Allegany County Speedway
July 30, 2011
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Sponaugle earns another Shootout win at The Rock

Matt Felton
CUMBERLAND, Md. (July 30) – Matt Sponaugle had the field covered for his fourth win of 2011 on Saturday night at The Rock, Allegany County Speedway.

Marcius VanMeter won his second straight Hobby Stock race while Gary Proctor made it three straight in the 6/8-Cylinder race and Neil Bauer Jr. won the 4-Cylinder race for the second time. Chris Chamberlain broke through for his first Street Stock win.

Sponaugle, who has now claimed three of the first four 358 Shootouts presented by BBi and Cresap Automotive Machine, won by slightly less than two seconds over Rick Singleton and Tim Smith Jr. Sponaugle started fifth but charged to second in the first lap and took the lead from pole-sitter Brian Lowery by lap three.

Once out front, Sponaugle drove away from the field on two separate occasions. He led by as much as five seconds when a caution slowed the pace on lap 13. The final caution on lap 21 allowed the field to tighten up but Sponaugle won handily at the finish.

Singleton came from fourth on lap 12 to get second and third from Smith and Lowery following the restart on lap 13. He was able to fend off Smith on several occasions in the waning laps. Corey Weaver and Mike Altobelli Jr. made late moves to secure the fourth and fifth spots.

Chamberlain took the lead from John Whitfield with two laps to go to win the 16-lap Street Stock feature. Behind Whitfield in second, Daryl Whetstone, Kevin Deremer and Justin Bonnett rounded out the top five.

Whitfield found the lead when Rick Wright was forced to the pits with an apparent overheated engine. Wright, the pole-sitter, had led until lap six. Brian Duffy was also in contention in second when he had to pit due to engine problems on lap 10.

Chamberlain moved into second on the next lap and battled with Whitfield on the outside until he was able to pull ahead during lap 13.

Marcius VanMeter avoided two incidents at the outset and got by Jimmy Moreland on lap five for the winning move in the Hobby Stock feature. Moreland finished five car lengths back in second. Justin Michael finished third while Bill VanMeter and Bryan Morris grabbed fourth and fifth at the finish.

Moreland led the first four laps until VanMeter got position on the inside on lap four and completed the pass on the next lap.

Bauer prevailed after a late caution in the 4-Cylinder race over DacRon Powell, Mike Lauffer, Kevin Beers Jr. and Ronnie Valentine.

Bauer took over the lead at the start and led by as much as three seconds before a caution just after taking the white flag gave the field a chance to catch up and put Bauer’s lead in jeopardy. When the race resumed for the final lap, Bauer hung on by two car lengths over Powell. Lauffer barely edged out Beers for third at the finish line.

Proctor overcame starting seventh to cruise to another 6/8-Cylinder win. He needed just four of the 12 laps to get ahead of Jason Stoner and Ray Shepherd. After a caution on lap seven, Proctor drove away to win by nearly five seconds over Stoner and Shepherd. Brian Ringer and Will Worthington completed the top five.

Race Results
The Rock, Allegany County Speedway
Saturday, June 30, 2011

LIMITED LATE MODELS (25 Laps): 1. Matt Sponaugle, 2. Rick Singleton, 3. Tim Smith Jr., 4. Corey Weaver, 5. Mike Altobelli Jr., 6. Travis Stickley, 7. Brian Lowery, 8. Travis Calhoun, 9. Matt Emerick, 10. Nathan LaSalle, 11. Eric Irvin, 12. Barry Miller.

STREET STOCKS (16 Laps): 1. Chris Chamberlain, 2. John Whitfield, 3. Daryl Whetstone, 4. Kevin Deremer, 5. Justin Bonnett, 6. Elwood Hyre, 7. Zane Weicht, 8. Brian Duffy, 9. Rick Wright.

HOBBY STOCKS (15 Laps): 1. Marcius VanMeter, 2. Jimmy Moreland, 3. Justin Michael, 4. Billy VanMeter, 5. Bryan Morris, 6. Rob Varner, 7. David Riley, DNS: R.T. Troutman, Mike Lewis.

4-CYLINDERS (12 Laps): 1. Neil Bauer Jr., 2. DacRon Powell, 3. Mike Lauffer, 4. Kevin Beers Jr., 5. Ronnie Valentine, 6. Nick Iski, 7. Chris Shoemaker, 8. Steve McMahon, 9. Steve Riggleman, 10. Tyler arkin, 11. Harold Propst, 12. Kevin See, 13. Jason Poland, 14. John Crowfis Jr., 15. Dwain Rhodes, DNS: Davey Lambert, Daniel Wratchford.

6/8-CYLINDERS (12 Laps): 1. Gary Proctor, 2. Jason Stoner, 3. Ray Shepherd, 4. Brian Ringer, 5. Will Worthington, 6. Brandon Inglish, 7. Jimmy Moreland, 8. Dave Comer, 9. Rel Breedlove.