SELINSGROVE, Pa. – TJ Stutts of Liverpool wired the field to become the first four-time winner of the Mach 1 Chassis National Open for 358-360 sprint cars Saturday night at Selinsgrove Speedway but not without several thrilling challenges from Doug Esh of Lancaster and Davie Franek of Wantage, N.J.
At the wheel of the Wise Motorsports No. 23, Stutts’ $10,000 victory in the 15th annual 35-lap Open was his third of the season and the 23rd of his career in 358-360 sprint car competition at the track. His previous Open victories came in 2001, 2003, and 2013.
Coleby Frye of Dover won his second race in three weeks at Selinsgrove in the 25-lap super late model main event.
Selinsgrove Speedway will present the Bernheisel Race Components Superior Products Night for super late models plus 360 sprint cars, pro stocks, and roadrunners at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22. Track gates will open at 5 p.m.
TJ Stutts started on the pole and pulled into the lead at the drop of the green flag in the sprint car main event. Stutts was trailed by second-place starter Steve Collins in the early laps of the race. On the seventh lap, 10th-place starter Doug Esh began to show a lot of speed and stormed into the runner-up position. Esh quickly reeled in Stutts and a thrilling wheel-to-wheel duel unfolded for the lead with both drivers see-sawing for the lead through the turns.
The first caution flag unfurled on lap 13 for an incident involving Derek Locke and Eric Tomecek in turn three. When the race resumed, the pair of 23 sprint cars driven by Stutts and Esh resumed an intense war on wheels. On the 15th circuit, however, Esh’s car blew an engine and rolled to a stop on the frontstretch.
Sixth-place starter Davie Franek inherited the second position and put in a bid for the lead on the restart to no avail. Stutts continued to set a torrid pace around the top of the race track while Franek, fourth-place starter Colby Womer, and fifth-place starter Kevin Nouse kept pace. The race was stopped on lap 18 when Josh Weller’s car hit the fourth turn guardrail and flipped several times onto the frontstretch. Weller escaped injury.
On the lap 19 restart, Nouse advanced to third and displayed a lot of momentum in the second half of the race. Womer’s strong run came to end on lap 26 when his car rolled to a stop in turn two with mechanical problems. On the final restart, Stutts stretched his lead and scored a 1.8-second margin of victory over Franek, Nouse, 12th-place starter Ryan Kissinger, and 23rd-place starter Mark Smith, who qualified Jim Shuster’s No. C-4 through the B-main when his No. 1 blew an engine in his heat
- Robbie Stillwaggon on Aug 16, 2015
- Article Date: 8/16/2015 by Steve Inch