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By Jay Pees

BUSTI, NY (July 3, 1999) - Watts Flats NY's Rod Maloy emerged victorious in the Seamens Auto Wrecking 100-lap Late Model Championship race Saturday night after eleven lead changes among five drivers in one of the most competitive races ever at Stateline Speedway. Chad Ruhlman had the pole, which had been decided a week earlier with Chub Frank winning the Pole Qualifying event, but unable appear for the race due to prior commitments. Ruhlman led the first lap before making way for 1998 point champion Matt Urban. Urban was strong but Ruhlman was able to pull along side several times during green flag action.

The race was slowed for caution in laps three, six, eleven, and twenty for minor skirmishes and then on lap twenty-one for debris on the track. On the restart at lap twenty, Ruhlman was able to retake the lead and lead it until Urban once again got by on the high side. This time Urban held the lead through the halfway fuel stop and two more cautions for minor spins.

By the time of the fuel stop, Ruhlman was solidly in third after a lap thirty-one slip which saw him nearly loop the car in turn three. Todd Andrews had advanced to third from his thirteenth starting position with Dave Scott, from sixteenth, and Pat McGuire, who started eleventh, completing the top five.

On the restart from the fuel stop Urban shot out to the lead once more, but only lasted a lap before the left-rear tire exploded coming out of turn three, handing the lead back to Ruhlman. David Scott had the same problem on lap fifty-two, but stopped on the track, bringing out yet another caution. With the field bunched up at the restart, Andrews managed to get by Ruhlman on lap fifty-four but Ruhlman got back by again to lead laps 57 and 58.

Again Andrews nosed ahead on the inside to lead laps 59 through 61 before spinning in turn two. When the race resumed it was again Ruhlman at the point until he suffered left rear tire problems on the next lap. Rod Maloy then came to the front until John Lobb pulled ahead and led at the strip on lap seventy-one. Maloy retook the lead in the first turn of lap seventy-two. The race was slowed again on lap 76 when second running Lobb spun in turn four and hit by Doug Eck, running third at the time.

Rich Gardner then joined Maloy at the front and the two ran nose-to-tail the remainder of the race with Gardner attempting the inside pass on several occasions only to be rebuffed by Maloy. After the final two cautions on lap 91, Maloy and Gardner were joined by Andrews, who had worked his way back to the front after his spin on lap 62. Gardner tried both high and low to get by Maloy the in the final laps. Both Gardner and Andrews attempted the last turn pass but came up short at the line with Andrews barely nosing out Gardner for second.

Steve Halpainy ran a strong race to finish fourth ahead of Boyd Whitehead. Doug Eck, Chevy Scott, Dan Armbruster, John Venable, and Andy Kania filled out the top ten. Twenty-nine Late Models started the event. Urban, Maloy, and Chevy Scott won the heats, which determined the starting order for the feature.

The win was Maloy's second of 1999. He had gone winless since 1996 before winning June 19th.

John (Snoopy) Losey started the Limited Late Model feature from the pole and led the first two laps before surrendering the lead to circuit point leader Bobby Rohrer. Rohrer then led the remaining distance. George LaBarbara chased the leader much of the race but was unable to mount a serious challenge and had to settle for second. Pat McGuire, Stateline point leader Kevin Decker, and Tom Schnars rounded out the top five. Six yellow flag periods slowed the twenty-lapper. Chris Hackett and Rohrer won the preliminary heat events.

Robert J. Nocero led the sixteen Sportsman cars to the green flag and led three laps before engine problems forced him from the event. Don McGuire then led lap four, but Cris Dahlgren, the 1998 class champion, got by the very next lap for the lead and was never challenged over the remaining distance. Only two yellow flags slowed the event, one for Nocero's stalled car, and the other for a minor spin. McGuire held on for second with point leader Randy Parmenter fourth and Dave Eades fifth. McGuire and Dahlgren won the heats.

John Pencille grabbed the early lead in the first Cadet feature from his second row-starting berth, but was overtaken by Gary Eicher on lap four of the scheduled fifteen. Eicher roared off to his first victory of 1999 at Stateline. Eicher has two wins at the Eriez Speedway.

Ken Drake successfully held off the charge of Brian Emory to take second. Emory was followed in fourth by point leader John Galati with circuit point leader Steve Yokum fifth.

The second Cadet finale went green flag to flag with Mike Kosinski picking up his first win of the season. Kosinski had a better than quarter lap margin at the finish over Glenn Slaney, Greg Kroll, Pat Fielding, and four-time winner Chad Carlson.

Andy Sweetland, Greg Johnson, and Emory won the heats. Steve Yokum led Carlson to the finish in the "Run for the Money" for last week's victors.

Winnie Bowel picked up his first win of the season in the first Spectator feature over John Wayne. Aaron Robinson emerged the winner of the second Spectator feature with Randy Carlson finishing second. Dave Hess, Jr won his second feature of his rookie year at Stateline by beating out three-time winner Bob Frisbee. Mike Anderson, Bob Passanise, and Tommy Fox won the heat races for the amateur drivers.