MORE FIRST-TIME WINNERS AT FLAT ROCK
MORE FIRST-TIME WINNERS AT FLAT ROCK
Flat Rock, MI—May 15, 2021: A pair of first-time winners graced the Monroe Asphalt Winner’s Circle Saturday afternoon at Flat Rock Speedway on Kids Day. A large group of kids brought their parents to the track as all kids to age 12 were admitted free and received a free hot dog and soft drink, courtesy of Pepsi and Schwebel’s Bakery.
Gary Cronenwett scored his first-ever win in the ARCA DTS Drive Train Specialists Street Stock A Main, while Taylor Papineau notched his initial checkered flag in the Street Stock B Main contest. Dennis Whisman Jr. took his second win in the ARCA Figure 8 feature. The ARCA Vault Antiques and Treasures 250 lap Enduro race capped off the day and saw Rayce Metdepenningen take the victory.
The first 21 laps of the 25 lap A Main ran all green flag, and then things went sideways. An incident in the front stretch collected several cars, including David Liaeff, Landon Schuster, Ethan Stadniczuk, LJ Farmer and David Hanna. On the restart, more trouble ensued as Ron Allen was eliminated. Gary Cronenwett led the field from start to finish to claim his first-ever victory. Nick Shanks, Jeff Metdepenningen, Greg Studt, Max Fair, Trevor Farmer, Jeff Luttermoser, Lonnie York, Johnny Rangel and James Pankow completed the top 10.
There were 3 leaders in the 15 lap Street Stock B Main event. Mike Miller grabbed the lead at the green, Rich Abel took control several laps later and then Taylor Papineau zipped into the number 1 spot to grab his first feature win over Robert Stewart, Miller and Abel. Heat race winners were Stewart, Stadniczuk, Schuster and Wilburn Parks. Studt was the top qualifier for the Street Stocks with a lap of 13:370. Papineau led the B cars at 14:098.
Make it win number 2 for the number 2 in the ARCA Figure 8 class as Dennis Whisman Jr. was victorious in the 20 lap feature over Jakob Lee, Eugene Worden, Stephanie Bradley, David Katafiasz and Jeremy Miller. It was Retro Day for the preliminary events, putting the cars on the oval except for the feature race on the Figure 8 track. Whisman set quick time at 13:641, while Worden took the heat race win.
Four different drivers took turns leading The Vault ARCA Enduro 250 lap contest. At the checkered flag, Rayce Metdepenningen held off his brother, Kyle, to seal the win. Nathan Sprotberry ran strong out front at the start, leading the first 66 laps. Ed Case then assumed control and held the point until lap 102, when Kyle Metdepenningen took charge. Rayce tracked down Kyle and took over the number 1 spot with less than 100 laps to go. The event ran non-stop until lap 225 when Derrick Sheppard, who was running in the top 3 all day, lost a wheel and Cody Remick ran over it, sending Cody high into the air, with all 4 wheels off the ground. The race was stopped to remove those 2 cars. Rayce stayed on the throttle on the ensuing re-start to take the win over Kyle, Sprotberry, Robb Remick, Justin Chamberlin, Steven Smith, James Rae, Sheppard, Tadek Stadniczuk and Dale Buttrey. Rayce also set quick time at 13:813.
A little twist to Flat Rock’s schedule now takes place as “The Rock” gets back into action with a Friday Night Special this Friday, May 21. The ARCA Moran Chevrolet Outlaw Super Late Models, ARCA Figure 8’s and the ARCA DTS Drive Train Specialists Street Stocks will provide the action and entertainment.
The pit gates open at 3:30 p.m. The front gate and ticket office opens at 5:30, with race time set for 7:30 p.m. There is no advance ticket sale for this race. ALL tickets go on sale when the ticket office opens at the track Friday at 5:30 p.m.
The speedway is flipping nights with Toledo Speedway this weekend. The ARCA Menards Series Herr’s Potato Chips 200 is Saturday night, May 22. The Vault ARCA Factory Stocks and the ARCA R & M Recycling Late Model Sportsman are also in action. Racing begins at 5 p.m. for those 2 classes and qualifying for the ARCA cars; the 200 lap race is at 8 p.m.