Selinsgrove Speedway
Satterlee claims second WoO win at Selinsgrove
By Kevin Kovac
World of Outlaws Late Model Series
Gregg Satterlee waves in victory lane. (pbase.com/cyberslash)
SELINSGROVE, Pa. (Aug. 31) — It took Gregg Satterlee 85 tries to break into Victory Lane on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. He needed just five more starts to make his return to the national tour’s most exalted spot.
Almost exactly one month after registering his first-ever WoO triumph Satterlee was back in the spotlight, rolling to a convincing win in Saturday night’s 40-lap ‘Showdown On Sand Hill’ at Selinsgrove Speedway. | Slideshow | Video
Satterlee, 29, of Rochester Mills, Pa., was unbeatable in the opening leg of the inaugural WoO doubleheader at the historic half-mile central Pennsylvania oval. He passed defending circuit champion Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., for the lead on lap 17 – a moment before Lanigan slowed with an overheating engine – and dominated the remainder of the distance to cash an $8,050 first-place check.
“I would’ve never thought we would’ve got one again this year,” said Satterlee, whose milestone first WoO victory came on July 30 at Shawano (Wis.) Speedway. “It always hangs in the back of your mind – that once you get (a win), you can do it again – but I never would’ve dreamed that we would do it again this soon. This is just awesome.”
Vic Coffey of Caledonia, N.Y., finished a distant second, flashing under the checkered flag 2.203 seconds behind Satterlee. The performance allowed Coffey to match his career-best WoO finish as his frustrating winless streak on the circuit reached 157 events.
Jeff Rine of Danville, Pa., placed a solid third, giving the eight-time Selinsgrove Late Model champion a career-high finish on the WoO. Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., steadily advanced from the eighth starting spot to finish fourth – and more importantly, push his advantage in the standings to 94 points over ninth-place Shane Clanton of Zebulon, Ga. – and Rick Eckert of York, Pa., finished fifth at the track where he ran his first dirt Late Model event nearly three decades ago.
Satterlee, who started second, led the race’s first lap before being overtaken by pole-starter Lanigan. But Satterlee didn’t let the tour’s alltime winningest driver pull away and was in position to grab the lead with an inside move off turn two on lap 17.
“I knew after those first couple laps I could hang there right with (Lanigan) running the same line,” said Satterlee, who drove his father’s Roush Yates Ford-powered Rocket car. “I started running a lower line there in lapped traffic and was able to sneak by him. After that I wasn’t really sure where to go – I didn’t really know how close anyone was – but I guess what I was doing worked out.”
Indeed, there was no catching the fleet Satterlee. After Lanigan slowed on lap 17 to bring out the race’s lone caution flag, Satterlee simply drove away from his nearest challengers with every circuit around the sprawling track.
“These big tracks just seem to fit our driving style,” said Satterlee, whose three victories over the past month have come at spacious half-mile ovals. “We’ve just been clicking on the big tracks lately.”
Coffey, 42, chased Satterlee to no avail after passing Rine for second place on lap 18. The former WoO Rookie of the Year fell as many as three seconds – nearly a full straightaway – behind the leader until Satterlee’s late-race dealings with lapped traffic slightly cut the final gap.
“We didn’t change much (after heat racing), but the change we did make made me too tight to run the bottom of the track,” Coffey said of his Sweeteners Plus Rocket car. “I don’t know if it was gonna be any good down there anyway because the top just carried so much speed, but I couldn’t run where I did in the heat race. I had to get to the top and just kind of run Gregg’s line, and at that point he was a little better than us. Unless he had problems, I knew we had a second place car.
“It’s frustrating to come close (to a win) again, but we had a good night. If we can keep running near the front like this that win will eventually come.”
Rine, 36, fell short in his bid to score an emotional win in front of his loyal fans, but the best performance of his career in WoO competition was enough to pump him up.
“I’m happy standing right here in third,” said Rine, who started fifth and moved up to second after Lanigan dropped from contention on lap 17. “To race with these guys and to finish third with these guys at our hometrack is just awesome.”
Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., started and finished sixth, but he spent most of the race’s second half running fifth until Eckert slipped by. Young Selinsgrove regular Matt Cochran of Williamsport, Pa., placed seventh driving a ‘Club 29’ Rocket car assembled by Lanigan. Dan Stone of Thompson, Pa., finished eighth; Clanton was a quiet ninth; and Bryan Bernheisel of Jonestown, Pa., rounded out the top 10.
Lanigan, who led laps 2-16, pitted after slowing on lap 17 so his crew could tend to his car’s steaming powerplant. He returned without losing a lap but later retired, absorbing a rare DNF.
Thirty-five cars were entered in the program, which was run under a threat of rain.
Ohlins Shocks Time Trials were split into ‘A’ and ‘B’ groups, with the first half competing for starting positions in heats 1-2 and the second half racing against the clock to align heats 3-4.
Rine turned the overall quickest lap in qualifying, clocking in at 19.226 seconds during Group ‘A’ to earn his second career WoO fast-time honor.
Heat winners were Rine, Richards, Satterlee and Coffey. The B-Mains were captured by Jim Bernheisel of Lebanon, Pa., and Jim Yoder of Selinsgrove, Pa.
The holiday-weekend WoO spectacular at Selinsgrove Speedway concludes on Sunday night (Sept. 1) with the running of the 50-lap Late Model National Open for a $10,000 top prize. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
WoO @ Selinsgrove: (1) Gregg Satterlee, (2) Vic Coffey, (3) Jeff Rine, (4) Josh Richards, (5) Rick Eckert, (6) Tim McCreadie, (7) Matt Cochran, (8) Dan Stone, (9) Shane Clanton, (10) Bryan Bernheisel, (11) Morgan Bagley, (12) Dylan Yoder, (13) Jamie Lathroum, (14) Bub McCool, (15) Coleby Frye, (16) Jim Yoder, (17) Chub Frank, (18) Eric Wells, (19) Dave Zona, (20) Darrell Lanigan, (21) Bub Phillips, (22) Tim Fuller, (23) Jim Bernheisel, (24) Kenny Trevitz, (25) Clint Smith. Fast qualifier (among 35 cars): Rine, 19.226 seconds. Heat winners: Rine, Richards, Satterlee, Coffey. Consolation winners: Bernheisel, Yoder.
