Kevin Bolland Becomes 4th Different Modified Winner In Lou Blaney Memorial While Holding Off King
(Hartford, OH)…A huge crowd turned out on a beautiful Tuesday evening at Sharon Speedway to remember the legacy of the great Lou Blaney, who amassed more than 600 victories in his five-decade career of racing. The fourth annual “Lou Blaney Memorial” Alzheimer’s Association Benefit presented by Ollie’s Bargain Outlet saw Brad Sweet (410 Sprint Cars) and Kevin Bolland (DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds) win their first features in this prestigious event. Lou’s wife Kate gathered over $10,000 in contingencies for the racers.
After splitting the first four events at two a piece, Kevin Bolland and Rex King have been shutout of victory lane the last four races. On Tuesday night, it was King and Bolland battling for the 25-lap win with Bolland getting by in the closing stages of the Governor Insurance Agency DIRTcar Big-Block Modified event. Bolland’s third win of the season at Sharon was his biggest anywhere on the 2012 circuit, worth $2,000.
“I raced a lot of years with Lou (Blaney),” explained the 52-year-old New Brighton, Pa. veteran. “He was the guy I always looked at. I’d always sneak around his cars to see how to go fast. I finally got to a point in my career where I could compete with him. We miss Lou- he was a great racer!”
King bolted from his third starting spot into the lead on the opening circuit with Tom Mattocks and Kevin Hoffman in pursuit. Hoffman and ninth starting Chad Brachmann dropped Mattocks back to fourth on lap two. Kyle Fink looked strong making a three-wide move on lap four to steal third, but Fink would spin one lap later collecting Brad Rapp, who was making his 2012 Sharon debut.
Bolland entered the mix from his eighth starting position driving under and by Brachmann for third on lap five. By lap seven, the top five of King, Kevin Hoffman, Bolland, Brachmann, and Shingledecker pulled away from the field. Fink slowed and brought out another caution with eight laps scored.
When green replaced yellow, Bolland’s forward progress continued as he raced by Hoffman for second. A long green flag run took place from laps 9-23, which allowed King to distance himself from the field as the battle raged for second. Brachmann began to put the heat on Hoffman as he closed in on lap 17 and tried every move possible to get by on the 19th circuit.
King had his hands full with lapped traffic on lap 22. Bolland was right on King as the battle heated up for second. The two raced side-by-side on lap 22 racing off turn two. King held on until he got bottled up in lapped traffic on lap 23 as Bolland used the momentum on the outside to power into the lead. King really got blocked in on lap 24 due to his son “Cooter” slowing on the backstretch and getting caught behind traffic; this allowed Hoffman and Brachmann to blow by, but “Cooter” was unable to get off the track necessitating the caution with 23 laps completed.
Bolland survived a scary restart for his 21st career Sharon win by a margin of 1.34 seconds in the Bol-Tech Motorsports-owned, Boundary Systems | CREO/Bolland Machine/Cintas/BudisakBoys/TurboStart/MyWay Mobile Storage/Bickenell Racing Products/Bilstein/Car Cleen/Matheson Valley Gas/Cranberry Coin & Currency-sponsored #777. “It seems like ever since I’ve left the winners’ circle I’ve been coming from 12th,” continued Bolland. “We’re back here now. The track was great tonight. I got bumped on that last restart and nearly spun, and the first one they said I started too early, but I recovered and took the lead again. The third time was a charm and I took it to the flag.”
King barley held off Hoffman for runner-up. Brachmann was fourth over Jim Weller. Eric Gabany was sixth ahead of Rapp. Jimmy Weller III was eighth after starting 24th to earn the Hard Charger Award. Chris Haines was ninth as Tom Glenn rounded out the top 10. Heat winners were Shingledecker, Pearson, and Chrysler. The B main was cancelled after just six of the 10 original starters reported to the speedway.
Governor Insurance Agency DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds (20 laps, $2,000 to-win): 1. KEVIN BOLLAND (777) 2. Rex King (65) 3. Kevin Hoffman (17H) 4. Chad Brachmann (3) 5. Jim Weller, Jr. (31) 6. Eric Gabany (3E) 7. Brad Rapp (11R) 8. Jimmy Weller III (31W) 9. Chris Haines (35H) 10. Tom Glenn (83T) 11. Carl Murdick (6) 12. Tom Mattocks (69) 13. Dillion Barr (15B) 14. Don Brown (71B) 15. Bob Warren (96B) 16. Jeremiah Shingledecker (37MD) 17. Rob Curtis (McElhaney 6 7/8) 18. Rex King, Jr. (165) 19. Skip Moore (17M) 20. Justin Rasey (21) 21. Randy Chrysler (21K) 22. Dean Pearson (8J) 23. Steve Barr (25B) 24. Brian Fink DNQ: Rob Kristyak (00), Jim Rasey (32), Rick Ryder (Snider 189), Del Rougeux, Jr. (20D).
Sharon Speedway is owned by the Blaney, Weller, and Kirila Families and is a 3/8-mile dirt track located on Custer-Orangeville Road in Hartford, Ohio near the intersection of Routes 7 & 305. For more information, check out the website at www.sharonspeedway.com or call 330-772-5481. Become a fan of Sharon Speedway on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sharonspeedway and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/sharonspdwy.
Kevin's Victory Lane Interview at Lernerville [05.25.12]
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW
Thanks to the crew for working over 200+ hours to get the Boundary Systems/CREO, Bicknell Racing Products, Bolland Machine, Cintas, Budisak Boys, Bilstein #777 back in the winners circle after the crash at Eriez Speedway!
Kevin Bolland scores a heartbreaking win over Steve Feder
The fine folks from Diehl Auto Group were on hand as the program’s weekly sponsor and they were almost treated to a career first Diehl Auto Group DIRTcar Northeast Big Block Modified feature win for young gun Steve Feder. Feder took the lead from the pole at the drop of the green flag and held off future Hall of Famer Kevin Bolland for 24 laps with the best run of his career in a caution-free race. But as the leaders approached turn one on the final lap, Feder hesitated for a fraction of a second as a pair of lapped cars raced side-by-side ahead of them and Bolland pounced, taking the bottom and the lead. Feder could only chase Bolland to the checkered flag and wait to fulfill his dream of scoring that sacred career first feature win at the Action Track. For Bolland, it was his second win of the season and 55th of his Lernerville career. The win was made all the more impressive by the 200+ man hours of labor required to get the #777 ready for action after a nasty wreck with Dave Murdick at the BRP Modified Tour opener at Eriez Speedway last Sunday Night.
Feder had to settle for a career best finish of second ahead of All Time wins leader Brian Swartzlander in third, Dave Murdick in fourth and NY invader Brian Weaver in fifth. Mike Turner, Dean Pearson, Eric Gabany, Carl Murdick and Phil Evans Jr. rounded out the Diehl Top Ten. Bolland and Swartzlander claimed heat race victories.
For the second feature in a row, Defending Track Champion Jeremiah Shingledecker was claimed by the gremlins as he broke on lap 21 exiting turn four running third and rolled into the infield; officially scored with a DNF in 16th.
Bolland Held Off Challengers for DIRTcar Mod Win at Opener
(Hartford, OH)…Sharon Speedway officially began the 83rd anniversary season of auto racing at the famed facility on a sunny and cool Saturday evening. A great crowd watched 117 cars battle it out for the opening night accolades with the following drivers in the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply victory lane: Kevin Bolland-Governor Insurance Agency DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds, George Kowatic-Barris Supply FASTRAK Late Models, Brent Rhebergen-Summit Racing Equipment E-Mods, Paul Davis-Gibson Insurance Agency Stock Cars, Brad Blackshear-HTMA/Precise Racing Equipment Econo Mods, and Jim Haefke, Jr.-Deforest Used Parts Mini Stocks.
Kevin Bolland led all 20 laps of the Governor Insurance Agency DIRTcar Big-Block Modified feature, but had to withstand a late charge by 10th starting Jeremiah Shingledecker for his 19th career win.
“The track was great,” stated the 52-year-old New Brighton, Pa. veteran. “I looked at it earlier and thought it was going to chunk out. Whatever was in it was binding and it worked out. Last night we were just bolting the heads on this thing. You’d think we would have had all winter, but winter never came! We thought we’d get snow and we never did so we figured we better get this back together. The car worked great. This one goes out to everyone that’s with us and helped us get here.”
Bolland started on the pole as Dave Murdick moved into second on the opening lap past Rex King, Jr. Murdick and the youngest King battled hard for second as King pulled even on lap seven, but Murdick maintained the position. Shingledecker became a factor when he cracked the top five taking the spot from Chris Haines just before halfway. King once again pulled alongside of Murdick on lap 10, but to no avail. The first and only caution of the event slowed competition with 13 laps scored when Dean Pearson broke while running fourth.
Shingledecker lined up fourth on the restart and made a great move to get by King for third and nearly took second from Murdick on lap 14. Shingledecker and Murdick put on a great side-by-side battle between laps 16-18. Finally on lap 18, Shingledecker made the bottom work in turns one and two for runner-up.
Shingledecker went after Bolland and was right there at the finish, but just couldn’t make the move as Bolland held on by 0.665 seconds for the $1,100 victory in the Bol-Tech Motorsports-owned, Boundary Systems|CREO/Bolland Machine/Cintas/Budisak Boys/Cranberry Coin & Currency-sponsored #777. Bolland now moves into sole possession of sixth place on the all-time win list just three wins behind the retired John Braymer.
Murdick held off King, Jr. for third. Haines was fifth. Completing the top 10 were Jim Weller, Jr., 13th starting Rex King, Mark Frankhouser, Carl Murdick, and Steve Feder. Pearson and Murdick captured the heat race wins.
Governor Insurance Agency DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds (20 laps): 1. KEVIN BOLLAND (777) 2. Jeremiah Shingledecker (37MD) 3. Dave Murdick (61) 4. Rex King, Jr. (165) 5. Chris Haines (35H) 6. Jim Weller, Jr. (31) 7. Rex King (65) 8. Mark Frankhouser (03) 9. Carl Murdick (6) 10. Steve Feder (45) 11. Bob Warren (96B) 12. Rob Kristyak (00) 13. Dean Pearson (8J) 14. Justin Rasey (21).
Bolland Edges King & NY’s Chrysler for 1st Mod Win
(Hartford, OH)…Sharon Speedway was finally blessed with a beautiful weekend as the fans and drivers responded with a great turnout on both ends Friday and Saturday. Some of the best racing of the season was witnessed with optimal track conditions. Saturday night’s “Steel Valley Thunder” program was presented by Greenville Savings Bank and Boundary Systems.
Celebrating with wins in the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply victory lane were Kevin Bolland-Governor Insurance Agency Big-Block Modifieds, Josh Double-Barris Supply FASTRAK Late Models, Joel Watson-Ainsley 500 Heating & Cooling E-Mods, Mike Clark-Gibson Insurance Agency Stock Cars, and Bill Fuchs-Presidential Lawn Care Mini Stocks. Over $500 was raised for Sprint Car driver Jack Sodeman, Jr., who was injured in an accident while competing with the All Star Sprint Cars in Canada on July 4.
It took over half of the season, but veteran Kevin Bolland finally hit the jackpot putting his Triple Seven in victory lane in the 20-lap Governor Insurance Agency Big-Block Modified feature in the final tune-up before Tuesday’s Lou Blaney Memorial. Bolland couldn’t have picked a better night to do it with his new sponsor Boundary Systems in attendance for their corporate night at the speedway. Bolland’s $1,100 win was the 17th of his career at Sharon.
“We’ve been working hard, but have been struggling,” acknowledged the 51-year-old New Brighton, Pa. driver. “We’ve had bad pill draws and redraws. We’ve messed setups thinking it’ll go slippery and it goes tacky and when it goes slippery we setup for the other way. We tried American Racer Tires tonight and I think that was good. We just reached in the bag and found something tonight. Tonight we tied one together for Boundary Systems/CREO. They invested here in the speedway too and if you see those guys give them a round of applause.”
Bolland found a great bite on the start as he raced low down the frontstretch into turn one and was able to get under and by Dean Pearson and pole-sitter Randy Chrysler for the lead. Rex King started sixth and was up to fourth after two laps. King caught Pearson the following lap and worked him over as the two raced side-by-side on laps six and seven with King making the move on the seventh circuit for third.
Lapped traffic came into play on lap nine right before the event’s first and only caution for a spin by Donny Minor with eight laps scored. On the ensuing restart, King and Brad Rapp passed Chrysler for second and third respectively, but Chrysler got back by Rapp for third on lap 10. King ran down Bolland on lap 12 and was right on the leader on lap 13.
Chrysler found speed as he tracked down King, while Bolland opened up some ground. Chrysler pulled alongside King on lap 17 as it was a three-car race for the win. King caught right back up to Bolland and tried to set himself up for another last lap pass of Bolland, but on this night Bolland wasn’t about to relinquish the top spot as he held off King by 0.481 seconds in his Boundary Systems/CREO/Bolland Machine/Cintas/Cranberry Coin & Currency/My Way Mobile Storage/Car Clean Products/Auto Body Works/Budisak Boys-sponsored Bicknell #777 Bicknell.
King was second for the second time this season to go along with three victories as he maintains his point lead. In his debut, Chrysler was a close third just 0.796 behind Bolland. Rapp was fourth after starting eighth and Pearson dropped to fifth for his fifth top five of the season. Rounding out the top 10 were Jim Weller, Jr., Jim Rasey, Rex King, Jr., Rob Kristyak, and Skip Moore. Bolland and Rapp won the heat races.
Bolland and Shingledecker Split Tri-City Loot
Kevin Bolland and Jeremiah Shingledecker each scored $2,000 wins at Tri-City Speedway in BRP/Hoosier Tire Modified Tour action. Bolland’s triumph came in the completion of the annual Kodiak Memorial, which was halted after just 16 laps were run on May 29. Shingledcker’s victory came in the nightcap of the regularly scheduled holiday race.
Bolland, who was running second to Rex King, Sr. when the rains came, said that it was his goal to come out and win the Kodiak. He came to the track with a different set-up on his car than that which he used on Memorial Day weekend. “Every night is a new night, and we put a different package in the car and then we just adjusted from there.”
King Sr. had the point for the Delaware double file restart, but Bolland immediately began to apply pressure at the drop of the green. Bolland made a power move coming off turn two on lap 18 to take the lead and he never looked back.
King Sr. thought that he would get a shot at Bolland on lap 25, when the action was halted for the faltering car of Tommy Mattocks. During that stoppage, Jeremiah Shingledecker pitted for the first of his two flat tires. King Sr. did not capitalize on the opportunity, though, as he briefly surrendered second spot to Brian Swartzlander. King Sr. regained his momentum racing down the backstretch and took the position away from his challenger as they entered the third turn.
King Sr. would get another shot at the leader on lap 33, when the caution was displayed for his son, Rex King, Jr., who backed into the water barrels that sat atop turn one. The restart proved to be a bigger misfortune for King than the first one, as he drifted high in turns one and two, losing several positions.
Bolland won the two-lap dash for the cash. Dave Murdick took advantage of King’s miscue, and crossed in second. King Sr. came back for third. Swartzlander finished fourth. Eric Gabany, driving a 358 Modified, finished a strong fifth.
Shannon Whaley, Mark Flick, Brian Weaver, Chris Haines and Jeff Schaffer completed the top ten.
The Landrum Spring Racer of the Race award was conferred on Eric Gabany for his outstanding run with a 358 Modified.
Due to his prior win at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway, Bolland was ineligible for the R2C Performance award. It was conferred on runner-up Dave Murdick.
In the night’s full feature, Jeremiah Shingledecker had things working to perfection. He chased down early leader Brian Weaver and the two waged a monumental battle before Shingledecker pulled away for the win. Their struggle had the fans on the edges of their seats for several laps, as the drivers had to navigate around several lapped cars while dicing for the lead.
In victory lane, Shingledecker said of the intense battle with Weaver in lapped traffic: “I was just biding my time, they (the lapped cars) were racing for position, too. I was just glad that I could get through without any incident.” He added that the win was like a homecoming for him, as he lives just down the road from the track and was a staunch supporter of Tri-City when it ran Modifieds on a weekly basis. The partisan crowd obviously approved.
As noted, Weaver jumped out to a quick lead over pole sitter Les Myers. The Reno Rocket fought Weaver for the first few lap before surrendering second to Shingledecker. Weaver was looking for second Modified Tour win of the week. However, Shingledecker was racing in second and the two put on quite a show in the early going, just as they did two nights before in a non-sanctioned race at Lernerville Speedway.
Shingledecker pulled even as they raced down the front stretch to complete lap 9 and he entered turn one with the lead. Weaver rallied back and took the lead again coming off the second corner.
Weaver would hold his lead for a few more laps until Shingledecker dropped to the low side coming trough turn four. Shingledecker emerged with the lead. He then opened a slight margin over Weaver, but heavy lapped traffic gave the New Yorker the chance to reel him in again. The racing was intense for several laps as they tried to outmaneuver each other and the lapped cars! Shingledecker squeezed through a small opening coming down the front stretch and Weaver got hung up behind a lapped car as they entered turn one. That gave Shingledecker a little breathing room.
A caution on lap 20 gave Shingledecker a clean track and Weaver another opportunity to challenge for the lead. However, instead of fighting for the lead when the race resumed, Weaver was now in a battle to keep second spot for Brian Swartzlander entered the fray. Swartzlander could not hold the spot for long, though. Indeed, Dave Murdick benefitted the most from the caution, as he would soon slip past Swartzlander for third.
In the final ten laps of the race, Murdick was the fastest man on the speedway. He tracked down and passed Weaver and set out after Shingledecker. However, time ran out on Murdick.
Shingledecker got the popular win, followed by Murdick. Weaver held on for third, ahead of Swartzlander and Brad Rapp.
Rex King, Sr., Kevin Bolland, Shannon Whaley, Rex King, Jr. and Mike Turner finished sixth through tenth.
Jeremiah Shingledecker was awarded the Landrum Spring Racer of the Race award for his amazing run through traffic to keep his lead. He also received the R2C Performance award as a first-time winner for the season.
Rod End Supply heat race wins were scored by King Sr., Mark Flick and Bolland.
There was no B Main.
No provisionals were needed to complete the field.
The next event for the BRP/Hoosier Tire Modified Tour will be held at Mercer Raceway Park on Saturday, August 13, 2011.
Bolland Takes Modified Tour Thriller
Victory Lane at Mercer Raceway Park (Photo: Deric Bolland)
Mercer, PA (June 25, 2011): Kevin Bolland made a daring last lap pass of leader Brian Swartzlander and went on to win the thrilling BRP/Hoosier Tire Modified Tour race presented by All Metals Recycling of Rochester, PA.
“The traffic is always tough at Mercer, you just have to wait your turn,” Bolland said. On several occasions, the traffic thwarted Bolland’s ability to pass race leader Brian Swartzlander. However, in the final analysis, a lapped car figured prominently into his winning pass.
When the field was circulating under the final caution, Bolland said to himself, “I have 11 more laps, let’s get this project done.” At that moment, he was sitting third behind Swartzlander and Frank Guidace. Shortly after the race resumed, Bolland regained second position and he was rapidly closing on Swartzlander.
“I had to wait for the lap traffic to play in because Brian had the bottom end tied up for several laps.” Bolland explained that he kept trying the high side in turns one and two, “but every time I got a run on him, it seemed like a lapped car fell in front of me and I couldn’t capitalize again.” He kept working at it, though, and eventually he used the traffic to his advantage.
Although Swartzlander led from the start, he could not shake loose from Bolland. Bolland kept switching lines as the duo diced for the lead. When they approached heavy lapped traffic near the midpoint of the race, Bolland made his first bid for the lead. He dropped to the inside lane coming off turn two and Swartzlander remained in the middle groove. They swept past a pair of lapped cars in an astounding four-wide formation on the backstretch. Swartzlander entered turn three with the lead, as Bolland had to burp the throttle to set the car for the corner.
Bolland continued to apply the pressure until the race was slowed for its second caution. On the restart, track favorite Frank Guidace powered into second with his potent 358 Modified, and the fans were sensing that an upset could be in the making. No Approved Toilet Rental 358 Modified had ever beaten the Big Blocks at Mercer and Guidace wanted to be the first. He closed in on Swartzlander on several occasions, but he could never pull alongside the leader.
Meanwhile, Bolland regrouped and began to work on Guidace for second. Bolland went to the outside and took the position away as they raced through turns one and two on lap 21. Bolland once again took up the chase for the lead.
With the laps winding down, the leaders again found themselves in heavy lapped traffic. That gave Bolland the opportunity to challenge for the win. As the leaders came charging off turn four to take the white flag, Bolland squeezed between Swartzlander and a lapped car. At the scoring loop, Bolland had the lead by a narrow margin. The pair cleared the lapped car and they raced hard into turn one. There was contact. Swartzlander slid high, but kept moving despite suffering some damage to his car. Bolland managed to keep his car straight and pulled away for the win.
Swartzlander took the checkers in second. Eric Gabany, driving another Mercer 358, made a strong move on the outside in the final laps and climbed up to third. Guidace held on for fourth, followed by Dave Murdick.
Jeremiah Shingledecker finished sixth. Rex King, Sr. crossed in seventh, snapping a two-year streak of top five finishes with the BRP/Hoosier Tire Modified Tour. His son, Rex King, Jr., grabbed eighth. Brad Rapp climbed all of the way to ninth after starting in row eleven. Kevin Hoffman completed the top ten.
BRP/Hoosier Tire Modified Tour: 1. Kevin Bolland (777); 2. Brian Swartzlander (83); 3. Eric Gabany (3E); 4. Frank Guidace (1G); 5. Dave Murdick (61); 6. Jeremiah Shingledecker (37MD); 7. Rex King, Sr. (65); 8. Rex King, Jr. (165); 9. Brad Rapp (11R); 10. Kevin Hoffman (17H); 11. Jimmy Holden (28H); 12. Tommy Kristyak (26Z); 13. John Buchanan (44B); 14. Mark Frankhouser (03); 15. Mike Turner (96); 16. Tommy Mattocks (69); 17. Shannon Whaley (44W); 18. Carl Murdick (6); 19. Shawn Fleeger (88); 20. Scott Strock (15); 21. Don Brown (71B); 22. Howard Duff (812); 23. Kyle Fink (66F); 24. Skip Moore (17M); 25. Chris Haines (35H); 26. Rod Jones (820). DNQ: Kevin Green, Rich Whitney, Brian Weaver, Dave Reges, Donny Minor. Heat wins: Swartzlander, Gabany, Bolland. B Main win: Rapp.
Revin' Kevin Bolland Hits Grand Slam
Kevin Bolland #777 pacing the field in a four-wide salute to the fans - Stivason Photos
While Bolland certainly did not run away with the win, the real race was behind him for second place. Jeremiah Shingledecker ran second most of the race but upstart youngster Rex King Jr. (#165 of Bristolville, OH) slid under Shingledecker in turns one & two to take second place on the back straightaway with two to go. One more caution slowed the field, but King Jr. (a.k.a. “Cooter&rdquo
crossed the stripe second behind Bolland. Dave Murdick (#61 of Slippery Rock) used the final restart to pass Shingledecker for third. Shingledecker finished fourth, followed by Rex King Sr. (#65 of Bristolville, OH) who rounded out the BRP Top Five. The rest of the top ten went to Jeff Hoffman in sixth, Mark Flick in seventh, Del Rougeux Jr. in eighth, Brad Rap in ninth and Dean Pearson in tenth. Mike Turner (#96 of Butler) won the B-Main, as Gary Smoker, Steve Feder and Tommy Mattocks also transferred into the 30 lap BRP/Diehl Modified Feature. Heat races winners were Rex King Sr., Rex King Jr., Jim Weller Jr. and Tom Winkle.Defending Lernerville Track Champion and BRP Modified Tour Champion Brian Swartzlander missed last night’s feature event as the result of a nasty accident at PPMS last weekend, but hopes to be back behind the wheel of his familiar #83 in two weeks when the Diehl Auto Group DIRTcar Modifieds return to the schedule after a hiatus next week for the O’Reilly All Star Sprint Show. We certainly wish Brian Swartzlander a quick and complete recovery!
777 JackPot
The Diehl Auto Group DIRTcar Modifieds rumbled onto the speedway next with most of the big hitters in rows three through six. Dean Pearson jumped into the lead on the opening lap from the second row, then his second starting row make Phil Evans Jr. took the lead. After an early DNF in last week’s feature, Kevin Bolland was on a mission last night. On the lap three restart, Bolland (#777 of New Brighton) looked like he was shot out of a cannon, moving up one spot on each of the next three laps before taking the lead from Evans (#38 of Greensburg) on lap six. Once in front, Bolland stretched his lead to almost half a straightaway until a caution slowed the field on laps 12 and 16 allowing Two-time Defending Track Champion Brian Swartzlander to restart alongside the leader. By lap 21, Bolland had stretched his lead almost a half straightaway again and appeared to be on cruise control with Sheetz Victory Lane in sight; but one final caution provided a green-white-checkered restart. Bolland, however, would not be denied the victory and held off Swartzlander and a hard charging Dave Murdick to take his second feature win of the season at Lernerville Speedway.
Despite the win, Bolland did not make up much ground in the Bud Points chase, as Brian Swartzlander (#83 of Leechburg), Dave Murdick (#61 of Slippery Rock), Jeremiah Shingledecker (#37MD of Polk) and Del Rougeux Jr. (#20D of Frenchville) rounded out the top five. The Bud Points chase in the Diehl Auto Group DIRTcar Modifieds is the closest of any of the Fab Four Divisions and these five drivers are separated by just 15 points from first to fifth! Finishing positions six through ten went to Tom Winkle, Jim Weller Jr., Phil Evans Jr., Mike Turner and Mike Miller. Heat race victors were Swartzlander and Murdick. Up next for the Diehl Mods is next week’s BRP race.