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Pauch Jr. and ARDC Simply Unbelievable at Grandview
By Mark Kielblock
Felton, DE - Billy Pauch Jr. and Steve Buckwalter were involved in a "fight to the finish, race for the ages" at Grandview Speedway last May. They were again players in a wild finish at the Bechtelsville oval, but the driver whose name should have been in the headline was not. Drew Heistand led over half the feature, but a last lap yellow wiped out a several car length lead over Buckwalter and ultimately cost Heistand the race which saw Pauch Jr. grab the lead off the last corner to score his first career ARDC feature win.
Jimmy Commock and Dave Shirk led the 26 car field to the green flag, but before a lap could be completed ARDC rookie Trevor Kobylarz took a hard end over end flip in turn 3 bringing out the red. A second attempt at a restart saw Nick Wean take a slow roll in turn one, necessitating a second red flag.
When they got down to some serious racing, Drew Heistand rocketed out of the fifth starting spot to grab the lead on lap 3. Chris Zrinski was enjoying his strongest run of the year as he ran a strong second and Steve Buckwalter unbelievably showed up in third place moving forward from 16th starting spot on lap 4. Frank Polimeda was the next heavy hitter to rip through the field as he cracked the top 5 on lap 6.
On lap 7, Buckwalter moved into second and began trying to track down Heistand who had opened a gap. On lap 14 as all eyes were on Buckwalter's attempt to run down Heistand, Billy Pauch Jr. slipped into the top 5, up from 17th starting spot. On lap 15 the top 5 was Heistand, Buckwalter, Polimeda, Brett Arndt and Pauch, Jr.
Buckwalter is known to break the hearts of race leaders -- making a late race pass with the checkered flag in sight -- but Heistand was determined not to let that happen as he fought off Buckwalter's constant advances. Pauch Jr. slipped into third on lap 18 and the stage was set for one of the most thrilling finishes in ARDC history.
Heistand drove a strong white flag lap, but as he was ready to round turn 4 and grab the win the yellow winked on for a spinning Carey Becker. A green/checker restart would now end the race. The crowd drew a breath as Buckwalter smelled blood in the water. At the green, Buckwalter slipped under Heistand in turn two and grabbed the lead going down the backstretch. Heistand wasn't going down without a fight and he threw his no. 12 underneath Buckwalter and both cars slid up the banking as they fought for grip side by side. This opened the door for the third place Pauch to slip down low off of 4 and win the drag race to the finish to grab the win.
Did Pauch think he had a chance sitting in third before the last lap restart? "Never say never," Pauch said after the race. "When I saw them go hard into three and the bottom open up I said, here we go, me and Stevie again," Pauch said recalling last May's race. "I got 'em back for that one. It's unbelivable, the first time in this car (Burke Trucking 54). These guys did a great job and I can't thank them enough. I was close to getting an ARDC win here last year and also at New Egypt."
Pauch's other great runs in ARDC were in Bryan Kobylarz "Two Dogs Racing" no. 49 and he didn't forget it. "I've got to thank Two Dogs for all they've done for me over the years," Pauch Jr. said in victory lane. The wild shuffle at the finish saw Pauch Jr. the winner followed by Steve Buckwalter, Polimeda, Heistand and Bruce Buckwalter.
Heat races for the 29 ARDC Midgets on hand were won by, Brett Arndt, Carey Becker and Drew Heistand.
25-Lap ARDC Feature: 1) 54-Billy Pauch Jr. 2) 0-Steve Buckwalter 3) 44-Frank Polimeda 4) 12-Drew Heistand 5) 83-Bruce
Buckwalter 6) 46-Brett Arndt 7) 16-Dave Shirk 8) 55 Steve Craig 9) 25-Chris Zrinski 10) 29-Zach Martini 11) 78-Nick Wean 12) 00-Greg Robinson 13) 57-Jason Rice 14) 6-Dusty Heistand 15) 17-Donnie Hoffman 16) 20-Carey Becker 17) 99-Scott Zipp 18) 26-Stephanie Stevens 19) 9-Steve Lenig 20) 96-Jim Jackson 21) 11-Eric Heydenreich 22) 91-Donnie Trent 23) 2-Tracy Readinger 24) 34-Shane Penny 25) 84 Jimmy Commock 26) 05-Trevor Kobylarz
