Dan Angelicchio Wins Thunder Mountain Finale – Dill Has Race of His Life
Hanover, West Virginia – Greenburg, Pennsylvania racer Dan
Angelicchio charged through the field to finish 2nd at the end of the
40 lap FASTRAK A-Main but later inherited his first career Fastrak SE/ME
Touring victory when apparent victor Jordan Dill was disqualified after a
post-race inspection. The FASTRAK Racing Series sanctioned Mountain Madness
opener at Thunder Mountain Speedway.
Night number 2 of the $23,000 double-header weekend marked the first
FASTRAK Touring Series events ever held at the West Virginia 4/10ths mile oval
formerly known as Hatfield-McCoy Speedway. The event drew cars from all over
the eastern United States including Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Kentucky, both
Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. With the Northeast Region off for the
weekend several drivers took the opportunity to venture south and measure some
of the competition they are sure to face in the upcoming $250,000 FASTRAK Grand Nationals.
Chris Meadows of Crab Orchard, West Virginia was fastest
among the 24 entrants in Shell Racing Solutions Pole Qualifying with a time of
18.242 seconds. Lee Cooper was second quick followed by Vic Chandler, Friday
night winner Brandon Umberger and Dill. All of whom were locked into the
feature by virtue of their qualifying times. The remainder of the field was set
by a pair of 8 lap heat races. Matt Long of Concord, North Carolina won the
first heat race and secured the 9th starting spot in the feature while Falls
Mills, Virginia’s John Broce, Jr. won the final heat race to start 10th.
Cooper was able grab the advantage over Meadows exiting turn
2 to take the point. However Meadows would not go away. Lap after lap Meadows
nosed inside Cooper until he was forced to turn his attention to fighting off
Umberger and Aaron Barley’s advances. While Meadows held his pursuers at bay,
Cooper was able to open up nearly a half a straightaway advantage. Things dramatically changed when Umberger and
Barley collected each other in a lap 16 incident in turn one. Cooper was unable
to draw away as before after the restart and Meadows continued to hound him
over the next 10 laps. As the leaders exited turn 4 to complete the 30th
circuit they made contact. The breaking of Cooper and Meadows momentum allowed
young Jordan Dill to overtake both on the outside down the front straightaway.
Meadows was able to move by Cooper as well and set after the leader.
Meadows drew to Dill’s rear deck as the two leaders began to
encounter slower traffic. Meadows once again went on the assault, diving low
entering turn one and pulling even with Dill down the back straightaway. But
Dill slammed the door shut in turns 3 and 4. Meadows continued to look for a
way around Dill but each time the youngster Dill was able to turn back the
challenge. Suddenly Meadows machine dramatically slowed off turn 4 and came to
a stop in turn 2. Meadows was forced to go pit-side citing electrical issues
that ended his night.
With Meadows eliminated Angelicchio moved up to challenge
for the lead. Angelicchio began to pour on the pressure putting a nose up to
Dill’s door at the exit of every corner. But Dill was able to maintain the lead
each time. As the laps waned Angelicchio made contact with the inside wall
breaking his momentum enough to allow Dill to get away and cross the checkers
with a 2 car length advantage to take the apparent win. However during post-race
inspection Dill was found to have a carburetor spacer that was great than the
maximum allowed thickness handing the South Carolina driver a disqualification.
“I really do hate that happened for Jordan. We know that didn’t win the race
for him but that is the rule and FASTRAK has to enforce it. But we had a great
car and put ourselves in a position to win. So we will take it and get ready
for the Grand Nationals coming up.” Angelicchio said.
“This was really an unfortunate situation. It was just such
a minor infraction. We had a great race and Jordan drove his rear-end off. I am
certain that the spacer plate was just an oversight. They went to a parts store
and bought what they thought was a one inch spacer. But we have spelled it out
clearly in the rulebook that you should measure these spacers with a micrometer
when you buy them. That has been our rule and we must enforce it just as we
have in the past. It is a real shame because it would have made for a great
story. Jordan has been with us all year and I hate for such a minor infraction to
take his big moment away. And that is why we have been so adamant about making
sure it’s measured before you run it. If you aren’t sure, bring it to us and we
will measure it for you. There has to be a rule and the rule is a maximum of 1
inch. Anything over that is not allowed.” said FASTRAK Founder Stan Lester.
Following Angelicchio to the line was Cooper, Chandler,
Blankenship and current SE/ME point leader David Smith. As always final results
are pending laboratory analysis of tire samples taken throughout the event. The
next event for the FASTRAK SE/ME Touring drivers will be a triple header over
the Labor Day Weekend. Wythe Raceway in Rural Retreat, Virginia will host the Dirt Late Model Super Nationals on
Friday and Saturday night, September 2nd and 3rd. Then on
Sunday the drivers will move south to Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, South
Carolina for the $2000 to win finale. These events will mark the first time
FASTRAK will run 3 consecutive days along the Super Late Models of its sister
series – the Ultimate Racing Series. For more information about the FASTRAK
Racing Series or to see a complete schedule visit www.fastrakracing.com
Partners of the FASTRAK Racing Series include: Hoosier
Racing Tires, GM Performance Parts, City Chevrolet, VP Racing Fuels, NOS Energy
Drink, Shell Racing Solutions, Old Man’s Garage, Vicci Apparel, TNT Race Cars,
Rocket Chassis, RockAuto, FK Rod Ends, Longhorn Chassis, Velocita, and Beyea
Headers. To become a partner with the FASTRAK Racing Series, please call 678-935-7304
Shell Racing
Solutions Fast Qualifier: Chris Meadows 18.242
Heat Race Winners:
Matt Long and John Broce, Jr.
Feature Finish:
1) Dan Angelicchio 2) Lee Cooper 3) Vic Chandler 4) Larry Blankenship 5) David
Smith 6) Steve Dixon 7) Mike Pegher, Jr. 8) Richard Clew 9) Brandon Umberger
10) Chad Hale 11) Aaron Barley 12) Mike Smith 13) Ted Johnson 14) Heath Ellis
15) John Broce, Jr. 16) Chris Meadows 17) Rickey Strattis 18) Matt Long 19)
Caleb Lester 20) Brandon Riffe 21) Kenny Peeples, Jr. 22) Rick Solari 23)
Frankie Johnston DQ – Jordan Dill.
