News
© 2011 Bol-Tech Motorsports, Inc.
Contact Me

Bolland and Shingledecker Split Tri-City Loot

Media Contact:  Lou Long (412-760-9755)

Kevin Bolland and Jeremiah Shingledecker each scored $2,000 wins at Tri-City Speedway in BRP/Hoosier Tire Modified Tour action. Bolland’s triumph came in the completion of the annual Kodiak Memorial, which was halted after just 16 laps were run on May 29. Shingledcker’s victory came in the nightcap of the regularly scheduled holiday race.

Bolland, who was running second to Rex King, Sr. when the rains came, said that it was his goal to come out and win the Kodiak. He came to the track with a different set-up on his car than that which he used on Memorial Day weekend. “Every night is a new night, and we put a different package in the car and then we just adjusted from there.”

King Sr. had the point for the Delaware double file restart, but Bolland immediately began to apply pressure at the drop of the green. Bolland made a power move coming off turn two on lap 18 to take the lead and he never looked back.

King Sr. thought that he would get a shot at Bolland on lap 25, when the action was halted for the faltering car of Tommy Mattocks. During that stoppage, Jeremiah Shingledecker pitted for the first of his two flat tires. King Sr. did not capitalize on the opportunity, though, as he briefly surrendered second spot to Brian Swartzlander. King Sr. regained his momentum racing down the backstretch and took the position away from his challenger as they entered the third turn.

King Sr. would get another shot at the leader on lap 33, when the caution was displayed for his son, Rex King, Jr., who backed into the water barrels that sat atop turn one. The restart proved to be a bigger misfortune for King than the first one, as he drifted high in turns one and two, losing several positions.

Bolland won the two-lap dash for the cash. Dave Murdick took advantage of King’s miscue, and crossed in second. King Sr. came back for third. Swartzlander finished fourth. Eric Gabany, driving a 358 Modified, finished a strong fifth.

Shannon Whaley, Mark Flick, Brian Weaver, Chris Haines and Jeff Schaffer completed the top ten.

The Landrum Spring Racer of the Race award was conferred on Eric Gabany for his outstanding run with a 358 Modified.

Due to his prior win at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway, Bolland was ineligible for the R2C Performance award. It was conferred on runner-up Dave Murdick.

In the night’s full feature, Jeremiah Shingledecker had things working to perfection. He chased down early leader Brian Weaver and the two waged a monumental battle before Shingledecker pulled away for the win. Their struggle had the fans on the edges of their seats for several laps, as the drivers had to navigate around several lapped cars while dicing for the lead.

In victory lane, Shingledecker said of the intense battle with Weaver in lapped traffic: “I was just biding my time, they (the lapped cars) were racing for position, too. I was just glad that I could get through without any incident.” He added that the win was like a homecoming for him, as he lives just down the road from the track and was a staunch supporter of Tri-City when it ran Modifieds on a weekly basis. The partisan crowd obviously approved.

As noted, Weaver jumped out to a quick lead over pole sitter Les Myers. The Reno Rocket fought Weaver for the first few lap before surrendering second to Shingledecker. Weaver was looking for second Modified Tour win of the week. However, Shingledecker was racing in second and the two put on quite a show in the early going, just as they did two nights before in a non-sanctioned race at Lernerville Speedway.

Shingledecker pulled even as they raced down the front stretch to complete lap 9 and he entered turn one with the lead. Weaver rallied back and took the lead again coming off the second corner.

Weaver would hold his lead for a few more laps until Shingledecker dropped to the low side coming trough turn four. Shingledecker emerged with the lead. He then opened a slight margin over Weaver, but heavy lapped traffic gave the New Yorker the chance to reel him in again. The racing was intense for several laps as they tried to outmaneuver each other and the lapped cars! Shingledecker squeezed through a small opening coming down the front stretch and Weaver got hung up behind a lapped car as they entered turn one. That gave Shingledecker a little breathing room.

A caution on lap 20 gave Shingledecker a clean track and Weaver another opportunity to challenge for the lead. However, instead of fighting for the lead when the race resumed, Weaver was now in a battle to keep second spot for Brian Swartzlander entered the fray. Swartzlander could not hold the spot for long, though. Indeed, Dave Murdick benefitted the most from the caution, as he would soon slip past Swartzlander for third.

In the final ten laps of the race, Murdick was the fastest man on the speedway. He tracked down and passed Weaver and set out after Shingledecker. However, time ran out on Murdick.

Shingledecker got the popular win, followed by Murdick. Weaver held on for third, ahead of Swartzlander and Brad Rapp.

Rex King, Sr., Kevin Bolland, Shannon Whaley, Rex King, Jr. and Mike Turner finished sixth through tenth.

Jeremiah Shingledecker was awarded the Landrum Spring Racer of the Race award for his amazing run through traffic to keep his lead. He also received the R2C Performance award as a first-time winner for the season.

Rod End Supply heat race wins were scored by King Sr., Mark Flick and Bolland.
There was no B Main.

No provisionals were needed to complete the field.

The next event for the BRP/Hoosier Tire Modified Tour will be held at Mercer Raceway Park on Saturday, August 13, 2011.