By: Betty Glynn
La Salle, IL – Tonica’s Scott Schmitt had a good thing going on the low side of the high banks at La Salle Speedway Saturday night. His ability to dodge trouble and use the inside line to work his way through the field earned him his first feature victory of 2010.
Twenty-eight racers signed in for the UMP Late Model action with a field of twenty making the main event. Ryan Unzicker and Keith Piano were positioned at the front of the line up grid with defending points champion Mike Provenzano and Schmitt in row two. Rich Bell and Lil’ John Provenzano rolled up in the third row. Without a doubt this was going to be an exciting feature race.
Proven to be the fastest two cars were Unzicker holding the pole next to Piano but the speedsters didn’t get an opportunity to strut their stuff for even a whole lap. Coming off the second turn, contact with Mike Provenzano and Unzicker stole the opportunity for a potentially great race between the top six contenders. Unzicker and Provenzano’s tangle sent a domino effect rippling through the front runners. Unzicker and Piano suffered the most damage retiring both rides by the end of the first lap.
With the two out, Mike Provenzano took over the pole with Schmitt as his front row partner ahead of Bell and Lil’ John Provenzano. Mike Provenzano was quick to take the lead but Schmitt was already looking for his opportunity for the point by the end of the second lap. A side by side battle was short lived between the pair after Schmitt cruised around the leader coming off turn two in the second lap.
Schmitt never had a challenge for the lead as he traveled under lapped traffic and away from the competition. The battle for second place was left between Mike Provenzano, Bell and Lil’ John Provenzano. It didn’t take the veteran racer Lil’ John long to find his niche and pull away for a strong runner up finish.
Schmitt’s solo journey boasted a great deal of real estate between him and second place. Schmitt’s consistent effort sent him to victory circle with Lil’ John claiming the runner up position ahead of Bell, and Mike Provenzano. Jimmy Partipilo started the twenty-five lapper in ninth on the grid but managed to work his way up the pack for a fifth place finish in front of Kyle Madison, Randy Manos, Matt Schultz, Jon Small, and Jimmy Dehm.
Unzicker scored the fast heat victory with Piano close in second. Mike Provenzano collected third over Schmitt. Ed Williams Jr. won the second heat contest ahead of Small, Travis Mahoney and Brian Locke. Dehm took the checkers in the third heat ahead of Manos, Aaron Schmidt and Schultz. Eric Rebholz won the semi-feature race.
Thirty-five UMP Modified drivers were in attendance for their division. Rusty Griffaw took home the first heat race win ahead of Vince Cooper, McKay Wenger and Dale Lueth. Robert Pohlman Jr. claimed the second heat win ahead of Matt Gremmenger, Mike Spatola and Darcy Wey. Nathan Balensiefen looked like a rocket ship as he powerfully took the third heat race checkers away from Joe Adam with Shawn Scriptor and Jeremy Johnson crossing the line behind him. Justin McCoy won the final heat over Matt Barker, Darrell Lowe and Allen Line. Mike Porth won the semi feature event.
Griffaw and Cooper were at the top of the starting grid ahead of Wenger and Lueth followed by AJ Dixon and Brad Stewart. It took a couple of tries to get a pace rolling but once the pack did it was all Griffaw controlling the field. At times he led with more than a half a track distance between him and his fellow competitors.
There wasn’t much of a race for the lead with Griffaw sailing his way around the oval. The contest was not in the front but there was action with a few rides moving up the field. One such ride was driven by Pohlman who journeyed his way from tenth place into the fourth place running position with five laps un-scored.
Griffaw finished the race uncontested with Wenger holding on to second place in front of Cooper, Pohlman, Balensiefen, Stewart, Spatola, Lueth, Phil Line, McCoy, and Adam.
Young gun Brandon Maciejewski stole the show during the events he raced in the UMP Street Stock class. He came out strong winning his heat in front of Nick Sell, Matt Ramer and Nick Clubb. Steve Lewis drove fast and furious to win the second preliminary race over Jake Miller, Timmy Provenzano, and Jeff Siemmens. Rick Koltveit won the final heat over Terri Simmons, Jamie Balensiefen and Randy Lucas. Eric Gaus won the consi race.
Maciejewski was an unstoppable force in the fifteen lap feature event. He carried the torch like an Olympic champion. Lewis claimed second ahead of Koltveit, Sell, Balensiefen, Mike Hughes, Siemmens, Roger Rickels, Ramer, Laura Jackinowski, #6, Eric Gaus, and John Houge.
Sixteen UMP 4 Cylinders showed up race ready. Phil Burdette kicked off the night with a heat race win in front of Jerry Legner, Asa Robart, Freddie Thatcher. Rick Zifko won the other heat over Alan Provenzano, Anna Cain and Shannon Mudro.
Anna Caine put on a Lightning McQueen style performance after she drove up the retaining wall’s concrete surface bouncing back onto the softer clay without missing a beat. She managed to keep her nose heading in the right direction and racing.
Burdette was all alone from the fourth lap scored. He managed to hold on to a generous lead until the checkered flag was dropped. Robart took home second for the second week in a row. Zifko finished third infor of Jerry Legner who beat Thatcher, Andrew Sharwarko, and Rick Wagner.
Next Saturday night, the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series will make a grand return to the track for the $10,000 to win Spring Shootout. In addition to the Late Model class, the UMP Modifieds, UMP Street Stocks and UMP 4 Cylinders will be competing as well.
La Salle Speedway Scoreboard Results May 15, 2010
UMP Late Models – 28 Cars
Qualifying: Ryan Unzicker 12.83
Heat One: Ryan Unzicker, Keith Piano, Mike Provenzano, Scott Schmitt
Heat Two: Ed Williams Jr., Jon Small, Travis Mahoney, Brian Locke
Heat Three: Jimmy Dehm, Randy Manos, Aaron Schmidt, Matt Schultz
Semi Feature: Eric Rebholz, Jon Small, Mike Marden, Karl Hayes
Feature: 1. Scott Schmitt, 2. John Provenzano, 3. Rich Bell, 4. Mike Provenzano, 5. Jimmy Partipilo, 6. Kyle Madison, 7. Randy Manos, 8. Matt Schultz, 9. Ed Williams Jr., 10. Steve Pastva, 11. Aaron Schmidt, 12. Jon Small, 13. Jimmy Dehm, 14. Jeff Small, 15. Travis Mahoney, 16. Eric Rebholz, 17. Brian Lock, 18. Ryan Unzicker, 19. Keith Piano
UMP Modifieds – 35 Cars
Heat One: Rusty Griffaw, Vince Cooper, McKay Wenger, Dale Lueth
Heat Two: Robert Pohlman Jr., Matt Gremmenger, Mike Spatola, Darcy Wey
Heat Three: Nathan Balensiefen, Joe Adam, Shawn Scripter, Jeremy Johnson
Heat Four: Justin McCoy, Matt Barker, Darrell Lowe, Allen Line
Semi Feature: Mike Porth, Jeremy Johnson, Dave Porth, Travis Kohler, Darcy Wey, DJ Werkmeister, Tom Knippenberg, Geno Hewitt, Allen Line, David Wagner
Feature: 1. Rusty Griffaw, 2. McKay Wenger, 3. Vince Cooper, 4. Robert Pohlman Jr., 5. Nathan Balensiefen, 6. Brad Stewart, 7. Mike Spatola, 8. Dale Lueth, 9. Phil Line, 10. Justin McCoy, 11. Joe Adam, 12. Matthew Gremmenger, 13. Steven Brooks, 14. Matt Barker, 15. Shawn Scripter, 16. Mike Porth, 17. Jeremy Johnson, 18. Darrell Lowe, 19. AJ Dixon, 20. Derick Doerr
UMP Street Stocks – 25 Cars
Heat One: Brandon Maciejewski, Nick Sell, Matt Ramer, Nick Clubb
Heat Two: Steve Lewis, Jake Miller, Timmy Provenzano, Jeff Siemmens
Heat Three: Rick Koltveit, Terri Simmons, Jamie Balensiefen, Randy Lucas
Semi Feature: Eric Gaus, Roger Rickels, Alex Clubb, Tony Provenzano, Ande Bivens, Jackinowski, Ben Gallentine
Feature: 1. Brandon Maciejewski, 2. Steve Lewis, 3. Rick Koltveit, 4. Nick Sell, 5. Jamie Balensiefen, 6. #24, 7. Jeff Siemmens, 8. Roger Rickels, 9. Matt Ramer, 10. Laura Jackinowski, 11. #6, 12. Eric Gaus, 13. John Houge, 14. #01, 15. Dave McKinney, 16. Terri Simmons, 17. Nick Clubb, 18. Jake Miller, 19. Tim Provenzano, 20. Randy Lucas
UMP Hornets – 16 Cars
Heat One: Phil Burdette, Jerry Legner, Asa Robart, Freddie Thatcher
Heat Two: Rick Zifko, Alan Provenzano, Anna Cain, Shannon Mudro
Feature: 1. Phil Burdette, 2. Asa Robart, 3. Rick Zifko, 4. Jerry Legner, 5. Freddie Thatcher, 6. Andrew Sharwarko, 7. Rick Wagner, 8. John Provenzano, 9. Anna Cain, 10. Harold Reiter, 11. Shannon Mudro, 12. Chuck Johnson, 13. Alan Provenzano, 14. Aaron Sutton, 15. Josh Larson
La Salle, IL – Tonica’s Scott Schmitt had a good thing going on the low side of the high banks at La Salle Speedway Saturday night. His ability to dodge trouble and use the inside line to work his way through the field earned him his first feature victory of 2010.
Twenty-eight racers signed in for the UMP Late Model action with a field of twenty making the main event. Ryan Unzicker and Keith Piano were positioned at the front of the line up grid with defending points champion Mike Provenzano and Schmitt in row two. Rich Bell and Lil’ John Provenzano rolled up in the third row. Without a doubt this was going to be an exciting feature race.
Proven to be the fastest two cars were Unzicker holding the pole next to Piano but the speedsters didn’t get an opportunity to strut their stuff for even a whole lap. Coming off the second turn, contact with Mike Provenzano and Unzicker stole the opportunity for a potentially great race between the top six contenders. Unzicker and Provenzano’s tangle sent a domino effect rippling through the front runners. Unzicker and Piano suffered the most damage retiring both rides by the end of the first lap.
With the two out, Mike Provenzano took over the pole with Schmitt as his front row partner ahead of Bell and Lil’ John Provenzano. Mike Provenzano was quick to take the lead but Schmitt was already looking for his opportunity for the point by the end of the second lap. A side by side battle was short lived between the pair after Schmitt cruised around the leader coming off turn two in the second lap.
Schmitt never had a challenge for the lead as he traveled under lapped traffic and away from the competition. The battle for second place was left between Mike Provenzano, Bell and Lil’ John Provenzano. It didn’t take the veteran racer Lil’ John long to find his niche and pull away for a strong runner up finish.
Schmitt’s solo journey boasted a great deal of real estate between him and second place. Schmitt’s consistent effort sent him to victory circle with Lil’ John claiming the runner up position ahead of Bell, and Mike Provenzano. Jimmy Partipilo started the twenty-five lapper in ninth on the grid but managed to work his way up the pack for a fifth place finish in front of Kyle Madison, Randy Manos, Matt Schultz, Jon Small, and Jimmy Dehm.
Unzicker scored the fast heat victory with Piano close in second. Mike Provenzano collected third over Schmitt. Ed Williams Jr. won the second heat contest ahead of Small, Travis Mahoney and Brian Locke. Dehm took the checkers in the third heat ahead of Manos, Aaron Schmidt and Schultz. Eric Rebholz won the semi-feature race.
Thirty-five UMP Modified drivers were in attendance for their division. Rusty Griffaw took home the first heat race win ahead of Vince Cooper, McKay Wenger and Dale Lueth. Robert Pohlman Jr. claimed the second heat win ahead of Matt Gremmenger, Mike Spatola and Darcy Wey. Nathan Balensiefen looked like a rocket ship as he powerfully took the third heat race checkers away from Joe Adam with Shawn Scriptor and Jeremy Johnson crossing the line behind him. Justin McCoy won the final heat over Matt Barker, Darrell Lowe and Allen Line. Mike Porth won the semi feature event.
Griffaw and Cooper were at the top of the starting grid ahead of Wenger and Lueth followed by AJ Dixon and Brad Stewart. It took a couple of tries to get a pace rolling but once the pack did it was all Griffaw controlling the field. At times he led with more than a half a track distance between him and his fellow competitors.
There wasn’t much of a race for the lead with Griffaw sailing his way around the oval. The contest was not in the front but there was action with a few rides moving up the field. One such ride was driven by Pohlman who journeyed his way from tenth place into the fourth place running position with five laps un-scored.
Griffaw finished the race uncontested with Wenger holding on to second place in front of Cooper, Pohlman, Balensiefen, Stewart, Spatola, Lueth, Phil Line, McCoy, and Adam.
Young gun Brandon Maciejewski stole the show during the events he raced in the UMP Street Stock class. He came out strong winning his heat in front of Nick Sell, Matt Ramer and Nick Clubb. Steve Lewis drove fast and furious to win the second preliminary race over Jake Miller, Timmy Provenzano, and Jeff Siemmens. Rick Koltveit won the final heat over Terri Simmons, Jamie Balensiefen and Randy Lucas. Eric Gaus won the consi race.
Maciejewski was an unstoppable force in the fifteen lap feature event. He carried the torch like an Olympic champion. Lewis claimed second ahead of Koltveit, Sell, Balensiefen, Mike Hughes, Siemmens, Roger Rickels, Ramer, Laura Jackinowski, #6, Eric Gaus, and John Houge.
Sixteen UMP 4 Cylinders showed up race ready. Phil Burdette kicked off the night with a heat race win in front of Jerry Legner, Asa Robart, Freddie Thatcher. Rick Zifko won the other heat over Alan Provenzano, Anna Cain and Shannon Mudro.
Anna Caine put on a Lightning McQueen style performance after she drove up the retaining wall’s concrete surface bouncing back onto the softer clay without missing a beat. She managed to keep her nose heading in the right direction and racing.
Burdette was all alone from the fourth lap scored. He managed to hold on to a generous lead until the checkered flag was dropped. Robart took home second for the second week in a row. Zifko finished third infor of Jerry Legner who beat Thatcher, Andrew Sharwarko, and Rick Wagner.
Next Saturday night, the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series will make a grand return to the track for the $10,000 to win Spring Shootout. In addition to the Late Model class, the UMP Modifieds, UMP Street Stocks and UMP 4 Cylinders will be competing as well.
La Salle Speedway Scoreboard Results May 15, 2010
UMP Late Models – 28 Cars
Qualifying: Ryan Unzicker 12.83
Heat One: Ryan Unzicker, Keith Piano, Mike Provenzano, Scott Schmitt
Heat Two: Ed Williams Jr., Jon Small, Travis Mahoney, Brian Locke
Heat Three: Jimmy Dehm, Randy Manos, Aaron Schmidt, Matt Schultz
Semi Feature: Eric Rebholz, Jon Small, Mike Marden, Karl Hayes
Feature: 1. Scott Schmitt, 2. John Provenzano, 3. Rich Bell, 4. Mike Provenzano, 5. Jimmy Partipilo, 6. Kyle Madison, 7. Randy Manos, 8. Matt Schultz, 9. Ed Williams Jr., 10. Steve Pastva, 11. Aaron Schmidt, 12. Jon Small, 13. Jimmy Dehm, 14. Jeff Small, 15. Travis Mahoney, 16. Eric Rebholz, 17. Brian Lock, 18. Ryan Unzicker, 19. Keith Piano
UMP Modifieds – 35 Cars
Heat One: Rusty Griffaw, Vince Cooper, McKay Wenger, Dale Lueth
Heat Two: Robert Pohlman Jr., Matt Gremmenger, Mike Spatola, Darcy Wey
Heat Three: Nathan Balensiefen, Joe Adam, Shawn Scripter, Jeremy Johnson
Heat Four: Justin McCoy, Matt Barker, Darrell Lowe, Allen Line
Semi Feature: Mike Porth, Jeremy Johnson, Dave Porth, Travis Kohler, Darcy Wey, DJ Werkmeister, Tom Knippenberg, Geno Hewitt, Allen Line, David Wagner
Feature: 1. Rusty Griffaw, 2. McKay Wenger, 3. Vince Cooper, 4. Robert Pohlman Jr., 5. Nathan Balensiefen, 6. Brad Stewart, 7. Mike Spatola, 8. Dale Lueth, 9. Phil Line, 10. Justin McCoy, 11. Joe Adam, 12. Matthew Gremmenger, 13. Steven Brooks, 14. Matt Barker, 15. Shawn Scripter, 16. Mike Porth, 17. Jeremy Johnson, 18. Darrell Lowe, 19. AJ Dixon, 20. Derick Doerr
UMP Street Stocks – 25 Cars
Heat One: Brandon Maciejewski, Nick Sell, Matt Ramer, Nick Clubb
Heat Two: Steve Lewis, Jake Miller, Timmy Provenzano, Jeff Siemmens
Heat Three: Rick Koltveit, Terri Simmons, Jamie Balensiefen, Randy Lucas
Semi Feature: Eric Gaus, Roger Rickels, Alex Clubb, Tony Provenzano, Ande Bivens, Jackinowski, Ben Gallentine
Feature: 1. Brandon Maciejewski, 2. Steve Lewis, 3. Rick Koltveit, 4. Nick Sell, 5. Jamie Balensiefen, 6. #24, 7. Jeff Siemmens, 8. Roger Rickels, 9. Matt Ramer, 10. Laura Jackinowski, 11. #6, 12. Eric Gaus, 13. John Houge, 14. #01, 15. Dave McKinney, 16. Terri Simmons, 17. Nick Clubb, 18. Jake Miller, 19. Tim Provenzano, 20. Randy Lucas
UMP Hornets – 16 Cars
Heat One: Phil Burdette, Jerry Legner, Asa Robart, Freddie Thatcher
Heat Two: Rick Zifko, Alan Provenzano, Anna Cain, Shannon Mudro
Feature: 1. Phil Burdette, 2. Asa Robart, 3. Rick Zifko, 4. Jerry Legner, 5. Freddie Thatcher, 6. Andrew Sharwarko, 7. Rick Wagner, 8. John Provenzano, 9. Anna Cain, 10. Harold Reiter, 11. Shannon Mudro, 12. Chuck Johnson, 13. Alan Provenzano, 14. Aaron Sutton, 15. Josh Larson
