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By Dino Oberto
(Butler Township, Pa. 7-25-26) There’s something to be said about experience and that proved the case for veteran racer Bobby Jones of Palmerton who scored his second 602 Crate Modified win Saturday evening at Evergreen Raceway ahead of another well-experienced wheel-twister Jerry Hildebrand from Mountain Top. Both have been racing for close to 40 years and it showed in their one-two performances.
Although Jones started from the pole and led every lap, he still faced strong opposition through the 30-lap contest and as for Hildebrand he powered his way to the runner-up spot late in the going but then ran out of time in his attempt to catch Jones. Nonetheless it was two masters of their craft who turned in convincing runs.
Jones took immediate charge from the outset over Brian Sones, Micah Adams and Vinny Delany. At the early going he was able to keep a slim distance over that trio as they in turn were engaged in a fiercely run battle, especially between Sones and Adams who continued to trade off second spot.
Following a few cautions that occurred in the closing 10 laps, Jones would have either Sones or Adams alongside but each time he had them covered when the action resumed.
“I’ve been here a long time, and I know how I need to be on those types of things and when you got it right this car launches,” said Jones.
And while he remained at the front the intense duel between Sones and Adams ramped up as yet again they raced side-by-side for second place. With five laps to go Adams had inched his way back to second from the outside but when he and Sones entered into the first two corners he suddenly spun after side contact which prompted the caution to wave.
At that point Hildebrand had marched his way to third and on the restart made quick work of Sones. With only a few laps to go he was within reach of Jones, but not enough time remained for an attempt to pass and he settled for second.
“I didn’t have a radio tonight, so I didn’t know who was behind me and I was just giving it all I had from the get-go. I kept looking up at the scoreboard and the numbers behind me, they were all fast,” said Jones.
“The 13 (Adams) I could see him catching me and I was hoping that we’d stay green, but we got that late caution, and I just did whatever I needed to do and stayed focused and never looked back,” he continued.
“This car that Paul (French) owns, he and I put our touch on this after it came back from when we were at New Smyrna Speedway and we just rebuilt it from scratch and that’s a big deal because you do the things that you like and want and it showed here tonight.”
Jones, who has been winning races since 1990, is showing no signs of slowing down.
“You know I thought that when I hit 50 that was about it but here we are and we’re still chugging away at some wins and I’m still planning on getting some more.”
In what continues to be a solid year, Sones hung on for third place and has yet to finish any lower than that spot thus far. Peyton Arthofer showed good speed and form while notching a season best fourth while Delany rounded out the top five.
In Late Model action Nesquehoning’s Mike Sweeney took over the lead from Brett Peters on lap two and never wavered from there in capturing his first win of the season.
As Sweeney was showing the way and quite handily at that, there was a great encounter behind. Marc Aigeldinger was in the thick of a close clash with Eldon King and point leader Nick Ross.
By lap 17 Ross was now second and began catching Sweeney. Then on a restart which was two laps later the pair raced side-by-side into Turn 1, however, Ross suddenly got loose and spun. From there on Sweeney went uncontested and journeyed on to his 25th Evergreen victory.
Brian Romig Jr. came on strong near the end and garnered second while Ross battled back to third at the checkers.
Mike Pollack of Freeland made it two wins in a row with the Harry’s U-Pull-It Street Stocks in what was a wild race to say the least.
Pollack was running second to leader Gordie Buchman on lap three and soon after it became a heated battle between them which came to a head on lap seven when both went door-to-door down the front straight, began veering off to the left together as they approached the first corner and with fenders banging and sparks flying, they somehow kept going with Pollack getting the lead.
Once they regained their composure Pollack then drove away unchallenged. Due to a post-race incident Buchman was disqualified which then moved Scott Adams to second.
Caitlyn Makarewicz of Freeland scored her second Rookie 602 Crate Modified win and even though it was only a two-car field, nonetheless it was close from start to finish as Sarabeth Mesko kept pace each lap.
Both ladies ran nose-to-tail and at times side-by-side right down to the wire. Kami Wheeler was also on hand but did not start after encountering the wall during her heat.
There doesn’t seem to be any stopping that of Berwick’s Josh Young who once again parked in Fairway Chevrolet Victory Lane with the Rotten-and-Forgotten, which was his fourth win in five starts.
Young made the winning pass on Dan Jenson with 10 laps completed and then ran effortlessly the remaining distance.
The opening lap of the Himmer Graphics Four-Cylinder feature got off to a rough and tumble start when several cars got together including top contenders Jared Frye and TJ Kapish. Kapish got the worst of it too when he collided with Frye and then rolled onto his roof. Although the car was heavily damaged Kapish was able to climb out safely.
When the race finally got underway David Carney from White Haven took the lead and never looked back en route to a career first victory. For a while Gavin Higgins was giving him a run for his money but then fell back and settled for second.
602 Crate Modified finish (30 laps): 1. Bobby Jones, 2. Jerry Hildebrand, 3. Brian Sones, 4. Peyton Arthofer, 5. Vinny Delany, 6. Avery Arthofer, 7. Micah Adams, 8. Steve Shultz, 9. Paul Flye, 10. Marty Noll, 11. Wayne Szerencsits
Late Model feature finish (30 laps): 1. Mike Sweeney, 2. Brain Romig Jr., 3. Nick Ross, 4. Dennis Wenner, 5. Marc Aigledinger, 6. Evan Berretta, 7. Roger Maynor, 8. Ed Cheslak, 9. Brett peters, 10. Joe Galada, 11. Eldon King, 12. Michael Klotz, 13. Steve Adams
Street Stock feature finish (25 laps): 1. Mike Pollack, 2. Scott Adams, 3. Brandon Oltra, 4. Payton Arthofer, 5. Maggie Wambold, 6. Mallory Kutz DQ: Gordie Buchman DNS: Evan Icolari, Paul Frantz
Four-Cylinder feature finish (20 laps): 1. David Carney, 2. Gavin Higgins, 3. Maggie Wambold, 4. Jacob Knittle, 5. Robert McNulty, 6. Jeff Engler, 7. Brooklynn Peters, 8. Steve Tito, 9. Lauren Skupski, 10. Sabrian Bogert, 11. Jared Frye, 12. TJ Kapish, 13. Jimmy Ayre, 14. Caitlyn Makarewicz
Rotten-and-Forgotten feature finish (25 laps): 1. Josh Young, 2. Dan Jensen, 3. Vince Corter, 4. Sam Jensen, 5. Jordan Young, 6. Tim Conklin, 7. Brice Jensen
Rookie 602 Crate Modified feature finish (15 laps): 1. Caitlyn Makarewicz, 2. Sarabeth Mesko DNS: Cami Wheeler
