By Curtis Berleue (East Smethport, PA) | Wantage, NJ driver Davie Franek made the long haul north to the McKean County Raceway worth every mile as he scored the $4,000 victory on the opening night of the Patriot Sprint Tour ‘Western Weekend’ presented by Bonnell’s Collision.
Pole sitter Steve Collins and Davie Franek brought the 24 car field to the green. Lap one saw Franek jump to an early lead. Collins assumed second, and Joe Trenca a close third. A caution was thrown on lap 8 for the 1-10 of Jake Brown.
Once racing action resumed, two more circuits were completed before the 54j of Dave Just made contact with the front stretch wall and flipped violently into turn one. Just exited the car under his own power.
On the ensuing restart, Franek continued to lead Collins, Trenca, and the 10J of Jack Sodeman Jr. The field would slow once more on lap 18 for Evingham Site Excavation dash winner Robbie Stillwaggon, who had mechanical issues on top of turn two. Stillwaggon would head to the two minute work area, and was able to make repairs and re-join the race at the end of the field.
In the closing laps, Joe Trenca was able to get past Steve Collins for 2nd, but it was all Davie Franek as he crossed the line first, leading all 25 laps. Third went to Collins, followed by Sodeman Jr. and Danny Smith rounding out the top 5.
With 24 cars signed in, three heat races were run to start the night. In heat one, Kyle Drum picked up the victory from the pole over Jared Zimbardi and Robbie Stillwaggon. Heat two was won by Joe Trenca over Ohio driver Danny Smith and Canadian Jake Brown. The third and final heat victory went to Davie Franek over Derrick Juliano and Jack Sodeman, Jr. The only caution in heat competition came in heat three for Josh Azzi with a broken front end.
The Evingham Site Excavation ‘Four Laps of Fame’ dash win went to Robbie Stillwaggon from the outside pole over Scott Kreutter and Bryan Howland.
The tour heads to Raceway 7 in Conneaut, OH tonight for night number two of three for the 2nd Annual ‘Western Weekend’ presented by Bonnell’s Collision. It will be the second of two visits for the Patriot Sprint Tour to the Ohio facility in 2017. The first visit saw current point leader Jared Zimbardi take home the win over Steve Collins and Bryan Howland.
The third and final night of the 2017 ‘Western Weekend’ will take place this coming Saturday, July 1, at the Mercer Raceway Park in Mercer, PA. It will mark the only visit to the facility for the Patriot Sprint Tour in 2017, with Kyle Drum looking to defend his victory in the event one year ago.
The Patriot Sprint Tour recognizes the following marketing partners for the 2017 season: A-Verdi Storage Containers, Hoosier Racing Tires, Prestige Pool & Spa, Einstein Construction Group, Bonnell’s Auto Group, Evingham Site Excavation Mike Emhof Motorsports Inc., Super Gen Products with Champion Power Equipment, Patriot Tank Lines, Danny Willmes Enterprises, Casey’s Truck Salvage, Just Signs & Designs, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Sunoco Race Fuels, Insinger Performance, Shuttleworth Asphalt Sealing, ASI Racewear, Curtis Berleue Photography, Fine Touch Collision.
A-Main Results: 1) 28F – Davie Franek, 2) 98 – Joe Trenca, 3) 67 – Steve Collins, 4) 10J – Jack Sodeman, Jr., 5) 4 – Danny Smith, 6) 47 – Kyle Drum, 7) 51 – Bryan Howland, 8) 10 – Mitch Brown, 9) 22r – Mike Koehler, 10) 1J – Derrick Juliano, 11) 79 – Jordan Thomas, 12) 20B – Cody Bova, 13) 89 – Robbie Stillwaggon, 14) 35 – Jared Zimbardi, 15) 25H – Paul Habeck, 16) 81 – Derek Jonathan, 17) 17z – Josh Azzi, 18) X – Dan Bennett, 19) 38 – Dennis Wagner, 20) 25G – Tyler Graves, 21) 54J – Dave Just, 22) 1-10 – Jake Brown, 23) 44 – Joe McEwen, 24) 61 – Scott Kreutter
Lap Leaders: 1-25 Davie Franek
Heat Results:
Heat 1: 1) 47 – Kyle Drum, 2) 35 – Jared Zimbardi, 3) 89 – Robbie Stillwaggon, 4) 51 – Bryan Howland, 5) 10 – Mitch Brown, 6) 22R – Mike Koehler, 7) 79 – Jordan Thomas, 8) 25G – Tyler Graves (DNF)
Heat 2: 1) 98 – Joe Trenca, 2) 4 – Danny Smith, 3) 1-10 – Jake Brown, 4) 67 – Steve Collins, 5) 38 – Dennis Wagner, 6) 81 – Derek Jonathan, 7) 44 – Joe McEwen, 8) X – Dan Bennett
Heat 3: 1) 28F – Davie Franek, 2) 1J – Derrick Juliano, 3) 10J – Jack Sodeman, Jr, 4) 61 – Scott Kreutter, 5) 25H – Paul Habeck, 6) 20B – Cody Bova, 7) 17z – Josh Azzi (DNF), 8) 54J – Dave Just (DNF)
Evingham Site Excavation Dash: 1) 28F – Davie Franek, 2) 61 – Scott Kreutter, 3) 51 – Bryan Howland, 4) 1-10 Jake Brown, 5) 10 – Mitch Brown, 6) 25H – Paul Habeck
Contingency Award Recipients:
Prestige Pool & Spa Final Finisher: X – Dan Bennett
Casey’s Truck Salvage ‘Salvage of the Night’: 22R – Mike Koehler
Shuttleworth Asphalt Sealing 11th Place Finisher: 79 – Jordan Thomas
PST ‘Western Weeked’ Presented By Bonnell’s Collision Points (Night 1 of 3): 1) 28f – Davie Franek (150), 2) 98 – Joe Trenca (145), 3) 67 – Steve Collins (141), 4) 10J – Jack Sodeman Jr (138), 5) 4 – Danny Smith (135), 6) 47 – Kyle Drum (132), 7) 51 – Bryan Howland (129), 8) 10 – Mitch Brown (126), 9) 22r – Mike Koehler (123), 10) 1J – Derrick Juliano (120)