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Norris Wins 4th "Jook" In Five Years (FULL Write Up & Results for 7.27.24)

Imperial, PA (7.28.24)

The A&S Federal Credit Union 35th Annual "Jook George Steel City Classic," presented by All Interior Painting for the weekly Rohrich Auto/Chevy Performance RUSH Late Models and the Flynn's Tire/Gunter's Honey Touring RUSH Late Model Touring Series, sponsored by Born2Run Lubricants, took place on Saturday night at Dirt’s Monster Half Mile. This event marked the second visit to Pittsburgh for the Flynn's Tire/Gunter's Honey Touring Series and drew 46 cars from six states. PPMS saw qualifying, seven heat races, three B mains, a six-lap dash, and four feature events. Michael Norris (N1) from Sarver won his fourth Jook George Steel City Classic in the last five years, taking $7,010 to the bank. Christian Schneider (75) from Georgetown won the RUSH Non-Qualifiers feature as he led all 10 laps of the event. Stephen Shelpman (25R) from Pleasant Hills picked up his second win of the season in the Fuel Required Hobby Stock feature, and Anthony Uddstrom (18) snagged another win for the All Ways Safe Flagging and Traffic Control Young Guns.

Norris (N1), who started in third, fell back to fifth on lap 17 before charging forward and making the winning pass on lap 29 from Lukon (184). Norris (N1) went unchallenged over the final laps of the 40-lap feature, becoming the sixth different winner in eight Flynn's Tire/Gunter's Honey Touring Series events this season. He earned $6,010 from the base purse, along with a $1,000 bonus for contributing to the event, thanks to Lockwich and track owner Blair Cress Jr. This victory marks Norris's seventh career Touring Series win, with six at Pittsburgh, including the 2021 "Bill Hendren Memorial" and the 2022 "Herb Scott Memorial."

"It means a lot to win this," expressed Norris, 32, from Sarver, PA. "This race is what got us started running crate cars. I love this track—it's my favorite by far. Kudos to Branden Lockwich and Blair Cress for their efforts. Even though the track was rough, it improved as the race went on."

Kyle Lukon (184) from Burgettstown set the fastest time overall against the stellar 46-car field in FK Rod Ends "Shock the Clock" Qualifying with a 19.509, receiving $125 from Our Cars Auto Detailing and Tire Service and $100 from FK Rod Ends. Zach Kane (25) from Washington set the fastest time in the other flight of qualifying and received $100 from Stan's Transmission. Winning $25 FK Rod Ends heat races were Bryce Davis (94), Brandon Burgoon (60), Mike Reft (9R), Lukon (184), Jeremy Wonderling (3J), and Norris (N1). Marino Angelicchio (55A), Joe Martin (10S), and Demetrios Drellos (111D) won the three last-chance B mains, each paying $50. Davis (94) won the "John Beatty Memorial" Sunoco Dash for $204 plus a $100 Sunoco fuel card. Sunoco fuel cards were also awarded to Brad Mesler (87S) and Mike Wonderling (18) ($100 each), and Drellos (111D), Schneider (75), Davin Kaiser (11K), and Lincoln Smith (31S) ($50 each).

Making his first Pittsburgh start since his 2017 championship season, Bryce Davis (94) raced into the early lead over fellow New Yorker Jeremy Wonderling (3J), track standout Brandon Burgoon (60), and Norris (N1). By lap four, Davis (94) and Wonderling (3J) distanced themselves from the field. Fifth starting Lukon (184) dropped back to seventh on the opening lap before picking off cars and found himself up to fourth when the caution was displayed for a slowing Garret Paugh (03) on the seventh frame of the event.

When green replaced yellow on lap eight, Lukon (184) charged into the lead, while Wonderling (3J) passed Davis (94) for second. Norris (N1) and Michael Reft (9R) traded the fourth spot back and forth numerous times over the first 18 laps before Norris (N1) got by for good on the 18th frame. Lukon (184) stretched out his lead to 1.375 seconds when he caught lapped traffic on lap 19; however, Wonderling (3J) began to close in on Lukon (184) and was right on the leader on lap 22.

Dave Hess Jr., who won the $20,000 "Bill Emig Memorial" last month at Lernerville, was looking for another big payday but slowed to bring out the caution with 23 laps scored. The caution was unwelcome for Wonderling (3J), who lost second and third to Norris (N1) and Davis (94) on the restart. Wonderling (3J) dropped to fifth on lap 26 when 21st-starting Demetrios Drellos (111D) continued his progression forward. The event's final caution came when Mason Zeigler (25Z) blew a tire with 28 laps completed. Zeigler (25Z) had made a notable charge from his 24th starting spot into the top five.

Back under green, Norris (N1) made the outside work for what would be the winning move on lap 29, while Drellos (111D) passed Wonderling (3J) for third. Drellos (111D) faded over the remaining laps, allowing Wonderling (3J) to regain third on lap 31. As Norris (N1) pulled away, Wonderling (3J) battled Lukon (184) for second, while Drellos (111D) had his hands full with Davis (94) and Brock Pinkerous (555).

At the checkered flag, Norris (N1) crossed the line first by 1.604 seconds in the ND Motorsports/Ingram Engines/Rocket Chassis/Millerstown Pic-A-Part/Integra Shocks/Lojack Cycle-sponsored #N1. This victory ties Norris (N1) with Ryan Montgomery (12) for eighth on the all-time win list at seven wins, despite running only a handful of races annually over the past five seasons. It also marks Norris's 23rd career win overall at Pittsburgh.

Lukon (184) earned $3,000 for his runner-up finish in just his second Flynn's Tire/Gunter's Honey Tour start of the season and first since finishing fourth at Pittsburgh on April 20. Lukon (184) also picked up an extra $200 in lap money for leading lap 10 in memory of Jook George and lap 22 in memory of Chuck Herr. Wonderling's (3J) third-place finish earned him $2,000, marking his fourth podium finish of the season. He, along with Norris (N1) and Lukon (184), received a three-pack of Heritage Wine Cellars premium products.

Bryce Davis (94) finished fourth after leading the first seven laps, earning $1,500. Davis has now won over $10,000 in the last three Tour events despite not securing a victory. Brock Pinkerous (555) quietly moved from 12th to fifth, earning $1,300 and maintaining his points lead.

Demetrios Drellos (111D), who lost three spots over the final nine laps, still impressively finished sixth, his career-best Tour finish, earning $1,200. Drellos (111D) also received several bonuses, including $200 for the longest tow, $288 as the rookie of the race, $100 from Stan's Transmission, and a $50 Precise Racing Products gift card for being the hard charger.

Two-time 2024 Pittsburgh City Chevrolet Weekly Series winner Daryl Charlier (42) moved from 15th to 7th, earning $1,100 and taking the points lead in the $3,000 to-win 3C Graphix Rookie-of-the-Year standings. Burgoon (60), after being as high as third early, finished eighth for $1,050 and received a spoiler kit from Ontime Body & Graphic. Reft finished ninth for $1,000, and Justin Chance drove a second Phil Lukon #184 entry from 14th to 10th, earning $900 plus a $110 bonus from the Jook George Family in memory of Jook.

Christian Schneider (75), making his debut for Touring Series car owner John Deller, won the D&V Jewelers Non-Qualifier, leading all 10 laps for a $400 payday. Schneider (75) from Lower Burrell, PA, became the 78th different winner in 96 races run all-time. Zach Gunn (17G), who passed Brad Mesler on the opening lap, finished second. Seventh-starting Ben Easler (02) passed Mesler on lap six to finish third. Mesler finished fourth and received a $50 certificate from Holley Performance Group for being the first feature non-qualifier. Tommy Schirnhofer Jr. (8S) completed the top five.

The Landrum Performance Springs BOGO certificates were captured by Hess (44), Angelicchio (14), Charlier (42), Zeigler (25Z), and Jacob Gunn (14G).

The Fuel Required Hobby Stocks would run a 15-lap feature only on Saturday night, and after starting on the pole, Leroy Brown (40B) from Aliquippa would jump out to the early lead with P2-starting Jonathan Koteles (2K) in tow. Brown (40B) would lead the field through the middle frame. However, Shelpman would take over the lead on lap nine as he was driving the Garrett O’Patchen owned 25R for the second week in a row. Shelpman (25R) would lead the remaining laps of the event and go on to pick up back-to-back wins. Logan Koteles (64K) had the runner-up spot, while Brown (40B) finished third, O’Patchen (25) finished fourth, and Joe Brown Jr. (48) rounded out the top five.

Sadie Snatchko (56) from Oakdale would start on the pole in the All Ways Safe Flagging and Traffic Control Young Guns eight-lap feature with Gavin Kokolis (91) from Oakdale on her outside. When the green flag dropped, Snatchko (56) would pull away with the early lead, but a lap one caution was out for Hunter Vohn (124) from Industry, as his wheel came off going into turn one. When green replaced yellow, Snatchko (56) would again pull away with the lead with Anthony Uddstrom (18) now in tow. Uddstrom (18) would make his move on the next lap and take over the lead. At the halfway point, Uddstrom (18) was leading the charge, and he had Kokolis (91) behind him in second and Snatchko (56) in third. Uddstrom (18) would lead the remaining four laps in the event and go on to score his second win in a row. Kokolis (91) finished second, Snatchko (56) finished third, Nathan Olenik (99) finished fourth, and Kane Zupancic (11) completed the top five. The heat race winner was Uddstrom (18).

Racing resumes at Dirt’s Monster Half Mile this coming Saturday, August 3rd, 2024, for an Action Event headlined by round 2 of the Stephen W. Johnson Hobby Stock Triple Crown Series and the Willie White Memorial for the Fuel Required Hobby Stocks.

Also on the card are the Rohrich Automotive/Chevy Performance RUSH Late Models, the Pittsburgh Truck Center Penn Ohio Pro Stocks, the Crawford Auto Repair Open Four Cylinders, and the All Ways Safe Flagging and Traffic Control Young Guns. Visit ppms.com/schedule for tickets and more info.

RESULTS

46 Entries
RUSH Late Models

Flynns Tire/Gunters Honey Jook George Memorial (40 Laps): 1. N1-Michael Norris[3]; 2. 184-Kyle Lukon[5]; 3. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling[2]; 4. 94-Bryce Davis[1]; 5. 555-Brock Pinkerous[12]; 6. 111D-Demetrios Drellos[21]; 7. 42-Daryl Charlier[15]; 8. 60-Brandon Burgoon[4]; 9. 9R-Mike Reft[6]; 10. 184C-Justin Chance[14]; 11. 14A-Dan Angelicchio[23]; 12. 18-Mike Wonderling[13]; 13. 14B-Ben Policz[17]; 14. 1/2PT-Damian Bidwell[26]; 15. 10S-Joe Martin[20]; 16. 14G-Jake Gunn[10]; 17. 11A-Ashton Briggs[11]; 18. 72B-Kassidy Kamicker[25]; 19. 25K-Zachary Kane[7]; 20. 5X-Cody Koteles[22]; 21. 45-Tim Shaffer[16]; 22. 55A-Marino Angelicchio[19]; 23. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[24]; 24. 44-Dave Hess Jr[9]; 25. 32A-Austin Allen[18]; 26. 03-Garret Paugh[8]

B Main 1 (8 Laps): 1. 55A-Marino Angelicchio[2]; 2. 5X-Cody Koteles[5]; 3. 87S-Brad Mesler[4]; 4. 2M-Chuck Medved[3]; 5. 15B-Matthew Benard[8]; 6. 91B-Brodie Oravetz[6]; 7. 11K-Davin Kaiser[9]; 8. 31-Kyle Zimmerman[7]; 9. (DNS) 20G-Dave Goble; 10. (DNS) 72B-Kassidy Kamicker

B Main 2 (8 Laps): 1. 10S-Joe Martin[3]; 2. 14A-Dan Angelicchio[6]; 3. 75-Christian Schneider[1]; 4. 36B-Colby Beighey[4]; 5. 02-Benjamin Easler[7]; 6. 77-Tom Klein[5]; 7. 4JR-Jacob Billyk Jr[9]; 8. 29-Ryan Hare[8]; 9. 8S-Tommy Schirnhofer Jr[2]

B Main 3 (8 Laps): 1. 111D-Demetrios Drellos[4]; 2. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[3]; 3. 17G-Zach Gunn[7]; 4. 31S-Lincoln Smith[6]; 5. 05-Frank Magill[2]; 6. 21J-Jim Rasey[1]; 7. (DNS) 51-Austin Hauser; 8. (DNS) 1/2PT-Damian Bidwell; 9. (DNS) 38-Michael Stephans

Sunoco Dash (6 Laps): 1. 94-Bryce Davis[1]; 2. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling[3]; 3. N1-Michael Norris[5]; 4. 60-Brandon Burgoon[2]; 5. 184-Kyle Lukon[6]; 6. 9R-Mike Reft[4]

FK Rod Ends Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 94-Bryce Davis[2]; 2. 25K-Zachary Kane[1]; 3. 18-Mike Wonderling[5]; 4. 72B-Kassidy Kamicker[4]; 5. 2M-Chuck Medved[7]; 6. 5X-Cody Koteles[3]; 7. 31-Kyle Zimmerman[8]; 8. 11K-Davin Kaiser[6]

FK Rod Ends Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 60-Brandon Burgoon[1]; 2. 44-Dave Hess Jr[2]; 3. 42-Daryl Charlier[3]; 4. 55A-Marino Angelicchio[4]; 5. 87S-Brad Mesler[7]; 6. 91B-Brodie Oravetz[5]; 7. 15B-Matthew Benard[8]; 8. 20G-Dave Goble[6]

FK Rod Ends Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 9R-Mike Reft[1]; 2. 11A-Ashton Briggs[3]; 3. 14B-Ben Policz[5]; 4. 75-Christian Schneider[2]; 5. 10S-Joe Martin[6]; 6. 77-Tom Klein[4]; 7. 02-Benjamin Easler[7]

FK Rod Ends Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 184-Kyle Lukon[1]; 2. 03-Garret Paugh[3]; 3. 184C-Justin Chance[2]; 4. 8S-Tommy Schirnhofer Jr[5]; 5. 36B-Colby Beighey[4]; 6. 14A-Dan Angelicchio[6]; 7. 29-Ryan Hare[7]; 8. 4JR-Jacob Billyk Jr[8]

FK Rod Ends Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling[1]; 2. 14G-Jake Gunn[2]; 3. 45-Tim Shaffer[5]; 4. 21J-Jim Rasey[6]; 5. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[3]; 6. 51-Austin Hauser[7]; 7. 17G-Zach Gunn[4]; 8. 38-Michael Stephans[8]

FK Rod Ends Heat 6 (8 Laps): 1. N1-Michael Norris[1]; 2. 555-Brock Pinkerous[2]; 3. 32A-Austin Allen[7]; 4. 05-Frank Magill[3]; 5. 111D-Demetrios Drellos[6]; 6. 31S-Lincoln Smith[5]; 7. 1/2PT-Damian Bidwell[4]

FK Rod Ends Qualifying A: 1. 25K-Zachary Kane, 00:19.536[2]; 2. 60-Brandon Burgoon, 00:19.634[1]; 3. 9R-Mike Reft, 00:19.758[5]; 4. 94-Bryce Davis, 00:19.842[21]; 5. 44-Dave Hess Jr, 00:19.845[4]; 6. 75-Christian Schneider, 00:19.856[16]; 7. 5X-Cody Koteles, 00:19.899[12]; 8. 42-Daryl Charlier, 00:19.969[11]; 9. 11A-Ashton Briggs, 00:20.062[13]; 10. 72B-Kassidy Kamicker, 00:20.093[7]; 11. 55A-Marino Angelicchio, 00:20.121[9]; 12. 77-Tom Klein, 00:20.169[15]; 13. 18-Mike Wonderling, 00:20.362[18]; 14. 91B-Brodie Oravetz, 00:20.408[8]; 15. 14B-Ben Policz, 00:20.425[10]; 16. 11K-Davin Kaiser, 00:20.476[23]; 17. 20G-Dave Goble, 00:20.517[19]; 18. 10S-Joe Martin, 00:20.637[3]; 19. 2M-Chuck Medved, 00:20.757[17]; 20. 87S-Brad Mesler, 00:20.879[14]; 21. 02-Benjamin Easler, 00:20.931[6]; 22. 31-Kyle Zimmerman, 00:21.139[20]; 23. 15B-Matthew Benard, 00:21.260[22]

FK Rod Ends Qualifying B: 1. 184-Kyle Lukon, 00:19.509[14]; 2. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling, 00:19.534[19]; 3. N1-Michael Norris, 00:19.580[23]; 4. 184C-Justin Chance, 00:19.596[7]; 5. 14G-Jake Gunn, 00:19.634[20]; 6. 555-Brock Pinkerous, 00:19.675[6]; 7. 03-Garret Paugh, 00:19.760[9]; 8. 25Z-Mason Zeigler, 00:19.910[13]; 9. 05-Frank Magill, 00:19.923[16]; 10. 36B-Colby Beighey, 00:19.985[18]; 11. 17G-Zach Gunn, 00:20.130[3]; 12. 1/2PT-Damian Bidwell, 00:20.265[15]; 13. 8S-Tommy Schirnhofer Jr, 00:20.349[10]; 14. 45-Tim Shaffer, 00:20.375[5]; 15. 31S-Lincoln Smith, 00:20.391[11]; 16. 14A-Dan Angelicchio, 00:20.395[2]; 17. 21J-Jim Rasey, 00:20.425[1]; 18. 111D-Demetrios Drellos, 00:20.441[4]; 19. 29-Ryan Hare, 00:20.473[8]; 20. 51-Austin Hauser, 00:20.780[17]; 21. 32A-Austin Allen, 00:20.923[12]; 22. 4JR-Jacob Billyk Jr, 00:20.944[21]; 23. 38-Michael Stephans, 00:21.554[22]

DV Jewelers Non Qualifier (10 Laps): 1. 75-Christian Schneider[2]; 2. 17G-Zach Gunn[3]; 3. 02-Benjamin Easler[8]; 4. 87S-Brad Mesler[1]; 5. 8S-Tommy Schirnhofer Jr[17]; 6. 36B-Colby Beighey[5]; 7. 29-Ryan Hare[16]; 8. 91B-Brodie Oravetz[10]; 9. 2M-Chuck Medved[4]; 10. 15B-Matthew Benard[7]; 11. 38-Michael Stephans[20]; 12. 77-Tom Klein[11]; 13. 05-Frank Magill[9]; 14. (DNS) 4JR-Jacob Billyk Jr; 15. (DNS) 20G-Dave Goble; 16. (DNS) 51-Austin Hauser; 17. (DNS) 11K-Davin Kaiser; 18. (DNS) 21J-Jim Rasey; 19. (DNS) 31S-Lincoln Smith; 20. (DNS) 31-Kyle Zimmerman

9 entries
Hobby Stocks
A Feature 1: 1. 25R-Stephen Shelpman[4]; 2. 64K-Logan Koteles[3]; 3. 40B-Leroy Brown[1]; 4. 25-Garrett O'Patchen[6]; 5. 48-Joe Brown Jr[8]; 6. 2K-Jonathan Koteles[2]; 7. 64-Tom Anton[7]; 8. 88-Kyle Janas[5]; 9. 17-john Greynolds[9]

6 entries

Young Guns

A Feature 1: 1. 18-Anthony Uddstrom[3]; 2. 91-Gavin Kokolis[2]; 3. 56-SADIE SNATCHKO[1]; 4. 99-Nathan Olenik[4]; 5. 11-Kane Zupancic[6]; 6. (DNS) 124-Hunter Vohn

Heat 1: 1. 18-Anthony Uddstrom[4]; 2. 91-Gavin Kokolis[1]; 3. 56-SADIE SNATCHKO[2]; 4.99-Nathan Olenik[5]; 5. 11-Kane Zupancic[6]; 6. 124-Hunter Vohn[3]

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