FORESTVILLE - When the late Doug Hoffman won his third Coalcracker 358 modified feature at Big Diamond Speedway, it came 16 years after his second.
And it was considered an unusual accomplishment.
Well, maybe it's really not that unusual now.
Bechtelsville's Jeff Strunk produced the same achievement Sunday night at Big Diamond when he claimed his third Coalcracker title, also 16 years after his second.
Monday's race was the first so-named Jack Rich Memorial Coalcracker 72, so for the moment Strunk has a unique honor and $10,000 in his race team's pocket.
"We drew 12 out of (a possible) 12 (starting spots) for the feature there, but never lost hope, never lost confidence that we were going to have a good shot at winning," he said after exiting his No. 4* race car.
One reason for Strunk's excitement was that he drove the same car Sunday that he piloted the preceding night to victory at his hometown track, Grandview Speedway.
"We were the first car here today. We were the first car in the pits," he said of his crew's work. "Basically, we just unloaded, maintenanced the thing, put our Big Diamond setup in it, and it worked out great."
It took 17 laps for Strunk to work into the top five, but he was helped by a caution-filled first 36 laps. The race was interrupted 10 times before the mandatory fuel stop midway through the 72 laps, a distance designated by the track's construction in 1972.
One of the caution flags waved
for track points leader Craig Von Dohren, who had clinched the Grandview points crown one night earlier. Von Dohren tangled with New Jersey driver David Van Horn Jr. on the 25th lap to end his night.
Two laps after an 18th-lap restart, Strunk circled around race-long leader Doug Manmiller in the fourth corner and never looked back. Several times Strunk built sizable leads that evaporated under caution flags, but he eventually won by 1.75 seconds.
"Just a great run," Strunk said. "We hit the setup right on the money tonight."
Likewise, Strunk also prepared himself for a long night after his race Saturday at Grandview.
"Drink a lot of water and stay hydrated, especially with the way the humidity has been," the 45-year-old driver said. "You can see that I sweat like crazy.
"The older I get, the more you have worry about cramps, but none this weekend. We're on a roll."
Once he was passed, Manmiller had his own battle with Duane Howard. Manmiller eventually beat Howard for second place by a few feet at the checkered flag.
"I just had to keep going. I held my line and tried to hit my marks so he couldn't get a run on me," Manmiller, of Shoemakersville, said. "It was real close."
Thirteen of the 26 starters finished the event, but only one car dropped out after the halfway mark, which came 36 minutes after the green flag. The second half took 18 minutes to complete.
Among the survivors at the checkered flag, Ryan Godown placed fourth and Ryan Watt claimed fifth spot. Rick Laubach took sixth ahead of Jimmy Horton, Kevin Smith, Sammy Piazza and Kevin Albert.
Howard, Ricky Yetter, Laubach and Kyle Weiss won heats while Bobby Varin and Frank Cozze took consolation races.
In Sunday's other division, Pine Grove's Chris Holland claimed victory in the roadrunner feature. It was scheduled for 25 laps, but eight caution flags forced track officials to stop the race because of the time limit after 19 laps.
Holland passed Mohnton's Shon Elk for the lead on a seventh-lap restart and held off Elk to the end.
"I held it wide open on the outside and went right by him," Holland said. "I said, 'Now we're in business.'"
Holland beat a field that included his father Kevin, who was making his season debut.
"My dad has 16 wins here, and now I have two," he said.
Heat winner Marc Berzowski took third ahead of Jim Kost and the night's other heat winner, Jason Brown.
Big Diamond will host its next program, featuring 358 modifieds, sportsmen and street stocks, at 6:15 p.m. Sunday. The card includes a women's race for the modifieds and sportsmen.
Big Diamond Speedway
Sunday's Results
358 Modifieds
Feature (Jack Rich Memorial Coal Cracker 72, 72 laps) - 1. Jeff Strunk ($10,000), 2. Doug Manmiller, 3. Duane Howard, 4. Ryan Godown, 5. Ryan Watt, 6. Rick Laubach, 7. Jimmy Horton, 8. Kevin Smith, 9. Sammy Piazza, 10. Kevin Albert Jr., 11. Frank Cozze, 12. Kyle Weiss, 13. Shawn Fitzpatrick, 14. Nick DeSantis, 15. Ron Haring Jr., 16. John Willman, 17. Richie Pratt Jr., 18. David Van Horn, 19. John Stangle, 20. Craig Von Dohren, 21. Kyle Borror, 22. Billy Pauch Sr., 23. Meme DeSantis, 24. Bobby Varin, 25. Ricky Yetter, 26. Dan Hineline.
Roadrunners
Feature (25 laps, stopped after 19 laps because of time limit) - 1. Chris Holland, 2. Shon Elk, 3. Marc Berzowski, 4. Jim Kost, 5. Jason Brown, 6. Devin Trexler, 7. Jared Seigfried, 8. Tim Spesak, 9. Terry Kramer Jr., 10. Kyle Killian, 11. Kevin Holland, 12. Joe Kavanaugh, 13. Kris Ney, 14. Tim Fitzpatrick Jr., 15. Jesse Krasnitsky, 16. Elvin Brennan III, 17. Jeremy Becker, 18. Andrew Fayash III. DNS: Tom Hablett.