Mike Blose Racing - Archived News

BLOSE CLAIMS SOMEWHAT DISAPPOINTING THIRD IN LERNERVILLE POINTS

(Dayton, PA Sept. 3) In recent weeks, Mike Blose and the Blose Racing Team have experienced an array of highs and lows and once again there is some good news to report...

Heading into the final night of points action at the Lernerville Speedway, Mike found himself resting comfortably in the third place position, only one point behind 5-Time Track Champion, Lynn Geisler. Lynn and Mike had battled the previous week, finishing 5th and 6th respectively, while Alex Ferree went on to finish 3rd, claiming his 2nd Track Championship in as many years.

The stage had been set for a second place showdown, with Blose re-claiming the 2nd place positon with a heat race victory. Things did not go so well come feature time however. The Rocket Chassis / Chevrolet powered #5 car was on the move from it's 7th place starting position as Mike wheeled the car into 4th place by lap nine and was nipping at the heels of Geisler. Disaster struck on lap 11 though and a cloud of smoke came pouring out from under the 5 car as "The Batman" headed for the pits. Unfortunately, this relegated Blose to an extremely disappointing 15th place finish, basically handing the second place points position to Geisler. Keith Barbara went on to claim the victory. The final tally left Blose claiming the Bronze Medal, finishing a mere 13 points back of Geisler. Said a disappointed Blose after the race "We had a good run going there and were tracking down the lead cars. I'm not sure if we had anything for Barbara, but we were right there. It's a shame that the final night of points has to end like this. We're not sure yet if the motor is a complete loss yet or not, but it doesn't look too good." Blose went on to say "It's been an excellent year overall and both myself and the crew are proud to have finished in the third spot. We've had good equipment all year and I couldn't have done it without the crew or sponsors!"

Upon arriving back at the shop, the crew discovered that not only was this engine going to need some serious repairs, the other motor which had been powering the 5 ride for the majority of the season was also in need of some fixing. Things were not looking too good at that point. Mike and crew thought that perhaps this was 'all she wrote' for the 2008 racing season.

Things have since fallen into place however, and as of right now, it looks as though the 5 car will make one final appearance in 2008. This will occur at Challenger Raceway during the finale of the inaugural UFo Race Championshp. Mike is scheduled to race in the 41-lap, $3,000 to win "Mega Blitz" on Thursday, October 9. He will compete again on Friday, October 10 as he tries to qualify for "The Ultimate" 91-lap event, set to take place on Saturday, October 11. This event will mark the end of another successful season for Mike Blose and crew.

For more information on these events, please visit challengeraceway.com or uforacechampionship.com

Mike Blose and the Blose Racing Team would like to thank their sponsors for 2008: ProShot Directional Boring, The Country Palace, Brocious Lumber, The Primitive Peddler, Freedline Auto Repair, B&R Welding and Fabricating, CLV Accounting, Fisher Welding, Gipsy Country Shop, East American Motorsports, Lias Tire/American Racer, Integra Racing Shocks, Cousins Designs, Custom Racing Engines, Rider Racing Engines, Dougherty Motorsports, W.G. Satterlee and Sons, Rocket Chassis

(Dayton, PA Aug. 23) Lynn Geisler edged Mike Blose to the checkers during Friday Nights 25-lap feature at Lernerville Speedway. The pair finished 5th and 6th respectively. Jared Miley took home the checkers while Alex Ferree came home third, clinching his second straight points championship at the speedway. Coincidently, Blose and Geisler are also battling for 2nd place in points at the speedway, with Geisler currently holding a one-point advantage after last nights event.

(Dayton, PA Aug. 10) The World of Outlaws brought national attention back to Lernerville Speedway on July 29th for the completion of the 2nd annual Firecracker 100. After a riveting performance in the heat race at the end of June, Mike Blose rolled off from the outside of the seventh row to try his luck against the touring professionals, but the team's lack of experience in 100 lap races could not be hidden as Mike pulled off after being lapped around the halfway point. Brian Birkhofer overtook WoO point leader Darrell Lanigan and went on to win the $40,000 prize.

That Friday saw Alan Dellinger climb back behind the wheel of Blose's Custom powered Rocket chassis. As if to say he didn't forget how to play with the big boys in his two month hiatus, Dellinger put on a show when he came from 9th to win his 8 lap heat race. The feature was not quite as successful however, as he rode home to a fourth place finish while Blose was vacationing with family.

Blose returned home the next day and headed back up on the hill to Marion Center Speedway and didn't let his fresh tan keep him from winning his heat race. The first 6 laps of the feature looked just as promising as he was battling for second but the handling went away after contact with another car left Mike battling his own mount the rest of the race and he came home in 6th.

This past weekend Blose returned to Lernerville and Marion Center once again. The Friday night feature was a struggle-after hounding Lynn Geisler for a heat race win a very ill-handling racecar forced Mike to salvage a 10th place finish. Saturday night he was able to turn a bad pill on a fast racetrack into a top 5 finish by the end of the night. Gregg Satterlee won his second feature in a row at Marion Center.

Blose will be back in action at Lernerville on Friday night as the season is winding down and will more than likely be at Marion Center again for double features in the late model division.

BLOSE CONTINUES ROLL WITH TOP TEN FINISHES

(Dayton, PA July 28) Mike Blose racing has been riding the wave of momentum created by his stirring drive from the back of his qualifying heat of the Firecracker 100 on June 27th. The weekend of July 20 produced two more third place finishes-one at Lernerville and another at Marion Center and this past friday night Mike wheeled his #5 Rocket to his seventh consecutive top ten of the month, finishing in the sixth spot.

Tuesday July 29th the boys are back in town, as the Outlaws come back to Lernerville for the completion of the highest paying dirt late model event in Pennsylvania history. Scheduled to roll off from the 14th starting spot in the SPEED channel taped main event against the highest level of professionals in the sport, everything will have to be working just right to extend his streak of top tens, but stranger things have happened. Check out lernerville.com or woolms.com for more event information.

The team will be back in action again on Friday nite, competing at Lernerville Speedway. Alan Dellinger will be back in the driver's seat of the #5 Chevrolet while Mike and family are on vacation.

On a side note-stop by The Stivason Photo Booth as a new shipment of Mike Blose Racing t-shirts are available for purchase there. Sizes range from Child's medium through Adult XXXL.

BLOSE TAKES LONG WAY AROUND TO FINISH SIXTH AFTER DAMAGE

(Dayton, PA July 13) Friday night Mike Blose traveled back to Lernerville for another Fab Four show. On a night he would charge to the front twice, it proved to not be enough after contact with another competitor left him sitting backwards and alone in turn three. While he was able to continue, a bent tie rod end left him to deal with a different handling race car for the final 19 laps in what turned out to be a caution-plagued event once again.

The first heat race saw two veterans and current top three points competitors on the front row as Blose led the familiar #1 Cochran ride of Lynn Geisler to the green flag. Mike would handle business rather unchallenged, and cruised to the heat race win. Lernerville redraws the top 12 after heat race action and Mike drew the outside of row six to start from. Multiple restarts in the first five laps allowed the man in the red #5 to quickly work his way into the top 5, but as he pulled even with the 40 of Dutch Davies heading into turn three, contact was made as Davies was looking to buy the same real estate Mike had already bought. The wheel to wheel bump knocked the toe out of the freshly decaled red rocket as well as put him to the back. An astronomical amont of yellows for a 25 lap race allowed Blose to nearly come back to another top five finish but he had nothing for the front pack after the damage. Sammy Stile picked up his first win at Lernerville this year over points leader, Alex Ferree, Jared Miley, John Flinner and Gary Lyle. Lernerville.com has complete story and results.

BLOSE USES MOMENTUM TO NOTCH HOLIDAY PODIUM FINISHES

(Dayton, PA July 6, 2008) After an impressive run last week in the Firecracker 100 heat race against some of the best touring professionals in the country, Mike Blose looks as though he is back to his old ways-finishing up front. Runs this past weekend saw "the batman" finish in the top 3 on consecutive nights at Central PA's Yankee Doodle 51 and Lernerville. It seems that it is only a matter of time until podiums start turning into wins.

Thursday night Blose traveled to Clearfield for the 2008 version of the UFO-sanctioned $7000-to-win Yankee Doodle 51. An ultra competitive heat race saw Mike finish one spot out of the pill draw and relegated him to a 15th starting spot in the main event. Caution flags helped the former multi-track and MACS champion in the beginning of the race but would eventually become, along with the rain, more of a nuisance than anything. Multiple restarts and short runs made up the duration of the main event as Blose battled with Gregg Satterlee, Jared Miley, Chub Frank, Shawn Mcgarvey and Keith Barbara throughout the twice rain-interrupted 3 hour race. The only chance of victory came on the race's longest run where Barbara pulled to nearly a straightaway lead only to see second running Blose cut it to a few car lengths when yet another caution flag flew. Frank would slip by on a late restart and temporarily challenge the 17 for the win but Barbara held on for the big pay day. Frank got second followed by Blose, Miley, McGarvey and Satterlee. Rodney Sweitzer, Tim Fedder, DJ Myers and Alex Ferree won the heats-full results at centralpaspeedway.com

Friday night it was a two man show. Blose came from sixth to finish a side by side second to John Flinner in the heat and rolled the pole position for the night's regular show. Also a caution plagued event, Mike was virtually unchallenged until 15th starting Kenny Schaltenbrand made his way into second around the midway point. The battle that ensued was classic Lernerville action. Using the high side in turns one and two and the bottom of three and four Blose led all but one of the first 24 laps but Schaltenbrand drove it deep into one on the final circuit, got a great run down the backstretch, and was running the same line through the final turn as Mike which propelled him to the victory. Lynn Geisler came home third followed by Gregg Satterlee and Gary Lyle. Complete Results at lernerville.com

Look for a slight change in the paint scheme next week as the team travels back to Lernerville Friday night. Also, while the current sizes of t-shirts are very limited, a new order has been placed and is to be here in time for the rerunning of Firecracker 100 on July 29th.

BLOSE OVERCOMES ADVERSITY, "FLIES" INTO FIRECRACKER

(Dayton, PA - June 29, 2008) Eventually the rains came and prevented day two events of the Firecracker 100 from happening, but what took place Friday night in Sarver was as if it were taken from a movie screen. After being disqualified for being too light in qualifying, the five-ride started shotgun on the field in heat race number two. With such heavy hitters as Jimmy Owens, Steve Francis, Eddie Carrier, Jason Covert, and Brandon Kinzer starting up front, a top three qualifying finish seemed nearly impossible. A lap one pile up in turn two caused minor damage to many competitors, a complete restart soon followed and then the fireworks began. Blose picked off car after car and soon found himself in the top five when third place Carrier slowed on the backstretch bringing out the yellow. Restarting in fourth, Mike went to work on Brandon Kinzer for the final transfer spot. As he went to split Kinzer and Owens headed into turn 3, contact was made with the 18 and "the batmobile" was launched over the bank backwards, air born, and headed for the woods. After a few anxious moments and a red flag, the crowd was brought back to its feet when the former MACS champion unexpectedly turned away safety crews and ambulances and pulled his hotrod back onto the 4/10 mile oval. With only 6 laps to go, a beat up race car, and a 6th place starting spot, a transfer to the big show was once again in doubt. The green flag dropped and Blose made quick work of Tony Burke and pulled to the outside of Keith Barbara when Owens pulled to a stop in turn four with a flat right rear. Restarting now in fourth, Blose again made his way around Barbara only to be pushed up the track by a hard charging Owens finding himself again outside the top three - but persistence and a very fast racecar wouldn't be denied on this night. With two laps to go Blose battled his way back around Barbara and the 2007 World 100 champion and much to the delight of the hometown faithful pulled away to a third place finish. The final rundown found Steve Francis taking the win, with Brandon Kinzer second, Blose third, Owens fourth, and Keith Barbara fifth.

Other heat race winners included Shane Clanton, Darrel Laningan, Earl Pearson, Josh Richards, and Brian Birkhofer. Fellow Lernerville standout Gregg Satterlee kept the hometown crowd on its feet in the third heat race as he also made the 100 lapper. A complete rundown of the nights events can be found at www.lernerville.com Lernerville and WoO officials have announced that the remainder of this event will be ran on Tuesday, July 29th.

This weekend the Blose Racing team will be headed to Central PA Thursday night for the $7,000-to-win Yankee Doodle 50, back to Lernerville Friday with results determining the rest of the weekend's plans.

Mike Blose racing T-shirts are now available at the trailer for $15. Stop in before, during, or after the races to get yours!

BLOSE/DELLINGER SHARE WEEKEND DUTIES AGAIN
by: Joe Martin

Dayton, PA (June 23, 2008) Mike Blose headed to Lernerville for one final tune up session before the upcoming Firecracker 100 on Friday night. With over 30 cars in the pits, a bad heat race pill caused the veteran driver to battle up hill all night long and ended up with a 12th place finish. Saturday the team headed to the Blaney's Sharon Speedway for the MACS sanctioned "Triton 50", where Alan Dellinger was prepared to defend his home turf. Mother nature, however, had different ideas.

A tenth place starting spot in the heat race turned into a sixth place finish relegating Blose to roll off from the 9th row of the feature on Friday night. After what looked to be a promising start (was up to 11th very early), the former MACS champ found himself in the midst of heavy traffic on the next restart. As another competitor got crossed up, Blose checked up and consequently lost several positions on the multi-laned, fast surface. He battled an erratic racecar the rest of the way and could only manage a 12th place finish. One of the Western PA young guns, Jared Miley, brought home his second feature win of the year with Brian Swartzlander, Alex Ferree, and fellow youngster's Mike Knight and Gregg Satterlee following across the finish line.

Saturday night Alan Dellinger, fresh off his FASTRAK Regional win at Dog Hollow the night before, climbed back behind the wheel of Blose's Rocket Chassis while Mike tended to prior commitments. After qualifying 8th out of 39 cars, Alan was set to start the heat race from the inside of row two but severe storms rolled in before the late model heats even staged and cancelled the night's events. The make up date is set for Saturday, August 23rd.

This week, the best in the world roll into Lernerville Speedway for the World of Outlaws sanctioned $40,000+ to win "Firecracker 100"-the end of the series' Great Northern Tour. Check out lernerville.com for the pre-entry list of drivers, schedule of weekend events and ticket information as well as all of last weeks results.

LATE RACE CONTACT HINDERS GOOD RUN AT LERNERVILLE
By: Joe Martin

Dayton, PA (June 15th, 2008) Friday the 13th at did not go according to plan for Mike Blose and his team at Lernerville Speedway. After driving to a third place finish in his first "Action Track" race of the season last week, hopes were high heading into this weekend for another finish up front. Instead a tricky race surface and lady luck prevented a possible top 5 effort.

A final corner Gregg Satterlee pass for 4th place in the heat race was the difference between a pole position and a 15th place starting spot for the feature. While Satterlee went on to lead every lap of the main, Blose took advantage of a long green flag run to methodically pick off competitors on the ultra slick Lernerville surface. Battling for positions 5-7 on the last lap, Mike pulled to the inside of the lapped #23 of Tony Burke down the backstretch. On the way by, the right rear quarter caught Burke's door leaving extensive damage to the #5 and Burke facing in the wrong direction. After the restart Mike limped around the high banked oval the final two circuits but could only manage a tenth place finish. Satterlee held off Matt Lux and Alex Ferree, while Kenny Schaltenbrand and Keith Barbara finished 4th and 5th. Heats went to Gary Lyle, Ferree and Lux. Full results at lernerville.com

Rain washed out Saturday's trip to Marion Center. Blose will again be at Lernerville for Fireworks night this Friday with a possible trip to the Sharon MACS race on Saturday. Check back later in the week for confirmed plans. The Firecracker 100 is less than two weeks away with time trials and heats scheduled on Friday June 27th and mains and the Uncle Sam 30 set for Saturday the 28th.

MIKE BLOSE RETURNS TO LERNERVILLE, CLAIMS THIRD PLACE FINISH
by: Jason Fleming

Dayton, PA (June 6, 2008) Friday evening marked the return of Mike Blose to Lernerville Speedway. Starting from the pole in the second of three heat races, Mike wasted little time jumping out to the lead and cruising to the heat race victory. He was followed across the line by Gregg Satterlee, Dave Murdick and 7th starting John Flinner. Other heat winners were Lynn Geisler and Sam Stile.

Starting from the inside of row three for the feature, Mike patiently worked his way around the track, reaching as high as second place behind eventual race winner, John Mollick, who picked up his second victory in as many weeks. Pole sitter Lynn Geisler was involved in a first lap incident with John Flinner and was consequently sent to the tail. Lynn worked his way from the back of the pack however, and made the pass on Mike for the second spot with only two laps remaining. Mike then held off a hard charging Dave Murdick for a respectable third place finish in his return to "The Action Track". Fifth place went to Alex Ferree, and rounding out the top 10 were Jared Miley, Ken Schaltenbrand, Todd Bachman, Mike Norris, and Dane Laraway. For a complete rundown, visit lernerville.com.

Mike would like to thank his sponsors for 2008, which include: The Country Palace, Pro-Shot Directional Boring, CLV Accounting, B&R Welding and Fabricating, Gipsy Country Shop, The Primitive Peddler, Freedline Auto Repair, Brocious Lumber, East American Motorsports, Fisher Welding, INTEGRA Racing Shocks, Daugherty Motorsports, Lias Tire/American Racer, Custom Racing Engines, Rider Racing Engines, Rocket Chassis, Cousins Designs, Simpson Race Products and W.G. Satterlee and Sons.

Look for the #5 again next week at Lernerville Speedway.

DELLINGER SUFFERS ROUGH NIGHT AT LERNERVILLE
by: Joe Martin

Dayton, PA (May 31) The Mike Blose Racing Team traveled to Lernerville Speedway again Friday night and suffered their roughest outing of the season. The red and black #5 rocket was involved in two cautions before completing one lap-and it only got worst after that.

After finishing second place in the qualifying heat, driver Alan Dellinger drew the 6th starting position for the main event-he wouldn't escape the first corner unscathed. Dellinger went to the middle groove through turn one, attempting a pass on fourth starting John Over. Over lost control of his K2 car on the slippery Lernerville surface collecting Alan in the process and flattening the left rear tire. Restarting on the tail of the field after a pitstop, Dellinger again ran into trouble, this time before turn one. Contact caused significant damage to the front of the Hermitage driver's ride, calling for another pitstop. Dellinger fought the damaged race car for about 20 laps and was narrowly outside the top ten when he slipped over the edge of turns three and four and slid backwards into the pit guard rail, giving the team its second DNF in as many weeks in Sarver. Front row starters Jared Miley and Gregg Satterlee displayed their slick track talents and finished first and second respectively. Alex Ferree brought home third followed by Matt Lux and Lynn Geisler.

The team had originally planned on attending the IRS sanctioned race at Sharon Speedway on Saturday night but did not receive the necessary parts to fix the heavily damaged car in time.

DELLINGER/BLOSE BOUNCE AROUND MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND
by: Joe Martin

Dayton, PA (May 26, 2008) Alan Dellinger and Mike Blose continued to share duties over Memorial Day weekend driving Blose's #5 Rocket Chassis. Friday night the team headed back to the home track with the Lernerville points lead-one that would vanish by night's end. Dellinger, who has driven every race at the Sarver oval this year, manhandled a sub-par piece to a second place finish in the heat race, but a less than spectacular feature pill saw Alan line up in the fifth row for the 25 lapper. The "bat mobile" (as it is affectionately called by track announcer Dow Carnahan) was headed forward early in the race when trouble struck. Coming off turn two, a slip up by a car in the top five caused a scramble down the back stretch and a drag race to turn three-Dellinger moved to the inside of the #66 of Todd Bachman entering the corner but ran out of room, made contact and consequently broke loose the right rear shock. In an attempt to salvage points, the crew replaced the shock and got Alan back on the track (multiple laps down) where he rode around to a 21st place finish. Up front, John Mollick picked up his first Lernerville feature victory followed by Doug Horton, Gregg Satterlee, new point leader, John Flinner, and Sammy Stile. Complete results and story of the 32 entrants at lernerville.com

Sunday's trip to Central PA Speedway in Clearfield was an experience to say the least. A new clay surface coupled with the past week's rain made for an extremely rough track-one that sidelined the majority of the 28 car field over the 51 lap UFO-sanctioned race. However, Mike Blose and his surgically repaired right shoulder were able to shrug off two flat tires, a couple close calls and all the ruts to make multiple charges to the front of the pack and bring home an impressive 4th place finish.

After winning his heat race from the 6th starting position, another bad feature pill (and a questionable format) caused Blose to start 14th in the A-main. When a caution flew on lap 8 Mike was in 7th place when he had to pit the first time for a flat left front tire. By lap 15 he had taken the low lane back to the front and was already into the fourth position. On a mid race restart, a car in the pits was not stopped from pulling onto the track in front of the entire field and caused near disaster in turn one. Only a nice piece of driving by the wiley veteran saved the car from severe damage, but four laps later the right rear tire was flat and called for a second pit stop on lap 29. The final 22 circuits found a host of Lernerville regulars battling it out for the $5100 win. 16th starting Gregg Satterlee and his brand new car tangled with a lapped car on lap 34 after leading 25 laps, allowing John Flinner to go virtually unchallenged the rest of the way and pick up the win. Second place went to John Britsky, followed by PPMS champion Jared Miley, Blose and defending Lernerville champ, Alex Ferree. Complete results and story at uforacechampionship.com

This week the team will follow up a Fab Four show at Lernerville with a trip to the Blaney's Sharon Speedway in Hartford, OH for a $5000 to win Independant Racing Series (irsracing.net) event on Saturday, May 31.

DELLINGER FILLING IN FOR BLOSE

By Thomas Zuck
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, May 23, 2008

Mike Blose and Alan Dellinger have introduced tag-team racing to Lernerville Speedway.

Due to a health issue for Blose, the team has turned to Dellinger to fill in, and the results have been very good. Heading into tonight's races, the Blose-Dellinger car is leading the Lernerville Late Model points race.

"We asked him (Alan) to drive last year for Fall Fest because my daughter Lacey was in states for track and I had to go to that," Blose said. "I have watched Alan race, and I knew he did a good job and didn't bust stuff up. When we asked, he said he'd be glad to help out."

Things didn't go that well at Challenger Raceway's Fall Fest, but the relationship continued due to Blose contracting a bone infection in his shoulder, which put him out for at least three months early this year.

That time is coming to a close, and Blose will soon be back in the car, even if he does not intend to rush things.

"Alan will be in the car for sure this week and next," Blose said. "I raced one night at Marion Center, and it didn't turn out too well. I'm anxious to get back into the car, and that night at Marion Center we had the Lernerville setup on the car and the tracks were pretty different."

For years, Blose has been close to making the leap into the top few cars at Lernerville, but something has been missing. In 2006, Blose finished eighth in points, and last season he finished sixth.

"It was really disappointing when they told me about the shoulder, because this is really the first season we went out and got all new stuff," Blose said. "We had never really had this good of equipment. We got rid of the old engine, and this one now is about 80 pounds lighter.

"The first time I talked to the doctor and he said it would be three months. If he said to take the extra time I would do it, because I can't afford to get hurt here and then miss time at work."

After Dellinger drove the car last year, the team made some serious changes.

"Oh, I could tell right away the difference from when I drove this car last year at Fall Fest at Challenger to opening night here," Dellinger said. "Even in qualifying here for the World of Outlaws. As soon as I was in the car, the difference was night and day. We qualified second for the Outlaws. If I had had maybe a few more laps in the car, I might even have been faster."

One of the major changes was a new engine. Gone was the Ford, which Blose said was just too heavy, and in its place was a Custom Engine straight out of Knoxville, Tenn.

"This is by far the best car I have ever had," Blose said. "We bought this Rocket (Chassis) at the end of last year, and Chub Frank helped us out. We went to Chub's place with it. We bought it through Brian Daugherty, and he help too.

"But we just couldn't get it to go, even with everything Chub told us. But then we changed the motor. The car just wasn't rolling over, and Chub said it was probably that old motor."

The results have been terrific. In the season opener at Lernerville, the World of Outlaws race, Dellinger qualified second-fastest out of 50 cars, but things went downhill from there. Dellinger did not make it out of his heat race, and his night was finished.

Since that, things have gone well. In three regular features, Dellinger has finished 11th and fourth, and he posted a victory April 25.

"The first night when we got to run a full feature I ran fourth," Dellinger said. "The thing was when we ran the feature I was having the time of my life, because there were five of us racing. I wasn't racing for the lead but was only two car-lengths behind the leader, and I was running fifth.

"I can't remember when I had more fun in a race car. I started to think that maybe we could win with this car if we had a few more laps. Then the next week I was very confident in the car, and we won."

Even though Dellinger has reaped the benefits of the new and improved car, Blose has no angst when discussing how happy he is to see it happen for Dellinger.

"We were really impressed with the car right at the start this year," Blose said. "The first night we had it a little too tight for him, but I was really tickled when Alan won that race. If I had to sit out all year, I really don't have a problem with it. As long as Alan is willing to wheel for me, I don't have a problem with it."

Even though Dellinger's time in the car is coming to an end, he is not feeling sorry for himself.

"No, I don't think I will really be sad," Dellinger said. "I look at it like I am doing what they asked me to do. I am helping to get the car shaken down. I'm getting the car points at Lernerville. We are running well and not smashing things up. I am running well here, and that's saying something.

"I'm racing a street stock and an E-Mod at Sharon. I have a FASTRAK Late Model waiting for me when I am done here, so life is really good right now."

BLOSE RACING COMPETES AT LERNERVILLE AND MARION CENTER

Dayton, PA (May 12,2008) Alan Dellinger sat behind the wheel of Mike Blose's Rocket Chassis once again this past Friday night and found himself in great position to earn his second trip to victory lane this young season. However, a couple of untimely caution flags extended the race into "overtime" and would ultimately cost the Hermitage, PA driver the race.

     After slicing and dicing his way from sixth to second in a loaded heat race earlier in the night, Alan was granted the fortune of starting from the outside of row two for the feature event. It took seven laps to get into clean air, but once in the lead he maintained a comfortable margin over the #48 of John Flinner until the race's final stages. A great restart with two laps to go gave Alan a six car length lead as he took the white flag (for the first time), but a spin by a fellow competitor pushed the race to 26 laps and set up a rivoting battle with the former 5-time track champion, Flinner. This time Flinner got a more comparable restart and used an old-school type Lernerville cushion to propel himself off turn two and into the lead. Alan's last ditch effort on the final circuit fell short, as the class of the field duo crossed the finish line nose to tail. Clate Copeman, Dave Murdick and Dave Hess Jr. finished in positions 3-5. Full results at lernerville.com.

     Saturday night Mike Blose made his season debut as he returned from shoulder surgery to drive at Marion Center, the track that has shown him so much success in the past. However, the team fought super dry track conditions and an ill handling race car and could only muster a 13th place finish. Sammy Stile drove his way to the front to pick up his first victory of the season, followed by Dave Satterlee, John Britsky and Gregg Satterlee. Check out marioncenterspeedway.com for a full field rundown.

     This Friday the team will head back to Lernerville Speedway. Last week's finishing order should move the Dellinger/Blose team and Flinner up to the top two spots when the track point standings are released later in the week, with Alan holding a slight lead. Following all the events of last Friday, the battle for the championship should prove to be interesting for the rest of the year.

Dellinger and Crew Salvage Decent Finish at Lernerville

Dayton, PA (May 5, 2008) Weather limited Blose Racing and substitute driver Alan Dellinger to one night of action this past weekend as the team traveled to Lernerville for a Fab Four show. Adversity struck on lap 11 of the feature when the Custom powered Rocket's right rear tire went flat and had to go pit side. The crew was able to get the 5 car back on the track without losing a lap and Alan maneuvered his way through traffic from the tail to finish in the 11th position.

Dellinger rolled off from the 12th starting spot by virtue of Lernerville's handicap rule where a feature winner must start on the outside of row six the next time at a regular show. On a night where traction was plenty Dellinger was solidly in the top ten and going forward when the disaster struck. With only 14 laps remaining after the flat Alan averaged passing nearly a car a lap to take the checkers just outside the top ten. After a clean, heated battle with the #21 of Matt Lux, 2007 track champion Alex Ferree stretched out a comfortable lead and finished the victor. Lux was able to hang on for second ahead of Lynn Geisler, John Flinner and Keith Barbara. Six through ten went John Mollick, Chuck Kennedy, Dan Swartzlander, Jared Miley and Bob Wearing Jr. Earlier in the night Dellinger won the third heat race while Wearing and Dave Murdick took other preliminary action. Full results and a more extensive race report can be seen at lernerville.com

On a side note, Mike will be visiting the doctor this week and may receive the okay to climb back behind the wheel. However, Alan will be in the driver's seat for at least one more Friday as Mike would like to test out his surgically repaired shoulder on a less demanding track. Expect "the batman" to make his first appearance at Marion Center within the next couple weeks.

BLOSE RACING TEAM HAS SUCCESSFUL WEEKEND

Dayton, PA (April 28, 2008) The Blose Racing team again traveled to Lernerville Speedway on Friday night and Mother Nature kindly cooperated, providing some awesome weather for racing. A full field of 28 late models filled the pits, while Alan Dellinger once again climbed into the driver's seat of the #5 PROShot Directional Boring / Country Palace / CLV Accounting super late model. Alan will continue to pilot the East American Motorsports / Freedline Auto Repair / Fisher Welding car until Mike is given the green light to return behind the wheel. Starting on the pole in his heat race, Alan was virtually unchallenged for the lead and cruised to the heat race win. Other heat race winners were the #1C of Lynn Geisler and #37 of Jared Hawkins.

After an exciting All-Star Sprint feature, it was time for the late models to take the track. Starting from the outside of row 5, in the 10th spot, Alan quickly began his march to the front. In five laps, he had maneuvered the Primitive Peddler / Brocious Lumber / B&R Welding / Gipsy Country Shop machine into the 5th slot. Alan made quick work of the #2s of Sam Stile and #10 of Gary Lyle to slide into the third position. With his sights set on the lead, he battled with the #H1 of Jared Miley and #44 of Dave Hess Jr. for the lead. Some bad luck struck the #44 car which pulled off with a flat right front tire on lap 13 and Alan now had the Custom Racing Engines powered Rocket Chassis in first place. After opening up a considerable lead over the now second place car of #4 Alex Ferree, a caution brought out the yellow flag on lap 20. Alan chose the inside postition for the restart. The green flag waved and he quickly jumped out front, leading the rest of the race and taking home the checkers. Following him across the line were Alex Ferree and John Flinner, while Jared Miley and Keith Barbara rounded out the top 5.

Quickly climbing from the car in victory lane, Alan thanked both Mike and crew for their hard work preparing the winning car. He also had the pleasure of singing Happy Birthday to the trophy girl.

The inaugural UFO Race Championship event was held on Sunday at Challenger Raceway near Indiana, PA. A strong field of 43 late models were in attendance. After picking up another heat race victory, Alan, know; by many as "Jim Dandy Jr.", finished the 51-lap race in the 7th position. The #Won11 of Rob Blair picked up the win, followed across the line by Josh Richards, Dave Hess, Jr., David Scott and Billy Drake in the fifth spot. Sixth place went to Alex Ferree, while Dellinger, Ron Davies, Wayne Chinn, and 2007 World of Outlaw Champion Steve Francis rounded out the top 10.

The Blose Racing Team will be back in action again this weekend on Friday at Lernerville Speedway and on Saturday at Marion Center Speedway.

BLOSE RACING TEAM COMPETES AT LERNERVILLE AND CHALLENGER

Dayton, PA (April 21, 2008) Alan Dellinger drove his way from the 7th starting spot to a solid 4th place finish Friday night at Lernerville Speedway. The Country Palace / ProShot Directional Boring / B&R Welding / CLV Accounting / Brocious Lumber sponosored #5 performed flawlessly in it's second night of action for 2008. Lynn Geisler picked up the victory, while Alex Ferree and Gary Lyle took home the 2nd and 3rd positions.

On Saturday, the team headed to Challenger Raceway. The East American Motorsports / Fisher Welding / Primitive Peddler / Freedline Auto Repair sponsored #5 was again piloted by Alan Dellinger. Alan drove his way to an 8th place finish, while the #22 of Gregg Satterlee took home the checkers.

Sunday's $5,000 to win, "UFO Race Championship" at Challenger Raceway was postponed due to weather. The event has been re-scheduled for Sunday, April 27.

The #5 car will be back in action again on Friday at Lernerville Speedway.