Auto Racing Local: Young racer tops at PPMS

Kyle Lukon, 17, has dominated the Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway Crate Late Model division since he won his career first feature June 16.

The Burgettstown area youngster's biggest win to date -- is fifth -- came Saturday when the second year driver won the Jook George Memorial for the Crate Late Models at PPMS.

"I've been waiting for this," said the youngest winner of the Jook George Memorial. "Last year, I came close to this. I almost had the same thing happen, I almost caught [eventual winner] Tommy Shirnhofer in lap traffic. [Saturday], I had to chase down Leo Stadelman."

Lukon leads Stadelman by 40 points with five weeks remaining.

Hitting his stride

Tommy Beck likes Motordrome Speedway ... a lot. Beck of Jeannette won his second late model feature in a row at the Smithton, Pa., paved oval including the 100-lap Mid-Atlantic Asphalt Racing Alliance event.

"The pavement car has been really good, really fast," Beck said after competing on the dirt at PPMS recently.

Beck who races his own car at PPMS on Saturdays says the Bobby Betts owned pavement team is really performing well.

"We've got everything together at Motordrome," Beck said. "With the car being so fast at the end of the season, I am really looking forward to next year."

USAC returns

For the first time in 20 years, USAC Non-wing Sprint Cars will compete at Sharon Speedway beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday. The last time USAC (1987) visited the Hartford, Ohio, oval it was a half-mile configuration and Kenny Jacobs was the winner.

The track now is a 3/8-mile layout that will be new to all of the USAC driver's expect Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who competed in the 50-lap winged sprint car race Aug. 14.

Stenhouse and Levi Jones, the sprints points leader, drivers for Tony Stewart Racing, will be competing at two tracks over the weekend. Jones will fly in from Wisconsin tomorrow morning after competing in the USAC National Midget Car Series. After the Sharon race, both drivers will head to Wisconsin for a Midget race Sunday.

Lugnuts

Chris Gleason and his co-driver, Bill Auberlen, won the KONI Challenge GS race at the Grand Prix of Trois-Rivieries in Quebec, Canada. It was the second victory of the year for Gleason of Johnstown in a BMW M3. ... Adam Kostelnik again made two trips to Motordrome's victory lane by winning in the modifieds and the street stocks. ... Jayme Beck, the wife of Motordrome late model racer Tommy Beck, returns to the class after a hand injury put her on the sideline. Beck will drive the number 40 for Preston Miller of Breezewood, Pa., at Holland and Lake Erie Speedways later this season in MAARA events.

Mercer Raceway Park will run the Bill Emig Memorial tomorrow night with a $2,000-to-win, 30-lap feature. Also at MRP will be a 25-lap feature for the sprints paying $1,500 to win. Mercer will be closed Labor Day weekend and return to action Sept. 8 with the 19th Annual Western PA Sprint Championship.

With the Labor Day Holiday weekend right around the corner, several local tracks are featuring special events. The MACS Late Models and O'Reilly Sprint Cars will take center stage Aug. 31 at Lernerville. The Sonia Bullis Memorial sprint car race rained out in 2006, and Scott Bonnell of Fairview, Pa., the inaugural event in 2005. ... Tri-City Speedway in Franklin, Pa., will have the World of Outlaws Dirt Late Models in the Oil Region Labor Day Classic Sept. 1-2 with 50-lap features paying $10,000 to win each night.


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