STORYBOOK NIGHT FOR CODY DARRAH IN CLAIMING
FIRST TWO "410" FEATURE WINS

Written by Bill Meyer/Wayne Harper
Sunday, 11 May 2008 00:24

ABBOTTSTOWN, PA, 5/10/08 - Everybody knew it was only a matter of
time before 18-year-old Red Lion High School senior Cody Darrah would find
victory lane. Saturday night at Lincoln Speedway, Darrah did that and more.
For starters, Darrah grabbed the lead from Dallastown's Cory Haas on
the 20th lap of the April 26th make-up feature and drove away to his first
career 410 sprint win. But the night was young, and Darrah didn't stop there.
With the confidence of his first win under his belt, Darrah made two
daring moves from his seventh-starting position of the regularly-scheduled
25-lap 410 sprint feature to grab the lead from Haas again on the fifth lap.
Later in the race, he drove like a veteran over the final 11 laps with
all-time win leader Fred Rahmer chasing him. And thus, he drove away to an
unprecedented second career win on the very same night.
"It just doesn't get old getting here...this is awesome," said
Darrah about his second career visit to victory lane in the same night, "I
thought I could get another win sometime after my first one, but to get it
in the same night is unbelievable!"
"A monkey could be sitting in this (car), a monkey IS sitting in
this...this thing is flying around this place," said Darrah on how good his
J&K Salvage/Rudisill's Auto Body/Eckert Trucking/Eichelberger's U-Pull-It
No.89 sprinter was this night, "My hat's off to Lee Stauffer my crew chief,
I didn't think the car could get any better after the first race...I am
absolutely shell-shocked."
Darrah started 10th in the early make-up feature and made it a
three-car battle with early race-leader and polesitter Doug Dodson and Haas,
with Darrah making the pass of Haas on a 21st lap caution restart to take
the lead. Then when his inaugural win looked to be in the bag, the caution
flag waved as he was racing through the final turns to the checkered for a
four-car tangle in turns one and two. Another caution delayed his race to
the win on the restart when Rahmer and Busby spun and stopped in turns one
and two.
But the third time was the charm, as he raced away on the final lap
and took the checkered .53-seconds over Krimes to earn his first career win,
becoming the 182nd driver to win a sprint feature in the 56-year history of
the Pigeon Hills oval.
"I've been racing long enough to know that you can't be practicing
your victory lane speech on the last lap," said Darrah, "And that goes to
show you there. That was the longest 25-lap race I've ever been in."
"Lee Stauffer just finished this car," he added, "and this thing is
spunky!"
Haas settled for third, with Cris Eash coming from 16th-starting
spot to cross fourth and Doug Dodson fifth. Sixth through tenth were Brian
Montieth, Niki Young, Jim Siegel, Chad Layton, and Josh Wells.
A pair of red flags and a caution marred the start of the second
feature, with polesitter John Rudisill bringing out the first red by
flipping in turns three and four and then Todd Zinn rolling onto his side in
turn two, and then Montieth and Adam Lawrence getting together on the
backstretch on the third try to start the race.
Cory Haas assumed the pole when Doug Dodson failed to make the call
for the event and then Rudisill flipped, reshuffling the line-up. Once the
event got underway, Haas led the first four laps before a charging Darrah
blew by Brian Leppo two claim second just before a fifth-lap caution for Jim
Siegel, who came to a stop in turn four. Darrah grabbed the lead from Haas
on the restart, and never looked back.
By the time defending champ and current points leader Rahmer passed
Leppo for second on lap 15, Darrah had built a 2.18-second lead.
"I saw (Rahmer) in second on the scoreboard, and I began making
mistakes," said Darrah about Rahmer chasing him over the race's final 10
laps, "Just the thought of Fred Rahmer back there plays games with your
head...I was messing up and knew I had to step my pedal up."
"I was lucky to catch some cautions and just calm myself down. Just
seeing him up on the scoreboard scares me."
Leppo hung on for third, with Cris Eash fourth and Krimes fifth.
Sixth through tenth were Young, Esh, Layton, Josh Wells, and Haas.
Heats for the 26 "410" sprints were won by Layton, Dodson and Jeff
Busby.

Darrah claimed there was a monkey in the seat in the 410's, but
Kevin Nouse got the monkey off his back in the 20-lap feature for "358"
sprint cars.
Nouse, who has never had much luck in the Pigeon Hills, grabbed the
lead from front row starter and race-long leader Aaron Ott on lap 12, and
drove away to his first career Lincoln win.
Four laps later, Ott spun in turn two while running through lapped
traffic, handing the runner-up spot to 12th-starting Steve Owings, who ran
second the rest of the way. Polesitter Matt Boland completed a good run in
third, with Dale Hammaker and Gerard McIntyre, Jr. completing the top five.
Completing the top ten were 15th-starting Scott Geesey, 14th-starting John
Barnett, 17th-starting Billy Dietrich, 21st-starting Adrian Shaffer, and
Eric Tomecek.
Mike Mansfield and Jeff Rohrbaugh were uninjured in a spectacular
double-flip on turn one of their qualifying event.
Heats for the 41 "358" sprint were won by Boland, Ott, Jay Galloway
and Tomecek. Twin consolations were won by Billy Dietrich and Brad
McClelland.

Pylesville's Gino Comi picked up his first career Lincoln win back
on March 29th. Saturday night Comi picked up win number two.
Comi started fourth, tracked down polesitter and race-long leader
Ronnie Thomas and took the lead on lap six. From there Comi held off a
hard-charging Larry Niederer and two-time winner Duane Watson over a final
two-lap dash to the checkered to take the win.
Neiderer finished .51-seconds behind in second, with Watson third,
Thomas fourth and point-leader Sam Gallagher fifth. Completing the top-10
were Kyle Martin, Justin Mong, Rick Weaver, Al Crammer and Bob Bare.
Heats for the 28 thundercars were won by Comi, Thomas and Gallagher,
with Jimmy Combs winning the consolation.

Next Saturday night, May 17th at 7 PM, it will be LAWRENCE CHEVROLET
Night with the Cindy Rowe Auto Glass 410 Sprints being joined by the MALCO
Landscaping 358 Late Models and Super Sportsman. Gates will open at 5 PM.
To get all the latest news, results, schedule changes and rule
changes, visit Lincoln Speedway's website at http://www.lincolnspeedway.com
to stay up-to-date on all the action or pending weather conditions at
Central Pennsylvania's "Premier" Saturday night race track - The Fabulous
Lincoln Speedway.

RACE RESULTS
Saturday - May 10, 2008
LINCOLN SPEEDWAY
Abbottstown, PA
CINDY ROWE AUTO GLASS
410 SPRINTS:
Feature (25 Laps) - 1. 89-Cody Darrah ($3,000); 2. 51-Fred Rahmer; 3.
71-Brian Leppo; 4. 17E-Cris Eash; 5. 87-Alan Krimes; 6. 10N-Niki Young; 7.
30-Doug Esh; 8. 25-Chad Layton; 9. 6W-Josh Wells; 10. 11C-Cory Haas; 11.
22Z-Michael Carber; 12. 47J-Jeff Busby; 13. 21-Brian Montieth; 14. 38N-Nick
Schlauch Jr.; 15. 45-AJ Michael; 16. 49-Bobby Howard (DNF); 17. 39-TJ Stutts
(DNF); 18. 43-Zach Eucolano (DNF); 19. 59-Jim Siegel (DNF); 20. 5-Adam
Lawrence (DNF); 21. 23-Todd Zinn (DNF); 22. 25-Aaron Ott (DNF); 23. 4-John
Rudisill (DNF); DNS - 43-Doug Dodson. No Time

Lap Leaders - Cory Haas (1-4), Cody Darrah (5-25)

1st Heat (10 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 25-Chad Layton; 2. 11C-Cory Haas; 3.
87-Alan Krimes; 4. 89-Cody Darrah; 5. 5-Adam Lawrence; 6. 45-AJ Michael; 7.
23-Todd Zinn; 8. 25o-Aaron Ott (DNF); 9. 22Z-Michael Carber (DNF). No Time

2nd Heat (10 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 43-Doug Dodson; 2. 4-John Rudisill; 3.
59-Jim Siegel; 4. 71-Brian Leppo; 5. 21-Brian Leppo; 6. 10N-Niki Young; 7.
39-TJ Stutts; 8. 49-Bob Howard. Time - 2:21.063

3rd Heat (10 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 47J-Jeff Busby; 2. 17E-Cris Eash; 3.
51-Fred Rahmer; 4. 30-Doug Esh; 5. 38N-Nick Schlauch Jr.; 6. 6W-Josh Wells;
7. 43Z-Zach Eucolano; 8 12-Mike Bittinger (DNS). Time- 2:24..670

Make-up April 26th Feature (25 Laps) - 1. 89-Cody Darrah ($3,000); 2.
87-Alan Krimes; 3. 11C-Cory Haas; 4. 17E-Cris Eash; 5. 43-Doug Dodson; 6.
21-Brian Montieth; 7. 10N-Niki Young; 8. 59-Jim Siegel; 9. 25-Chad Layton;
10. 6W-Josh Wells; 11. 39-TJ Stutts; 12. 38N-Nick Schlauch Jr.; 13. 51-Fred
Rahmer; 14. 47J-Jeff Busby; 15. 22Z-Michael Carber (DNF); 16. 30-Doug Esh
(DNF); 17. 4-John Rudisill (DNF); 18. 71-Brian Leppo (DNF); 19. 12-Mike
Bittinger (DNF); 20. 25o-Aaron Ott (DNF); 21. 23-Pat Cooper (DNF); DNS -
3W-John Westbrook, 20-Ryan Taylor. No Time

Lap Leaders - Doug Dodson (1-9), Cory Haas (10-19), Cody Darrah (20-25)