Aug 6, 2009 4 min read

One of the biggest Super Late Model races of the season took place at the Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex in Markleysburg Saturday night. After the completion of the Mega-Blitz 2009 Unified Force Race Championship 41-lap feature, “Jammin” John Mollick stood victorious in the winner’s circle. Forty drivers from five states were on hand, vying to capture the $3,000 first place prize money.

Qualifying heat races and consolation events were run to determine the 24-car starting field.

Mollick, a resident of Toronto Ohio, won his heat race and started 4th in the feature. He bided his time early in the race, and actually dropped back a few positions.

Young Keith Jackson was the early leader and maintained the front spot for 28 laps. A double file restart saw Jackson and West Virginia’s Butch McGill take the green flag side by side. McGill had a slight advantage coming out of turn four when the two cars made contact. McGill spun in front of the entire field as a result. During the yellow flag period, Jackson and McGill continued to make contact, and both were disqualified from the race.

At that point, Gregg Satterlee inherited the lead with Mollick on the outside. Mollick got a good jump on the ensuing restart, used the high groove to his advantage, and roared into the lead. The move proved to be a winning one, as Mollick kept the lead the rest of the way.

Roaring Knob regular and past track champion Gary Dalton finished second. Following Dalton under the checkered flag were Andy Anderson, Satterlee, Steve Everhart, Tim Senic, Jared Miley, Billy Holbert, Alex Ferree and Chad McClellan.

Uniontown’s Mel Minnick, Jr. placed 4th in his heat race, started 17th in the feature, and came home right behind McClellan.

One of the keys to Mollick’s win was performing maintenance on his motor. “We had the engine out of the car early in the week,” he said. “We got it back together, and here we are.”

On Sunday, Mollick traveled to Tyler County Speedway in West Virginia to run the UFo Earl Hill Memorial race. John finished second in his heat and 10th in the feature, picking up another $400. The race drew 30 entries and was won by Zach Dohm who held off his father, Tim Dohm, the 2008 winner.

Mollick currently leads the UFo Super Late Model point standings with a 12-point cushion over Alex Ferree.

The other Saturday night feature winners at Roaring Knob were Shane Hitt (FASTRAK Late Models), Shawn Davis (Modifieds), Todd Dennis (Street Stocks) and Marty Spade, Jr. in the Chargers.

There will be no racing at Roaring Knob on Saturday. Action resumes the following week on Saturday, Aug. 15 with a Modified Special and Autograph Night. The date will mark the first of four point races remaining on the schedule.

Neil Brown won another Super Late Model feature at Motordrome Speedway on Friday night. Joining Neil in victory lane were Bob Shipp (Modifieds), Mike Bakalon (Street Stocks), Matt Sever (Super Compacts), and Ron Eiford III in the Charger class.

Eiford, an American Flyer 4-cylinder graduate, tasted victory for the first time in his new division. The Scottdale resident won the race in a racecar originally built by Kevin Ludwick of Star Junction.

On Friday, Motordrome Speedway will present a 100-lap feature for the Super Late Models paying $3,000 to win. Promoter Stan Lasky will add a bonus of $1,000 to the winner if the driver is an outside invader. The Super Lates will also run qualifying heat

The other four divisions will run features only. Race time is 7:30pm. The evening will conclude with a gigantic high-intensity fireworks display.

Dave Dragovich may be contacted at somersetdave@comcast.net