Sidewinder Sprints – Trail-Way 09/24 – Kevin Gobrecht Memorial

Kearchner takes the outside to victory

With all the rain on Friday the early bets were for a cancelled race on Saturday. With some areas of Central PA once again receiving flooding to make the wettest September on record it seemed a safe bet. Saturday morning saw the sun pick out and the humidity increase to where you would have thought it was late June, not late September but with the sun drying out the track and pit area , Trail-Way announced that the race was a go!

The first heat was won in convincing fashion by Josh Chess. The 2^nd heat saw Reed Salony blitz the field to cross the line in record setting time of 2.00.34. Unfortunately for Reed, in all of his excitement he forgot to go to the scales and was subsequently placed last in his heat.

The feature start saw Josh Chess make the most of his pole position start to take a straight away lead by lap 14 as Kearchner was making his pass of Christian Wright for 2^nd. The chase was on. Lap 21 saw Kearchner try to make an inside move coming off turn 4 but he couldn’t make it stick.    Crossing under the white flag, Mike Zielonis stopped on the front straightaway in front of the leaders.  Chess tried to go below Zielonis, but went up over Zielonis’ left rear tire and lost the lead to Kearchner who decided to take the high side. The caution came out for Zielonis and Chess was put in second behind Kearchner.  Kearchner pulled away when the green flag flew and claimed his second win of the year at Trail-Way Speedway.

  Twelfth-starting Reed Salony crossed the finish line in third with Christian Wright and Mike Kiser rounding out the top five.

An emotional Kearchner greeted victory lane and shared “ I am really proud of winning the Kevin Gobrecht Memorial. Its my biggest win of the season. My dad would be extremely proud. Out of all the micro sprint drivers I saw as a little kid at Trail-Way, Kevin’s name is the only one I remember. I remember seeing him race and picking him to be the winner many times over my dad's picks.  This week I spent extra time  preparing the car  for such a prestigious race.  I knew coming into the race, that to have any chance of the season points championship I needed to at least win. In the end, even a win wasn’t quite enough but it sure feels good knowing I did all I could. The race was a challenge from the 6th starting spot. The cars in front of me continually hit the mud puddle on the inside of turn 2, and had the  #30 machine covered in mud. The muddy covering  seemed like a speed secret of some kind as the car became faster as the race went on.. A slip up from the 3rd place car gave the opportunity to jump into 3rd and soon pass for second with 7 laps to go. By then the leader had a straightaway lead and the chase was on. Lap by lap I found a faster groove and gained on the leader. An unfortunate engine failure from the 81 gave the break I needed as the leader was caught up in the smoke as I sailed by on the outside. My #30 Probe Chassis was the best handling car I have had all year, the harder I drove the better it got. Plans for 2012 are in high gear to be a contender for the championship again. Visit www.marriedtomotorsports.com for news and updates all year long.”

Chassis / Wing / Wheel Parity Report: Micro chassis’s take the win  and 2nd, Uprights take 3^rd, 4^th and 5th

1^st Micro 16sq / 13”  2^nd Micro 16sq / 13”  3^rd Upright 16sq / 13”  4^th Upright 16sq / 13”  5^th Upright 16sq / 13” 

Sidewinder Feature Finish, 20 Laps, Car #, Name, (Started)

1^st  30 – Seth Kearchner (6);  2^nd  72- Josh Chess (1);  3^rd 22R – Reed Salony (12);  4^th 22 – Christian Wright (2);   5^th 99 – Mike Kiser (11);  6^th  18 – John Moore (4);   7^th  26 – Jerry Strausbaugh (3);  8^th 04 – Rich Halter (7);  9^th  75 – Zack Overmiller (5);  10^th 81- Mike Zielonis (9);   11^th 23 – Joe Robertson  (8);   12^th  14 – Rohan Beasley (10);  13^th  1K – Brendan Bright (13); 

Lap Leaders- Josh Chess (1-23), Seth Kearchner (24-25).

Tire Shootout Invitational Results;

Tire Shootout Points based on 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1

1^st American Racer 2^nd American Racer 3^rd Hoosier 4^th American Racer 5^th American Racer

Hoosier – 8pts

American Racer – 7pts

Total

Hoosier – 188 pts

American Racer – 141 pts

Season Points Championship

In the closest points battle in Sidewinder Sprints history Joe Robertson was able to secure the 2011 Points Championship by the slim margin of 9 points. Seth Kearchner did all he could do at the last points race of the season by taking the win but came up just short  of the title. 3rd place went to the consistent Mike Zielonis who unfortunately detonated a motor on the last lap of the 2011 points season.

Wingless Challenge races.

As a way to finish off the long season with something different the Sidewinder Sprints have scheduled 2 wingless races. The first will be at Shippensburg on 10/9 with the following week at Path Valley on 10/14.

Taking the wings off really becomes a challenge with the extra torque and horsepower of the 1000cc engines and as such the Sidewinder Sprints are inviting any/all 600cc teams to join the action of the wingless equalizer. If a 600 cc car can take a win, the Sidewinder Sprints will pay a $100 bonus to that driver. The race formats will be a pill draw followed by a feature pill draw invert. As an added bonus the finishes from both wingless shows will be tallied and the driver with the combined best finishes will take home an extra $100. (Tie breaker will be total cars passed in the combined features)

Candy Bowl – Susquehanna

After the successful debut of the Sidewinders at Susquehanna in late July, the teams were itching to make a return visit. Todd and Rhonda Fisher were approached with an idea to add to the already successful “Candy Bowl” with an open Sidewinder/Minisprint challenge concept. Any minisprints are invited to join the Sidewinders on October 29^th. The start time is 3pm. Henchcraft Racings Products and WeeBee Audio and Video have stepped up and this race will pay $500 to win with an increased purse back through the field. More details in the coming weeks.

This week’s question;

Q. With only 1 point’s race left for the season, it all comes down to the wire. In a testament to the closeness of the points chase, up for grabs are 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 5^th,  6^th, 7^th, 8^th, 9^th and 10^th. These are important positions as the season points cash payout is based on the top 10 positions. The only certain position is 4^th place Rohan Beasley. How many of the top 10 positions will change this week ?

A. Rich Halter and Jerry Strausbaugh both jumped up one position.

Next week’s question;

Q.  Can Kearchner transfer his late season form from winged racing to the wingless racing coming up at Shippensburg and Path Valley ?

Sidewinder Sprints are accepting 2012 registrations.

 Drivers wishing to join are reminded to register with us ASAP (click the registration link on our website) to reserve your car number, as we do not allow duplicate numbers, and to receive important "registered team" only emails regarding rules, contingency requirements and schedules.

Sidewinder Sprints will be appearing at:

Shippensburg 10/09 – Wingless Challenge

Path Valley 10/14 – Wingless Challenge

Susquehanna 10/29 - “Candy Bowl” 

For all your racing needs please contact our following partners: 

Season Sponsors;

American Racer – Lias Tires (www.americanraceronline.com )

Hoosier Tire - Hoosier Tire Mid Atlantic (www.hoosiermidatlantic.com )

Contingency Awards “To Be Confirmed”:

Guhl Motors (www.guhlmotors.com) ; For all of your Fuel Injection needs. “Highest eligible Guhl injection finisher”;  Seth Kearchner

Henchcraft Top Gun Challenge (www.Henchcraftracing.com ): Rear of field challenge;

Hyper Hard Charger (www.Hyperracing.com); Most positions gained in the feature; Reed Salony

Aero Wings (www.aerowingsonline.com) ; Winners use Wings by Aero. "Lucky 7";  Jerry Strausbaugh

Keizer Wheels (www.keizerwheels.com ); Fast Fifth Award.;  Mike Kiser

SC Signs and Designs (www.scsigns.net ); Hard Luck and Lucky 9^th;  Reed Salony and Zack Overmiller

For a complete rundown of Sidewinder Sprints points go to www.sidewindersprints.com/points.htm

Sidewinder Sprints Driver Final Season Standings;

Sidewinder Sprints Final Car Owner Season Standings;

 www.SidewinderSprints.com

Sidewinder Sprints – Shippensburg 09/17

Halter makes his stop in victory lane

A perfect fall like evening saw horsepower conditions and once again a very racy track surface for the Sidewinders 3^rd visit to Shippensburg this season. The heat race action saw a couple of restarts before Rohan Beasley lost a right front tire coming off turn two forcing another restart. Beasley sheared off a spindle and was able to make the feature thanks to many of the Sidewinder teams (Stahl, Zielonis and Strausbaugh) working feverishly to make the repairs and the Chase Dietz team loaning the required parts.

The feature action saw Rich Halter get the jump over fellow front row starter and previous 2011 Shippensburg feature winner, Mike Zielonis. That was the way they stayed until the checkers fell with Robertson making a charge from 7^th to 3^rd and Kearchner taking 4^th on the 2^nd last lap.

Halter became the 15^th different driver/car combination to win in the 22 races so far this season and shared his story in victory lane “ The night started off good with a front row starting spot due to a bad finish ( Sorry Christian ) the week before. In the heat the car was good until the 6th lap when started cutting out going down the straights.  I thought, here we go again. We have chased fuel problems all year. Luckily we still ended up winning the heat and thought we were able to fix the problem before the feature. When we took the green the car acted the same way for the first 2 laps before it cleared itself and took off. On our first visit earlier in the year, it seemed that my car became a target for some of the drivers and it was nice finishing a feature at Shippensburg Speedway without someone riding my tail tank.  I owe all my thanks to my wife ( Tara ) and stepdaughter ( Kaitlyn ) for all their support. They are with me 110% in this crazy sport. I would also like to thank Roger Gettle for having the Sidewinder Sprints run at Shippensburg Speedway. This track has been a lot of fun and the track surface has allowed for two wide racing. I would also like to thank OD Graphic’s for the great vinyl work on the car this year.  Thanks goes to Rock’s Auto Body for the paint job, and AC Moto USA for the great motors they supply me during the race season. A big thanks goes to Rohan for keeping this class going and putting together a class that a low budget guy can run in and have fun. It’s great going to the track and being around a bunch of great drivers that like to have fun. It makes showing up at the track every week a lot more enjoyable.”

Chassis / Wing / Wheel Parity Report: Micro chassis’s take the win and 4 of the 5 positions

1^st Micro 16sq / 13”  2^nd Micro 12sq / 10”  3^rd Upright 16sq / 13”  4^th Micro 16sq / 13”   5^th Micro 16sq / 13” 

Sidewinder Feature Finish, 20 Laps, Car #, Name, (Started)

1^st  04 – Rich Halter (1);  2^nd  81- Mike Zielonis (2);  3^rd 23 – Joe Robertson  (7);  4^th 30 – Seth Kearchner (8);  5^th 14 – Rohan Beasley (4);  6^th  29C – Tanner Hunsicker (9);   7^th  75 – Zack Overmiller (5);  8^th 5J – Jason Stahl (6); 9^th  26 – Jerry Strausbaugh (3); 

Lap Leaders – Halter 1-20

Tire Shootout Invitational Results;

Tire Shootout Points based on 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1

1^st American Racer 2^nd American Racer 3^rd Hoosier 4^th American Racer 5^th American Racer

American Racer – 12 pts

Hoosier – 3 pts

Total

Hoosier – 180 pts

American Racer – 134 pts

Kevin Gobrecht Memorial Preview – A Champion will be crowned.

As has been tradition since their inception, the Sidewinder Sprints are joining the 270’s and 600’s for their final Trail-Way race of the year, the prestigious Kevin Gobrecht Memorial this coming Saturday 24^th. With racing scheduled to start at 6pm and the 2011 points battle coming down to the wire the pressure will be on the top 3 drivers/teams to put their best effort forward. Joe Robertson (currently 1^st), Seth Kearchner (2^nd) and Mike Zielonis (3^rd) have battle season long only to have it come down to the last race.

Wingless Challenge races.

As a way to finish off the long season with something different the Sidewinder Sprints have scheduled 2 wingless races. The first will be at Shippensburg on 10/9 with the following week at Path Valley on 10/14.

Taking the wings off really becomes a challenge with the extra torque and horsepower of the 1000cc engines and as such the Sidewinder Sprints are inviting any/all 600cc teams to join the action of the wingless equalizer. If a 600 cc car can take a win, the Sidewinder Sprints will pay a $100 bonus to that driver. The race formats will be a pill draw followed by a feature pill draw invert. As an added bonus the finishes from both wingless shows will be tallied and the driver with the combined best finishes will take home an extra $100. (Tie breaker will be total cars passed in the combined features)

Candy Bowl – Susquehanna

After the successful debut of the Sidewinders at Susquehanna in late July, the teams were itching to make a return visit. Todd and Rhonda Fisher were approached with an idea to add to the already successful “Candy Bowl” with an open Sidewinder/Minisprint challenge concept. Any minisprints are invited to join the Sidewinders on October 29^th. The start time is 3pm. Henchcraft Racings Products and WeeBee Audio and Video have stepped up and this race will pay $500 to win with an increased purse back through the field. More details in the coming weeks.

This week’s question;

Q. With the points race tightening and now only having 46 points separating the top 3, will we see a change in the top 3 positions again this week ?

A. No change in the top 3 positions this week.

Next week’s question;

Q.  With only 1 point’s race left for the season, it all comes down to the wire. In a testament to the closeness of the points chase, up for grabs are 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 5^th,  6^th, 7^th, 8^th, 9^th and 10^th. These are important positions as the season points cash payout is based on the top 10 positions. The only certain position is 4^th place Rohan Beasley. How many of the top 10 positions will change this week ?

Sidewinder Sprints are accepting 2011 registrations.

 Drivers wishing to join are reminded to register with us ASAP (click the registration link on our website) to reserve your car number, as we do not allow duplicate numbers, and to receive important "registered team" only emails regarding rules, contingency requirements and schedules.

Sidewinder Sprints will be appearing at:

Trail-Way 09/24 – Kevin Gobrecht Memorial

Shippensburg 10/09 – Wingless Challenge

Path Valley 10/14 – Wingless Challenge

Susquehanna 10/29 - “Candy Bowl” 

For all your racing needs please contact our following partners: 

Season Sponsors;

American Racer – Lias Tires (www.americanraceronline.com )

Hoosier Tire - Hoosier Tire Mid Atlantic (www.hoosiermidatlantic.com )

Contingency Awards “To Be Confirmed”:

Guhl Motors (www.guhlmotors.com) ; For all of your Fuel Injection needs. “Highest eligible Guhl injection finisher”;  Rich Halter

Henchcraft Top Gun Challenge (www.Henchcraftracing.com ): Rear of field challenge;

Hyper Hard Charger (www.Hyperracing.com); Most positions gained in the feature; Joe Robertson

Aero Wings (www.aerowingsonline.com) ; Winners use Wings by Aero. "Lucky 7";  Zack Overmiller

Keizer Wheels (www.keizerwheels.com ); Fast Fifth Award.;  Rohan Beasley

For a complete rundown of Sidewinder Sprints points go to www.sidewindersprints.com/points.htm

Sidewinder Sprints Driver Season Standings;

Sidewinder Sprints Car Owner Season Standings;

 www.SidewinderSprints.com

Sidewinder Sprints – Williams Grove 09/02 & Shippensburg 09/03

Williams Grove 09/02

Kiser takes the night, Schanz and Murphy take the checkers     

When people ask about the famous dirt tracks in the USA, the South Central main stay affectionately known as “The Grove” always rates as #1. From the history of its humble beginnings in 1939 , through it’s many legendary promoters, the one constant that remains timeless been the allure of the mystic of the world famous Mechanicsburg ½ mile oval.  Friday night saw the Sidewinders return for their annual appearance and a strong 21 car filed was pit side for the double feature pill draw invert format.

The first feature saw Alex Schanz take the win from the pole in the WeeBee Audio and Video sponsored Henchcraft.  16^th started Mike Kiser and 21^st starter Ben Murphy put on a passing clinic to finish 3^rd and 6^th respectively and set the stage for a 2^nd feature shootout for the overall combined winner.

During the opening laps of the 2^nd feature, Brandon (The Pilot) Yarlett almost set an altitude record on the front straight in front of the large crowd when his #4T RTS chassis flipped wildly past the flag stand. Brandon emerged from the totaled racecar with bruising and soreness and fortunately felt well enough to show up at Shippensburg the following night to watch.

 The 2^nd feature saw Ben Murphy take the win from the pole in the Henchcraft house car. Mike Kiser made the best of his 6^th place start to finish 2^nd and take the overall combined victory for the nights action.

Points leader Joe Robertson earned a solid 3 place overall to extend his season points lead.

Once the overall points were calculated Mike Kiser shared “ I want to thank Williams Grove for having us. As usual the track was super smooth. Many thanks to Rick Hench for building such a fast car. My fiancée / crew chief Tiffany couldn’t be here tonight but she put a great setup in the car before I left New York this afternoon. Unfortunately I am going back to New York tonight and won’t be at Shippensburg tomorrow as without Tiff putting the hot setup in the car I would be lost. Since I won’t be there, I would also like to donate the winnings to the Sidewinder beer fund.”

Chassis / Wing / Wheel Parity Report: Uprights almost sweep the top 5 with 4 of the five positions.

1^st Upright 16sq / 13”  2^nd Upright 16sq / 13”  3^rd Upright 16sq / 13”  4^th Upright 16sq / 13”  5^th Micro 12sq / 10” 

Sidewinder Feature Finish, 20 Laps, Car #, Name, (finish positions 1^st and 2^nd features)

1^st  99 - Mike Kiser (3 & 2);   2^nd 1 -  Ben Murphy (6 & 1);  3^rd 23 – Joe Robertson  (4 & 5);  4^th 1K – Alex Schanz (1 & 9) 81- Mike Zielonis (12); 5^th 5J – Jason Stahl (5 & 7);  6^th 7 – Chris Crull (2 & 16); 7^th  21 – Jared Esh (13 & 6);  8^th 22R – Reed Salony (15 & 4);  9^th 10^th 31 – Donnie Hendershot (9);  11^th 23R – Keith Ford (9 & 13); 12^th 30 – Seth Kearchner (20 & 3);  13^th  75 – Zack Overmiller (20 & 3);  14^th 4t - Brandon Yarlett (7 & 17); 15^th 14 – Rohan Beasley (11 & 14); 16^th  28C  – Tanner Hunsicker (19 & 11); 17^th26 - Jerry Strausbaugh (21 & 12);    18^th 04 – Rich Halter (10); 19^th  22 – Christian Wright  (14 & 20); 20^th  52 – Mike Deimler (17 & 19); 21^st  23M – Adam Meier (18 & 21);   

Tire Shootout Invitational Results;

Tire Shootout Points based on 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1

1^st Hoosier 2^nd Hoosier 3^rd Hoosier 4^th American Racer 5^th American Racer

Hoosier – 12pts

American Racer – 3pts

Total

Hoosier – 171 pts

American Racer – 113 pts

Shippensburg  09/03

Kearchner races to close the gap

After the previous nights racing at Williams Grove the Sidewinder teams were challenged with making the necessary changes to suit the smaller 1/5^th mile. The track was prepped to perfection with most teams running a little tight during the heat race action.

The feature lineup saw the current top 3 in the season points standings starting in 5^th (Kearchner), 7^th (Robertson) and 9^th (Zielonis). On the 2^nd lap, contact between Rich Halter and current leader Christian Wright saw Wright spin wildly into the infield where he proceeded to flip the #22 onto its side. Christian was able to restart but Rich went to the pits with broken steering. Zack Overmiller took over the lead on the next green but not for long as Kearchner was able to pounce and capitalize to take the lead.

Kearchner was never headed for the remainder and all eyes went to the spirited battles throughout the field.

In his first ever Shippensburg victory lane interview Seth stated “ I was disappointed last night. We had some wing trouble in the first feature and finished with a 12place combined total. I came here tonight knowing that I needed a great finish to stay in the points chase. We had a little luck early when the leaders got together. This is the first race I have ran at Shippensburg in 20 years. My dad and I used to come and race go-karts every Friday night in the summer although we never had this kind of luck, we did have fun and created great memories.” Seth continued “ I have to thanks Probe chassis for the great updates to the car this year. This car handles great everywhere we race. DB Communications, NAPA auto parts, and His Place Auto Repair for their continued support this season and the Sidewinder Sprint Series for a great class to run in and an enjoyable group of crew and drivers that support the series. The switch to American Racer tires has definitely been a plus the past few races also.”

 For more driver and team information visit www.marriedtomotorsports.com  

Chassis / Wing / Wheel Parity Report: Micro chassis’s clean sweep the top 5

1^st Micro 16sq / 13”  2^nd Micro 16sq / 13”  3^rd Upright 16sq / 13”  4^th Micro 12sq / 10”  5^th Upright 16sq / 13” 

Sidewinder Feature Finish, 20 Laps, Car #, Name, (Started)

1^st  30 – Seth Kearchner (5);  2^nd 75 – Zack Overmiller (2);  3^rd 1K – Alex Schanz (8);  4^th 5J – Jason Stahl (6); 5^th 23 – Joe Robertson  (7);  6^th 14 – Rohan Beasley (4);  7^th  81- Mike Zielonis (9);  8^th 26 – Jerry Strausbaugh (11);  9^th  22 – Christian Wright (1);  10^th 22R – Reed Salony (10);  11^th 04 – Rich Halter (3);  12^th 23R – John Robertson (12);

Hear race winners; Wright and Overmiller

Tire Shootout Invitational Results;

Tire Shootout Points based on 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1

1^st American Racer 2^nd Hoosier 3^rd American Racer 4^th Hoosier 5^th American Racer

American Racer – 9pts

Hoosier – 6pts

Total

Hoosier – 177 pts

American Racer – 122 pts

This week’s question;

Q. With the micro chassis now winning 3 of the last 4 races and sweeping the top 5 this week, can the uprights turn the tables and have an impact at our triple header labor Day weekend this week ?

A. At Williams Grove the uprights took 4 of the top 5 positions. The tables were reversed with the micro chassis taking 3 of the top 5 at Shippensburg.

Next week’s question;

Q.  With the points race tightening and now only having 46 points separating the top 3, will we see a change in the top 3 positions again this week ?

Sidewinder Sprints are accepting 2011 registrations.

 Drivers wishing to join are reminded to register with us ASAP (click the registration link on our website) to reserve your car number, as we do not allow duplicate numbers, and to receive important "registered team" only emails regarding rules, contingency requirements and schedules.

Sidewinder Sprints will be appearing at:

Trail-Way 9/09

Shippensburg 09/17

Trail-Way 09/24 – Kevin Gobrecht Memorial

For all your racing needs please contact our following partners: 

Season Sponsors;

American Racer – Lias Tires (www.americanraceronline.com )

Hoosier Tire - Hoosier Tire Mid Atlantic (www.hoosiermidatlantic.com )

Contingency Awards “To Be Confirmed”:

Guhl Motors (www.guhlmotors.com) ; For all of your Fuel Injection needs. “Highest eligible Guhl injection finisher”;  Joe Robertson and Seth Kearchner

Henchcraft Top Gun Challenge (www.Henchcraftracing.com ): Rear of field challenge;

Hyper Hard Charger (www.Hyperracing.com); Most positions gained in the feature; Alex Schanz

Aero Wings (www.aerowingsonline.com) ; Winners use Wings by Aero. "Lucky 7";  Jared Esh and Mike Zielonis

Keizer Wheels (www.keizerwheels.com ); Fast Fifth Award.; Jason Stahl and Joe Robertson

For a complete rundown of Sidewinder Sprints points go to www.sidewindersprints.com/points.htm

Sidewinder Sprints Driver Season Standings;

Sidewinder Sprints Car Owner Season Standings;

 www.SidewinderSprints.com

Sidewinder Sprints – Path Valley 08/19/11

Yarlett captures first win

With the usual hot humid summer days bringing some heavy showers to the Mid-State in the middle of the afternoon, many teams thought that the night would be a wash out. Path Valley on the other hand on had a slight passing shower, but even that was enough to produce a tacky clay surface.

 Heat race action saw the Sidewinders flying around the ¼ mile oval as many teams suffered from cars being too tight on the ultra tacky surface. This left teams watching the surface wondering just how dry it would become for their feature. With the Sidewinders feature scheduled after the 305 feature, it would become a guessing game as the teams were not able to see how much the 305’s big right rear was drying the surface.

The feature got under way and sure enough the surface caught out some of the teams that had loosened their cars too much. Mark Hendershot, Rohan Beasley and Rich Halter all lost the handle at different times and spun to the infield. Donnie Hendershot was making the most of the high line passing cars until an oil line came loose depositing an oil stream around the track ending Donnie’s’ night.

Bad luck once again struck Joe Robertson around lap 10 forcing him to retire for the 2^nd week in a row. Joe is left scratching his head as he either checked or replaced many parts during the week  only to suffer from the same symptoms while running a strong 2^nd.

Up front however it was all Brandon Yarlett. Brandon won the first heat and then had his steering break after the checkers in turn 1. Yarlett was able to make repairs before the feature and made the most of it by leading all 20 laps.

Yarlett became the 14^th different driver/car combination to win in 19 races ran so far this year.  In victory lane when asked about his earlier misfortune, Yarlett explained “ Well it was tough tonight. I thought it was all over when I crossed the finish line in heat only to lose my steering. In the pits we found that a steering arm broke on spindle. We were able to fix it and get ready for feature.” Brandon continued “ During the race I kept looking at score board  counting  laps and seeing  who was behind me. Once I saw the 30 in 2nd I knew I had to push it harder to stay there. It seems like every time we come to Path Valley I end up breaking and getting towed off, at least tonight it was after the heat race and not during racing action and hopefully this breaks the jinx. I am fortunate to have some great sponsors that help out on the car, Whispering Pines Banquet Hall in Carlisle, Lube 'N Go of Carlisle and RTS Chassis. I would also like to thank mom and dad and my dear fiancée Dawn, for everything they do to help.”

Chassis / Wing / Wheel Parity Report: Micro chassis’s clean sweep the top 5

1^st Micro 12sq / 10”  2^nd Micro 16sq / 13”  3^rd Micro 12sq / 10”  4^th Micro 12sq / 10”  5^th Micro 16sq / 13” 

Sidewinder Feature Finish, 20 Laps, Car #, Name, (Started)

1^st  4t _ Brandon Yarlett (1);  2^nd 30 – Seth Kearchner (11);  3^rd 7 – Chris Crull (3);  4^th 81- Mike Zielonis (12); 5^th 26 - Jerry Strausbaugh (6);  6^th 75 – Zack Overmiller (8);   7^th  14 – Rohan Beasley (7); 8^th 23R – John Robertson (5); 9^th 04 – Rich Halter (10);   10^th 31 – Donnie Hendershot (9);  11^th 31M – Mark Hendershot (2);   12^th23 – Joe Robertson  (4);  13^th 14T – Tyler Walton (13);  

Lap Leaders- Brandon Yarlett (1-20.

Heats; Brandon Yarlett and Mark Hendershot

Tire Shootout Invitational Results;

Tire Shootout Points based on 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1

Hoosier takes the win, American Racer takes the round

1^st Hoosier 2^nd American Racer 3^rd American Racer 4^th American Racer 5^th Hoosier

American Racer – 9pts

Hoosier – 6pts

Total

Hoosier – 159 pts

American Racer – 110 pts

^{Home Stretch Preview;}

This week Mize Zielonis is scheduled to be on vacation in Florida. After closing the points gap to 8 points between 1^st and 2^nd, no doubt Mike will be doing a rain dance. Robertson’s bad luck struck for a 2^nd week in a row with his car losing power again around lap 10 forcing him to retire. Kearchner‘s head of steam has him only 28 points behind Robertson and with another top 5 finish last week, Seth needs to make sure he qualifies in the top 15 after heat race action next week to earn his 10 bonus points (Fast Fives).

This week’s question;

Q. With Kearchner currently the “in form” driver, can Seth continue his streak at Path Valley ?

A. Almost, Seth was using the cushion on entry to maintain his corner speed and passed a lot of cars to finish a close 2^nd to Brandon.

Next week’s question;

Q.  With the micro chassis now winning 3 of the last 4 races and sweeping the top 5 this week, can the uprights turn the tables and have an impact at Grandview this week ?

Q. Will Mike Zielonis put someone in his car this week while on vacation to gain critical owner points as the point fund is split 75% to the owner and 25% to the driver?

Sidewinder Sprints are accepting 2011 registrations.

 Drivers wishing to join are reminded to register with us ASAP (click the registration link on our website) to reserve your car number, as we do not allow duplicate numbers, and to receive important "registered team" only emails regarding rules, contingency requirements and schedules.

Sidewinder Sprints will be appearing at:

Grandview 8/27

Williams Grove 09/02 (Twin features only) supporting the 410 triple 20’s

Shippensburg 09/03

Port Royal 09/05 Labor Day Classic

Trail-Way 9/09

For all your racing needs please contact our following partners: 

Season Sponsors;

American Racer – Lias Tires (www.americanraceronline.com )

Hoosier Tire - Hoosier Tire Mid Atlantic (www.hoosiermidatlantic.com )

Contingency Awards “To Be Confirmed”:

Guhl Motors (www.guhlmotors.com) ; For all of your Fuel Injection needs. “Highest eligible Guhl injection finisher”; Brandon Yarlett

Henchcraft Top Gun Challenge (www.Henchcraftracing.com ): Rear of field challenge;

Hyper Hard Charger (www.Hyperracing.com); Most positions gained in the feature; Seth Kearchner

Aero Wings (www.aerowingsonline.com) ; Winners use Wings by Aero. "Lucky 7";  Rohan Beasley

Keizer Wheels (www.keizerwheels.com ); Fast Fifth Award.; Jerry Strausbaugh

For a complete rundown of Sidewinder Sprints points go to www.sidewindersprints.com/points.htm

Sidewinder Sprints Driver Season Standings;

Sidewinder Sprints Car Owner Season Standings;

 www.SidewinderSprints.com

Sidewinder Sprints – Trail –Way 08/12/11

Kearchner charges to victory lane.

Supporting the 358 sprints on a Friday Night at Trail-Way seems to be a perfect fit for the Sidewinders. The 358’s widen the track and the front gate crowd gets to enjoy 2 sprint classes. This week was exactly that. The Sidewinder’s heat race action saw both heat winners, Seth Kearchner and Rich Halter easily dominate their respective heats to the point that the visiting 2011 Sidewinder Sprints season Champion, Mark Strickler predicted a two car shoot out for the feature.

Feature time saw the unique Sidewinder format line up Halter on the pole and Kearchner back in tenth courtesy of his previous race’s top 5 finish. At the start Rich Halter took the lead with Mike Zielonis sliding into 2^nd. As much as Zielonis tried he couldn’t bridge the 3 car length gap and halter was looking set to capture his first win in 2011. All eyes however were on the 10^th starting Kearchner as he started to make his way through the field. With the race running non-stop lap traffic came into play and slowed Halter just enough to enable Kearchner to pounce. Lap 16 saw Kearchner pass Halter to take the lead. On lap 18 the caution flew for Zack Overmiller who had lost his steering in turn 2. As the field went nose to tail on the restart, Halter knew he need a perfect start to have a chance on Kearchner. It was Kearchner however that got the jump and clicked off two perfect laps to greet the checkers and take his first Trail-Way win.

After exiting his car Seth shared “What a great feeling to finally have a win at trail ways again. It has been 5 years since I was standing in victory lane after winning the Thunder on the Farm street stock race at the TW.  It is especially nice to win on a Friday night. A lot of fans and friends from my street stock days are here to watch and it’s great to be standing here in victory lane especially as our last visit to Trail-Way saw me upside down and a heap of damage to my #30 machine. This week I switched from Hoosiers to American Racer tires and wasn’t sure how long it would take me to get the car dialed in, but after a dominating heat race win I was ready and confident. Confidence in the car is the best thing for me as a driver. It is what I was lacking in years past and maybe at times this year I have had a little too much. Being a fast five from finishing 2nd at Susky meant my heat win wasn't going to help my starting position much in the feature and with lots of good cars in front of me, I knew I needed patience for the first few laps, As  I passed each car  I could see the leaders getting farther away. By the time I got to 3rd place they had a straight away lead. Keeping an eye on the laps I caught the leaders in lapped traffic, some lappers not giving an inch of room to the leaders either made passing tight. Once in the lead it was more lapped traffic and finally a caution flew on lap 18. I was happy to see the caution as  there was a pile of lapped cars in front so this cleared the track for the final 2 laps. Once the green flew I laid down 2 very quick laps and headed to victory lane! When asked about his sponsors and racecar Seth continued “The #30 His Place Automotive, DB Communications, Napa sponsored car was awesome all night and the new American Racers gave me the edge I was looking for all year.”  It was great to have 2 of my Sponsors here to join me in victory lane and celebrate in front of the much larger crowd on Friday night. Winning at Trail-Way has been a goal of mine since I was a very small kid in the stands with my dad watching every Friday night. I am extremely proud to win and be competitive at every track at this level, I have the oldest car, no big trailer or crew to help, just me and a lot of dedication. The Sidewinder series is the most fun racing I have ever been involved with. The drivers and teams all get along great on and off the track and the high speeds are exhilarating.”

Chassis / Wing / Wheel Parity Report: Micro chassis’s take 4 of the top 5 positions

1^st Micro 16sq / 13”  2^nd Micro 16sq / 13”  3^rd Micro 12sq / 10”  4^th Upright 16sq / 13”  5^th Micro 12sq / 10” 

Sidewinder Feature Finish, 20 Laps, Car #, Name, (Started)

1^st 30 – Seth Kearchner (10);  2^nd 04 – Rich Halter (1);   3^rd 81- Mike Zielonis (3);   4^th 22R – Reed Salony (2);   5^th 5J – Jason Stahl (5);  );  6^th 4D - Keith Ford (6);  7^th  31 – Donnie Hendershot (13);  8^th 14 – Rohan Beasley (7); 9^th 26 - Jerry Strausbaugh (9); 10^th 72- Josh Chess (2); 11^th 75 – Zack Overmiller (4);   12^th23 – Joe Robertson  (12);  13^th 21 – Jason Eisenhart (8);  

Lap Leaders- Rich Halter (1-15), Seth Kearchner (16-20).

Heats; Kearchner and Halter

Tire Shootout Invitational Results;

Tire Shootout Points based on 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1

American Racer Strikes back and dominates with 4 of the top 5

1^st American Racer 2^nd American Racer 3^rd American Racer 4^th Hoosier 5^th American Racer

American Racer – 13 pts

Hoosier – 2 pts

Total

Hoosier – 153 pts

American Racer – 101pts

^{Home Stretch Preview;}

With only 92 points separating the top 4 positions and 100 points to win each night, the fast fives 10 bonus points could end up becoming the deciding factor. The teams will be battling hard in the remaining 9 points races. Statistically less than 6% or the total points on offer currently separate the top 4 positions. One bad night could see a team drop multiple positions. The pressure is mounting and the teams will no doubt be putting their best foot forward in search of the coveted championship trophy.

This week’s question;

Q. Will the Sidewinder see another new 2011 winner at Trail-Way when they return to support the 358’s on the Friday night show on 08/12

A. So close.. Rich Halter led 15 laps only to be passed by Seth Kearchner. Seth now has 2 wins this season.

Next Race’s question;

Q.  With Kearchner currently the “in form” driver, can Seth continue his streak at Path Valley ?

Sidewinder Sprints are accepting 2011 registrations.

 Drivers wishing to join are reminded to register with us ASAP (click the registration link on our website) to reserve your car number, as we do not allow duplicate numbers, and to receive important "registered team" only emails regarding rules, contingency requirements and schedules.

Sidewinder Sprints will be appearing at:

Path Valley 8/19

Grandview 8/27

Williams Grove 09/02 (Twin features only) supporting the 410 triple 20’s

Shippensburg 09/03

Port Royal 09/05 Labor Day Classic

For all your racing needs please contact our following partners: 

Season Sponsors;

American Racer – Lias Tires (www.americanraceronline.com )

Hoosier Tire - Hoosier Tire Mid Atlantic (www.hoosiermidatlantic.com )

Contingency Awards “To Be Confirmed”:

Guhl Motors (www.guhlmotors.com) ; For all of your Fuel Injection needs. “Highest eligible Guhl injection finisher”; Seth Kearchner

Henchcraft Top Gun Challenge (www.Henchcraftracing.com ): Rear of field challenge;

Hyper Hard Charger (www.Hyperracing.com); Most positions gained in the feature; Seth Kearchner

Aero Wings (www.aerowingsonline.com) ; Winners use Wings by Aero. "Lucky 7";  Donnie Hendershot

Keizer Wheels (www.keizerwheels.com ); Fast Fifth Award.; Jason Stahl

For a complete rundown of Sidewinder Sprints points go to www.sidewindersprints.com/points.htm

Sidewinder Sprints Driver Season Standings;

Sidewinder Sprints Car Owner Season Standings;

 www.SidewinderSprints.com

Sidewinder Sprints – Susquehanna Speedway 7/30/11

Salony becomes the victor in a titanic battle.

Blue skies set the stage for the Sidewinder Sprints first ever appearance at Susquehanna Speedway.  Heat race action again set the stage for the feature race with Seth Kearchner just beating Donnie Hendershot at the line in the 2^nd heat.

In what has been described by many as the best Sidewinder race of the year and quite possibly the best race so far this season at Susquehanna, Reed Salony and Seth Kearchner put on a heavy weight style titanic battle for the entire 20 laps. Officially the lead changed at the flag stand 6 times with many spectators sharing that it changed almost every corner. The following day Seth shared “I had the most fun ever racing last night at Susky, after a horrible destructive crash at trail ways I didn’t think the car would make a decent lap or handle very well with all the spare/mismatched/worn out/wrinkled/somewhat wrong parts. I think Reed and I swapped the lead 20 times.  The track had 2 if not 3 grooves to run, a cushion that we rarely get at other tracks and all the room you need to pass without getting too risky.” All the teams shared the same sentiment after the races and are eager to return and wanted to share their thanks to Todd and Rhonda Fisher for preparing such a racy surface.

Victory lane however belonged to Reed Salony. It was the first time that Reed was able to capture a Sidewinder win and it came as no surprise to his fellow competitors as he has been consistently fast all year.

Reed explained “That was an absolute blast. Thanks to Seth for racing me hard and clean for so many laps. I am having a blast racing this class. It really is different than the other series we have run, everyone is willing to help their competitors and I must thank everyone for their help so far this season. It’s great to have races at Susky and certainly great to be standing in victory lane. I must thank my dad and pap for all the work and support they give. We have some great sponsors that help out, Mitre Wright Inc, Kuhner Assoc.             Impressive Signs,  BAPS and Gingerbabies Catering.” 

Chassis / Wing / Wheel Parity Report: In the exact opposite of last week, Uprights take the win and dominate the top 5.

1^st Upright 16sq / 13”  2^nd Micro 16sq / 13”  3^rd Upright 16sq / 13”  ” 4^th Upright 16sq / 13”  5^th Upright 16sq / 13” 

Sidewinder Feature Finish, 20 Laps, Car #, Name, (Started)

1^st 22R – Reed Salony (2);   2^nd 30 – Seth Kearchner (1);  3^rd 23 – Joe Robertson  (7);    4^th 99 – Mike Kiser (11); 5^th 31 – Donnie Hendershot (3);  6^th 7 – Chris Crull (6);  7^th  5J – Jason Stahl (5);  8^th 75 – Zack Overmiller (10);  9^th 4D - Keith Ford (12);  10^th 04 – Rich Halter (15);   11^th 14 – Rohan Beasley (14); 12^th 22 – Christian Wright (8); 13^th81- Mike Zielonis (13);   ); 14^th 21 – Jason Eisenhart (9);  15^th 1 – Ben Murphy  (16); 16^th   4T – Brandon Yarlett (4);