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NATIONAL MIDGET DRIVER OF THE YEAR

JENNERSTOWN, Pa. – Bobby Santos left Jennerstown Speedway frustrated one year ago, vowing to come back stronger after being defeated by Jimmy McCune in the inaugural American Racer David D. Mateer Memorial.

Santos did just that on Saturday night, putting on a driving clinic to capture the second running of the event and pick up a victory in his first Must See Racing Sprint Car Series presented by Engine Pro start of the season.

After being squelched by rain and a call into action as a substitute driver on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour for much of the summer, Santos came back to asphalt sprint car racing at the lightning-fast half-mile and proved quickly he hasn’t lost his touch at driving the methanol-fueled beasts.

Santos started fourth, but raced his way to the lead by the eighth revolution and set sail after that. He had two seconds in hand by lap 10 and when the lone caution of the race waved with five to go, the Franklin, Mass., veteran was more than eight seconds clear of his nearest pursuer.

Not even the ensuing restart could slow Santos down. He drove away from second-running Ryan Litt to take the checkered flag in front by 1.815 seconds at the finish.

Saturday night’s romp, worth $4,000, was the second Must See Racing victory of Santos’ career.

“These guys did an awesome job today. We made all the right adjustments and it was a lot of fun,” said Santos in victory lane. “It’s an honor to win this event tonight, with the caliber of field and the heavy hitters that were here. None of these wins are ever easy, but this one was definitely tough.

“Last year, we just weren’t good enough, and we had to make a couple of adjustments on it compared to what we had last year,” Santos added. “We continued to work on it throughout the day today. I was a little rusty through the first two practices with these things, just because I haven’t done it much this year, but my dad and everybody gave me what I needed and we put a good car where it belonged.”

The only incident in the 30-lap feature came when Joshua Sexton spun off the second corner and came to a stop on the backstretch, slowing the pace with 25 laps complete and setting up the final restart.

Litt, who drove past early leader Jason Blonde with 12 to go to secure the runner-up spot, said afterward that he simply had nothing for Santos as the laps wound down.

“Man, I knew that clean air would play a big role at a really fast tracks like this one, so once he got out there, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” said Litt. “My only shot was getting into turn one (on the final restart) and I tried him there and I was just sliding all over the place, whereas he had all the grip.

“This was a good run for us, but I just really want to win one of these things. I’m tired of being second.”

New all-time track record holder Brian Gerster, who turned a lap of 15.198 seconds in qualifying and had to start eighth due to the inversion, completed the podium in the Dick Myers Racing No. 50m.

“We didn’t have anything for Bobby, and I’m not sure anyone else did either,” Gerster admitted. “We wound up just being a little bit too free there in the feature. Bobby’s a hell of a race car driver. I mean, pavement fans know that he can drive anything and he’s real good, so it’s not really anything to hang your head about when you get beat by Santos.

“We don’t like running third, but we had a pretty good start,” Gerster added. “I thought we were going to have a shot at getting up there and racing with those guys, but Bobby got away from us a little bit late and I traded spots in there one time. We just weren’t quite good enough to get the job done.”

Charlie Schultz crossed the line fourth ahead of Jimmy McCune, with Blonde coming home sixth as the final car on the lead lap after pacing the first seven rotations around the Pennsylvania speed plant.

Polesitter Kevin Feeney finished eighth, one lap behind the frontrunners.

Anthony McCune lost the series point lead after fuel flow issues that he and his No. 8 team battled all afternoon prevented him from taking the green flag in Saturday night’s 30-lap feature.

Jimmy McCune, who came into the day 10 points back of his nephew, assumed command of the standings by virtue of his quiet fifth-place finish.

While only Sexton’s spin hampered the main event, two major incidents did mar heat-race action.

In the first heat, a broken right-front wheel center on the No. 7 of Tom Jewell sent the Michigan veteran hard into the outside wall at full speed in turns three and four working lap two. Jewell’s car grinded to a halt high off the exit of the fourth corner, and he climbed from his car and walked back to the pit area.

The second heat saw Bobby Komisarski’s No. 17 grenade a right-rear tire on the final lap of the heat in turn one. Komisarski tagged the outside wall and spun to a stop, done for the night, but was unhurt.

The Must See Racing Sprint Car Series season continues Sept. 28-29 at Rockford (Ill.) Speedway.

RESULTS: Must See Racing Sprint Car Series; Jennerstown Speedway; Sept. 14, 2019

Hamilton Trucking Time Trials (best of two laps): 1. #50m – Brian Gerster, 15.198 (NTR); 2. #9s – Charlie Schultz, 15.421; 3. #07L – Ryan Litt, 15.431; 4. #88 – Jimmy McCune, 15.640; 5. #22a – Bobby Santos III, 15.653; 6. #13 – Joe Liguori, 15.725; 7. #42 – Jason Blonde, 15.738; 8. #8 – Anthony McCune, 15.915; 9. #6k – Kevin Feeney, 16.107; 10. #10k – Christian Koehler, 16.139; 11. #26 – Jeff Bloom, 16.177; 12. #7 – Tom Jewell, 16.245; 13. #8a – Adam Biltz, 16.400; 14. #17 – Bobby Komisarski, 16.770; 15. #81 – Johnny Petrozelle III, 16.783; 16. #75c – Jerry Caryer, 16.813; 17. #51 – Joshua Sexton, 18.094; 18. #15 – Tim Henthorne, 18.324; 19. #85 – Rick Holley, 18.387; 20. #32 – Todd McQuillen, 19.087; 21. #4 – Anthony Linkenhoker, 19.626; 22. #74 – Ivan Shaver, 20.430.

Abe’s Auto Parts Heat #1 (8 laps, all transfer): 1. Ryan Litt [5], 2. Kevin Feeney [3], 3. Joe Liguori [4], 4. Johnny Petrozelle III [1], 5. Rick Holley [7], 6. Tim Henthorne [6], 7. Ivan Shaver [8], 8. Tom Jewell [2].

Abe’s Auto Parts Heat #2 (8 laps, all transfer): 1. Bobby Santos III [4], 2. Jeff Bloom [2], 3. Charlie Schultz [5], 4. Anthony McCune [3], 5. Bobby Komisarski [1], 6. Joshua Sexton [6], 7. Todd McQuillen [7]. (2:10.331)

Abe’s Auto Parts Heat #3 (8 laps, all transfer): 1. Adam Biltz [2], 2. Jimmy McCune [5], 3. Brian Gerster [6], 4. Jerry Caryer [1], 5. Christian Koehler [3], 6. Jason Blonde [4], 7. Anthony Linkenhoker [7]. (2:19.055)

David D. Mateer Memorial A-Feature (40 laps): 1. #22a – Bobby Santos III [4], 2. #07L – Ryan Litt [6], 3. #50m – Brian Gerster [8], 4. #9s – Charlie Schultz [7], 5. #88 – Jimmy McCune [5], 6. #42 – Jason Blonde [2], 7. #13 – Joe Liguori [3], 8. #6k – Kevin Feeney [1], 9. #8a – Adam Biltz [11], 10. #10k – Christian Koehler [9], 11. #26 – Jeff Bloom [10], 12. #75c – Jerry Caryer [13], 13. #81 – Johnny Petrozelle III [12], 14. #85 – Rick Holley [16], 15. #51s – Joshua Sexton [14], 16. #15 – Tim Henthorne [15], 17. #74 – Ivan Shaver [19], 18. #4L – Anthony Linkenhoker [18], 19. #32 – Todd McQuillen [17], 20. #8 – Anthony McCune (DNS), 21. #7 – Tom Jewell (DNS), 22. #17 – Bobby Komisarski (DNS).

Lap Leader(s): Jason Blonde 1-7, Bobby Santos III 8-30.

Hard Charger: #50m – Brian Gerster (+5)

brian Gerster Resets Jennerstown Track Record

JENNERSTOWN, Pa. – Brian Gerster smashed the sprint car track record at Jennerstown Speedway on Saturday afternoon during qualifying for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series David D. Mateer Memorial.

Gerster toured the lightning-fast, .522-mile oval in 15.198 seconds (123.648 mph) to top a 22-car field with his familiar No. 50m RAM Engineering Midwest-backed, Dick Myers Racing-prepared entry.

The top qualifying effort, Gerster’s third of the season, was the 30th of his Must See Racing career and eclipsed the 14-year-old track record of 15.32 seconds set by Jeff Bloom back on Aug. 13, 2005.

It also came within a whisker of the all-time mark of 15.121 seconds (124.277 mph), which was posted by Dave Shullick Jr. in 2015 during ISMA Supermodified Series competition.

The scary thing for the rest of the field? Gerster was lamenting the lap after climbing from his car, saying that he felt he could have gone even quicker had it not been

“We missed it a little bit, actually. I made a mistake with the wing placement and it cost us, so we could’ve had that absolute track record if the driver hadn't screwed up,” noted Gerster. “They should not leave adjustments in there for me. I should just have the steering wheel and pedals. But the car was still good. It was fun to go fast time here. Now I’m open for a small or huge invert, one or the other.

“There’s a lot of fast cars; we’re good, but this’ll be a place that’s aero dependent and traffic will be tough and everything like that,” Gerster added. “We want to be fast all night, so there’s three things we’ve got to do well, and that’s qualifying, heat racing and the feature. The first one’s over, but the feature is where the big money is at.

“That’s where we want to be the best.”

Gerster earned a $500 bonus for topping qualifying courtesy of American Racer Tires, the presenting sponsor of Saturday night’s racing program at the Jennerstown speed plant.

Charlie Schultz, who finished third during last year’s inaugural Must See Racing stop at Jennerstown, qualified second overall with a lap of 15.421 seconds (121.860 mph) in his John Reiser-owned No. 9s.

Canadian Ryan Litt was third on the speed charts (15.431/121.781) after pacing one of the two practice sessions held earlier in the day. Defending Jennerstown winner Jimmy McCune and past NASCAR modified champion Bobby Santos III followed in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Joe Liguori qualified sixth-quickest, ahead of recent Berlin Raceway winner Jason Blonde, current points leader Anthony McCune, Kevin Feeney and Christian Koehler.

Former track record holder Bloom was 11th fastest (16.177116.165) during two-lap qualifications.

Racing action at Jennerstown Speedway kicks off just after 6 p.m. local time.

QUALIFYING RESULTS: Must See Racing Sprint Car Series; Jennerstown Speedway; Sept. 14, 2019

1. #50m – Brian Gerster, 15.198 (NTR); 2. #9s – Charlie Schultz, 15.421; 3. #07L – Ryan Litt, 15.431; 4. #88 – Jimmy McCune, 15.640; 5. #22a – Bobby Santos III, 15.653; 6. #13 – Joe Liguori, 15.725; 7. #42 – Jason Blonde, 15.738; 8. #8 – Anthony McCune, 15.915; 9. #6k – Kevin Feeney, 16.107; 10. #10k – Christian Koehler, 16.139; 11. #26 – Jeff Bloom, 16.177; 12. #7 – Tom Jewell, 16.245; 13. #8a – Adam Biltz, 16.400; 14. #17 – Bobby Komisarski, 16.770; 15. #81 – Johnny Petrozelle III, 16.783; 16. #75c – Jerry Caryer, 16.813; 17. #51 – Joshua Sexton, 18.094; 18. #15 – Tim Henthorne, 18.324; 19. #85 – Rick Holley, 18.387; 20. #32 – Todd McQuillen, 19.087; 21. #4 – Anthony Linkenhoker, 19.626; 22. #74 – Ivan Shaver, 20.430.

Blonde Leads All The Way For Berlin Must See Score

MARNE, Mich. – The box score from Saturday night’s Engine Pro Fast Car Dash II may say that Jason Blonde led all 30 laps for his second Must See Racing Sprint Car Series win of the year, but it wasn’t that simple.

In fact, if not for a late-race caution, Blonde might not have won at Berlin Raceway at all.

Blonde held off Jimmy McCune on a green-white-checkered restart to secure the victory accolades, but it was lap 28 – when he was nearly passed in lapped traffic by Jimmy’s nephew, Anthony McCune – that stuck out as the game-changing moment for the No. 42 Hamilton Trucking team.

“He was coming there, and we were fighting through a mess of traffic,” Blonde recalled. “I think I just saw his nose there before he spun, and I think it was going to be a heck of a battle.”

The battle was imminent, as Anthony McCune had run down Blonde from 4.2 seconds back over a 17-lap span after taking the runner-up position at lap 11. A win just wasn’t meant to be on this night.

Anthony McCune was forced to get on the binders exiting turn two, with lapped traffic three-wide in front of him, and spun down to the inside to avoid running into the back of a slower car.

That shuffled him back out of contention and left Blonde, who had opened up nearly a half-track lead in the first part of the 30-lap feature, free to cruise to the victory following the lone restart of the night.

Or, as he said afterward, as free as one can be with Jimmy McCune breathing down their neck.

“When Jimmy’s behind you, you pretty much don’t lift and hope it turns and comes out,” Blonde noted. “And I tell you what, the last two laps … it kind of came to life a lot better on me than it had the whole race before that, but it stuck amazingly coming off the corner and got good grip in.

“This place is a blast. All this lap traffic we had, it makes it a lot of fun and it’s just awesome.”

Jimmy McCune finished second, .546 seconds back, after starting eighth and struggling to move forward.

It was a frustrating result for the four-time defending champion, who had plenty to say after the race.

“I mean, Jason jumped the start a little bit there at the beginning. He went, I don't know, a couple ... two, three car lengths before the cone, but that’s all right,” said Jimmy McCune. “It’s no big deal. You know what? We didn’t get any hot laps. We qualified quick time, and that’s great, but that'll be the last time (because) we're going to sand bag like they do and start on the front row now.

“Next time, we’ll try to win this thing from the front and see how that works out.”

Charlie Schultz completed the podium, followed by Anthony McCune, who rallied back to finish fourth despite his spin in the closing laps. Christian Koehler completed the top five with a career-best run.

The next race for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series will be on Sept. 14 at Jennerstown (Pa.) Speedway. Jimmy McCune is the defending winner of the David D. Mateer Tribute Race.

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