SPRINTS: Penn National 96-06-16
June 16, 1996
Grantville, PA

Greetings sprint car fans from the Penn National Speedway located adjacent to
the Penn National horse racing facility.  Sorry for the delay in posting.  Penn
National Speedway is found at exit 28 off of I-81, approximately 10 miles
northeast of Harrisburg.  This was Mr. G's and my first visit to the track,
what a great facility!  The track is considered a half mile oval with very
slight banking.  There is a high wooden main grandstand on the front stretch
with regular grandstand seating at the turn one and four ends of the front
stretch.  Under the main grandstand are modern bathroom facilities, good
tasting food which was reasonably priced, and a great variety of souvenir's. 
There is also an infield and a drive in spectator viewing area.  The price for
admission was $15.00 for adults and $3.00 for children 6 - 10.  Thjis was my
Fathers Day present from my son.  

The racing program found the 410 sprint cars appearing for the 30 lap Dick
"Tobby" Tobias Memorial which paide $3,500 to the winner.  In addition to the
sprint cars the regular featured series of NASCAR Sportsman Modifieds ran a 25
lap feature.  Billy Pauch was the defending sprint car Toby Tobias Memorial
winner while Kenny Brightbill was the Sportsman Modified defending champion.   
     

For those readers unfamiliar with the Tobias name I offer the following brief
paragraphs from a feature article in the Aristocrat which is the program
published by Program Dynamics for Big Diamond Raceway and Penn National
Speedway.  "Not only was Tobias a truly gifted racer, he was an innovator, a
successful businessman and a race promoter.  He attained legend status while
alive and started a legacy that continues today."  "Tobias is also credited
with introducing the first mass produced tubular frame race cars, thus
eliminating the old practice of cutting up old passenger vehicles and
converting them into race cars."  In a USAC sanctioned event on "June 23, 1978,
at the Flemington Speedway Toby caught the inside guard rail with his tire in
turn one and flipped violently; bringing a tragic end to a legendary career
that touched the hearts of so many."

The racing program for the evening started with four heat races for the NASCAR
Sportsman Modifieds which were ten laps in distance with five to qualify.  The
sprint cars then had three heat races which were also ten laps in length with
six to qualify.  The top three finishers from each heat then pulled a pill to
determine starting position for the feature.  The Sportsman then had two
consolation races which were ten laps in distance with only three to qualify. 
The sprints then went with a six lap consolation with six to qualify.  The
Sportsman twenty five lap feature was first followed by the 30 lap Sprint
feature.  I will be providing limited information on the Sportsman events first
since has some direct bearing relating to the sprint car action. Billy Pauch
and Tracey Readinger were the only drivers to do double duty for the evening,
if you are a Pauch fan you will enjoy this report!

Signed into the pits were 25 of the 410 Sprint cars and 37 of the NASCAR
sportsman Modifieds.  It took extra time to prepare the track due to the heavy
rains of the week which had resulted in the third turn being under water.  The
Sportsman Modifieds ran extra warm up laps to help work the track in.  Racing
was scheduled to start at 6:00 PM and the hot laps started at 5:58 PM.  

Sprint Car Hot Lap Notes
The #1 of Billy Pauch was out to get heat in the engine and returned to the
pits.  When he was out for heat his top wing was flat.  When Billy returned to
the track for the hot lap session his top wing did not look right and as he
exited turn two the wing blew up.  Evidently the pins for the front brackets
were not secured which resulted in a damaged wing and the car hitting the wall
slightly.  
The #5 of Eshenaur seemed to have engine troubles as well as the #6 of Fanasy. 
Also of interest Billy Brian Jr. was driving his #16 car again and not the
Scarpita #59.		

Modified Heat One Qualifiers, ten cars
1.)  #26 Mike Giannini,  2.)  #58 Terry Reimert,  3.)  #11 Tom Mayberry, 
4.)  #1B Ricky Elliott,  5.)  #33 Ray Swinehart
The #m1 of Billy Pauch was in the heat but failed to qualify.

Modified Heat Two Qualifiers, nine cars
1.)  #54 Smokey Warren,  2.)  #44 Ronnie Tobias,  3.) #8Jr Meme DeSantis  4.) 
#58s  Shawn Reimert,  5.)  #85  Duane Howard
Of interest in the heat was the front row which consisted of father and son #54
of Smokey Warren and 54Jr of Billy Warren.

Modified Heat Three Qualifiers, nine cars
1.)  #93 Jeff Strunk,  2.)  #333 Scott Hauck,  
3.)  #17T Toby Tobias Jr.,  4.)  #67 Jon Kellner,  
5.)  #74W John Willman

Modified Heat Four Qualifiers, nine cars
1.)  #37G Garry Gollub,  2.)  #1 Rick Shaffer,  3.)  #30 Brian Johnson
4.)  #54C Chip Longenecker,  5.)  #03 Gene Weidman

		
SPRINT CAR HEAT ONE
The line up for heat one was as follows:  
Row 1: #29 Dave Calaman 	#16 Bill Brian Jr.	 
Row 2: #77 Fred Rahmer 		#461 Lance Dewease	
Row 3: #16C Cliff Brian		#69K Don Kreitz Jr.
Row 4: #12 Keith Kauffman 	#2H Dave Hahn
Row 5: #92 Kevin Gobrecht

On the drop of the green the field did not have a clean start causing cars to
jump around a good deal.  The #16 of Bill Brian Jr. jumped into the lead and
never looked back.  the #461 of Dewease passed the #29 of Calaman in turn three
before the completion of the first lap.  While working lap two the #12 of
Kauffman and the #77 of Rahmer were battling for position with Kauffman getting
by Rahmer exiting turn four when Rahmer suddenly slowed and entered the pits.

The only other battle was between the #69K of Kreitz running in fourth and the
#12 of Kauffman running fifth but a pass was never completed.	 	               
HEAT ONE QUALIFIERS
#16, #461, #29, #69K, #12, #2H


	
SPRINT CAR HEAT TWO
The line up for heat two was as follows:  
Row 1: #92A Jon Armstrong	#77t Jess Thomas		 
Row 2: #55s Bill Sims		#17 Alan Cole  
Row 3: #81 Mike Dillman		#88 Todd Shaffer		  
Row 4: #3 Bob Bennett		#49 Bob Howard

The green dropped and the #55s of Sims passed the #92A of Armstrong in turn
one while the #88 of Shaffer passed Armstrong in turn four to take over second.
 On lap two Shaffer is pressuring Sims for the lead while the #17 of Cole
passed the #77t of Thomas in turn four.  Finally on lap four Shaffer passed
Sims on the front stretch to take over the lead.  Sims tried to set up Shaffer
for a pass but hooked the cushion in turn two and lost ground to the leader. 
On lap five the caution waved for Thomas who had looped his car in turn four. 
The running order was:  #88, #55s, #17, #92A, #49, #3, #81, #77t.  

On the restart Cole pressured Sims for second but managed to hold him off
while the #49 of Howard passed Armstrong on the back stretch.  On lap seven the
#92a of Armstrong is experiencing motor problems and starts to smoke and drops
back through the field.  
HEAT TWO QUALIFIERS
#88, #55s, #17, #49, #77t, #3
  

SPRINT CAR HEAT THREE
The line up for heat three was as follows:  
Row 1: #10N Jeff Thompson  	#2T Tracey Readinger
Row 2: #25 Todd Gracey		#15L Larry Miller
Row 3: #6 Bill Fanasy		#5 Craig Eshenaur 
Row 4: #7 Dave Cordier Jr.	#1 Billy Pauch

Prior to the start the #15L of Miller dropped back and the #1 of Pauch moved
up.  On the start the #1 of Pauch was up to second by turn four.  While working
lap two the caution waved for the #15L of Miller who had looped it in turn two.
 Running order was #10N, #1, #5, #25, #2T, #7, #6, #15L.

On the restart Pauch was pressuring the #10N of Thompson who managed to
maintain the lead.  On lap three the #25 of Gracey was pressuring the #5 of
Eshenaur for third but the running position never changed.  Meanwhile up in
front Pauch was closing of the leader Thompson who was running the high groove
while Pauch used the low groove.  On lap seven Pauch finally used a sling shot
pass in turn one to assume the lead.  On lap eight Thompson hooked the cushion
while trying to set Pauch up for the pass and almost lost control of the car. 	
HEAT THREE QUALIFIERS
#1, #10N, #5, #25, #7, #2T     

Modified Consi #1 Qualifiers, nine cars
1.)  #114 Craig Von Dohren,  2.)  #m1 Billy Pauch,  
3.)  #14B Todd Biever
Billy Pauch had to jump out of his sprint car and immediately get into his
sportsman for the sportsman consi #1.
 
Modified Consi #2 Qualifiers, seven cars
1.)  #37 Eric Pinkerton,  2.)  #27 Scott Davis,  
3.)  1x  Bobby Seidel Jr.
The 1x nails the turn one wall after the checkered flag but was still under
power when he entered the pits.

SPRINT CAR CONSI, six laps with six to qualify.
The line up for the consi was as follows:  
Row 1: #92 Kevin Gobrecht	#92A Jon Armstrong 
Row 2: #6 Bill Fanasy		#16C Cliff Brian
Row 3: #81 Mike Dillman		#77 Fred Rahmer
Row 4: #15L Larry Miller
The Hamilton team changed an engine in the #77 of Rahmer prior to the consi
being run.  Rahmer was fast and there was not much action in the consi.
Sprint Car Consi Qualifiers
#77, #92, #92A, #16C, #6, #81

NASCAR Sportsman Modified Feature 25 Laps

Twenty six cars took the green with the #m1 of Pauch starting in the twenty
first position.  By lap thirteen when the first caution waved for the ##1 of
Rick Shaffer getting into the #74W of Willman in turn four Pauch was up to the
sixth position.  Pauch was passing numerous cars and sometimes making a little
contact when exiting turn four.  On the next caution, I believe it was lap
nineteen Pauch was set back four spots for rough riding which brought a great
deal of noise from the fans who either loved it or hated it.  Pauch did obey
the officials commands and then he started to move back up through the field
and was able to get all the way up to second.
Top Three Finishers NASCAR Sportsman Modified Feature 25 Laps
1.)  #1B Ricky Elliot,  2.)  #m1 Billy Pauch,  3.)  #93 Jeff Strunk

SPRINT CAR 30 LAP TOBY TOBIAS MEMORIAL
Row 1:  #461 Lance Dewease	#55s Bill Sims		
Row 2:  #5 Craig Eshenaur	#29 Dave Calaman	
Row 3:  #17 Alan Cole		#10N Jeff Thompson	
Row 4:  #1 Billy Pauch		#16 Bill Brian Jr.
Row 5:  #88 Todd Shaffer	#69K Don Kreitz Jr.
Row 6:  #49 Bob Howard		#25 Todd Gracey
Row 7:  #12 Keith Kauffman	#3 Bob Bennett 	
Row 8:  #7 Dave Cordier Jr.	#2H Dave Hahn
Row 9:  #77t Jess Thomas	#2T Tracey Readinger
Row 10: #77 Fred Rahmer		#92 Kevin Gobrecht
Row 11: #92A Jon Armstrong	#16C Cliff Brian
Row 12: #6 Bill Fanasy		#81 Mark Dillman

Once the green waved the #461 of Dewease pulled out in front and it looked
like he might just run off.  The #5 of Eshenaur passed the #29 of Calaman in
turn two and was then promptly passed back in turn three.  Working lap two
Eshenaur passed Calaman on the back stretch for the second position.  By lap
two the #55s of Bill Sims was dropping through the field when the caution flag
came out for debris on the track.  The running order was: #461, #5, #29, #1,
#55s, #88, #25, #16, #17, #12, #77 and #69K.  The caution did wipe out the huge
lead that Dewease had on the field.

On the restart Calaman swung by Eshenaur in turn one and the #88 of Shaffer
passed the #55s of Sims.  By lap three the #12 of Kauffman was on the move and
had passed the #25 of Gracey in turn three to take the seventh position.  on
lap four the #1 of Pauch was on the move and passed Eshenaur in turn two and
was pressuring Calaman for the second position.  By turn four Pauch passed
Calaman to take over second.  running order was now: #461, #1, #29, #5, #88 and
#12.  On lap five the #88 of Shaffer was passed by the #12 of Kauffman.  By lap
seven Dewease had a considerable lead over Pauch, amounting to half of the
front stretch.  By lap twelve Pauch was beginning to close in on Dewease and on
lap twelve the caution flag flew.  On the back stretch the #6 of Fanasy spun
and hit the inside guard rail.  The running order was #461, #1, #29, #12, #77,
#5.  While working the caution the #10N of Thompson rolled to a stop in the
turn four corner with a brake caliber problem which forced him to the pits.

On the restart Pauch tried to pass Dewease but was unable to complete the
pass.  The real race on the track at this point was between Kauffman and Rahmer
respectively.  On lap thirteen both cars passed the #29 of Calaman in turn two.
 Kauffman was just able to keep Rahmer behind him.  By lap sixteen the #461 was
working lapped traffic.  On lap nineteen Fast Freddie Rahmer was finally able
to make a pass on Kauffman in turn one.  Once again by lap twenty three Dewease
had seemed to pull away from Pauch.  The running order was #461, #1, #77, #12.

By lap twenty four Dewease and Pauch were cleared of lap traffic and by lap
twenty six Pauch was slowly making ground on Dewease.  On lap twenty seven the
#461 appeared to have lost his bite and the #1 of Pauch caught him in turn one
and flew by Dewease on the inside groove.  At the checkers Pauch was the leader
with Dewease never seriously challenging him.  I am not sure what happened but
the #12 of Kauffman never crossed the finish line and came to a stop exiting
turn four.  	

TOP THREE FINISHERS
1.)  Billy Pauch,  2.)  Lance Dewease,  3.)  Fred Rahmer

VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW
Billy came down the front stretch and spun the car so it was facing turn four. 
Billy said he was trying different grooves to catch Dewease but that he also
realized that his tires would be better at the end of the race since he knew
what Dewease was running.  Billy said the crew deserves the credit and that the
track had changed from the heat races.  He also felt that his running the
Sportsman Modified gave him a better idea of how the track would be for the
feature sprint race.

Billy also though he was unfairly penalized from the tower for rough riding
during the Sportsman Modified race.  Billy made a few comments regarding track
officials and their decisions but where I was sitting there was to much noise
to hear the track PA.  Actually it was an argument between Pauch supporters and
haters.  Billy did say that he felt it was just racing.

As always I welcome any news, comments, suggestions or questions.  You can
reach me at:  rgould@oehs.upenn.edu