Tommy Meier - Mill and Schultz win; Tommy finishes 5th and 11th!

Mill and Schultz win; Tommy finishes 5th and 11th!

05/24/09

By Ken Mcmillan

The No. 2 starting spot was the place to be as Rick Mill and Chris Shultz produced modified feature victories on Saturday at Orange County Fair Speedway.

Mill started on the outside of the first row in the holdover feature, grabbed the lead at the outset and held it for all 30 laps. David Van Horn Jr. started ninth, but quickly moved up to third place by and grabbed the runner-up spot by lap 14.

Jeff Heotzler Sr. started fifth and finished third. Steve Dodd and Tommy Meier rounded out the top five. Bill Wilson started third, but fell off the pace quickly and was out of action by the fifth lap.

In the regular feature, Schultz grabbed the lead from pole-sitter Chris Whitehead on the opening lap and that's how they finished. Richie Eurich started third and stayed there. Jerry Higbie grabbed the fourth spot on lap 20 and Jeremy Markle slipped into fifth by lap 22.

Meier and Middletown's Chuck McKee are tied for the division lead, with Higbie three points back.

Eddie Burgess beat Mike Ruggiero to the finish line by 1 second and Bobby Hentschel by 2 in the sportsman feature. Burgess started on the pole but was displaced by Tyler Odendahl on the initial lap.

Steven Shortway prevailed in a wild sprint to the finish in the pro stock feature. He nipped Tim McCarthy by 0.14 seconds, Tom Vigh by 0.67 and Bill Pascual by 0.73.

Emerson Cargain Sr. (veteran) and Charles Donald (amateur) earned the pure stock wins. Cargain leads Marty Van Neiuwland by 88 points. Frank Thissen leads Matt Burke by 10 points in amateur.

Modified

Holdover feature: 1. Rick Mill; 2. David Van Horn Jr.; 3. Jeff Heotzler Sr.; 4. Steve Dodd; 5. Tommy Meier; 6. Mitch Gibbs; 7. Jerry Higbie Jr.; 8. Craig Mitchell; 9. Chuck McKee; 10. Gary Edwards Jr.; 11. Danny Creeden; 12. Clinton Mills; 13. Kirk Horton; 14. Mike Kolka; 15. John Leito; 16. Bob McGannon; 17. Justin Gozzi; 18. Chris Shultz; 19. Chris Whitehead; 20. Jeremy Markle; 21. Cliff Ehrman; 22. Jesse Kline; 23. Donnie Wilson; 24. Rich Eurich; 25. Ric Hill; 26. Billy Wilson. Did not start: Michael Storms. Did not qualify: Corey Zeigler; Joe Puzzella.

Feature: 1. Chris Shultz; 2. Chris Whitehead; 3. Rich Eurich; 4. Jerry Higbie Jr.; 5. Jeremy Markle; 6. Danny Creeden; 7. Clinton Mills; 8. Craig Mitchell; 9. Mitch Gibbs; 10. Jeff Heotzler Sr.; 11. Tommy Meier; 12. David Van Horn Jr.; 13. Steve Dodd; 14. Chuck McKee; 15. Gary Edwards Jr.; 16. Kirk Horton; 17. Rick Mill; 18. Jamie Yannone; 19. Ric Hill; 20. Joe Puzzella; 21. Bob McGannon; 22. Tim Hindley; 23. Justin Gozzi; 24. Corey Zeigler; 25. Mike Kolka; 26. John Leito. Did not qualify: Tim Bayles; Donnie Willson; Billy Wilson. Did not race: Jesse Kline; Cliff Ehrman.

Heat 1: 1. Shultz; 2. Heotzler Sr.; 3. Edwards Jr.; 4. Mills; 5. McKee; 6. Kolka; 7. Leito.

Heat 2: 1. Markle; 2. Gibbs; 3. Mill; 4. Meier; 5. Horton; 6. Tim Hindley; 7. Gozzi; 8. Puzzella.

Heat 3: 1. Eurich; 2. Higbie Jr.; 3. D. Creeden; 4. Mitchell; 5. Hill; 6. Bayles; 7. C. Zeigler.

Heat 4: 1. C. Whitehead; 2. Dodd; 3. Van Horn Jr.; 4. B. McGannon; 5. Yannone; 6. B. Wilson; 7. D. Wilson.

Consolation: 1. Kolka; 2. Leito; 3. Gozzi; 4. Tim Hindley; 5. C. Zeigler; 6. Puzzella; 7. Bayles; 8. B. Wilson.

Sportsman

Feature: 1. Eddie Burgess; 2. Mike Ruggiero; 3. Bobby Hentschel; 4. Matt Hitchcock; 5. John Odendahl; 6. Tyler Odendahl; 7. Mike Sabia; 8. Anthony Perrego; 9. Jimmy Spellmon; 10. John Ferrier; 11. Rich Coons; 12. Bill Johnston; 13. Frank Venezia; 14. Doc Young; 15. Rich Eggers; 16. Kenny Moulton; 17. Tim Paul; 18. Kyle Cicio; 19. John Aumick; 20. Joe Conklin; 21. Frank Doty; 22. Jake Schlagel; 23. Matt Janiak; 24. Erik Holmgren. Did not qualify: Mark Sasso; Dion Naples; John Alimurat; Kenny Moulton; Steve Pinto; Mike Van Tassel; Sammy Piazza; Bobby Hassenmayer; Danny Spellmon; Joseph Wilgus.

Heat 1: 1. Coons; 2. J. Odendahl; 3. Venezia; 4. Cicio; 5. K. Moulton; 6. Corry; 7. Naples; 8. Alimurat; 9. Hassenmayer.

Heat 2: 1. Holmgren; 2. E. Burgess; 3. J. Ferrier; 4. Young; 5. Conklin; 6. Paul; 7. Eggers; 8. Pinto; 9. Wilgus.

Heat 3: 1. Hentschel; 2. Ruggiero; 3. T. Odendahl; 4. J. Schlagel; 5. Johnston; 6. J. Spellmon; 7. VanTassel; 8. Sasso.

Heat 4: 1. A. Perrego; 2. Janiak; 3. Aumick; 4. Sabia; 5. Hitchcock; 6. Piazza; 7. F. Doty; 8. D. Spellmon.

Consolation: 1. J. Spellmon; 2. F. Doty; 3. Paul; 4. Eggers; 5. Hassenmayer; 6. VanTassel; 7. D. Spellmon; 8. Corry; 9. Naples; 10. Piazza; 11. Wilgus; 12. Alimurat; 13. Sasso; 14. Pinto.

Pro stock

Feature: 1. Steven Shortway; 2. Tim McCarthy; 3. Tom Vigh; 4. Bill Pascual; 5. Bobby Schade; 6. Jimmy Devitt; 7. Mike Dutka; 8. Steve Galgano; 9. Troy Arnold; 10. John Velde; 11. Jim Smith; 12. Tom Cilurso; 13. Scott Kehr.

Veteran pure stock

Feature: 1. Emerson Cargain Sr.; DQ. John Dore; 3. Marty Van Neiuwland; 4. Mike Vigiletti.

Amateur pure stock

Feature: 1. Charles Donald; 2. Kyle Pepin; 3. Stan Vishinski Jr.; 4. Matt Monroe; 5. Frank Thissen; 6. Matt Burke; 7. Tom Berhman; 8. Kenny Reed; 9. Joe Paino; 10. Dave Van Sise; 11. Tom Shortway; 12. Mike Conasales. Did not start: Stephen Kammer; Douglas Stanfield.