2000 Updates
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February
WILLIAMS GROVE
The tow was made to Williams Grove for their scheduled opener. Ed was the third
rig in line, but prior to the gates opening, a track official knocked on the
door and said they couldn't get the track ready....a long ride for a
cheeseburger on the turnpike! One week later he headed for the Grove again and
this time he got to race! There were 40 cars signed in and it was very windy and
chilly, but sunny. They had four qualifying heats and he finished 3rd despite
brushing the front stretch outside guardrail, bending the jacobs ladder. The
crew worked hard replacing bent parts and was ready in time for the A-Main. The
top 3 in each heat were eligible for a draw for starting positions....Ed picked
#9 pill. The original start was called back and the green dropped on the second
attempt and he went down the front stretch and had passed two cars, but the car
spun in #l turn. Fortunately, every one was able to miss him. He restarted and
ran a few more laps to try to figure out what was wrong, then he pulled out. We
found out later it was a tire pressure problem. Our official finish was 21st.
FLORIDA SPEEDWEEKS - 2000
After lots of garage preparation over the winter, the team decided to load up
and head for the All Star Circuit of Champions shows at Dickie Murphy's Volusia
Speedway Park (near Daytona). The #2L timed well each night and made the A-Main
each night. On Thursday, Ed timed 7th fastest of the 36 cars on hand, finished
6th in his heat and 3rd in the B-Main and 12th in the A-Main, despite a mag
problem. On Friday, he timed 3rd, finished 6th in his heat and 3rd in the B-Main
and 15th in the feature with mag problems. Saturday morning they changed engines
and that night he timed 3rd again, finished 6th in his heat, 2nd in the B-Main
and 17th in the feature. He missed the set up. In the finale on Sunday, there
were no time trials and he finished 5th in his heat, 3rd in the B-Main and
transferred to the A-Main where he started 18th and finished 17th.
March
LERNERVILLE SPEEDWAY OPENER - March 31st
Opening night is scheduled for March 31 and Ed plans to be there. He considers
Don Martin's Lernerville Speedway, now run by Helen Martin and her daughter
Patty, his home track. Thirty sprint cars signed in for the start of
Lernerville's 33rd Season and Ed drew a number that started him outside pole of
the 3rd eight-lap heat which he won. Craig Rankin and Jimmy Hawley won the other
heats. The first four cars of each heat did a re-draw for the feature and he
drew 6th starting spot. Eyler led the first lap and Ed led 2-8, then Hawley
passed Ed on the outside in turn 2 when they split a lapped car and Ed ran
second. Several laps later, Rankin also ran us down in lapped traffic and
slipped by Ed, moving us back to 3rd. But, Hawley had problems with the inside
berm in turn 4 on lap 18 and the restart for the 2-lap dash to the checkered had
Rankin leading Ed. At the finish line it was Rankin, Lynch, Shawn Keen, David
Scott, and Hawley.
PITTSBURGH'S PENNSYLVANIA MOTOR SPEEDWAY PRACTICE - March 26th
After two weekends of garage work, Ed went to an afternoon practice session set
for PPMS on Saturday, March 26th. They allowed him two practice periods and he
made several changes on the set up after the first one. In the second session,
he was much faster, so he felt the practice was very beneficial. Thanks to the
Miley family for preparing the track, despite a shower that hit the track just
as the gates opened.
April
Tri City Speedway - 4/30/00
After replacing the bent and broken parts on the right rear of his 2L sprint
car, which happened when he went over a wheel the night before at Mercer, Ed and
the crew measured all points and put the car on the scales. Ed was anxious to
see if this new J&J was dialed in and he decided to go to Mike Graham and Roger
Crick's Tri City Speedway just north of Franklin PA for their opener. Fifteen
sprints were on hand and Brian Ellenberger and Ed won the heat races. It was a
straight up start for the 20-lap feature and Ed led every lap, but almost lost
the race when he ran out of fuel on the white flag lap. The feature had six
yellows which could account for many extra laps. But when he slowed with fuel
too low in the tail to reach the pick up tube, plus coming up on lapped traffic,
he was in trouble. Craig "Cricket" Keel was in hot pursuit and caught Ed in turn
4 as flagman Greg Wheeling displayed the white flag. Ed barely led at the line,
but Keel, on the inside lane was ahead as they went into turn l. Trying to just
feather the throttle, somehow, he managed to pass Keel before turn 2 and refused
to give Keel the inside in the last turn and Ed came home with the win, his 7th
career win at Tri City and his 2nd of 2000.
Mercer Raceway Park - 4/29/00
Ed made his first appearance of the year at Mercer Raceway Park, Saturday night,
where Vicki Emig, the track owner, continues to make improvements for fan
convenience. Track Manager, Frank Benic gave Jean a tour of the new ladies
restrooms that will be open next week. The 26 sprints were lined up by a draw
and Ed started last in the 2nd heat and finished 2nd behind Arnie Kent. The
redraw for the 20 lap feature had Ed starting 9th. He worked his way to 4th when
Bill Bailey in the No. 94, subbing for Gary McCann who became ill after his
heat, spun a donut coming off turn 4 and Ed and Jerrod Larson tried to avoid
Bailey and headed for the infield. Ed went over Bailey's wheel and bent most of
the suspension parts and broke a shock on the right rear, but kept going and
finished 3rd behind Jimmy Hawley and Kent. Lots of garage work before we head to
Tri City on Sunday.
Sharon Speedway - 4/28/00
Ed went to Sharon Speedway for the first time this year for an All Star show
Friday night. Thirty-six cars signed in and track owner, Ed Skillman had the
surface fast, with Frankie Kerr just missing a new track record with his time of
l5.764. Ed's time of l6.205 slotted him l5th. He finished 4th in his heat,
qualifying him for the 30 lap feature. Kelly Kinser, Kenny Jacobs and Greg
Wilson finished ahead of him. Other heats went to Phil Gressman, Danny Smith and
Dean Jacobs. Kenny Jacobs won the A-Main over Kasey Kahne and Ed finished 14th
in a new J&J car, which the crew just built this week.
Eldora Speedway - 4/21-4/22
A two-day WoO show was scheduled for Eldora Speedway for Friday and Saturday.
Heavy rain and high wind forced cancellation of the first night, which has been
rescheduled for July 13 as part of the Kings Royal show. On Saturday, the sun
came out and Earl Baltes worked his track to perfection and 47 sprint cars
signed in. Ed timed about mid-way through time trials and ended up 27th. He
finished 8th in the 3rd heat which was won by Sammy Swindell. The other heats
went to Steve Kinser, Donny Schatz and Craig Dollansky. He finished 6th in the
12-lap B-Main won by Andy Hillenburg which didn't advance him to the A-Main. The
team watched a great race between Stevie Smith and Steve Kinser with numerous
lead changes and Kinser taking the win.
The team plans to be at Sharon Speedway, Friday, for the All Star show.
Challenger - April 15, 2000
The team's Saturday garage work started early and a decision was made to take
the engine out of the car we ran the night before at Lernerville and put it in a
different chassis to see if that could prove our thoughts about a problem with
with the chassis. We finished most of the work by 4:30 PM and by 5:20PM, we
started down the road to Challenger Raceway, it was their season opener with
five classes of cars on the program. Fifteen sprints were on hand and Ed was
scheduled for the lst heat, which he won. The second heat went to Kevin Shaffer.
Several times during the night, track owner and grader operator, Jack Lentz had
to re-do the turns, because they were developing ruts in his new red clay. Ed
lined up 9th for the A-Main after the draw and spent the early laps trying to be
cautious. Before you know it, the flagman, Kent Michael was giving the 1/2 way
sign in this 20-lap event. A restart shortly after that, saw the field coming to
the cone with Kevin Shaffer leading Brian Carlson, then Ed, who thought to
himself....."I better get going, there aren't that many laps." .....two laps
later, he battled with Carlson, trying repeatedly to get him on the inside, but
Carlson held tough. Finally, Ed moved to the outside and blew by Carlson setting
his sights on Shaffer. Coming up on Shaffer in turn #4 with three laps to go, Ed
was able to stay to the outside as they came upon a slower car and, once again,
Ed chose the outside and Shaffer had to settle for second as Ed made the fast
outside groove work to his advantage. It was his first win of the young season.
Lernerville -4/14/00
A field of 50 sprint cars signed in to run the first WoO Support Race at
Lernerville. After drawing a low pill for time trials and going out second, Ed's
No.2L ended up 18th in the time trial order with a time of 13.017. A new track
record of 12.492 was set by James Chesson in car No. 22. He started 5th in the
2nd heat, with 13 cars and finished 6th. Heats were won by Shane Stewart, Kasey
Kane, Dean Jacobs and Craig Dolansky. The team made changes and ran the 12 lap
B-Main. After starting outside pole, he held that spot for 6 laps, then the
set-up went away and he finished 5th, missing the transfer by one spot. The 35
lap A-Main went to Dolansky. Not a lot of fun for Ed's team, but maybe he will
be able to figure out what happened when he puts the car on the scales in the
garage. He is undecided about where to run Saturday.
RAINOUTS - 4/7/00 and 4/8/00
Plans to race at Lernerville and Eldora this weekend were washed out early. We
learned about Lernerville at 3:00 PM Friday and Eldora cancelled early Saturday
morning (it was 37 degrees and the wind chill factor there was going to be in
the teens).
CREW MEMBER DIES UNEXPECTEDLY - April 3, 2000
Kenny Hepler, a long-time crew member on the Lynch Racing team, had worked a
full day and perhaps some extra hours at his place of regular employment, Eljer
Mfg. Company in Ford City, on Monday, April 3. He arrived home about 4:00 PM,
laid down on the couch in the living room for a short nap and apparently died of
a massive heart attack in his sleep between 4:30 and 5:00PM. He was 39 years old
and leaves a wife, Karen, and two daughters, Erin age 13 and Jennifer age 5. His
love of racing and years of loyalty to the team will long be remembered by the
Ed Lynch family and his fellow crew members. Our deepest regrets to his family.
Kenny is pictured on our photo gallery page, top row, center picture and he is
third from the left.
CHALLENGER PRACTICE - April l
Saturday afternoon we put the engine in that had the mag problem in Florida and
changed to a different mag, of course, and headed for "The Challenger Raceway"
just southwest of Indiana PA for practice at 5:00PM. Owners Jack and Donna Lentz
had put a new clay surface on the track over the winter and it was great. Ed
said he thinks there will be very little tire wear for the cars running there
weekly. We tried three sessions of hot laps, but the problem was still there. We
will take that engine out and try to get ready for Lernerville on Friday and the
All Star opener at Eldora on Saturday.
May
Hickory Speedway - 5/29/00
Ed and the crew replaced the gear on the bottom of the mag that caused the
engine to shut down early in the feature Saturday night at Fremont and were
ready to go to Hagerstown for the WoO Support race on Sunday night, but it was
rained out. Someone heard about a race on the Monday Holiday and we headed for
Hickory for what we thought was going to be an early show, but it turned out to
be a long one. Tom Mayerchuck, the owner, had 114 cars in the pits and 32 of
them were sprints. Ed started 7th in the 3rd heat and won it. Then the 20-lap
feature had the #2L starting third behind Rob Eyler who led until he spun coming
out of turn 4 on lap 4. The restart showed Jimmy Hawley leading with Ed next,
followed by Jamie Smith and Brian Ellenberger. Shortly after a red flag for
Scott Priester, who flipped wildly down the front stretch, nearly taking out the
flag stand, Ed seemed to have his hands full with (what we learned later was) a
broken right front shock. Despite rough track conditions, hbne held on for 4th
behind Hawley, Mikie Lutz and Ellenberger. Unfortunately, Hickory had a lot of
delays with accidents, ambulance runs etc., so even though the Sprint feature
was first, it was very late! Our next problem was where the truck was
parked....next to the woods and we were blocked in for well over one hour. It
makes for a short night.
Fremont Speedway - 5/27/00
It had been raining all morning Saturday and about 10:00AM we checked all
weather maps including Hoseheads Racing Weather box for Fremont Speedway which
told us the track had a 90% chance of rain. By 2:30 the rain just about quit at
the garage so we made more calls to the track and finally decided we would drive
part way and call again. We started out, drove two hours and called again - they
were still racing! To make a long story short...we were the last to arrive at
the track and the first to leave. Ed timed just prior to the cut-off time (with
no hot laps) and ranked 26th of the 48 cars on hand for track promoter, Jim
Ford's first All Star show. He finished sixth in the 2nd heat and had to run the
B-Main where he lined up 6th. His 3rd place finish in the B-Main put him in 23rd
starting spot, but he was the first car out when a new mag broke and the car
shut off in turn 3. What a disappointment....the car felt great and he said he
could run anywhere, inside or outside. His official finish was 25th.
Lernerville Speedway - 5/26/00
Ed was one of 25 sprints at Lernerville Speedway Friday night and started 4th in
the 2nd of three heats. He won his heat and the re-draw for the first l2 cars in
the 20-lap feature gave him pole starting spot for the first time anywhere this
year. The event took over 45 minutes to run with many yellows and a red. He led
every lap and finished ahead of Ralphie Spithaler and Jamie Smith. In victory
lane, on-track announcer Don Gamble reminded Ed that this was his 41st career
Lernerville win, placing him 4th on the all-time feature winners' list. Tonight
was Ed's 4th win of the season.
Weekend Plans
Ed would like to do the All Star race at Ransomville, however, the crew's work
schedule doesn't allow enough time for the 6 hour tow....so we will be at
Lernerville. Saturday we will try for Fremont's All Star show and Sunday maybe
the WoO Support race at Hagerstown. We will keep you posted.
Hagerstown - 5/20 - 5/21
After all our Friday tracks rained out, Saturday started with clouds, misty rain
and a weather map showing lots of rain. After several calls to Lisa Plessinger
the manager at Hagerstown, Ed headed southeast for their two-day World of Outlaw
show. Many times the highway was wet, but he kept the wheels turning and pulled
up to the pit gate at 5:00PM. A field of 26 cars was on hand, but despite
changing an engine and a rear-end after the Tuesday WoO show at Lernerville, his
time was slow (around 19th). He was in the 2nd heat and finished 7th: started
20th in the A-Main and was l8th at the end of the 20 lap feature.
Sunday started with brighter skies and 32 cars signed in. Ed timed much better,
slotting into 9th overall. He was in the first heat, finishing 5th behind Tyler
Walker, Sammy Swindell, Donny Schatz and Daryn Pittman. He had to run the
B-Main, but got his time back and started on pole, leading wire to wire. This
put him into the A-Main behind the Dash cars, and starting him 17th. He was off
to a good start for about seven laps....going forward and passing cars, moving
first to 14th then to 11th, but, we think the mag went bad, because he started
to have trouble maintaining his position and then lost ground. He ran a few more
laps and pulled it into the pits, ranking an 18th place finish.
Lernerville - 5/15/00
Ed looks forward to attending the World of Outlaw shows at his home track -
Lernerville Speedway, but Tuesday night he spent most of the time searching for
more speed and never found it. He timed 27th in a field of 38 cars where Mark
Kinser set a new track record of 12.443. He needed to finish 5th in his heat and
was running 6th on the last lap, when the car ahead of him driven by Donny
Schatz blew an engine, moving Ed to the lst Channellock Dash where he finished
9th, starting him 24th in the 27-car, 35-lap A-Main. He was lapped by the
winner, Sammy Swindell, with 2 laps to go and finished l8th.
Tri City Speedway - May 13, 2000
Ed decided to take the white, green & red car on Sunday to work with that engine
that hadn't run since the last All Star show at Eldora. It was not a good night.
After finishing 2nd in his heat, he lined up 10th in the 20-lap feature. The
field had not completed a lap when a 2-car flip happened on the back stretch and
Ed caught the outside wall and spun around, trying to avoid the accident. He
started last and was up to 5th when he sandwiched himself and Craig Keel against
the outside rail in turn 4. Starting last again, the left rear tire had
developed a leak and went low and the jacobs ladder cracked on lap 14 and he
backed it into the turn 2 wall. He decided to call it a night and was credited
with 12th.Congratulations to David Scott on his career-first win in Sprints
tonight.
The Challenger Raceway - May 12, 2000
Garage work, primarily on the fuel system and brakes, until 5:00PM meant we
would take the short tow to Challenger Raceway on Saturday night where 23
sprints were signed in. After finishing 2nd in his heat, Ed started 12th in the
20 lap feature. At the half-way mark, Ed trailed last week's feature winner
Kevin Schaeffer, who was hooked up on the new red clay. With an outside move in
turn 2 on lap 17, he took the lead and went on for the win. His 3rd of the
season.
Lernerville Speedway - 5/12/00
Ed started 9th in the 23 car feature that had two aborted starts before one lap
was completed. The yellow came out after the first lap and the cars lined up for
the restart in single file. From the pole position, Brent Matus ended up leading
all 20 laps and the best Ed could do was to make it up to second at the
checkered flag, despite a restart with two laps to go. He finished 3rd in his
heat. The new J&J felt good....just a few things to change before he decides
where to race locally on Saturday.
No Racing May 5, 6,and 7
Lynch Racing has taken the weekend off to do family things and celebrate 'Lil
Ed's birthday.
Community Involvement
On Wednesday evening, May 3,2000, Ed received an award authorized by
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, presented by the American Family Institute for
the Millennium School District in celebration of Care Givers of Children. The
theme was celebrating "Gifts of Time" for Pennsylvania's Children & Youth. Ed's
name, along with other honorees, will now go on a plaque which will be on
display for a year at the State Capitol in Harrisburg. He was invited to be an
Honoree by Dr. Stephen M. Vak, Superintendent of Schools in Kiski Area School
District who said in his letter to Ed, "A written tribute has been received
affirming how your efforts have made a difference in the life of a child."
One week ago on April 26, Ed's car was on display on Cub Scout Award night at a
local firehall and autograph cards were passed out to all scouts.
On Saturday, April 29, he took the rig and car to "Opening Day Celebration" at
Kunkle Park for 12 Little League teams. He signed autographs, answered questions
about his sprint car and gave tours of the rig.
June
Ohio All Star Sprint Speedweek - 6/25 - 7/2/00
Although Ed wanted to start Speedweek at Attica on Sunday (where he set fast
time last year), the 4-1/2 hour tow prevented it and the crew headed north to
Tri City (a 2 hour tow) but turned around at I-80 when the races rained out. He
went to the Monday show at Wayne County Speedway where 47 sprints were on hand.
He timed 3rd overall in the black car, finished 3rd in his heat and 3rd in the
Commercial Truck & Trailer Dash. He started 4th in the 30-lap A-Main and by lap
6 was running side by side with Greg Wilson for 2nd spot behind leader Todd
Gracey. Ed got 2nd for good on lap 22 and was closing on Gracey when the yellow
came out. Two laps later Byron Reed went by on the inside moving the #2L back to
3rd. Reed drove by Gracey on lap 23 for the lead and Ed passed Gracey with an
outside move in turn 2 on lap 27 and chased Reed to the finish line falling
short by 6 car-lengths.
Tuesday, using the same car, the team was off to Fremont where 52 cars took
time, with Ed ranking 8th overall. Finishing 8th in his qualifying heat sent him
to the B-Main where he finished 4th and advanced to the 40-lap A-Main, starting
8th. He had no luck on the inside groove for the first part on the race and lost
positions, even spining a donut in turn 2. After that he moved to the extreme
outside, but had no better luck getting a hold of anything there. He finished a
disappointing 18th with all 24 cars running at the end.
Ed had to skip the 6 hour tow to K-C on Wednesday and rejoined the group on
Thursday at Sharon where he timed 2nd quick in the white, green and red car over
the 43 car field. Originally, the crew had planned to take the black car, but
couldn't get the rear-end to square up after Fremont. He finished 3rd in his
heat and won the CTT Dash. Starting 5th in the 30-lap A-Main, he struggled in
the early laps and dropped back to 7th. Todd Shaffer had started on the pole,
but Jerrod Hull led the first 6 laps before Todd went by and drove away with a
big lead. Lap 11 had the only yellow flag and Ed was up to 3rd by then, running
the inside groove. As Shaffer ran away on the top groove, Ed put on a charge and
ducked under the leader on lap 22. The two were nose-to-tail when they came upon
a group of six lapped cars on lap 29. Ed shot in between two of them and kept
his line to take his 5th career All Star win and his 7th feature of the year.
The team couldn't make the trip to Limaland and ran locally at Lernerville on
Friday. There were 24 cars and Ed started 6th and finished 2nd in his heat, then
came from 12th to 3rd in the 20-lap feature won by David Scott.
The Speedweek finale was at Eldora Saturday and once again the white, green and
red car was called upon to perform. The team had their best run of the year at
Eldora that night. Ed timed 6th in a field of 27 cars and finished 2nd in his
heat and 6th in the CTT Dash. With the All Star automatic inversion of 6 cars
for the 30-lap A-Main, he started on pole and grabbed the lead immediately and
riding the top of the track, he pulled away each lap over 2nd place Rob Chaney.
He had a big lead erased by a lap 10 yellow flag. Once again, he built a big
lead by lap 14, when another yellow erased that lead, also. The final caution on
lap 25, put Kenny Jacobs right on Ed's tail. Ed's J&J car was perfect in turns 1
& 2, but loose in 3 & 4 and on lap 29, Jacobs dove under Ed to lead at the
flagstand on the white flag lap. Ed was two car lengths behind at the finish.
On the way home from Speedweek, the crew stopped at Tri City Speedway, Sunday
night, where 16 sprints were in attendance. Ed started 6th in his heat and
finished second, then started 10th in the A-Main and finished 4th behind winner
David Scott.
Challenger Raceway - 6/24/00
One of the largest fields of sprint cars for a regular show Saturday night at
Challenger had 31 cars in the pits. Ed took a familiar black J&J and was
scheduled to go in the second heat, but as the cars were on the track and filing
into the proper line up, he had rear end problems and coasted to a stop past the
flagman into turn one. In the pits, the crew worked hard to tear it apart and
replace the broken shaft in time for the sprint consey. He was ready in time and
started 11th and won. Since he had won on three previous occasions, he had to
start 24th in the 20-lap feature. Kevin Schaeffer started on pole and led every
lap. Ed gave it his best and finished 4th.
Lernerville - 6/23/00
Ed put a new Kistler engine in the white, red and green 2L J&J car, Thursday
night. He started and timed it late Friday afternoon prior to heading to
Lernerville. There were 29 sprints on hand. He finished second in his heat
behind Rod George. The redraw for the feature had him starting 11th in the 24
car, 20 lap feature. A restart on lap 5 had him in 7th position. The inside
groove was fast for him in the early laps. He took the lead on lap 12 still on
the inside. However Jimmy Hawley in the CIII challenged Ed on the outside. They
were even at the flag stand and Hawley would pull ahead in turns one and two.
With a restart on lap 16, Ed moved to the high groove and pulled away. He won by
ten car lengths. It was his second win at Lernerville for the 2000 season. And
his sixth of the year.
Upcoming Races June 23 thru July 1
It's hard to plan ahead with work and racing, but Ed plans to be at Lernerville
Speedway Friday night. Saturday, it will probably be Challenger because Mercer's
sprints are wingless. Sunday the team will try to make the Ohio Speedweek
kick-off show at Attica where Ed set fast time last year. But, if everyone has
to be back for work....we may only be able to go as far as Tri City. Monday at
Orrville is a possibility and maybe Fremont on Tuesday. The tow to K-C is
difficult to do because of the 6-hour tow. Sharon is on the schedule for
Thursday, but Friday will probably be local. Then Saturday, it's off to Eldora.
We will try to keep you posted.
Sunday - June 18, 2000
In trying to find a place to race on Sunday, Ed was loaded and ready, but
holding off because of rain threats. He finally got the word that Tri City had
cancelled and made a phone call to Knox - Sportsman Speedway and they said they
were racing so the rig headed North. About 5 minutes from the track, we passed
rigs coming from the track and then finally got through on the phone. Even
though we drove through no rain, they told us the track was too wet and they
couldn't get it prepared. This was at 5:15PM, so we headed home.
Challenger Raceway - 6/17/00
Weather was a deciding factor for Saturday night racing and Ed chose the
shortest tow to Challenger where 18 Sprints were on hand. Ed was lined up 3rd in
the 1st heat and won. He started 12th in the 20-lap A-Main and, using every
groove on the new red clay surface, he methodically worked his way to the
front...taking the lead on lap 15. The only yellow flag came on lap 17, bunching
the field behind him, but he pulled away on the restart and went on to win by a
2 second margin for his 5th feature win of the year. Donnie Rice and his family,
who own Capri Pizza and Pasta Restaurant in Mt. Oliver, were new sponsors on
hand to congratulate Ed on his win. Ed plans to run Tri City on Sunday.
Lernerville Speedway - 6/16/00
Ed took the white car trimmed in green and red to Lernerville Friday night where
26 sprints were divided into 3 heats. He started 3rd in the 3rd heat and won it
then while the sprints were being staged for the feature event (where he would
start 12th), the thunderstorm that had been called for all day....hit the track
and the show was cancelled. Tomorrow, he will check the weather map and maybe
head for Mercer.
Weekend Plans 6/16-18
Plans are to run Lernerville on Friday. Would like to try K-C on Saturday, but
looking at the weather map, we will probably race locally.
Tri City Speedway - 6/11/00
Ed was in the pits Sunday night at Tri City for the All Star Speedweek finale,
but never got unloaded. It rained before the gates were scheduled to open at
4:00. The track was in a hold situation when a heavy storm hit the speedway
canceling the event.
Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway - 6/10/00
The 4th leg of the All Star 8th Annual Western Pennsylvania Sprint Speedweek was
held Saturday night at Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway. After the
vibration Ed had Friday night, he found a bearing in the rear-end was the
problem and replaced the rear-end Saturday morning. Just after lunch, he was a
phone in guest on Don Gamble's program on KDKA radio. When he returned to
working on the car, as he was setting the valves, he discovered a problem with a
lifter and gave himself until 2:15 to fix it. That wasn't going well so the crew
replaced the engine also and headed for PMS where 32 sprints were on hand. He
timed 7th and lined up 5th in the 3rd heat and finished 2nd. Starting 7th in the
30-lap feature, he tried to keep up with the ever-changing track as more rubber
was laid down. Kenny Jacobs led Donnie Kreitz and Mark Keegan for most of the
race. Ed, Byron Reed, Kelly Kinser and Rodney Duncan were all trying to nail
down 4th. Ed was 5th when the yellow came out on lap 17 and was ranked the same
on the other caution flag on lap 23, but lost two positions on the last three
laps as his set up went away and he was forced to settle for 7th. Plans are to
run the final Speedweek show at Tri City on Sunday.
Lernerville Speedway - 6/9/00
Friday night Lernerville hosted the 3rd leg of the 8th Annual Western
Pennsylvania All Star Sprint Speedweek. Ed and the crew loaded up the white car
he took to Knoxville (the one with Italian colors - red & green). A field of 32
cars timed with Ed's 13.302 ranking 3rd behind Kenny Jacobs and Rodney Duncan.
Ed started 6th in the 3rd heat and finished 3rd behind Jamie Smith and Jimmy
Hawley.
He was 2nd in the Commercial Truck & Trailer Dash behind Chad Kemenah. Frankie
Kerr and Kemenah were the front row of the 30-lap feature and Brian Ellenberger
and Ed made up the second row. Ed chased Kemenah the entire distance. On an open
track, Kemenah pulled away, but when traffic was a factor, Ed was right on his
back bumper. The two were in heavy traffic when the red came out for Andy
McKisson's flip on lap 16. This gave Kemenah a clear track, with Ed closing in
on lap 2l when lapped traffic entered the picture once again. Ed said, "I was
thinking about trying the inside, but I developed a vibration that I thought
might be engine related, but I guess now, it must have been rear-end."
A small puddle of grease formed under the #2L as he was interviewed by on-track
announcer Don Gamble when the top three (Kemenah, Ed and Byron Reed) stopped on
the front stretch following the checkered flag.
Mercer Raceway Park - 6/7/00
The All Stars invaded Mercer for the first time in two years and 32 sprints
signed in. Ed timed 6th and started 5th in the 2nd heat and finished 4th. In the
CTT Dash he finished 2nd to Brian Ellenberger. He started on pole of the 30-lap
A-Main and jumped into an immediate lead and started pulling away despite the
fact that he encountered lapped traffic by lap 5. Two laps later, the lapped
traffic was heavier and Ed came up on a a lapped car coming out of turn 2, that
had hooked a rut and slowed. Ed ran over the back end of McKewen's car and Ed
was out for the night.
Eldora & Tri-City Speedway - 6/3 and 6/4
The long ride to Eldora for the World of Outlaw show was a tough one for Ed.
Just about everything that could go wrong....did. His gear selection was wrong
and he qualified 30th out of 34 cars. He only got to run one lap of his heat
because a big chunk of mud knocked off a sparkplug wire, so he had to run the
B-Main. Then, he could only get up to 8th and he needed to be up to 4th to
advance to the A-Main.
Sunday, at Tri City the field was 18 sprints. He went in the second heat and
finished runner-up to Craig Rankin. A light rain began to fall, but the show
moved along and Ed lined up 8th in the 20-lap A-Main. A yellow flag came out on
lap 6 and the restart showed Ed in fourth behind Jerod Larson, Craig Rankin and
Todd Bauer. However, right after the restart, Ed knew he lost a cylinder but
staged a side-by-side battle with Bauer for third and ended up with the spot.
Larson won followed by Rankin and Ed. Later in the garage, he discovered a
broken lifter.
Coming Events: Western Pa. Speedweek 6/7 - 6/11
Wed - Mercer
Thurs - Port Royal
Friday- Lernerville
Sat. - Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Spdwy
Sun - Tri City
Lernerville Speedway - 6/2/00
Ed was lined up in the chute at Lernerville Speedway Friday night when the rain
came. He had taken the white, green & red car. On Saturday, he and the crew will
head for Eldora's WoO show. He might stop at Tri City on Sunday.
July
Tri City Speedway - 7/30/00
Ed spent the week-end trying to outguess the weather and didn't do a very good
job of it. When it looked like rain was going to wipe out all Saturday racing,
he elected to work in the garage...getting ready for 3 days at Eldora and the
following week at Knoxville. He guessed right on K-C's All Star show getting
washed out, but it was a surprise to learn that Williams Grove got their WoO
show in, although he was planning to run Hagerstown on Saturday and will have to
wait for that show to be rescheduled. Towing to Tri City on Sunday seemed OK
because the farther North he got, the nicer the weather was but...after running
the first heat, starting 7th and finishing 3rd, he found a water leak and fixed
that rapidly as the sky darkened. The Sprint feature was to run first, but an
announcement mentioned a weather cell headed toward the track that was to last 5
minutes. The rain came and never stopped, so the team headed home after just
running one heat.
Plans are to be at Eldora's HBO Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Sharon Speedway - 7/28/00
Heavy rains starting at 3:00PM made it difficult to load the race car, but the
team had put an engine in the black car that needed to be tried on a bigger
track, so when Sharon Speedway said they had no rain....Ed and the team headed
out for the 2 hour tow. He was the next to last of the 29 sprint cars to arrive
and missed hot laps because the top wing apparently had never been matched to
the car and adjustments had to be made and the engine needed timed. He was
scheduled for the 3rd heat and started 9th and finished 3rd. Not happy with the
engine, the crew timed the car again and waited for the Sprint feature to see if
they had hit the right mag setting.
This was #2L's first regular show at Sharon and he was told that a fan in the
stands does the draw for the feature inversion. Ed would like to thank that fan,
because the draw had him starting 3rd....but the feature never saw a green flag
because the lights went out in turn 4 and the races were cancelled. Track owner,
Eddie Skillman refunded the team's money and said that Ed could take a test lap
to see if he had corrected his timing problems. The team had already loaded the
car and had the door up on the trailer, but Ed was happy to have a chance to
take a lap and was satisfied with the engine's response to the newest setting.
The team had a late supper at the pit concession stand and headed for home.
Saturday's plans were for Hagerstown, but the rain changed that
schedule....making the choices - Williams Grove or K-C Raceway. He will look at
the weather map in the AM and decide.
9th Don Martin Memorial - 7/25/00
The 2nd World of Outlaw show at Lernerville this year had 40 cars on hand. Ed
took a new white car with a new Kistler engine. During hot laps there was a fire
under the hood and Workin' Woody put it out on the track. Spark plug wires had
to be replaced on the left side and the crew had to hurry to get him ready for
time trials. He timed 27th and started 7th in the 3rd heat, but finished 6th,
missing the top five which would have sent him to the A-Main. Instead, he had to
run the B-Main and started 7th and finished 6th, but only the top four advanced
to the A-Main. Between his heat and the B-Main, he had changed the "brains" the
MSD unit and the car seemed to run a little better, but on the second lap of the
B-Main, the power steering unit started spraying fluid all over him and the
wheel would "lock up" in every turn. One good thing about the evening when so
many things were happening, he didn't have time to think about the pain in his
hand from the dog-bite! (See previous story if you missed hearing about the
dog-bite.)
Preparing for WoO show Tuesday
Ed is out of the hospital and working in the garage to prepare a new car for
Lernerville's WoO show this Tuesday. Using his right hand for most everything,
he is trying to give the left hand as much rest as possible. The drains in his
left hand came out Sunday night and it was redressed. Extra padding with be in
place before the driving gloves go on Tuesday night.
Ed is Hospitalized - 7/19/00
Ed's racing plans for this week-end are tentative because of an unexpected turn
of events. Tuesday evening, Ed tried to put his sister Jill's male yellow lab (2
years old) in the same pen with his male dog (10 years old) and the two dogs did
not get along. A fight started and Ed separated the dogs but the lab
accidentally bit him on the left hand. (Of course, the lab had all his shots).
But by Wednesday afternoon, and at 5:30 Ed was admitted to the hospital, had
iv's started, antibiotics, x-rays, etc. Doctors scheduled him for surgery
Thursday morning fearing joint damage to his thumb. Thursday, a team of
orthopedic surgeons decided to hold off. He is now scheduled for surgery Friday
AM.
18th Annual Kings Royal Weekend at Eldora July 13-14-15, 2000
The team took 2 cars for the 3-day World of Outlaw event and the good news is
that they made the A-Main each night. On Thursday he timed 14th in the 35-car
field, racing the black car. In his qualifying heat he dinged the wall and bent
the jabos ladder but finished 4th and advanced to the 1st Channel Lock Dash and
finished 10th. He started 16th and ended up 20th in the A-Main.
On Friday, a46 cars were on hand and he switched to the white car. This time he
banged the wall in qualifying and bent the rear-end, therefore, he had no time.
The crew worked hard and had a new rear-end under the car in time for him to
start his heat last (11th). He put on quite a show as he worked his way up to
3rd and a transfer spot. He finished 8th in the Dash, lined up 16th in the
A-Main and was 20th again.
Saturday night the format had 48 cars and six heats were run. He timed 18th and
lined up 4th in the 6th heat and nailed down a 3rd place finish which put him in
the Kings Royal in 15th spot. He struggled most of the race with air-pressure
and set up and finished 19th.
Both his sons, Lil Ed and Sye were excited and proud of their Dad making the
show. The team plans to run locally and prepare of Lernerville's WoO show in 10
days.
Mercer Raceway - 7/8/00
Ed took the same black car that he ran at Lernerville. Since the vibration was
still evident after changing the rear-end between the heat and feature at
Lernerville, this time the crew changed the drive-line components and that
solved the problem. There were 21 sprinters signed in and he started 5th in the
first heat and won it. Mercer uses a handicap point system to line up the
feature and that slotted him in the 11th starting spot for the 20 lap event. The
race had several reds and yellow flags by lap 13 and the #2L was up to 6th
behind Kevin Andrusky and Arnie Kent. One lap later Ed got by Andrusky and was
on the inside of Kent in turn 3 when Kent pitched inside, the two tangled,
bringing out the yellow and sending both cars to the rear. Ed ran one more lap
and pulled out finishing 16th. The crew will not race and just do garage work on
Sunday preparing for next week-end's Kings Royal at Eldora.
Lernerville - 7/7/00
The black car had a vibration the last time out, changes were made so Ed decided
he had to take it to Lernerville to see if the problem was eliminated, but the
answer turned out to be...no. He was in the first heat and finished 2nd, but the
vibration problem was very noticeable at the end of each straightaway, so the
crew went to work to change rear-ends. The Sprints were the 2nd feature and they
finished the job with about 10 minutes to spare. A field of 22 sprints lined up
for the 20-lap feature with the front row made up of Kevin Schaeffer and Brent
Matus. Ed started 10th, but a complete restart was necessary when a car spun and
had to go to the back, moving the #2L to 9th. Schaeffer led the first lap and Ed
was 5th when the red came out for Ralph Spithaler. From that point, the race
went non-stop with Schaeffer leading until lap 7 when Matus made an inside move
to the front in turns 1&2. Just after the half-way flags, Ed used that same
groove to pass Matus and go on to his 3rd Lernerville victory of the year and
his 8th win of the year. More garage work will be necessary Saturday before
going to Mercer, because the vibration was still there, but not quite as bad.
August
Lincoln Speedway - 8/26/00
Ed went to the All Star show Saturday night at Lincoln Speedway. He signed in
the black car and pulled a pill that had him time trial near the end of the
33-car field. His time then placed him 18th overall for the evening starting him
outside pole in the 2nd heat. He looked good, winning his heat handily and
qualifying for the 30-lap feature. However, after starting in 18th position in
the A-Main, he was looking good and moving forward when, with just one lap
completed in the feature, his night ended abruptly. He was just past the
flagstand when Brian Gobrecht drove over the wheel of a car in front of him,
then took a right, pinning Ed to the front-straightaway wall and sending him
flipping. He landed almost in turn #l on his side. He escaped the ordeal, but
will be sore which is more than can be said about the car. Lots of garage work
and a long list of replacement parts, is what the team is faced with now. His
finish was 25th spot.
Sharon Speedway - 8/25/00
In preparation for the upcoming Sharon Nationals, Ed decided to make the trip to
Sharon Friday night on their last regular point race of the year. There were 21
sprinters on hand although just one hot lap session, with the team opting to
take the white green & red car out that had an electrical problem on the final
laps of Wednesday's WoO Division II race at Lernerville. The team had that black
car ready to push off, but since they had no second hot lap session, they never
got to hot-lap the car he was going to race that night.
Luck of the draw, started him 8th in the lst heat where he finished 3rd. The
fans participated in a draw for starting positions for the qualified 12 cars and
that started us 7th in the 20-lap feature. The lst yellow was with 3 laps in the
books and he was 6th and with another yellow, just one lap later, he passed one
more car. From that point, the action was non-stop and Ed had worked his way to
2nd with 5 laps to go, but race leader, Jared Larson had checked out on the
field and there were not enough laps left to catch him. Larson was Sharon's
leading feature winner this season. The black #2L performed well, except for a
problem with top wing adjustment and he finally had to ignore it and just drive
as hard as he could with the wing stuck in position, unable to slide forward or
back. Congratulations to Gary Edwards #61 who sealed his lst track championship
at Sharon with his 3rd place finish in tonight's feature. Checking the weather,
for tomorrow, the team might try to go to the All Star show at Lincoln Speedway.
Lernerville - 8/23/00
Thirty sprinters were on hand for the WoO Support race on Wednesday night at
Lernerville. Ed took the white, green and red car and timed in 7th overall. With
3 inverted for 4 heats, he started outside pole of the 3rd heat and won it,
which put him in the lst Dash. He started outside pole and finished 4th which
started him 7th in the 35-lap A-Main. With Brad Furr leading, Ed had moved up to
5th at the end of 5 laps when the 1st yellow came out. He lost positions when he
had problems with lapped traffic and the tire stagger changed and he was back to
10th on the next yellow on lap 14. Jason Myers passed Furr for the lead on the
white flag lap and Ed crossed the finish line in 12th spot.
Mercer Raceway Park - 8/19/00
Saturday night Ed was one of 30 Sprints at Mercer. He started 9th in the 3rd
heat and wasted little time getting to the front. Their lineup system started
him 11th in the 20 lap A-Main. He was 8th on the restart around lap 7 and was
6th on the other yellow flag with 5 laps to go. He finished 5th in the feature
which had a exciting finish with Tommy Quarterson holding off a late charge by
Jimmy Hawley for the win.
The team's work schedule makes it impossible to race anywhere Sunday and the
next scheduled race will be the Support Series race Wednesday at Lernerville.
Lernerville Speedway - 8/18/00
Although it rained most of the morning and drizzled until 2:00PM, Helen Martin,
owner of Lernerville Speedway said there would be racing Friday night. At 4:00PM
the crew installed a new Ultra-lite brake on the black car. There were problems
and they were finally able to load the car about 5:45 and head for Lernerville.
The 33 sprints on hand were divided into 3 heats and Ed was in the lst heat
where he finished3rd. He lined up 12th in the A-Main and was 8th on the red-flag
stop with 2 laps on the board. The rest of the 20-lapper went non-stop and Ed
was up to 5th by the 1/2 way mark. As the front of the field moved in on lapped
traffic, Ed gained a spot every other lap and was 2nd with 3 laps to go, about 8
car-lengths behind Rod George (who is back racing at Lernerville after 5 years)
in his own #4. In turn 4 coming for the white flag, Ed was maybe a bumper ahead,
but Rod led at the flag stand and shut the door in turn one. However, just out
of turn 2, Rod bobbled and Ed darted to the inside and into the lead for the
final 1/2 lap.
"I had the advantage of running 2nd and when he had a little problem on the back
stretch, I was able to get by him on the inside lane," Ed said in victory lane
where on-track announcer Darin Gamble informed the crowd that Ed had just tied
his father for 8th on the "All Time Win List" at Lernerville. The #2L left the
victory stage on the wrecker's hook because of brake problems. Tonight's race
was Ed's 9th feature win of the season. The kids did well in the bike races.
Ed's 3-yr. old son, Sye, got a ribbon for 3rd place; nephew Bobby Reed, age 4,
got a 4th place ribbon and nephew A.J. Reed won a trophy in the race for 7 yr.
olds.
40th Annual Knoxville Nationals August 9-12, 2000
Ed and the crew loaded the rig and headed west at 12:30AM (late Monday night).
The 17 hour trip ended at 7:00 PM as he pulled into the Pamida parking lot to
park, eat at Pizza Hut and check out the activities at the fairgrounds. We
walked across the track and headed for the Queen's contest, where Greg Stevens'
daughter Mindy was in competition. She looked very pretty, but didn't advance
from the 14 girls that were hoping for the title.
Talking with fans and feeling the friendly town atmosphere was like the message
every year...welcome racers, crews and fans! We're glad you are here! Ed and his
crew soon headed for the homes of his host families....Charlie & Nancy and
Julie, Dave and Luke. They are so typical of the many people who arrange to take
race fans into their homes through the local Chamber of Commerce, during
Nationals week-end.
Over 140 race teams and about 30,000 race fans showed up for this year's event
and this little Iowa town of 8,500 grows to be the focal point of some of the
best sprint car racing in the nation during this week.
The cars are divided for complete shows Wednesday and Thursday nights. Ed's
qualifying night was Thursday. On the Speed Tracking system, he was 13th
quickest in the hot-lap sessions with the raspberry and white #2L. He drew a
very high pill (72 out of a possible 75) and timed a disappointing
3lst. He lined up 3rd in the lst of 5 qualifying heats and finished 2nd behind
Ryan Jamison (out of Burlington IA), advancing him to the A-Main where he
started 11th and finished 14th in the 20-lapper won by Craig Dollansky.
Knoxville tallies the points each driver earns and that determines which feature
the driver will be in on Saturday night....A, B, C, D or E.
Ed's total points ranked him 31st in the 140 cars trying for a starting spot.
The top 20 in points made the A-Main and so his points put him 11th in the
B-Main, but starting with his warm-up session when he was black-flagged for what
appeared to be heavy smoke or steam pouring out of the engine's breather system,
it was a night of frustration and he was an early drop out from the B-Main that
night. He was credited with 21st out of the 22 car field.
The Knoxville Press Kit credits him with 9 years of competition in the Nationals
and 6 A-Main finishes on his qualifying night and one Nationals Championship
start in 1995, where he finished 19th.
Eldora 3-day HBO August 3, 4, 5
Ed is happy to report another 3-day weekend at Eldora for the 8th Annual
Historical Big One is in the books with an A-Main finish for the team each
night. On Thursday the annual "Two Nights Before the Big One" was an All Star
show with 23 cars on hand. Ed timed 12th in the white, red and green car and
started 3rd in the 3rd heat and won it, qualifying him for the 30-lap A-Main
where he started 12th and finished 8th. Friday was the World of Outlaw show with
35 cars and he qualified 25th in the white car he used at Lernerville's WoO
show. He started 7th in the lst heat and finished 6th, sending to the B-Main
where he started 5th, but moved up to 4th which qualified him for the A-Main. He
started 23rd in that 30-lap A-Main and finished 19th. Using the same car for
Saturday's HBO $100,000-to-win race, he timed 30th in the 42-car field and lined
up outside Randy Hannagan in the front row of the 6th heat. The top 3 finishers
from each heat qualified for the HBO. After the first heat, rain delayed the
show....after the 2nd heat, rain again delayed the show. Several hours later,
the heats resumed and Ed won his heat and at 1:30AM he lined up for the A-Main
after watching a B-Main that contained Dale Blaney, Kenny Jacobs, Jac
Haudenschild, Stevie Smith, Donnie Schatz and a host of others. Ed started the
HBO in 15th spot. The 40-lap feature took its toll with 2 reds and 7 yellow
flags and Steve Kinser led all the laps. Ed ranked 11th when the checkered flag
waved at 2:40AM. Everything from the nose of the hauler to the back trailer door
is covered with mud. The team will re-group and re-stock and head for the
Knoxville Nationals.
September
Williams Grove Nationals - 9/30/00
After chasing several problems that occurred during the Hagerstown race, the
crew took the white/raspberry and blue car to the WoO sanctioned event at
Williams Grove Speedway Saturday night where Ed was one of 44 cars signed in for
the night. The engine didn't perform as well as expected and he timed 39th and
finished 9th in his heat. He lined up for the C-Main and ran a few laps but
pulled out and was credited with an 11th place finish.
Hagerstown - 9/28/00
Ed towed to Hagerstown on Thursday for a make-up World of Outlaw show and took
the white/raspberry/blue car. After time trials on a very fast track, he ranked
24th in the 39 cars present. In hot laps prior to time trials, he pulled out
early because of the engine was shutting off at different spots on the track. He
checked for electrical and/or fuel problems. He started 6th in the 4th
qualifying heat where he had problems in turn 2, went high, but gathered it back
in and finished 7th. This put him 4th in the B-Main, but the shut-off problem
was back and he pulled out about half-way through the event and was credited
with a 16th place finish. A new 8-lap heat race record and dash record were
established with the fast track conditions and Sammy Swindell went on to win the
30-lap A-Main.
Lernerville - 9/26/00
The 3rd and final World of Outlaw show came to Lernerville Speedway, Tuesday
night and Ed took the white, raspberry and blue car and timed 22nd in the field
of 42 entries. He started 6th in the 2nd heat and finished 4th which advanced
him to the A-Main. He started 22nd in the 26-car, 35-lap feature. Pole-sitter
Stevie Smith won and Ed finished 19th. The team will get ready for Hagerstown
and the Williams Grove Nationals.
Ed Named In National Pole - 9/24/00
In a press release issued Saturday, Ed has been ranked, along with 34 other top
Sprint car drivers across the country, in the Fall edition of the National 410
Sprint Car Pole. The voting panel for this pole to select outstanding Sprint car
drivers, is made up of manufacturers, media members, promoters and sanctioning
officials. The pole is an official awards program of the National Sprint Car
Hall of Fame & Museum Foundation, Inc. located in Knoxville, Iowa. Steve Kinser,
Mark Kinser, Sammy Swindell and Danny Lasoski top the list.
Eldora Speedway - 9/23/00
Ed and the team took the white, raspberry and blue car to the final All Star
race at Eldora Speedway on Saturday. They arrived at 3:30 with the pit gates
scheduled to open at 4:00. Sprints and Late Models were scheduled to race and
well over 100 teams were on hand with more still arriving. The sky looked
threatening and the track held off selling pit passes for 1/2 an hour. It turned
out to be a wise decision, because a line of heavy thunderstorms hit, dumping a
ton of water on the track and the infield pits. If the rigs had been down in the
pits....they would have each needed to be pulled out. The same weather was
forcasted for Sunday, so the entire week-end was cancelled (not to be made up).
Ed finished 2nd in Eldora's sprint car standings for the season and will be
honored at their banquet this winter. The crew now gets ready for Tuesday's WoO
show at Lernerville.
Mercer Raceway Park - 9/16/00
The 4th Annual Charlie Marsh Memorial 40-lap race paying $5,000 to win was set
for Saturday. Ed had won the race last year and the crew loaded the black car in
the trailer for the 2-hour tow to Mercer. There had been several showers during
the morning at the garage and Ed had to turn the wipers on at least twice on the
trip.
He was the first rig in line when the pit gates opened at 3:00PM and by race
time 35 sprints were signed in for competition. Four heats were run and by luck
of the draw, Ed started 6th in the 4th heat. Only the top 3 finishers would be
eligible for the re-draw. Ed won his heat by utilizing the inside groove and
drew 8th starting spot for the feature.
Ed was up to 6th when the first yellow came out on lap 5 and was 4th by lap 12
when another yellow occurred. Because of so much moisture from the rainy
weather, the track was a handful, but he managed to keep advancing. Many cars
hooked ruts and one lapped car nearly ended Ed's night as he got over the car's
wheel and the #2L almost stood on its nose when it came back down on the track.
Another time, he was coming up on Terry Young, who was running 3rd, just as
Young hooked a rut in turn 4 and got his machine sideways. Fortunately, Young
got his car pointed in the right direction as Ed hit him and both cars were able
to gather it in and keep going. As the race passed the half-way mark, Ed ran
down the leader Tommy Quarterson in heavy lapped traffic and passed him on the
outside in turn 1 and when on to handle lapped cars that were running 2 and 3
wide at times. He finally had a clear track in front of him for the final laps
and he went under Mike Henshaw's checkered flag as 2 lapped cars separated him
from 2nd place Quarterson who was just exiting turn 2. The win was Ed's 10th of
the season. Since both Ed, Jr. and Ed, Sr. had known and worked with Charlie
Marsh (who had mechaniced the #46 Frank Crash sprinter that Sr. drove at one
time), it was a very meaningful win for them and the Marsh family. Also, Capri
Pizza owner and sponsor Donnie Rice had his Mother and Father - Cookie and Terry
- join Ed in a special victory photo.
Next Saturday, the team heads for the All Star final race of the season at
Eldora.
Fremont Speedway - 9/9/00
A tribute to Frankie Kerr and his retirement from Sprint car racing was held
Saturday night at the All Star event paying $6,000 to win at Jim Ford's Fremont
Speedway.
Ed took the black car and drew an early qualifying number (which helped) and
timed 2nd overall in the 40-car field. He started 6th in the 2nd heat and
finished 5th, making the A-Main. The pill draw was straight up for the
Commercial Truck & Trailer Dash and fast-timer John Ivy started on pole with Ed
outside. Ed won the CTT Dash and things were looking good at that point. Prior
to the 40-lap feature, the drivers pulled numbers for their chance at 37
manufacturers awards. Ed got a $l00 gift certificate from Kears Speed Shop. From
that point the evening turned into a big disappointment as the feature started
with Chad Kemenah and Travis Rilat on the front row and Ed started 5th, but his
guess on the set-up was wrong and he lost positions for the entire race. The
event went non-stop and 23 of the 24 starters were running at the end. Ed
finished 21st with John Ivy pulling off his lst career All Star win.
20th Annual Sharon Nationals Sept. 2-3, 2000
50 cars were signed in for the 2-day 20th Annual Sharon Nationals and Ed timed
14th in the white, green, and red car. Because 5 heats were run, only 4
qualified for the A-Main and he finished 4th in the 4th heat. The feature was 30
laps and he was up as high as 5th with about ten laps to go. On the final lap he
was in a tight mix of cars battling for 6th, 7th, and 8th when his left front
wheel, hub, spindle, and brake came off in between turns 3 and 4 dipping the
front down and sending the car backwards and slamming into the outside wall. He
hit hard and bumped his back, neck, and head. The crash broke the frame and
damaged the car beyond repair.
The Sunday race had a total of 48 cars and Ed slatted the white, raspberry, and
blue car in 12th in overall times, then started 11th in the 40 lap A-Main. He
finished 8th.
Lernerville Speedway - 9/1/00
The 14th Annual Earl and David Bauman Memorial race sanctioned by the All Stars
had 42 sprints on hand. Ed took the white, raspberry and blue car with an engine
that just returned Kistler's shop the night before. The crew worked late
Thursday night with throttle linkage problems and wrapped up the final
adjustments Friday at 4:00 PM and headed for Lernerville. "Ouchie" Roeneigk had
prepared a track that was wide enough for several grooves of racing. Ed pulled a
pill for time trials that put him mid-way in the group. Kenny Jacobs had gone
out 6th and set fast time of the night and Ed ended up 2nd fastest which put him
6th in the 2nd heat. He struggled to make the top five and thus move on to the
A-Main, but Mike Goodman's #3M dropped out and Ed finished 5th. Before his next
race, Ed changed everything but the trailer tires. He changed bars, shocks, tire
compounds, etc....then went out for the Commercial Truck & Trailer Dash. Orren
Zook, owner of CTT and sponsor of the Dash was on hand along with his sons
Kevin, Adam and Jerod. Ed started 5th and finished 4th in the Dash won by Greg
Wilson and then started 5th and finished 5th in the 35-lap feature won by Chad
Kemenah. Still not happy with the throttle linkage, Ed will work on that
Saturday morning before heading for the 2-day 20th Annual Sharon Nationals.
October
Hagerstown Speedway 10/28/00-10/29/00
The 13th Annual Octoberfest at Hagerstown is traditionally the last race of the
season on Ed's schedule and the team loaded the white/raspberry & blue car in
the trailer for the 3 hour trip. They were on the road by 6:30AM Saturday
because the pit gates opened at 10:00AM. They had a record field of cars and
some teams had to pit outside the track. The heat races for all four divisions
(each competing for $10,000-to-win) were determined by luck of the draw and Ed,
Sr. drew #l for the car. This put Ed on the pole for the lst of 3 heats for the
Sprints. The heats were 10 laps and the #2L led all the laps, which meant that
Ed would start on pole Sunday in the 50-lapper.
As soon as he pulled in the pits, the crew went to work to figure out why the
car was shutting off in the turns. They drained all the fuel, checked the
bladder, connections and fuel lines. The next morning Ed replaced an "o" ring in
the fuel filter and hoped the problem would be gone in hot laps. However, it was
still there and the crew replaced the MSD, more fueling lines and related items
and waited for the start of their race. After three 100-lappers for the Small
Block Modifieds, Late Models and Big Block Modifieds, it was time for the
Sprints. Ed had a great original starts (3 or 4 of them), but each time cars in
the back half of the field would spin....bringing out the yellow flag. Finally,
with Ed on the pole, Donnie Kreitz outside and Johnnie Mackison and Todd Gracey
in the 2nd row and Freddie Rahmer starting 5th, the field finally recorded a lap
in the books. There were so many other caution flags, that the officials stopped
the race on lap 16 for a fuel stop. Ed had led all laps so far, but the crew
noticed the tire wear to the left rear on the stop and hurried back to the
trailer to lay out a new left rear in anticipation of a tire change if
necessary. Ed led more laps as the race continued through another caution on lap
21. About four laps later, dealing with lapped cars, he lost the lead to Lance
Dewease who had passed Rahmer and Kreitz in one sweep as the field tightened
behind a pack of lapped cars. Kreitz and Rahmer both then passed Ed, but he got
Rahmer back and a lap later Kreitz tangled with a lapped car and had to go last.
This set up Dewease then 2 lapped cars and then Ed on the restart. Ed's left
rear tire was completely bald and he got by the lapped cars, but could not catch
Dewease and finished a strong 2nd once again in the Octoberfest.
Special Project & Season Finale - 10/27/00
Since Ed's last race earlier this month at Hagerstown, he has been working on
another very special show car which is 90% completed. He will release all the
details following his final race of the season this week-end, the Octoberfest at
Hagerstown.
Hagerstown - 10/6/00
A special Gumout show on Saturday night gave Ed an opportunity to try Hagerstown
before their big end-of-the-year show later this month (the Octoberfest). In
qualifications for the 37 cars, Ed had throttle linkage problems and didn't
complete his first lap. Taking one lap at the end, he ranked 29th. He finished
6th in his heat and finished 6th in the B-Main. He took the engine out the next
day and took it to the engine builder to see how it would perform on the Dyno.
His next race will be the Octoberfest at Hagerstown.