Craig Von Dohren Charges From 15th For The Station House 358-Modified Victory Friday At Big Diamond Speedway; Mike Mammana (U.S.S. Achey Sportsman) and Ed Kuperavage (Wooden Keg Tavern Roadrunner) Also Earn Wins As Big D Beats The Rain
(Track Press Release) MINERSVILLE, PA – What makes Craig Von Dohren the all-time leading winner at Big Diamond Speedway?
Performances like Friday night.
Marching forward from 15th starting position, the Boyertown, Pa., driver won the 25-lap The Station House 358-Modified feature in dramatic fashion, besting longtime rival Duane Howard for a $2,000 payday. Von Dohren, who drives equipment he fields out of his family farm in Oley, Pa., now owns back-to-back victories at the Schuylkill County oval.
May 27, 2011 Video Highlights
Order the complete night of racing on DVD from the GSP Shop or get it at the track!
Quick ‘n’ Dirty 358 Modified, Roadrunner & Sportsman Feature Highlights
For the second time this season, Mike Mammana won in U.S.S. Achey Sportsman competition and Ed Kuperavage broke through for his first Wooden Keg Tavern Roadrunner triumph. With rain in the area and lightning on the horizon, Big Diamond management pressed through Friday’s program at a rapid pace. The entire three-division show was completed at 10:13 p.m. Moments after the final checkered flew, rain soaked the facility.
Von Dohren’s 71st career Big Diamond victory came from deep in the field. His Felty Farms-backed No. 1c Teo-Pro mount rolled off in the eighth row. Former Sportsman champion Gary Wagner Jr. started from the pole and set the pace at the drop of the green, while Garden State driver Ryan Godown put the Johnny Rea Motorsports No. R1 into second.
Godown pressured Wagner – in search of his first 358-Mod win – through the race’s first caution on lap 12 for a slowing Jeff Strunk (flat left-rear tire). Three laps later, Godown’s car fell off the pace with a cut tire.
When racing resumed, 10th-starting Duane Howard put the BPG Racing No. 4 Troyer into the runner-up spot. Von Dohren quietly moved into contention. Following a restart, Von Dohren slipped beneath Howard for second on lap 16 and one circuit later passed Wagner for the top spot.
The 47-year-old Von Dohren kept Howard, a seven-time champion and 68-time winner, at bay for the victory, with Oley, Pa.’s Howard matching his season-best finish in second. Ray Swinehart of Perkiomenville, Pa., finished third after starting eighth. He took the position on lap 18. Womelsdorf, Pa.’s Wagner shook off his early season struggles for fourth and Keith Hoffman of Whitehall, Pa., a three-time champion, was fifth from 12th starting spot.
358-Modified heat winners were Howard, Godown and Andy Burkhart.
Howard was the Shiley Fabrications Fast Lap award winner with a 16.894-second lap.
Mammana, of Nazareth, Pa., backed up his April 17 Opening Day victory with a win in Friday’s 20-lapper. Mammana started from seventh position and had climbed into second spot by the completion of lap five, chasing teenager Nick DeSantis, who had started from the pole. DeSantis, the third-generation of the Temple, Pa., racing family, slid wide in turn two on lap eight, turning over a lead that Mammana would never relinquish.
Stephen Hughes of Riegelsville, Pa., was the runner-up, earning his second top-five finish of the season. Jared Umbenhauer of Richland, Pa., charged hard in the race’s second half to place third after starting eighth. DeSantis was fourth and Sportsman veteran Billy Moyer Jr. (Pine Grove, Pa.) completed the top-five. Mammana now owns five career Big D Sportsman wins.
Winning Sportsman heat races were John Kovatch IV, Umbenhauer and DeSantis.
Umbenhauer turned the quickest lap of 17.951 seconds for the Shiley Fabrication Fast Lap recognition.
Port Carbon, Pa.’s Kuperavage has been fast for the entire ’11 season. Finally, he broke into Victory Lane following the 20-lap Roadrunner feature. Starting ninth, the 23-year-old powered by T.J. Fitzpatrick for the lead following a fifth-lap restart. However, Kevin Olenick never let Kuperavage out of his signts. Olenick, who started 12th, broke into second on the eighth lap and pressured Kuperavage heavily. Kuperavage repelled all advances for his third career Big Diamond victory.
Forestville, Pa., drivers were second through fourth respectively, with Kevin Olenick, Elvin Brennan III and Ryan Olenick crossing the stripe in that order. Jeremy Becker of Pottsville, Pa., completed the front five.
Roadrunner heat winners were Ryan Olenick and Becker.
MAY 27, 2011 RACE SUMMARY
The Station House 358-Modified Feature Finish (25 laps): CRAIG VON DOHREN, Duane Howard, Ray Swinehart, Gary Wagner Jr., Keith Hoffman, Jeff Strunk, Kevin Albert Jr., Ryan Godown, Billy Pauch Jr., Colt Harris, Gary Hager, Meme DeSantis, Andy Burkhart, A.J. DeSantis, Glenn Strunk, Neil Huber, Dan Mazy, Michael Weinert, Doug Manmiller, Nate Klinger, John Willman, Rick Laubach, Ron Haring Jr., Dale Hartz, Mike Gular.
U.S.S. Achey Sportsman Feature Finish (20 laps): MIKE MAMMANA, Stephen Hughes, Jared Umbenhauer, Nick DeSantis, Billy Moyer Jr., Paul Kline, Corey Renninger, Tim Fitzpatrick, Kevin Beach Jr., Frank Yankowski, Doug Hendricks, Brad Brightbill, Kevin Brady, Kenny Eckert Jr., Kaitie McCardle, Wayne Witmer, Charlie Webber, Mike Lisowski, Shawn Horning, Andy Fayash Jr., Craig Whitmoyer, John Kovatch IV, Josh Hertzog, Daryl Dissinger, Shawn Fitzpatrick.
Wooden Keg Tavern Roadrunner Feature Finish (20 laps): ED KUPERAVAGE, Kevin Olenick, Elvin Brennan III, Ryan Olenick, Jeremy Becker, T.J. Fitzpatrick, Glenn Rowan, Joey Brennan, Don Murphy, Kirby Schlappich, Joe Kavanaugh, Marc Berzowski, Jared Siegfried, Shon Elk, Jim Kost, Jon Schlauch.
