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Jake Lutz Wins 36th US Open at Lancaster Motorplex

LANCASTER, N.Y. (September 28, 2024) – Jake Lutz from Hamburg, NY won the US Open for the Tour-Type Modifieds at Lancaster Motorplex Saturday afternoon. Shawn Nye from Lancaster, NY won the 50-lap Insinger Performance/VP Race Fuels Sportsman feature event. Dustin Nova from Springville, NY won the Monroe Extinguisher Street Stock feature event. Eric Brown from Colden, NY won the Super Stock feature event. Eldon King III from Freedom, NY won the Late Model main event. Brian Schulz from Lockport, NY won the Mighty TQ Midget feature. Mike Meyers from Buffalo, NY won the Rusty Diamond Cores Pro 4 feature.

Jake Lutz and Andy Jankowiak were on the front row for the Tour-Type Modified US Open, with Jankowiak in the lead ahead of Austin Beers, Lutz, Tommy Catalano, and George Skora III. Skora would take over fourth from Lutz, as Jankowiak continued to show the way. Beers would start to look to the outside of Jankowiak for the lead on lap 15, with Catalano racing in third place. Beers would take over the lead on lap 16, with Catalano taking over second. Timmy Catalano would pass Jankowiak on lap 21 to move into third, with Skora racing in fifth. Timmy Catalano would take over second on lap 26, dropping Beers to third place. The caution would come out on lap 33 as Jankowiak slowed in turn four. The restart would see Tommy Catalano in the lead ahead of Beers, Timmy Catalano, Skora, and Kevin Miller. Skora would take over third place from Timmy Catalano on lap 39, and it would take him ten more laps to pass Beers to move into second place. After a caution on lap 58 slowed the field down, Mike Leaty would inherit the lead as the leaders went to the pits. Jake Lutz would take over the lead from Leaty on lap 64, with Shawn Nye taking over second place and pressuring Lutz for the lead. Timmy Catalano spun in turn three to bring out the caution on lap 71. Beers would reclaim third place from Skora on lap 83, as Lutz and Nye pulled away from the field. Lutz would hold off Nye and Beers to win his second career Modified race at Lancaster.

Trevor Catalano and Camden Barber brought the Insinger Performance/VP Race Fuels Sportsman to the green flag for their 50-lap event, with Catalano in the lead with Jake Vernon, Tony Carbone, Barber, and Josh Sokolic racing in the top five. The caution would come out on lap three as Andy Lewis Sr hit the back stretch wall, with his right front tire coming off the hub. Catalano would lead on the restart, as Carbone and Vernon battled for second place. Shawn Nye would work his way to fourth place after passing John Barber on lap seven and would go after Carbone and Vernon. Nye would pass Carbone on lap 15 to take over third place, and then on lap 19, would pass Vernon to move into the runner-up position. The leaders encountered lap traffic at the halfway mark, allowing Nye to close in on Catalano. Nye would take the lead on lap 39. Nye would go on to score the win, his first at the Open in the Sportsman division.

Dave Johnson and Mike Dalfonso were on the front row for the Monroe Extinguisher Street Stocks main event, with Johnson in the lead ahead of Dalfonso, Dustin Nova, Tommy Wentland, and Max Northem. Novoa would take over the lead early on, as Wentland took over second place. Northem would take over second from Wentland on lap eight, and would chase down race leader Nova, as Rich Sharpe battled with Wentland for third place. Sharpe would take over second place with 10 laps remainng and would start to go after race leader Novoa. After a lap 26 caution bunched the field back up, Nova and Sharpe would battle for the lead, with Sharpe taking over the top spot on lap 28. Nova would regain the lead with five laps to go and he would hold off Sharpe to grab the win.

Dave Heitzhaus and Jacob Gustafson led the Late Models to the green flag, with Heitzhaus showing the way. Gustafson would take over the lead on lap three, with Scott Wylie, Tyler Catalano, and Chase Williams racing I the top five. Eldon King III worked his way to fourth place after passing Catalano while in lap traffic. Joe Mancuso would battle with Catalano for several laps for fifth place, with Mancuso taking over the spot with 10 laps remaining. King would pass Wylie on lap 21 to move into third place, as Gustafson pulled away from the field. Mancuso spun in turn four to bring out the caution with nine laps remaining. King would take second away from Heitzhaus on lap 22, and would challenge Gustafson for the lead. King would then move into the top spot on lap 25, and would go on to score the win, his fourth US Open title.

Chris Batorski and Jake Christman led the Super Stocks to the green flag, with Batorski in the lead ahead of Ryan Lagoda, and Christman. The caution would come out on lap two as Teej Cochrane came to a stop in turn three. Lagoda would take the lead on the restart with Christman, Brian Hallett, Andy Cryan, and Eric Brown racing in the top five. Hallett would take over the lead on lap eight, as Cryan battled with Christman for third. Cryan would then move into the runner-up position on lap 10. Cryan would continue his march to the lead as he would take over the top spot on lap 11. With Cryan well in command, he would bring out the caution on lap 23 as he spun in turn three. The restart would see Eric Brown in the lead ahead of Eric Kocher, Christman, Lagoda, and Barrett Schenk. Cryan would restart the race in 14th and by lap 31, was up to sixth place. Cryan’s run would end after pulling into the infield with five laps remaining. Brown would go to score his second US Open victory in the last three seasons.

Mike and Mark Meyers brought the Rusty Diamond Cores Pro 4’s to the green flag for their 15-lap feature event, with Mike taking the early race lead ahead of Mark Meyers, Darren Lenhardt, Mason Russo, and Jimmy Dunkleman III. Dunkleman III would work his way to third place and would challenge Lenhardt for second place. Mike Meyers would lead all 15 laps to win his first US Open event.

Brian Schulz and Andy Jankowiak were on the front row for the Mighty TQ Midget feature event, with Schulz in the lead ahead of Brendan Wallace, Jankowiak, Kyle Hutchinson and Dave Wollaber. Jankowiak and Wollaber would move into second and third respectively, as Brian Schulz continued to lead the event. Schulz, Jankowiak, Wollaber, and Wallace would pull away from Nick Groff and Kyle Hutchinson. Schulz would hold off Jankowiak and Wollaber to score his second win of the season.

The final race on the Lancaster Motorplex schedule is the re-scheduled 35th Tribute to Tommy Druar and Tony Jankowiak for the Race of Champions Modified Series on Sunday, October 13.

The Lancaster Motorplex Awards Banquet will take place on Saturday, November 9 at the Lancaster Elks Club. Tickets and more information will be released in the coming weeks.

For more information, follow Lancaster Motorplex on social media and visit the website at www.lancastermotorplexny.com

RACE RESULTS: SATURDAY AT THE 36th US OPEN
Tour-Type Modifieds: JAKE LUTZ, Shawn Nye, Austin Beers, Tony Hanbury, Timmy Catalano, George Skora III, Mike Leaty, Trevor Catalano, Tommy Catalano, Randall Richard, Danny Knoll Jr, Neal Dietz, Daryl Lewis Jr, Kevin Miller, Andy Jankowiak
Qualifying Heats: Danny Knoll Jr, George Skora III

Insinger Performance/VP Race Fuels Sportsman: SHAWN NYE, Trevor Catalano, Jake Vernon, Tony Hanbury, Tony Carbone, Jake Christman, Brian Schulz, George Skora III, Andy Jankowiak, John Barber, Josh Sokolic, Tin Nies, Joe Papin, Jesse Kirchmeyer, Joe Evans, Tim Garlock, Paul Flye, Cory Grenzy, Alan Bookmiller, Chris Pennell, Jake Boerman, Chris Ridsdale, Jerry Gradl Jr, Camden Barber, Andy Lewis Sr
Qualifying Heats (Held Friday): George Skora III, Shawn Nye, Tony Hanbury

Monroe Extinguisher Street Stocks: DUSTIN NOVA, Rich Sharpe, Mark Hoch, Nathan Bryant, Tommy Wentland, David Brunka, Kyle Schosek, Nik Welshans, Tim Welshans, Matt Friend, Dave Johnson, Troyer Catalano, Dylan Carbone, Marty Kling, Ed Murray, Max Northem, Dan Dressel, Lou Carbone, Gary Bartella, Josh Schosek, Mike Dalfonso
Did Not Start: Mark Scarpace
Qualifying Heats (Held Friday): Dan Dressel, Dustin Nova, Tommy Wentland

Late Models: ELDON KING III, Jacob Gustafson, Scott Wylie, Dave Heitzhaus, Chase Williams, Dave Whittaker, Tyler Catalano, Bob Weber, Darwin Peters Jr, Ron Richter, Joe Mancuso
Qualifying Heats (Held Friday): Eldon King III, Joe Mancuso

Super Stocks: ERIC BROWN, Jake Christman, Eric Kocher, Brian Hallett, Jason Dieter, Barrett Schenk, Tim Faro, Jason Dinzler, Chris Vogler, Bill Frisbie, Chris Batorski, David Bailey, Paul Godby, Andy Cryan, Ryan Lagoda, Tony Hanbury, Dennis Richman, Griffin Miller, Brandon Larner, Bob Palmer, Russ Bulger Jr, TJ Cochrane
Did Not Start: Jeff Whalen
Qualifying Heats: Brian Hallett, Eric Kocher, Eric Brown

Rusty Diamond Cores Pro 4’s: MIKE MEYERS, Darren Lenhardt, Jimmy Dunkleman III, Eric Black, Russ Bulger Jr, Ryan Hessler, Chris Deyoe Jr, Mason Russo, Mark Meyers, Tommy Hughes, Eric Szychowski, Bob Palmer, Jody Krieb, James Hill, Connor Kurdziel, Jim Dunkleman Jr, Matthew Moreau
Qualifying Heats: Jimmy Dunkleman III, Mike Meyers

Mighty TQ Midgets: BRIAN SCHULZ, Andy Jankowiak, Dave Wollaber, Brendan Wallace, Kyle Hutchinson, Nick Groff, Vinnie Christiano III, Mark Schulz, Vinnie Christiano Jr, Carl Schroeder, Paul Jorgensen, Ronnie Flaim, Moose Rutherford, Jonathan Reid, Clayton Cain

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