Stuhler Awesome in Hagerstown/Bedford Challenge Win
By Brett Rose
HAGERSTOWN, MD – Gary Stuhler came from ninth place in an awesome performance to win the second leg of the Hagerstown/Bedford Challenge at Hagerstown Speedway on Saturday night. It was the 3rd Super Late Model win of the season, and his record-extending 138th career win at the Hub City Oval.
As he has done all season, Stuhler found the low groove to be the fastest way around in his Glenn Elliott-owned No. 55.
D.J. Myers led from the start, battling Tyler Hershey in the early stages before settling into the top spot. Meanwhile, Stuhler was making his charge to the front, and was in second place before a caution came out with ten laps remaining.
Myers and Stuhler raced side-by-side, and swapped the lead several times before Stuhler took the top spot with two laps to go. Myers valiantly tried to get the win, but fell a little more than a car length short.
Andy Anderson had a strong run to finish third, while Kyle Lee finished fourth, and Matt Cosner was fifth at the checkered flag.
The victor in the 20 lap Late Model Sportsman portion of the Hagerstown/Bedford Challenge went home with Shaun Jones in his first appearance of the 2017 season. Jones, in his No. 32j, took over the lead from “The Captain” Ralph Morgan after a Lap 6 restart, when Morgan chose the top line. Jones went low off of turn two for the lead, and pulled away to pick up the checkered flag.
Morgan held on to second, followed by two-time winner Kyle Lear, Michael Walls, and Eric Irvin.
2012 Pure Stock track champion Tony Catlett found his way back to victory lane in his No. 6c Ford after a lengthy absence from the speedway. Catlett fended off the challenges of Keith Koontz throughout the 15 lap feature to win by half a car length.
The tandem was closely followed by Sean Dawson in third, while Wayne Hawbaker and Dwayne Snyder completed the top five.
In their first appearance of the 2017 season, the Mid Atlantic Modifieds brought their largest field of the season to Hagerstown with 24 E-Mods in the pit area for their 15 lap contest.
Mike Potosky quickly drove around veteran driver Jim Bernheisel for the lead, and held off a late race charge from Chris Arnold to score the win. Bernheisel was third, Carl McKinney finished fourth, while Rick Hulson finished fifth.
Rounding out the night in the Hobby Stock division saw Dylan Rutherford hold off Davey Gross, Jr. to score his first triumph of the season. Jamie Mills, Dustin Proctor, and Jeff Dillon rounded out the top five.
Coming up on May 5 will be a regular show plus Crate Late Models. Gates open at 5pm, and racing begins at 7pm. Admission is $15 for the grandstands, kids 12 and under are free, and $30 for the pits.
Feature Results
Super Late Models – 1. Gary Stuhler, 2. D.J. Myers, 3. Andy Anderson, 4. Kyle Lee, 5. Matt Cosner, 6. Roy Deese, Jr., 7. Tyler Hershey, 8. Marvin Winters, 9. Andy Fries, 10. Bryan Bernheisel, 11. Scott Palmer, 12. Brian Tavenner, 13. Reese Masiello, 14. Kirk Baker, 15. Rodney Walls, 16. Alan Sagi
Late Model Sportsman- 1. Shaun Jones, 2. Ralph Morgan, 3. Kyle Lear, 4. Michael Walls, 5. Eric Irvin, 6. Paul Cursey, Jr., 7. Robbie Black, 8. Bruce Kane, 9. Alan Sagi, 10. Devin Frey, 11. Brad McGinnis, 12. James Lichliter, 13. Chris Ebersole, 14. Dale Murphy, 15. Dave Friedrich, 16. John Rowland, 17. Kenneth Yoder, 18. Justin Jesmer, 19. Elwood Sord, 20. Joe Westerman, Jr., 21. Bobby Beard, 22. Eric Hohol, 23. Cody Kershner, 24. Eddie Cornett, 25. Ronnie Bottenfield, 26. Derick Quade, DNS- Cam Zeigler
Pure Stocks – 1. Tony Catlett, 2. Keith Koontz, 3. Sean Dawson, 4. Wayne Hawbaker, 5. Dwayne Snyder, 6. Joshua Bloom, 7. Ed Pope, 8. William Crook, 9. Frank DiBella, 10. Nick DiBella, 11. Shane Wilt, 12. Jeremy Mills, 13. Brian Swiger, DNS- Craig Parrill, Jamie Zentmeyer, Randy Wible
Hobby Stocks – 1. Dylan Rutherford, 2. Davey Gross, Jr., 3. Jamie Mills, 4. Dustin Proctor, 5. Jeff Dillon, 6. Ralph Hansberger, 7. James Speelman, 8. Matt Wampler, 9. Willie Ling, 10. Danny Holmes, 11. Bryan Neff, 12. Rodney Miner
Mid Atlantic Modifieds- 1. Mike Potosky, 2. Chris Arnold, 3. Jim Berneheisel, 4. Carl McKinney, 5. Rick Hulson, 6. Chris Fletcher, 7. Brad Kling, 8. Mike Reynolds, 9. Mark Jones, 10. Ray Kable, 11. Justin Cullum, 12. Hunter Nester, 13. Josh Roberson, 14. Bryan Green, 15. James Sparks, 16. Tim Schulte, 17. Keith Reed, 18. Haley Kaiser, 19. Alyssa Rowe, 20. Ray Ciccarelli, 21. Rich Goodman, 22. Josh Hughes DNS-Quintin Hankla, Jimmy Jesmer
About Hagerstown Speedway-Hagerstown Speedway is located 6 miles west of Hagerstown, Maryland off of U.S. Route 40. The track is easily accessible from Interstates 70 and 81. The track owner is Frank Plessinger. The speedway promoter is Doug Timmons and the general manager is Lisa Plessinger. Track information and updates can be found online at www.hagerstownspeedway.com, and on our official Facebook and Twitter pages. For more information, e-mail info@hagerstownspeedway.com or call the speedway office at (301)-582-0640.
Marketing partners of Hagerstown Speedway include: Hamilton Nissan, Hafer’s Gunsmithing, Bullrider Race Cars, Thomas All Things Automotive, D&D Auto Recycling, RockAuto.com, and FirstEnergy Corporation.