Tracks: Tremont wins 358 Race of Kings, Lowe Sportsman Winner at Lebanon Valley
13 September 1999
WEST LEBANON, NY-Kenny Tremont continues to roll at Lebanon Valley in 1999.
Saturday night he captured the victory in the prestigious Race of Kings for
358-modifieds. Sparky Lowe was the winner in the 30-lap Lebanon Valley
sportsman feature and Dave Kokindo won the 20-lap street stock main.
Andy Bachetti and Matt Quinn led the 358-modifieds to the start of the
100-lap Race of Kings. Bachetti took command of the race with Danny Johnson
in tow. Tim Fuller saw his night end early as he went pitside on lap four.
Fluid out of the Roy Bridge mount slowed the pace again on lap eight. The
yellow flag slowed the pace of this race considerably as a total of forty
laps were run under caution. The most serious incident of the night came on
lap 17 when Ronnie Johnson rolled his racecar on the frontstretch. Ronnie was
all right, but his car was done for the night. Steve Paine was also involved
in the incident and finished the event several laps down.
Bachetti drifted on the lap 23 restart and that allowed Johnson to take
the lead and Tremont grabbed second from Bachetti on lap 30. Bachetti dropped
to the backend of the top five before retiring on lap 53. Jimmy Horton
started the race from the fifth position and by lap 40 he was up to third.
Jack Johnson was sporting a new black racecar, but he backed it into the turn
three wall on lap 42. Thirty of the thirty-seven starters were still running
on lap 44. Todd Burley's season long woes continued when he had a right rear
tire go flat on lap 48. Bobby Varin disappeared pitside during the caution
period and did not return.
"Mr. Small Block", Pete Bicknell took third from Horton on lap 55. Brett
Hearn started the event from a guaranteed starting spot deep in the pack. He
charged up through the field to be running ninth by lap 67. Hearn made a
great move around three cars to take sixth on lap 71. Todd Wilkinson was
making a run late in the race after starting 24th, he was fourth by lap 74.
The leaders began to encounter lapped traffic by lap 76. Tom Kinsella had a
top ten run going until lap 78 when he went pitside. Wilkinson was reeling in
the top three runners when the shape of the race changed dramatically.
Tremont began to pressure Johnson for the lead and made the pass on lap 83.
Horton also scooted by as Johnson started fading fast. Johnson's reason for
fading became apparent as his right rear tire went flat on lap 84.
Todd Wilkinson took over second on lap 94 but could not catch Tremont before
laps ran out. Tim Dwyer dropped from the race on lap 97. Tremont was able to
take his first career Race of Kings victory. Wilkinson was second, Horton
third, Hearn fourth and Tim Hindley rounded out the top five.
Eighty-eight cars attempted to qualify for the 100-lap Race of Kings.
Thirty-seven cars started the race and over twenty-five finished the race.
Five spots were awarded for the Sunoco 200 at Super Dirt Week and Kenny
Tremont, Todd Wilkinson, Jimmy Horton, Jerry Higbie and Bobby Albert were the
recipients of those spots.
Hawley Smith took the early advantage in the 30-lap Lebanon Valley sportsman
feature followed closely by K.C Goewey. Stan Jablonka suffered a right rear
flat tire on lap seven and would go pitside for a tire change. Jablonka came
back out on the lead lap and would eventually recover for a top five finish.
The caution flag flew again on the next lap for a multi-car pileup in turn
four. The top three had checked out from the rest of the pack by lap 13 right
before disaster struck on lap 15.
Goewey had made the pass on Smith going into turn one on lap 15. Goewey
caught lapped traffic coming off the second turn and had to checkup. Smith
got into the back of Goewey and the incident would eliminate both from
contention. Sparky Lowe was the benefactor of the leaders crashing and he
assumed the lead. Art Collins moved up into second with Roy Bridge third,
Eddie Riiska fourth and George Marcus fifth. Lowe opened up a half
straightaway lead over Collins by lap 19.
Disaster nearly struck for the leader on lap 19 when he brushed the wall
in turn four. "I thought I heard Collins underneath me and I pushed it a
little hard in turn four" Lowe stated during his victory lane interview.
Collins was able to gain a little on Lowe after the wall-brushing incident
but he was never able to make a serious bid for lead.1999 Lebanon Valley
sportsman track champion, Collins would hand on for second, while Roy Bridge
came home third. Eddie Riiska has raced at Lebanon Valley for thirty-five
years. This was Risk's last race at Lebanon Valley and it was a fourth place
finish for his farewell performance. As stated earlier Jablonka would recover
to round out the top five.
Dave Kokindo took the lead on the first lap of the 20-lap street stock
feature and he never looked back. Kokindo held off the challenges of Al
Blackburn through the last half of the race to take home his first win of the
1999 season. The most serious incident of the race came on lap three with a
flip in turn three. The top five was not the place to be throughout the
event. Jim Lagenback, Bob Duzlak, Robbie Speed, Henry Tanner and Butch Irwin
all were running in the top five when the suffered mechanical problems and
were eliminated from the event. Outsider, Kevin Ward took home the third spot
with Tom Bortle coming home fourth. Bobby Blackburn rounded out the top five,
making it the third time this season that the Blackburn brothers have
finished in the top five.
SARATOGA SPRING WATER "RACE OF KINGS" SUMMARY (100 Laps)-Kenny Tremont, Todd
Wilkinson, Jimmy Horton, Brett Hearn, Tim Hindley, Pete Bicknell, Mike
Benson, Matt Quinn, Earl Paules, Chris Moore, Todd Burley, Danny Johnson,
Bobby Albert, Jerry Higbie, Dale Planck, Wayne Jelley, Randy Howe, Pierre
Dagenais, K.C. Goewey, Tim Dwyer, Scott Flammer, Neil Luce, Todd Singley,
Steve Paine, Tom Kinsella, Brian Davis, Dickie Larkin, Andy Bachetti, Bobby
Varin, John Lutes Jr, Mike Perrotte, Jack Johnson, Lee Gagliardi, Guy
Sheldon, Ronnie Johnson, Roy Bridge, Tim Fuller
LEBANON VALLEY SPORTSMAN SUMMARY (30 Laps)- Sparky Lowe, Art Collins, Roy
Bridge, Ed Riiska, Stan Jablonka, Bobby Knipe, George Marcus, Jay Casey, Dave
Sanchez, Frank Harper, Ernie Palmer, John Harrison, K.C.Goewey, Kevin Duryea,
Floyd Billington, Mark Pullen, J.R. Delvecchio, Shawn Witbeck, B. Whittimore,
Darral Hulbert, Bob Gaetaniello, Craig Mitchell, John Hotchkiss, Wes Powell,
Scott Ferrier, Charlie Humes, Hawley Smith, Joe Bennett, John Alberti, Jimmy
Reppert, Mike Mason, Rusty Granecker
STREET STOCK SUMMARY (20 Laps)- Dave Kokindo, Al Blackburn, Tom Brandt, Bobby
Blackburn, Ricky Duzlak, Kirk Stanaway, Bob Duzlak, Dave Tiedman, Todd
Parent, Nick Rogers, Buddy Hencke, Butch Irwin, Henry Tanner, Jim Langenback,
Bill Deak, Robbie Speed, Ted Teal, Paul Rogers, John Palcher, Kevin Ward
ROOKIE STREET STOCK SUMMARY (15 Laps)- Dan Burl, Earl Mellan, Phil Moffitt,
John Denue, Brian Keough, Tom Bungay, Don Shepard, Walt Clark, J.D.Mabb, Rob
Reilly, Chris Claus, E.J. LeGeyt, Don Collins, Don Ely, Henry Warner, Charlie
Woodard
PURE STOCK "A" SUMMARY (15 Laps)-Guy Hughes, Carl Bailargeon, Pete Wiegand,
Brian Sandstedt, Jim Dellea Jr, Mark Houston, John Fachini, Ramon Perry,
George Alicia, P. Fitzpatrick, Rich Douglass, Dave Tanqulay, Pete Leffler,
Phil Wood, Bruce Moffitt, William Fuchs, Scott Kilmer
PURE STOCK "B" SUMMARY (15 Laps)-Jacob Coons, Lee Gallant, Art Lafferty, Sid
Smith, Jason Saunders, Ryan Crellin, Joe Mottoshiski, Kevin Denue, Dick
Nichols, Jonathan Coon, Ron Irvin, Spencer Cushing, Tom Meltz Jr, Joe
Hallenbeck, Jim Hankey, Joe DiStefano, Josh Webb, Fran Marchand
PURE STOCK "C" SUMMARY (15 Laps)-Peter De Figlio, Bill Hughes, Tom Sanchez
Jr, Tony Gale, George Miles Jr, Dave Colwell, Tim Drumm, Wally Engel, Ron
Tritchler, Skip Davis, Rich Segalla, Tom Currier, Phil Handlowich, Gary
Ashley, Bob Palmer, Steve Hatch, Scott Moran
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