Schartner Inherits Lead, Earns Win at Oswego
By – Chris Porter
Photos – Jim Feeney
 Weedsport’s Andrew Schartner was crowned “Mr. Small Block Supermodified” Satuday night at the Oswego Speedway. It was the fourth career Small Block Supermodified (SBS) feature win for the pilot of the Crow Motorsports No. 18, his second of the 2010 season.
Schartner poses in victory lane after winning the Mr. Small Block Supermodified 35
 Starting seventh on the grid, Schartner broke into the top five on lap No. 2, before being promoted to third after the second and third-place running cars came together ahead of him on lap No. 7. Nine rounds into the ensuing restart, Schartner dove underneath second-place running Mike Bruce, after Bruce’s unsuccessful bid for the lead on the high side left him vulnerable down low.
 Schartner was prepped to challenge for the lead when the race was slowed for a caution in the back of the field on the 16th lap. While under caution, race-leader Jason Simmons, pulled pit-side after experiencing mechanical woes on his No. 25 machine while leading for the second straight week.
 Schartner gladly inherited the top spot and successfully defended the position the rest of the way claim victor.
 Listen to – Andrew Schartner
 Simmons and Dennis Richmond paced the field to the green to begin the 35-lap main event. Simmons nabbed the early lead, while Richmond was quickly shuffled into the clutches of the field. After one trip around the “O,” Simmons led Bruce, Barry Kingsley, Tim Barbeau and Richmond.
 Lap No. 2 saw Schartner break into the top five, pulling teammate Kreig Heroth along with him.
 With Simmons and Bruce inching away up front, the eager nose of Barbeau’s No. 58 was there for the squeezing as third-place running  Kingsley dove down into the first turn. Barbeau didn’t back out and the contact resulted in mass carnage in turn No. 1.
 Richmond, Dave Danzer, Guard Nearbin, Mike Bond and Keith Gilliam were were all collected in the melee, along with Steve Abt. Abt’s No. 85 pounded the outside retaining wall. Some of the drivers were able to regain their running positions because it was deemed they were not directly involved. Others went pit-side for repairs, while for Richmond, Gilliam and Abt, the night was over.
 With just six trips in the books, Simmons led Bruce, Schartner, Heroth and Brian Sobus. Bond, David Cliff, Cameron Rowe, Nearbin and Mark Castiglia completed the top 10.
15 laps in, Simmons (91) leads Schartner (18), Bruce (2), Bond (26) and Heroth (44)
 On the restart, Bruce stayed glued to the rear-end of the Simmons No. 25. Bruce took a quick peek up top on the eighth lap, but Simmons held his ground.
 Having just gotten by Sobus for fifth, Bond drove around Heroth’s No. 44 on the 11th lap to take away fourth place. A spin off of turn No. 4 by Danzer slowed things down for everyone on the 13th lap.
 Again, Bruce took another look to the high side of the Simmons No. 25 as the two danced off of turn four to take the green. And again, Simmons fended off the feisty rookie challenger.
 The 15th lap saw Bruce get perhaps a little too eager trying to better Simmons on the outside. His No. 2 skated up the banking enough to allow Schartner’s No. 18 to dart underneath him and into second place. Immediately, Bond tried to follow, but after successfully making the pass one lap later, it was negated after the yellow flag was thrown for a spin at the rear of the field.
 While under caution, Simmons suddenly pulled into the pits with motor gremlins. This bumped everyone up one position, most notably, Schartner. Filling out the top 10 behind the new race leader were, Bruce, Bond, Heroth, Cliff, Sobus, Rowe, Nearbin, Castiglia and Kingsley.
 The restart saw no challenge at the top of the field. Schartner appeared to walk away with ease. After Cliff took fourth from Heroth, the field thinned near the front. With 10 to go, Schartner commanded a 15-car length lead over Bruce. Further back, Bond and Cliff began to fight fiercely for third.
 The only remaining challenges for the race leader came in the form of a few scary moments with lapped traffic. A suddenly slowing LeVea No. 95 car let Schartner know that his brakes were in good working order, while Kevin Jackson’s No. 65 assured him his steering was in tip-top shape as well.

Andrew Schartner’s second win

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Schartner Earns First Small Block Super Win at Oswego

By - JJ Andrews
 

Back on June 13th, rookie Andrew Schartner nearly won his first career small block super modified feature, in just his fourth feature ever try in a small block supermodified.  Schartner was passed by veteran Mike Bond, just two laps shy of the upset victory in the Tom Aaserud owned Crow Motorsports entry.  Schartner went on to a second place finish that day.Rob Pullen and Dave Danzer paced the field from the front row to take the green flag.  Pullen would occupy the lead, as Schartner fought with Danzer and Shawn Walker, from his 4th place starting position.  By lap five Schartner was in second position, and the pursuit was on.

                     

Early incidents on the speedway had removed some of the top competitors from competition.  Mike Bond’s TMS Racing #26 was towed to the pits with some heavy damage.  Points leader Dave Gruel, along with top runners Dave Cliff and Kevin Knopp were also involved in on-track incidents.Bond and Cliff were both done for the night on laps 4 and 6, while Knopp and Gruel were able to continue for a few more circuits.  Gruel later appeared with the rear body of the car removed from the #50.The one top three contender that was able to get through the mayhem was Russ Brown, in the Pike Racing #60 small block.  Coming from 17th starting position due to an incident in his heat race, Brown reached the top five by lap seven.  Muscling his way past Danzer, Steve Abt, and Jack Patrick, Brown entered the top three on lap 11.At that point, Schartner had been assigned two missions: hold off the hard charging, fellow Hedger Chassis driver Russ Brown for second place; and find a way to pass Pullen for the victory.  That’s a lot of spinning plates for a rookie.The top three stayed in that exact order  for the next several laps  ,each driver calculating their next move, while maintaining speeds in excess of 110 miles per hour.Further back in the pack, Thursday night’s NORA / USAC winner Brian Sobus was recovering from an earlier incident which sent him to the rear of the field.  Advancing to 9th from his 12th place starting position, Sobus headed back to 17th  position after a lap four crash involving several small block supermodifieds.  Sobus’ ascent saw him in 7th on lap 13,  and 5th by lap 25.  A late race battle with recent Mr. Small Block Supermodified winner Stan Gates for 4th would prove successful.Back at the front, Schartner calculated his options, as the laps wound down.  On lap 28, Schartner found the opening that he had been searching for for the last twenty plus laps.  A quick dive underneath of Pullen’s #25 found the two racers side by side, with some slight wheel-banging.  Both cars continued despite the inadvertent contact, and Schartner cruised to his first ever win in the small block super modified division.  Pullen successfully held off Russ Brown for second, with Brown coming home third at the line.  Brian Sobus and Stan Gates rounded out the top five positions.Tim Barbeau also recovered from that lap four disaster to finish 6th, followed by Jack Patrick, who limped across the line in 7th place with engine problems.Past small block supermodified  and current super modified competitor Lou LeVea Sr. jumped into the Mark Castiglia owned #90 for the feature, to help with some setup or diagnosis of the car.  LeVea drove to an 8th place finish before jumping back into the #61 super for the feature.  Chip Wood finished 9th, and Bryan Haynes earned his first top ten finish.

 

Small-block supers

In the 30-lap feature for the Pathfinder Bank SBS Series, Schartner started sixth and began his charge on lap 8, passing Steve Abt for fifth place. He got under Jason Simmons for fourth on the next lap. He kept picking off cars until getting under the #04 of Kevin Knopp on a lap 21 restart for the lead.
Once in front, the #18 car opened up a big lead and was not challenged to the checkered flag.
“I can’t believe I’m here (in victory lane) twice in one year,” Schartner said. “This thing was just a missile. I can’t thank my crew enough.”
Knopp, Brown, Brian Sobus, and Simmons completed the top five.
Knopp, who started on the pole, took second place despite a variety of problems with the for-sale #04 car.
“It was loose. It was pushing. It had a vibration,” he said. “We’ve had nothing but bad luck all year long.”.

 Schartner wins 2010 title of Mr. Small Block Super Modified

July 31, 2010

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Mr SBS 2010