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Dietz, Kokolis, and Olenik Break Through with First Career Wins at Dirt’s Monster Half Mile - Full Write Up Results For 9-6-25

September rolled into Dirt’s Monster Half Mile with a crisp fall chill for Free Admission Night and Racing Against Hunger, presented with A&S Federal Credit Union and 25fortyPGH. Fans packed the stands, donated food at the gate, and watched a night headlined by the RUSH Sprint Car Series.

Ten heats and six features kept the action rolling. “Jammin” Johnny Mollick (4J) of Toronto, Ohio claimed the Sprint Car win, Brandon Burgoon (5X) of McDonald scored in the Rohrich Automotive/Chevrolet Performance RUSH Late Models, and three first-time winners broke through in front of a roaring crowd.

Jake Dietz (27) of Saxonburg earned his first Pittsburgh Truck Center Penn Ohio Pro Stock win, Gavin Kokolis (91) of Oakdale scored his first Crawford Auto Repair Open Four Cylinder victory, and Nathan Olenik (99) of Crescent grabbed his first ever Kehm Oil Young Guns feature. Stephen Shelpman (17P) of Pleasant Hills capped it off with another Hobby Stock win.

It was a night full of milestones, dominance, and fresh faces in victory lane. September started strong at Dirt’s Monster Half Mile.

The 15-lap RUSH Sprint Car feature lined up with Zach Morrow (68) of Gibsonia on the pole and fellow Gibsonia driver Charles McClintock (17M) to his outside, while “Jammin” Johnny Mollick (4J) and Wyatt Long (63L) of Georgetown made up row two. When the green flag waved, Morrow jumped out front with Mollick quickly sliding into second.

By lap four Mollick made his move, taking command of the race as Morrow dropped to second and Long settled into third. Once out front, Mollick set a blistering pace, catching the tail of the field by lap eight and working through lapped traffic with ease.

There was no slowing him down as Mollick led the rest of the way to secure another RUSH Sprint Car feature victory. He was followed by Morrow in second, Long in third, Trent Marshall (17) in fourth, and Samantha Priest (21N) in fifth, with heat race wins going to Mollick and Long.

A field of 12 Rohrich Automotive/Chevrolet Performance RUSH Late Models signed in and were split into two heats, with the top three from each going into the redraw for their 20-lap feature. Brandon Burgoon (5X) drew the pole with Tom Klein (77) starting second.

Burgoon grabbed the early lead, but a lap two caution slowed the pace and gave Klein a shot on the restart. Klein briefly took control, but Burgoon surged back to the front at the line and never looked back.

By lap eight Burgoon had stretched his lead to a full straightaway and was slicing through lapped traffic by lap 13. Even a lap 18 debris caution could not stop him as he drove away for another RUSH Late Model feature win.

Clinton Hersh (16) charged from 11th to finish second, Klein held third, Kassidy Kamicker (72B) ran fourth, and Rob Coffaro (24C) rounded out the top five. Heat wins went to Matthew Benard (15) and Burgoon.

The Pittsburgh Truck Center Penn Ohio Pro Stock feature rolled off with Ricky Steigerwald (00) of Moon on the pole and Jake Dietz (27) to his outside. Row two was filled by Nick Kocuba (10) of Burgettstown and Dale Tuche (310) of Cheswick.

When the green dropped, Dietz rocketed to the front with Adam Kostelnik (36) sliding into second and Steigerwald holding third. From there Dietz was untouchable, clicking off laps with ease as the race went green to checkers in record fashion.

At the finish Dietz secured his first career PPMS Pro Stock feature win. He was trailed by Kostelnik in second, Kocuba in third, Steigerwald in fourth, and Logan Koteles (64K) in fifth, with heats going to Kocuba and Dietz.

The Auto House Hobby Stock feature lined up with Leroy Brown (40B) of Aliquippa on the pole, Garrett O’Patchen (25) of Scott Township in second, Chloie Jones (76) of Wellsburg, WV in third, and Danny Rich (221K) of Imperial in fourth. Brown grabbed the early lead with Jones moving into second.

A lap four caution slowed the pace when Joe Brown Jr (48) had sparks flying from the left front and fell off the pace. On the restart Brown chose the outside, but Stephen Shelpman (17S) powered to the front and never looked back.

Shelpman stretched his lead and controlled the race despite a late caution, locking down another Auto House Hobby Stock feature victory. He was followed by Brown in second, Marc Corio (14) in third, Rich in fourth, and Kyle Janas (88) in fifth, with heat wins going to Rich and Shelpman.

A field of 11 Crawford Auto Repair Open Four Cylinders signed in and were split into two heats, with the top three from each moving into the redraw for their 12-lap feature. David Seibert Jr (777) started on the pole with Bill Tennant (2) of Colliers, WV in second, Andy Jones (513) of New Florence in third, and Tifani McElhose (24) of Plum in fourth.

Tennant took the early lead with McElhose chasing in second until a lap five caution slowed the pace. Under yellow Tennant pulled to the pits with a broken axle, handing the lead to McElhose who chose the outside on the restart.

When green returned Curtis Mohney (33M) jumped to the front, but McElhose fought back and reclaimed the lead on lap seven. Another caution flew on lap nine, and McElhose held on through the restart until heartbreak struck with two laps to go when her motor let go.

That opened the door for Gavin Kokolis (91), who nailed the restart and led the final two laps to secure his first career Four Cylinder feature win. He was followed by Mohney in second, Tyler Hollister (69) in third, Seibert in fourth, and Shawn Ghrist (89) in fifth, with heats going to Jones and Kokolis.

The Kehm Oil Young Guns eight-lap feature lined up with Kane Zupancic (11) of Collier on the pole and Nathan Olenik (99) starting second. Zupancic led briefly at the start, but Olenik powered past on lap one and never gave the spot back.

He paced all seven remaining laps to capture his first career Kehm Oil Young Guns feature victory. Zupancic finished second to round out the two-car field.

Racing resumes at Dirt’s Monster Half Mile on Saturday, September 13th with FREE Military, First Responder, and Scout Night alongside the 5th Annual Josh Langer Memorial. Fans can expect a night of honor, heart, and high-speed racing.

A special pre-race on-track ceremony will pay tribute to the Military and First Responders. Scouts in uniform will also receive free admission to join in the celebration.

The spotlight shines on the Josh Langer Memorial for the Hobby Stocks, which also serves as the final round of the Stephen W. Johnson Memorial Triple Crown Series. Rounding out the program are the RUSH Late Models, Penn Ohio Pro Stocks, Open Four Cylinders, and the Young Guns.

Next Saturday promises a mix of heartfelt tributes and edge-of-your-seat racing. Fans will not want to miss this night at Dirt’s Monster Half Mile.

RESULTS

12 entries
RUSH Late Models

A Feature 1: 1. 5X-Brandon Burgoon[1]; 2. 16-Clinton Hersh[11]; 3. 77-Tom Klein[2]; 4. 72B-Kassidy Kamicker[8]; 5. 24C-Rob Coffaro[9]; 6. 33X-Greg Beach[4]; 7. 2M-Chuck Medved[5]; 8. 6-Chuck Recker[7]; 9. 15-Matthew Benard[6]; 10. (DNS) 66-Anthony Monteparte; 11. (DNS) 38-Michael Stephans; 12. (DQ) 58Z-Joe Zulisky[3]

Heat 1: 1. 15-Matthew Benard[2]; 2. 58Z-Joe Zulisky[5]; 3. 77-Tom Klein[6]; 4. 6-Chuck Recker[1]; 5. 24C-Rob Coffaro[4]; 6. 16-Clinton Hersh[3]

Heat 2: 1. 5X-Brandon Burgoon[4]; 2. 2M-Chuck Medved[3]; 3. 33X-Greg Beach[6]; 4. 72B-Kassidy Kamicker[5]; 5. 38-Michael Stephans[1]; 6. (DNS) 66-Anthony Monteparte

10 entries
Penn Ohio Pro Stocks

A Feature 1: 1. 27-Jacob Dietz[2]; 2. 36-Adam Kostelnik[6]; 3. 10-Nick Kocuba[3]; 4. 00-Ricky Steigerwald[1]; 5. 64-Logan Koteles[5]; 6. 310-Dale Tuche[4]; 7. 2K-Jonathan Koteles[9]; 8. 66-Mike Strouse[7]; 9. 17G-Nate Gebauer[8]; 10. (DNS) 17S-Stephen Shelpman

Heat 1: 1. 10-Nick Kocuba[2]; 2. 64-Logan Koteles[1]; 3. 36-Adam Kostelnik[3]; 4. 66-Mike Strouse[5]; 5. 2K-Jonathan Koteles[4]

Heat 2: 1. 27-Jacob Dietz[1]; 2. 310-Dale Tuche[2]; 3. 00-Ricky Steigerwald[4]; 4. 17G-Nate Gebauer[5]; 5. (DNS) 17S-Stephen Shelpman

14 entries
Hobby Stocks

A Feature 1: 1. 17P-Stephen Shelpman[6]; 2. 40B-Leroy Brown[1]; 3. 14-Marc Corio[7]; 4. 221K-Danny Rich[4]; 5. 88-Kyle Janas[8]; 6. 25-Garrett O'Patchen[2]; 7. 76-Chloie Jones[3]; 8. 64-Tom Anton[10]; 9. 22-Robert Betz[9]; 10. 56-SADIE SNATCHKO[11]; 11. 93-Brian Searight[12]; 12. 17-JD Moore[14]; 13. 206-Daniel Horne[13]; 14. 48-Joe Brown Jr[5]

Heat 1: 1. 221K-Danny Rich[5]; 2. 40B-Leroy Brown[3]; 3. 76-Chloie Jones[6]; 4. 14-Marc Corio[2]; 5. 22-Robert Betz[4]; 6. 56-SADIE SNATCHKO[1]; 7. 206-Daniel Horne[7]

Heat 2: 1. 17P-Stephen Shelpman[2]; 2. 48-Joe Brown Jr[1]; 3. 25-Garrett O'Patchen[3]; 4. 88-Kyle Janas[5]; 5. 64-Tom Anton[4]; 6. 93-Brian Searight[6]; 7. 17-JD Moore[7]

11 entries
Open Four Cylinders

A Feature 1: 1. 91-Gavin Kokolis[5]; 2. 33M-Curtis Mohney[7]; 3. 69-Tyler Hollister[6]; 4. 777-David Seibert Jr[1]; 5. 89-Shawn Ghrist[10]; 6. 19G-John Gill[11]; 7. 82-Wes Tennant[8]; 8. 24-Tifani McElhose[4]; 9. 44-CAMERON HOLLISTER[9]; 10. 2-Bill Tennant[2]; 11. 513-Andy Jones[3]

Heat 1: 1. 513-Andy Jones[2]; 2. 2-Bill Tennant[5]; 3. 24-Tifani McElhose[4]; 4. 33M-Curtis Mohney[1]; 5. 44-CAMERON HOLLISTER[6]; 6. (DNS) 19G-John Gill

Heat 2: 1. 91-Gavin Kokolis[2]; 2. 777-David Seibert Jr[4]; 3. 69-Tyler Hollister[1]; 4. 82-Wes Tennant[3]; 5. 89-Shawn Ghrist[5]

2 entries
Young Guns

A Feature 1 (8 Laps): 1. 99-Nathan Olenik[2]; 2. 11-Kane Zupancic[1]
Hot Laps 1: 1. 99-Nathan Olenik[1]; 2. 11-Kane Zupancic[2]

11 entries
RUSH Wingless Sprints

A Feature 1: 1. 4J-John Mollick[3]; 2. 68-Zach Morrow[1]; 3. 63L-Wyatt Long[4]; 4. 17-Trent Marshall[7]; 5. 21N-Samantha Priest[9]; 6. 29-Brandon Shughart[5]; 7. 7-Cooper Macormac[6]; 8. 213-Lucas Roessner[11]; 9. 13K-Kevin Kaserman[8]; 10. 17M-Charles McClintock[2]; 11. 48T-Carlos Rosario[10]

Heat 1: 1. 4J-John Mollick[1]; 2. 68-Zach Morrow[6]; 3. 29-Brandon Shughart[2]; 4. 17-Trent Marshall[4]; 5. 21N-Samantha Priest[3]; 6. 213-Lucas Roessner[5]

Heat 2: 1. 63L-Wyatt Long[5]; 2. 7-Cooper Macormac[2]; 3. 17M-Charles McClintock[1]; 4. 13K-Kevin Kaserman[4]; 5. 48T-Carlos Rosario[3]

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