Big Block Modifieds, Fireworks Highlight Eriez Speedway 2015 Finale
HAMMETT, Pa. – The 2015 regular season will end today at Eriez Speedway with all champions crowned. A bonus for the fans will be the year’s only appearance of the Big Block Modifieds Tour. Winners on the tour this season include Dave Murdick, Rex King Jr., Jim Weller Jr. and rising star Erick Rudolph. A full field is expected. Fireworks will light the sky at intermission to celebrate another successful season at Eriez Speedway, the 54th since the track opened on July 21, 1961, with Tom Dill winning the first-ever feature.
Darrell Bossard wrapped up the Jay’s Auto Wrecking Super Late Model points championship last week, now holding a 225-point lead over Greg Oakes with 210 being the maximum any driver can earn in one night. Ironically neither of the top two drivers has visited Victory Lane this summer, but both are consistently near the front of the pack when the checkers fly. Opening-night winner Chris Hackett is third with three-time winner Rob Blair fourth and four-time winner Max Blair fifth. Bump Hedman and Chase Junghans also have single wins this season. Josh Richards won the World of Outlaws special in August. Rookie Chad Wright, a former Crate Late Model champion, scored two wins and is currently sixth in the standings.
Defending champion Kyle Zimmerman secured his second consecutive Bonnell Collision Center RUSH Crate Late Model championship last week. Zimmerman scored two feature wins in his title defense season with former champion Max Blair scoring six victories (including both RUSH Touring events) and sitting in the runner-up position ahead of Matt Latta, who had an extremely difficult run last Sunday, having two hard encounters with the front straight wall. Single winners Jason Genco and Chad Wright are fourth and fifth in the standings going into the final points-paying event. Ward Schell won a special non-points event in June.
Despite missing two weeks due to building a new racer, Joel Watson is on track to win his third Plyler Overhead Door E-Mod Championship. With four wins on the season he has accumulated a 135-point edge over Steve Simon, still waiting on his first career Eriez Speedway E-Mod feature win. Troy Carr, a single winner, is third, only 15 points behind Simon with Steve Rex only 19 points back in fourth. Butch Southwell is fifth heading into the final point’s race. Former champion John Boyd has one win and is sixth. Steve Dixon, Dave Scott, and Dan Davies each have solitary wins as does Jake Hawkins in the special Renegades of Dirt event in mid-August.
Former champion Ryan Scott has dominated the Kandy’s Gentlemen’s Club Limited Late Model class with eight wins in the 12 events competed. The other four wins are all owned by Chris McGuire, another former champion. Scott has a 120-point advantage heading into the final event. Class rookie Tony Marotto is third with veteran Mike Moon fourth and rookie Bill Applebee fifth.
Don McGuire, with one feature win, heads up the Nelson Lynwood Street Stock standings with narrow 55-point lead over two-time feature winner Jimmy Kennerknecht. Former champion Chris Withers is third with one win. Mark Thompson hasn’t let put his beautiful ’57 Chevy in Victory Lane yet but is fourth at the present time. Single winner Mark Ramsey is fifth. Tyler Green and defending champion Brandon Groters each have two wins with Rob Bates, Bill Reeves and Shaun Fawcett each visiting Victory Lane once this summer.
Young Casey Bowers has secured his first-ever points title in the Clinger E-Mod Chassis Economods on the strength of seven feature wins. Bowers has accumulated a huge 417-point edge over Eric Reinwald, who won his first-ever Eriez feature just last week. Dennis Hagg Jr. is third with single winner Ty Rhoades fourth and two-time winner Josh Ferry fifth. Butch Lambert also has one feature win.
Andy Proper, with five feature wins, has sealed his first championship over Ryan White, Aaron Marcy, Wes Stull and two-time winner Thomas Cupp. Steve Morse also has two wins with single triumphs going to Travis Darling, Casey Burch, and Lindsey Carlson.
Eriez Speedway is located on Sampson Road, just off Lake Pleasant Road in the town of Hammett, Pennsylvania, 3 miles south of Interstate 90. Take Route 8 south from Interstate 90, exit 29 and follow the signs starting in Hammett. Admission for all this special is $15 for adults, $13 for seniors, children ages 6-15 are $8 and children under 6 are free. Pit admission is $30. Fan gates open at 4:30 and pit gates open at 3:30 with the first green flag shown at 6 p.m.
The Eriez Karts race every Sunday with gates opening at 8 a.m. with racing getting underway at 10 a.m. General admission is $5 with pit tickets for $10. Kart and Driver admission in $25 with extra karts being $15 each.




