March 28 2004

"Second Annual Spring Fest at Challenger"

Chub Waves at Robbie to come on at Challenger.

Photo By Sue Stevenson

March 28, 2004 - Indiana, PA

Steve Shaver wins Second Annual Spring Fest at Challenger

Steve Shaver from Vienna, WV was the winner of the Second Annual Spring Fest event at the Challenger Raceway on Sunday afternoon. Shaver held off a late challenge from Davey Johnson in winning the 40-lap main event, and he pocketed $5,000 for his efforts. Dave Hess, Jr. from Waterford, PA was the Spring Fest E-Mod winner, as the Pure Stock portion of the card was won by Joe Kelley from Mt. Pleasant, PA.

The 40-lap Spring Fest Championship Late Model race started with Bob Close and Steve Shaver leading the field on the starting grid. Shaver used the outside lane to nose ahead at the start of what would be a caution-free event. Close settled into second, as Todd Andrews raced third. Davey Johnson had started tenth, but by lap 3 had advanced to fourth. Johnson passed Andrews for third on lap 7. Shaver had built a comfortable lead by the halfway mark, but when he caught race traffic it allowed the lead battle to intensify. By lap 30, only a car length separated the top three, and Johnson passed Close for second on lap 34. Johnson made two strong bids to unseat the leader over the final laps, but Shaver held on to post the victory. Johnson was a car length behind the winner, as Close was right behind in third. Andrews came home fourth, as John Mason finished fifth after starting 13th. Dave Satterlee was sixth from 11th starting spot, as Jim Yoder came from 14th for seventh. Lynn Geisler finished eighth. Chub Frank and Sam Stile were the Last Chance Race winners, but without any cautions to help them catch up their runs from 19th and 20th netted them ninth and tenth. Heat winners over the 56-car field were Andrews, Satterlee, Doug Horton, David Scott, Johnson, and Close.

The 20-lap Modified Feature started with Keith Bidwell and Jeremy Kosicek on the front row. Two complete restarts were required for multi-car tangles. When the race finally did begin, it was sixth starting Dave Hess, Jr. powering into the race lead. After a lap 2 restart, Hess continued to lead as Jim Dandy, Jr. had advanced to second. Randy Hall took third from Bidwell on lap 6. Dandy and Hall inched up to Hess' back bumper, but could not mount a serious challenge. Two final restarts on laps 15 and 16 gave the competition their chances, but Hess would lead the remaining distance in scoring the win. Dandy was nipping at the winners heels over the final laps, but settled for a close second. Hall was third, as Chub Frank made his first-ever Modified start finishing in fourth. Defending race winner Carl McKinney was fifth, as Jeff Taylor, Doug Glessner, Brandon Wearing, Rich Logan, and Greg Oakes filled the top ten. There were 29 entries, and Heat winners were Hall, Dandy, and Hess. Oakes took the Last Chance Race.

Challenger Raceway results for Sunday, March 28, 2004.

Late Models - Car Count - 56.
        Heat winners - Todd Andrews, Dave Satterlee, Doug Horton, David Scott, Davey Johnson, Bob Close.
        Last Chance Race winners - Chub Frank, Sam Stile.
        Feature - 1)Steve Shaver. 2)Davey Johnson. 3)Bob Close. 4)Todd Andrews. 5)John Mason. 6)Dave Satterlee. )Jim Yoder. 8)Lynn Geisler. 9)Chub Frank. 10)Sam Stile. 11)Rob Blair. 12)David Scott. 13)Ryan Markham. 14)Matt Gaston. 15)Rodney Phillips. 16)Keith Barbara. 17)Dick Barton. 18)Gary Lyle. 19)Ron Davies. 20)Bobby Stokes. 21)Rich Gardner. 22)Dave Hess, Jr. 23)Rick Isadore. 24)Doug Horton.

Modifieds - Car Count - 29.
        Heat winners - Randy Hall, Jim Dandy, Jr., Dave Hess, Jr.
        Last Chance Race winner - Greg Oakes.
        Feature - 1)Dave Hess, Jr. 2)Jim Dandy, Jr. 3)Randy Hall. 4)Chub Frank. 5)Carl McKinney. 6)Jeff Taylor. 7)Doug Glessner. 8)Brandon Wearing. 9)Rich Logan. 10)Greg Oakes. 11)Justin Carlson. 12)Dale Applebee. 13)Bill Thomas. 14)Josh Cramer. 15)Denny Perigo. 16)Nick Cramer. 17)John Lacki. 18)Rick Meglaye. 19)Keith Bidwell. 20)Bobby Watt. 21)Jeremy Kosicek. 22)Fred Bratchie. 23)Jim Myers. 24)Mike Hess.
        Did not qualify - Shawn Barbus, Jack Smith, Bruce Dreistadt, Bob Rougeaux, Adam Taylor.

Don’t forget to stop by merchandise, there’s been a lot of new merchandise added.

Chub Frank Racing

Rt.1 Box 146

Lottsville Niobe Rd.

Bear Lake, PA 16402