FLAT ROCK WINS TO STRICKLAND, MCKEE, HOFFMAN, FITZPATRICK, METDEPENNIGEN
FLAT ROCK WINS TO STRICKLAND, MCKEE, HOFFMAN, FITZPATRICK, METDEPENNIGEN

(FLAT ROCK, Michigan - June 30, 2012) - A very warm and humid evening and a long night of racing greeted fans at Flat Rock Speedway Saturday night. With the rescheduled 250 lap Enduro race, the race card was filled to the brim. Dennis Strickland, Clyde McKee, Chris Fitzpatrick, Eric Hoffman and Kyle Metdepenningen took feature wins.
The ARCA Moran Chevrolet Late Model 50 lap feature went to current point leader Dennis Strickland, who scored his 2nd win of 2012 at the track. The top 10 qualifiers drew for their starting spots, putting Dennis and Paul Pelletier on the front row. Strickland nosed into the lead on the green and Pelletier hung tough on the outside lane, running door to door. 5 yellow flags slowed the action, and with the double file restarts, the duo battled each time side by side for several laps until Strickland was able to grab the point. Right behind them was fast qualifier Derek Wiley, looking for a gap to join the lead duo. Eric Lee and Steve Cronenwett Jr. moved up through the field using the high groove, but Steve dropped out with overheating problems on lap 17. With 4 to go, the leaders hit lapped traffic. Both drivers went for the same hole, with Strickland holding on while Pelletier and Paul Calo tangled. Calo took the blame for the incident, putting Paul back into the number 2 slot. The pair again battled side by side, with Strickland in front on the white flag lap. Coming out of turn 4 on that final circuit, Pelletier bumped Strickland’s rear bumper and got him sideways, but Dennis recovered and grabbed the win over Pelletier, Derek Wiley, Eric Lee, Chris Benson, Stan Yee Jr., Terry Bogusz, Jim Bailey, Joe Hawes and Scott Pemberton. Wiley’s fast time for the 18 car field was 11:809. Hawes, Benson and Laurie Hall took the heat race wins.
An all-green
flag 25 lap ARCA DTS Drive Train Specialists Street Stock A Main provided great
competition throughout the 24 car field.
Veteran Clyde McKee led every lap and withstood the constant pressure
from current point leader Frank Jiovani to grab the victory, Clyde’s
3rd of the year. Dan Ford Jr.,
in Danny Slater’s car, chose the second lane and moved up to do battle with the
front two but had to settle for third spot.
Tadek Stadniczuk was fourth and Scott Selmi fifth, followed by Tim
Moore, Rich Frantz, Arnold Kirsch, Nick Shanks and Landon
Schuster. Chris
Fitzpatrick motored away to win the 15 lap B Main contest, topping Don Roberts,
James Pankow and Tom Jacobs.
Kirsch posted the Fastime Racing Engines and Parts fast lap for the 28 cars at 13:606, with Roberts leading the B field at 14:853. McKee, Bob Swanson, Michael Kieffer and Fitzpatrick took the heat race wins.
An 18 car
field of the MCR Dwarf Cars made the trip to Flat Rock for their annual stop at
the ¼ mile oval. Rob Roney was in
command of the 25 lap feature race, but began dumping fluid on the speedway,
forcing him to retire to the infield.
Eric Hoffman, who had been running second, inherited the lead and sailed
to the win over Steve Bobeck, Jon Wylie, Josh Tinker, Mike McManman Sr., Jeff
Slayton, Kevin Ayers, Todd Getz, Jim Miller and Dave Wylie. Ayers and Shonda Harbin were the heat race
winners, with Roney setting fast time.
The 250 lap
Enduro race concluded the long night, and another new winner emerged as Kyle
Metdpenningen grabbed the win and the $1000 top prize. Several red flags stopped the action to
remove cars from the track, and all drivers were ok. Early front runners Eric Huston (who hit the
turn 1 wall), Robb Remick and Rayce Metdpennigen all encountered trouble and
dropped back or out of the race. Matt
Ringger and Dave Stadniczuk also took turns leading the contest. Kyle M. stayed out of trouble, ran a steady
pace and with about 75 laps to go, began his battle for the lead with
Stadniczuk for the top spot. Dave began to slow with engine woes, giving Kyle a clean shot for the final 50 laps on his way to victory. Ringger took second, Rick McColl third, Derrick Sheppard fourth and Ed Case fifth. Tony Rumble, John Devor, Jimmy Little, Paul Martell and Stadniczuk completed the top ten finishers in the 28 car field.
Budweiser and Floral City Beverage will present the annual Level Pebble “KABOOOOM” Night Saturday, July 7 at Flat Rock Speedway. The fabulous and famous Flat Rock Speedway Fireworks show will follow Saturday’s race program, which is highlighted by the ARCA Moran Chevrolet Late Models, DTS Drive Train Specialists Street Stocks and the Parts Galore Figure 8’s. The pits open at 3, practice begins at 4 (front gates also open at 4), time trials are at 5:30 and racing begins at 7 p.m.
The track is located on Telegraph Road, 5 minutes from I-75 or I-275. The track phone number is 734-782-2480. Log onto www.flatrockspeedway.com for more information. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/toledoflatrock or follow us on Twitter @flatrockspeed.