FORESTVILLE — Rick Laubach has enjoyed a strong start to his 2015 season, including two victories in Florida.
So the Quakertown driver figured it was about time he also notched a feature win at Big Diamond Speedway, where he is the defending points champion.
“This is our fourth, and we probably should have won six by now,” Laubach said after he took Friday’s 25-lap 358 modified feature at Big Diamond.
Laubach, who has two feature wins at Bridgeport Speedway in 2015, added, “We should have won that opening-day one (at Big Diamond), but we got wrecked in lapped traffic.”
But all was forgiven Friday night, when Laubach led every lap from the pole.
He was joined with a win by Douglassville’s Tim Buckwalter in the American Racing Drivers Club midget feature. Gordon’s Kris Ney won the roadrunner feature and Pottsville’s Jeremy Becker took the street stock feature.
Losing a 7-second lead in the modified feature when Ryan Godown’s No. 26 broke with five laps left to bring out a caution flag, Laubach held off Billy Pauch Jr.
Pauch had an impressive, yet frustrating, night.
In addition to placing second in the modified feature, Pauch settled for the runner-up finish in the midget feature.
Earlier, Pauch earned $750 by winning the Searock Fabrication Modified Challenge. That was a series of one-lap duels among drivers chosen by fans on Facebook.
Nine drivers participated. The eliminations came down to a duel between Pauch and Duane Howard, who had beaten his preceding five opponents.
Pauch forced Howard up the track in the first turn to take command with a winning lap of 17.49 seconds.
“I think he tried to take off and I just timed it perfect,” Pauch said.
Pauch charged from the seventh starting spot to second in the feature, but could not beat Laubach on the 21st-lap restart.
Howard was third ahead of Ryan Watt and Jeff Strunk. Ray Swinehart, the other heat winner, was sixth.
Buckwalter led the bulk of the ARDC midget feature, but was nearly caught by Pauch on the 19th lap of the 20-lap race.
Instead, Pauch’s car drifted high in the third turn, allowing Steve Drevicki to take the second spot.
Buckwalter and Ryan Greth won heats.
Ney, who won a Crazy Eights feature in 2014, earned his first-ever 20-lap roadrunner victory by enduring a tight duel with Shon Elk over the closing laps.
“I led almost every one, so it feels great,” Ney said of his laps.
Chris Holland rallied from a fourth-lap caution flag to take third ahead of Andrew Fayash III and Jim Kost.
Fayash and Devin Trexler took heats.
Tower City’s Rick Bixler was poised to follow his street stock heat victory with a feature triumph, but the polesitter fell short.
After leading every lap, Bixler’s car hit the frontstretch wall on the 19th lap of the 20-lap race, allowing Becker to pass him for the victory in a feature field of 11 starters.
“It’s very stiff competition, a very tough class,” Becker, the defending roadrunner track champion, said. “I just hope they get more cars and keep them here.”
Big Diamond hosts the second Anthracite Assault, a Short Track Super Series modified program, at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Sportsmen and 600cc modifieds are also scheduled.
Big Diamond Speedway Friday’s results
358 modifieds (25 laps) — 1. Rick Laubach ($3,000), 2. Billy Pauch Jr., 3. Duane Howard, 4. Ryan Watt, 5. Jeff Strunk, 6. Ray Swinehart, 7. Meme DeSantis, 8. Colt Harris, 9. Shawn Fitzpatrick, 10. John Willman, 11. Dave Dissinger, 12. Heath Metzger, 13. Justin Grim, 14. Ryan Godown, 15. Scott Albert, 16. Kyle Follweiler, 17. Mario Dinatale, 18. Kevin Beach Jr., 19. Kent Reinert. DNS — Dan Hineline, Scott Albert
ARDC midgets (20 laps) — 1. Tim Buckwalter, 2. Steven Drevicki, 3. Billy Pauch Jr., 4. Nick Wean, 5. Trevor Kobylarz, 6. Bruce Buckwalter, 7. Tom Kunsman, 8. Ryan Watt, 9. Brett Arndt, 10. Austin Burke, 11. Tony DiMattia, 12. P.J. Garguilo, 13. Brett Wanner, 14. Eric Heydenreich, 15. Ryan Greth
Roadrunners (20 laps) — 1. Kris Ney ($300), 2. Shon Elk, 3. Chris Holland, 4. Andrew Fayash III, 5. Jim Kost, 6. T.J. Fitzpatrick, 7. Jesse Krasnitsky, 8. Kyle Wingle, 9. Elvin Brennan, 10. Terry Kramer Jr., 11. Kermit Jacoby, 12. Chris Natale, 13. Dan Shoener, 14. Jared Seigfreid, 15. Joe Kavanaugh, 16. Jon Schlauch, 17. Brian Buchinski, 18. Devin Trexler, 19. Tim Fitzpatrick, 20. Joey Brennan
Street stocks (20 laps) — 1. Jeremy Becker ($500), 2. Rick Bixler, 3. Jasen Geesaman, 4. Rick Bossinger, 5. Chris Derr, 6. Jimmy Combs, 7. Michael Radocha, 8. Butch Heisel, 9. Bobby Kupp, 10. Jim Somers. DNS — Tyler Stump