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Sidewinder Sprints 2010 Race Format

2010 will see the Sidewinder Sprints once again change the face of racing. With more tracks being added to the schedule it was obvious that a new race format needed to be created that would enable Sidewinder Sprints to have a consistent format throughout the 2010 season.

Previously the Sidewinder Sprints had utilized the hosting race tracks formats. At Path Valley it is a heat pill draw followed by a pill draw invert of the top 12 for the feature. At Trail-Way they utilized the standard PA weekly invert system of a full invert heat race based on season point averages and then the top 12 qualifiers inverted for the feature.

The first thing needed was to outline the objectives of the new format. This was somewhat easy based on our teams various input over the years. We looked at various race formats and really liked what we saw with the basics of the United Racing Company (URC) format. With a few minor tweaks, we had a rough outline to refine. The second thing was to send the proposed format to our registered teams and then post it on various websites including www.microracing.com to garnish further thoughts and input. Our belief was that the more input provided, the quicker we could refine it into a workable system. Many thanks to those that posted, emailed and phoned to provide valuable input.

After only 5 drafts of refinement, we now believe we have a system ready for “prime time”. Below is the outline of the objectives, the race format and some examples of how the “Fast Fives” will work.

Objectives:

Eliminate / minimize the “luck of the pill draw”.

Eliminate / Minimize the “season long” handicapping impact by replacing it with a previous 3 race total.

Stop double handicapping every car in both the heats and features.

Enable “new” drivers to compete without penalties. (All drivers get a pill draw for their first race)

Reward the high points racers for starting at the rear of their heat by allowing them to start heads up in the feature. The only exception being a driver’s last race top 5 finish. In that case he still has the chance to start in front of the other top five finishers by virtue of their respective qualifying efforts.

Eliminate / Minimize front row heat race cars from starting on the front row of the feature after being passed in the heats.

Make every pass in the heats count for the feature lineup.

Create a format that will create good racing for the fans by minimizing the “fastest to the front” that can occur with pills draws.

2010 Race Format

1) Heats: The first heat races of the season will be lined up by pill draw for the entire field.

For the second race, cars will be inverted from low points in the front to high points in the rear from the first race. For the third race, points from both races will be added and cars will again be inverted per the second race format. For the fourth race all point from the first 3 races will be added for the lineups and again inverted per the second race format.

(1a) Once three races are completed, the points from the drivers previous three appearances will be used to determine starting lineup. If a driver does not have 3 appearances at that time, his previous appearances will be used as follows; If only one race, his points for that race will be tripled. If only two races, his points will be added, and the highest points from those two races will be used as the third race.

Any driver that has not made a start with Sidewinder Sprints in 2010 shall pull a pill for their first race. Those pills are numbered from 1-24 to represent feature finishes. That driver will then be awarded triple that respective points associated with that finish position. They will then be slotted into the invert system above. After the first race for that driver, their position will be calculated in the method above (1a)

For drivers with equal points, the tie break shall be the drivers last attended race finish. (The tied cars shall be inverted based on the lowest to the front for that position.)

2) Consi: When starting 24 cars, with car counts over 27 cars, a consi will be ran for the positions 19-24. (Less than 27 cars, we will start all 26 in the feature). When starting 30 cars (big tracks) a consi will be ran for the positions 25 to 30, when car counts exceed 30 cars.

Consis will be limited to no more than 16 cars per consi. The consi line-up will be straight up from the heat race finish order of non-qualifiers.The top 6 cars will transfer.

If two consis are needed, the top 3 in each will transfer. All car that transfer will start straight up from their finishing positions.

3) Feature: the feature line-up will be straight up from the heat race finishes.

Note with the following exceptions:

Fast Fives; Cars that finish in the top five in their last race they competed in will be placed into a “Fast Fives” group. Cars in the “Fast Fives” group that finish in the top 15 qualifiers will be placed in order of their qualifying positions with the “last qualifying fast fives” car starting 15^th and the rest counting down to their highest qualifier from the heats. All other top 15 qualified cars will be bumped forward in front of the “Fast Fives cars”. Each night’s “Qualified Fast Fives” will receive 10 bonus points. (These bonus points will not count towards their 3 race points totals for heat line ups)

19th to 24th or 25^th to 30th as applicable will be by consolation finish or by heat race finish if a consi is not run.

If a driver changes rides during the event, that driver must start rear of field at the next qualified race (Consi or feature)

Feature line up example by positions earned during heat race qualifying. Numbers in red are the “Fast Five cars”;

Qualifying finish	After “Fast Fives”	Qualifying finish	After “Fast Fives”	Qualifying finish	After “Fast Fives”
1	1	1	1	1	1
2	3	2	2	2	2
3	4	3	3	3	4
4	8	4	6	4	5
5	10	5	7	5	8
6	12	6	9	6	10
7	14	7	10	7	11
8	15	8	11	8	3
9	2	9	13	9	6
10	5	10	15	10	7
11	6	11	4	11	9
12	7	12	5	12	12
13	9	13	8	13	13
14	11	14	11	14	14
15	13	15	14	15	15

Sidewinder Sprints are accepting 2010 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.

www.SidewinderSprints.com

The 2009 Sidewinder Sprints season will go down in history for many different reasons. We had the most rain outs in our history, the closest point’s battles and the beginning of a historic direction change for the class.

When the season started out, we were joined by “Team Aero” with both Craig and Chad Myers deciding to join the fray. Both drivers had previously raced in the bigger 358 Sprint class . From the outset they were fast, but luck seemed to be against them early on. Multiple flips and general car bug issues plagued the team. At one stage it was almost to the point that if there was a crash somewhere on the track, you could be assured one of the Myers cars ended up with damage.

Things eventually sorted themselves out and the season championship came down to the wire with only a handful of points separating Craig Myers and Mark Strickler going into the last race of the year. Every title must have a winner, and in 2009 Craig Myers was able to take the Championship with a great 2^nd place finish in the final race of the year.

Our congratulations must go to Craig Myers and his Yamaha powered Triple XXX chassis for claiming his first Sidewinder Championship. The Aero Wings race team includes 3^rd place Chad Myers in his Yamaha Powered Probe chassis giving the team a fantastic result considering the early season bad luck the team suffered. Mark Strickler in his Yamaha powered Stallard chassis again put in a solid performance earning 2nd place in the 2009 Sidewinder Sprints Championship.

Craig and Chad both agreed that they owe their outstanding 2009 performance to their father and crews tireless work to prepare two cars each week. If ever there was a mechanic of the year award, obviously it must go to their father Tim Myers for placing both of the team cars on the championship podium.

Mark Strickler was again a constant performer narrowly missing out on winning his first championship for his The Workshop Yamaha/Polaris sponsored team.

Parity report: The top 5 chassis in the 2009 Sidewinder Sprints championship were ; Triple XXX, Stallard, Probe, RTS and Hyper.

In 2009 Brian Racine set out with one goal in mind, to win a track championship to honor the passing of his father. He couldn’t have asked for a better start by winning the season opener at Trail-Way. Brian, racing for Forry Motorsports was able to pick up 4 wins at Trail-Way. At the end of the season Brian was asked about his first year in Sidewinder competition to which he replied “Sidewinder Sprints put my team (Forry Motorpsorts) on the map this year. The class forces driver development and control. Anyone is capable of winning in this series and that will force you to be on top of your program. Sidewinder Sprints aided tremendously to all my success this year not only in this class but also in the 600’s. Thank you to everyone involved in making this class what it is and to helping to make my goals a reality. To win a championship for Sgt. Forry while he was serving in Iraq was a great way to honor our heroes fighting for our freedom.”

Craig Myers was able to take the final championship podium position with a tough fought 3^rd place.

Parity report: The top 5 chassis in the 2009 Trail-Way championship were ; Hyper, Stallard ,Triple XXX, , Hyper and Probe.

If rain had registered an entry at Path Valley this year, we might be awarding the championship to him. Despite more rainouts than anyone can remember at Path Valley, Tim Mertz was able to persevere and take the title by a mere 7 points over Chad Hough. The Mertz’s Moving sponsored Suzuki powered RTS was once again the dominate car scoring 5 wins at Path Valley. The point chase was going to be decided at the last race of the year but once again rain ruined what would have been a fantastic last race shootout between Mertz and Hough. Alex Schanz, in his Sidewinder Sprints rookie year put in a great performance to finish 3^rd in the Path Valley points chase.

Parity report: The top 5 chassis in the 2009 Path Valley championship were ; RTS, Hyper, RTS ,Henchcraft and Triple XXX.

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With 25 cars making the trip to Trail-Way to compete in the annual Kevin Gobrecht Memorial, hard close racing was going to be the order of the night.

Warm ups got off to a rocky start with Arron Spar breaking a rear axle at full speed heading down the back straight, Arron did a great job controlling the car but unfortunately was done for the night.

Heat race action got underway and we would be amiss in not mentioning the great performance by Seth Kearchner to win his heat race pulling away in his 2005 ZX10 powered 2003 Probe chassis.

With the top 4 in each heat redrawing for starting positions in the 25 lap feature making the top 4 would prove critical. The pill draw lined up the cars with the Sidewinder Sprints points title combatants lining up side by side on the 3^rd row.

Before the feature , all of the Sidewinder cars lined up on the front straight for a presentation of a plague to Sgt. Jason Forry commemorating his Trail-Way points championship ownership of the #61 driven by Brian Racine. Sgt. Forry only recently returned from his tour of duty in Iraq and as such this night would be the first time he saw his car in action.

Unfortunately for Sgt. Forry, his car would only see 3 laps of feature race action when a racing incident saw contact break the steering sending Brian into the back straight wall.

The race for the championship was coming down to the wire; Mark Strickler was running 3^rd behind Jason Morrison with Craig Myers right behind them. Strickler knew what he need to do and an overzealous attempt to pass coming off turn two saw his right front make contact to Morrison’s left rear sending both cars wildly spinning to the infield. Myers was now in the box seat to secure the season Championship with Strickler and Morrison being forced to start at the rear.

Jon Moore making the long distance trip from NY made the most of his front row starting position with a dominating win utilizing the high line around the track after taking over the lead on the 3^rd lap. It made for an interesting sight with all of the mini-sprints utilizing a much higher racing groove than the Sidewinders. On that note, many thanks to the Mini-Sprint teams for making the tow and adding extra interest in the nights racing.

The only flip of the night belonged to Morrison after both Henchcraft rental Sidewinders cars collided in turn two. Morrison was forced pit side with damage. Nathan Hauck was also involved and sustained front end damage.

In victory lane Moore explained “ We have finished racing in NY for this season and it was really nice of the Sidewinders for inviting us to compete at such a prestigious event. Unfortunately my car owner, Clayton McCartney couldn’t make it tonight but I owe him a huge thanks for proving such a fast car. We couldn’t do this without our sponsors, Square D, CRM Electric, Electronic Communications inc. Many thanks must also go to Rick Hench at Henchcraft Racing Products for building such a great car and Rich Wood at K&S Power sports for his help.” When asked about the 5 hour tow Jon shared “ It was really worth it. This is a great facility with an awesome racing surface and the people that we have met tonight are first class. They really made us feel right at home and we look forward to returning more often next season.”

Sidewinder Sprints would like to thank all of the teams that showed tremendous patience during tech as the top ends of all top 5 cars were measured. Thanks for your help in preparing the cars and re-assembling them. The information gained will be invaluable in preparing tech documents for the coming seasons. Special thanks again to Gary Funck for allowing us the use of his well lit trailer for the tech work.

Sidewinder Sprints must also thank H & L Sales Co. for also providing cash awards to the following finishers, 1^st, 5^th. 12^th and last. These teams are: Jon Moore, Chad Myers, Jim Campbell Jr and Arron Spahr.

H& L Sales specialize in used truck and trailer sales, Container sales and Rentals.

Our congratulations must go to Craig Myers in his Yamaha powered Triple XXX chassis for claiming his first Sidewinder Championship. The Aero Wings race team includes 3^rd place Chad Myers in his Yamaha Powered Probe chassis giving the team a fantastic result considering the early season bad luck the team suffered. Mark Strickler in his Yamaha powered Stallard chassis again put in a solid performance earning 2nd place in the 2009 Sidewinder Sprints Championship

Parity report: The top 5 chassis in the 2009 championship were ; Triple XXX, Probe, Stallard, RTS and Hyper.

1^st 12 – Jon Moore (2);2^nd 16 – Craig Myers (5); 3^rd 59 – Brendan Bright (7); 4^th 11 – Jesse Snyder (9); 5^th32 – Chad Myers (14); 6^th 30 – Seth Kearchner (12); 7^th38 – Mark Strickler (6); 8^th 82 – John Virgillio (18); 9^th 69W – D.J. Wykes (17); 10^th 17 – Tim Mertz (13); 11^th 1K – Alex Schanz (8); 12^th 3 – Jim Campbell Jr. (24); 13^th 81 – Mike Zielonis (16); 14^th 92 – Gary Funck (23); 15^th 17S –Stan Fleming (21); 16^th 23 – Joe Robertson (1); 17^th 5 – Nathan Hauck (10); 18^th 99 – Mike Kiser (11); 19^th 1HRP – Jason Morrison (4); 20^th 1H – Sean Campbell (19); 21^st 21 – Jason Eisenhart (22); 22^nd 61 – Brian Racine (3); 23^rd 04 – Rich Halter (15); 24^th 14 – Rohan Beasley (20)DNS; 25^th 19 – Arron Spahr (25)DNS;

Q. With his first 3 starts in Sidewinder Sprint action resulting in a 2^nd at Williams Grove, a heat race flip and subsequent feature DNF at Grandview and a win at The Path Valley Sprint Nationals, What will be in store for Nathan Hauck at Trail-Way this week ?

A. Nathan had a race he would rather forget after tangling with Jason Morrison (Morrison flipped) .

Q. Can one of the Mini Sprints (Empire Lightning Sprints) make the podium at either race ?

A. Yes…making his first start in PA, Jon Moore made the most of his front row start to take the win.

Q. With only 1 race left in the season and the Path Valley points still up for grabs, will Tim Mertz or Chad Hough take the title ?

For all your entertainment and racing needs please contact our following partners:

Aero Wings (www.aerowingsonline.com) ; Winners use Wings by Aero. "Lucky 7"; Mark Strickler

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

Stoner Car Care Products – More Shine ( www.moreshine.com); Detailing products for your cars and your toys!;

H&H Wings - Phone 717-503-8306; Wings that make you fly ! “Season points bonuses”

Coating Concepts - Phone 717- 240-0010; Powder Coating at its best. “Season points bonuses”

Sidewinder Sprints will next appear at Path Valley on 10/16 for the final Path Valley Track points race.

This week will see the Sidewinder Sprints in action on both Friday and Saturday nights.

Friday night will see the final point race at Path Valley decide the 2009 Track Championship. Currently Tim Mertz holds a slender 7 point lead over Chad Hough. With Chad apparently already selling his car, the question remains will Chad make a surprise appearance in a different ride to chase the championship ?

This race will be a classic with it also being the 2^nd last Sidewinder Sprints 2009 Championship race. Only 1 point separated Craig Myers and Mark Strickler prior to the Path Valley Sprint Nationals. Mark Strickler had a night that he would rather forget and Craig continued to put in another solid performance with a top 5 finish enabling Craig to extend his lead to 27 points. The pressure is mounting and all eyes will no doubt be on the #16 of Craig Myers and the #38 of Mark Strickler as the Sidewinder title again goes down to the wire.

Saturday Night will see the Sidewinder Sprints compete in the annual Kevin Gobrecht Memorial Race at Trail-Way. This race is one of the crown jewels and has every driver eager to win in Kevin’s honor. On hand for the first time this year will be the car owner on the #61 Yamaha powered Hyper driven by Brian Racine. A Huge welcome home must go to Sgt. Jason Forry as he has made a safe return from his tour of duty and is eagerly waiting to see his car in full flight around the 1/3 mile oval. Brian and crew have already captured the Trail-Way Championship for Forry Motorsports and would no doubt love to put the icing on their fantastic season by claiming the Gobrecht Memorial. This team will have its challengers with both Myers Brothers proving that they have Trail-Way figured out with multiple wins this year. Jesse Snyder is another driver that has constantly proven his skills on the 1/3^rd mile oval. Both Craig Myers and Mark Strickler have visited victory lane at Trail-Way this year so the final shoot-out for the Championship will be a high pressure, high speed duel.

This is the last race for the 2009 Sidewinder Sprints Championship and the expectations are high for a big field of Sidewinders to be on hand with some of the Empire Lightning Sprints making the tow to join the challenge.

Good luck to all the teams this week, especially those teams in the points championship battles.

Q. Can one of the Mini Sprints (Empire Lightning Sprints) make the podium at either race ?

For all your entertainment and racing needs please contact our following partners:

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

Stoner Car Care Products – More Shine ( www.moreshine.com); Detailing products for your cars and your toys!;

H&H Wings - Phone 717-503-8306; Wings that make you fly ! “Season points bonuses”

Coating Concepts - Phone 717- 240-0010; Powder Coating at its best. “Season points bonuses”

Sidewinder Sprints will next appear at Path Valley on 10/02 and then at Trail Way on 10/03 for the Kevin Gobrecht Memorial.

The Sidewinder feature lined up with 2 of the 3 Henchcraft Racing rental cars on the front row. Nathan Hauck in the 2009 Sidewinder on the pole and Ben Murphy in the Min-Sprint starting on the outside, everyone was wondering how this shootout would end. It became a two car battle for the lead for most of the event. At the drop of the green, Hauck jumped from the pole, but Murphy used the outside starting position to his advantage and took to the high groove to snatch the lead on the first lap.

Both of these cars raced within a car length of each other lap after lap with Murphy running high and Hauck in the middle. Murphy bobbled on the restart on lap thirteen allowing Hauck to get by and into the lead. The complexion of the race entirely changed when two of the top five drivers, Ben Murphy and Tim Mertz, ran out of fuel on a restart on lap 28. This put Stan Fleming into second, Aaron Spahr third, Chad Myers fourth and Craig Myers fifth. On the final restart Chad Myers passed Spahr to take third. At the checkers it was Nathan Hauck winning in the “Rent-My-Ride” car, ahead of Fleming, Chad Myers, Spahr, and Craig Myers.

Hauck was ecstatic in victory lane and had a lot to say “Obviously my thanks must go to Rick Hench for providing a car that was absolutely a dream to drive. The rental cars are a great way to get a feel for this class and I think they are pretty competitive cars.” When asked about the closeness of the race Nathan continued “It’s a real pleasure racing with racers like Ben Murphy. We ran wheel to wheel for several laps without us even touching. The track surface being so smooth and racy played a big part. It’s not usually this slick and you really have to be patient on the throttle. There were many laps when I didn’t even get to wide open. Path Valley’s track crew did a great job and thanks to everyone that helped put on a greats nights racing. That being said I also want to thank the sponsors like WeeBee Audio and Video for supporting the Sidewinders and The Workshop Yamaha/Polaris and Mertz Moving helping out by sponsoring the lap money that I won tonight, and an extra thanks to Scott Spahr for giving me a ride to and from the track tonight.”

Later in the pits when asked about his Sidewinder experiences so far, Hauck explained “ It really is a great class and the cars are so much fun to drive that I might have to get one for 2010. The power really changes the way you drive compared to a 600. It’s obvious that Rohan and Jason have put countless hours into creating this class and I believe that they are steering it in the right direction. ”

1^st 5 – Nathan Hauck (1); 2^nd 17S –Stan Fleming (15); 3^rd 32 – Chad Myers (7); 4^th 19M – Arron Spahr (4); 5^th16 – Craig Myers (3); 6^th 10 – Chad Hough (8); 7^th14 – Rohan Beasley (5); 8^th 3 – Jim Campbell Jr. (9); 9^th 81 – Mike Zielonis (18); 10^th 5J – Jason Stahl (20); 11^th 04 - Rich Halter (13); 12^th 17 – Tim Mertz (17); 13^th 38 – Mark Strickler (12); 14^th 92 – Gary Funck (16); 15^th 1HRP – Ben Murphy (2); 16^th 1A – Brendan Bright (22); 17^th 69W – D.J. Wykes (19); 18^th 29 – Barry Shearer (10); 19^th 1K – Alex Schanz (21); 20^th 31 – Donnie Hendershot (9); 21^st 1X – Mike Pychinka (6); 22^nd 30 – Seth Kearchner (11);

Q. With his first 3 starts in Sidewinder Sprint action resulting in a 2^nd at Williams Grove, a heat race flip and subsequent feature DNF at Grandview and a win at The Path valley Sprint Nationals, What will be in store for Nathan Hauck at Trail-Way this week ?

For all your entertainment and racing needs please contact our following partners:

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

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

Stoner Car Care Products – More Shine ( www.moreshine.com); Detailing products for your cars and your toys!;

H&H Wings - Phone 717-503-8306; Wings that make you fly ! “Season points bonuses”

Coating Concepts - Phone 717- 240-0010; Powder Coating at its best. “Season points bonuses”

Sidewinder Sprints will next appear at Trail-Way on 09/26 for the Kevin Gobrecht Memorial.

The stage was set for the showdown. The weather was perfect, the track was prepared to perfection, the crowds were filling the stands and before long the first ever Sidewinder Sprints v’s Empire Lightning Sprints would be underway.

Pill draws established the starting order for the heats with the Sidewinders and Empire Sprints lined up evenly across the rows. Sidewinders on the inside and the Empire sprints on the outside in heat one and three, with the rows swapped for heat 2.

Heat 3 saw Nathan Hauck climb a right rear entering turn one as the caution lights were displayed for Chad Myers jumping the start. Nathan needed to swap his race suit for a space suit as he sailed the Henchcraft Mini Sprint skyward obtaining an altitude higher than the turn one fence. Nathan emerged from the wreck and the team began to struggle to repair the car in time for the feature.

The Sidewinder Sprints dominated the heat races winning all 3 heats in the 2009 rules spec Sidewinders (10” wheels and 12 Sq Ft Wing cars). The pill draw had the following options, 0,3,6,9,12. (Three heats, multiples of three being the fairest way)

Mark Strickler by virtue of winning the first heat pulled for the invert. Pill number 12 came out. The feature line up was set. The top 4 in the 3 heats were inverted by their finishing order.

Rich Halter got a great start and managed to lead the first 9 laps. At that time Chad Myers used the momentum of the high side to pass Halter and take over the lead. Another driver to find the speed on the high side was Mike Kiser in the #99 Mini Sprint. Kiser continued to work the high line and pass cars and moved into 2^nd on 14. At that time all he could do was slowly real in Myers. Myers was able to hold on and take the win in the first ever Sidewinder/Empire Lightning Sprints challenge race. The race was stopped on lap 8 for a nasty fence riding flip by Patrick Roller. Roller was sore but otherwise unharmed in the bone jarring accident.

Victory lane saw Chad perform a wing dance in front of the large crowd. Chad commented “It’s great to get this Aero Wings sponsored car to victory lane. If anyone out there is thinking about joining this exciting racing, I have this car for sale for only $7500. Many thanks must go to Grandview for having us. The track is a blast to race on. Multiple racing grooves, great officials and a great crowd. Thanks must also go to the Empire Lightning Sprint teams for making the long tow down to challenge us.”

The finish order shows the great diversity that the new 2010 rules package brings;

2009 Sidewinder, Mini Sprint, 2010 Sidewinder, 2010 Sidewinder, Mini Sprint, 2009 Sidewinder, 2010 Sidewinder, 2009 Sidewinder, 2009 Sidewinder, 2009 Sidewinder.

Many thanks to the Empire Lightning Sprints teams that made the tow for the challenge race. The success of this race and the competitiveness of all of the different 2010 packages once again showed that the Sidewinder Sprints have created a rules package that creates the most exciting, cost effective competitive sprint car racing available.

Sidewinder v’s Lightning Sprints Challenge Feature (20 Laps); Finish, Car #, Name, (Started) ;

1^st 32 – Chad Myers (4); 2^nd 99 – Mike Kiser (8); 3^rd 04 - Rich Halter (3); 4^th 5 – Mike Pychinka (5); 5^th30 - Scott Goodrich (6); 6^th 11 – Jesse Snyder (10); 7^th1K – Alex Schanz (2); 8^th 38 – Mark Strickler (12); 9^th 1 – Brendan Bright (22); 10^th 14 – Rohan Beasley (7); 11^th 3 – Jim Campbell Jr. (15); 12^th 22X - Christian Wright (20); 13^th 21 –Jason Eisenhart (18); 14^th 16 – Craig Myers (9); 15^th 15X – JD Cassaza (16); 16^th 10C – Mike Cokely (17); 17^th 1HRP – Nathan Hauck (24); 18^th 31 – Todd Lapp (1); 19^th 22 – Patrick Roller (23); 20^th 19M – Arron Spahr (11); 21^st 69W – DJ Wykes (14); 22^nd 20 – Brian Pomponio (13); 23^rd 15 – Jim Young (19); 24^th 4D – Keith Ford (21);

Q. With only 7 points separating Tim Mertz and Chad Hough for the Path Valley points championship, will this week see either driver dominate and take command of the championship?

For all your entertainment and racing needs please contact our following partners:

Aero Wings (www.aerowingsonline.com) ; Winners use Wings by Aero. "Lucky 7"; Alex Schanz

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

Stoner Car Care Products – More Shine ( www.moreshine.com); Detailing products for your cars and your toys!;

H&H Wings - Phone 717-503-8306; Wings that make you fly ! “Season points bonuses”

Coating Concepts - Phone 717- 240-0010; Powder Coating at its best. “Season points bonuses”

The first feature to run was the Sidewinder make-up feature. Since this race was scheduled for 30 laps and $500 to win back in June, that is what was run Friday night. Tim Mertz started on the pole and was pulling away when the first of two cautions came out. After the restart Donnie Hendershot passed Mark Strickler for second. But Mertz easily kept Hendershot behind him to score win number four at Path Valley this year. With Hendershot in second and Strickler in third, Jesse Snyder finished fourth and Alex Schanz came from starting near last to finish fifth to garnish the hard charger award.

In victory lane Tim stated “being the first race on the track tonight, I knew that passing would be tough. My dada and crew had my Suzuki powered RTS chassis working great again tonight. I really like Path Valley and want to thank the track crew for the work they do each week to prepare a great surface. Many thanks must go to WeeBee Audio and Video for supporting this class this year.”

1^st 17 – Tim Mertz (1);2^nd 7 – Donnie Hendershot (3); 3^rd 38 – Mark Strickler (2); 4^th 11 – Jesse Snyder (4); 5^th1K – Alex Schanz (11); 6^th 81 – Mike Zielonis (9); 7^th92 – Gary Funck (5); 8^th 32 –Chad Myers (10); 9^th 16 – Craig Myers (7); 10^th 14 – Rohan Beasley (6); 11^th 23 – Joe Robertson (8); 12^th 15 – Sean McAndrew (12);

Mike Pychinka started second in the second Sidewinder feature and took command of the field on lap one. Pychinka, driving a Henchcraft house car and making his first start at Path Valley, looked to be the driver to beat as he held the lead past halfway, including several restarts.
Tim Mertz started eighth and powered his way into second by lap four. Mertz finally discovered that Pychinka could not hold the bottom groove in turns three and four and capitalized with an inside move on lap twelve. Mertz then pulled away the remaining eight laps to get his second win and $500 payout of the evening. Pychinka finished second, well ahead of Mark Strickler in third. Craig Myers started
next to last in the seventeen-car field and pushed his way forward to a fourth place finish and pick up the hard charger award. Chad Hough spun-out on lap two but rebounded to finish fifth.

In victory lane Tim carried on from where he left off “Obviously again my thanks must go to my crew for such a fast setup on the car. The track had started to slicken off, and having the crew dial my car in made it easy to drive. Apart from thanking WeeBee Audio and Video, many thanks must go to the other sponsors, American Racer, Guhl Motors, The Workshop Yamaha and Aero wings. It’s great getting two wins in one night.”

1^st 17 – Tim Mertz (8);2^nd 1H – Mike Pychinka (2); 3^rd 38 – Mark Strickler (7); 4^th 16 – Craig Myers (16); 5^th10 – Chad Hough (4); 6^th 1HRP Donnie Harvey (3); 7^th14 – Rohan Beasley (9); 8^th 11 – Jesse Snyder (6); 9^th 81 – Mike Zielonis (1); 10^th 7 – Donnie Hendershot (12); 11^th 1K – Alex Schanz (14); 12^th 23 – Joe Robertson (17); 13^th Seth Kearchner (10); 14^th 32 – Chad Myers (5); 15^th 21 –Jason Eisenhart (13); 16^th 17S Stan Fleming (11); 17^th 92 – Gary Funck (15);

At the end of last year, Rich Halter made a decision to “get out” of racing…He sold all of his equipment. The long winter months can make a racer itch for competition. As the season opened, we found Rich in the pits, helping Jason Morrison. It wasn’t long before the winter itch became an obsession yet again. Fast forward to early July. Morrison was still busy at work and had a car sitting in the shop and no time to race it. Rich was looking for a car. Timing is everything and a deal was struck with Rich becoming the owner of both the car and trailer. He was back in business.

The first few weeks were “shake down and shake off” races. Shake down the car to find a setup to his liking, and shake the rust off his driving skills that had accumulated over the winter months.

Saturday 08/15 will be etched in Rich’s memory now forever. Halter started the feature in third and led every lap to capture his first ever win. With Halter running a higher than usual line at Trail-Way, points leader, Brian Racine, ran second the entire race but could not close the distance to challenge for the lead as Halter pulled away from the field and never looked back. Mark Strickler, Chad Myers, and Don Harvey completed the top five.

Victory lane is always sweet for a first time winner and Saturday night was special for Halter. “A special thanks to my wife Tara and step daughter Kaitlyn for showing me support over the past 7 years so I can live my dreams of racing. Without their help and support I would not be able to do this crazy thing called Sprint car racing. Rich continued “ I would like to thank Wee Bee Audio Video for their support in the Sidewinder class. You guys are first class and always willing to talk and lend a hand. I would also like to thank Guhl Motors for the awesome power they give us week in and week out. Thanks to The Workshop Yamaha / Polaris, Guhl Motors, Keizer Wheels, Lias Tires / American Racer, Aero Wings, Stoner Products, H & H Wings, Coating Concepts. We racers appreciate all you do for the class.”

When questioned about the cars speed Rich added “A special thanks to Jason Morrison and Bud Morrison for helping me get my first ever win in a Sprint Car. You guys really helped fine-tune my set-up and by telling me all the things I was doing wrong on the track. It helped and it showed.”

When asked about his future plans, especially as he was testing one of the 2010 rules packages including the 13” wheels and bigger wing, Rich expressed his genuine appreciation, “ I would also like to thank Rohan for all your hard work you and Jason have done to get this class get off the ground. Sometimes it seems thankless but you have stepped up to the plate to do something others would not do. Since joining this class, this has been the most fun I have had racing Micro’s. When the wife and I talked about getting back into racing this year I knew I would not be back in a 600 micro. The Sidewinders are way too much fun and a blast to drive, and the new rules package proposed for 2010 will be exactly what the class needs to take it to a higher level.”

1^st 04 – Rich Halter (3);2^nd 61 – Brian Racine (6); 3^rd 38 – Mark Strickler (7); 4^th 32 –Chad Myers (2); 5^th1HRP Donnie Harvey (11); 6^th 16 – Craig Myers (10); 7^th23 – Joe Robertson (9); 8^th 4D – Keith Ford (1); 9^th 1H – Mike Pychinka (13); 10^th 1K – Alex Schanz (5); 11^th 10 – Chad Hough (12); 12^th 4 – Rohan Beasley (4); 13^th Seth Kearchner (8);

Q. With three $500 to win races on the line this week (2 at Path Valley, 1 at Trail-Way), can a team make the sweep of all three races and take home a cool $1500?

A. Almost . Tim Mertz swept Path Valley, but didn’t race at Trail-Way. Rich Halter took the win at Trail-Way

Q. With three points battles on the line, and only 46 points separating the top 3 positions, will we see a new points leader by the end of the weekend ?

A. Almost. Only 1 point now separates 1^st and 2^nd place. It looks like it will all come down to the wire.

For all your entertainment and racing needs please contact our following partners:

The Workshop ( www.workshopwelovesnow.com ) "Eligible Hard Charger Bonus" Alex Schanz, Craig Myers, Brian Racine

Aero Wings (www.aerowingsonline.com) ; Winners use Wings by Aero. "Lucky 7" Gary Funck, Rohan Beasley, Joe Robertson

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

Stoner Car Care Products – More Shine ( www.moreshine.com); Detailing products for your cars and your toys!; Mike Pychinka

H&H Wings - Phone 717-503-8306; Wings that make you fly ! “Season points bonuses”

Coating Concepts - Phone 717- 240-0010; Powder Coating at its best. “Season points bonuses”

Sidewinder Sprints will next appear at Williams Grove for an exhibition race during the twin 20’s for the 410 Sprints on 08/21/09

1^st	Craig Myers	1441
2^nd	Mark Strickler	1394
3^rd	Chad Myers	1288
4^th	Alex Schanz	1244
5^th	Joe Robertson	1129
6^th	Jesse Snyder	1069
7^th	Rohan Beasley	930
8^th	Chad Hough	869
9^th	Brian Racine	840
10^th	Gary Funck	832
11^th	Sean McAndrew	762
12^th	Mike Zielonis	631
13^th	Tim Mertz	619
14^th	Jim Campbell	574
15^th	Jerry Strausbaugh	543
16^th	John Robertson	529
17^th	Patrick Roller	380
18^th	Keith Ford	305
19^th	Donnie Hendershot	299
20^th	Ron Taggert	272
21^st	Mike Pychinka	267
22^nd	Stan Fleming	266
23^rd	Seth Kearchner	231
24^th	Arron Spahr	224
25^th	DJ Wykes	221
26^th	Jared Hudson	213
27^th	Jim Young	204
28^th	Jason Eisenhart	193
29^th	Nathan Hauck	148
30^th	Dwayne Gutshall	140
31^st	Jason Morrison	126
32^nd	James Shaw	121
33^rd	Rich Halter	100
34^th	Barry Shearer	93
35^th	Jason Stahl	60
36^th	Brendan Bright	48

1^st	Craig Myers	1441
2^nd	Mark Strickler	1394
3^rd	Chad Myers	1288
4^th	Alex Schanz	1244
5^th	Joe Robertson	1129
6^th	Jesse Snyder	1069
7^th	Rohan Beasley	930
8^th	Chad Hough	869
9^th	Brian Racine	840
10^th	Gary Funck	832
11^th	Sean McAndrew	762
12^th	Mike Zielonis	631
13^th	Tim Mertz	619
14^th	Jim Campbell	574
15^th	Jerry Strausbaugh	543
16^th	John Robertson	529
17^th	Patrick Roller	380
18^th	Keith Ford	305
19^th	Donnie Hendershot	299
20^th	Ron Taggert	272
21^st	Mike Pychinka	267
22^nd	Stan Fleming	266
23^rd	Seth Kearchner	231
24^th	Arron Spahr	224
25^th	DJ Wykes	221
26^th	Jared Hudson	213
27^th	Jim Young	204
28^th	Jason Eisenhart	193
29^th	Nathan Hauck	148
30^th	Dwayne Gutshall	140
31^st	Jason Morrison	126
32^nd	James Shaw	121
33^rd	Rich Halter	100
34^th	Barry Shearer	93
35^th	Jason Stahl	60
36^th	Brendan Bright	48

Craig Myers	1341
Mark Strickler	1314
Chad Myers	1198
Alex Schanz	1176
Joe Robertson	1078
Jesse Snyder	974
Rohan Beasley	889
Chad Hough	869
Brian Racine	797
Gary Funck	775
Sean McAndrew	762
Mike Zielonis	571
Tim Mertz	547
Jerry Strausbaugh	543
John Robertson	529
Jim Campbell	510
Patrick Roller	380
Keith Ford	305
Donnie Hendershot	299
Ron Taggert	272
Mike Pychinka	267
Jared Hudson	213
Stan Fleming	212
Jim Young	204
Arron Spahr	185
Jason Eisenhart	148
Seth Kearchner	146
DJ Wykes	145
Dwayne Gutshall	140
Jason Morrison	126
James Shaw	121
Rich Halter	100
Nathan Hauck	100
Barry Shearer	93
Jason Stahl	60
Brendan Bright	48

Craig Myers	1341
Mark Strickler	1314
Chad Myers	1198
Alex Schanz	1176
Joe Robertson	1078
Jesse Snyder	974
Rohan Beasley	889
Chad Hough	869
Brian Racine	797
Gary Funck	775
Sean McAndrew	762
Mike Zielonis	571
Tim Mertz	547
Jerry Strausbaugh	543
John Robertson	529
Jim Campbell	510
Patrick Roller	380
Keith Ford	305
Donnie Hendershot	299
Ron Taggert	272
Mike Pychinka	267
Jared Hudson	213
Stan Fleming	212
Jim Young	204
Arron Spahr	185
Jason Eisenhart	148
Seth Kearchner	146
DJ Wykes	145
Dwayne Gutshall	140
Jason Morrison	126
James Shaw	121
Rich Halter	100
Nathan Hauck	100
Barry Shearer	93
Jason Stahl	60
Brendan Bright	48

Craig Myers	1261
Mark Strickler	1260
Alex Schanz	1135
Chad Myers	1108
Joe Robertson	1078
Jesse Snyder	974
Rohan Beasley	817
Brian Racine	797
Chad Hough	793
Sean McAndrew	762
Gary Funck	724
Jerry Strausbaugh	543
John Robertson	529
Mike Zielonis	507
Tim Mertz	490
Jim Campbell	442
Patrick Roller	380
Keith Ford	305
Ron Taggert	272
Mike Pychinka	267
Donnie Hendershot	260
Jared Hudson	213
Jim Young	204
Jason Eisenhart	148
Dwayne Gutshall	140
Jason Morrison	126
James Shaw	121
Stan Fleming	117
Seth Kearchner	111
Rich Halter	100
Arron Spahr	100
DJ Wykes	100
Gary Funck 2nd car	50

Pos #	Car #	Driver	TOTAL
1	61	Brian Racine	530
2	38	Mark Strickler	457
3	16M	Craig Myers	452
4	23	Joe Robertson	445
5	32	Chad Myers	389
6	1K	Alex Schanz	365
7	14	Rohan Beasley	352
8	26	Jerry Strausbaugh	297
9	11	Jesse Snyder	290
10	92	Gary Funck	256

os #	Car #	Driver	TOTAL
1	17	Tim Mertz	375
2	10	Chad Hough	368
3	1K	Alex Schanz	306
4	81	Mike Zielonis	293
5	16M	Craig Myers	293
6	92	Gary Funck	274
7	23	Joe Robertson	269
8	32	Chad Myers	253
9	14	Rohan Beasley	213
10	38	Mark Strickler	177

Craig Myers	1111
Mark Strickler	1110
Joe Robertson	1028
Alex Schanz	985
Chad Myers	958
Jesse Snyder	824
Brian Racine	747
Chad Hough	743
Sean McAndrew	712
Gary Funck	674
Rohan Beasley	667
Jerry Strausbaugh	493
John Robertson	479
Mike Zielonis	457
Tim Mertz	440
Jim Campbell	292
Patrick Roller	230
Ron Taggert	222