Chad Jeseo, Mike Bussino Claim Wins Before Downpour Curtail Features

Saturday night saw racing at Lebanon Valley Speedway go off under threat of thunderstorms. Two of the features were able to be completed as scheduled. As the green was coming out for the Limited Sportsman feature, the skies opened with drenching rain. The rain resulted in the immediate end to racing for the evening.

Since all of the heat races were completed, it does count as a full night of racing, so no rain checks will be honored. However, the features that were unable to run will have to be made up. These will be features for the Modified, Sportsman, Limited Sportsman and 4-Cylinder classes. Much of this will be done on Aug. 19, but stay tuned for an official announcement of when all the features will be made up.

Before the rains came, there were a couple of features that did race. In Pro Stock, Fred Lee started on pole and had one of his best races since switching to his current chassis. He ran well to hold off the pack early on.

Dave Kokindo started alongside Lee and had some handling issues early on. On lap 3, Kokindo spun in turn 4. The resulting scramble saw Mike Dianda and Rick Spencer also got involved. Kokindo was unable to continue, but Dianda and Spencer were able to get back underway.

Rocco Procopio made upgrades to his car and moved up from the Street Stock class to Pro Stock Saturday night. He showed some speed in his debut, but the additional power comes with an adjustment in driving style. That led to a couple of spins that drew cautions.

Chad Jeseo started seventh and slowly made his way forward. After the first Procopio spin, Jeseo was able to sweep past Frank Twing to take second, then immediately took the lead from Lee on lap 7. The second Procopio spin brought out another yellow.

Shortly after the restart, Lee spun out in turn 2. He was then hit by Dave Stickles to bring out another yellow. Stickles lost his radiator in the crash, ending his night. Lee had rear end damage and tried to continue before pulling off.

On the restart, Nick Hilt ran Jeseo hard into turns 1 and 2, triggering a rare mistake from Jeseo. The defending champion jumped the cushion and brushed the outside wall. That allowed Hilt to take the lead.

With seven laps to go, Hilt suffered a mechanical failure and slowed in turn 4. That allowed Jeseo to retake the lead just as Dianda spun in turn 2 to bring out another yellow.

Jeseo was able to hold on over the final seven laps to take his second Pro Stock win of the year. Twing ended up second, followed by Zach Sorrentino and Tom Dean. Rick Duzlak was fifth.

The Street Stock campaigners had a special race Saturday night, the 20th Annual Boomer’s Performance Classic, a race held in memory of Robert “Boomer” Bedell. $2000 was on the line for the winner.

Mike Bussino, who won his heat race, started from the pole and was able to lead early. Jim Dellea moved up to second and was hot on Mike’s tail.

Chris Stalker was right up there in the hunt early until he spun out on lap 7 to draw a yellow. Stalker was able to continue.

Later on, Ray Royals crashed hard at the end of the backstretch and nearly tipped his No. 6 over. Royals was ok, but his car was heavily damaged and done for the night

Jeff Meltz Sr. gave chase for much of the race, but lost second to Dave Streibel just after halfway. Shortly afterwards, Dellea spun out to draw a yellow.

On the restart, Streibel and Josh Bussino collided exiting turn 2. The two drivers went into the wall, resulting in Streibel getting up on two wheels briefly. That put Streibel out for the night, while Josh Bussino was able to continue with damage.

Meltz retook second as a result of the crash, but could do nothing to pressure the No. 1x over the final five laps. Mike Bussino led flag-to-flag to win the Boomer’s Performance Classic and take home the $2000 first prize.

Meltz was second, then a recovering Stalker in third. Chris Murphy was fourth, while Dave Streibel Jr. was fifth.

In the Modified class, Timothy Davis claimed some extra money by winning the four-lap Cordova Heating & Plumbing Dash before the rains came. Matt Pupello was second, while Keith Flach was third.

Pro Stock Feature Results (20 laps): 1) Chad Jeseo, 2) Frank Twing, 3) Zach Sorrentino, 4) Tom Dean, 5) Rick Duzlak, 6) Shawn Perez, 7) Ryan Crellin, 8) Rick Spencer, 9) Nick Hilt Jr., 10) Mike Dianda, 11) Katarina Foster, 12) Brian Keough, 13) Fred Lee, 14) Dave Stickles, 15) Rocco Procopio, 16) Dave Kokindo

Street Stock 20th Annual Boomer’s Performance Classic in memory of Robert “Boomer” Bedell (20 laps): 1) Mike Bussino, 2) Jeff Meltz Sr., 3) Chris Stalker, 4) Jesse Murphy, 5) Dave Streibel Jr., 6) Jim Dellea, 7) Josh Bussino, 8) Bob Gibson, 9) Lou Gancarz, 10) Keri VanDenburg, 11) Franklin Smith, 12) Peter Huntoon, 13) Dave Streibel, 14) Ryan Brown, 15) Ray Royals, 16) Don Kennedy, 17) Chris Murphy

Modified Cordova Heating & Plumbing Dash (4 laps): 1) Timothy Davis, 2) Matt Pupello, 3) Keith Flach, 4) Kenny Tremont Jr., 5) Kyle Armstrong, 6) Ryan Darcy