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Bridesmaids No More:  Clean Sweep for Kitzmiller and Team at Motor Mile

Radford, Virginia (September 12, 2021) – Riding in on the momentum of four consecutive runner-up finishes, Jason Kitzmiller has been on the verge of breaking through for a first career Super Cup Stock Car Series victory for quite some time now.  On Friday evening at Motor Mile Speedway, the Maysville, West Virginia driver ended that particular streak in a most favorable way.

After being top of the board in the lone practice session of the afternoon, next came qualifying for the twin 50-lap races that were on the docket.  Kitzmiller was right in the thick of where he needed to be, the No. 97 A.L.L. Construction / CR7 Motorsports Garage Chevrolet only 0.029 seconds off the fastest time.  That mark was set by Ben Ebeling for his third pole award this year and gained the Hickory, North Carolina competitor five more bonus points toward his championship lead.  In fact, first back to third place, Mooresville, North Carolina’s Bob Schacht, were separated by just over five hundredths of a second, each of which breaking the SCSCS track record from the August visit to the 0.416-mile oval.

Following a six-car redraw, Renick, West Virginia’s Harvey Harrison started from the top spot.  The No. 51 John 3:16 / Southern Coal Corporation / Harrison’s Motorsports Chevrolet broke out to the early advantage to pace his first four circuits of 2021, but rapidly catching the 2016 series champion and making a relatively standard pass was third place starter Kitzmiller.

Kitzmiller was far from home free though as routine contenders Schacht and Ebeling were making moves and closing in quick from their fourth and sixth starting positions, respectively.  The No. 44 Startown Carpet & Floor Coverings / Swanny's Auto Sales / Wrenn’s Lawn Service / L & C Truck Repair / Battery Specialist of Hickory / RE Suspension Ford was right on the leader’s tail closing in on and after halfway nearly lap after lap.

As Kitzmiller began to slightly stretch the margin, trouble struck when his teammate Samatha Rohrbaugh from Petersburg, West Virginia went around in turn four; initiating a yellow flag to bunch the field with only six laps remaining.  Ebeling restarted to the outside and this time, unlike a restart during the most recent race at Jennerstown Speedway Complex when he lost the first position, Kitzmiller held on to the jubilation of his CR7 Motorsports crew.

“We were good last time we were down here and just had a good feeling all week,” Kitzmiller, who broke a more than four-year winning dry spell for the team operated by former series winner and rookie of the year Codie Rohrbaugh and family, indicated.  “My fiancé is out of town and I told her that we’re going to win this weekend since you’re gone and here we are.  That’s just the way it works, but man we had a rocket ship tonight.

“I said a few not so nice words when that caution came out because I was like here we go again, Jennerstown all over, and I was like we’re going to get this right this time.  It really worked out.  Again, we had a super-fast car.”

Ebeling finished second, one spot ahead of Schacht, while Harvey Harrison pressed on for his best result of 2021 in fourth.  Harvey’s son Brian Harrison achieved fifth in the final running order, the No. 15 Harrison’s Welding / Swearingen Bat Company / Harrison’s Motorsports Chevrolet’s best performance since 2017.

The night would come to a quick close for Brian Harrison at the start of the second main event, unfortunately.  Although unscathed himself, a blown oil line caused the Renick, West Virginia native’s car to lose control coming out of turn two and nose the outside backstretch wall.  This forced a complete start, which initially saw outside front row starter Kitzmiller take the lead from the get go over Harvey Harrison who had drawn the pole once again, since a lap had not been completed.

The 30th different winner in SCSCS history was on his game once again, setting the pace early on.  In this instance it was the No. 75 Engineered Components Co. / Bob Schacht Motorsports Chevrolet that marched to second and was able to near the back bumper of the first main event winner.

Only one more caution period took place and yet again it was down the stretch of the distance.  Some light brotherly contact took place racing for position in turn two between York, Pennsylvania’s Landon Brothers and Hayden Brothers that resulted in Landon spinning right in front of the leader.  Kitzmiller chose to restart on the inside but so did Schacht, allowing third place Ebeling to choose the outside front row.

There was no match for Kitzmiller on this night though and a clean sweep was accomplished.

“I thought maybe tonight’s the night, but nobody thinks you’re going to come and sweep,” the now two-time SCSCS winner commented.  “I’m just tickled to death and couldn’t be happier.  We had a heck of a car tonight.  I knew (Schacht) was in my mirror and I wasn't trying to run one hundred percent because I didn’t want to burn the tires up since the car got tight in the first race toward the end.  And if you make one mistake, he’s had thousands and thousands of laps and he’s going to clean you up.

“We just concentrated on hitting my marks, brake points, and all that and we were able to hold him off.  (Crew chief) Todd (Myers) kept telling me my lap times on the radio and we tried to stay consistent.”

The best that Kitzmiller can potentially do in the final overall standings is third, but he remains eligible for the Mid-Atlantic regional title that will be among the accolades settled at the conclusion of the first of twin races in three weeks.  No matter the final result, the racer in his first full season added that he is enjoying every moment.

“It’s a tremendous amount of fun.  We really enjoy the family atmosphere and CR7 Motorsports.  Everyone does a great job and it’s a family run deal.  I couldn’t be happier.”

Ebeling was able to clear Schacht on the final restart for another runner-up run and somewhat padded his points lead further.  Nevertheless, there was more than met the eye regarding both of the evening’s outcomes due to a myriad of problems that ultimately left him feeling like they lucked out to simply see the checkered flag in the end.

“We had brake problems in the first race and then a spark plug wire burned through in the second race and we were running on seven cylinders,” Ebeling explained.  “The very first start of the race it just would not go.  I told the guys I don’t know what happened to the car when I revved it up and I could tell something was wrong.  We went back going and I started second, tried to keep the RPMs up, so we were able to keep our momentum going but I was flatfooting it in the corner.  Our bad luck strikes and we finish with two seconds; I’m very blessed to have that happen.  I can’t complain at all about that.”

Petersburg, West Virginia’s Brent Nelson, who uncharacteristically qualified ninth and moved up to sixth in the first race to earn hard charger honors, was also able to get by Schacht late in the going to rally for third with the No. 80 Precision Auto Collision / Airtek Inc. / RAM Trucking / Snap-On Tools / Atkinson Welding / QH Design / JEBCO / Nelson Motorsports Chevrolet.

Schacht’s fourth place result left the driver and team rather puzzled.

“I don’t know what’s going on with this thing,” the 2018 series champion described.  “It runs good for about 20 or 25 laps and then it gets to where I can’t use the gas pedal and then it starts going up the racetrack.  It was just a struggle all night long, but hey, it’s in one piece and we’ll go to Dominion and see what happens.”

Rohrbaugh rounded out the top five in her No. 7 Grant County Mulch / In Loving Memory of Mark Huff / CR7 Motorsports Garage Chevrolet, picking up her fourth hard charger award of 2021.

Schacht will essentially need to solely focus on winning and collecting bonus points in order to have any realistic shot at the overall championship coming up at the season finale weekend on Saturday, October 2nd.  Luckily, Thornburg, Virginia’s Dominion Raceway is a facility in which he has done so before on five different occasions, including the season opener back in May.

The stock car racing veteran did hint at one additional item that is in the works.

“I’m going to bring another car so hopefully that one will be better.”

More details and continued updates regarding the upcoming event that closes out the year of Super Cup Stock Car Series racing will be available at the official web site supercupstockcarseries.com as well as the series Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.

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