MIKE PEGHER BRINGS $30,000 FASTRAK GRAND NATIONALS CHAMPIONSHIP TO NORTHEAST; ROB BLAIR SECURES $20,000 RUNNER-UP; OVER $65,000 GARNERED BY NORTHEAST RACERS IN GRAND NAT’S POINT FUND ALONE

By Mike Leone

October 24, 2011                    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Pulaski, PA)…The Northeast has owned the FASTRAK National Weekly Series Championship for three of the last four years thanks to Max Blair; now for the first time, the prestigious Grand National Championship is coming home to the Northeast!  By virtue of his October 9 Dog Hollow Speedway victory and third and fourth place finishes at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, TN on October 21 & 22, Mike Pegher, Jr. is the $30,000 FASTRAK Late Model Grand National Champion!  The title is the richest for a grassroots racer in western Pennsylvania. 

The 13 racers that headed to Bulls Gap combined for over $65,000 in cash in simply Grand National point fund monies alone!  These monies along with the City Chevrolet National Weekly Series Championship were paid out on Sunday, October 23 at the Best Western in Morristown, Tennessee as part of the inaugural breakfast banquet.

As hard as it’s to believe, Pegher’s Grand National title is his first ever FASTRAK Championship!  The 26-year-old third generation racer has finished runner-up the last three seasons in the National Weekly Series Championship and the last two in the Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC Northeast Touring Series points!  Pegher’s combined take in FASTRAK championship point fund monies in 2011 will top $40,000 for car owner Lynn Geisler!

“First off I have to thank Stan (Lester) for creating the FASTRAK concept and Vicki (Emig) and Mike (Leone) for bringing this to the North,” stated the Wexford, Pa. champion.  “None of this would even be possible with Lynn (Geisler), Andy (Kennedy), Mike (Brunner), and the rest of the crew.”

Pegher did exactly what he had to do to win the Grand Nationals.  At Dog Hollow on Night 1, the all-time Northeast Touring Series leading feature winner set third fastest time, won his heat, redraw the number one position and led all 30 laps of the feature for his second career Grand National feature winner.       

Pegher and crew headed to Bulls Gap tied for the title.  In Night 2, Pegher rebounded from a poor qualifying time and raced his way from the 15^th starting spot to a third place feature finish giving him a five-point cushion entering Night 3 over Northeast’s Robbie Blair.  In Saturday’s finale, Pegher improved his qualifying effort to eighth, won his heat race over the elder Blair to earn the fourth starting position, and pretty much stayed there for the 50-lap duration.

When the points were tallied, Pegher’s #1 Cochran Automotive/Triple-S Auto Sales/Zero Wraps-sponsored #1c finished with 100 points out of the perfect 105 score, four better than veteran Robbie Blair’s 96.  Pegher now becomes the seventh different Grand National Champion in as many years joining Hot Rod LaMance (2006), Will Thomas (2007), Royce Bray (2008), Shanon Buckingham (2009), and A.J. Diemel (2010).

“There was a lot of work involved in winning this championship,” expressed winning crew chief Andy Kennedy.  “We made a team decision to decide to skip the final Northeast Touring Series event at Roaring Knob so we could concentrate and be 100% for Dog Hollow.  We didn’t get a whole lot of sleep in the two weeks leading up to Dog Hollow as we totally stripped down the car and rebuilt it from the ground up to ensure everything was perfect for our run at the Grand National Championship.”

In 2010, Robbie Blair entered Night 3 tied for the point lead after a runner-up and a victory in Nights 1 and 2, but would fade to fifth in the final standings.  Fast forward to 2011 and his second try at the Grand Nationals.  Despite competing in only 13 events, the elder Blair came into the Grand Nationals with momentum winning the $2,000 Northeast Touring Series finale the night before Dog Hollow.       

For all intents and purposes, Blair’s $20,000 2011 Grand Nationals runner-up was done quietly as he finished behind his son Max in fourth in Night 1.  In Night 2’s feature, Blair ironically lined-up beside Pegher in 16^th and worked his way to fifth at the finish.  Heading into the finale, the Northeast couldn’t have a better a pair to go after the sweep of the top two positions.  And on Saturday night the 22^nd, Blair saved his best for last, using his patience and smooth driving talent on the slick, high banks to come from eighth to finish a close third.    

“I cannot tell you how proud I was to see Mike (Pegher) and Robbie (Blair) pull onto the frontstretch at Bulls Gap to lay claim to the both the Grand National title and runner-up position for the Northeast,” expressed Northeast Co-Director Vicki Emig.  “This is something we have dreamed about over the past five years and words cannot explain the overwhelming feeling of pride we felt to see this accomplishment become a reality.  Add to this Max Blair’s third National Weekly Series Championship along with 28 out of the top 50 National Weekly positions claimed by Northeast racers for the second straight year and the 2011 season will be one that is not soon forgotten!”

Max Blair has certainly established himself as one of if not the face of FASTRAK over his four-year history.  The 21-year-old has won the National Weekly Series Championship three out of four years and done the same in the Northeast Touring Series to go along with numerous track championships plus is the all-time winningest FASTRAK racer.  One championship that’s eluded the Centerville, Pa. third generation driver is the Grand Nationals.

The younger Blair gave it another go, but could only muster a seventh in the final standings.  Blair set himself up nicely with a third at Dog Hollow and was running around the sixth position on Night 2 before fading to 10^th at the finish.  Max entered Night 3 in a three-way tie for fourth, but could only muster a 13^th place finish in Night 3.  Still those finishes gave Max a seventh place finish in the standings worth $4,500!

Ryan Montgomery’s accomplishments in his rookie FASTRAK season have been well documented in 2011.  He’s impressed people from all over the Northeast with three victories including a Northeast Touring Series win at Sharon Speedway as well as the inaugural “Futures Cup” Championship and “Trifecta” victory in the finale at Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex. 

What can the expectations be for a 14-year-old high school freshman competing in his first Grand Nationals against the best of the best?  While maybe not high for most, the Fairmont, West Virginia driver didn’t disappoint as he qualified for all three nights and was the fourth highest placing member of Northeast racers in a tie for 14^th!  His best finish was a ninth at Dog Hollow, but on the final night came from 16^th to finish 12^th (third highest Northeast finisher) even passing Max Blair to earn $2,375!    

From a 14-year-old in 14^th to the familiar #14 of Dan Angelicchio; the Greensburg, Pa. driver is the next man representing the Northeast.  Angelicchio entered the Grand Nationals with a career best season that featured his first two career Northeast Touring Series wins, a first ever Southeast Touring win at Thunder Mountain Speedway, a runner-up in the Bully Dog Speedweek points, and a career best fourth place Northeast Touring Series point finish. 

Angelicchio had some higher expectations than what was produced, but he still was able to qualify for the feature all three nights with finishes between 11^th and 16^th for a 16^th place ending in points worth $2,000.  Angelicchio did represent the Northeast winning Thursday night’s cook-off contest amongst his fellow FASTRAK teams!

The Grand Nationals started off better than ever for Josh Holtgraver, but ended in a disappointing way.  The 23-year-old Pittsburgh, Pa. resident had a great season with two Northeast Touring Series wins, three other Weekly Series wins, and a career best third place in the Northeast Touring Series standings.  Holtgraver entered the Grand Nationals with a lot of momentum and carried it through at Dog Hollow with a runner-up finish.

Holtgraver competed at Bulls Gap earlier this season and was hoping that experience would pay off, but he could only manage a 17^th in Night 2 then things went downhill even worse when a flat tire in his heat race took him out of a feature transfer position, which turned into a last place starting position in the B main and that equated to a did not qualify.  In the end, Holtgraver would tie for 18^th, worth $1,375.

Tying for that 18^th position was Bobby Whitling, who certainly turned in the Cinderella story of the Grand Nationals for the Northeast.  While the Franklin, Pa. driver is one of the most successful Stock Car drivers in western Pennsylvania over the past two decades, success in the FASTRAK Late Models in recent seasons has been hard to come by.  In fact, Whitling placed just 87^th in the National Weekly Series standings making only 20 starts.

Whitling showed up at Dog Hollow and turned in a respectable 10^th place finish.  The “Seneca Slider” towed to Bulls Gap for the first time ever and qualified for the feature both nights after runner-ups in the B mains.  On Friday night, Whitling came from 19^th to finish 13^th and on Saturday finished 21^st after getting involved in two minor accidents.  Whitling also earned $1,375.

Missing the top 24 by just four points was Bill Cunningham.  The Jefferson, Ohio veteran made his first stab at the Grand Nationals and it started off well with a seventh at Dog Hollow; however, Cunningham failed to qualify for the feature both nights and ended up 26^th in points.  All drivers that headed south that missed the top 24, earned $500.  As the highest finishing Northeast driver outside the top 24, Cunningham earned the Red Horse Contingency package, which included a $500 gift certificate, championship trophy, several shirts, hats, seat cushions, drink holders, banners, decals, and more!

Troy Shields was the hard luck driver of the Grand Nationals from the Northeast.  After finishing sixth at Dog Hollow, the Acme, Pa. 51-year-old was hoping for better success than ending up upside down at Bulls Gap like he did two years ago.  Shields’ luck was unfortunately no better as in his heat race in Night 1, contact was made with Cunningham sending Shields riding the frontstretch wall, nearly flipping, and destroying his #11.  It was a tough end for Shields, who won three Weekly Series features in 2011.  Shields’ hard luck earned him the Bully Dog Dominator Performer package, which includes $350 CASH, an intake, GT tuner, and exhaust valued up to $1,000, trophy, several t-shirts, hoodies, hats, and decals!

Cunningham and Shields’ prizes were just two of many awarded to Northeast racers this season at every event as part of the Contingency Connection program presented by the Original Pizza Logs.

For the second straight year, it was a disappointing end to the season for hard charging Steve Dixon.  Last year, the Smethport, Pa. standout suffered electrical woes in Night 3 at Wythe Raceway, and this season Dixon wasn’t able to capitalize on his fifth place finish at Dog Hollow as he had a motor let go in Night 2 at Bulls Gap that cut short his Grand Nationals. 

Three other Northeast/Mid-Ohio Valley racers competed all three nights including Shawn Jett, Bobby Rohrer, and Joel Prosser.  Jett, who had a great 2011 finishing in a tie for sixth in the National Weekly Series standings, started off the best with a 15^th at Dog Hollow, but couldn’t find speed at Bulls Gap as he failed to qualify for the feature either night. 

Rohrer, a FASTRAK rookie and “Futures Cup” contender that did well in 2011 at Raceway 7 and Eriez Speedway, finished 18^th at Dog Hollow, but came up short at getting in the Bulls Gap features.  Prosser didn’t let a did not qualify at Dog Hollow stop him from heading south as he competed in Nights 2 and 3 and was rewarded with a feature starting spot in Night 3 and a finish of 23^rd. 

“The amount of money that’s available for FASTRAK racers is just incredible,” said fifth year Northeast Co-Director Mike Leone.  “Then you have to remember these guys are accomplishing these feats and earning these monies with $5,000 engines and on spec tires!  Last year we promoted that Northeast racers garnered over $100,000 FASTRAK point fund monies alone and when 2011 is totaled it’s going to blow that number away by a long shot!” 

FASTRAK Northeast’s 2011 marketing partners include Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC, Original Pizza Logs, Bully Dog, Contingency Connection, Utsinger’s Towing, and Hoosier Tire.

You can reach co-directors Vicki Emig and Mike Leone at the FASTRAK Northeast office at 724-964-9300.  E-mail to info@fastraknortheast.com and snail mail to 4368 Route 422, Pulaski, PA 16143.  The office is open daily late mornings and after 1:30 p.m.  For more information, check out the FASTRAK Northeast website at www.fastraknortheast.com. Become our fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fastraknortheast.

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