Toledo Speedway

(FLAT ROCK, MI - July 13, 2013) - After 3 weeks of rain, sunshine and racing returned to Flat Rock Speedway for the track’s official 60^th Anniversary celebration.  Eric Lee, Jeremy Vanderhoof, Clyde McKee and Craig Lange were victorious and visited the Sun Drop Winner’s Circle.  A good crowd turned out to witness the historic and what turned out to be a long, long night of racing, capped off with the annual Fireworks display.

A great battle for the lead for much of the event kept things exciting in the 60 lap ARCA Moran Chevrolet Late Model feature.  The 23 car field took the green and Dennis Strickland nosed into the lead.  Eric Lee worked his way up from his starting spot and pressured Strickland as the laps clicked off.  Paul Pelletier was the man on the move as he steadily moved up from 12^th spot to slide into contention for the win.  That trio put on a great show in the final 15 laps, as they worked their way through race traffic.  Lee, using the high groove, grabbed the top spot with 11 laps to go and grabbed the victory.  Pelletier dove to the inside of Strickland in the final 5 circuits to cap off his great run to second, Strickland was third, Steve Cronenwett Jr. recovered and charged back up to fourth spot. 
Steve had been in fourth for the first half of the race, but got bounced back several spots in heavy traffic, only to zip back up to fourth at the stripe.  Fifth was Ron Allen, followed by Derek Wiley, Justin Schroeder, Frank Jiovani, Scott Pemberton and Jeff Plumb.  A lap 50 red flag saw Jeff Vrsek and Brad Turner eliminated from competition.  Both drivers were ok.  Jiovani, Dan Trosen Jr. and Derrick Sheppard were heat race winners.  Lee set fast time at 11:731.

The A & M Transmission-sponsored 60 lap Parts Galore Figure 8 feature saw current point leader Jeremy Vanderhoof take control in the early stages of the event.  The red flag came out on lap 7 when Jeremy Miller and Jerry Lee crashed hard at the intersection.  Both drivers were ok.  On the restart, Greg Studt stayed within striking distance of Jeremy, while Billy Earley was on the move through the pack.  Earley got by Studt for second with 15 laps to go, but Vanderhoof had built up a solid lead as he grabbed the win.  Earley was second, Studt was third, Dennis Whisman was fourth and Danny Gaddis fifth.  Dan Apperson, Stephanie Bradley, Anthony Terris, Ian Jezylo and Robbie Loving completed the top ten.  Vanderhoof posted the Fastime Racing Engines and Parts quick lap with a time of 20:948.  Whisman and Apperson notched the heat race wins.

Accidents and torn-up race cars describes the Corrigan Race Fuels ARCA 60 lap DTS Drive Train Specialists Street Stock A Main feature race.  Clyde McKee withstood several challenges for the lead to score the big win, leading every lap.  With just a few laps in, McKee spun in the front straight, bringing out the yellow.  Rookie Guy Fire took responsibility for the incident, giving Clyde back the top spot.  With the ensuing restart ready, Tim Moore, now up on the outside lane of the front row, looped his machine, scattering the field as the “big one” took place.  A total of 10 cars were knocked out and did not make the restart after the red flag came out for the lengthy cleanup.  McKee took off with the lead when the race resumed, but Scott Selmi was working the outside lane to challenge and rookie Corey Duane tucked in the low groove.  Selmi’s car began to go away, dropping him back throught the field.  At the lap 30 mark, Tadek Stadniczuk decided it was time to go, sliding up 2 spots and then to the high groove.  For the final 30 laps, Tadek constantly pulled up to the door of McKee, but could not pull off the move for the win.  Duane took several looks to the inside and kept the pressure on also, nosing back under Tadek for second.  McKee held on for the win, with Duane second, Stadniczuk third, Kyle Worley fourth and rookie Danny Bennett was fifth, followed by Nick Shanks, Rich Frantz, Chris Fitzpatrick, Steve Chartrand and Scot Bunge.  Shanks and Bunge both sustained damage during the big wreck, pitted and returned to record top ten finishes.

Craig Lange edged out Troy Brehmer by just a car length to win the 20 lap DTS Drive Train Specialists Street Stock B Main race.  Third was Jeff Luttermoser, fourth was Rich Abel and fifth spot was Chris Diovardi, followed by Gary Calhoun, Aaron Greathouse, Don Roberts, Larry Smouthers and Brian Moore.

The Fastime Racing Engines and Parts quick time award went to Corey Duane with a lap of 13:556  for the 34 car field.  Larry Smouthers Jr. paced the B cars at 14:153.  Heat race winners were Danny Bennett, Rick Bennett, McKee, Brehmer and Abel.

Santa Claus will make a visit to Flat Rock next Saturday, July 20 for the annual Christmas in July Prize Giveway!  The ARCA ACME Dismantling Sportsman division, which competes at Toledo, will compete at Flat Rock in a 50 lap main event.  The Parts Galore Figure 8’s, 4 Cylinders, Michigan Legends Cars and a Figure 8 Train race are all on the July 20 race card.

The pits open at 2:30, the front gate opens at 3:30, practice begins at 3:30, time trials are at 5:30 and racing begin at 7.

Flat Rock Speedway is located on Telegraph Road, just 5 minutes from I-75 or I-275.  Log onto www.flatrockspeedway.com for further information, or like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/toledoflatrock or follow us on Twitter @flatrockspeed.

Make sure you know where to be every Saturday night all summer long as Flat Rock Speedway celebrates its 60^th Anniversary season, with racing every Saturday night through September 14.