In 1999, Frank Twing reached DIRTcar Pro Stock Series Victory Lane three times. But in 24 years, he hadn’t made it back.
That changed Saturday night as he led the final 27 laps to win the Old Buzzard 30 in honor of Jimmy Langenback at Lebanon Valley Speedway.
Defending DIRTcar Pro Stock Series champion Luke Horning led the field to the green, searching for his first top five of the season.
The Gloversville, NY driver led Lap 1 before the first of nine cautions came out for Phil DeFiglio, who stopped on the front stretch.
When the race resumed, Twing moved to the inside of Horning’s No. 2H on the backstretch and stayed even with him through Turns 3 and 4. However, as the two crossed the start/finish line, another yellow came out for Roxanne Roy, Shawn Perez Sr., and Devon Camenga, who spun in Turn 4.
Twing’s chance to strike came on the next restart as he pulled next to Horning for the second time as they exited Turn 2. As Twing started to build momentum, Chris Stalker pushed him from behind, moving the Mill River, MA, driver ahead of Horning and into the lead.
Horning started falling back through the field once they entered Turn 3, eventually slowing to bring out the yellow flag on Lap 6.
On the restart, Stalker tried using the same move Twing used on Horning, diving to the inside in Turn 2 and pulling even down the backstretch. But every time, Twing was too strong on the outside line.
With Twing out front, the race’s most significant caution fell on Lap 11 involving Series points leader Brandon Emigh. The Ballston Spa, NY driver crashed in Turns 3 and 4, forcing him to the pits. He made it back on the track and rebounded to finish 11th.
After two more yellow flags, the last coming on Lap 19, Twing used the advantage of a single-file restart to pull away from Stalker again. From there, the No. 317 went untouched to win the $1,000 prize—his fourth career Series win.
“The car felt great, but those cautions were agonizing,” Twing said. “It’s definitely not my first (Series win), but it’s definitely my first here. I’d like to thank DMC, Racing Junk, and DIRTcar for putting this on. It’s a pretty cool deal that we get to do this, and even cooler when we win.”
Stalker finished second, his best career DIRTcar Pro Stock Series finish. The Hillsdale, NY, driver stayed within striking distance for most of the race but couldn’t get the momentum he needed to take the lead.
“The car went good,” Stalker said. “Frank has a little more experience than I do, but I gave him everything I had. It seemed like every time the caution came out, they worked in my favor the first few laps but after a while they didn’t help me at all.”
Zach Sorrentino crossed the line third. The Massachusetts driver, who races the No. 54 in honor of Langenback, rebounded from a slow start in Qualifying.
“We forgot to put a spark plug wire back for time trials,” Sorrentino said. “We ran on seven cylinders, but this team never gave up on me. We changed the setup, we changed gears. They had faith in me, I had faith in them. That was the best running car I’ve had, and it’s really cool that it’s three Lebanon guys (on the podium).”
Jason Casey finished fourth, and Rich Crane rounded out the top five.
Pete Stefanski finished sixth, unofficially moving him into a tie with Emigh for the DIRTcar Pro Stock Series points lead.
DIRTcar Pro Stock Series Old Buzzard 30 (30 Laps): 1. 317-Frank Twing[2]; 2. 177-Chris Stalker[8]; 3. 54S-Zachary Sorrentino[10]; 4. 324-Jason Casey[7]; 5. 711-Rich Crane[16]; 6. 2S-Pete Stefanski[9]; 7. 28-Philip DeFiglio[11]; 8. 110-Devon Camenga[13]; 9. 9B-Slater Baker[19]; 10. 48-Jocelyn Roy[5]; 11. 2E-Brandon Emigh[4]; 12. 55-David Stickles[3]; 13. 52-Tom O’Connor[21]; 14. 311-Brian Keough[23]; 15. (DNF) 413-Tom (Tommy) Dean[18]; 16. (DNF) 2H-Luke Horning[1]; 17. (DNF) 09J-Shawn Perez Jr[6]; 18. (DNF) 120-Dave Kokindo[22]; 19. (DNF) 63-Ryan Crellin[14]; 20. (DNF) 15-Beau Ballard[15]; 21. (DNF) 09-Shawn Perez Sr[12]; 22. (DNF) 58-Roxanne Roy[20]; 23. (DNS) 17-Nick Hilt; 24. (DNS) 62-Rocco Procopio
Hoosier Tire Award (Free Tire): Dave Stickles
