PITTSBURGH'S PENNSYLVANIA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
6/21/03
Media Contact: Judy Gower 724-853-7223

IMPERIAL, PA - After going more than three years without a win, Steve Baker of Fairmont, WV found himself back in victory lane for the second time in as many weeks by capturing his 17th career Late Model feature Saturday at Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway. Baker's win proved extra sweet, preceding his mother's birthday Sunday, his wife's Monday, and his own on Thursday.

The Advance Auto Parts Limited Late Model 20-lap special went to Scott Township's Rich Apolito. Russ Matejka of Monaca rolled to his fifth E-Modified victory of the season. Frankie Schneider from Pittsburgh collected his second victory in the Isiminger's Pennzoil Pure Stocks, and Finleyville's Butch Levandosky reigned supreme in the Amateur Stocks.

Pole sitter Al Atallah grabbed the lead at the start of the Late Model feature, with John Flinner moving to second and Steve Baker third. Following a lap four caution, Flinner overhauled Atallah for the top spot while Baker quickly slipped into second. The race was on as Flinner kept Baker at bay circuit after circuit. Finally, on lap ten, the two front runners raced side-by-side down the front stretch splitting a lapped car at the same time. Flinner maintained the upper hand as the race neared the halfway mark, but Baker was getting faster, and used the low side of turns three and four to pass Flinner for the lead completing lap 14. Once in front, Baker withstood some late race cautions to take the checkered flag. Flinner was second, and Al Atallah, Lou Bradich and Brian Laraway traded slide-jobs over the final laps to settle the top five. At the finish it was Atallah third, Laraway fourth and Bradich fifth. Bill Adler was sixth, Tony Musolino seventh, Jim Lepro eighth, Jim Zarin ninth, and Nick Jones (subbing for Lynn Geisler in the #1C) faded to tenth after running as high as fourth. Heat races for the 29 Late Models were won by Atallah, Adler and Flinner. Michael Davis was the Monarch Oil Hard Charger.

Rich Apolito took the lead following a first lap red flag, and drove to his biggest win in the Advance Auto Parts Limited Late Models. The 20-lap special was marred by a grinding crash exiting turn four on the first lap that saw Jim Stephans, Mike Morgan and Neal Isiminger crash into the outside wall with Morgan's car flipping over Stephans before catching fire. All three drivers were able to climb from their mangled wreckage uninjured. Bobby Castelveter caught Apolito at the end, but had to settle for second. Kirk Young was third, Scott Gunn fourth, and Tony Sinicrope fifth. Jesse Burroughs, Jon Hodgkiss, Todd Cerenzia, Tom Duratz and Erick Markle were sixth through tenth respectively. Isiminger and Stephans won the heats while  Burroughs collected the Monarch Oil Hard Charger honors.

Russ Matejka started up front and there he stayed in winning the E-Modified feature in impressive fashion. Wayne Tessean climbed from mid-pack to second. Bootie Petsko, Larry Walters and Daryl Charlier rounded out the top five. Completing the top ten were: Kurt Halbedl, Chuck Kennedy, Jeff Jones, Ralph Hysong Jr., and Joel Johns. Heat race wins went to Kennedy and Walters. Tessean was the Monarch Oil Hard Charger.

The Isiminger's Pennzoil Pure Stock 15-lap feature also saw a first lap red flag when Tony Capo rolled after being hit from behind leaving the second turn. He also walked away without injuries. John Cain set the pace for the first five laps before he spun to bring out the caution. Frankie Schneider inherited the lead on the restart and stayed there to the finish. Darryl Robison was second, Doug Foster third, Willie White fourth and Joe Anthony fifth. Six through ten were: Larry Marks, Mike McKee, Greg McManus, A.J. Poljak, and Wayne Johnson. Robison and White won the preliminaries. Marks was the Monarch Oil Hard Charger.

The Amateur Stock feature saw Butch Levandosky lead all ten laps for his first win this season. Josh Langer, Robby Torrens, Bill Robertson and Ian Tomei completed the top five. Davey Lee, Tim Folmer, Jim Moore, Jen Walters and Jon Everett rounded out the top ten. Tomei was the heat race winner, and Robertson was the Monarch Oil Hard Charger.

Racing returns to PPMS for another Action Event Tuesday, June 24th. It's "Topless Tuesday" on the monster half mile with the Late Models and Advance Auto Parts Limited Late Models racing without their roofs. The E-Modifieds, Isiminger's Pennzoil Pure Stocks and Amateur Stocks will also be in action. Gates open at 5:00pm with racing at 7:00pm.

Saturday, June 28th, is a regular show for all weekly divisions plus a demolition derby will follow the racing program. It's also Colussy Chevrolet Night and Little League Scout Night. Again, gates open at 5:00pm with racing at 7:00pm. For more information, visit our web site at www.ppms.com, or call 724-853-RACE.

PITTSBURGH'S PENNSYLVANIA MOTOR SPEEDWAY 6/21/03 RACE SUMMARY

LATE MODEL FEATURE (25 laps) - 1) Steve Baker 2) John Flinner 3) Al Atallah 4) Brian Laraway 5) Lou Bradich 6) Bill Adler 7) Tony Musolino 8) Jim Lepro 9) Jim Zarin 10) Nick Jones 11) Dave Wade 12) Ben Miley 13) Michael Davis 14) Len Dobrosielski 15) Jim Kurpakis 16) Keith Barbara 17) Rick Heim 18) Doug Crawford 19) Edd Dunn 20) Mark Moats 21) Bobby Bertges 22) George Kowatic 23) Drew Koteles 24) Bob Williams 25) Chuck Kennedy 26) Dave Johnson 27) Matt Dobnak 28) Gary Swiger Jr. 29) Russ Kolesar

ADVANCE AUTO PARTS LIMITED LATE MODEL FEATURE (20 Laps) - 1) Rich Apolito 2) Bobby Castelveter 3) Kirk Young 4) Scott Gunn 5) Tony Sinicrope 6) Jesse Burroughs 7) Jon Hodgkiss 8) Todd Cerenzia 9) Tom Duratz 10) Erick Markle 11) Tom Bateman 12) Jim Shahan 13) Jay Collins 14) Jim Stephans 15) Mike Morgan 16) Neal Isiminger

E-MODIFIED FEATURE (15 Laps) - 1) Russ Matejka 2) Wayne Tessean 3) Bootie Petsko 4) Larry Walters 5) Daryl Charlier 6) Kurt Halbedl 7) Chuck Kennedy 8) Jeff Jones 9) Ralph Hysong Jr. 10) Joel Johns 11) Joe Pemberton 12) Tom Martineck 13) Vince Laboon 14) Ray Brown 15) Randy McElhaney 16) Ken Puglisi 17) Jim Petrelle 18) Dennis Niederriter

ISIMINGER'S PENNZOIL PURE STOCK FEATURE (15 Laps) - 1) Frankie Schneider 2) Darryl Robison 3) Doug Foster 4) Willie White 5) Joe Anthony 6) Larry Marks 7) Mike McKee 8) Greg McManus 9) A.J. Poljak 10) Wayne Johnson 11) John Cain 12) Bob Betz 13) Jake Simmons 14) Mark Greer 15) Steve Webb 16) Shawn Bryan 17) Ron O'Patchen 18) Nick Kocuba 19) Brian Banas 20) Bob Schwartzmiller 21) Ken Hunt 22) Tony Capo

AMATEUR STOCKS FEATURE (10 Laps) - 1) Butch Levandosky 2) Josh Langer 3) Robby Torrens 4) Bill Robertson 5) Ian Tomei 6) Davey Lee 7) Tim Folmer 8) Jim Moore 9) Jen Walters 10) Jon Everett DNS - Dwayne Bottorff, Bobby Siemon