PITTSBURGH'S PENNSYLVANIA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

5/1/99

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(724) 853-RACE/(412) 279-RACE/www.ppms.com

IMPERIAL, PA….Once again, John Flinner was the Late Model winner Saturday at Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway. Proving that last week's win in the first of the Twin 20's was no fluke, the Cranberry Township driver became the first repeat winner in the Late Models this season.

In victory lane car owner Bill "Pappy" Kesslar dedicated the win to the memory of his mother Mary who passed away last Sunday at age 99, just a day after the Auction Barn #09 recorded its first win at Dirt's Monster Half Mile since 1991.

Tom Schirnhofer of Emsworth became the third straight Limited Late Model rookie to visit victory lane. The former crew chief for Late Model driver Ed Ferree proved that he's no slouch behind the wheel by taking the win in only his third time in a race car since he ran a street stock 15 years ago.

Jim Dandy Jr. of Niles, OH danced into victory lane for the first time this season in the M. Stahl E-Modifieds and Charlie DiLoreto of South Fayette collected his first career win by capturing the Schneider Truck Spectator Stock main event.

Flinner took advantage of his pole starting position to take command at the start of the 25 lap Late Model feature. Fifth starting Rick Dawson quickly moved to second and set his sights on the race leader. Four cautions slowed the field, but Flinner drove a steady race to beat Dawson by five car lengths at the finish. Steve Baker, twelfth starting Mark Banal, and ninth starting Lou Bradich completed the top five. Six through ten were: Ricky Thomas, Doug Crawford, John Johnson, Mike Cecere and Jim Lepro. Banal, Ben Miley and Doug Dodd won the heat races. Dodd, who dropped out of the feature, and Banal now share the points lead. Cecere was the Monarch Oil Hard Charger.

Tom Schirnhofer took the lead from Jim Stephans following a lap three restart and set a blistering pace to claim the 20 lap Limited Late Model feature. Pete Loria finished a season's best second, Len Dobrosielski came from twelfth to third. Points leader Rick Heim was a close fourth and Stephans fifth. Dave Wade, George Kowatic, Willie White, Ron O'Patchin and John Pavlick completed the top ten. Wade and Monarch Oil Hard Charger Dobrosielski were the heat race winners.

Jeff Broniszewski led the first two circuits before Jim Dandy Jr. stormed to the front in the M. Stahl E-Modifieds feature. Once in front, Dandy showed his heels to the rest of the field. Broniszewski held on to second with D.J. Miller third, Scott Stiffler fourth and Larry Kugel fifth. Rounding out the top ten were: Bootie Petsko, Russ Matejka, Jim Petrelle, Scott Gunn and Jeff Haefke. Kugel and Stiffler won the preliminaries. Last week's winner Petsko was the Monarch Oil Hard Charger. Dandy is now the points leader.

The always exciting Schneider Truck Spectator Stock 15 lap feature lived up to its billing. Charlie DiLoreto held off the persistent challenges of Frank Schneider Jr. and then Danny Rich to grab his first checkered flag. Rich, points leader Al Atallah, Dave Greenawald and Schneider were second through fifth respectively. Completing the top ten were: Pat Weldon, Neal Isiminiger, Monarch Oil Hard Charger Rich Apolito, Fred Schneider and Doug Foster

Atallah and Weldon were the heat race winners. Both DiLoreto and Apolito collected bonus money from division sponsor Schneider Truck.

This Saturday, May 8th, is Mom's Flower Night with all moms in attendance receiving a flower for Mother's Day. The Late Models, Limited Late Models, M. Stahl E-Modifieds and Schneider Truck Spectator Stocks will all be in action. Gates open at 5pm with racing at 7pm. For more information call (724)853-RACE, (412)279-RACE, or visit our webpage on the Internet at www.ppms.com.

PITTSBURGH' S PENNSYLVANIA MOTOR SPEEDWAY SUMMARY (5/1/99)

LATE MODELS

HEAT RACE WINNERS: Mark Banal, Ben Miley, Doug Dodd.

FEATURE: 1) John Flinner 2) Rick Dawson 3) Steve Baker 4) Mark Banal 5) Lou Bradich, Chester 6) Ricky Thomas 7) Doug Crawford 8) John Johnson 9) Mike Cecere 10) Jim Lepro 11) B.A. Malcuit 12) Ben Miley 13) Bill Knepper 14) Brian Durig 15) Mark Moats 16) Joe Johnson 17) Doug Dodd 18) Jim Zarin 19) Alex Ferree 20) Mike Johnson 21) Lance Elson

DNS - Dennis Curry, Bob Moskey.

LIMITED LATE MODELS

HEAT RACE WINNERS: Dave Wade, Len Dobrosielski.

FEATURE (TOP TEN): 1) Tom Schirnhofer 2) Pete Loria 3) Len Dobrosielski 4) Rick Heim 5) Jim Stephans 6) Dave Wade 7) George Kowatic 8) Willie White 9) Ron O'Patchin 10) John Pavlick

M. STAHL MODIFIEDS

HEAT RACE WINNERS: Larry Kugel, Scott Stiffler.

FEATURE (TOP TEN): 1) Jim Dandy Jr. 2) Jeff Broniszewski 3) D.J. Miller 4) Scott Stiffler 5) Larry Kugel 6) Bootie Petsko 7) Russ Matejka 8) Jim Petrelle 9) Scott Gunn 10) Jeff Haefke.

SCHNEIDER TRUCK SPECTATOR STOCKS

HEAT RACE WINNERS: Al Atallah, Pat Weldon.

FEATURE (TOP TEN): 1) Charlie DiLoreto 2) Danny Rich 3) Al Atallah 4) Dave Greenawald 5) Frankie Schneider 6) Pat Weldon 7) Neal Isiminger 8) Rich Apolito 9) Fred Schneider 10) Doug Foster.

Back to 1999 Press Release Page ( Click Here )

Back to PPMS Homepage ( Click Here )