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Sponaugle victorious at The Rock

April 18, 2008

CUMBERLAND, Md. – Matt Sponaugle led the entire distance for the Allegany Scrap Limited Late Model win to start the regular season on Friday night at The Rock, Allegany County Speedway.

In other feature action, Randy Zechman picked up the win in the Sunoco Street Stocks. Marcius VanMeter took the honor in the TC Race Cars Hobby Stocks. Ryan Peer was a new winner for the Factory Stock 4-Cylinders and Jimmy Moreland was declared the winner for an 8-Cylinder race that reached a frightening conclusion.

Sponaugle broke away from the field after taking the lead on the initial start of the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature. Matt Emerick gave chase after emerging with second from a shuffle in turn two.

After lap four, the race went without a caution. Sponaugle led by as much as half of a straightaway before giving up some ground to Emerick in the closing laps. Sponaugle crossed the finish line with about eight car lengths to spare over Emerick.

Daniel Cornman held off Jamey Swank to finish third. Travis Stickley rounded out the top five.

Zechman contended with John Whitfield on a restart on lap eight to get the 16-lap Street Stock win. Zechman led from the start and held off Whitfield on the backstretch following the race’s only caution.

Whitfield stayed within a couple of car lengths before Zechman got away to a six car length lead at the conclusion. Behind Whitfield, Rick Wright, Roy Whitfield and Justin Bonnett rounded out the top five.

Hotly contested racing up front continued in the Hobby Stock class. In that 15-lap event, VanMeter turned back a couple of challenges from Steve Fadley in the final four laps. VanMeter earned the victory by a car length over Fadley, David Puckett, Joe Railey and R.T. Troutman.

Puckett finished fourth after running as high as second. A broken wheel cost him several spots on lap 11.

The restart provided the excitement between VanMeter and Fadley. Fadley jumped to the inside of VanMeter in turns one and two but VanMeter prevailed on the backstretch to retain the lead.

Peer picked up his first-ever win at the speedway by a half of a straightaway over the 4-Cylinder field in the 12-lap race. He raced to the lead on the backstretch of the opening lap after starting fourth.

The rest of the top five spots shuffled frequently behind Peer. His biggest threat came from 15th-starting Nathan Carpenter on a restart at lap four. Peer recaptured the lead on the backstretch and Carpenter fell out two laps later.

Brandon Powell ended up second after a tight battle with third-place finisher Dwain Rhodes. Jason Thompson finished fourth and Daniel Wratchford worked his way back into fifth by recovering from a couple of problems earlier in the race.

The 8-Cylinder race took a shocking turn on the final turns for driver Ray Shepherd. After powering into the lead on the final lap of the 12-lap feature, Shepherd’s car veered hard into the turn three wall. The force blasted Shepherd over the wall.

Luckily, he emerged from the car and reported only some soreness after the crash. With the turn of events coming on the final lap, Moreland was awarded the win for the crossing the finish line over Jason Imes, James Mongan and Alan Lowery.

The Rock hosts the first round of the Maryland Clash for Limited Late Model and Late Model Sportsman cars from the Hagerstown Speedway on Friday, April 25. The race is set for 30-laps and pays $1,000 to win. The bonus, sponsored by A&C Racing Engines, will be calculated based on the three rounds at each track.

The Street Stocks, Hobby Stocks, 4-Cylinders, 6-Cylinders and Classic Cars are also scheduled to compete. Warm-ups are scheduled for 6:45 p.m. For more information, visit the speedway’s web site at www.therockspeedway.com.

The Rock – Allegany Co. Speedway
Order of Finish
Friday, April 18, 2008
ALLEGANY SCRAP LIMITED LATE MODELS (20 laps) 1. Matt Sponaugle, 2. Matt Emerick, 3. Daniel Cornman, 4. Jamey Swank, 5. Travis Stickley, 6. Matt Cosner, 7. Maurice Thompson Jr., 8. Jimmy Iser, 9. Dan Zechman, 10. Todd Lewis.

SUNOCO STREET STOCKS (16 laps): 1. Randy Zechman, 2. John Whitfield, 3. Rick Wright, 4. Roy Whitfield, 5. Justin Bonnett, 6. Bryan Kerns.

TC RACE CARS HOBBY STOCKS (15 laps): 1. Marcius VanMeter, 2. Steve Fadley, 3. Joe Railey, 4. David Puckett, 5. R.T. Troutman, 6. Mike VanMeter, 7. Scott Jones; DNS: Mike Wolfe, Ralph Wolfe.

FACTORY STOCK 4-CYLINDERS (12 laps): 1. Ryan Peer, 2. Brandon Powell, 3. Dwain Rhodes, 4. Jason Thompson, 5. Daniel Wratchford, 6. Rick Jenkins, 7. Nick Iski, 8. Derek Iser, 9. Tyler Alkire, 10. Neil Alexander, 11. Chris Shoemaker, 12. Robbie Kuhn, 13. Brandon Inglish, 14. Nathan Carpenter, 15. Steve Riggleman, DNS: Jason Riggleman.

FACTORY STOCK 8-CYLINDERS (12 laps): 1. Jimmy Moreland, 2. Jason Imes, 3. James Mongan, 4. Alan Lowery II, 5. Ray Shepherd, 6. Harmon Crites, 7. Matt Kinnamon, DNS: Brian Ringer.

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