Hagerstown Speedway
Mark Pettyjohn claims first Hagerstown victory
Mark Pettyjohn gets up to speed at Hagerstown, where he earned a $3,000 victory on Saturday. (wrtspeedwerx.com)
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (Aug. 10) — Mark Pettyjohn of Milton, Del., added another triumph to his resume on Saturday night, claiming a $3,000 Three State Flyers victory at Hagerstown Speedway in a program that combined the 33rd Annual Ernie D’s Shorty Bowers Bull Durham Championship and the 48th Annual Johnny Roberts Memorial events.
The pole-starting Pettyjohn led every lap in topping second-starting Rick Eckert of York, Pa., for his fourth Three State Flyers victory of the season and his first-ever victory at Hagerstown. Austin Hubbard of Seaford, Del., was third with three-time series champion Jason Covert of York Haven, Pa., fourth and David Williams of Charlotte Hall, Md., fifth. | Slideshow
“I heard Johnny Roberts was a great racer and I’m thankful and honored to win at the same track he won at and a lot of these guys, Gary Stuhler, my brother Kenny Pettyjohn, Nathan Durboraw, Rodney Franklin,” Pettyjohn said. “There are just so many good guys out there that have won here. I just feel like when you win here, you’ve done something special.”
Pettyjohn outgunned Eckert on the race’s initial start with Dan Stone and D.J. Myers following. Covert quickly took fifth from Hubbard on the opening lap, and then fourth from Myers on the lap two.
Pettyjohn slowly began to pull away from Eckert, and by the fifth lap, was just over three seconds ahead. In another four laps, he entered the rear of the field, putting two and sometimes three cars between himself and Eckert.
Eckert slowly worked chopping away Pettyjohn’s lead, closing to 1.31 seconds by lap 21 after Stone dropped out and Covert took up the chase in third.
But that was the closest Eckert got as the race remained under the green flag and Pettyjohn began to open the distance. With 10 to go, he was still going through traffic and was back out to a three-second margin.
Pettyjohn continued to pull away in the closing laps, putting four lapped cars between himself and Eckert along with a 4.373-second gap by the time he took the checkers.
Notes: Pettyjohn drives a Swartz Race Car with sponsorship from Hitchens Bros. Trucking and Crosswinds Motel. ... The Johnny Roberts Memorial was rescheduled from a June 29 rainout. ... All four of Pettyjohn’s Three State Flyers victories have come this season, with the previous three all coming at Winchester (Va.) Speedway. ... The 35-lap non-stop feature was timed in 12.31 which destroyed the previous record of 15 minutes flat set in a race won by Nathan Durboraw in June 2002. ... Pettyjohn joined his brother Kenny Pettyjohn as a first-time winner at Hagerstown this season; Kenny won a Three State Flyers event at the track in May. ... Jamie Lathroum, Chaz Walls, Steve Axtell Jr. did not start the main event. ... Three State Flyers competitors return to action with an Aug. 16-17 doubleheader at Eastside Speedway in Waynesboro, Va., and Natural Bridge (Va.) Speedway.
Bull Durham Championship/Johnny Roberts Memorial: (1) Mark Pettyjohn, (2) Rick Eckert, (3) Austin Hubbard, (4) Jason Covert, (5) David Williams, (6)Tyler Hershey, (7) D.J. Myers, (8) Jeremy Miller, (9) Lindsay Barton, (10) Marvin Winters, (11) Scott LeBarron, (12) Kenny Pettyjohn, (13) Rusty Sites, (14) Jerry Bard, (15) Frankie Plessinger, (16) Steve Long, (17) Brian Booze, (18) Glenn Elliott, (19) Bud Phillips, (20) Gary Stuhler, (21) Dan Stone, (22) Justin Kann, (23) Wayne Johnson, (24) Matt Sponaugle. Fast qualifier (among 27 cars): Miller, 19.236 seconds. Heat winners: Miller, Eckert, M. Pettyjohn. Consolation winner: Elliott.
