Special from Flat Rock Speedway: Flat Rock, MI (August 7, 2021) - Fans and race teams endured a very warm and humid evening Saturday at Flat Rock Speedway. Steve Cronenwett Jr. made it two wins in a row, leading the only lap that counts, the final lap, to steal the win from Harold Fair Jr. in the thrilling 50 lap ARCA Moran Chevrolet Outlaw Super Late Model feature event.
Ron Allen took the ARCA R & M Recycling Late Model Sportsman feature, Jeremy Vanderhoof took his first win in the 25 lap ARCA DTS Drive Train Specialists Street Stock A-Main and David Hanna notched his first-ever victory in the 15 lap Street Stock B-Main contest. The winners visited the Monroe Asphalt Winner’s Circle on R & M Recycling Night. The track also played host to members of the UAW Local 3000 for a great night of entertainment.
Fair Jr. took the lead on the start of the 50-lap ARCA Moran Chevrolet Outlaw Super Late Model event and built a sizable lead on the field. The green flag stayed out for the first 43 laps, which allowed Harold to hold a steady lead. The yellow with just 7 laps to go bunched the field. Cronenwett Jr. and Paul Pelletier took their shot at Fair, with Cronenwett Jr. pushing his car hard to the high groove, getting to the numbers on Fair’s car. A single car spin on lap 49 bunched the field again, with Steve now door to door with Fair. Cronenwett stayed on the throttle coming out of turn 4 to the checkered flag to grab the win by .062 over Fair Jr. as the crowd cheered for the outstanding finish. The win was Steve’s third of the year and second in a row. Pelletier was third, Justin Schroeder fourth and Hayden Sprague fifth, followed by Frank Jiovani, Eric Lee, Chris Benson, Stan Yee Jr., Conner Zbozien, Joe Hawes, Dennis Rederstorf, Derrick Sheppard, George Rangel and Bryan Moore. Yee Jr. set fast time at 11:853. Stan fell back from his 4th starting spot in the early stages. Lee and Joe Hawes were the heat race winners.
The R & M Recycling ARCA Late Model Sportsman made their second appearance at Flat Rock for the season, with Ron Allen leading every lap on his way to victory in the 25 lap feature race. Fast qualifier Max Fair (13:150) drew a 3 for the inversion, putting Allen and Kyle Worley on the front row. Allen took the point and held a 3-car length lead as several yellow flags erased any advantage Ron had built. Each time, Allen bolted back into the number 1 spot. Fair, running second on lap 16, looped his car into the infield, kept going and stayed on the lead lap, but at the tail of the field. Allen scored the win, dedicating the race to his brother, Gary, who passed away earlier this summer. Worley rallied back in the late stages to take second, Dave Liaeff was third, Grant Hedges fourth and Greg Stilwell Jr. fifth. Howard Kelley Jr., Mike Young, Fair, Jim Brazeau and Dan Grigsby completed the top ten. Todd Perkins, Robert Meiring, Todd Burtscher, Dillon Zalenski and Kenny Sharp completed the finishing order. Kelley Jr. and Young took the heat race wins.
A fast-paced and very competitive field ran all green flag in the 25 lap A Main event for the ARCA DTS Drive Train Specialists Street Stocks. Jeremy Vanderhoof made a slick move to take the lead from Gary Cronenwett on lap 17 on his way to his first-ever Street Stock win at Flat Rock. With just .182 seconds difference in the top 7 qualifiers, the competition was strong as usual in the class. Cronenwett and Vanderhoof started on the front row and that duo got a bit of a lead on the battling pack of cars. Vanderhoof snuck inside Gary on lap 16 going down the back stretch with a lapped car as a slight pick, allowing Jeremy to take control of the lead on the way to the checkered flag. Cronenwett, back for his first event since tagging the wall hard several weeks ago due to a stuck throttle, ran strong for the second spot. Rob Moore Jr. was third, Doug Litogot put together his best run of the season for fourth and Landon Schuster was fifth. Jeff Metdepenningen, Greg Studt, Nick Shanks, Tim Moore and Trevor Farmer were next in line to complete the top 10.
Former drag racer David Hanna, in his rookie season on an oval, scored his first-ever win in the 15 lap DTS Drive Train Specialists Street Stock B Main. Hanna zoomed into the lead at the green as several drivers battle for position behind the leader. Wilburn Parks closed in on David in the final 2 laps but had to settle for the runner-up spot, third was Adam Jezylo, fourth was L.J. Farmer and fifth went to Taylor Papineau, followed by Rich Abel, Robert Stewart, Mike Miller, Joe Rozek, George Burgess and Justin Peterman.
Metdepenningen set fast time for the 32-car field at 13:408, while Stewart led the B cars at 14:035. Hanna, Papineau, Lonnie York, Litogot and Tim Moore grabbed heat race wins.
Prior to race time, a total of 32 kids ages 3-10 took part in the Power Wheels Derby on the infield asphalt. Each child received a checkered flag and miniature die cast cars. Our thanks to the kids, parents and relatives for taking part in the event.
Next Saturday, August 14 is the rescheduled Kids Night at Flat Rock Speedway! All kids to age 12 will be admitted FREE to the races and will also receive a FREE hot dog and soft drink or water, courtesy of Pepsi and Schwebel Baking Company. The ARCA Moran Chevrolet Outlaw Super Late Models, ARCA Figure 8’s and the ARCA DTS Drive Train Specialists Street Stocks will provide the action and family fun! With just 2 point races remaining for the 2021 season, the battle is on to decide the 2021 Flat Rock Speedway track champions!
Parents can pick up the Kids tickets at the track on race day when the ticket office and front gates open at 4:30 p.m. There is no advance sale for this race. ALL tickets go on sale at the track Saturday. Race car practice begins at 4:30 and show time is 7 p.m.