Kelly Conquers LM Feature Event By: Tony Baranek
Schererville, IN (June 11, 2005) - It's not easy to hold off Eddie Hoffman when you get the jump on him. It's even tougher to pass him for the lead. Pat Kelly, however, did both Saturday night en route to his second late-model feature win of the season at Illiana Speedway. Kelly took the lead from Hoffman on lap 16, and then did a good job of keeping him at bay the rest of the way. He beat Hoffman to the finish line by 1.802 seconds. The 15-car starting field was reduced by two early on when Brian Muick and defending track champion John Nutley crashed. Both cars were too damaged to continue.
Late-model rookie Keith Sterkowitz, meanwhile, grabbed the lead at the start, and stayed there until lap three before surrendering to Hoffman. Kelly then came from his fifth position on the grid to chase down and pass the leader. He and Hoffman had a good race at the top for most of the way, but eventually Hoffman had to worry more about holding off third-place Dave Weltmeyer. Joe O'Connor was fourth, followed by Kevin Moenck and Mike White.
In the limited late-model division, Anthony Danta made a late-race pass stand up and scored the victory in the 25-lap feature. Danta took the lead from Jack Kalwasinski just three laps from the finish. Kalwasinski had been the point since lap six, when he made a successful move on Mike Marden. Danta beat Kalwasinski by a 0.533-second margin. Joe Fadke finished third, with Richard Dawson, Marden and Andy Marchiniak completing the top six. Josh Nelms continued his fine early-season driving by posting in impressive victory by 1.131 seconds over Jeff Cannon. Bill Neering, John Firorita, Shawn Matthuis and Little Sean Matthuis were third through sixth.
Brian Kucaba added his name to the turbo stox record books by capturing his first feature victory. Kucaba prevailed fairly comfortably over Tommy Prim, while Billy Jarrells, Ryan Moore, Mark Ross and Roger Rubino followed.
Summary of Results (June 11)
Late-Model
1st heat: 1. Eddie Hoffman, 2. Dave Weltmeyer, 3. Mike White.
2nd heat: 1. Mike Monroe, 2. Joe O'Connor, 3. Scott Koerner.
30-lap feature: 1. Pat Kelly, 2. Hoffman, 3. Weltmeyer, 4. O'Connor,
5. Kevin Moenck, 6. White.
Limited Late-Model
1st heat: 1. Andy Marchiniak, 2. Richard Dawson, 3. Mike Marden.
2nd heat: 1. Gary Holliner, 2. Westin Griffith Jr., 3. Kevin Ramey.
25-lap feature: 1. Anthony Danta, 2. Jack Kalwasinski, 3. Joe Fadke,
4. Dawson, 5. Marden, 6. Marchiniak.
Mid-American
Heat: 1. Josh Nelms, 2. Jeff Cannon, 3. Bill Neering.
25-lap feature: 1. Nelms, 2. Cannon, 3. Neering, 4. John Fiorita,
5. Shawn Matthuis, 6. Sean Matthuis.
Turbo Stox
1st heat: 1. Brian Kucaba, 2. Billy Jarrells, 3. Tommy Prim.
2nd heat: 1. Dennis Lyp, 2. Steve Whitehead, 3. Scott Schick.
25-lap feature: 1. Kucaba, 2. Prim, 3. Jarrells, 4. Ryan Moore,
5. Mark Ross, 6. Roger Rubino
Pure Stocks
1st heat: 1. Don Messman
2nd heat: 1. Shaun Coulter
3rd heat: 1. Joel Kozlowski
15-lap feature: 1. Matt Arvia, 2. Frank Goncher, 3. Shane Hildreth,
4. Messamn, 5. Vince Van Vossen.
Semi-feature: 1. ---
