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norris makes it three wins in four years for the 34th annual jook george memorial - Full write up & results

Imperial, PA (8.6.23)

Shame on you if you missed the 34th Annual Jook George Steel City Classic Presented by All Interior Painting, as it was a barn burner at Dirt’s Monster Half Mile on Saturday night. PPMS would see qualifying, seven heat races, two b mains, a six-lap dash, and four feature events. 

Michael Norris (N1), from Sarver, made it three wins in four years when he came from behind to win the 34th running of the prestigious Jook George Steel City Classic for the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Rohrich RUSH Late Models and the RUSH Late Model Touring Series. Ashton Briggs (11A), from Erie, would win the RUSH Non-Qualifiers feature, while Logan Koteles (64K), from Stockdale, picked up another win for the Hobby Stocks. Jacob Chipps (91), from New Cumberland, West Virginia, got the win for the All Ways Safe Flagging And Traffic Control Young Guns. 

42 RUSH Late Models were signed in and set to go to war for their chance to win the 34th Annual Jook George Memorial and they were broken into two sets for qualifying. Justin Chance (184C), from Lexington, Ohio, set the overall fast-time with a time of 19.229. 16 other drivers also had times in the 19-second range and were less than a second behind Chance.

From there, they were broken into four heat races with the top two from each heat race making it into the John Beatty Memorial Dash. Mike Wonderling (18), from Wellsville, New York, would win the dash to lock in the pole position in the 50-lap main event. With M. Wonderling (18) starting on the pole, Ben Policz (14B) would start to the outside in second. The second starting row consisted of Jake Gunn (14G) starting in third, and Norris (N1) in fourth. 

When the green flag waved for the first of 50 laps, the field went thundering into turns one and two as Policz (14B) would come away with the early lead. Lap four had Policz (14B) still leading, J. Gunn (17G) in second, Colton Flinner (60) in third, M. Wonderling (18) in fourth, and Norris (N1) in fifth. The event’s first caution would come on lap 16 for the 2L of Dan Lepro who had trouble in turn two. Policz (14B) would choose the inside on the restart with J. Gunn (17G) to his outside, Flinner (60) in third, and Norris (N1) in fourth. When green replaced yellow, Norris (N1) would put pressure on Policz (14B) and have the lead at the line. Lap 19 had Norris (N1), Flinner (60), and Daryl Charlier (184D) running one, two, and three respectively. Charlier (184D) would take over second on the next lap and the front runners would enter lapped traffic on the 27th frame of the event. Another caution would come on lap 29 for a car that had trouble in turn two. Norris (N1) would choose the outside on the restart which put Charlier (184D) to his inside. Norris (N1) would keep his lead over the field when green flag conditions returned to the event but another caution would slow the pace on lap 31 when a few cars got tangled up in turns three and four. Norris (N1) would again choose the outside on the restart with Charlier (184D) to his inside, Policz (14B) in third, Brandon Burgoon (5X) in fourth, and Kyle Lukon (184) in fifth after starting P22. When the green flag waved, Norris (N1) would once again keep his lead over the field. Charlier (184C) would have an overheating issue and have to bow out of the event which allowed Lukon (184) and Burgoon (5X) to get behind Norris (N1). The event’s final caution would come on lap 44. Norris (N1) again chose the outside on the restart and had Lukon (184) now on his inside. When the green flag dropped, track officials called a no-start and the field would line up for a second attempt. On the second attempt at the green, it was a good start and Norris (N1) would once again keep his lead with six laps remaining in the event. Norris (N1) would lead those six laps, en route to his third Jook George Memorial Steel City Classic win. He was followed to the line by Burgoon (5X) in second, Lukon (184) in third, Jeremy Wonderling (3J) in fourth, and Policz (14B) would round out the top five. The heat race winners were Z. Gunn (17G), Burgoon (5X), M. Wonderling (18), and Norris (N1). The b main winners were Joe Martin (10S) and Lukon (184). 

In the RUSH Late Model Non-Qualifier, Ashton Briggs (11A) would start on the pole after John Waters (11L), the original pole-sitter, would DNS the event. Colby Beighey (36B) would start to the outside in second. When the green flag waved, Briggs (11A) would take the early lead. Five laps into the event, and at the halfway point, Briggs (11A) was still leading, Brian Huchko (60H) was in second, and Beighey (36B) was in third. Briggs (11A) would lead all 10 laps of the event which ran caution-free. Huchko (60H) finished second, Brandt Graham (14) in third, Craig Graham (98) fourth, and Beighey (36B) would complete the top five.

In the Hobby Stock 15-lap feature, Joey Brown (48), from Aliquippa, would start on the pole. Starting to his outside was Matt Benard (15), from Oakdale. The second row consisted of Garrett O’Patchen (25), from Finleyville, starting third, and Marc Corio (14), from South Fayette, starting fourth. When the green flag dropped, it was a three-wide battle for the lead between Benard (15), Corio (14), and O’Patchen (25) with Benard (15) coming away with the early lead. Benard (15) was still leading on lap three when Stephen Shelpman (17P) took over second place after starting P7. The event’s first caution would slow the pace and reset the field on lap three. Benard (15) would choose the outside on the restart with Shelpman (17P) to his inside. When green replaced yellow, the field wouldn’t complete a lap when the caution was out again for Shelpman (17P) who spun out in turn two and was forced to tag the field. Benard (15) would again choose the outside on restart now with Logan Koteles (64K) to his inside. Eventually, the field would return to green flag conditions and L. Koteles (64K) would take over the lead. The field would make it to lap five before the next caution period which was a red flag for a crash near the pit entrance gate. Once the mess was cleaned up, L. Koteles (64K) would keep his lead over the field on the restart. The second half of the event ran caution free with L. Koteles (64K) picking up another Hobby Stock win. He was followed to the line by Benard (15) in second, Shelpman (17P) in third, Jonathan Koteles (2K) in fourth, and O’Patchen (25) completed the top five. The heat race winners were Benard (15) and Shelpman (17P).

The All Ways Safe Flagging And Traffic Control Young Guns 12-lap feature would start seven cars with Sumara Weaver (112W) from Daisytown. Starting to her outside in second was Sadie Snatchko (56) from Oakdale. At the start of the event, Weaver (112W) appeared to have the early lead but officials called a no-start. Eventually, the event would find green flag conditions, and Kiersten Chernik (5X) would take over the lead on lap two. However, it was short-lived as Chipps (91) would take over the lead on the next lap. Chipps (91) would lead the remaining laps of the event which ran caution free. He was followed by Chernik (5X) in second, Snatchko (56) in third, Weaver (112W) in fourth, and Zoey Knight (78Z) completed the top five. The heat race winner was Chipps (91). 

Racing resumes at Dirt’s Monster Half Mile next Saturday, August 12, 2023, for a TMT Transportation action event for a TMT Transportation night at the races. On the card are the Rohrich RUSH Late Models, the Penn Ohio Pro Stocks, the Hobby Stocks, the Crawford Auto Repair Four Cylinders, and the All Ways Safe Flagging And Traffic Control Young Guns. Gates open at 5 P.M., hot laps begin at 6 P.M., and the racing action will start at 7 P.M. Visit the website for pricing and tickets. PPMS has a GPS address of 170 Kelso Road, Imperial, PA, 15126.  

 

RESULTS

 

RUSH Late Model 34th Annual Jook George Memorial (50)-Laps

Finishing Spot - Starting Spot - Driver Name (Car Number) - Hometown

1 - 4 - Michael Norris (N1) - Sarver

2 - 5 - Brandon Burgoon (5X) - McDonald

3 - 22 - Kyle Lukon (184) - Burgettstown

4 - 10 - Jeremy Wondeling (3J) - Wellsville, NY

5 - 2 - Ben Policz (14B) - Rices Landing

6 - 3 - Zach Gunn (17G) - McDonald

7 - 14 - Brock Pinkerous (555) - Ellenville, NY

8 - 2 - Colton Flinner (60) - Allison Park

9 - 18 - Justin Chance (184C) - Lexington, OH

10 - 21 - Joe Martin (10S) - Punxsutawney

11 - 23 - Noah Brunell (31B) - New Alexandria

12 - 11 - Mike Reft (9R) - Pittsburgh

13 - 1 - Mike Wonderling (18) - Wellsville, NY

14 - 16 - Tim Shaffer (45) - Aliquippa

15 - 11 - Corey Sines (15) - Orwell, OH

16 - 12 - Tony Musolino (42) - Carnegie

17 - 24 - Austin Hauser (51) - Grand Island, NY

18 - 15 - Tom Klein (77) - Rochester

19 - 13 - Daryl Charlier  (184D) - Midway

20 - 17 - Tommy Schirnhofer (8S) - Dormont

21 - 7 - Jake Gunn (14G) - McDonald

22 - 25 - Cody Dawson (36) - Laurel, DE

23 - 26 - Cole Peterlle (184P) - Follansbee, WV

24 - 8 - Bryce Davis (94) - Canisteo, NY

25 - 9 - John Mollick (4J) - Toronto, OH

26 - 26 - Dan Lepro (2L) - Midway 

 

 RUSH Late Model Dash (6) - Laps

Finishing Spot  Starting Spot - Driver Name (Car Number)

1 - 2 - Mike Wonderling (18)

2 - 1 - Ben Policz (14B)

3 - 5 - Zach Gunn (17G)

4 - 6 - Michael Norris (N1)

5 - 7 - Brandon Burgoon (5X)

6 - 8 - Colton Flinner (60)

7 - 4 - Jake Gunn (14G)

8 - 3 - Bryce Davis (94)

 

RUSH Late Model Heat 1 (8)-Laps

Finishing Spot - Driver Name - Car Number - [Starting Spot];

Zach Gunn - 17G - [1];  2. Colton Flinner - 60 - [6];  3. John Mollick - 4J - [3];  4. Daryl Charlier - 184C - [8];  5. Tommy Schirnhofer - 8S - [7];  6. Joe Martin - 10S - [5];  7. Noah Brunell - 31B - [3];  8. Dave Goble - 21G - [9];  9. Colby Beighey - 36 - [4];  10. Ben Scott - 80 - [10];  DNS Chris Lander - 18L -

 

RUSH Late Model Heat 2 (8)-Laps

Finishing Spot - Driver Name - Car Number - [Starting Spot];

Brandon Burgoon - 5X - [2];  2. Jake Gunn - 14G - [1];  3. Mike Reft - 9R - [3];  4. Tom Klein - 77 - [6];  5. Cory Sines - 15 - [8];  6. John Waters - 11L - [4];  7. Brian Huchko - 60H - [9];  8. Cody Dawson - 36 - [5];  9. Cole Petrelle - 184P - [7];  10. Craig Graham - 98 - [10];  

 

RUSH Late Model Heat 3 (8)-Laps

Finishing Spot - Driver Name - Car Number - [Starting Spot];

Mike Wonderling - 18 - [6];  2. Bryce Davis - 94 - [10];  3. Jeremy Wonderling - 3J - [2];  4. Brock Pinkerous - 555 - [5];  5. Justin Chance - 184C - [1];  6. Chuck Medved - 2M - [9];  7. Tony Magill - 5 - [11];  8. Kyle Lukon - 184 - [4];  9. Logan Zarin - 33X - [7];  10. Kassidy Kamicker - 72B - [3];  11. Brandt Graham - 14 - [8];   

 

RUSH Late Model Heat 4 (8)-Laps

Finishing Spot - Driver Name - Car Number - [Starting Spot];

Michael Norris - N1 - [1];  2. Ben Policz - 14B - [2];  3. Tony Musolino - 42 - [4];  4. Tim Shaffer - 45 - [5];  5. Dan Lepro - 2L - [9];  6. Austin Hauser - 51 - [7];  7. Ashton Briggs - 11A - [10];  8. Jim Rasey - 21J - [8];  9. Frank Magill - 05 - [3];  10. Cody Koteles - 1K - [6];  

 

RUSH Late Model B-Main 1 (10)-Laps

Finishing Spot  Starting Spot - Driver Name (Car Number)

1 - 1 - Joe Martin - 10S

2 - 3 - Noah Brunell - 31N 

3 - 2 - John Waters - 11L

4 - 7 - Colby Beighey - 36

5 - 5 - Dave Goble - 20G 

6 - 4 - Brian Huchko - 60H

7 - 8 - Cole Petrelle - 184P

8 - 6 - Cody Dawson - 36

9 - 9 - Ben Scott - 80

10 - 10 - Craig Graham - 98

11 - 11 - Chris Lander - 11L

 

RUSH Late Model B-Main 2 (10)-Laps

Finishing Spot  Starting Spot - Driver Name (Car Number)

1 - 5 - Kyle Lukon - 184

2 - 2 - Austin Hauser - 51

3 - 4 - Ashton Briggs - 11A

4 - 6 - Jim Rasey - 21J

5 - 11 - Brandt Graham - 14

6 - 1 - Chuch Medved - 2M

7 - 8 - Frank Magill - 05

8 - 3 - Tony Magill - 5

9 - 7 - Logan Zarin - 33X

10 - 9 - Kassidy Kamicker - 72B

11 - 10 - Cody Koteles - 1K 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

RUSH Late Model Non-Qualifier (10)-Laps

Finishing Spot - Starting Spot - Driver Name (Car Number) - Hometown

1 - 1 - Ashton Briggs (11A) - Erie

2 - 5 - Brian Huchko (60) - Coraopolis

3 - 4 - Brandt Graham (14) - Orono, ON

4 - 6 - Craig Graham (98) - Orono, ON

5 - 2 - Colby Beighey (36B) - Taylor, MI

6 - 8 - Chuck Medved (2M) - Imperial

7 - 7 - Chris Lander (18L) - Burgettstown

8 - 3 - Jim Rasey (21J) - Southington, OH

DNS - John Waters (11L) - Whitesville, NY

DNS - Ben Scott (80) - Delmar, DE

DNS - Logan Zarin (33X) - Moon

DNS - Kassidy Kamicker (72B) - Aliquippa

DNS - Dave Gobel (2G) - Aliquippa

DNS - Frank Magill (05) - Jefferson Hills

DNS - Tony Magill (5) - Jefferson Hills

DNS - Cody Koteles (5) - Stockdale

 

Hobby Stock Feature (15)-Laps

Finishing Spot - Starting Spot - Driver Name (Car Number) - Hometown

1 - 6 - Logan Koteles (65K) - Stockdale

2 - 2 - Matt Benard (15) - Oakdale

3 - 7 - Stephen Shelpman (17P) - Pleasant Hills

4 - 9 - Jonathan Koteles (2K) - Stockdale

5 - 3 - Garrett O’Patchen (25) - Finleyville

6 - 4 - Marc Corio (14) - South Fayette

7 - 8 - Karlee Kovacs (221K) - Carnegie

8 - 14 - Cameron Hollister (44) - South Fayette

9 - 4 - Joe Brown (74) - Aliquippa

10 - 4 - Robert Betz (22) - South Heights

11 - 11 - Cole Cochran (72) - Oakdale

12 - 1 - Joey Brown (48) - Aliquippa

13 - 5 - Leroy Brown (40B) - Aliquippa

14 - 13 - Cody Koteles (2) - Stockdale

DNS - Adam Ferree (29) - Jefferson Hills

 

Hobby Stock Heat 1 (8)-Laps

Finishing Spot - Driver Name - Car Number - [Starting Spot];

Matt Benard - 15 - [3];  2. Logan Koteles - 64K - [6];  3. Marc Corio - 14 - [4];  4. Joey Brown - 40B - [1];  5. Karlee Kovacs - 221K - [5];  6. Joe Brown 40B - [7];  7. Robert Betz - 22 - [8];  8. Cameron Hollister - 44 - [2];  

 

Hobby Stock Heat 2 (8)-Laps

Finishing Spot - Driver Name - Car Number - [Starting Spot];

Stephen Shelpman - 17P - [6];  2. Adam Ferree - 29 - [1];  3. Garrett O’Patchen - 25 - [3];  4. Leroy Brown - 74 - [4];  5. Jonathan Koteles - 2K - [2];  6. Cole Cochran - 72 - [7];  7. Gary Koteles - 2 - [5];  DNS - Mike Tropeck - 47T - 

 

All Ways Safe Flagging And Traffic Control Feature (12)-Laps

Finishing Spot - Starting Spot - Driver Name (Car Number) - Hometown

1 - 3 - Jacob Chipps (91) - New Cumberland, WV

2 - 4 - Kiersten Chernik (5X) - Oakdale

3 - 2 - Sadie Snatchko (56) - Oakdale

4 - 1 - Sumara Weaver (112W) - Daisytown

5 - 5 - Zoey Knight (78Z) - Plum

6 - 6 - Cheyenne Hollister (29M) - McDonald

7 - 7 - Paige Jones (67J) - Bakersfield, CA

DNS - Abby Gindlesperger (05) - Jefferson Hills 

 

Young Guns Heat 1 (6)-Laps

Finishing Spot - Driver Name - Car Number - [Starting Spot];

Jacob Chipps - 91 - [6];  2. Kiersten Chernik - 5X - [5];  3. Sadie Snatchko - 56 - [7];  4. Sumara Weaver - 112W - [8];  5. Zoey Knight - 78Z - [4];  6. Cheyenne Hollister - 29M - [3];  7. Abby Gindelsperger - 05 - [2];  Paige Jones - 67J - [1];

 

 

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