The Ferrante Motor Cars DIRTcar Modifieds thundered onto the track next with Jeremiah Shingledecker taking the lead on the opening lap. Shingledecker has had his fair share of bad luck this season, but tonight he would not be denied his second feature win of the season. He led every circuit of the 25 lap feature and was largely unchallenged. A late race caution set the table for Bud Points leader Brian Swartzlander to steal the win, but Shingledecker would hear nothing of the sort. He took a commanding lead at the green flag of the restart and motored to Sheetz Victory Lane. Brian Swartzlander chased Shingledecker home for second and padded his points lead as fellow Championship contender Kevin Bolland struggled through the race with a sick motor, but managed to salvage a sixth place finish. Tom Winkle, Dave Murdick and Del Rougeux Jr. rounded out the Ferrante Top Five. Winkle and Swartzlander checkered their respective heat races.

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Jeremiah Shingledecker of Polk, Pa., engaged in a battle royale with point leader Kevin Bolland in the 21-lap DIRTcar Big Block Modified feature as the two continue their duel for the track title. This time, Shingledecker came out on top following a near collision on the final circuit when Shingledecker dove to the low side in turn three to block a move by Bolland. Shingledecker captured his fourth feature win of the season aboard the Lou Heath & Son Excavating/Hards Welding/Fastenal Bicknell No. 37MD.

“Kevin is tough on restarts,” said Shingledecker after his 12th career win. “He got close and I didn’t think I’d carry enough momentum into turn three, so I went low. I had to do it to win.”

Les Myers jumped into the lead at the start of the race. By the fifth circuit, Shingledecker was running second. Bolland, who started 11th, worked his way into the top five on the sixth circuit. He was running third two laps later. The two point leaders then hounded Myers. Shingledecker took command of the race on the ninth circuit, and Bolland followed him past Myers into second at the halfway point.

Following three successive cautions, on the third restart, Shingledecker used the high line while Bolland hugged the low line around the half-mile oval. The two raced side-by-side in the turns for two circuits before Shingledecker started to pull away. It appeared that the race was in Shingledecker’s hip pocket. Then, after the leaders took the white flag, the final caution waved.

With a green-white-checkered finish required, Shingledecker and Bolland battled hard for the win. On the final circuit, Bolland was able to pull even with Shingledecker in turn two. Down the backstretch, Shingledecker pulled ahead, then dove hard to the inside entering turn three. With Bolland just behind Shingledecker in the same line, Bolland was forced to checkup to avoid major contact. As a result, he barely tagged Shingledecker’s left rear and pushed up high in the corner.

As a result, Shingledecker escaped with the win. Bolland finished second over Myers, Joe Crawford and Del Rougeux Jr. Andy Priest and Bolland won the DIRTcar Big Block Modified heats. Following the night’s competition, Bolland’s lead in the track championship standings shrunk to seven points over Shingledecker with just two events remaining on the schedule.

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Jeremiah Shingledecker of Polk, Pa., earned a stellar victory in the 20-lap DIRTcar Big Block Modified feature. After swapping the lead with two-time defending track champion Kevin Bolland a half dozen times, Shingledecker secured the lead on the 13th circuit, and raced to his third win of the season and the 11th of his career at Tri-City.

The win was extra special for Shingledecker because he suffered terminal engine woes racing at Lernerville Speedway on Friday night. His father, Mike, worked into the wee hours of the morning for his son to have the power necessary to grab the stirring win aboard the Lou Heath & Son Excavating/Hards Welding/Fastenal Bicknell No. 37MD

“That was an amazing race,” said Shingledecker in victory lane. “I kept trying to get past Kevin and finally drove under him to block him. I have to dedicate this win to my dad. He worked all day Saturday until early this morning to get this car ready.”

Starting on the outside pole position, Shingledecker took command at the start. Bolland quickly zipped under Shingledecker for the lead on the third lap following a restart. That started one of the most amazing races in recent memory. Lap after lap, Shingledecker would dive under Bolland into turn one, slide in front of him in the middle of the corner, and Bolland would shoot off the top side to take the lead back off turn two. At the other end of the track, Bolland stayed high while Shingledecker tried to make the low groove work.

On the 13th circuit, Shingledecker finally made his move in turn two stick. Behind him, Rex King was also moving to the front fast. He caught the lead duo at the same time Shingledecker made his final pass, and hooked Bolland’s bumper briefly. Bolland held on, but Shingledecker dashed away from him. As the laps wound down, Shingledecker stretched his advantage and scored the popular win. Bolland and King chased him to the line. King is scheduled for midweek neck surgery, so this was his final race for at least one month. Andy Priest and Rex King Jr. rounded out the top five. Shingledecker and Gary Smoker won the DIRTcar Big Block Modified heats.

From the Lernerville release:

Jeremiah Shingledecker (#37MD of Polk) led every lap of the Ferrante Motor Cars DIRTcar Modified feature after starting on the pole position. Early in the race Shingledecker was challenged by Tom Winkle and Del Rougeux Jr., but neither was able to get underneath him for the lead. Truth be told, Shingledecker actually lost the lead once when he ran out of track exiting turn two on the lap 23 restart. Brian Swartzlander momentarily took the lead, but a stopped car in turns one & two brought out the caution. Per Lernerville Speedway rules, due to the lap not being officially completed and the fact that he did not stop moving nor bring out the caution himself, Shingledecker regained his spot for the ensuing restart and held off the advances of and incidental contact in turn two with Swartzlander to claim his first Lernerville feature win of the season.

From Tri-City’s press release:

Jeremiah Shingledecker of Polk, Pa., came of age in the 20-lap DIRTcar Big Block Modified feature. Holding off the hard charging Kevin Bolland and Andy Priest, Shingledecker proved that his name belongs in the annals of Tri-City history as a top runner. From slide jobs to restart challenges, the two former track champions threw the book at Shingledecker. In the end, he held on for his second win of the season and the 10th of his career at Tri-City.

“Those were great battles,” said Shingledecker. “Andy made an awesome pass. I hope I didn’t pinch him too bad in turn two to take back the lead. Then, on that restart, the car stuttered and Bolland got by me. I was glad when that caution came out. This was an awesome race for our team. I’d also like to thank Tri-City for keeping the big blocks here. We all have a lot of fun.”

Starting on the pole position, Shingledecker took the early lead. On the second circuit, Priest made a bonsai run in turn four pulling off a slide job on Shingledecker to lead. Then, Shingledecker made the same move on Priest in turn two on the same lap. Shingledecker drifted in front of Priest just enough to take the lead and prevent any contact. The move left the fans in awe.

Two laps later, Bolland drove under Priest in turn four to take second. The two veterans exchanged the position three times before Bolland secured it and he started to chase down Shingledecker. After a caution on the 11th circuit, Shingledecker’s car stuttered on a restart, and Bolland drove under the leader in turn two to take the lead. Just as Shingledecker raced to the high side in turn three to try to take back the front spot, rookie Kyle Fink spun in turn one causing a caution that nullified Bolland’s pass.

On the final restart, Shingledecker would not make the same error and he blasted away from Bolland. Behind the duo, Priest held third while Dave Schrader, Joe Crawford and Skip Moore dueled for fourth. Their battle occupied the fans over the final distance. At the line, Shingledecker was the winner over Bolland, Priest, Schrader and Crawford. Bolland and Crawford won the DIRTcar Big Block Modified heats.

Jeremiah Shingledecker of Polk, Pa., took advantage of a restart miscue by Joe Crawford on the 15th circuit and raced home the winner of the 20-lap DIRTcar Big Block Modified feature. Driving his Lou Heath & Son Excavating/Hards Welding Bicknell No. 37MD, Shingledecker collected his ninth career feature win at Tri-City.

“This is an incredible track,” said Shingledecker. “If not for Joe making that mistake, I don’t know if I could have caught him. We’ll take this win. We blew the engine in our Late Model car on Friday night at Lernerville, so this will help the budget.”

J.R. McGinley took the early lead from the pole position, but Crawford took advantage of his outside front row start to move into lead on the second circuit. Shingledecker followed him through and continued to pressure Crawford for the next 13 circuits. After the fourth caution of the race, Crawford drove too hard into the first turn on the restart, drifted high, and Shingledecker dove under him into the lead. Crawford recovered, but lost second to Andy Priest with four laps to go. In the end, Shingledecker scored the win over Priest, Crawford, Kevin Bolland and Jim Rasey.

This was also the day that Jeremiah made his much anticipated debut in a full-fendered car, driving the new 37md late model. A lot of last minute work and the total lack of seat time in the car left the team anxious about how the night would go.

The heat race didn’t do much to alleviate those concerns, but when the green flag flew for the feature, the cream truly rose to the top, and Jeremiah’s driving ability shone brightly.

After starting at the rear of the field, Jeremiah steadily worked his way forward, and by the time the checkers flew, he had brought home a most impressive 4th place finish.

The team traveled to the historic Hagerstown Speedway for Jeremiah’s first ever visit to the Maryland speed plant.

Jeremiah made sure the long tow was worthwhile, as he advanced from his 18th starting position to finish in 5th place against a very impressive field that included dirt modified ace Brett Hearn, who also won the feature.

This most impressive start to the season hopefully serves as a portent of more great things to come this season.

photos courtesy of WRT Race Photos

Congratulations Lex and Jeremiah; and welcome Mazy Lee!

Jeremiah and the 37MD team traveled to Lernerville on Friday night and brought home another victory. It was Jeremiah’s 4th win at the Sarver oval and 7th over-all on the 2007 season.

From the Lernerville press release:

Tonight’s Main Event featured the Ferrante Motor Cars Modifieds. Thankfully, after two caution-filled features, the Bog Block Modifieds rumbled off 25 consecutive laps, no cautions, with Jeremiah Shingledecker winning his fourth feature of the season. Shingledecker, (#37MD of Stoneboro), led the final 24 laps of the 25 lap feature on his way to Victory Lane. Shingledecker was challenged first by Del Rougeux Jr., then by Kevin Bolland. Bolland, (#777 of New Brighton), was scored in second, after taking a few weeks off from the Action Track after a couple heated, on-track incidents.

Rougeux, (#20D of Frenchville), who has also been involved in some on-track incidents recently, crossed the finish line in third place. Phil Evans Jr., (#38 of Greensburg), had his best finish of the season by coming home fourth. “Double Duty” Dave Murdick, (#61 of Slippery Rock), rounded out the top five for the Modifieds, after finishing 13th in the Late Model feature. Budweiser Points Leader Brian Swartzlander, (#83 of Leechburg) was also pulling double duty tonight. He finished sixth in the Modified feature and seventh in the Late Model feature, driving for the vacationing Gary Lyle in the #10. Swartzlander and Rougeux won their respective heat races.