(Jennerstown, PA)  On Saturday, August 4, 2018, Barry Awtey drove to victory in the final Martella's Pharmacies RUSH Late Model event, before the biggest race in 25 years occurs next Saturday, at the Jennerstown Speedway Complex.   Other winners on Omega Home Improvements Night included Pete Rech (Stoystown Auto Wreckers RUSH Modifieds), Jeremy Shaffer (J&J Truck Equipment RUSH Street Stocks),  Dale Kimberly (Farmers Union Co-Op Chargers), and Evan Nibert (Somerset Trust Company Fast 'n Furious 4-Cylinders).

Defending Champion Jeremiah Kuntz and 2017 feature winner Teddy Gibala won heat races for the Martella's Pharmacies RUSH Late Models.  Gibala started on the pole position for the 30-lap feature race, in only his second start after recent surgery.  The race was viewed by the competitors as a valuable “final tuneup” before the August 11^th running of the “Motor Mountain Masters” event – the richest race to be held in 25 years at the Jennerstown Speedway.  Gibala held off Mike “Hollywood” Hemminger, early in the event.  Hemminger, a recent winner, crashed one week prior, but looked strong again maintaining second place.  Rookie Zane Ferrell stayed within  striking distance of the lead duo, seeking a first win.  On lap ten, Barry Awtey moved around Ferrell to take third place.  Awtey, the previous week’s winner, started in ninth position.  All three drivers at the head of the pack raced close enough to make contact, but a clean battle kept the race in green flag status.  On lap 22, Awtey passed Hemminger, and one lap later, the former Champion took the lead.  Awtey turned in the most dominant performance of the year, one week prior, leaving all competition far behind.  Although he lead the final eight laps to score his division-leading sixth win of 2018, it was a hard fought win, with competitors more equal to Awtey’s pace, than the previous Saturday.  Still, Awtey will go into the “Masters” weekend as the odds-on favorite to claim victory the 150-lap crown jewel event.  Awtey is the all-time leading winner in Late Model action at Jennerstown, steering his Wheeler Show Cattle/Stoystown Auto Wreckers/Pizza Hut Chevrolet.  Gibala finished a strong second after the race, with former Champion Garry Wiltrout making a late race pass to earn third place.  Wiltrout has two wins this season.  Hemminger and former Modified Champ Ferrell, completed the top five.   

Rookie R.J. Dallape led the first three laps of the Stoystown Auto Wreckers RUSH Modified division 20-lap feature.  Dallape, returning after a few weeks off to repair a damaged race car, drove away from Paul Fess, Jr. at the start of the event.  Although he started back in the seventh spot, veteran Pete Rech advanced quickly, taking the second position on lap three.  Heated action throughout the field, kept fans on the edges of their seats, with points leader Anthony Aiello and Adam Kostelnik moving forward from the middle of the pack.  On lap four, Rech made the winning pass of Dallape;  taking a lead he would never relinquish.  Rech, who won at Jennerstown in 2017, challenged for a victory one week prior, in a memorable three car war that lasted many laps.  Rech, the former dirt track winner, kept all competitors in his rearview mirror to earn his first win of 2018.  Rech also won his heat race earlier in the night.  Dallape finished in second place, with Aiello earning a third place finish after starting in tenth position.  Aiello was also a heat race winner.   Recent feature winner Adam Kostelink finished fourth after starting seventh, and a winning rookie in 2018, Jarred Barclay placed fifth.  The Modifieds will face stiff competition from the Midwest, in next week’s lucrative “Masters” event.

Although the battle for the win was a dramatic one, the J&J Truck Equipment RUSH Street Stock 20-lap feature race was littered with crashes and caution-flag incidents.  Mike “Daredevil Davis” began racing at Jennerstown in the 1990’s, then stepped away from the sport.  Although he had not turned a lap this decade, he returned to action and took the lead, from the second starting position.  Holding off Angie Kimberly, then Mel Wilt, Davis extended his advantage through the midpoint of the race.  Point standings leader Josh Coughenour, advanced from his eighth starting spot, and passed Wilt for the runner-up position.  Coughenour then closed the gap on leader Davis, and a heated fight for the lead ensued.  Seeking his sixth win, Coughenour made contact with Davis in turn one, spinning the leader and causing a yellow flag with just six laps to go.  Coughenour was sent to the rear of the field with Davis, handing the lead to rookie Jeremy Shaffer for the restart.  Shaffer defended the top spot from a challenge by two-time winner Aaron Van Fleet, and scored the second victory of his impressive freshman year on asphalt.  Following the long time dirt tracker across the finish line was Van Fleet, earning second place.  Coughenour rallied late, with only a handful cars still in action at the end, to grab third position.  Veteran Rick Meehlieb placed fourth and Zac Todaro finished fifth.  Coughenour and defending Champ Lauren Butler won the heats. 

The Farmers Union Co-Op Chargers’ 15-lap feature included yet another last lap pass for the win.  Long time racer Doug Shaulis, filling in for his injured daughter Emily, started the race in the second place.  He steered the 1974 Ford Torino bodied machine into the lead on lap one, and began a thrilling duel with rookie Dan Jackson.  Jackson threatened to take the top spot, but Shaulis officially led each lap, through the halfway point of the race.  On lap nine, points leader Dale Kimberly took second place, after starting in seventh position.  The next lap, Casey Fleegle moved into third place after starting tenth.  Fleegle, the winner one-week-prior, and Kimberly, both swarmed Shaulis in a three car fight for the lead.  Only on the last lap, did Shaulis succumb to the pressure, and Kimberly slipped by him to earn his seventh win of the year.  Shaulis edged out Fleegle for second place.  Jackson earned the fourth position, behind Fleegle, and young rookie, Riley Hemminger, finished fifth after starting eighth.  Kimberly and Fleegle were also the heat race winners.

Three different drivers led during the Somerset Trust Company Fast 'n Furious 4-Cylinders’ 15-lap feature.  Matthew Ruffing led lap one, after starting in row one.  Then Mike Shaulis grabbed the lead on lap two, advancing from his fourth starting berth.  On lap five, points leader Evan Nibert moved to the front.  Nibert started in fifth place, and drove to victory, earning his fourth trophy of 2018.  Andrew Pluta, also a four time winner, hit the outside wall on lap one, ending his night.  Behind Nibert at the finishe line, Shaulis, Ruffing, defending Champ Brent Bickerstaff, and Chris Ament held the top five positions.  Pluta and Nibert were the heat race victors.

The historic, inaugural “Motor Mountain Masters” weekend kicks off Friday, August 10^th, with a practice session, offering free grandstand admission to fans, with a live band playing at Racer’s Pub.  Saturday, the Late Models, Modifieds, and 4-Cylinders will compete for over $53,000 in prize money, awarded after the crown-jewel event.  For more information, visit www.jennerstown.org