7/19/2020
BAPS Motor Speedway
Billy Pauch Jr. Fights Off Titants Friesen & Sheppard in BAPS STSS Thriller
NEWBERRYTOWN, PA – Some races are won with setup, some races are won with motor. The fifth Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series (STSS) Fueled by Sunoco York County Nationals was won behind the wheel by Billy Pauch Jr.
After a phenomenal battle with Matt Sheppard and Stewart Friesen, Pauch Jr. grabbed the $5,050 payday and his second consecutive STSS Velocita-USA South Region presented by Design for Vision and Sunglass Central victory. He also took home a pair of Oakley Sunglasses from Design for Vision and Sunglass Central.
Pauch Jr. and the Rick Holsten team maintained their point lead in the STSS South Region battle with the hard-fought conquest.
The 50-lap main began with David Van Horn and Richie Pratt Jr. on the front row following the Beyea Custom Headers redraw. Van Horn’s night took an unfortunate turn just two laps in, as he brought out a yellow for a right-rear flat tire.
Pratt Jr. inherited the lead over Rick Laubach’s Ryan Kerr-owned No. 1K.
A major shake-up came on lap seven when Stewart Friesen spun between turns three and four racing for fifth and had to restart at the rear of the field.
When racing resumed from the Friesen spin, Laubach drove around Pratt Jr. for the lead. The man on the move would fully plant himself in the thick of things, as Pauch Jr. had climbed into second from his 10th starting position.
The war was on from there. Pauch Jr. stalked Laubach for several laps, waiting for a mistake. While the lead pair duked it out, “Super Matt” Sheppard had climbed to third and caught the top two.
At the Precision Hydraulic & Oil Halfway Point, Laubach, Pauch Jr. and Sheppard were nose-to-tail working in lap traffic while fighting for the lead. Multiple three-wide battles and slide jobs highlighted an incredible battle between three of Modified racing’s best.
Pauch Jr. ultimately made the move on lap 33, slipping underneath the “Quaker Shaker” with Sheppard following him through for second.
Meanwhile, Friesen was on the charge. He had driven into the top five, and got by Laubach on lap 36 and began reeling in the leaders.
Yellows on lap 40 and 44 gave Friesen and Sheppard perfect opportunities to get by the “Kid’s Kid,” but Billy Jr. was one step ahead of the other two, racing to his fourth career STSS win.
Milford, N.J.’s Pauch Jr. credited team owner Holsten for his success on the STSS this season.
“Rick Holsten’s given me a great ride, and we’re fast everywhere,” Pauch Jr. said. “I don’t know what else to say, Rick Holsten’s the man.”
Friesen, of Sprakers, N.Y., ended his surge from last in the runner-up position, dicing with Sheppard in the final laps. Savannah, N.Y.’s Sheppard brought the Hurlock Auto & Speed No. 9s home third.
Craig Von Dohren of Oley, Pa., authored a stout drive in the B. Brueche Jr. and Sons No. 30 to finish fourth and Phoenix, N.Y.’s Larry Wight, debuting a new Bicknell for Delaware car owner Gary Simpson, finished fifth after starting 11th.
Boyertown, Pa.’s Mike Gular was the Pioneer Pole Buildings Inc. Hard Charger for the night, coming from 22nd starting position to finish sixth in the Terry Fasnacht-owned No. 2A. Andy Bachetti out of Sheffield, Mass., finished in seventh. Laubach and Pratt both ultimately faded to eighth and ninth, respectively. Sprakers, N.Y.’s Jessica Friesen, making a rare STSS start outside of New York, rounded out the top-10.
Ad-Art Sign Company heat winners were Pauch Jr., Wight and Stewart Friesen. Jessica Friesen won the consolation.
A busy weekend for the Gene Latte Ford Central PA Legends presented by Baker Door Company wrapped up Sunday night at BAPS Motor Speedway with Bill Diehl taking the coveted win.
Pole-sitter Rick Hartwig led the first lap, but he caught a rut in front of the field and spun in front of the field. A 10-car pile-up ensued, with none of the cars being able to continue. All drivers were OK.
Scott Houdeshell, who finished second to Travis McClelland in Saturday’s main event at BAPS, took over and led through the fourth circuit. Diehl made his way to the front, and an entertaining race took place.
Diehl took the lead on Lap 5, with Houdeshell returning the favor one lap later. But Diehl didn’t go away, and he retook the top spot on the seventh circuit, this time holding it until the finish.
Houdeshell finished second, .669 seconds off the pace. Seth Kearchner was running fourth in the final corner when he spun and collected fifth-place Stephen Wurtzer. They were credited with 11th and 12th.
Jorjie Sweger landed a third-place finish, with 16th-place starter Chris Transeau and Greg Burd completing the top five.
SHORT TRACK SUPER SERIES MODIFIEDS
Feature (50 Laps): 1. 96-Billy Pauch Jr[10]; 2. 44-Stewart Friesen[12]; 3. 9S-Matt Sheppard[8]; 4. 30-Craig Von Dohren[6]; 5. 12K-Larry Wight[11]; 6. 2A-Mike Gular[22]; 7. 4-Andy Bachetti[17]; 8. 1K-Rick Laubach[4]; 9. 51-Richie Pratt Jr[2]; 10. 1Z-Jessica Friesen[19]; 11. 6-Danny Bouc[7]; 12. 323OV-David VanHorn[1]; 13. 35-Mike Mahaney[9]; 14. 59-Ricky Davis[16]; 15. 32-Brandon Grosso[14]; 16. 11-Danny Hieber[23]; 17. 13-Rick Regalski[15]; 18. 21X-Eric Williams[26]; 19. (DNF) 23-Kyle Coffey[18]; 20. (DNF) 14-Doug Manmiller[13]; 21. (DNF) 15-Brett Tonkin[20]; 22. (DNF) 1-Tyler Dippel[28]; 23. (DNF) 88C-Jared Umbenhauer[3]; 24. (DNF) 1J-Jordan Watson[5]; 25. (DNF) 6C-Josh Delea[27]; 26. (DNF) 33S-Skylar Sheriff[25]; 27. (DNF) 126-Jeff Strunk[21]; 28. (DNF) 14W-Ryan Watt[24].
Lap Leaders: David Van Horn (1-2), Richie Pratt Jr. (3-7), Rick Laubach (8-31), Billy Pauch Jr. (32-50)
Modified Heat 1 Finish (8 Laps/Top 6 Qualify to A Main): 1. 96-Billy Pauch Jr[1]; 2. 9S-Matt Sheppard[5]; 3. 88C-Jared Umbenhauer[2]; 4. 6-Danny Bouc[4]; 5. 14-Doug Manmiller[8]; 6. 59-Ricky Davis[9]; 7. 15-Brett Tonkin[7]; 8. 1Z-Jessica Friesen[10]; 9. 33S-Skylar Sheriff[3]; 10. (DNF) 11-Danny Hieber[6].
Modified Heat 2 Finish (8 Laps/Top 6 Qualify to A Main): 1. 12K-Larry Wight[2]; 2. 1K-Rick Laubach[1]; 3. 323OV-David VanHorn[3]; 4. 1J-Jordan Watson[4]; 5. 32-Brandon Grosso[9]; 6. 4-Andy Bachetti[5]; 7. 2A-Mike Gular[10]; 8. 126-Jeff Strunk[6]; 9. 6C-Josh Delea[7]; 10. (DNS) 26R-Corey Cormier.
Modified Heat 3 Finish (8 Laps/Top 6 Qualify to A Main): 1. 44-Stewart Friesen[1]; 2. 35-Mike Mahaney[4]; 3. 30-Craig Von Dohren[6]; 4. 51-Richie Pratt Jr[9]; 5. 13-Rick Regalski[2]; 6. 23-Kyle Coffey[7]; 7. 1-Tyler Dippel[8]; 8. 14W-Ryan Watt[5]; 9. 21X-Eric Williams[3].
Modified Consolation Finish (8 Laps/All Qualify to A Main): 1. 1Z-Jessica Friesen[4]; 2. 15-Brett Tonkin[1]; 3. 126-Jeff Strunk[5]; 4. 2A-Mike Gular[2]; 5. 11-Danny Hieber[10]; 6. 14W-Ryan Watt[6]; 7. 33S-Skylar Sheriff[7]; 8. 21X-Eric Williams[9]; 9. 6C-Josh Delea[8]; 10. (DNF) 1-Tyler Dippel[3]; 11. (DNS) 26R-Corey Cormier.
GENE LATTA FORD CENTRAL PA LEGENDS PRESENTED BY BAKER DOOR COMPANY
Feature (20 Laps): 1. 53-Bill Diehl[3]; 2. 5-Scott Houdeshell[5]; 3. 18J-Jorjie Sweger[7]; 4. 18-Chris Transeau[16]; 5. 94-Greg Burd[10]; 6. 17H-Timothy Hahn[15]; 7. 17-Cory Phillips[24]; 8. 69-Cole Hahn[21]; 9. 1G-Shawn Groft[23]; 10. 25-Eric Hurst[22]; 11. 30K-Seth Kearchner[25]; 12. 14W-Stephen Wurtzer[6]; 13. (DNF) 2-Scott Smith[18]; 14. (DNF) 9-Rick Hartwig[1]; 15. (DNF) 8-Austin Bellemare[4]; 16. (DNF) 43-Ronald Little Jr[2]; 17. (DNF) 30-Alex Robinson[9]; 18. (DNF) 55X-Richie Dobson[12]; 19. (DNF) 90-Scott Spidle[14]; 20. (DNF) 19L-Jonathan Robinson[20]; 21. (DNF) 56-Zach Baxter[13]; 22. (DNF) 11R-Scott Musselman[19]; 23. (DNF) 95-Alex Schmiedel[8]; 24. (DNF) 41-Chuck Dell Jr[11]; 25. (DNF) 000-Eric McClane[17].
Lap Leaders: Rick Hartwig (1), Scott Houdeshell (2-4), Bill Diehl (5), Houdeshell (6), Diehl (7-20)
Legend Heat 1 Finish (8 Laps/All Qualify): 1. 8-Austin Bellemare[1]; 2. 9-Rick Hartwig[4]; 3. 18J-Jorjie Sweger[6]; 4. 94-Greg Burd[7]; 5. 56-Zach Baxter[2]; 6. 18-Chris Transeau[9]; 7. 11R-Scott Musselman[3]; 8. 25-Eric Hurst[8]; 9. 17-Cory Phillips[5].
Legend Heat 2 Finish (8 Laps/All Qualify): 1. 53-Bill Diehl[3]; 2. 5-Scott Houdeshell[8]; 3. 95-Alex Schmiedel[7]; 4. 41-Chuck Dell Jr[2]; 5. 90-Scott Spidle[4]; 6. 000-Eric McClane[1]; 7. 19L-Jonathan Robinson[5]; 8. 1G-Shawn Groft[6].
Legend Heat 3 Finish (8 Laps/All Qualify): 1. 43-Ronald Little Jr[2]; 2. 14W-Stephen Wurtzer[7]; 3. 30-Alex Robinson[8]; 4. 55X-Richie Dobson[4]; 5. 17H-Timothy Hahn[5]; 6. 2-Scott Smith[1]; 7. 69-Cole Hahn[6]; 8. (DNF) 30K-Seth Kearchner[3].
Photo Credit: Tim Basehore (WRT Speedwerx)
Article Credit: Chris Moore
