IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Limited Late “Jook George Memorial” to Rookie Brandon Burgoon; Veteran Steve Baker Takes Late Model Pappy Kessler Memorial

PITTSBURGH, PA (9-3-05) – Following a two week break because of rainy weather, a clear, cool night and a super fast track provided the combination for exciting racing action Saturday at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway.  Rookie driver, Brandon Burgoon from McDonald, captured the headline 10^th Annual Jook George Memorial Limited Late Fall Classic, while the Fairmont WV veteran driver, Steve Baker, padded his points lead by scoring the win in the “Pappy Kessler Memorial” race for the Late Models.  Hopewell’s Craig Kamicker clinched his first track championship after taking the win in the Pure Stocks, and rookie driver, Kevin Miller from Weirton WV claimed his career first feature win in the E-Modified main event.  Also winning his career first Amateur Stock feature was local racer, Wes Wheeler, from nearby Rosslyn Farms.

The prestigious Jook George Memorial race for the Advance Auto Parts Limited Lates was the first feature event of the night, and after a four wide salute to the fans and tribute to Jook that included several racers who drove for him over the years was completed, the green flag signaled the start of the 25 lapper.  Jim Stephans grabbed the early lead, but the action suddenly came to a halt for a crash on the second circuit.  Stephans took command again, but his lead was once more erased when the caution came back out two laps later.  A second yellow on lap 4 caused another stop in the action, but finally the field got back underway, and Stephans took off again.  While Stephans was cruising, Larry Marks, in second, was busy holding off Tommy Schirnhofer and Ray Brown.  Meanwhile Brandon Burgoon was working his way to the front, and by lap 17 he had displaced Marks for second.  Each lap Burgoon narrowed the margin between him and leader Stephans, and by lap 20 they were literally racing side by side.  Burgoon took the lead for good two laps later, and he went unchallenged to the finish to win his third feature in his young racing career, and added his name to the Jook George Memorial Fall Classic winner’s list.  Runner-up Stephans joined Burgoon in victory lane to offer his congratulations on the rookie’s big win.   Schirnhofer remained steady for third with Brown fourth, and Marks settled for fifth.  Pete Rech finished sixth with Mike Cecere seventh.  Current points leader Jesse Burroughs recovered from an early pit stop to claim eighth, Nick Duratz was ninth, and Joel Johns completed the top ten.  Schirnhofer and Stephans were heat race winners, and Burgoon was the Monarch Oil Hard Charger of the event.

The twice rescheduled “Pappy Kessler Memorial” race for the Napa Late Models saw the luck of the draw favor points leader Steve Baker as he lined up on the front row for the start of the 25 lap event.  Baker immediately shot out front and Lou Bradich, driving the Kessler owned Auction Barn 09, became the man on the mission.  Baker’s Rocket was dialed in to perfection, and Bradich stayed in the hunt throughout, but it was evident from the start that Baker clearly had the winning car.  In victory lane Baker commented on the fast track, his shock package, and with a big smile proclaimed how great it was to be able to race hard with Louie like that, plus be able to win Pappy’s race!  The Pappy Kessler Memorial win was Baker’s third of the season and his 24^th PPMS Late Model victory.  Bradich held off a persistent Lynn Geisler to maintain second at the checker. The race for fourth was a good one with John Flinner just edging Dave Wade for the position.  Scott Gunn finished sixth while Keith Rodriguez had a great run for seventh.  Danny Rich regrouped from a lap 17 incident to come back through the pack to finish eighth, Tim Gould was ninth and Ben Miley took tenth.  The three qualifying heat races for the 29 car field were taken by Gunn, Flinner and Jared Miley.  Flinner, from 12^th was the Monarch Oil Hard Charger.

Ron O’Patchen was the leader of the Isiminger’s Pennzoil Pure Stock main, but during the first two laps, cautions involving many different cars would slow the racing action.  Not affected by any of the incidents, current points leader Craig Kamicker, from 12^th, was clearly on the hunt to the front, and he got there in a hurry.  By the time the third lap was officially scored, Kamicker had taken over the lead, a lead he would keep to the checker to capture his fifth victory of the season.  In the process, by virtue of his heat race and feature win, Kamicker locked up the Pure Stock Division championship.  Darryl Robison gave chase to Kamicker during the race, but he settled for second with third going to Jake Simmons who got by Tim Folmer right at the stripe.  Monarch Oil Hard Charger Bill Robertson, from 17^th rode home fifth.  The second round of five were Jeff Broniszewski, Joe Anthony, O’Patchen, Randy Bauknecht and Shawn Bryan.  Heat race wins went to Kamicker, Broniszewski and Robison.

The E-modified feature got off to a rousing start as half the field was involved in an opening lap melee that saw Chuck Kennedy’s racer go up and over landing on its roof.  All drivers were okay but six of the starters were unable to continue on.  When the group was realigned for the restart, Kevin Miller, from the front row, again took off with the lead.  Miller increased his margin each circuit until the 7^th lap when it dissolved because of an unusual tangle between Kurt Halbedl and J. E. Stalder who were running second and third.  After a lengthy time, the cars were finally apart and both were able to rejoin the field at the tail putting Daryl Charlier in second for the restart.  Miller, driving a flawless race, remained in the lead, but Charlier began to pressure him relentlessly, and the two swapped positions back and forth as they raced around the huge half mile.  Charlier got the edge at the stripe for three laps then Miller took it back with two to go.  The race went down to the wire with the young rookie driver holding off Charlier for his first ever win in racing competiton.  Charlier settled for a close second with his dad Dale third, and Stalder drove back through to take fourth from Dennis Niederriter on the final lap.  Six through ten were Tom Martineck, Mitch Basich, Halbedl, Cody Barack, and Joel Johns.  Wayne Tessean, Mike Basich and Daryl Charlier won the heats and Charlier was also the hard charger of the event.

For young Wes Wheeler, the final race of the night was definitely worth waiting for as he held off early pressure from Ian Tomei and Robby Torrens in the Amateur Stock 12 lapper.  As the laps wound down, Wheeler gathered up more momentum on the big track and cruised on to his career first victory.  Monarch Oil Hard Charger Gary Koteles charged through the field to gain a spot a lap and got by Eric Goldberg on the final circuit to claim the runner-up position.  Goldberg settled for third with Torrens fourth and Tomei completed the top five.  Six through ten were Davy Lee, Mitch Wattelet, Todd Evans, Jason Herniak and Richie Cooper.  Heats were taken by Koteles and Goldberg.

PITTSBURGH'S PENNSYLVANIA MOTOR SPEEDWAY SEPTEMBER 3 RACE RESULTS

Napa Late Models (Pappy Kessler Memorial)

Monarch Oil Hard Charger - John Flinner      Heat Race Winners -  Scott Gunn, John Flinner, Jared Miley

Feature (25 Laps):  1) Steve Baker, 2) Lou Bradich, 3) Lynn Geisler, 4) John Flinner, 5) Dave Wade, 6) Scott Gunn, 7) Keith Rodriguez, 8) Danny Rich, 9) Tim Gould, 10) Ben Miley, 11) D.J. Miller, 12) Jim Lepro, 13) Al Atallah, 14) Rich Apolito, 15) Jared Miley, 16) Chris Schneider, 17) Butch D'Antonio, 18) Michael Davis, 19) Rick Heim, 20) Mark Moats, 21) Pete Loria, 22) George Dayieb, 23) Jon Hodgkiss, 24) Gary Knollinger, 25) Tom Bateman, 26) Bob DeJulio, 27) Ralph Davis, 28) Lance Elson, 29) Nick Corley DNS

Advance Auto Parts Limited Late Models (Jook George Memorial)

Monarch Oil Hard Charger - Brandon Burgoon     Heat Race Winners - Tommy Schirnhofer, Jim Stephans

Feature (25 Laps):  1) Brandon Burgoon, 2) Jim Stephans, 3) Tommy Schirnhofer, 4) Ray Brown, 5) Larry Marks, 6) Pete Rech, 7) Mike Cecere, 8) Jesse Burroughs, 9) Nick Duratz, 10) Joel Johns, 11) Bryan Hoffman, 12) John Hobbs, 13) Kirk Young, 14) John Cain, 15) Bruce Takach, 16) Bobby Castelveter, 17) Jeris Collins DNS

E-Modifieds:  Monarch Oil Hard Charger - Daryl Charlier 
Heat Race Winners - Wayne Tessean, Mike Basich, Daryl Charlier 
Feature (15 Laps):  1) Kevin Miller, 2) Daryl Charlier, 3) Dale Charlier, 4) J. E. Stalder, 5) Dennis Niederriter, 6) Tom Martineck, 7) Mitch Basich, 8) Kurt Halbedl, 9) Cody Barrack, 10) Joel Johns, 11) Bobby Watt, 12) Bill Westlake, 13) Willy Briggs, 14) Mike McKee, 15) Vince Laboon, 16) Mike Basich, 17) Wayne Tessean, 18) Chuck Kennedy, 19) Stush Sadowski, 20) Randy McElhaney, 21) Denny Nakutis, 22) David Mercer DNS, 23) Joe Harvey DNS

Isiminger's Pennzoil Pure Stocks:  Monarch Oil Hard Charger - Bill Robertson 
Heat Race Winners - Craig Kamicker, Jeff Broniszewski, Darryl Robison 
Feature (15 Laps) - 1) Craig Kamicker, 2) Darryl Robison, 3) Jake Simmons, 4) Tim Folmer, 5) Bill Robertson, 6) Jeff Broniszewski, 7) Joe Anthony 8) Ron O'Patchen, 9) Randy Bauknecht, 10) Shawn Bryan, 11) Nick Kocuba, 12) Aaron Fraser, 13) Jim Moore, 14) Mike Chruszcz, 15) John Hobbs, 16) Don Bauerle, 17) Steve Webb, 18) A.J. Poljak #46, 19) Aaron Jones, 20) Bob Schwartzmiller, 21) Bob Betz, 22) Ken Puglisi, 23) Eric Betz, 24) Jim Wagner, 25) Jeff Przybysz, 26) A. J. Poljak #36 DNS

Amateur Stocks:  Monarch Oil Hard Charger - Gary Koteles        Heat Race Winners - Gary Koteles, Eric Goldberg

Feature (12 Laps):  1) Wes Wheeler, 2) Gary Koteles, 3) Eric Goldberg, 4) Robby Torrens, 5) Ian Tomei, 6) Davy Lee, 7) Mitch Wattelet, 8) Jason Herniak, 9) Todd Evans, 10) Richie Cooper, 11) Butch Levandosky #82 DNS