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Sunday, August 27, 2000

No matter the sport, it seems good sportsmanship often takes a backseat to winning these days.

That wasn't the case Friday night at Lernerville Speedway.

On the last night of points racing, David Scott was trying to become the first driver at the Sarver oval since 1982 to win track championships in two divisions -- sprints and late models. Going into the night, he had a 23-point lead over Jamie Smith for the sprint car title and a seven-point advantage over Nick Jones for the late model crown.

Kevin Schaeffer held off Smith to win the sprint feature, his first victory at the track, but Scott, in his first full season behind the wheel of a sprint car, finished sixth to capture the championship by 17 points over Smith.

"The most consistent guy wins the points," Smith said. "He's finished every race, and he's been in the top five just about every race. That's exactly what it takes."

The race to the late model title, though, was full of plot twists.

Jones started the feature in 10th, with Scott behind him on the grid in 12th. By the time the field hit the backstretch, space was tough to find. Jones and Scott got together and needed a caution to pull the cars apart. Jones was forced to pit with a flat tire, and it appeared Scott would cruise into history.

But Scott's crew helped Jones' crew change the tire, getting Jones back into the race on the same lap, albeit at the back of the field.

Bob Wearing Jr., who was third in points going into the race, took over the lead as the caution again came out, this time for debris on the track.

Then misfortune hit Scott. His car slowed and lost power, forcing him out of the race, leaving Wearing as the surprise champion if he could finish the feature. But with one lap to go, Wearing had a tire go flat, turning the lead of the race to Floyd Kline and the championship to Jones, who finished one place ahead of Wearing in the feature, thanks to a little help from Scott's crew.

In overall points, Scott finished second, four behind Jones with Wearing another four points back in third.

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Gumout Series gains speed

The World of Outlaws Gumout Series continued its inaugural season with its second stop at Lernerville Wednesday night.

Jason Meyers of Clovis, Calif., passed Brad Furr of Pleasanton, Calif., in heavy traffic as the white flag came out and held on for his first victory of the season.

The developmental series, which made its debut at Lernerville in April, still is fighting for room in the sprint car world, but, as it proved in both its outings to Sarver, the racing is topnotch.

"Our races have been good, we just have to get fans acclimated to what we've got," said Rick Ferkel the series competition director. "We've got guys from coast to coast, and not just fill-ins. These guys are racers."

Ferkel said he hopes the series returns to Lernerville next year. "This has always been one of my favorite tracks. The people here are just really gracious."

Partly because of his quiet demeanor, points leader Craig Dollansky of Elk River, Minn., who finished fourth Wednesday night, might be the best sprint car driver few people have heard of.

"Craig has really been on a roll," Ferkel said. "He drives hard. I expect big things are going to happen for Craig."

Dollansky, 34, a former rookie of the year in the All-Star series, has been competitive in Outlaws events since 1998.

"The series has been going real good," said Dollansky, who won the series debut at Lernerville. "We're happy to be leading the points right now."

Mitchell takes charge

At Motordrome Speedway Friday night, Bob Arsenberger held off Richard Mitchell for his third victory of the season.

Mitchell's second-place finish, combined with Mark Cottone's sixth-place run, moves Mitchell back atop the overall standings, 864-860, with two races to go.

When NASCAR announces its region leaders Tuesday, Mitchell will be first in the Northeast Region standings. If he hangs on to the points lead at Motordrome, Mitchell will win his second consecutive region championship -- and more than $40,000 that goes with it.

Dragway reunion

The Pittsburgh International Dragway reunion is Sept. 10 at Friendship Park Raceway at Jefferson County (Ohio) Fairgrounds. For more information call 740-733-8058 or go to www.friendshipdragway.bizland.com .

Chris Dolack can be reached at cdolack@post-gazette.com.