Martin and Bryce Martin. |
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Williams Grove Speedway - Mechanicsburg, PA |
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Tuesday August 19, 2008 |
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It was
the long awaited Ollie's 360 Challenge in conjunction with
the Kasey Kahne Foundation. Kasey brought a few friends
along with him, Tony Stewart, Dave Blaney and some of PA's
top drivers, Fred Rahmer and Stevie Smith and a few others.
There was a total of 51 sprinters to make the 24 car field.
It was a timed trial event. We timed 31st fastest, which
started us 9th in the first qualifying heat race.
Fred Rahmer and Jason Johnson the "Cajun Sensation" from
Louisiana were on the front row. Three cars were to be
inverted to the A Main. The boys had the JEI working well
and Mark Freeland drove the wheels off of the 7A. We
finished 3rd. We were in the show.
When I pulled into Williams Grove Speedway earlier in the
day to get our rig parked behind Tony Stewart's race trailer
(see the photos page) I thought our chances were small to
qualify for the race. But with everyone working together and
Mark's driving ability it came together...it was nice to
see.
They lined up the 24 sprinters for the A Main, starting us
23rd. It was an awesome race to watch. Too much action to
write about, you will have to watch it on the tube or buy
the tape. Freeland drove the 7A to a 16th place finish. Very
good considering there were only three 358's, us being one
of them, that made it into the show. The rest were 360's.
Jason Johnson from Louisiana won the 30 lap A Main and was
paid $56,000.00 for his effort. Good for him.
I'd like to thank my driver Mark Freeland and crew Mike
Weber, Brint Hockenberry, Dave Shutt and Nicki Adams. Thank You Everyone!
That was a cool way to spend a
Tuesday night. I'd like to think our 7A team represented our
home track Selinsgrove Speedway well. See you there
Saturday. |
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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Saturday August 16, 2008 |
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The
weather was great and the track was even better. We started
7th in our heat race. Freeland got into 4th and was trying
to get 3rd from the 17M car of Mark Manieri. We settled for
fourth and qualified for the A Main.
We started 14th in the field of 24 sprinters. At the start
the 37 car started playing pinball with his car, after
hitting 3 or 4 cars there was a crash sponsored by the 37
car. Phil Walter has a lot of patience and is a really nice
guy. The restart got off clean and fast. Freeland started
driving the 7A forward until the next caution for a crash.
There has to be some truth to the stories about a full moon
because there were some torn up race cars being towed back
to the pits. That Stinks. Freeland stayed out of trouble and
got the 7A into an 8th place finish. Good Job Mark!
Anthony would like to thank the crew of the Don Ott powered
JEI 7A, Mike Weber, Brint Hockenberry and Dave Shutt. |
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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Saturday August 9, 2008 |
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The
weather was perfect, the boys were all fired up to go
racing, but our motor decided to take a sick day. So we
didn't go racing Saturday.
We'll see you on the 16th, maybe we'll have better luck on
the full moon. |
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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Saturday August 2, 2008 |
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Freeland
drove hard but just couldn't get the car qualified in the
heat race. We were to start 4th in the B Main. There were
some good cars in it, even last weeks A Main winner. The 7A
got to the front and held on for the win. That started us
20th in the A Main. Once again Freeland did a good job
getting the 7A through the half of the field to finish 13th
in a fast, clean, non stop race.
Anthony would like to thank driver Mark Freeland, crew,
Mike Weber, Brint and Hannah Hockenberry and Dave Shutt who
made the mistake of coming by to say Hi. We put him right to
work. Hey Dave - you look much better with sweat rolling
off of your big bald head. THANKS BUDDY!
Anthony would also like to thank good friend Frank Bogdanyi
for making the trip down from Connecticut with him this
weekend. Just like in the '70's when they would spectate
Sprint Car races and Frank would help him with his race
bikes. Thank you!. |
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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Friday July 25, 2008 |
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The
weekend started Friday night at Selinsgrove Raceway Park for
the Go Carts and Micro Sprint Cars. Never been there before,
wow was that cool! I got to hang out with Phil Walters, Phil
the 2nd and his lovely wife. Saw Mike Walters working on his
sons Sprinter, met his daughter and talked about big dogs.
Got to see Daryl Marion aka H.J., Jeff Furlong's wrench, win
one of the two races he won that night. Good Job Daryl! The
night was finished out watching the micro A Main with Jeff
Furlong and Daryl, that was a lot of fun.
Saturday July 26, 2008
There was a strong field of 36 sprinters in the pits. The 7A
started 4th in the 3rd heat. With 4 to qualify and the first
3 to make the invert which guarantees a top 12th starting
spot for the A Main. Freeland got the 7A into 3rd. While
trying to get the 2nd spot, the cars right side steering arm
snapped in two. Freeland somehow kept the car off of the
wall and got it off of the track. When the tow truck got the
7A back to our pit it was a clean break in the steering arm.
That could have been ugly. Too bad, the boys seemed to have
the car working well. The 7A team started working to get the
car ready for the B Main, which is a last chance race to get
into the A Main. They were only taking 4 more cars. We were
starting 7th, Mark had his work cut out for him.
I guess the adjustment made to the car worked - Freeland won
it! We were in the show. They lined up the 24 Sprinters for
the A Main. Our starting spot was 20th. At the drop of the
green flag the field got off to a clean start. On the 2nd
lap the #10 car of Jeff Furlong got a raw deal. Jeff fought
hard in his heat race to make the invert and got the best
starting position of the year, in 4th. He got into the back
of the #80 car of Todd Reed who came to rest between turns 3
and 4. Furlong finished 10th with a bent front wing and no
brakes from Reed's car. Good Driving Jeff! The 7A charged
forward. Halfway through the 25 lapper Freeland was in 13th.
He and the #2 car of Chris Borich fought back and forth for
the 12th spot. That went on for a good part of the race.
Freeland got the 7A into the 12th spot on the last lap when
Borich got around us to take the 12th spot. That kid is a
pro quad racer and races a Sprint car when he has the time.
Cool Stuff!
We'll take the 13th place finish, regroup and come next
Saturday and give it our best. It was nice to see that JEI
go like that. Good Job Crew!
We hope Lenny Krautheim is doing better after that
spectacular flip he and Matt Horst took in their heat race.
Lenny is one strong guy. We hope to see him back soon.
Anthony would like to thank driver Mark Freeland and our
small but good crew who worked really hard Saturday night.
Thank You!
The 7A team would like to
extend our congratulations to Flying Phil Walters for his long overdue
win. Good Job Buddy! |
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Saturday July 19, 2008 |
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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It was
the 30 lap Jack Gunn Memorial URC/358 Sprint Car Challenge
Race. There were 5 qualifying heat races. We were in the 4th
race, starting 8th with 4 to qualify. Freeland was holding
his own when our motor fell ill. So the 7A team watched the
A Main instead of being in it. The bright side of the
weekend was my lovely niece Nicole and her boyfriend Greg
made the trip down from Connecticut.
The team will regroup and be at the track next weekend.
Anthony would like to thank driver Mark Freeland and the
team for working hard through that oven like weather. Thank You! |
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Saturday July 5, 2008 |
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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| The 7A finished 14th in the A
main. |
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Saturday June 28, 2008 |
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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| The 7A finished 23rd in the A
main. |
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| Friday June 27, 2008 |
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Williams Grove Speedway - Mechanicsburg, PA |
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Mark won
our heat race, and
the 7A
finished
20th in the A main. |
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[TOP OF PAGE] |
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Saturday June 21, 2008 |
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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Mark got
the 7A into the A main through our heat race, dodging
disaster. The 28 car of Chuck Page and the 76 car got
together in turn 3, coming to a rest up near the wall. The
#1N car of Brian Nornhold tried his best to go low and miss
them but his right rear tagged one of the stopped cars,
sending him into a series of barrel rolls. Freeland did a
great job avoiding that, and Brian walked away uninjured.
In the A main we started 16th. It was the Firecracker 30 lap
race. We got going pretty good, a little better than the
weeks before. Mark got the 7A into a 10th place finish.
GOOD JOB MARK!
Anthony would like to thank our crew Mike, Brint, A. J. and
driver Mark Freeland. Also thanks to the support help we
have back at the shop during the week, Tony Martin and Jack
Freeland. Thank you everyone!
Congratulations to Phil Walter in his 2nd place finish in
the Firecracker 30. Good run buddy, I know now why they call
you "Flying Phil". |
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| Friday June 20, 2008 |
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Williams Grove Speedway - Mechanicsburg, PA |
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| DNQ
(Did Not
Qualify) |
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[TOP OF PAGE] |
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Saturday June 14, 2008 |
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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Once again, extra humid, extra
hot and rain ready to fall. As we loaded the car from the
box rain started
We did out motor warm ups and hot laps in a drizzle. At this
point Port Royal and other area tracks started
canceling there shows.
Looking at the radar on the computer screen it was evident
that we were next. But, I guess we had luck on our side, the
rains decided to miss Selinsgrove and we ended up having a
full racing program! It must have been Anthony's two nieces
Nicole and Jennifer, that came down for there first sprint
car race. So I guess that's what they call lady luck in
racing.
We started seventh in the second heat race, the 21 car
in front of us had motor woes that evening and the car just
didn't take off at the start. A few cars scrambled to get
around him, the 7A got into the back of him.
Mark got the front of the car airborne, after coming down,
it looked like more damage then it was but Freeland
did a great job of getting the 7A into a fifth place finish
which qualified us for the A Main.
After the car was back in the pits the boys looked the car
over and our steering pump was damaged.
We had to go in and get the spare out of the trailer, and
feverishly get that job done in the short time that we had
to get ready for the A Main.
This brings up something that I need to mention about the
other teams that we parked next to. The number 10 car of
Jeff Forlong and the 19 car of the Frontz Family was always
willing to lend a hand in need.
We have good help in the 7A camp, but sometimes an extra
hand or two is always needed.
With HJ of the Furlong crew and Jordan Frontz the driver of
the 19 car who held the light for us the whole time
while operating on the car, that kid is a gasser and a blast
to watch going around Selinsgrove. They have been operating
really well lately and we hope that there luck continues.
Not to mention, Mr. Furlongs consistent runs once again.
I would like to thank everyone in helping us get the 7A back
out on the track. Good Job guys.
We started last again in the A Main,
and finished 14th again. I would really like to thank
Matt Anderson for coming out to the track that night with
his help and our regulars Mike Webber and Brint
Hockenberry. It was nice to see Bret's fiancé Bev out at the
track. It was a meatball of a time. Last but not
least, I really want to thank my lovely nieces, Nicole for
making the trip down and Jennifer and her boyfriend, Jon,
for coming up from Virginia. It was there first sprint car
experience, they are already planning their
next visit! Oh yes, I forgot about my driver...thanks Mark
you're the man!
Lastly, a really big thanks to Michael Lauretano, the owner
and operator of Pizzeria Lauretano in Bethel, Connecticut.
Michael made us the best meatballs and brought them to the
track for the team. THANKS AGAIN MICHAEL! |
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[TOP OF PAGE] |
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Saturday June 7, 2008 |
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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There were 36 Sprint cars in the
pits for the Joe Whitcomb memorial, a tribute to the late
racecar driver who succumbed to injuries sustained at the
speedway in June 2003.
It was a time trial event. A #60 pill was drawn for us. We
timed poorly, our heat race wasn't any better and we
finished at the end of the B main. It seemed with our point
average we still got into the show starting last. It was 80
degrees and humid at 8 p.m.. Freeland had his work cut out
for him. Mark picked his way through the field, passing 11
cars and ending up with a 14th place finish. Not bad
considering how the evening started. There was an added cash
bonus awarded for the hard charger and Mark got it. He
always seems to salvage something good out of the night. It
makes the ride back to the shop seem not as long. THANKS MARK!
Anthony would like to thank Mike Webber and Brint
Hockenberry for all of their help on this hot weekend. Also
a big thank you to Dave Shutt and some of TJ Stutt's
boys. |
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Saturday May 31, 2008 |
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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We started 22nd in the A main
and finished 14th.
Thanks guys!
(Sorry no photos this
weekend). |
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| Friday May 30, 2008 |
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Williams Grove Speedway - Mechanicsburg, PA |
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We started 5th in our heat and
finished 3rd. Six to qualify and the first 3 make the invert
for the A main. Which puts us in a good starting position,
7th. at the start the 7A was going good, everyone was racing
hard. A lap into the race, going into turn 3, the fastest
part of the track, the #5 car of Dave Calaman got his right
rear over our left front, destroying our drag link and front
wing. Calaman's car then flipped. Nobody was hurt. Freeland
was able to drive the 7A back to the pits. We had time to
put a new wing and drag link on while the red flag was out
during the clean up at the crash scene. Calaman's car was
upside down against the wall. At the restart that put the 7A
at the rear. Freeland drove until lap 23 then pulled back
into the pits, he had his hands full with an ill handling
car. Mark did a wise thing.
Anthony would like to thank crew and driver for all of their
work on this abnormally hot 2 race weekend. |
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[TOP OF PAGE] |
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Saturday May 24, 2008 |
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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The Don Ott powered JEI
ACMotorsports 7A got off to a good start. In our heat race
Freeland started 5th and won the heat race. That was a bunch
of fun to watch. It must have been contagious, our neighbor
in the pits, the 17M of Mark Manieri, also won his heat
race. Check out the photos page, there are a few nice shots
of the 17M, Mark and his girl.
We started 8th in the A Main, it was a clean start. As the
race slipped away so did our set up on the car. Freeland
held onto a 14th place finish. Mark Manieri's 17M had a
different finish. On lap 21 of the feature the 17M spun in
turns 3 and 4. A few cars were low and missed Manieri, the
next car was high and wide open and the inevitable happened.
One or two seconds at Selinsgrove is a lot of track. The
other car involved was the #5 of Phil Walter, one of the
most mature and clean racers out there. Even with all of the
safety precautions in place crashes like that still happen.
It was bad. Phil emerged from his destroyed racecar to check
on Manieri. The 17M was on its side. It took several minutes
for the safety workers to get Mark out of his car and into
the ambulance. He was transported to Sunbury Community
Hospital.We don't
encourage showing crashes on our site, but for those that would like to see a
picture of Mark & Phil's, click on this link>>>Open the Pop Up Window<<<.
Photo © 2008 B. Lenhart! You can see the entire sequence
of pictures>>>HERE<<<
Anthony would like to thank our driver Mark Freeland and
crew for the hard work they do getting us to the track every
weekend. Thank you.
P.S. HAS ANYONE SEEN JEFF FURLONG? |
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[TOP OF PAGE] |
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Saturday May 17, 2008 |
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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RAINED OUT
(But, we have some photos) |
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Saturday May 10, 2008 |
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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Clear skies and clean air, we
haven't seen that in a few weeks. We pulled into the track
and got in line. The gates open at 5:00. What do you know -
Jeff Furlong and his crew were nowhere to be found, maybe
Jeff was home taking a nap.
The 7A started 5th in our qualifying heat race. Freeland
shot into 3rd place and held onto that to qualify for the A
main. Four cars qualify from each heat race or you go to the
B main to try and get into the show. The 7A was locked in a
7th place starting position in the A main.
Our team would like to congratulate the 17M car of Mark
Manieri for his first heat race win at Selinsgrove. The 17M
car parks next to us in the pits. They tow in from Easton
Pa., the whole family comes out, even their black lab.
Freeland drove the 7A to an 8th place finish in the 25 lap A
main. It was a clean race with only a few cautions.
Anthony would like to thank driver Mark Freeland, crew Mike
Webber, Brint, Kenny and A. J. Hockenberry, Mike Shutt, Tony
Martin and JEI's Matt Anderson. Thank you everyone! |
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Saturday May 3, 2008 |
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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RAINED OUT |
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[TOP OF PAGE] |
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| Friday May 2, 2008 |
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Williams Grove Speedway - Mechanicsburg, PA |
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There was a huge field of sprint
cars in the pits at Williams Grove Friday night. The track
was heavy and fast. In our qualifying heat race the 7A
started 7th with the first four finishers transferring to
the A main. Freeland gave it his all but came up short. We
are still trying to get this new JEI of ours a bit free, it
is still one tight race car. Starting 5th in the consolation
race the 7A was on the move. Freeland moved up the track to
try a different line, it didn't work and he had to stay. the
#2J car of Billy Johns came into the picture, so the 7A and
the 2J went at it for a few laps. They were fighting over
the last transfer spot for the A main. Freeland was right at
that fine line. A driver doesn't really know the potential
of a cars handling ability until he presses that line. WOW.
That was a weird experience seeing the 7A going over the 4th
turn wall and then disappearing from sight. Normally in that
situation the car goes flipping into the sunset, or hits a
light pole or a WATER TRUCK. But that wasn't the case
this time. The track announcer came on and said ,"The car
landed on all fours, the driver was out of the car looking
it over and asking for a push truck not a tow truck and he
was trying to get word over to our pits to get a left rear
tire ready." A chunk of grass and dirt got into the tire and
it was loosing air. A few minutes later the 7A was pushed
into the pits where we had everything ready to get the car
back out. The officials gave us a short time to do that and
we didn't get it done. The race went on without us. We
loaded the 7A into the trailer and brought it back to the
shop to get it ready for the following evening at
Selinsgrove.
Anthony would like to thank our crew for that night and
thanks to Matt Anderson of JEI for coming over and giving us
some help.
A very special thank you to our beloved driver Mr. Mark
"Lucky" Freeland for not hurting himself or Anthony's
checking account. Thank you. |
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| Saturday, April 26, 2008
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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We were on our way to
Selinsgrove and so were the rains and they came in a big way
but not until we got our hot laps in. That was the end of
the evening, everything was loaded back into the trailer and
back to Mark Freeland's tool and machine shop in Newport
where we house our team.
We still posted some pictures on our photos page of our car
and the #10 car of Jeff Furlong, who we pit alongside of
every weekend. Jeff is a smooth and consistent driver who
has a top ten car so far this season. I guess the 7A team
needs to beat Furlong's crew into the pits so we can beat
them on the track next weekend. |
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| Saturday, April 19, 2008
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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The 7A started our heat race in
the 4th spot. For some reason the tracks were really dry and
dusty this weekend. They were in perfect shape the first few
weeks of racing. We hope they get the track back to that and
so does everyone else. We ended up finishing 5th, the last
qualifying spot.
Mark had his work cut out for him, starting 18th in the 25
lap A main. The 24 cars started and little did we know we
had a brake issue! Selinsgrove with no brakes is not easy or
fun. Freeland did his best, not hitting or getting into the
4th turn wall. He brought the 7A in with 2 laps remaining,
smart choice.
We were able to salvage an 18th place finish. Not bad for
what had and could have happened. We'll take it and move on
to next week.
The racing ended for the weekend but the excitement
continued with Anthony and a high end Infinity trying to go
for the same position in the 3rd lane of a New York highway.
It didn't work out for the Infinity. Then finally getting
back to Connecticut to Anthony's favorite local restaurant
DUNVILLE'S in Westport, CT. Sonny's girlfriends were waiting
for him and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones also came
out to say hi to Sonny.
Click
here to check out the photos page for April 19th.
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| Friday, April 18, 2008 |
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Williams Grove Speedway - Mechanicsburg, PA |
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We were in the 2nd qualifying 10
lap heat race with only 4 to make the 25 lap A main.
Starting in the 4th spot, at the drop of the green flag,
Freeland saw an opening and went for it. Going into turn 1
Freeland was in the lead! Wow! Those are the kind of moves
that make sprint car racing so exciting. Freeland kept the
7A out in front and won our heat race.
In the 25 lap A main we started 9th. With a clean start the
field spread out quickly and the track had gone away and was
not in the best condition to pass. It was almost like follow
the leader. We finished 10th overall, not bad for track
conditions and all of the great competition at Williams
Grove. Good Job Team! Anthony left the camera back in the
shop. Sorry. |
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| Saturday, April 12, 2008
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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| We were in the third qualifying heat, starting fifth. We
missed the setup and paid for it by going to the consolation
race with only four to qualify. Driver Mark Freeland raced
the 7A into the fourth and last spot to get us into the
main. we started dead last, 24th, but we were in the show.
The car was much better, Mark was on the move, avoiding a
few bad crashes that destroyed several cars, and drove the
7A in the 25 lap main to the thirteenth spot to finish. Good
Job Mark!
Anthony would like to thank driver Mark Freeland
and crew Mike Weber, Brint Hockenberry, A. J. Hockenberry,
Ken Hockenberry, Hannah and our crew chief Teresa Freeland. |
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| Saturday, April 5, 2008
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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| DNQ
(Did Not Qualify) |
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| Saturday, March
29, 2008 |
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Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
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The JEI ACMotorsports, Don Ott powered 7A Sprint Car Team
got off to a good start at the opener at Selinsgrove
Speedway Saturday night. There were 35 racecars in the pits
with only 24 to make the A Main.
The 7A started up front in
the first qualifying heat race. Driver Mark Freeland, drew a low number pill
(that's where luck comes in). Then it's up to Mark to
do the rest and he did, winning the heat to put us in a good
starting position for the A Main.
We started third in the A Main. The race got off to a clean start,
however a few
laps in, Scott Messimer rolled his car in turn four,
bringing out the only red flag of the race. On the restart
Freeland did a good job with drivers Calaman, Cannon, Womer,
Heimbach and Phil Walters in front of and behind the 7A.
Freeland drove the 7A to a seventh place finish with a tire
going down.
JEI ACMotorsports, Don Ott powered 7A owner Anthony Carafa
would like to thank driver Mark Freeland, Mike Weber and
Brint Hockenberry for putting together a fast and safe
racecar along with the rest of the team that was at the
track, Kenny Hockenberry, A. J. Hockenberry, Tony Martin and
last but not least our beloved crew chief Teresa Freeland. |
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