As mentioned above, Dale Blaney, it appeared, was destined for Silver Cup glory in the first Twin 30 feature.  His night started well, turning in a top ten lap in qualifying, finishing second the second National Guard Heat Race to Steve Kinser and winning the Dash.  He then led 22 of the first 23 laps of the first Twin 30 feature, before giving way to Lance DeWease.  Even after losing the lead, Blaney was relentlessly trying to get it back on subsequent restarts.  But his run at glory, on one of his home tracks, was dramatically cut short when he ran out of fuel during a caution.  He rolled into the pits for essentially a splash & go pit stop, but under World of Outlaws rules, teams cannot add fuel under caution and return to the speedway.  So instead of finishing the race on the lead lap, (which in and of itself would have been disappointing enough), and starting up front via the lead lap inversion for the second feature, Blaney sat idle in the starting grid as the final two laps were contested without him.  He was officially scored in 16^th place.  He did start the second feature 16^th on the grid, but only advanced to finish 15^th. 

His older brother and NASCAR star Dave Blaney was scheduled to return to competition at the Lernerville Speedway for the first time in well over a decade, but damage sustained in an accident with Ed Lynch Jr. at the All Star Circuit of Champions race at Tri-City Speedway on Sunday Night, prevented the team from competing in the Silver Cup.

"The Apollo Rocket" Ed Lynch Jr. - Stivason Photos

Speaking of Ed Lynch Jr., while he did have equipment ready and a provisional in hand for the Silver Cup, he did not having his “Lernerville” car ready due to the aforementioned wreck with Dave Blaney at Tri-City.  Instead, they pulled out what was supposed to be his “Knoxville” car and that put Lynch Racing behind the eight ball all night long!  He qualified 17^th quick and was mired in a loaded heat race, in which he uncharacteristically finished next to last in an ill-handling car with an ill-running engine.  Lynch Racing had all hands on deck for an engine change before the B-Main, but missed the lineup and had to start shotgun on the field. With the Mid-Season Championship provisional in hand, Lynch completed just a few laps in the B-Main and readied for the Twin 30’s.

But his night, and really season save the last few weeks, continued to spiral downward during the first feature when last year’s second Twin 30 winner Stevie Smith jumped the cushion in turn four, slammed into the frontstretch wall and landed on the famed #2L sprinter.  Though suffering mostly cosmetic damage, the team simply did not have time to change wings in the work area, so Lynch was pushed back onto the speedway with both wings extensively damaged.  The damaged wings greatly affected the handling of the car and resulted in Lynch being lapped multiple times during the first feature.  He started 20^th for the second feature, and was moving forward but was collected by a spinning Tyler Walker in turn four.  He did recover to finish on the lead lap in 16^th place.

Danny Holtgraver - Stivason Photos

Danny Holtgraver also entered Tuesday Night’s Silver Cup with a track provisional in hand as the Budweiser Points Leader.  Fortunately for Holtgraver, he did not need the provisional as he turned the 15^th quickest lap during time trials which slotted him on the pole of the third National Guard Heat Race.  He led the first few laps before giving way to eventual winner Jason Sides and finished the race in second. 

His time trial and heat race accomplishments earned him an on track interview with legendary World of Outlaws announcer Johnny Gibson; a thrill for any young sprint car driver!  He then ran the dash and started the first Twin 30 feature in 11^th place.  He was running well and making his way back towards the top ten after backsliding early in the feature when he came across a cluster of cars in turns one and two.  The result of the contact saw the #D4 get towed to the pits on the business end of a tow truck.  He finished the race scored in 19^th position.  The D4 crew went to work to get the car ready for the second feature where Danny started 18^th.  He ran another solid race and avoided incidental contact to improve to a 14^th place finish in the second feature. 

"The Steel City Outlaw" Tim Shaffer - Stivason Photos

Danny’s mentor “The Steel City Outlaw” Tim Shaffer also took a rocky road during the Silver Cup.  Like the rest of the local/alumni contingent, Shaffer had some highs and lows Tuesday Night.  The night didn’t start well as Shaffer qualified 25^th quick and missed the final transfer spot in the same loaded National Guard Heat Race as Lynch.

Shaffer found his groove during the B-Main, as he started third behind incumbent Silver Cup Champion Danny Lasoski and PA Posse Legend Fred Rahmer, but quickly made his way to the front.  He passed Rahmer for second on lap two, then stole the lead from Lasoski on lap seven.  He cruised to victory in the B-Main and saddled up 19^th for the first Twin 30 feature.

A loaded field and a fast race track presented a challenging path to the front for the Steel City Outlaw.  As the race was drawing to a close, Shaffer was slowly but surely making his way to the top ten, but an evasive move to miss a flipping Kerry Madsen left Shaffer facing the wrong direction on the front stretch with a broken radius rod.  The CH Motorsports team quickly made the changes in the work area and Shaffer rejoined the field.  Their resilience and the attrition of the final few restarts resulted in a 10^th place finish.  Shaffer started the second Twin 30 feature sixth and was running fifth on lap 12 when he spun off turn two to bring an abrupt end to a rather disappointing night, scored officially in 21^st place.

"The Wampum Warrior" Brent Matus - Stivason Photos

With the second track provisional up for grabs, veteran driver Brent Matus was next in line by Budweiser Points and earned a starting spot in the Twin 30’s.  He finished the first race in 24^th position, but improved in the second feature on a slicker track by finishing 17^th.  Brent’s son Brandon hit the wall during qualifying and was unable to start his heat race.

Brian Ellenberger - Stivason Photos

2009 World of Outlaws Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award winner Brian Ellenberger returned to his home track in front of his family and primary sponsor Ti22.  After a disappointing run in time trials, Brian narrowly missed the final transfer in his heat race and in the B-Main.  But the Butler native started the Twin 30s by virtue of a World of Outlaws provisional.  Despite being involved in the same incident that claimed the #D4, Ellenberger continued and raced to a 13^th place finish.  More importantly, Ellenberger remained on the lead lap and started the second feature from the pole.  Tyler Walker jumped out to a quick lead from the outside pole, but Brian fought back, and took the lead down the back straightaway when Walker spun and tried to mash the gas to do a 360 and maintain the lead.  The moved failed and Walker brought out the caution.  Ellenberger inherited the lead on the restart, but Joey Saldana took the lead on the green flag and never looked back on his way to winning the second Twin 30 feature.  Brian ran a solid race and finished in 12^th. 

Mike Lutz - Stivason Photos

The only other local driver to qualify for the Twin 30’s was Lou Blaney Memorial Classic Champion Mike Lutz.  The Silver Cup was Lutz’s first appearance at the Action Track in 2010, but he certainly did not forget the quick way around!  He qualified 16^th quick between Holtgraver (15^th) and Lynch (17^th) and transferred directly into the features by finishing fourth in his National Guard Heat Race.  He finished the Twin 30’s in 23^rd and 22^nd place respectively.

Other local drivers in competition Tuesday Night which did not qualify for the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup Twin 30’s features included Jack Sodeman Jr. (driving the Rudzik #94), Lindsay Enscoe, Dan Kuriger, Brian Steinman and the aforementioned Brandon Matus.

The Ti22 Sprints will be back in action tonight, Friday, July 23 along with the other divisions of Fab Four Racing.  Tonight is also the Joe Pitkavish Memorial for the Diehl Auto Group DIRTcar Modifieds and Thoma Meat Night!

Contact: Lernerville Speedway                

Eric J. Westendorf, Public Relations Director

(724) 664-1075 · This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it