Lernerville Results

All Star Sprint
Western Pa. Speedweek Results
Lernerville Speedway
By Scott Hall

SARVER, PA - June 9, 2000 - Chad Kemenah became the third different winner in three nights Friday night at Lernerville Speedway in the All Star sprint 30-lap 8th annual Western Pa. Speedweek feature. The win for Kemenah was his second career All Star triumph and he had to hold off a hard charging Ed Lynch Jr. the entire 15 mile distance. The event was broadcast live over the internet on RSBN.net, and paid Kemenah $5,000 for his first career Lernerville win. "I saw a two up on the scoreboard and I knew it was Ed Lynch and I kept telling myself 'don't you make a mistake,' or he's going to capitalize," Kemenah stated, standing beside Jim Harble's Kistler-Chevrolet powered Gambler in victory lane. "I got into the cushion a couple of times trying to change my line and pick up more speed. I got a bit high there and thought I better knock that off or he'd capitalize for sure." Frankie Kerr started on the ButlerBuilt Hot Seat pole with Speedweek points leader Kemenah outside. Lynch Jr. started fourth and immediately moved into third behind Kemenah and Kerr in turn one when the green fell, and was second at the end of the first circuit. Third starting Brian Ellenberger took third from Kerr with a nice high pass off turn four on lap three, and the top trio of Kemenah, Lynch and Ellenberger settled in and began to thread their way through lapped traffic. Kenny Jacobs, who started sixth, worked his way past Ellenberger for third in heavy lapped traffic on lap six. Lap nine, however, was the undoing of the unlucky Jacobs as Ryan Flynn looped his machine in turn one and slid in front of Jacobs, who had nowhere to go and tee-boned the California youngster. Both cars were eliminated in the accident. This put Kemenah on top for the restart over Lynch, Ellenberger, Rodney Duncan and Byron Reed. Lynch tried a daring low groove slide job after the green reappeared, but the move was unsuccessful and his loss of momentum let Kemenah build another big lead. As the race neared the half-way point, Kemenah's margin began to erode in lapped traffic. Lynch was right on his back bumper on lap 16 when the red appeared for Andy McKisson's flip off the banking of the track in turn three. Kemenah again pulled away following the restart, opening up a nice lead on an open track. Within five laps the leaders were again in traffic, and Reed and Duncan were waging a nice battle for fourth. Kemenah's lead evaporated as he got boxed in by lapped traffic, allowing Lynch to close in on his back bumper on lap 25. As the laps wound down, Frankie Kerr was ahead of the leaders, and they couldn't lap his machine, so Kemenah crossed the stripe with Lynch only one car length back when the checkered fell. Lynch was lucky to even finish the race. "We had a vibration in the rear end the last few laps, and we needed lapped traffic to pass him because he was fast on the top. I wanted to do one more inside move, but I decided to hang on for second," he related as he examined a puddle of rear end grease under his machine. Reed moved past Ellenberger into third with five to go and he finished in that spot. "We weren't real good in our heat race but we worked on it and did pretty good in the feature," Reed said of third in his Reebar Die Casting Maxim. "I want to thank my mom, dad, wife and father-in-law, they were my crew tonight. They did a great job." Duncan also passed Ellenberger and was nipped by Jimmy Hawley on the last lap. Hawley ended fourth and Duncan fifth. Craig Rankin came from 12th to sixth with Ellenberger seventh for the TW Metals $150 nightly bonus and the Team Simpson Racing Lucky Seven award. Kelly Kinser, Jerrod Hull and Mark Keegan completed the top ten. The heats went to Brian Gobrecht, Kelly Kinser, Jamie Smith and Craig Rankin and Reed won the Georgia Marketing & Promotions B Main. Kemenah also captured the Commercial Truck & Trailer Dash.