Central Pennsylvania Speedway
Barbara withstands rain, Frank to collect $7,000
From series reports
Keith Barbara (17) holds off Chub Frank (1*). (pbase.com/cyberslash)
CLEARFIELD, Pa. (July 3) — Keith Barbara of South Park, Pa., withstood two lengthy rain delays and serious challenges from Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., to capture the 33rd annual Yankee Doodle 50 at Central Pennsylvania Speedway. Barbara, who started eighth and took the lead from Gregg Satterlee on the seventh lap, pocketed $7,000 in the Unified Force Race Championship event that took more than three hours to complete. | Slideshow
Frank, who started fifth and twice went to the tail after pit stops, finished second followed by 15th-starting Mike Blose of Dayton, Pa. Polesitter Jared Miley of South Park was fourth to grab the UFO points lead and 14th-starting Shawn McGarvey of Coalport, Pa. rounded out the top five on a rain-plagued night.
The first rain delay came on the second lap with Satterlee out front and lasted 51 minutes. When the race got rolling again, Barbara picked up three spots on a restart and took the point from Satterlee with an inside move in turn two on the seventh lap. Frank moved into contention and actually grabbed the lead on the the 17th lap, but his move was erased by a caution flag. In the ensuing laps, McGarvey took third from Frank, but then spun on the 20th lap; Frank slowed with a flat tire and was forced to the pits.
With 29 laps complete, more rain forced another delay, this time of more than an hour, and racing resumed after midnight with Barbara leading Blose and Miley. Soon enough, Frank and McGarvey were back in the top five, and Frank put the heat on Barbara. Frank overtook Barbara on the backstretch in the final laps, but Barbara drove back past Frank into turn four. A last-lap caution set up a two-lap shootout to the finish, and Barbara held on.
Notes: The event was sponsored by C&B Bank and the Nevasky Foundation. ... The track scrapped consolation races and started all the cars in attendance because of the threatening weather. ... USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series driver Benny Gordon of DuBois, Pa., making a rare appearance on dirt, wasn't able to start the feature after problems with his car in the heat race. ... Jared Miley leads with UFO title chase with 347 points over Alex Ferree (344) and Barbara (336). Ferree entered the race with the series points lead but was caught up in an accident in an early restart. ... Jerry Redden, Chris Farrell and Herman Bertolini each advanced 15 positions in the feature. ... The next series event is July 13 at Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway. The Red Miley 53 pays $5,300 to the winner.
UFO @ Central Pennsylvania: (1) Keith Barbara, (2) Chub Frank, (3) Mike Blose, (4) Jared Miley, (5) Shawn McGarvey, (6) Gregg Satterlee, (7) Jason Witherite, (8) Tim Fedder, (9) Matt Gaston, (10) Rodney Sweitzer, (11) Mike Johnson, (12) Jerry Redden, (13) Chris Farrell, (14) Bernie Whiteford, (15) Dwayne Brooks, (16) Josh Young, (17) Matt Dobnak, (18) Herman Bertolini, (19) Tim Smith Jr., (20) Denny Fenton, (21) Chuck Kennedy, (22) Bob Dunn, (23) D.J. Myers, (24) Bobby Stokes, (25) George Fultz, (26) Todd Baumgardner, (27) Keith Witherite, (28) Mel Minnick Jr., (29) Billy Dickson, (30) Ted Gallaher, (31) Alex Ferree, (32) Chris Clark, (33) Josh Kennelley. Heat race winners (among 34 cars): Sweitzer, Fedder, Myers, Ferree.
Correction: In a previous version of this story, the headline incorrectly listed Barbara's winnings; he earned $7,000.
