[nowingsjeff]

Steve Buckwalter Slides to First ARDC Win at Port Royal

Steve Buckwalter had been winless in 2012 coming into Saturday night's race at the Port Royal Speedway but that all changed when the checkered flag waved on the field at the end of twenty thrilling laps of racing.

Buckwalter of Royersford, PA divides his time between 410 Sprint Car racing and the ARDC Midgets. The hard charging 2010 ARDC Champion has not had a lot of laps go his way this season but came home with a runner-up finish just a week ago at the Williams Grove Speedway with a last lap pass for the position. This week, Buckwalter was able to improve that finish by one and take his first win of the 2012 season, becoming the third winner in three races in ARDC competition.

"It doesn't matter if it's warm-ups, a heat or a feature," Buckwalter stated after his win. "When I'm on the track, I'm going as fast as I can!"

Manheim, PA driver, Dusty Heistand led the field to the start and quickly took command from Carey Becker of Reading, PA. Brett Arndt quickly moved in to take over second and set chase on the leader.

Steven Drevicki drew a caution when he slowed on the backstretch on lap three. PJ Gargiulo and Parker Evans both headed to the pits with mechanical issues while the race was under yellow flag conditions.

The younger Heistand brother maintained his lead over Arndt on the single file restart but Drew Heistand, the 2011 ARDC Champion had already moved past Becker to take over third as S. Buckwalter completed the top five in running order at this point in the race.

Drew Heistand took over the runner-up spot from Arndt on lap six and quickly closed in on his brother, the leader. One lap later, Drew shot to the inside of Dusty as the pair entered turn three but a caution flag negated the pass for the lead as Mark Gilmore ran into difficulties between turns three and four.

Returning to green flag conditions, Dusty Heistand maintained his lead but Drew came with a head of steam down the backstretch and completed the pass for the lead as the two brothers entered turn three. There was a new leader on lap seven.

S. Buckwalter had made his way past Arndt and pursued Dusty Hiestand for second, taking over the spot on lap nine. At the half way point, Drew Heistand had pulled away to a lead of several car lengths as S. Buckwalter ran second ahead of Dusty Heistand, Arndt and Bruce Buckwalter, Jr.

With racing conditions staying green, Drew Heistand was able to maintain some breathing room between his #1 and the #0 of S. Buckwalter until the yellow flag waved as the field neared the five to go mark. Rookie, Brett Wanner required assistance in turns three and four and again the field aligned nose to tail with Heistand's advantage erased.

The battle was on between the two past champions as the lead swapped hands between Drew Heistand and Steve Buckwalter time after time. S. Buckwalter would slide to the lead only to have Drew Heistand slide right back by him in the next set of turns.

This time a red flag would interrupt the race for the lead as rookie, Brian Gilmore laid his #13 over in the turns. Gilmore was uninjured. During the break in the action, a flat tire was reported on the #52 of Tim Buckwalter who had raced into the top ten after starting the race in thirteenth. Track officials allowed for a quick tire change as T. Buckwalter returned to the rear of the field with just three green laps of racing remaining.

Drew Heistand restarted the race as the leader but Steve Buckwalter slid into the lead one last time, using an evasive maneuver that prevented Heistand from sliding back by and into the lead. It was the final lead exchange of the race as Steve Buckwalter went on to take the checkered flag just ahead of Drew Heistand. Arndt captured his first top five of the season as Nick Wean lived up to his name and "Slick Nick" edged Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. for fourth at the finish.

Two qualifying heats were run with wins going to Arndt and B. Buckwalter, Jr.

Race Notes Brett Arndt picked up his third consecutive heat win on his way to his first top five finish of the young season. Arndt has been strong in every ARDC outing this season but was plagued with an ill running motor during his last two feature outings. A podium finish was just what the Topton, PA driver needed to jump start his season. Jimmy Glenn, one of three ARDC rookies, came from the 21st starting spot to finish tenth at the checkered, advancing the most positions of any driver. Tim Buckwalter also passed a lot of cars. After advancing up to 8th, T. Buckwalter returned to the rear of the field to pick up 6th at the checkered after his tire change with just six laps remaining.

Feature Finish (20 Laps) 1. Steve Buckwalter #0 2. Drew Heistand #1 3. Brett Arndt #46 4. Nick Wean #78 5. Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. #83 6. Tim Buckwalter #52 7. Dusty Heistand #6 8. Alex Bright #77 9. Brenden Bright #88 10. Jimmy Glenn #07 11. Steve Craig #55 12. Carey Becker #14 13. Eric Heydenreich #11 14. Dave Shirk #16 15. Joe Butera #3 16. Brian Gilmore #13 17. Trevor Kobylarz #49 18. Brett Wanner #44 19. Shawn Jackson #7 20. Mark Gilmore #10 21. Parker Evans #61 22. PJ Gargiulo #5 23. Steven Drevicki #19