THE MOMENT OF TRUTH ARRIVES FOR JOHN WILLMAN AT BIG DIAMOND RACEWAY

Friday May 30, 7:45PM – T102 & House Doctors Pack the House Night. Adult General Admission to the Stands just $8. 358 Modifieds, Sportsman, Roadrunners.

Forestville, PA – May 23, 2008 – After competing at Big Diamond Raceway for various seasons, most of the time behind the wheel of his self owned equipment, John Willman earned the right to stand in victory circle this past Friday night.

Willman of Birdsboro, PA captured his first Big Diamond 358 Modified 25-lap feature victory as part of Powerco night at the speedway. Willman, driving his powerful #74W machine, took command of the field on lap 11 and kept legendary dirt northeast driver Billy Pauch in his rear view. Willman became the fifth different 358 Modified winner in five events.

Rookie competitor Kevin Albert Jr. darted into the early race lead. Willman, who started sixth, advanced into the runner-up spot on lap five. Albert continued to lead until ten laps were scored. Albert’s car spun in the fourth corner, and he relinquished the top spot to Willman for the ensuing restart.

While Willman remained up front, New Jersey’s Ryan Godown worked through the top five quickly. Godown had been strong all evening long. He broke the track record twice in his qualifying heat (16.443) and also set quick time in the A-main. Unfortunately, Godown’s hard luck filled season continued as his car suffered a flat left rear tire while competing in the second spot.

Billy Pauch, who was substituting for his son Billy Jr. in the PPB #8, started sixteenth and moved into the runner-up position. Defending track champion Jeff Strunk watched from third while Craig Von Dohren and Mike Gular battled for the fourth spot. Pauch remained within striking distance of the race leader, however, Willman executed a flawless performance from the lead and remained in command.

Willman beat Pauch by a few lengths to record his first ever victory at Big Diamond Raceway. Strunk recorded his fourth top five of the season followed by Von Dohren and Rick Laubach (who started 26^th and entered the top five during the closing moments. Rounding out the top ten were Mike Gular, Terry Meitzler, Doug Manmiller, Ryan Watt, and Troy Wink.

34 Modifieds were present with heat wins going to Troy Wink, Kevin Albert Jr., Ryan Godown, and Colt Harris. Bobby Gunther-Walsh won the consi.

Earl Paules of Palmerton, PA recorded his second straight Sportsman main event victory, a race that was cut short to 15-laps due to the time limit. It was a third career BDR triumph for Paules.

Mike Mammana jumped into the early race lead. A lap seven red flag incident reshuffled the top five running order behind Mammana. On a lap eight restart, Paules began from the third position. He abruptly powered into second and passed Mammana at the flag stand to grab possession of the lead.

Mike Loney, who has joined the weekly BDR roster this season, moved into second on the ninth tour, however, Paules continued to set the pace. Paules, who races and has won on both dirt and asphalt this season, went on to record the victory.

Loney finished second ahead of Brad Brightbill, who was involved in an earlier accident and rebounded for a third. Brad Force recorded his best finish of the season for fourth and Tom Brennan also drove back to the front after a lap seven pit stop. Rounding out the top ten were Kevin Smith, Rick Raisner, Gary Wagner, Kyle Weiss, and Mammana.

Heats for the 34 Sportsman on hand went to Josh Biever, Daryl Dissinger, Earl Paules, and Billy Moyer Jr. Shawn Hiestand, in his first start of the season, won the consi.

Kody Sites of Hamburg PA won his first career 15-lap Roadrunner feature. Sites, in only his first season of competition, held off a strong pack of cars to become the fifth different feature winner of the year.

Sites started fifth and took command of the race early. He grabbed the lead on lap one. Sixth starter Kevin Olenick and Elvin Brennan from eleventh remained within close range of Weiss. Olenick and Brennan swapped the runner-up spot on occasions. Brennan passed Olenick on the final lap to grab the second spot.

Meanwhile Sites (his father Kirby Sites was a former star in BDR’s Street Stock division) drove to his first win. Brennan finished second ahead of K. Olenick. Eighth starter Ricky Bender ended up fourth and Ryan Olenick rounded out the front finishing five.

The Central PA Legend Cars made their first BDR appearance of 2008. Jason Rochelle took the lead from Bob Sobieski on lap five and never looked back. In a good clean race which only contained a pair of cautions, Rochelle was victorious over Sobieski, Steve Nederostek, Josh Morrow, and Tim Tomson.

36 Legend Cars were trackside with heat wins going to Tom Mayberry, Bob Sobieski, and Jason Rochelle. The consi winner was Paul Rochelle.

T102 and House Doctors Pack the House Night has been rescheduled for this Friday evening May 30. This event was rained-out a few weeks ago. Fans will certainly see a bargain at the general admission gates this week, as a ticket only costs $8. The 358 Modifieds, Sportsman, and Roadrunners will be in competition. Gates open at 5:00PM, warm-ups begin at 7:15PM, and the first heat goes green at 7:45PM.

Test and tune sessions will be held at the speedway this Wednesday May 28. The practice is open to any and all types of race cars. Testing begins this Wednesday at 7:15PM. Admission to the pits is $20 per person, and the stands are free.

FEATURE (25-LAPS): 1) John Willman, 2) Billy Pauch, 3) Jeff Strunk, 4) Craig Von Dohren, 5) Rick Laubach, 6) Mike Gular, 7) Terry Meitzler, 8) Doug Manmiller, 9) Ryan Watt, 10) Troy Wink, 11) Shawn Reimert, 12) Dale Hartz, 13) Corey Sechrist, 14) Colt Harris, 15) Ryan Godown, 16) Gary Hager, 17) Ryan Grim, 18) Kevin Albert Jr., 19) Craig Whitmoyer, 20) Shawn Fitzpatrick, 21) Mike Nicholas, 22) Duane Howard, 23) Meme DeSantis, 24) Kevin Hirthler, 25) Tom Umbenhauer, 26) Bobby Gunther-Walsh. DNQ: Mark Forte Jr., Jason Hamilton, Kurt Spotts, Danny Nicholas, Sean Merkel, Kenny Eckert Jr., Larry Lippincott, Ray Swinehart.

FEATURE (15-LAPS): 1) Earl Paules, 2) Mike Loney, 3) Brad Brightbill, 4) Brad Force, 5) Tom Brennan, 6) Kevin Smith, 7) Rick Raisner, 8) Gary Wagner, 9) Kyle Weiss, 10) Mike Mammana, 11) Shane Moser, 12) Patrick Cozze, 13) Josh Biever, 14) Corey Renninger, 15) Tim Fitzpatrick, 16) Lenny Hoffert Jr., 17) Jordan Umbenhauer, 18) Ebby Ridge, 19) Rich Stankiewicz, 20) Billy Moyer Jr., 21) Daryl Dissinger, 22) Shawn Hiestand, 23) Harry Landis, 24) Steve Yankowski Jr., 25) Kermit Horning, 26) Jarad Umbenhauer. DNS: Kevin Beach. DNQ: Earl Mace, Pete Phillips Jr., Harry Landis, Dave Lauver, Jordan Dreher, Chris James Jr., Kevin Brady.

FEATURE (15-LAPS): 1) Kody Sites, 2) Elvin Brennan, 3) Kevin Olenick, 4) Ricky Bender, 5) Ryan Olenick, 6) Jeremy Becker, 7) Neal Bressler, 8) Gary Renninger, 9) Chris Holland, 10) Tom Hablett, 11) Davey Nester, 12) Butch Lesher, 13) Brian Close, 14) Byrd Klinger, 15) Danny Mazy, 16) Toby Chase, 17) Kevin Holland, 18) Bud Vidal, 19) Cory Swartz, 20) Mark Paine, 21) Rob Pyle, 22) Gary Willard Jr., 23) Joe Hendricks. DNS: Ed Kuperavage.

FEATURE (20-LAPS): 1) Jason Rochelle, 2) Bob Sobieski, 3) Steve Nederostek, 4) Josh Morrow, 5) Tim Tomson, 6) Rodney Kistler, 7) Tom Mayberry, 8) Scott Houdeshell, 9) Tim Henry, 10) Justin Grim, 11) Rick Harring, 12) Shawn Arndt, 13) Clinton Penkauskus, 14) James Black, 15) Paul Rochelle, 16) Todd McCollum, 17) Randy Fetterolf, 18) Howard Hunter, 19) Brent Marquis, 20) Paul McCollum, 21) Scott Peters, 22) Jason Chilton, 23) Brian Weitzel, 24) Pat McDermott.