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Richie Pratt Jr. Records First Georgetown Speedway Victory Since 2015 Friday at Deron Rust Memorial

Written by Chris Moore

GEORGETOWN, DE - It had been since 2015 since Richie
Pratt Jr. won at Georgetown Speedway.

On Friday
night, Pratt Jr. put that to bed, going wire-to-wire to score the Deron Rust
Memorial in the Daniel Sommeling-owned owned Dannys Pizza Pizzazz No. 51 ride.
The Woodbury Heights, N.J., driver took home $3,960 for his efforts from the
30-lap L&J Sheet Metal big-block/small-block Modified event.

Georgetown
Speedway hosted the Deron Rust Memorial on Friday night, honoring the former
racer and promoter at the southern Delaware racing facility. A huge field
flooded the pit gate at the Sussex County half-mile oval, led by 32 L&J
Sheet Metal Modifieds and 25 Chesapeake Paving/J.W. Brown Trucking Crate 602
Sportsman.

Pratt Jr.
started the 30-lap feature on the pole alongside a former driver of the No. 51
ride: Billy Pauch Jr.  For the Deron Rust
Memorial, Pauch Jr. was aboard the Rick Holsten No. 96 machine as he and Pratt
Jr. led the field to green.

In the early
going, the top two were the story, appeared to be fighting a bit of a push on
corner entry. Pauch Jr. could only pressure Pratt, but not overtake him.

After a pair
of early skirmishes, Middletown, N.Y.s Anthony Perrego had piloted the Gary
Simpson No. 12K into the top-four.  Perrego found the outside lane of the
semi-banked oval to his liking and swept past both Pauch Jr. and Ryan Watt to
take over the runner-up spot.

For the races
final 10 laps, Perrego stalked Pratt – both following in the leaders tire tracks
and darting to the inside – waiting for a miscue. On the final circuit, Pratt checked
up approaching a lapped car into turn three.

Perrego shot
the gap to the inside, drawing the large crowd to its feet. Pratts outside
momentum allowed him to maintain the edge and bested Perrego under the Sunoco
Race Fuels checkered flags.

“We needed
this,â emphasized Pratt following the victory. “I knew the 12 (Perrego) was
right there. Any mistake and he was right on me.â

Perrego made
his long drive from the Empire State worthwhile with a $2,000 runner-up finish.
Boyertown, Pa.s Watt finished third in the Ron Roberts No. 14W, followed by
Pauch Jr., who got crossed up in turn three momentarily in the final laps, and Craig
Von Dohren of Oley, Pa., climbing forward from the sixth row.

Placing sixth
through 10th, respectively, were Milford, Del.s Jordan Watson, who
earned $250 as the top First State driver from Ad-Art Sign Company; 14th-starter
Jeff Strunk of Boyertown, Pa., who at one time had reached the top five in the
Glenn Hyneman No. 126; Oley, Pa.s Duane Howard; and a pair of Garden State
drivers in Ryan Krachun and Matt Stangle.

Stangle
received $250 from Kruger Trailers as the races Hard Charger.

The Rust
family bestowed $50 cash bonuses to the drivers finishing third (Watt), sixth (Watson)
and ninth (Krachun) in recognition of Deron Rusts trademark No. 396.

Joe Toth was a
breakthrough winner in the Chesapeake Paving/J.W. Brown Trucking 20 lap Crate
602 Sportsman feature. It was Toths first-ever win at Georgetown and he
received a hefty $1,396 for his efforts.

Newtown, Pa.s
Toth weathered every restart and challenge from second place runner Matt Peck
to grab the win. Peck would ride the outside for the entirety of the 20-lap
affair to hold on to the runner-up spot.

Jordan Long
grabbed a third-place finish and the $100 Preferred Power Washing Top Delaware
driver bonus. Scott Hitchens came from 13th to fourth after
struggling in his heat race and Super Late Model star Mark Pettyjohn jumped
behind the wheel of Gary Simpsons 602 Crate ride and brought it home with a
top-five finish.

C.J. Schirmer
came from sixth starting spot to win his second straight Southern Delaware
Vintage Stock Car 12-lap feature. David Tucker was a first-time winner, being
honored as the highest-finishing Sportsman finisher in the Vintage Car Feature.

Robert Smith
and Matt Esham traded the lead a couple of times in the Delaware Super Truck 12-lap
main. Ultimately, it would be Smith to pick up the win by two car lengths over
Esham. Dale Elliott, Ryan Efford, and Jerry Hill rounded out the top five.

Eighteen
Delmarva Chargers were in attendance, putting on a great show. Robert “Pac-Manâ
Paczkowski won his first feature of 2019. Geoff Carey came from 17th
to finish second, Jerry Barker, Thomas Lecates and Ben Knotts were the top-five.

DERON RUST MEMORIAL NOTES: Tammy Rust, widow of the late Deron
and a key employee of the speedway, gave an emotional speech during the
pre-race drivers meeting recalling her husbands love for the speedway….

The 116-car
count total was 32 L&J Sheet Metal Modifieds, 25 Chesapeake Paving/J.W.
Brown Trucking Crate 602 Sportsman, 19 Southern Delaware Vintage Stock Cars, 18
Delmarva Chargers, 12 Delaware Super Trucks and 10 Little Lincolns….

The VAULT
Classic Rock broadcast from the speedway for two hours prior to race time. RC2U
provided R/C car action for the kids in attendance….

Track
conditions were wide and tacky throughout the program with no track prep
required during the event….

Racing
resumes at the speedway on Friday, June 28 with a $3,500-to-win, 30-lap event
for the Sunoco Super Late Models plus RUSH Late Models, Southern Delaware
Vintage Stock Cars, Little Lincolns, Delmarva Chargers and Delaware Super
Trucks. This ‘Clash for Cash is in partnership with Md.s Potomac Speedway and
Va.s Winchester Speedway.

Georgetown
Speedway, originally constructed by Melvin L. Joseph in 1949, is located at the
intersection of Route 113 and Speedway Road in Georgetown, Del., just miles
from the Delaware beaches and less than a 40-minute drive from Ocean City, Md.

A
website is live for the speedway at www.thegeorgetownspeedway.com. Like Georgetown
Speedway on Facebook, follow @thegtownspdwy on Twitter, e-mail georgetownspeedway@gmail.com or contact the
speedway hotline at 302.563.GTWN (4896).

DERON RUST MEMORIAL RACE SUMMARY –
GEORGETOWN SPEEDWAY MAY 17, 2019

L&J
Sheet Metal Modified Feature Finish (30 laps): RICHIE PRATT JR.,
Anthony Perrego, Ryan Watt, Billy Pauch Jr., Craig Von Dohren, Jordan Watson,
Jeff Strunk, Duane Howard, Ryan Krachun, Matt Stangle, Joseph Watson, Bobby
Watkins, Ron Roberts, Ryan Riddle, Rick Laubach, Matt Hawkins, Kevin Sockriter,
Brandon Grosso, Jimmy Horton, Danny Bouc, Amanda Whaley, Jordn Justice, Brandon
Watkins, H..J Bunting, Robbie Emory, Frank Cozze.

Kruger
Trailers Hard Charger ($250): Matt Stangle

Ad-Art
Sign Company First Delaware Driver ($250): Jordan Watson

Rust
Family Bonuses ($50 Each): Ryan Watt (third); Jordan Watson (sixth);
Ryan Krachun (ninth)

Did
Not Qualify: Kevin
Gardner, Norman Short, Shawn Ward, Carson Wright, Michael White, Scott Van
Gorder.

Chesapeake
Paving/J.W. Brown Trucking Crate 602 Sportsman Feature Finish (20 laps): JOE TOTH, Matt Peck,
Jordan Long, Scott Hitchens, Mark Pettyjohn, James Hill, Trent Willey, Michael
White, Adam White, David Jenkins, Greg Humlhanz, Jeff Brown, Freddy Massey,
Duane Rust, Jeff Marker, Paul Griffin Jr., Robbie Riley, Justin Grosso, Brian
Hitz, Justin Riley, Sean Metz, Ethan Simpson, Dwayne Crockett, Samantha Muller,
John Stevenson.

Preferred
Power Washing First Delaware Driver ($100): Jordan Long

Southern
Delaware Vintage Stock Car Feature Finish (12 laps): C.J. SCHIRMER, Kelly
Putz, Jamie Eicholz, Robert Paczkowski, Oscar Fields, Andy Cassel, D.J.
Cameron, David Tucker, L.J. Walbert, Chris Phillips, Art Workman, Pete Morris,
Dave Parsons, Harold Sylvester, Jamie Schirmer, Todd Miller, Charlie Moore,
John Burton, Dave Schamp.

Little
Lincoln Feature Finish (12 laps): JORDAN HERBERT, Mel Joseph Jr., Matt White,
Todd Sammons, A.J. Mitchell, Sean Smith, Ryan Walsen, Bunky White, Wayne
Seaton, Bryan Piercy.

Delaware
Super Truck Feature (12 laps): ROBERT SMITH, Matt Esham, Dale Elliott, Ryan
Efford, Jerry Hill, Kirk Miles, Sr., Cory Sapp, Bill Dean, Dick Beauchamp, George
Shupp, Billy Lockwood, Tim Quay.

Delmarva
Charger Feature (12 laps): ROBERT PACZKOWSKI,  Geoff Carey, Jerry
Barker, Thomas Lecates, Ben Knotts, Brandon Riefler, Chris ‘Tippy Martinez,
Chris Carroll, Greg Nailor, Joe Waters, John Bailey, Hunter Bensel, Ashley
Merritt, Roy Whitehead, Randy Merritt, John Chandler

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