Williams Grove Speedway
Stuhler breaks drought, wins at Williams Grove
Gary Stuhler tunes up at the half-mile oval. (Brian McLeod)
MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (June 8) — Hall of Famer Gary Stuhler of Greencastle, Pa., broke a long drought Tuesday at Williams Grove Speedway with a flag-to-flag victory in the third round of the CenturyLink Appalachian Mountain Speedway. Stuhler started outside the front row and ran virtually unchallenged to earn $5,000 and his first victory since 2008. | AMS schedule | Slideshow
"It's been a long time without a win, and I was starting to wonder if it'd ever happen again,” said Stuhler, whose previous $5,000 victory came Aug. 31, 2007, at Bedford (Pa.) Speedway. “We got lucky and started (outside the front row) and I knew the guy who came out of turns one and two with the lead was probably gonna be tough to beat. We got a little loose at the end with the tires giving way, but it was a night where everything fell into place for us. ... we were good in qualifying, the heat race and the feature. That's really what it takes to win races.”
Stuhler’s victory at the half-mile oval, a stronghold for sprint-car racing, was the 21st of his career at Williams Grove.
Fellow front-row starter Keith Jackson of Odenton, Md., finished second followed by Vic Coffey of Caledonia, N.Y. Fast qualifier D.J. Myers of Greencastle was fourth and eighth-starting Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., who ran as high as second, rounded out the top five on a dry, slick racing surface that allowed little passing.
Stuhler jumped out on the 19-year-old Jackson at the outset and maintained a steady advantage on him all the way. Mars got up to third and on lap 22 trapped Jackson behind a slower car, briefly taking the position. Jackson regained the spot and a caution ended the position-swapping battle as Mars slipped high on the restart, falling back to fifth.
Jeremy Miller of Gettysburg, Pa., was third early in the feature, battling Jackson for the second spot, but he faded to eighth at the finish.
Notes: Stuhler’s Paul Crowl-owned No. 7 is sponsored by Monumental Paving & Excavating, Priority Construction and Nininger’s Tire & Auto Center. ... AMS points leader Rick Eckert of York, Pa., finished sixth and has a 77-point margin on Nick Dickson of Lewiston, Pa. ... AMS competitors head to Lincoln (Pa.) Speedway on Wednesday for the third annual Charlie Grinestaff Memorial.
CenturyLink Appalachian Mountain Speedweek @ Williams Grove: (1) Gary Stuhler, (2) Keith Jackson, (3) Vic Coffey, (4) D.J. Myers, (5) Jimmy Mars, (6) Rick Eckert, (7) Coleby Frye, (8) Jeremy Miller, (9) Nick Dickson, (10) Scott Haus, (11) Jason Covert, (12) J.T. Spence, (13) Jerry Bard, (14) Jeff Rine, (15) Ricky Elliott, (16) Brian Booze, (17) Mike Lupfer, (18) Frankie Plessinger, (19) Jim Yoder, (20) Dave Zona, (21) Darryl Hills, (22) Jamie Lathroum, (23) Scott LeBarron, (24) Andy Anderson, (25) Tyler Hershey. Fast qualifier (among 50 cars): Myers.
