Bolland Outduels Murdick
Kevin Bolland made the Diehl Auto Group DIRTcar Northeast Big Block Modified feature into a high speed chess match Friday Night, as he pursued Dave Murdick who led the first 23 laps of the 25-lapper. Murdick launched to a quick start and took the lead just past the flagstand after completing the first lap and built a comfortable lead over Jim Weller Jr. and Defending Track Champion Jeremiah Shingledecker.
A myriad of cautions midrace made the Big Blocks look more like the Enduro. The final caution waved on lap 18 and by that time Bolland had made his way to second from 11th on the starting grid. He took a brief lead around the top of turns one & two, only to see Murdick thunder past him from the bottom of turn two and down the back straightaway. This scenario repeated itself repeatedly until lap 23 when Bolland dropped down off the top of turn two and took Murdick’s preferred line away to hold the lead down the back stretch and into turn three. Once at the point, Bolland’s 54th career win was academic.
Shingledecker also got past Murdick in the final two laps to finish second. Behind Murdick in third, veterans Rex King Sr. and Jim Weller Jr. rounded out the Diehl Top Five. Brian Swartzlander struggled all night in both the Detman #111 Late Model and his on #83 Big Block, but salvaged a sixth place finish. Mark Frankhouser finished seventh ahead of Steve Feder, Carl Murdick and Phil Evans Jr. Kevin Bolland also took the checkers in his heat race, as did Small Block ace Frank Guidace.
Contact: Lernerville Speedway
Eric J. Westendorf, Public Relations Director
(724) 664-1075 / ewestendorf@dirtcar.com
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).
DIRTcar Big-Block Star Kevin Bolland To Join Beaver County Sports Hall DIRTcar Big-Block Star Kevin Bolland To Join Beaver County Sports Hall
Weedsport, NY – April 9, 2010 – DIRTcar Big-Block Modified standout Kevin Bolland has been chosen for induction into the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame and will be honored Sunday, April 18, at the annual dinner to be held at The Fez, 2312 Brodhead Road, Hopewell Township, Aliquippa, Pa. with festivities beginning at 6 p.m.
As the Hall’s first-ever motorsports inductee, Bolland's recent selection unites him with 346 other honored men and women who have excelled in their chosen sport or sports-related activity. Among the elite list of athletes already enshrined are National Football League legends Mike Ditka ’77 (coach of 1986 Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears), Joe Namath ’82 (quarterback of 1969 Super Bowl Champion New York Jets) and Tony Dorsett ’94 (running back for 1978 Super Bowl Champion Dallas Cowboys; 1976 Heisman Trophy winner), major league baseball notables Terry Francona ’95 (manager for 2-time World Series Champion Boston Red Sox) and Joe Beggs ’79 (relief pitcher for World Series Champions New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds), plus National Basketball Association sharpshooter ‘Pistol’ Pete Maravich ’90 (5-time All-Star game selection).
On April 18, Bolland, 50, from New Brighton, Pa., will be joined with nine more honored athletes and sports personalities that comprise the Class of 2010. This newest group of outstanding individuals includes Keystone State stalwarts Bob Babich, Sig Brauch, Ellis Cannon, Joe DAlessandris, Mike Emrick, Scott Ensworth, Ginsburg Hyman, Jerald Ingram and Myron Walker.
A veteran of 27 years in racing, Bolland has captured hundreds of victories along with eight Big-Block Modified point championships at homestate ovals Tri-City Speedway (5) in Franklin, Lernerville Speedway (2) in Sarver, and Mercer Raceway in 1982 --- the same season he was named Western Pennsylvania Rookie of the Year. On the DIRTcar Racing Northeast circuit, he has taken 60 checkered all in the new millennium, with the biggest win scored in Super DIRTcar Series competition at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in 2003.
The Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring those who have brought fame and recognition to Beaver County through their contributions to the world of sports. Founded on Sept 18, 1975, the Sports Hall is housed in the Golden Dome of the Community College of Beaver County in Center Township, Pa. and the museum is open during regular college hours and dome events.
For further information, please contact Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame representative Jack Fullen at 724/846-6600x242.
DIRTcar Racing Northeast main office is located in Weedsport, New York on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds, home of DIRTcar All-Star Weekend in July. DIRTcar Northeast’s crown jewel event ---Super DIRT Week at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse runs annually in October featuring Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship Series events for Big-Block Modified, 358-Modified, Sportsman and Pro Stock divisions. Ticket and schedule information is available by contacting the Weedsport office (315/834-6606) during the day or logging intowww.allstar100weekend.com and www.superdirtweekonline.com anytime.
The Big-Block Super DIRTcar Series is brought to fans across the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Hoosier Racing Tire www.hoosiertire.com and VP Racing Fuels www.vpracingfuels.com. Promotional partners include Rite Aid Corporation www.riteaid.com, Dig Safely New Yorkwww.digsafelynewyork.com and the University of Northwestern Ohio www.unoh.com and the contingency sponsors are Bars Leaks www.barsproducts.com, Bert Transmission www.berttransmission.com, Bicknell Racing Products www.bicknellracingproducts.com, Bilstein Shocks www.bilstein.com, Brodix Cylinder Headswww.brodix.com, Ferris Industries www.ferrisindustries.com, Integra Shockswww.integrashocksandsprings.com, Intercomp www.intercomp-racing.com, KSE Racing Products www.kse-racing.com, Motorsports Safety Systems www.motorsportssafetysystems.com, Penske Shocks,www.penskeshocks.com, Racing Electronics www.racingelectronics.com, Rislone Oil Stabilizerwww.barsproducts.com and Wrisco Industries www.wrisco.com.
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!