Al Atallah, of South Fayette, dominated the twin 30-lap features with a win and a second-place finish at the Unified Force Championship series (UFo) F 2 Shockwave late model event Sunday at Pittsburgh's Pa. Motor Speedway.
Atallah has a pure stock championship to go along with his two late model titles at PPMS. Without a doubt, Atallah is no stranger to victory lane at the "Monster Half-Mile" near Imperial.
After scoring championships in 2002 and '03, Atallah left Phil Lukon's team in August 2004.
He took some time off before returning in June 2005 in a car owned by former racer Todd Cerenzia.
Cerenzia, who owns a body shop in Canonsburg, doesn't race weekly, but it works for he and Atallah.
Atallah would like to race more but is comfortable with the arrangements.
"Todd has a very busy schedule with his business as I do with mine but it comes together quite nicely," Atallah said in victory lane. "We have a great crew. It just takes a lot of time working on these cars."
Cerenzia agrees with Atallah's assessment of how much time is spent working on the car, but acknowledges that Atallah is more than just a driver.
"We gel together well," Cerenzia said. "It's easy for me because Al is willing to do whatever it takes. Some guys just like to show up with their driving suit in a bag, but not Al. He's not just a driver to me, he's a crew member also."
The UFo series' first event at PPMS this season will be shown on Comcast cable channel CN8 (channel 188 in the City and suburbs, 210 in former Adelphia systems) 8-9 p.m. June 12. The event will be added to Comcast's On Demand channel at a later date.
Motordrome Speedway has fan appreciation night tonight. General admission is $5, including a fireworks display. ... Lernerville has four divisions of racing at 7 p.m. tonight. ... Pittsburgh Raceway Park has a Test 'n Tune tonight beginning at 6:30. Tomorrow, PRP plays host to the second Door Jamz event of 2008 and Sunday is VW Super Jam at the New Alexandria drag strip. ... Mercer Raceway Park's fan appreciation night is tomorrow with general admission seating $5 and $12 for families. ... Also tomorrow night, Sharon Speedway offers a $2 discount celebrating NASCAR Sprint Cup racer and Sharon co-owner Dave Blaney's top-10 finish Sunday in the Best Buy 400 at Dover. ... Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex's five divisions will be in action tomorrow night. ... Tri-City Speedway plays host to a regular night of racing Sunday. ... Brent Darroch of Monaca lost in the Stock finals at the IHRA Pro-Am at Milan Dragway in Milan, MI.