Ryan Godown; Brandon Grosso also winners at Big Diamond Speedway
Story By: SHAWN WOOD / BIG DIAMOND SPEEDWAY MEDIA Photos By: GEORGE STEIGERWALT / RACERSGUIDE.COM
MINERSVILLE, PA. – July 1, 2016- The Crazy 8s for the Savage 61 roadrunners lived up to its name on Friday night.
Point leader Andy Fayash III scored two wins in the four, eight-lap features while Jesse Krasnitsky won the opening event and Kris Ney won the nightcap in spectacular fashion on Blyth’s Cleaning Service night.
“I was glad to be able to finish the first feature as we got caught up in the wreck and my crew did an awesome job all night,” Fayash said.
Also on Friday night, CJ’s Tire & Automotive Services 358 modifieds point leader Ryan Godown score the 25-lap feature win while Brandon Grosso notched his fifth win of the year in the U.S.S. Achey sportsman 20-lap feature.
The speedway returns to action on Friday, July 22 with the U.S.S Achey sportsman, Savage 61 roadrunners, No Sweat Service Group street stocks, 600 modifieds and the Blast from the Past Vintage cars.
Fayash III who was concerned about making it thoruhg the evening and maintaining his points lead had his work cut out for him in the opening feature as he got caught up in a lap 7 tangle and had to head to the pits but was able to rejoin the field and start 17th on the restart.
Krasnitsky took the lead on the opening lap of the first feature as he led all eight laps for the win over Ney, Jim Kost, Tim Fitzpatrick, Jr., and Kody Sites, who came into the night second in the roadrunner points.
“It was a rough night but I was very happy to get the win in the first feature,” Krasnitsky said.
Sites’ night would then become interesting as he was caught up in a couple of incidents in the second feature while Fayash, who started 11th, took the lead on lap five to go on and score the win, his third of the year, over Kyle Wingle, Devin Trexler, Steve Gromis and T.J. Fitzpatrick.
The roadrunner points battle took a big turn in the third feature when Sites got caught up in a multi-car tangle in the opening laps of the event and was done for the night with a bent frame.
Fayash would take the lead on lap two of the event and hold on his second straight win in the Crazy 8s and his fourth of the year. Trexler came home second with Kost, Ftizpatrick, Jr., and Bruce Ditzler rounding out the top five.
The final Crazy 8 feature saw a three-wide battle for the win coming off of Turn 4 as Ney, who had taken the lead on lap six, found himself on the outside of Steve Gromis and Chris Holland as they raced to the checkers. All three cars banged together as they positioned for the win which saw Nye get bounced up into the outside guardrail, turn sideways and come across the line first and then slide down the track and made contact with the yuke tire before landing up by the light pole inside Turn 1 on all fours.
Gromis edged Holland at the line for second with Kost and Fayash rounding out the top five.
“That was probably the hardest hit I ever took in a race car and I was looking at the finish line and then I saw the Ute tire, I let go of the wheel and said I won it, but I took a hard it,” Ney said.
In the 358 modified feature, Godown had to hold off a hard-charging Craig VonDohren for the win as Godown, who took the lead on the start of the race on the backstretsch, got out of the groove and drifted a little high in Turns 1 and 2 on lap 19, allowing for VonDohren to close in.
“This has not been a hard year, but its been frustrating getting to the front,” Godown said. “We get to the front but we’re one or two spots shot (of the win) and it’s finally good to get a win.”
Godown and VonDohren worked lapped traffic over the final few laps with Godown getting the win and adding to his points lead while VonDohren held on for second with Duane Howard, Jeff Strunk and Ryan Grim rounding out the top five.
Sixth through 10th were Doug Manmiller, Rick Laubach, Ryan Watt, Gary Hagar and Justin Grim. Heats for the 358 modifieds were won by Godown, Wagner and Strunk.
In the 20-lap sportsman feature Grosso, who started ninth, battled the father and son team of Ray Woodall Jr. and Sr. in the opening laps before taking the lead on lap eight and going on to score his fifth win of the year.
Woodall Jr., finished second with Mike Lisowski, Kyle Gruber and Shawn Light rounding out the top five.
Sixth through 10th were Skylar Sheriff, Wayne Witmer, Woodall Sr., Tim Fitzpatrick and Glenn Rowan. Heats for the sportsman were won by Lisowski and Light.
“I was able to pick up a number of spots on the opening lap in the first turn and the car was really good tonight,” Grosso said. “I was able to rotate the car good around the bottom.”
The gates open on Friday, July 22, at 5:30 with hot laps at 7:45 and racing gets underway at 8:15.
General admission is $12, seniors, $10 and kids 12-and-underalong with active military with a valid ID are free.
Be sure to like the Facebook page www.facebook.com/Bigdiamondspeedway and follow the speedway on Twitter @BigDSpeed.
Big Diamond Speedway
July 15, 2016
CJ’s Tire & Automotive Services 358 modifieds feature (25 laps): 1. Ryan Godown, 2. Craig VonDohren, 3. Duane Howard, 4. Jeff Strunk, 5. Ryan Grim, 6. Doug Manmiller, 7. Rick Laubach, 8. Ryan Watt, 9. Gary Hager, 10. Justin Grim, 11. Scott Albert, 12. Shawn Fitzpatrick, 13. Gary Wagner, 14. Kevin Beach Jr., 15. Jay Aten, 16. Jim Bobbitt. DNF- Bobby Trapper, Kent Reinert, Heath Metzger, Dale Hartz, Ron Haring, Brett Kressley, Paul Moyer, Ray Swinehart and Andy Burkhart.
Heats winners: Godown, Wagner, Strunk.
U. S.S. Achey sportsman feature (20 laps): 1. Brandon Grosso, 2. Ray Woodall Jr., 3. Mike Lisowski, 4. Kyle Gruber, 5. Shawn Light, 6. Skylar Sheriff, 7. Wayne Witmer, 8. Ray Woodall Sr., 9. Tim Fitzpatrick Sr, 10. Glenn Rowan, 11. Cale Ross, 12. Jeff Bubori, 13. Matt Clay, 14. Ed Mrochko. DNF: Chuck Fayash, Doug Hendricks, Alyssa Fogel. Heat winner: Lisowski , Light.
Savage 61 roadrunners Crazy 8s
Feature No. 1 (8 laps): 1. Jesse Krasnitsky, 2. Kris Ney, 3. Jim Kost, 4. Tim Fitzpatrick Jr., 5. Kody Sites, 6. Kyle Wingle, 7. Terry Kramer, 8. Tim Spesak, 9. Andrew Fayash III, 10. T.J .Fitzpatrick, 11. Steve Gromis, 12. Shawn Mulhall, 13. Devin Trexler, 14. Andrew Buchinski, 15. Nate Hill, 16. Jon Schlauch, 17. Dustin Wolfgang, 18. Dave Long Jr., 19. Chris Holland, 20. Dan Nagle, 21. Bruce Ditzler, 22. Alex Schoffstall. DNS: Chris Eckert.
Feature No. 2 (8 laps): 1. Fayash III, 2.Wingle, 3. Trexler, 4. Gromis 5., Fitzpatrick Jr., 6. Kramer, 7. Sites, 8. Hill, 9. Fitzpatrick, 10. Kost, 11. Buchinski, 12. Wolfgang, 13. Mulhall, 14. Schlauch, 15. Ney, 16. Schoffstall, 17. Spesak, 18. Krasnitsky.
Feature No. 3 (8 laps): 1. Fayash III, 2. Trexler, 3. Kost, 4. Fitzpatrick Jr., 5. Ditzler, 6. Ney, 7. Spesak, 8. Holland, 9. Gromis, 10. Schlauch, 11. Buchinski, 12. Hill, 13. Kramer, 14. Wingle, 15. Krasnitsky, 16. Mulhall, 17. Wolfgang, 18. Fitzpatrick, 19.Sites.
Feature No. 4 (8 laps): 1. Ney, 2. Grimis, 3.Kost, 4.. Fayash, 5. Trexler, 6. Hill, 7. Fitzpatrick, 8. Schlauch, 9. Ditzler, 10. Spesak, 11. Mulhall. DNF: Buchinski, Kramer.
Points as of 7/15/16
CJ’s Ture & Automitive Services 358 modifieds
1. Ryan Godown 2239
2 . Jeff Strunk 2123
3 . Duane Howard 2041
4 . Craig VonDohren 1997
5 . Rick Laubach 1884
6 . Ryan Grim 1826
7 . Ryan Watt 1782
8 . Doug Manmiller 1618
9 . Billy Pauch Jr . 1572
10 . Kevin Beach 1544
U.S.S. Achey Sportsman
1 . Brandon Grosso 2584
2 . Tim Fitzpatrick 2566
3 . Ray Woodall Jr 2473
4 . Wayne Witmer 2250
5 . Mike Lisowski 2214
6 . Doug Hendricks 2172
7 . Ray Woodall Sr 2119
8 . Chuck Fayash 2080
9. Shawn Light 1978
10. Matt Clay 1977
Savage 61 roadrunners
1 . Andrew Fayash III 3562
2 . Jim Kost 3168
3 . Steve Gromis 3124
4 . Terry Kramer 3081
5 . Kody Sites 3065
6 . Kris Ney 3059
7 . Tim Fitzpatrick Jr 3010
8 .Tim Spesak 2676
9 . T.J. Fitzpatrick 2411
10. Nate Hill 2193
