Casey Noonan came out on top of an extremely competitive UMP Late Model feature at Oakshade Raceway on Saturday night for his second feature win of the season.
Brian Ruhlman got the advantage over pole-sitter Rusty Schlenk at the start of the 25-lap UMP Late Model feature event after starting on the outside of the front row. Schlenk regrouped and began challenging Ruhlman for the lead a few laps later. On lap nine, Schlenk had a shot to take the lead as he and Ruhlman split around Steve Miller who was fighting to stay on the lead lap. Ruhlman held on, but Schlenk got another run to the inside of Ruhlman with another slower car in front of the leaders. Ruhlman used the car as a pick which resulted in some contact while racing for the lead on the backstretch. The leaders continued to work through heavy traffic which allowed the rest of the top five to close in. Casey Noonan snuck by for the lead late in the race. A couple cars racing side by side in front of Noonan made for an exciting finish. Ruhlman got to the outside and somehow Noonan found room to the inside of the two cars at the checkered flag. Ruhlman settled for a second place finish and was able to close back to within four points of Schlenk in the point standings. Steve Kester notched another top five finish with a third just ahead of Schlenk. Chris Keller was fifth.
It was another heart breaker for Chane Stuckey in the UMP Sportsman feature. A few weeks back, Stuckey appeared as though he might pick up his first Sportsman feature win after leading the majority of the second Sportsman Twin 25, but an incredible run by Tim Line ended with a pass for the lead on the final lap of that race. This time, Stuckey took command on lap two after passing Rich Ruff for the lead. He then opened up a decent advantage over the rest of the field. Line started seventh and moved up to second by lap seven. Seven laps later, Line had caught Stuckey and began to challenge for the lead. Line finally took lead after a restart for a caution on lap 15. A couple laps later, Stuckey’s car began to smoke and he retired to the pits. Line went on to pick up his sixth consecutive feature win. Ruff wound up second with Drew Smith finishing strong in third. Mike Jessen and George Lindsey finished fourth and fifth respectively.
Gregg DeTray won his third Bomber A Main of the year in a dominating performance. DeTray started on the inside of the second row and took over the race lead by the completion of the first lap. Jeff Foks put some pressure on DeTray for most of the race, but had his run of consecutive wins snapped at four. Chris Sands entered the night with a slim points lead, but suffered rear end damage after an incident with Terry Rushlow and was unable to finish the race. Foks made one last move to the inside of DeTray in the final corner of the last lap, but it wasn’t enough. The second place finish for Foks was good enough to take over the Bomber point lead. Rick Dixon finished third followed by Mathew Chapman and Curt Dickie.
Brogan Rehklau started on the pole of the Best Performance Motorsports Compact feature and drove away from the rest of the field. A good four-car battle ensued behind him between John Martis, Brandon Myers, Cory Gumm and Cody Stetten. Rehklau earned his first ever Best Performance Motorsports Compacts feature win with Gumm holding off Martis for second. Stetten finished fourth with Myers fifth.
Tim Hancock and Jacob Gamber had a great battle for the lead in a caution-filled Bomber B Main. Gamber led early with Hancock taking over the lead a few laps into the event. Gamber fought back on the outside and regained the lead, but slipped up on the final lap allowing Hancock to reclaim it and take the checkered flag. Adam Lantz also got by Gamber to finish second. Gamber crossed the line third and Scott Hammer just edged out Duane Fletcher for fourth.
Special Tom Elling Memorial Australian Pursuit Races were run for the top ten in points in the UMP Late Model, UMP Sportsman and Bomber classes. Winners were Ken Hahn, Tim Line and Mathew Chapman.
The Dual Push Truck Challenge takes place Saturday, August 16th at Oakshade Raceway and will feature two complete 25-lap UMP Late Model feature events in addition to a full show of UMP Sportsmen, Bombers and Best Performance Motorsports Compacts. Gates open at 4pm with racing at 7pm.