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dirtracingreport · 7/15/12, 8:46 PM

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SODEMAN WINS BOSS SPRINTS IN 1ST EVER NON-WING RACE
By Mike Leone

Hartford, OHJuly 14, 2012 Sharon Speedway was back in action on Saturday night for the second time in five days for the first ever appearance by the BOSS Sprints as the traditional non-wing cars ran for the first time at the speedway since a 2000 show on the old half-mile. Celebrating with wins in the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply victory lane were Jack Sodeman, Jr.-BOSS Sprints, Joel Watson-Summit Racing Equipment E-Mods, Steve D'Apolito-Gibson Insurance Agency Stock Cars, Brad Blackshear-HTMA/Precise Racing Products Econo Mods, and Jim Haefke, Jr.-Deforest Used Parts Mini Stocks.

In impressive fashion, Jack Sodeman, Jr. took off his wing and was able to turn back the invaders of the BOSS Sprint Cars in winning the 25 lap feature event for his first career non-wing victory. The 35-year-old North Jackson, Ohio racer is a former track champion and a winner of 10 career winged features at the track and will now go down in the history books as the first non-wing victor on the smaller configuration oval.

Three exciting heat races for the 22 BOSS Sprints were won by Dustin Smith, Steve Irwin, and Landon Simon. The top three finishers from each of those heat races redrew for the top nine positions for their 25-lap feature, with Tony Beaber and Irwin getting the coveted first row starting positions.

Irwin used the outside lane to take the lead at the drop of the green flag with fifth starting Sodeman quickly moving to second and challenging for the lead before the first caution period of the event on lap three for debris on the track. Irwin continued to lead on the restart over Sodeman, Simon, Beaber, and Gale Ruth, Jr.

Mercer Raceway Park winner, Brandon Spithaler, rolled to a stop in turn four to bring out the next caution period on lap six. Back to green, Sodeman was now heavily challenging Irwin for the race lead, making a strong challenge on the inside. Working lap eight, Sodeman dove inside entering turn three and cleared Irwin, taking over the race lead on lap nine.

Caution periods on lap 12 for Charlie Cornelius stopping and on lap 14 for Kevin Miller stopping would be the final slowdowns of the race, setting up an 11-lap battle to the finish. Sodeman continued to show the way when racing resumed, with Irwin and Simon battling for second. Simon passed Irwin on the final restart with Beaber and Aaron Middaugh filling the top five.

Sodeman held a comfortable lead, but found trouble while working race traffic on lap 19. Two cars running side-by-side blocked his path, allowing Simon to close quickly. Sodeman finally dispatched of the traffic, but now had Simon right on his bumper. Simon peeked inside during the white flag lap making a strong bid, but Sodeman was flawless on the high side in taking the $1,200 win in his #23Jr. Simon settled for a close second. Irwin, Middaugh, and Smith filled the top five. Completing the top 10 were Beaber, Sharon All Star Sprint winner Brand Matus up from 13th, Ruth, Spithaler, and Kirk Jeffries.

Despite Sprint Cars being more dangerous without wings than the winged version, the night was run in amazingly clean fashion. The only close call came during the heat race and was by eventual feature winner Sodeman. He bicycled onto his right side wheels entering turn one, sending him pointed directly towards the outside wall. But due to a masterful save, which found him inches away from the wall, he recovered without losing a position.

The scariest incident of the night came in an odd sequence on the attempted start of heat three. The field was working the backstretch, coming around to get the green flag for the start of the race. Third starting Jeffries looked as if he hit his gas petal, and it appeared that his throttle stuck open. His car took off and jumped over the left rear wheel of pole-sitter Spithaler, then it shot into the infield while picking up speed, jeopardizing the safety of the infield track workers. Jeffries though was able to spin his car while heading towards the racing surface in turns three and four, and his masterful piece of driving saw the car spin backwards to stall the engine, as it slid safely to a stop ending what could have been a frightening incident.

BOSS Non-Wing Sprints (25 laps): 1. JACK SODEMAN, JR. (23JR) 2. Landon Simon (45) 3. Steve Irwin (1) 4. Aaron Middaugh (91) 5. Dustin Smith (37) 6. Tony Beaber (3T) 7. Brandon Matus (13) 8. Gale Ruth, Jr. (5x) 9. Brandon Spithaler (Burkey 57B) 10. Kirk Jeffries (59J) 11. Daryl Stimeling (30) 12. Mark Cassella (91) 13. Chuck Wilson (31) 14. Lewie Christian (8) 15. Bob McMillen (5) 16. Gale Ruth (1R) 17. Kevin Miller (24M) 18. Charlie Cornelius (C9) 19. Paul Kish (VanTassel 69X) 20. Brent Matus (33) 21. John McCracken, Sr. (63) 22. Mike Lutz (1)

7/15/12, 8:46 PM	#1 ISW Page With Twitter/Facebook Plus BOSS Results
dirtracingreport Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 109	www.dirtracingreport.com SODEMAN WINS BOSS SPRINTS IN 1ST EVER NON-WING RACE By Mike Leone Hartford, OHJuly 14, 2012 Sharon Speedway was back in action on Saturday night for the second time in five days for the first ever appearance by the BOSS Sprints as the traditional non-wing cars ran for the first time at the speedway since a 2000 show on the old half-mile. Celebrating with wins in the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply victory lane were Jack Sodeman, Jr.-BOSS Sprints, Joel Watson-Summit Racing Equipment E-Mods, Steve D'Apolito-Gibson Insurance Agency Stock Cars, Brad Blackshear-HTMA/Precise Racing Products Econo Mods, and Jim Haefke, Jr.-Deforest Used Parts Mini Stocks. In impressive fashion, Jack Sodeman, Jr. took off his wing and was able to turn back the invaders of the BOSS Sprint Cars in winning the 25 lap feature event for his first career non-wing victory. The 35-year-old North Jackson, Ohio racer is a former track champion and a winner of 10 career winged features at the track and will now go down in the history books as the first non-wing victor on the smaller configuration oval. Three exciting heat races for the 22 BOSS Sprints were won by Dustin Smith, Steve Irwin, and Landon Simon. The top three finishers from each of those heat races redrew for the top nine positions for their 25-lap feature, with Tony Beaber and Irwin getting the coveted first row starting positions. Irwin used the outside lane to take the lead at the drop of the green flag with fifth starting Sodeman quickly moving to second and challenging for the lead before the first caution period of the event on lap three for debris on the track. Irwin continued to lead on the restart over Sodeman, Simon, Beaber, and Gale Ruth, Jr. Mercer Raceway Park winner, Brandon Spithaler, rolled to a stop in turn four to bring out the next caution period on lap six. Back to green, Sodeman was now heavily challenging Irwin for the race lead, making a strong challenge on the inside. Working lap eight, Sodeman dove inside entering turn three and cleared Irwin, taking over the race lead on lap nine. Caution periods on lap 12 for Charlie Cornelius stopping and on lap 14 for Kevin Miller stopping would be the final slowdowns of the race, setting up an 11-lap battle to the finish. Sodeman continued to show the way when racing resumed, with Irwin and Simon battling for second. Simon passed Irwin on the final restart with Beaber and Aaron Middaugh filling the top five. Sodeman held a comfortable lead, but found trouble while working race traffic on lap 19. Two cars running side-by-side blocked his path, allowing Simon to close quickly. Sodeman finally dispatched of the traffic, but now had Simon right on his bumper. Simon peeked inside during the white flag lap making a strong bid, but Sodeman was flawless on the high side in taking the $1,200 win in his #23Jr. Simon settled for a close second. Irwin, Middaugh, and Smith filled the top five. Completing the top 10 were Beaber, Sharon All Star Sprint winner Brand Matus up from 13th, Ruth, Spithaler, and Kirk Jeffries. Despite Sprint Cars being more dangerous without wings than the winged version, the night was run in amazingly clean fashion. The only close call came during the heat race and was by eventual feature winner Sodeman. He bicycled onto his right side wheels entering turn one, sending him pointed directly towards the outside wall. But due to a masterful save, which found him inches away from the wall, he recovered without losing a position. The scariest incident of the night came in an odd sequence on the attempted start of heat three. The field was working the backstretch, coming around to get the green flag for the start of the race. Third starting Jeffries looked as if he hit his gas petal, and it appeared that his throttle stuck open. His car took off and jumped over the left rear wheel of pole-sitter Spithaler, then it shot into the infield while picking up speed, jeopardizing the safety of the infield track workers. Jeffries though was able to spin his car while heading towards the racing surface in turns three and four, and his masterful piece of driving saw the car spin backwards to stall the engine, as it slid safely to a stop ending what could have been a frightening incident. BOSS Non-Wing Sprints (25 laps): 1. JACK SODEMAN, JR. (23JR) 2. Landon Simon (45) 3. Steve Irwin (1) 4. Aaron Middaugh (91) 5. Dustin Smith (37) 6. Tony Beaber (3T) 7. Brandon Matus (13) 8. Gale Ruth, Jr. (5x) 9. Brandon Spithaler (Burkey 57B) 10. Kirk Jeffries (59J) 11. Daryl Stimeling (30) 12. Mark Cassella (91) 13. Chuck Wilson (31) 14. Lewie Christian (8) 15. Bob McMillen (5) 16. Gale Ruth (1R) 17. Kevin Miller (24M) 18. Charlie Cornelius (C9) 19. Paul Kish (VanTassel 69X) 20. Brent Matus (33) 21. John McCracken, Sr. (63) 22. Mike Lutz (1)