McKean County Raceway
Lux captures Duffy Memorial makeup at McKean
Matt Lux pockets $2,000. (Joe Nowak)
EAST SMETHPORT, Pa. (May 6) — Matt Lux of Franklin, Pa., captured the conclusion of the rain-postponed Jim Duffy Memorial, earning $2,000 for his Northern Tier United Late Model Series victory at McKean County Raceway. Lux captured his first career ULMS event in a race restarted on the third lap after rained halted action after two laps on April 24. | Slideshow
Gregg Satterlee of Rochester Mills., Pa., finished second in the 30-lapper followed by former ULMS champ Bob Close of Eldred, Pa., Dennis Lunger Jr. of Albion, Pa., and Brent Rhebergen of Clymer, N.Y., rounded out the top five on a Thursday night when 15 of 17 original starters returned.
When action restarted on lap three, Close started up front with Jeff Hoffman, but Close got sideways in turn two and headed for the pits with a flat left-rear tire during a caution for Paul Grigsby, who smashed the frontstretch wall.
Greg Oakes inherited the lead and battled with Hoffman, who slipped back to fifth as the sixth-starting Lux worked his way into second. Oakes was in command when he slowed on the 14th lap with a broken rocker arm, and Lux was the new leader at halfway ahead of Boom Briggs and Satterlee.
Lux lost a comfortable lead trying to lap Wally Fox, allowing Satterlee and Briggs to draw close. But Briggs departed with an overheating motor as Satterlee kept the heat on Lux late in the race, falling a car length short of a repeat Duffy Memorial victory.
Notes: Lux's Cornett-powered Rocket Chassis is sponsored by Equipment World and DICA. .... Russ King and Peter Mantha skipped the makeup event. ... Besides fans who used rain checks, grandstand tickets were $5 for the event, which included features for five other divisions along with the ULMS makeup. ... With the victory, Lux earned a guaranteed starting spot in the $12,000-to-win ULMS finale at McKean County on Sept. 25. ... Chad Dupont's race ended on the 10th lap with a broken axle. ... The race honored the Smethport native who helped shape the track's 3/8-mile configuration in '83. ... Jeff Cheesebro, driving Paul Geiger's No. 97 GRT, won the Fastrak Crate feature. ... Next up for ULMS competitors is a pair of $1,500-to-win features on May 15 at Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway, an event co-sanctioned by the UFO Race Championship Series.
Jim Duffy Memorial: (1) Matt Lux, (2) Gregg Satterlee, (3) Bob Close, (4) Dennis Lunger Jr., (5) Brent Rhebergen, (6) Wally Fox, (7) Boom Briggs, (8) Jeff Hoffman, (9) Dereck Frank, (10) Greg Oakes, (11) Chad Dupont, (12) David Scott, (13) Denny Fenton, (14) Harry Miller, (15) Paul Grigsby, (16) Russ King, (17) Peter Mantha. Heat race winners (among 17 cars): Hoffman, Briggs.
