AJ Flick Takes Indy Race Parts 71 To Victory In Jeff Gilliland Memorial FAST Main At Michaels Mercer Raceway

Story By: JIM BALENTINE / MICHAELS MERCER RACEWAY – MERCER, PA – On a special Friday night lights, Michaels Mercer Raceway presented one of the biggest shows in their 73 year history on a beautiful late summer evening as fans packed the speedway for the running of the Jeff Gilliland Memorial Western Pennsylvania 410 sprint car championship as well as the Al Priester memorial 602 crate modified event. 96 cars graced the pit area for the four division event.

For the $8000 to win Jeff Gilliland memorial West Pa. Sprint car championship feature twin state auto racing club hall of famers Jimmy Hawley and Gary Edwards would pace the 22 car field.

Dash winner Conner Morrell and Logan McCandless would lead the 30 lapper to green. Morrell would take the lead at the start but the race would go yellow as last years winner Bob Felmlee would spin up in turn 2. On the restart Morrell would again lead the way with AJ Flick driving the Bernie Steubgen #71 following in 2nd.

The steel city outlaw Tim Shaffer making a rare Mercer appearance would be racing McCandless for 3rd before a yellow would fly again. Morrell would then again have a 1.7 second lead over Flick but on lap 10 Flick would go to the high side in turn 2 to take the lead.

On lap 14 Zane DeVault would scrape the concrete wall on the frontstretch ending his night. Dale Blaney who started in 10th would methodically work his way through the pack moving up to fifth by lap 15. McCandless would then start to challenge Shaffer for 3rd after a restart.

Flick would open up a 3.1 second advantage over Morrell as the laps were winding down. 20 time Mercer winner Jack Sodeman Jr. would be holding strong running in 4th early in the race trying to catch Shaffer but as the laps were winding down Sodeman would fall back and with 3 laps to go would smack the inside tire in turn 3 ending his night.

With the amount of laps being run and with the accident a fuel stop was necessary. When the race resumed Flick would again take off and would pick up his biggest payday ever winning over $8,500 defeating Morrell by 1.885. McCandless would finish 3rd, Dale Blaney would get around Shaffer for 4th on lap 23 and Shaffer 5th.

A jubilant Flick would say “this is frickin’ awesome!!! these guys busted their butt for me tonight and owner Bernie (Steubgen) dialed it in and I am beyond thankful. The track widened out like I thought and I knew if I was in the lead they would have to come back to me. Bernie called me and asked me if I wanted to drive the #71 this week and I was so excited and everyone had to calm me down. Conner was ripping the top and I was around the bottom and I stayed on the bottom and into lapped traffic and I was able to complete the pass and stay out front. This is and blessing and special!! I’ve known Jimmy Hawley since I was young when I was moving up from street stocks I went to him for help and he gave me good advice and tonight he parked next to me and he came over and wished me good luck and was concerned about me when this night was about his family. The entire family is so important to racing and I hope I made them proud tonight!!

410 Sprints – Winged

A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. 71-AJ Flick[3]; 2. 28M-Conner Morrell[1]; 3. 29M-Logan McCandless[2]; 4. 32-Dale Blaney[13]; 5. 49X-Tim Shaffer[4]; 6. 46-Michael Bauer[11]; 7. 5K-Adam Kekich[16]; 8. 24D-Danny Sams III[9]; 9. 22-Brandon Spithaler[7]; 10. 20B-Cody Bova[12]; 11. 27K-Jeremy Kornbau[19]; 12. 35-Jared Zimbardi[20]; 13. 5E-Bobby Elliott[22]; 14. 23JR-Jack Sodeman Jr[5]; 15. 08-Danny Kuriger[15]; 16. 38-Leyton Wagner[18]; 17. 5-Jeremy Weaver[10]; 18. 4-Zane DeVault[6]; 19. 11J-David Kalb[21]; 20. 6-Bob Felmlee[14]; 21. 3V-Chris Verda[24]; 22. 13-Brandon Matus[23]; 23. M1-Mark Smith[8]; 24. 16-Jim Morris[17]

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 16-Jim Morris[1]; 2. 38-Leyton Wagner[2]; 3. 27K-Jeremy Kornbau[3]; 4. 35-Jared Zimbardi[4]; 5. 11J-David Kalb[6]; 6. 5E-Bobby Elliott[5]; 7. 13-Brandon Matus[7]; 8. 3V-Chris Verda[11]; 9. 33-Brent Matus[8]; 10. 7T-Brett Brunkenhoefer[9]; 11. 31C-Chase Metheney[10]; 12. 47-Dusty Larson[13]; 13. 55-Matt Sherlock III[15]; 14. 86-Michael Lutz Jr[12]; 15. M4-Louie Mattes[14]; 16. (DNS) 3J-Jacob Begenwald

Dash 1 (6 Laps): 1. 28M-Conner Morrell[2]; 2. 29M-Logan McCandless[1]; 3. 71-AJ Flick[3]; 4. 49X-Tim Shaffer[4]; 5. 23JR-Jack Sodeman Jr[5]; 6. 4-Zane DeVault[6]; 7. 22-Brandon Spithaler[7]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 28M-Conner Morrell[1]; 2. M1-Mark Smith[2]; 3. 20B-Cody Bova[3]; 4. 29M-Logan McCandless[4]; 5. 27K-Jeremy Kornbau[6]; 6. 16-Jim Morris[5]; 7. 7T-Brett Brunkenhoefer[8]; 8. 47-Dusty Larson[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 22-Brandon Spithaler[4]; 2. 24D-Danny Sams III[2]; 3. 32-Dale Blaney[3]; 4. 6-Bob Felmlee[1]; 5. 38-Leyton Wagner[5]; 6. 11J-David Kalb[6]; 7. 31C-Chase Metheney[7]; 8. M4-Louie Mattes[8]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 23JR-Jack Sodeman Jr[2]; 2. 5-Jeremy Weaver[1]; 3. 49X-Tim Shaffer[4]; 4. 08-Danny Kuriger[3]; 5. 35-Jared Zimbardi[6]; 6. 13-Brandon Matus[5]; 7. 3V-Chris Verda[8]; 8. 55-Matt Sherlock III[7]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 71-AJ Flick[1]; 2. 46-Michael Bauer[2]; 3. 4-Zane DeVault[4]; 4. 5K-Adam Kekich[5]; 5. 5E-Bobby Elliott[3]; 6. 33-Brent Matus[8]; 7. 86-Michael Lutz Jr[6]; 8. 3J-Jacob Begenwald[7]

Qualifying 1: 1. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 00:14.018; 2. 46-Michael Bauer, 00:14.097; 3. 5E-Bobby Elliott, 00:14.205; 4. 13-Brandon Matus, 00:14.230; 5. 35-Jared Zimbardi, 00:14.231; 6. 86-Michael Lutz Jr, 00:14.597; 7. 55-Matt Sherlock III, 00:14.693; 8. 33-Brent Matus, 00:14.803; 9. 3J-Jacob Begenwald, 00:14.928; 10. (DNS) 22-Brandon Spithaler; 11. (DNS) 28M-Conner Morrell; 12. (DNS) 24D-Danny Sams III; 13. (DNS) 38-Leyton Wagner; 14. (DNS) 29M-Logan McCandless; 15. (DNS) 16-Jim Morris; 16. (DNS) 6-Bob Felmlee; 17. (DNS) 7T-Brett Brunkenhoefer; 18. (DNS) 27K-Jeremy Kornbau; 19. (DNS) M1-Mark Smith; 20. (DNS) M4-Louie Mattes; 21. (DNS) 20B-Cody Bova; 22. (DNS) 31C-Chase Metheney; 23. (DNS) 11J-David Kalb; 24. (DNS) 47-Dusty Larson; 25. (DNS) 32-Dale Blaney

Qualifying 2: 1. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 00:13.819[10]; 2. 4-Zane DeVault, 00:13.836[2]; 3. 5-Jeremy Weaver, 00:13.875[4]; 4. 71-AJ Flick, 00:13.889[6]; 5. 23JR-Jack Sodeman Jr, 00:13.929[8]; 6. 46-Michael Bauer, 00:14.028[9]; 7. 08-Danny Kuriger, 00:14.104[5]; 8. 5E-Bobby Elliott, 00:14.145[13]; 9. 13-Brandon Matus, 00:14.205[3]; 10. 5K-Adam Kekich, 00:14.245[7]; 11. 35-Jared Zimbardi, 00:14.374[12]; 12. 86-Michael Lutz Jr, 00:14.386[11]; 13. 55-Matt Sherlock III, 00:14.450[14]; 14. 3J-Jacob Begenwald, 00:14.543[15]; 15. 3V-Chris Verda, 00:14.818[1]; 16. 33-Brent Matus, 00:14.885[16]

Hot Laps 1: 1. 22-Brandon Spithaler, 00:13.548[1]; 2. 29M-Logan McCandless, 00:13.558[5]; 3. 28M-Conner Morrell, 00:13.658[2]; 4. 6-Bob Felmlee, 00:13.700[7]; 5. 24D-Danny Sams III, 00:13.781[3]; 6. 38-Leyton Wagner, 00:13.800[4]; 7. 16-Jim Morris, 00:14.423[6]; 8. (DNS) 7T-Brett Brunkenhoefer

Hot Laps 2: 1. M1-Mark Smith, 00:13.832[2]; 2. 27K-Jeremy Kornbau, 00:13.941[1]; 3. 20B-Cody Bova, 00:14.029[4]; 4. 31C-Chase Metheney, 00:14.087[5]; 5. 32-Dale Blaney, 00:14.410[8]; 6. 11J-David Kalb, 00:14.459[6]; 7. 7T-Brett Brunkenhoefer, 00:14.680; 8. M4-Louie Mattes, 00:16.577[3]

Hot Laps 3: 1. 29M-Logan McCandless, 00:13.290; 2. 22-Brandon Spithaler, 00:13.370; 3. 28M-Conner Morrell, 00:13.484; 4. 6-Bob Felmlee, 00:13.620; 5. M1-Mark Smith, 00:13.695; 6. 24D-Danny Sams III, 00:13.703; 7. 20B-Cody Bova, 00:13.817; 8. 32-Dale Blaney, 00:13.847; 9. 16-Jim Morris, 00:13.891; 10. 38-Leyton Wagner, 00:13.893; 11. 27K-Jeremy Kornbau, 00:13.976; 12. 11J-David Kalb, 00:13.991; 13. 47-Dusty Larson, 00:14.177; 14. 31C-Chase Metheney, 00:14.204; 15. 7T-Brett Brunkenhoefer, 00:14.389; 16. M4-Louie Mattes, 00:15.651

Hot Laps 4: 1. 5-Jeremy Weaver, 00:14.102; 2. 23JR-Jack Sodeman Jr, 00:14.106; 3. 08-Danny Kuriger, 00:14.143; 4. 4-Zane DeVault, 00:14.213; 5. 5K-Adam Kekich, 00:14.403; 6. 71-AJ Flick, 00:14.463; 7. 3V-Chris Verda, 00:14.551; 8. (DNS) 46-Michael Bauer; 9. (DNS) 49X-Tim Shaffer; 10. (DNS) 86-Michael Lutz Jr; 11. (DNS) 35-Jared Zimbardi; 12. (DNS) 5E-Bobby Elliott; 13. (DNS) 55-Matt Sherlock III; 14. (DNS) 3J-Jacob Begenwald; 15. (DNS) 33-Brent Matus

Limited Modified

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 5C-Ayden Cipriano[3]; 2. 10-Garrett Krummert[21]; 3. 14-Jeff Schaffer Sr[11]; 4. 71-Gage Priester[2]; 5. 29-Cole Edwards[4]; 6. 41-Brian Schaffer[8]; 7. 4S-Eric Gabany[12]; 8. 1-Jim Bryce[19]; 9. 717-Bill Adams[22]; 10. 1R-Brandon Ritchey[5]; 11. 7-Brenten Kay[6]; 12. 12L-Patrick Lane[16]; 13. JD57-Jordan Ehrenberg[9]; 14. 333G-Todd Gabriel[17]; 15. 28J-Jacob Jordan[13]; 16. 404-MIchael Kristyak[10]; 17. 51R-Thomas Rogers[18]; 18. 07L-Mark Sevin[15]; 19. 113-Don Cornelius[1]; 20. 119-Joe Gibson[20]; 21. 29A-Anthony Antus[14]; 22. (DNS) 312-Ryan Gutherie; 23. (DNS) 02-Jeremy Beichner

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 113-Don Cornelius[1]; 2. 29-Cole Edwards[3]; 3. 02-Jeremy Beichner[2]; 4. JD57-Jordan Ehrenberg[5]; 5. 28J-Jacob Jordan[4]; 6. 12L-Patrick Lane[6]; 7. 1-Jim Bryce[8]; 8. 717-Bill Adams[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 71-Gage Priester[2]; 2. 1R-Brandon Ritchey[3]; 3. 41-Brian Schaffer[6]; 4. 404-MIchael Kristyak[7]; 5. 29A-Anthony Antus[8]; 6. 333G-Todd Gabriel[1]; 7. 119-Joe Gibson[5]; 8. 312-Ryan Gutherie[4]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 5C-Ayden Cipriano[2]; 2. 7-Brenten Kay[4]; 3. 4S-Eric Gabany[3]; 4. 14-Jeff Schaffer Sr[5]; 5. 07L-Mark Sevin[7]; 6. 51R-Thomas Rogers[1]; 7. 10-Garrett Krummert[6]

305 Sprints – Winged

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 20M-Vivian Jones[5]; 2. 21N-Andy Priest[11]; 3. 25G-Nolan Groves[3]; 4. 25-Jarrett Rosencrance[1]; 5. 42-Jim Pattock[6]; 6. 47-Brett Brunkenhoefer[2]; 7. 61-Jeremy Kornbau[8]; 8. 4J-Jacob Gomola[7]; 9. 82M-Rod Jones[9]; 10. 18-Arnie Kent[13]; 11. 88-Greg Dobrosky[10]; 12. 32B-Dale Blaney[19]; 13. 21-Hunter Hite[15]; 14. 71-Joe Coggin[14]; 15. 72-Mike Mathieson[4]; 16. 36H-Seth Harrelson[18]; 17. CIII-Jimmy Hawley[17]; 18. 34M-Aaron Marano[16]; 19. 30-Jazlyn Boyles[12]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 61-Jeremy Kornbau[3]; 2. 82M-Rod Jones[5]; 3. 32B-Dale Blaney[6]; 4. 72-Mike Mathieson[1]; 5. 47-Brett Brunkenhoefer[7]; 6. 88-Greg Dobrosky[9]; 7. 30-Jazlyn Boyles[2]; 8. 71-Joe Coggin[4]; 9. 34M-Aaron Marano[10]; 10. 36H-Seth Harrelson[8]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 4J-Jacob Gomola[2]; 2. 42-Jim Pattock[1]; 3. 20M-Vivian Jones[4]; 4. 25G-Nolan Groves[3]; 5. 25-Jarrett Rosencrance[5]; 6. 21N-Andy Priest[9]; 7. 18-Arnie Kent[6]; 8. 21-Hunter Hite[7]; 9. CIII-Jimmy Hawley[8]

Sport Compact

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 02-Devin Haley[4]; 2. 13S-Chaz Smith[8]; 3. 10-Corey Bice[2]; 4. 0-Carl Ealy[1]; 5. 22D-Chuck Davis[9]; 6. 45-Andrew Thompson[7]; 7. 999-Adam Aley[15]; 8. 48-Jordan Wheeler[20]; 9. 9R-Ben Aley[21]; 10. 313-Justin Pry[14]; 11. 44-Jacob Wheeler[10]; 12. 54-Tim Callahan[22]; 13. 77-Braden Bice[16]; 14. 10J-Bill Fuchs[13]; 15. 5-Andy Thompson[5]; 16. 10S-Trevn Schaffer[12]; 17. 60-Dillon Thorne[6]; 18. 19G-John Gill[19]; 19. 22-Eddie Lombardo[11]; 20. 1-Linwood Thorne[17]; 21. 38-Randy Ealy[3]; 22. 309-Jordan Reges[18]

Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 0-Carl Ealy[1]; 2. 02-Devin Haley[7]; 3. 45-Andrew Thompson[3]; 4. 44-Jacob Wheeler[6]; 5. 10J-Bill Fuchs[8]; 6. 77-Braden Bice[2]; 7. 19G-John Gill[4]; 8. 54-Tim Callahan[5]

Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 10-Corey Bice[3]; 2. 5-Andy Thompson[1]; 3. 13S-Chaz Smith[6]; 4. 22-Eddie Lombardo[5]; 5. 313-Justin Pry[4]; 6. 1-Linwood Thorne[2]; 7. (DNS) 48-Jordan Wheeler

Heat 3 (6 Laps): 1. 38-Randy Ealy[1]; 2. 60-Dillon Thorne[3]; 3. 22D-Chuck Davis[5]; 4. 10S-Trevn Schaffer[2]; 5. 999-Adam Aley[4]; 6. 309-Jordan Reges[6]; 7. 9R-Ben Aley[7]