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Bob
Schacht, Mother Nature Split SCSCS Duels at Dominion
Thornburg,
Virginia (April 29, 2018) – Longtime racer Bob Schacht can now
officially declare himself a Super Cup Stock Car Series
points-paying race winner.
The North Carolina resident bested
his previous track record set during September’s special event
held at Dominion Raceway in Thornburg, Virginia with a time of
15.872 seconds. After
the six fastest qualifiers redrew for their starting positions for
2018’s season opening Duels at Dominion, the No. 75 Engineered
Components / Bob Schacht Motorsports Chevrolet would have to climb
from fifth position to find its way to the front.
SCSCS newcomer Allen Purkhiser,
making his first appearance in a stock car in approximately six
years, showed that he could dust the rust off fairly quickly and
jumped out to the early lead at the 4/10-mile facility.
Schacht found his way to the runner-up position fairly
efficiently and was knocking on the door as the competitors
approached slower traffic.
On lap 20 of the first 50-lap Duel at
Dominion, Schacht made his move.
“I was just waiting for them guys
to make mistakes and when we came up on that lapped car I was kind
of watching where they were going,” Schacht noted.
“(Purkhiser) went to the outside and I said, well, I’m
going to the middle. I
just got lucky because as I went through it closed up.”
Schacht’s march to the top spot in
the opening laps did not come without incident.
2014 series champion JJ Pack was maintaining the second
position early on in his return to SCSCS competition, but ended up
going around bringing out the first of the evening’s three
cautions.
“Unfortunately with JJ Pack over
there, we really didn’t touch,” Schacht explained.
“I had my nose in there and he turned down.”
As
it goes in short track racing deals, there was a difference in
opinions and Pack pulled alongside Schacht during the yellow flag
period to voice his displeasure.
“I was just trying to give Allen a
chance to get settled in,” Pack commented.
“I was just waiting on him to make a mistake because he was
doing a couple things I noticed that I had a little bit better car
in the center of the corner, so I knew I would eventually get him.
A little too early in the race to get too crazy, and I guess
Bob Schacht had no patience and ran us right in the back and spun us
out.”
Pack’s night would be cut short
during the ensuing restart when the shifter broke, forcing the home
state driver to park his No. 16 IceBoxx Customs / JP Racing Toyota.
Throughout the remaining distance,
Schacht gradually proceeded ahead and Purkhiser was left to fight
off numerous challenges from Hickory, North Carolina’s Ben Ebeling
to hold on for second in his first career SCSCS start.
“My car just got really tight and
come to find out we blistered the right front,” the driver of the
No. 68 Clear
Choice Auto Glass / Premiere Motorsports Chevrolet, whose next start
will possibly be at Kingsport Speedway (TN) in mid-June, admitted.
“It just took us right out of it.
It wouldn’t turn anymore and that’s all I had for him.”
Ebeling had to settle for third, and
although not completely satisfied with coming up short, was pleased
to bring the No. 44 Wrench Rags / Custom Graphics / Potter Racing
Ford home in one piece with a solid finish.
“He was doing exactly what I would
have been doing if I was in the same spot, protecting his line and
trying to finish second,” Ebeling recapped.
“The 75 was obviously the class of the field, but I felt
like in the second 50 lapper we might have had something for him.”
Another experienced driver making his
SCSCS debut, AJ Henriksen, finished fourth.
The Sleepy Hollow, Illinois driver, who has recently been
trying his hand at road course racing, was on board Schacht’s
winning car from September. Petersburg,
West Virginia’s Larry Berg rounded out the top five in his initial
Dominion start.
Sadly, the final Duel at Dominion of
the night would not occur, as rain unexpectedly began to fall.
Despite a short period of the precipitation letting up and
the track’s positive efforts to get the show to resume once again,
it would be no match for Mother Nature, who stole the second trophy
of the night and canceled the remainder of the program.
Next, the teams look ahead to Midvale
Speedway in Ohio on Saturday, June 2.
While Ebeling would like to find some help from a sponsor to
fill the quarter panel or hood of the car he pilots for veteran Mike
Potter, he is hopeful they will be able to make the trip and carry
on a respectable beginning to the season.
“Looks like a nice track and a lot
of fun,” Ebeling, a spectator and crew member at last year’s
event at the 3/10-mile, remarked.
“It’s one of those bullrings, but I like the challenge of
going to new tracks and learning something new.
I look forward to hopefully getting the opportunity to go
race there.”
For Schacht, Dominion was a favorable
boost when it comes to the hunt for the 2018 championship, something
that did not begin on such a high note a year back.
“We’ll have to see if we can keep
that going,” Schacht, who was sidelined early in last year’s
running with a mechanical failure, said. “I
really liked Midvale and it was too bad the car broke, so we’re
looking forward to getting back there.”
Please visit the official web site at
www.supercupstockcarseries.com
and the Super Cup Stock Car Series Facebook,
Twitter, and Instagram
for continued updates leading into the next event as well as
throughout the season.
1 75 Bob
Schacht
2 68 Allen
Purkhiser
3 44s Ben
Ebeling
4 44n AJ
Henriksen
5 7 Larry
Berg
6 12 Brad
Teague
7 40 Todd
Peck
8 80 Brent
Nelson
9 90 Tim
Richardson
10 14 Mike
Potter
11 9 Samatha
Rohrbaugh
12 77 Kevin
Kromer
13 66 Larry
Wilcox
14 35 Bill
Ashton
15 17 Ron
Langdon
16 3 Jason
Schue
17 16 JJ
Pack
Pole - 75
Lap Leaders - 68, 75
Most Laps - 75
Halfway - 75
Hard Charger - 12, 14
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