The first half of the Martella's Pharmacies RUSH Late Models’ 30-lap feature race included four exciting lead changes, as two popular veteran drivers battled side-by-side.   After taking the green flag in row one to start the event, Mike “Hollywood” Hemminger used the outside lane of the oval to lead the first three circuits.  Navigating the low lane of the speedway, point-standings leader Barry Awtey remained door-to-door with Hemminger, and led laps four through seven.  Unofficial lead changes occurred each lap, as the duo remained in pace-lap-formation, while racing at full speed.   Off track, Awtey and Hemminger are close friends, and have been for decades.  Hemminger’s 2018 season has been one of ups and downs, as he has been a threat to win each event, but has yet to add another victory to his resume since returning last year, after an absence from the sport of nearly 20 years.  Awtey, the all time leading winner at Jennerstown Speedway, had three 2018 victories, prior to Saturday.   Hemminger was again the leader of the race on lap ten, and until the mid-point of the race, the pair battled wheel-to-wheel every lap.  But, Awtey began to pull away as the second half of the race was completed.  Behind the lead fight, Joe Maruca caught the fans’ attention for the second consecutive race.  After a dazzling performance one week prior, during which Maruca seemed headed for his first career win, repeatedly challenging for the lead, he proved that his team is now a consistent contender.  Maruca started the race in ninth place, and with ten laps remaining he grabbed the third position from 2017 winner Teddy Gibala.  When the checkered flag waved, Awtey notched his fourth win of the year, steering the Wheeler Family Cattle/Stoystown Auto/Pizza Hut Chevrolet to a several-car-length margin of victory.  Hemminger finished second, and remains an odds-on favorite to visit victory lane in the coming weeks.  Maruca backed-up his second place run in the previous event, with another “podium finish” of third place.  Gibala finished in the fourth position, and rookie, former Modified Champion, Zane Ferrell placed fifth.  Hemminger and defending Champion Jeremiah Kuntz won the heat races.

Adam Kostelink’s previous week at Jennerstown Speedway, was noteworthy, as he turned around his season in the Stoystown Auto Wreckers RUSH Modifieds.  His 2018 struggles seemed to end on June 30, as he was leading, late in the race, and displayed the speed that fans expect from the Modified division’s most winning driver in the region.  But, he was forced to the pits while leading, due to an oil leak last Saturday, continuing the frustration of a tough-luck year.  On July 7, Kostelnik started from the pole position and led all 20-laps of the feature event, proving that his team is back to the winning pace of previous seasons.  A crash on lap one, eliminated top-notch contenders Paul Fess, Jr., fellow rookie R.J. Dallape, and 2017 winner “Racin’ Jason” Busch.   At the conclusion of the event, Kostelink, of East McKeesport, PA, earned his first win of the year, defeating popular veteran Gary Scott, who placed second.  Matt Smith started in twelfth position, and advanced to a third place finish.  Point standings leader, and Kostelnik teammate, rookie Anthony Aiello started 13^th and placed fourth.  Mike Carlson enjoyed his best run of the year, and crossed the finish line in fifth position.

The J&J Truck Equipment RUSH Street Stocks provided a “case study” in perseverance.  After a crash, one week prior, resulted in severe damage to his race car, rookie Jeremy Shaffer claimed his first career victory on an asphalt race track.  All week, his family race team worked diligently to prepare the car for action, to avoid missing a race night, during his first year of competition at Jennerstown.  Shaffer, of Derry, PA, was a successful dirt track racer for ten years, before switching to pavement driving in 2018.  He became the division’s fourth different winner of the year, by impressively taking the checkered flag in only his sixth start.   Shaffer led all 20 laps of the event, after taking the green flag in the fourth position.  Behind the rookie, young Angie Kimberly had her career-best run, as the sophomore driver showed great strength for a second consecutive week.  Kimberly earned a second place finish, just a year-and-a-half into her Street Stock career.  Point standings leader, and most recent winner, Josh Coughenour started tenth and finished third.  Defending Champion Lauren Butler finished in fourth place, and Zac Todaro finished in fifth position.

The lead position in the 15-lap Farmers Union Co-Op Charger division feature changed hands on the final lap, as a pair of teammates fought for the win.  Adam Kostelnik, driving occasionally for good friend Dale Kimberly, started the race in third spot, and took the lead on lap one.  Kimberly, the division points leader as a driver, puts a second “team car” on the track each week, as a car owner.  Kimberly started in tenth place, and advanced to the second spot by lap six.  Slowly reeling in his team car, Kimberly challenged for the lead on lap 14, and claimed his fifth win of the year.  Kimberly’s “backup car” carried Kostelnik to a second place finish.  Rookie Casey Fleegle, defending Champ and recent winner Jason Pritts, and first-time 2018 starter Jon Scott finished second through fifth respectively.

Young Evan Nibert became a repeat winner in the Somerset Trust Company Fast 'n Furious 4-Cylinder division, leading all 15-laps of the feature race.  Nibert’s second win was a dominating performance, as he distanced himself from the rest of the field after starting eighth.  Defending Champion Brent Bickerstaff, veteran Brian Noel, Aaron Karasack, and Matthew Ruffing all finished in the top five. 

This Saturday, July 14^th, “The Bill Awtey Tribute Night” presented by Mountain Ridge ATV Park will include the five division action of “Motor Mountain Mania.”  The J&J Truck Equipment Street Stocks and Farmers Union Co-Op Chargers will compete in their most lucrative, special events of the season, in honor of the late, Hall of Fame driver and car builder, Bill Awtey.