Blair Victorious in "Uncle Sam 30" at Lernerville Speedway

 

June 27, 2009
Lernerville Speedway (WoO)
Sarver, PA

Robbie Blair of Titusville, Pa., salvaged his weekend with a victory in the ‘Uncle Sam 30’ non-qualifiers’ race, holding off the race-long challenges of Caledonia, N.Y.’s Vic Coffey to pocket a $3,000 consolation prize.

"After what happend last night during the heat race, I wasn't even planning on running today", stated Blair. "We had to start dead last in the c-main and finish in the top four just to transfer to the b-main. Even if we accomplished that, we would have had to tail the b-main." Even after finishing 2nd in the c-main, Blair had thoughts of calling it a night. "The only motor I have left is the 380. With the track as fast as it was in the c-main, I hated to keep turning it that hard. We decided ot see what happened in the first b-main.

As it turned out, Blair made the right decision. After starting 18th in the b-main, he blasted through the field to a 5th place finish. "We were just hoping to get a good starting spot for the Uncle Sam 30 when we pulled out on the track for the b-main", said Blair. "I think if we could have had a few more laps, we might have had a legitamate shot at making the Firecracker."

"It's definitely a little dispointing to have a car as good as we had all weekend, and still not be part of the Firecracker, but at least they knew we were here" laughed Blair. "I guess that's just part of racing."

Blair, who passed Coffey for the lead on lap two, survived a scare on lap 19 when contact with the lapped car driven by April Farmer of Livingston, Tenn., sent him sliding off the backstretch. Blair kept his car moving, however, as Farmer spun to draw a caution flag, allowing him to remain in the lead for the restart.

Blair’s victory came after a broken motor had knocked him from the lead in the fifth heat race on Friday night. He switched to his backup car for Saturday’s action and finished second in the C-Main and then fifth in the second B-Main, falling short of transferring to the Firecracker 100 by two spots.

Coffey settled for second in the Uncle Sam 30, followed by 17-year-old Austin Hubbard of Seaford, Del., 17th-starter Dan Stone of Thompson, Pa., and Dave Murdick of Slippery Rock, Pa.

Uncle Sam 30 Non-Qualifiers’ Race Finish (30 laps):
1. Robbie Blair ($3,000); 2. Vic Coffey ($2,000); 3. Austin Hubbard ($1,500); 4. Dan Stone ($1,200); 5. Dave Murdick ($1,000); 6. Brandon Kinzer ($800); 7. Greg Oakes ($700); 8. Ron Davies ($600); 9. Bump Hedman ($500); 10. Lynn Geisler ($400); 11. Gary Lyle ($300); 12. Brent Robinson ($300); 13. Michael Norris ($300); 14. Tyler Reddick ($300); 15. Tony Burke ($300); 16. Herman Bertolini ($300); 17. Tony Musolino ($300); 18. Todd Bachman ($300); 19. Jason Fosnaught ($300); 20. Nick Reges ($300); 21. Mike Knight ($300); 22. April Farmer ($300)