ARA Turns Left And Right At Rapids 250
by John Wiedemann
12/11/2008
The ARA hit the road course of The Rapids for the second race of the short season. A field of 18 cars attended the first-ever ARA stock car program contested on a road course. John Shea won the Challenge Series and Mike Lack topped the Super Stock Series main event.
Lack took the Super Stock Series by storm, winning every race he was in and grabbing the pole position to boot. Rookie Nick Bartolone did his best to keep up by winning his heat race, the semi-feature and coming up five laps short to Lack in the feature, settling for second. Dan Margetta also took home a heat win, but couldn't get out of the semi-feature with a fourth place run. Mark Walczak and Mike Fitzlaff made the feature exciting as the race ended up with the closest field finish of the year so far. Walczak took third just behind Bartolone and on the same lap, even while battling issues that caused his body to separate from his chassis while racing. Fitzlaff finished in fourth, just one lap behind Walczak and six behind the winner at the end of the fifteen minute race.
Fitzlaff grabbed the pole in qualifying for the Challenge Series. Heat race winners Shea, Everet Kamikawa and John Wiedemann were joined by Walczak in the semi-feature with Wiedemann ending up the odd man out. Shea went on to take his second feature race series win of the year, holding off Mark Walczak on his way to the checkered flag. Fitzlaff scored the third place finish with Kamikawa following in fourth.
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SUMMARY
CHALLENGE SERIES
15-min. Feature--1. John Shea, Dodge, 169 laps; 2. Mark Walczak, Home Depot Toyota, 166; 3. Mike Fitzlaff, Kellogg's Chevrolet, 161; 4. Everet Kamikawa, DuPont Chevrolet, 135.
5-min. Semi-Feature--1. Walczak; 2. Kamikawa; 3. Shea; 4. John Wiedemann, Best Buy Dodge.
8-min. Fast Heat--1. Shea; 2. Fitzlaff; 3. Walczak.
8-min. Reg. Heat--1. Kamikawa; 2. Mike Lack, M&M's Toyota; 3. Corey Galbraith, FedEx Toyota.
8-min. Slow Heat--1. Wiedemann; 2. Nick Bartolone, Kellogg's Chevrolet; 3. Dan Margetta, DeWalt Ford.
Fast Qualifier--Fitzlaff; 4.064 seconds (establishes record).
Overall Finish--1. Shea; 2. Walczak; 3. Fitzlaff; 4. Kamikawa; 5. Wiedemann; 6. Lack; 7. Galbraith; 8. Bartolone; 9. Margetta.
SUPER STOCK SERIES
8-min Feature--1. Mike Lack, Interstate Batteries Chevrolet, 88 laps; 2. Nick Bartolone, Caterpillar Pontiac, 83; 3. Mark Walczak, Miller Pontiac, 83; 4. Mike Fitzlaff, Mobil 1 Ford, 82.
5-min. Semi-Feature--1. Bartolone; 2. Walczak; 3. Fitzlaff; 4. Dan Margetta, McDonald's Ford.
8-min. Fast Heat--1. Lack; 2. Walczak; 3. Fitzlaff.
8-min. Reg. Heat--1. Bartolone; 2. Cory Galbraith, Valvoline Pontiac; 3. John Wiedemann, Kellogg's Chevrolet.
8-min. Slow Heat--1. Margetta; 2. Everet Kamikawa, Interstate Batteries Chevrolet; 3. John Shea, STP Pontiac.
Fast Qualifier--Lack; 4.460 seconds (establishes record).
Overall Finish--1. Lack; 2. Bartolone; 3. Walczak; 4. Fitzlaff; 5. Margetta; 6. Galbraith; 7. Wiedemann; 8. Kamikawa; 9. Shea.
by John Wiedemann
12/11/2008
The ARA hit the road course of The Rapids for the second race of the short season. A field of 18 cars attended the first-ever ARA stock car program contested on a road course. John Shea won the Challenge Series and Mike Lack topped the Super Stock Series main event.
Lack took the Super Stock Series by storm, winning every race he was in and grabbing the pole position to boot. Rookie Nick Bartolone did his best to keep up by winning his heat race, the semi-feature and coming up five laps short to Lack in the feature, settling for second. Dan Margetta also took home a heat win, but couldn't get out of the semi-feature with a fourth place run. Mark Walczak and Mike Fitzlaff made the feature exciting as the race ended up with the closest field finish of the year so far. Walczak took third just behind Bartolone and on the same lap, even while battling issues that caused his body to separate from his chassis while racing. Fitzlaff finished in fourth, just one lap behind Walczak and six behind the winner at the end of the fifteen minute race.
Fitzlaff grabbed the pole in qualifying for the Challenge Series. Heat race winners Shea, Everet Kamikawa and John Wiedemann were joined by Walczak in the semi-feature with Wiedemann ending up the odd man out. Shea went on to take his second feature race series win of the year, holding off Mark Walczak on his way to the checkered flag. Fitzlaff scored the third place finish with Kamikawa following in fourth.
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SUMMARY
CHALLENGE SERIES
15-min. Feature--1. John Shea, Dodge, 169 laps; 2. Mark Walczak, Home Depot Toyota, 166; 3. Mike Fitzlaff, Kellogg's Chevrolet, 161; 4. Everet Kamikawa, DuPont Chevrolet, 135.
5-min. Semi-Feature--1. Walczak; 2. Kamikawa; 3. Shea; 4. John Wiedemann, Best Buy Dodge.
8-min. Fast Heat--1. Shea; 2. Fitzlaff; 3. Walczak.
8-min. Reg. Heat--1. Kamikawa; 2. Mike Lack, M&M's Toyota; 3. Corey Galbraith, FedEx Toyota.
8-min. Slow Heat--1. Wiedemann; 2. Nick Bartolone, Kellogg's Chevrolet; 3. Dan Margetta, DeWalt Ford.
Fast Qualifier--Fitzlaff; 4.064 seconds (establishes record).
Overall Finish--1. Shea; 2. Walczak; 3. Fitzlaff; 4. Kamikawa; 5. Wiedemann; 6. Lack; 7. Galbraith; 8. Bartolone; 9. Margetta.
SUPER STOCK SERIES
8-min Feature--1. Mike Lack, Interstate Batteries Chevrolet, 88 laps; 2. Nick Bartolone, Caterpillar Pontiac, 83; 3. Mark Walczak, Miller Pontiac, 83; 4. Mike Fitzlaff, Mobil 1 Ford, 82.
5-min. Semi-Feature--1. Bartolone; 2. Walczak; 3. Fitzlaff; 4. Dan Margetta, McDonald's Ford.
8-min. Fast Heat--1. Lack; 2. Walczak; 3. Fitzlaff.
8-min. Reg. Heat--1. Bartolone; 2. Cory Galbraith, Valvoline Pontiac; 3. John Wiedemann, Kellogg's Chevrolet.
8-min. Slow Heat--1. Margetta; 2. Everet Kamikawa, Interstate Batteries Chevrolet; 3. John Shea, STP Pontiac.
Fast Qualifier--Lack; 4.460 seconds (establishes record).
Overall Finish--1. Lack; 2. Bartolone; 3. Walczak; 4. Fitzlaff; 5. Margetta; 6. Galbraith; 7. Wiedemann; 8. Kamikawa; 9. Shea.
