FORESTVILLE — After winning five times in 2014, Billy Pauch Jr. had not won a feature at Big Diamond Speedway this season.
Pauch picked a great time to end the drought — Friday’s George and Georgie Stevenson Memorial.
Taking the lead from Meme DeSantis on an eighth-lap restart, Pauch led the remaining 27 laps to win the $4,000 first-place purse.
The Stevenson Memorial victory was Pauch’s second in the 35-year history of the event as the Frenchtown, New Jersey, resident also won in 2011.
On that night, Nazareth’s Mike Mammana also won the sportsman feature. He duplicated the feat in Friday’s 20-lap sportsman race to earn $1,000.
The other feature winners were Pine Grove’s Chris Holland in the 20-lap roadrunner feature and Jonestown’s Richie Hitzler in the 600cc modified feature.
While Pauch never lost the lead in the Stevenson Memorial race, he came close.
On the 18th lap, he tangled with the lapped car of Heath Metzger, who was spinning along the third-turn guardrail. Pauch nearly stopped, but kept going and was allowed to keep the lead as the caution flag waved.
“The lapped cars, they don’t want to get out of the way,” Pauch said. “They’ve got to get to the bottom. It’s bad here right now and these guys have got to figure it out. ... I know Metzger. He didn’t mean to do it, but it’s part of the gig.”
Craig Von Dohren chased Pauch over the final 28 laps to place second. Starting 16th, Jeff Strunk took third ahead of Jared Umbenhauer and Ryan Watt.
Colt Harris, Von Dohren and Justin Grim won heats and therefore took part in the Mark’s Service Center Modified Cash Dash.
Starting three-wide, Von Dohren won the three-lap, nonstop race. Harris was second.
Bobby Gunther Walsh took the consolation.
In the sportsman division, Mammana won for the first time since the final event of the 2011 season by leading every lap from the outside pole.
“We’ve been very fast and not had the finishes to show it,” the former modified driver said, adding, “I like a dry, slick racetrack. It was slick.”
Points leader Tim Fitzpatrick was second in every lap of the feature. Doug Hendricks took third place ahead of Mike Lisowski and Kris Lilick.
Mammana also won his sixth heat race of the season to lead all drivers at Big Diamond this season. Other sportsman qualifiers were won by Charles Fayash, Hendricks and Ray Woodall Jr., who took the consolation.
Holland’s slump in roadrunner features was not as long as Mammana’s, but Holland’s win was his first since July 25, 2014.
Taking the lead for good on the 18th lap, Holland edged Andrew Fayash III by a couple of car-lengths at the finish after they had swapped the front spot earlier.
“Anything can happen,” Holland, who had started fourth in the field, said of his chances at a track championship. He had faded to fourth in points entering Friday.
He said, “I wanted to give up. ... The last couple of races, I had nothing but bad luck. Hopefully, my luck changes around the last half of the season and we’re going to get her to the front some more.”
Tim Fitzpatrick Jr. took third ahead of Elvin Brennan and Jesse Krasnitsky.
Holland and Shon Elk won heat races.
Hitzler became the third different 600cc modified feature winner at Big Diamond this season.
The scheduled 20-lap race was stopped after 12 circuits because of a rain shower that ended the program at 12:53 a.m.
Taking the lead on a sixth-lap restart, Hitzler said, “I was having fun racing in the rain. It made it challenging. The track surface was good all night. The rain kind of put a damper on it.”
Aaron Bowes took second ahead of Chris Eckert, Jonathan Pepe and Nate Brinker.
Hitzler, Korey Inglin and Jon Josko won heat races.
Friday’s event honored the Stevensons, who together raised funds for families of ill children. A helmet drive was held Friday for the Stevenson family so it could donate the proceeds to the charities of the family’s choice.
The event included a fireworks display to celebrate Independence Day.
Big Diamond will host a program of 358 modifieds, sportsmen, roadrunners and street stocks at 8:15 p.m. next Friday.
Big Diamond Speedway Friday’s results
358 modifieds (George and Georgie Stevenson Memorial, 35 laps) —1. Billy Pauch Jr. ($4,000), 2. Craig Von Dohren, 3. Jeff Strunk, 4. Jared Umbenhauer, 5. Ryan Watt, 6. Duane Howard, 7. Justin Grim, 8. Shawn Fitzpatrick, 9. Ray Swinehart, 10. John Willman, 11. Dave Dissinger, 12. Kevin Beach Jr., 13. Scott Albert, 14. Bob Sarkisian, 15. Kyle Borror, 16. Andy Burkhart, 17. Eric Biehn, 18. Meme DeSantis, 19. Andrew Krause, 20. Danny Bouc, 21. Paul Moyer, 22. Bobby Gunther Walsh, 23. Colt Harris, 24. Dale Hartz, 25. Heath Metzger, 26. Rick Laubach.
Sportsmen (20 laps) —1. Mike Mammana ($1,000),2. Tim Fitzpatrick, 3. Doug Hendricks, 4. Mike Lisowski, 5. Kris Lilick, 6. Wayne Witmer, 7. J.R. Fulper, 8. Bobby Butler, 9. Daryl Dissinger, 10. Carl Bittenbender, 11. Charles Fayash, 12. Glenn Rowan, 13. Chad Putalavage, 14. Craig Whitmoyer, 15. Matt Clay, 16. Shawn Light, 17. A.J. Gerhart, 18. Brett Kressley, 19. Ray Woodall Jr., 20. Jim Houseworth, 21. Brad Brightbill, 22. Charles Webber, 23. Rob Light, 24. Brandon Whitmoyer.
Roadrunners (20 laps) —1. Chris Holland, 2. Andrew Fayash III, 3. Tim Fitzpatrick Jr., 4. Elvin Brennan, 5. Jesse Krasnitsky, 6. Shon Elk, 7. Terry Kramer Jr., 8. Jim Kost, 9. Kris Ney, 10. Bruce Ditzler, 11. Chris Natale, 12. Kermit Jacoby, 13. Jeremy Becker, 14. Brian Buchinski, 15. Devin Trexler, 16. Jon Schlauch.
600cc modifieds (20 laps) —1. Richie Hitzler, 2. Aaron Bowes, 3. Chris Eckert, 4. Jonathan Pepe, 5. Nate Brinker, 6. Josh Pepe, 7. Jon Josko, 8. Nick Mady, 9. Tyler Reeser, 10. Barry Breidegan, 11. Josh Bewley, 12. Dave Baldwin Sr., 13. Tim Van Horn Jr., 14. Dylan McCrone, 15. Dakota Bartlett, 16. Barry Lee, 17. Andrew Ace, 18. Shawna Schibilia, 19. Grant Schibilia, 20. Luke Harper, 21. Bryan Care, 22. Dalton Minovich, 23. Wyatt Harrar, 24. Steve Sterner, 25. Kyle Inglin, 26. D.J. Hunt, 27. Korey Inglin, 28. Billy Koch, 29. Scott Washburn, 30. Vincent Varano. DNS — Abbey Price.