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The "MUTHA" of All Enduros
Richard Petey Claims Twin NEETS
Enduro Titles on Final Race Day
Story By:Dino Oberto
The NEETS Enduro cars brought the curtain down on the 2007 season at Mahoning Valley Speedway in a big way as 500 laps of racing took place between three classes.
And, it was a big day as well for Hackettstown, NJ’s Richard Petey who staked claim to a pair of titles.
Petey needed to win the 6/8 cylinder race in order to take the championship, which he did, while his top five finish in the TRUX event was good enough for the top honor with that class.
The 6/8 and 4 cylinders contested in 200 lappers while the TRUX covered a 100 lap distance.
In the 6/8 cylinder division it was a great dogfight between kingpins Petey and Joe Jentile as most of the race saw these two enduro aces battle tooth and nail.
Robin Schewire had as brief stint at the helm before Howie Bott took command. By lap 43 it was the number 43 of Petey who then took over and from there out the duel was underway with Jentile.
They constantly swapped the lead while in the midst of heavy traffic. For the most part it was the traffic that played the key when the lead was being exchanged as both Petey and Jentile had to meticulously pick there way around the track by avoiding the onslaught of lapped cars.
And what a job they did too. Both needed to win the race in order to be champion. They put on an outstanding display of weaving in and out and dodging all obstacles while keeping each other in focus.
With completion of lap 125 Petey moved to the front for good and from there out worked his tail off of keeping Jentile at bay.
It was the second big car win of the season for Petey who also snapped the title streak of Jentile who was the top point-man over the past three seasons.
In 4 cylinder action the first quarter of the race saw the lead flip back and forth between Jon Smith, Scooter Graver and Ken Harper with Smith leading the major portion.
Both Harper and Smith dropped out one after the other and each time following their advancement into the lead between laps 50 and 60.
That put the race into the hands of Graver. However, on the charge was road racing specialist Sam Ryan who motored his way into the lead with 80 laps complete.
Ryan was on cruise control as he steadily began pulling away from everyone. But, just as bad luck had struck the front runner, so too did it take a hit as he picked up a left front flat and had to pit.
Graver then went back out front for the third time but as was the case the lead was not a good place to be. This time Graver was caught up with some back markers and spun with 50 laps to go.
Running second at the time was Brain Kunkle and unlike his counterparts, he was able to steer clear of any trouble as he pulled away to victory. Kunkle became the only repeat class winner this year.
The season championship for the 4 cylinders was won by Don Rogers.
In the TRUX race it was Woot Lawrence who conveniently cruised to the win. Pole sitter Harry Sager controlled the pack over the first 32 laps while holding back Lawrence and John Cozza who all raced under a blanket.
Using lapped traffic to his advantage, Lawrence was able to slip under Sager with 32 laps complete. He then had little trouble in pulling away from the field. Sager held on for second.
The MUTHA of All Enduros |
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| Small Car - 200 Laps | Big Car - 200 Laps | ||
| 1 | #19 - Brian Kunkel | 1 | #43 - Richard Petey |
| 2 | #09X - Don Rogers | 2 | #41 - Joe Jentile |
| 3 | #73 - Dave Bentley | 3 | #14 - Phil Lomonaco |
| 4 | #168 - Bob Wohlgemuth | 4 | #01 - Jimmy White Jr. |
| 5 | #24 - Larry Spencer | 5 | #33 - TJ Kapish |
| 6 | #7 - Sam Ryan | 6 | #20K - Kory Stevens |
| 7 | #27V - Mike Ventura | 7 | #5R11 - TJ Stevens |
| 8 | #17 - Art Kulik | 8 | #02 - Pappy Herman |
| 9 | #69 - Dennis Sizemore | 9 | #1X - Corey Student |
| 10 | #314 - Dan Luizzi | 10 | #75 - Howie Bott |
| 11 | #6 - John Saccomandi | 11 | #58 - Randy Parsons Jr. |
| 12 | #123 - Mark Spencer | 12 | #45 - Rob Longo |
| 13 | #18X - Sarah Snyder | 13 | #57 - Larry Carmen |
| 14 | #11K - Kelly Kunkel | 14 | #266 - Bob Kulik |
| 15 | #13T - Travis Schwenk | 15 | #30 - Ed Brown Jr. |
| 16 | #11J - Jon Smith | 16 | #14X - Brian Brown |
| 17 | #18 - Scooter Graver | 17 | #116 - Richard Smith |
| 18 | #68 -Jessica McGlynn | 18 | #124 - Mark Spencer |
| 19 | #83 - Jared Ahner | 19 | #42 - Drew Atchinson |
| 20 | #19X - Jimmy White Jr. | 20 | #74 - James Presley |
| 21 | #51 - Richard Smith | 21 | #66 - Nick Shaw |
| 22 | #308 - Ken Harper | 22 | #37 - James Distano |
| 23 | #131 - Ryan Nelson | 23 | #99 - Robin Schewire |
| 24 | #6M - Vern McLaughlin | ||
| 25 | #63 - Nikki Wachs | ||
| TRUX - 100 Laps | |||
| 1 | #37 - Woot Lawrence | ||
| 2 | #61 - Harry Sager | ||
| 3 | #43 - Richard Petey | ||
| 4 | #0 - Russ Jansen | ||
| 5 | #29 - Jim White | ||
| 6 | #4X - Jeff Gregor | ||
| 7 | #53 - Kevin Nowak | ||
| 8 | #6 - Jim Wichert | ||
| 9 | #5 - John Cozza | ||
| 10 | #27 - Frank Katona | ||
| 11 | #38 - Don Nelson | ||
| 12 | #21 - Mariah Lawrence | ||
| 13 | #71 - Jake Oswald | ||
| 14 | #28 - Jim Badalato | ||
| 15 | #17DD - Duane Eidem | ||
| DNS | #55 - Rob Bader | ||