UFo Race Championship
05-22-2011, 11:27 PM
keep TVR track photographer Howie Balis in your thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.
Jared Hawkins wins at Thunder Valley, two for two in the UFo Race Championship!
Central City, PA (May 21) In three tries in the 2010 season, rain canceled all three attempted visits for the UFo Race Championship to visit the Thunder Valley Raceway. In 2011, in the wettest spring in recent memory, a beautiful day greeted the first-ever UFo visit to Thunder Valley on Saturday night for the running of the Shawn McGarvey Showdown. At the end of 38 laps it was Jacob Hawkins earning the $3,000 first place money. Backing up his season opening UFo victory at Tyler County, Hawkins has won both UFo events held in 2011.
The "Shawn McGarvey Showdown" was a tribute to the multi-time Thunder Valley Limited Late Model track champion who was lost in a work-related accident in 2009. Shawn was a full-time competitor on the UFo Race Championship in the 2008 season and finished fifth in the final point standings.
With 40 race teams on hand for the event, five qualifying heats were run. Jamie Lathroum started off the night by winning the first heat, from the second starting position. John Britsky was the winner of the second heat, also starting second. In a loaded Heat 3, Jason Covert was the winner from sixth starting spot. Clate Copeman took the win in Heat 4 from third starting spot, while Heat 5 went to second starting Matt Lux. Two B-Mains completed the qualifying positions, with wins going to Chuck Clise and Jacob Hawkins.
First heat winner Jamie Lathroum drew for the top ten starting positions. After drawing third starting position for himself, the first of the two coveted front row starting positions went to Jason Covert, getting the outside of the front row drawing third. Jared Hawkins was the eighth driver to get his position and wound up with the pole. The Shawn McGarvey Showdown started with Covert taking the lead at the drop of the green from the outside groove, with the caution waving on lap 1 for a turn two tangle between Quinton Wyandt and Steve Gibney. On the double file restart, leader Covert had lane choice and chose the inside lane. Hawkins won the drag race for the restart and took over the lead, but the red flag was needed on lap 2 for a multi-car pileup at the flagstand. Dylan Yoder, Russell King, and Doug Glessner were among the drivers that received the most damage from the incident.
Hawkins chose the outside lane for this restart, and again got the better start to resume in the lead over Covert, Lathroum, Keith Barbara, and John Britsky. Hawkins built a bit of a lead, around half a straight by lap 10. Covert and Lathroum raced close for second, as the next caution period came with 15 laps in for Greg Fetters stopping in turn four.
Hawkins again chose the outside, which also moved odd positions third and back to the outside lane. He again controlled this restart, with Covert, Lathroum, Barbara, and Britsky filling the top five, which was how they were running at the halfway mark. Hawkins again inched away from the competition, leaving Covert and Lathroum to race for second. Lap 24 saw Danny Mitchell slow in turn three setting up another double-file restart, with Hawkins again leading. Barbara and Lathroum raced briefly for third, with Lathroum getting the spot and closing on Covert.
Mitchell slowed to a stop on the backstretch on lap 35, bringing out the caution with three laps remaining. With another double-file restart, Hawkins again chose the outside. While racing for fourth, a backstretch tangle saw Barbara get the worst of a tangle with Clate Copeman, with Britsky also sent to the tail for his involvement in the incident. Another tangle occurred on this attempted restart, involving Matt Lux, Wayne Johnson, and Copeman.
Jared Hawkins led the remaining distance to keep his record perfect in UFo events in 2011, winning his second event in two starts. Jason Covert held off a strong last lap challenge from Jamie Lathroum to get runner up honors. Behind Lathroum in third were Devin Friese and Derek Byler, with Chad McClellan, Wayne Johnson, Steve Gibney, Clate Copeman, and Matt Lux rounding out the top ten.
Jared Hawkins leads the UFo Race Championship point standings with a perfect 200 point total. Devin Friese sits in second spot, with Jacob Hawkins and Keith Barbara tied for fourth. Clate Copeman is fifth in points, with Bob Gordon and Matt Lux tied for sixth. Jared Miley is eighth, with Danny Mitchell ninth, and defending UFo champion Chad McClellan is tenth.
This was the first of a busy stretch of races for the 2011 UFo Race Championship, with six races over five straight weekends. Next up is the Series first ever visit to Hesston Speedway on Sunday, May 28 for the running of Triple TnT featuring the popular UFo twin feature format. A pair of 25 lap feature events will be held with the winners share for each event is $2,000 or $4,000 to win both events. Then on Saturday, June 4, Tyler County Speedway will run the King of the Bullring event, with the 51 lap main event paying $4,000 to the winner. Saturday, June 11 will be the rescheduled running of the PENNational at Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway with twin 28 lap main events. The following weekend will have a pair of events, with the $3,000 to win Chuck Gear Trophy race at Elkins Raceway on Friday, June 17, and the Willie Will Tribute at Thunder Valley Raceway for $3,000 to win.
The UFo Race Championship is an event marketing alliance among independent supertracks in the PA-WV-MD region. Participating speedways presents their own championship Super Late Model events under the UFo banner throughout the season using common tech and procedure rules with a year-end, group funded, point bonus for the top finishing drivers on the tour. Eligible tracks are within the 3 hour travel distance of the central point of Washington, PA.
UFo is proudly supported by its major sponsors. American Racer is based out of Indiana, PA. Lias Tire, located at 488 North 5th Street in Indiana, PA, is the regional distributor for American Racer. More information on American Racer and Lias Tire may be found at http://www.americanraceronline.com , http://www.liastireonline.com or by calling 800-638-7028.
Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic is headquartered at 2931 Industrial Park Drive in Finksburg, MD with satellite distribution centers at 1076 South Main Street in Roaring Springs, PA and at Precise Racing Products located at located at 110 S Pike Road #207 in Sarver, PA. Information on Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic may be found at http://www.hoosiermidatlantic.com . Precise Racing Products website is http://www.preciseracing.com . HTMA and Precise Racing can be reached at 800-651-5164.
Townsend Gas and Oil is a regional distribution center for VP Racing Fuels and is located at 1740 Old US 119 at Homer City, PA. More information may be found by calling by calling 800-779-5241 or at http://www.townsendgasoil.com . Race-1 located at Race-1 is located at 299 East Western Reserve Road in Poland, OH. Phone contact is 330-540-7223 and the official website is http://www.race-1.com .
ASI Racewear is the official provider of UFo race apparel and carries merchandise of many top Super Late Model drivers. Information on ASI may be found at http://www.asiwear.com . Rocket Chassis will reward the 2011 UFo Race Champion with a $1,000 chassis credit. Their website is http://www.rocketchassis.com .
Complete information on the UFo Race Championship may be found at http://www.uforacechampionship.com . Dog Hollow Speedway is located east of Indiana, PA off US 422 on PA 403 at Strongstown. The track phone is 814-948-6812 and promoter phone is 814-948-4252. The track website is http://www.dog-hollow.net .
Hesston Speedway is located off of SR 26 south of Huntingdon, PA at Hesston PA at the Race Track Road turnoff. The track website is http://www.hesstonspeedway.com with track phone 814-658-2823. MercerRacewayPark is located just north of Mercer, PA off US 19 on Fairground Road. The track website is http://www.mercerracewaypark.com , race day and office phone is 724-662-1310.
Pittsburgh's PA Motor Speedway is located just west of Pittsburgh off US 22 at Imperial, PA off the Noblestown exit. The track website is http://www.ppms.com , office phone 412-279-7223 and race day phone 724-695-3363 or 724-695-0393. Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex is located east of Farmington, PA off US 40. Website information may be obtained at http://www.roaringknob.com , with race day phone 724-329-0306. The Rock Speedway is located at south of Cumberland, MD off US 220 at the Allegany County Fairgrounds. Track website is http://www.therockspeedway.com and office phone for Oval Track Promotions of 410-857-3821 for both tracks.
Thunder Valley Raceway is located off PA 160 and US 30 at Central City, PA on Shade Church Road. The track website is http://www.thundervalleyraceway.com , race day phone 814-754-8090 and office phone 301-733-3688. Tyler County Speedway is located south of Middlebourne, WV on SR 18 at the Tyler County Fairgrounds. Tyler County Speedway is located south of Middlebourne, WV on SR 18 at the Tyler County Fairgrounds. The track website is http://www.tylercountyspeedwayonline.com , race day phone 304-758-2660 and phones for Circle Track Management Group of 304-904-0021 and 304-483-2536.
Jared Hawkins wins at Thunder Valley, two for two in the UFo Race Championship!
Central City, PA (May 21) In three tries in the 2010 season, rain canceled all three attempted visits for the UFo Race Championship to visit the Thunder Valley Raceway. In 2011, in the wettest spring in recent memory, a beautiful day greeted the first-ever UFo visit to Thunder Valley on Saturday night for the running of the Shawn McGarvey Showdown. At the end of 38 laps it was Jacob Hawkins earning the $3,000 first place money. Backing up his season opening UFo victory at Tyler County, Hawkins has won both UFo events held in 2011.
The "Shawn McGarvey Showdown" was a tribute to the multi-time Thunder Valley Limited Late Model track champion who was lost in a work-related accident in 2009. Shawn was a full-time competitor on the UFo Race Championship in the 2008 season and finished fifth in the final point standings.
With 40 race teams on hand for the event, five qualifying heats were run. Jamie Lathroum started off the night by winning the first heat, from the second starting position. John Britsky was the winner of the second heat, also starting second. In a loaded Heat 3, Jason Covert was the winner from sixth starting spot. Clate Copeman took the win in Heat 4 from third starting spot, while Heat 5 went to second starting Matt Lux. Two B-Mains completed the qualifying positions, with wins going to Chuck Clise and Jacob Hawkins.
First heat winner Jamie Lathroum drew for the top ten starting positions. After drawing third starting position for himself, the first of the two coveted front row starting positions went to Jason Covert, getting the outside of the front row drawing third. Jared Hawkins was the eighth driver to get his position and wound up with the pole. The Shawn McGarvey Showdown started with Covert taking the lead at the drop of the green from the outside groove, with the caution waving on lap 1 for a turn two tangle between Quinton Wyandt and Steve Gibney. On the double file restart, leader Covert had lane choice and chose the inside lane. Hawkins won the drag race for the restart and took over the lead, but the red flag was needed on lap 2 for a multi-car pileup at the flagstand. Dylan Yoder, Russell King, and Doug Glessner were among the drivers that received the most damage from the incident.
Hawkins chose the outside lane for this restart, and again got the better start to resume in the lead over Covert, Lathroum, Keith Barbara, and John Britsky. Hawkins built a bit of a lead, around half a straight by lap 10. Covert and Lathroum raced close for second, as the next caution period came with 15 laps in for Greg Fetters stopping in turn four.
Hawkins again chose the outside, which also moved odd positions third and back to the outside lane. He again controlled this restart, with Covert, Lathroum, Barbara, and Britsky filling the top five, which was how they were running at the halfway mark. Hawkins again inched away from the competition, leaving Covert and Lathroum to race for second. Lap 24 saw Danny Mitchell slow in turn three setting up another double-file restart, with Hawkins again leading. Barbara and Lathroum raced briefly for third, with Lathroum getting the spot and closing on Covert.
Mitchell slowed to a stop on the backstretch on lap 35, bringing out the caution with three laps remaining. With another double-file restart, Hawkins again chose the outside. While racing for fourth, a backstretch tangle saw Barbara get the worst of a tangle with Clate Copeman, with Britsky also sent to the tail for his involvement in the incident. Another tangle occurred on this attempted restart, involving Matt Lux, Wayne Johnson, and Copeman.
Jared Hawkins led the remaining distance to keep his record perfect in UFo events in 2011, winning his second event in two starts. Jason Covert held off a strong last lap challenge from Jamie Lathroum to get runner up honors. Behind Lathroum in third were Devin Friese and Derek Byler, with Chad McClellan, Wayne Johnson, Steve Gibney, Clate Copeman, and Matt Lux rounding out the top ten.
Jared Hawkins leads the UFo Race Championship point standings with a perfect 200 point total. Devin Friese sits in second spot, with Jacob Hawkins and Keith Barbara tied for fourth. Clate Copeman is fifth in points, with Bob Gordon and Matt Lux tied for sixth. Jared Miley is eighth, with Danny Mitchell ninth, and defending UFo champion Chad McClellan is tenth.
This was the first of a busy stretch of races for the 2011 UFo Race Championship, with six races over five straight weekends. Next up is the Series first ever visit to Hesston Speedway on Sunday, May 28 for the running of Triple TnT featuring the popular UFo twin feature format. A pair of 25 lap feature events will be held with the winners share for each event is $2,000 or $4,000 to win both events. Then on Saturday, June 4, Tyler County Speedway will run the King of the Bullring event, with the 51 lap main event paying $4,000 to the winner. Saturday, June 11 will be the rescheduled running of the PENNational at Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway with twin 28 lap main events. The following weekend will have a pair of events, with the $3,000 to win Chuck Gear Trophy race at Elkins Raceway on Friday, June 17, and the Willie Will Tribute at Thunder Valley Raceway for $3,000 to win.
The UFo Race Championship is an event marketing alliance among independent supertracks in the PA-WV-MD region. Participating speedways presents their own championship Super Late Model events under the UFo banner throughout the season using common tech and procedure rules with a year-end, group funded, point bonus for the top finishing drivers on the tour. Eligible tracks are within the 3 hour travel distance of the central point of Washington, PA.
UFo is proudly supported by its major sponsors. American Racer is based out of Indiana, PA. Lias Tire, located at 488 North 5th Street in Indiana, PA, is the regional distributor for American Racer. More information on American Racer and Lias Tire may be found at http://www.americanraceronline.com , http://www.liastireonline.com or by calling 800-638-7028.
Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic is headquartered at 2931 Industrial Park Drive in Finksburg, MD with satellite distribution centers at 1076 South Main Street in Roaring Springs, PA and at Precise Racing Products located at located at 110 S Pike Road #207 in Sarver, PA. Information on Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic may be found at http://www.hoosiermidatlantic.com . Precise Racing Products website is http://www.preciseracing.com . HTMA and Precise Racing can be reached at 800-651-5164.
Townsend Gas and Oil is a regional distribution center for VP Racing Fuels and is located at 1740 Old US 119 at Homer City, PA. More information may be found by calling by calling 800-779-5241 or at http://www.townsendgasoil.com . Race-1 located at Race-1 is located at 299 East Western Reserve Road in Poland, OH. Phone contact is 330-540-7223 and the official website is http://www.race-1.com .
ASI Racewear is the official provider of UFo race apparel and carries merchandise of many top Super Late Model drivers. Information on ASI may be found at http://www.asiwear.com . Rocket Chassis will reward the 2011 UFo Race Champion with a $1,000 chassis credit. Their website is http://www.rocketchassis.com .
Complete information on the UFo Race Championship may be found at http://www.uforacechampionship.com . Dog Hollow Speedway is located east of Indiana, PA off US 422 on PA 403 at Strongstown. The track phone is 814-948-6812 and promoter phone is 814-948-4252. The track website is http://www.dog-hollow.net .
Hesston Speedway is located off of SR 26 south of Huntingdon, PA at Hesston PA at the Race Track Road turnoff. The track website is http://www.hesstonspeedway.com with track phone 814-658-2823. MercerRacewayPark is located just north of Mercer, PA off US 19 on Fairground Road. The track website is http://www.mercerracewaypark.com , race day and office phone is 724-662-1310.
Pittsburgh's PA Motor Speedway is located just west of Pittsburgh off US 22 at Imperial, PA off the Noblestown exit. The track website is http://www.ppms.com , office phone 412-279-7223 and race day phone 724-695-3363 or 724-695-0393. Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex is located east of Farmington, PA off US 40. Website information may be obtained at http://www.roaringknob.com , with race day phone 724-329-0306. The Rock Speedway is located at south of Cumberland, MD off US 220 at the Allegany County Fairgrounds. Track website is http://www.therockspeedway.com and office phone for Oval Track Promotions of 410-857-3821 for both tracks.
Thunder Valley Raceway is located off PA 160 and US 30 at Central City, PA on Shade Church Road. The track website is http://www.thundervalleyraceway.com , race day phone 814-754-8090 and office phone 301-733-3688. Tyler County Speedway is located south of Middlebourne, WV on SR 18 at the Tyler County Fairgrounds. Tyler County Speedway is located south of Middlebourne, WV on SR 18 at the Tyler County Fairgrounds. The track website is http://www.tylercountyspeedwayonline.com , race day phone 304-758-2660 and phones for Circle Track Management Group of 304-904-0021 and 304-483-2536.