A busy weekend of racing in western Pennsylvania concluded with one of the most popular wins of the season Sunday night at Tri-City Raceway when Franklin’s Bob Felmlee returned to victory lane.
(Bob Felmlee returned to victory lane at Tri-City with a popular win. Photo by Rick Rarer.)
They call him the “Flyin One” and when he announced he would be returning to sprint car racing during the off-season after nearly a decade away from the sport everyone took notice.
A regular winner in the area for over two decades, the fifty-nine-year-old driver proved he can still get the job done Sunday when he took the lead from NASCAR star Alex Bowman early in the race and dominated the rest of the way for his first Tri-City win since May 29, 2011. Felmlee has been close this season despite the nearly ten-year layoff he has had several podium and runner-up finishes in the past two months.
An emotional Felmlee was joined by friends, family, crew, and fans in victory lane in front of a cheering crowd. Felmlee hinted he may return for another season in 2022. NASCAR’s Alex Bowman was fast in just his third career sprint car start before a broken wing mount sidelined him. Bowman hopes to race his sprint car again next weekend with stops in Ohio Friday, Saturday, and then back to Tri-City on Sunday.
Eventual winner Bob Felmlee races with NASCAR regular Alex Bowman. Photo by Rick Rarer.
Friday night at Thunder Mountain Speedway it was the 11th annual Connor Bobik Memorial taking center stage featuring a big triple header of the top three classes. Three-time Lernerville champion AJ Flick dominated the sprint car feature which was worth three thousand dollars. Another Lernerville champ, Michael Norris won the ULMS late model main worth a cool five thousand dollars.
Rounding out the card was the BRP Modified Tour which saw New York invader Chad Brachmann score yet another victory on the western Pennsylvania circuit. Thunder Mountain will be back in action this Friday with their regular classes including two thousand to win for the super late models.
At Michael’s Mercer Raceway the 305 sprint cars honored fellow driver Brandon Hawkins who tragically lost his life in a work accident last year at the age of just 26. The area’s top 305 drivers filled the pits for the 2nd annual Big Mav Classic named after Maverick Hawkins who is the son of the late Brandon Hawkins.
This is the biggest race in the area all season for the 305 sprint cars paying nearly three thousand dollars to the winner. When the checkers flew it was a familiar face in victory lane as Logan McCandless collected his fourth win and biggest of his young career. This Saturday the 410 sprint cars return to the Mercer oval along with big block modifieds to honor the late Guy Griffith.
Fab 4 racing will return to Lernerville Speedway this Friday for the first time since June 18th after several special events and rainouts. Brad Sweet took home 25,000 dollars for winning the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup race last Tuesday with the World of Outlaws.
At Sharon Speedway Adam Kekich scored his first career win at the Hartford, Ohio oval and became the 8th different winner in eight races this season. This Saturday at Sharon UMP mods, RUSH sprint cars, pro stocks, and RUSH mods will fill out the card. There will also be bike races for the kids.
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