Site Updated Thursday, October 2, 2008

Schedule      Rich's Story     History Photos      Crew      Sponsors  

The next scheduled event is Challenger Raceway on Thursday, October 9th, Friday, October 10th and Saturday, October 11th for the Ultimate & Fallfest 14.   

Stay tuned for updated schedules to be listed.

                                                                                          PROUD SUPPORTER OF 

RICH GARDNER IS YOUR 2008 SUPER LATE MODEL POINT CHAMPION AT STATELINE SPEEDWAY!

Results

McKean County Raceway, September 25, 26, & 27, 2008 - Fall Classic.  Car Count - 40.  Thursday's format was a King of the Hill event.  Rich ended up 14th overall, as he was eliminated by Dick Barton.  Friday's event was ULMS sanctioned.  Rich won his heat race, and after running the dash, was placed in the eighth position for the feature.  During the parade lap leading up to the start of the feature, Rich suffered a heart breaking situation.  While warming up the tires, he experienced a mechanical failure with the right front shock.  The front of the car dropped to the ground, forcing Rich to the pits before the event even started.  "We were all devastated," said a very disappointed Rich.  "We didn't even get a chance to race in the feature.  The only good thing about this is that it happened during the parade lap.  Had this happened during the race at speed, the car undoubtedly would have flipped end over end, risking serious injury to me and most definitely destroying the car.  The Lord was watching over me."  Saturday's event was the Dave Lundgren Memorial race.  Rich again won his heat race.  As he claimed, the crew had the car right on.  The dash placed Rich in the third starting position for the feature.  At the start of the race, Rich held on to third until lap 10 as the track started to change and become very slippery.  Rich began to struggle to hang on as he fought a very loose handling race car.  At the end of the 50 laps, he finished in the tenth position.  "We just didn't keep up with the race track tonight.  We didn't tighten the car up enough, and the track continued to get slippery.  After what happened Friday night, we were very happy to just finish.  I think we can take from this and learn from this and hopefully carry it on to Fall Fest," commented Rich.

Eriez Speedway, September 21, 2008 - Car Count - 23.  Finished second in the heat race.  The redraw placed him 12th for the feature.  On a very rough race track, which made it very difficult to control the car, Rich managed to hang on and work his way to the eighth position.  "I can honestly say that I am glad the season is over here.  From what I understand, management is going to re-clay the surface here before the season starts next year.  I hope that this means we can look forward to a smooth racing surface next year," said Rich.

Elkins, WV Speedway, September 19 & 20, 2008 - IRS Sanctioned event.  Car Count - 39.  Rich qualified 21st, which he was very disappointed in.   But he also admitted that by drawing the high number that they did, he went out onto the track late when the surface had gone away and become very slippery.  Rich missed getting in the show through the heat race which relegated him to run the B-Main.  Only three cars were being taken from the B to transfer to the feature and Rich missed transferring by one spot since he finished in the fourth position.  "We were very disappointed that we didn't make the show.  Especially since we traveled five hours to West Virginia, but, we knew going into it that it was the chance you take.  We had a good car, it's just the luck of the draw placed us on the track when there wasn't a lot of traction.   The reason I say we had a good car is because during practice, we were running times that were faster than the eventual winner of the feature," stated Rich.

Lake Erie Speedway, September 17, 2008 - Racing For Kids Charity Event.  For this event, 12 of the areas top dirt late model drivers were placed in the asphalt sport mod cars.  Rich was placed in Scott Bayle's car, who also happens to be a long time friend of Rich's.  During hot laps, while all the drivers were getting acclimated to the new rides, Rich had the throttle linkage hang up in the wide open position.  This caused him to hit the wall at top speed.  Rich was a little shaken and bruised, but came out ok.  Unfortunately, Bayle's car was done for the night.  A backup car was acquired for Rich to continue in the evenings events.  He ended up finishing ninth in the feature, but the real attention was on the cause for which all the drivers were there.  A huge crowd was able to meet and greet and obtain autographs from all the drivers, and, at intermission, the drivers went through the stands collecting donations for the foundation.  An estimated $40,000.00 was attained from the very generous crowd for the evening.  This included the bidding on the race car doors that all of the drivers so graciously donated.  Also, an authentic Dale Earnhart Jr. racing helmet, in which he wore several times, was bid on helping to achieve the total.  "What a great night this was.  And, I totally enjoyed myself interacting with the crowd.  The downside of the event for me was wrecking Scott Bayle's car.  Even though it was a mechanical failure, I still felt bad for his crew because they are going to have to repair the car," commented Rich.  "I'd like to thank everybody who helped make this all possible, especially Dave Stewart, who put his heart and soul into making this happen.  Dave kind of stands back in the shadows.  He doesn't stand in the spotlight looking for glory.  His gratification comes from helping the kids.  There are so many children's charities that Racing for Kids helps.  A lot of people don't realize how much he puts in to making this all work. 

Stateline Speedway, September 14, 2008 - Car Count - 24.  Finished second in the heat race.  The redraw placed him in the fifth position for the feature.  Due to extreme weather conditions, with tornado warnings in the area, the strong winds blew a power line from the pole sparking across the retainer fence.  Management was forced to cancel for the evening for the safety of everyone.  Calling it a season, this crowned Rich the 2008 Super Late Model Point Champion at Stateline Speedway.  "Well, it finally happened.  I have been second here four times in the past and was never able to close the deal to win it.  Finally, I can proudly say, I am the champion at Stateline Speedway.  Most of all, I have to thank my crew of Toby, Wendell, John, and Frank.  Without these guys, I could never have done it.  These guys are behind the scenes.  No one sees their faces, I get all the glory and they do all the hard work.  I am truly grateful to these guys and I owe them a lot.  This championship is just as much theirs as it is mine," said a very jubilant Rich.

Stateline Speedway, September 6, 2008 - Car Count - 24.  Finished fourth in the heat.  Started 11th in the feature.  Rich just sort of hung around mid-pack the whole race, not able to mount a drive to the front.  He ended up in the tenth position.  "I'm not really sure, but I think we were just a tick too hard on tire tonight.  I never really got going.  The car didn't feel bad, it just wasn't fast enough to get by anybody," stated Rich.

Eriez Speedway, started August 31, 2008 and finished September 1, 2008 - Car Count - 23.  Missed the redraw from the heat race which relegated him to start 21st in the feature.  Due to deplorable track conditions, there were many cautions due to cars wrecking and/or breaking.  Rich's strategy was to go out and be conservative and try to be there at the end.  This turned out to be a great idea, as he managed a seventh place finish for the night.  "My mindset going out there tonight was to just bring the car back in one piece.  A lot of equipment got tore up tonight, and it was all attributed to track conditions," said a very discouraged Rich.  "We managed to pull off a top ten finish and finished the year off third in points.  Track management has a long way to come in getting this track smooth so that these accidents and equipment failures don't happen.  It wasn't a good night for the racers nor the poor fans who had to sit through this.  I feel really bad for them.  They're the ones that pay to get in."

Stateline Speedway,  August 30, 2008 - Car Count - 36.  Won the first heat race.  The redraw placed Rich in the fourth starting position for the feature event.  With some fast paced racing action, on lap 11, Rich pulled off an outside pass on David Scott to take over the lead.  From there on, he went on to dominate the race in which he lapped up to 15th place.  As the checkered flag dropped, Rich had a full straight away lead on second place.  "Wow!  What a great race car I had tonight," exclaimed Rich.  "My job was easy, the car about drove itself.  I've got to thank my crew for making all the right adjustments tonight.  This win came at the right time, as you know, we had engine troubles last week.  That $5,000.00 sure is going to come in handy!  And, what an honor this is to be the first one to win the inaugural Lloyd Moore Memorial race. 

Eriez Speedway, August 24, 2008 - Car Count - 23.  While warming the car up in the pits before the start of the evening, the crew noticed water running out the left header.  They shut the car down immediately, only to end their night before it even began.  "We definitely have a serious problem here now.  Obviously, we damaged something in the cooling system when we overheated it the night before.  I hope this doesn't end our season, because this is the only engine we have at this time," stated a very worried Rich.

Stateline Speedway, August 23, 2008 - Car Count - 24.  Finished second in the heat race.  The redraw placed Rich in the fifth starting position for the feature.  He worked his way to the front and by lap 20, he was battling side by side with Chris Hackett.  At the checkered flag, Hackett edged Rich by a fender length at the start finish line.  "I almost pulled in with five laps to go," commented Rich.  "The temperature gauge was reading HOT.  But, I stayed out and finished the race.  We were able to cool the motor back down in the pits.  The thing is, we don't know why it started over-heating."

Eriez Speedway, August 17, 2008 - IRS Sanctioned Event.  Car Count - 36.  Rich qualified 8th over all, and, during his heat race while he was running in a transfer spot, the car in front of him spun out taking Rich with him.  He had to race his way into the feature through the B Main, which he finished second in.  This placed him in the 20th starting spot for the feature which is where he ended up finishing.  "We were all very disappointed tonight," said a dejected Rich.  "Had we not been 'taken out' of the heat race, we were going to be in the dash which would have started us somewhere in the top five.  Instead we started in the rear of the field and passing was at a premium tonight." 

Stateline Speedway, August 16, 2008 - Car Count - 26.  Finished fourth in the heat race.  Started 12th in the feature.  Rich seemed to struggle with the cars handling, but he managed to pull off a ninth place finish in the feature.  "We were good early on, and after the last restart, the car became very loose.  I'm thinking that we had a tire seal over on us," commented Rich. 

Stateline Speedway, August 9, 2008 - Car Count - 29.  Finished second in the heat race.  This placed him in the fourth starting position for the feature.  Mechanical problems continue to haunt this team.  As Rich struggled the entire feature with a miss in the engine, he barely hung on to finish seventh.  "We think it's the carburetor," said Rich sounding very disappointed.  "The only thing we can do is change the carburetor and hope that cures the problem for the next race.  It's just been one thing after another.  Earlier in the year we experienced an electrical miss.  Now, we are having fuel issues.  Last week we thought we had it fixed when we found a problem with the tank.  It just seems we can't get a break this year!"

Eriez Speedway, August 3, 2008 - Car Count - 22.  Finished third in the heat race.  Jaimee, the teams line-up girl, used some of the magic that she possesses and re-drew the pole position for the feature.  Rich led the first five laps of the feature when a caution slowed the action.  On the restart, Mike Knight got by Rich on the high side and opened up a substantial lead.  As the race went on, Rich began to reel Knight back in as Dave Hess Jr. and Rich battled for second place.  Time would run out as the checkers flew with Rich unable to catch Knight at the end.  He did pull away from Hess to finish a very convincing second.  "Hey, second place is great and with the weekend that we just came off of, with our fuel problems, it feels like a win," stated a relieved Rich.  "But, I really wanted that win bad.  This is our best finish to date here at Eriez, and I hope we can continue to feed off of this for the rest of the year." 

McKean County Raceway, July 31, 2008 - ULMS Show.  Car Count - 31.  Mechanical woes continue to plague this team.  During the heat race, Rich experienced fuel problems with the car.  The crew hustled to replace the carburetor and sent Rich back out to run the B-Main.  During the race, the car began to sputter and miss again, forcing Rich to the pits to end his night for a chance to be in the feature.  "Obviously changing carburetors didn't fix the problem.  This tells me we have a much larger problem with the fuel system," commented a very dejected Rich.

Eriez Speedway, July 27, 2008 - World of Outlaws event.  Car Count - 48.  After an outstanding qualifying run, Rich timed in seventh fastest.  And, by his own admission, he is not a very good qualifier and was pleasantly surprised that he had out qualified some of the best in the nation.  Rich finished third in the third heat which placed him in the eleventh starting position for the feature.  After battling most of the race with Ron Davies, which at times the two of them crossed the start/finish line side by side - dead even, Rich finished the 50 lap event in the tenth position.  "I was very pleased with our finish," stated Rich.  "There was a lot of good cars that didn't make the show. and, some even better ones that finished behind us.  These World of Outlaws shows are a tough deal to get into.  So far this year, we are two for two.  Again, I have to give credit to my crew who worked nonstop throughout the evening."

Eriez Speedway, July 20, 2008 - Car Count - 23.  Won the third heat race.  Redrew number 7 for the feature.  Rich struggled all night during the feature and battled to end up finishing eighth.  When asked what he thought went wrong, Rich's comments were, "None of us from the crew on down to me have a clue as to what we did wrong tonight.  The car just wasn't fast and we have some figuring out to do to be better at this track."

Stateline Speedway, July 19, 2008 - IRS sanctioned event.  Car Count - 34.  Rich finished third in his heat race which was loaded with top names.  This was good enough to transfer him to the feature as they were taking the top four from the heats.  This placed him in the ninth starting position for the feature.  At the drop of the green, Rich paced himself knowing that it was a 50 lap event.  Gradually and methodically, Rich moved his way to the front.  On lap 48, he passed David Scott to finish third in a feature loaded with big stars.  "I was very pleased tonight.  We hit right on everything.  The tires, the chassis, and even the driver had his game on tonight," laughed Rich.  "To finish this good against this type of talent, is a testament to how good our team can be when we hit on everything."

Eriez Speedway, July 13, 2008 - Car Count - 23.  Won the heat race by the margin of a straightaway.  The redraw placed him in the seventh position for the start of the feature.  Rich began to fade immediately at the drop of the green.  They had hopes that the hard tire that they had put on would start working.  A lap 13 caution gave Rich the chance to retreat to the pits and have the crew put a softer compound tire on.  He reentered the track in the 20th position, and immediately, you could tell that they had the right tire this time.  At the drop of the checkered flag, Rich finished in the eighth position.  "Yes, we missed on the tire pick tonight.  But, we were fortunate enough to get a caution and get a chance to change the tire.  The car worked great after I came back out," said Rich.

Stateline Speedway, July 12, 2008 - Car Count - 21.  Ignition problems forced Rich to the pits during the heat race.  This positioned him at the rear of the field for the start of the feature.  After 19 laps had been completed, the engine, again, shut off forcing Rich to the pits for another DNF.  The crew continued to try and trace the problem to where they ended up replacing the ignition box.  To see if it was fixed, Rich volunteered to run the King of the Hill. In the process, he ended up winning it and apparently the electrical problem is fixed.  "Tonight was just simply a nightmare," stated Rich.  "I hope our mechanical problems are all behind us now."

Eriez Speedway, July 7, 2008 - Car Count - 26.  Finished fourth in the heat race.  The redraw placed him in the ninth starting position for the feature event.  It was obvious at the start that things weren't exactly right as Rich dropped to 12th at one point during the race.  Then, on lap 18, he began to move forward and made his way to eighth place as the checkered flag flew.  "We went hard on tires tonight and all of us on the crew agreed on the pick.  We were all surprised that it took that long for the tires to come in and start working.  We will go back to the drawing board and figure out what to do better next time," said Rich.  "We weren't horrible by any means.  I just had to wait a little too long for the car to start working good."

Stateline Speedway, July 6, 2008 - Car Count - 28.  Rich made it to the semi-final in the King of the Hill elimination which placed him in the seventh starting position for the feature.  Rich battled his way to the front and, at times, raced side by side with the leader.  In his attempt to gain the lead, Rich relinquished second place but would end up with a strong third place finish.  "We had a great car tonight and hit on everything right.  I can't complain at all.  We had the lead at one point, and then the caution came out, and we never got another chance at it.  But, it was still a great run," said Rich.

Raceway 7, July 5, 2008 - Car Count - 33.  During the heat race, the car developed electrical problems forcing Rich to the pits.  The crew corrected the problem enabling Rich to tail the B-Main.  Rich raced his way to a second place finish which placed him in the 20th starting position for the feature.  Rich survived many near misses coming up through the field and settled for a 12th place finish at the checkered flag.

Canandaigua Speedway, June 24, 2008 - WOO Show - Car Count - 33.  Qualified 14th fastest and started sixth in the first heat.  While racing hard for position, Rich, by his own admission, screwed up and hit the wall coming out of turn four.  This knocked the wheel off the right front corner of the car.  The crew hustled to repair the car just in time to tail the B-Main.  With a remarkable performance, Rich raced to a third place finish to get into the main event.  This put Rich in the 21st position for the Feature.  Against some of the best in the country, Rich finished 18th.  "We were just happy to make the show," said a very jubilant Rich.  "I'm so proud of my crew.  Toby, Wendell, Paul and my son, Kevin worked frantically on the car to repair it just in time.  I had really thought that when I came in on the wrecker, that our night was over.  These guys never gave up and never lost confidence in me."

Eriez Speedway, June 22, 2008 - Car Count - 24.  While running second in the heat race, Rich was spun out into the infield from contact with a car behind him.  Started 22nd in the feature and raced his way to a tenth place finish.  "This is getting to be a little old, starting in the rear of every feature," commented Rich.  "We have had a very good car and have been able to pass and race forward, but we run out of time before we can get any farther forward."

Eriez Speedway, June 15, 2008 - Car Count - 22.  Finished third in the heat race.  The re-draw placed him off-pole for the start of the feature.  Rich chased the leader for the entire distance of the race.  Two cautions flew during the race and each time, lapped cars were between Rich and the leader.  This never gave Rich a chance to start behind the leader for the restart.  "We had a really good car.  We were just tired up hard for the long run, and every time the tires got warm and the car started to get really good, a caution came out and they cooled back down.  I'm not complaining, second is a good finish.  We'll have another chance before the year is over," stated Rich.

Eriez Speedway, June 8, 2008 - Car Count - 16.  While leading the heat race, Rich sustained a flat tire which sent him to the pits.  This started him in the fifteenth position for the feature.  Track conditions made it very difficult for passing.  Rich only managed to get to 11th place when the checkers fell. 

Stateline Speedway, June 7, 2008 - Car Count - 24.  A bad run in the heat race relegated him to a sixth place finish.  He started 23rd for the feature event.  Rich had a very good car for the feature which enabled him to race his way to a strong fifth place finish.  At this writing, Rich is sitting second in points at Stateline Speedway.

Eriez Speedway, June 1, 2008 - Car Count - 27.  Finished fifth in the heat race.  Started in the 20th position for the feature.  On lap 1, contact was made with another car which sent Rich spinning sideways.  The caution came out for Rich sending him to the rear to restart the race in the 27th position.  In a hard fought battle, he worked his way back through the field all the way to the sixth position.  "Start position is so critical.  The competition is so even, it is very difficult to come up through the field.  We had a great car tonight, and I just wish we could have started farther forward to see what we could have done with the top three cars.  We just need a little more luck in the heat races so we have a better starting position for the features," commented Rich.

Stateline Speedway, May 31, 2008 - Car Count - 26.  Finished fourth in the heat.  Started 12th in the feature.  Rich had a really good car and raced his way up to the sixth position at the checkered flag. 

Eriez Speedway, May 18, 2008 - Car Count - 17.  Won the heat race.  Started seventh in the feature.  Had worked his way to fifth position when he was taken out by a spinning car.  This ended his night with a broken radiator.  Rich was scored in the 16th position.  "This just wasn't our night.  We had a very fast car and hit right on the set-up.  But, we ended up being in the wrong place at the wrong time," said a very disappointed Rich.

Stateline Speedway, May 17, 2008 - Car Count - 30.  Double Feature night.  Due to a mishap in the heat race, he started 30th in the first feature.  Finished 17th.  Finished second in the next heat race.  Started fifth in the second feature and finished seventh.

Stateline Speedway, May 10, 2008 - Car Count - 24.  Finished 2nd in the heat race.  Started fourth in the feature and held that position until lap 14 when his tires faded.  Rich would struggle to hold on to finish sixth.  "We gambled tonight on soft tires, and, they lasted for about half the race.  It was a dice roll, and it didn't really hurt us that bad," stated Rich.

Eriez Speedway, May 4, 2008 - Car Count - 30.  Finished fifth in the heat race.  Started 20th in the feature.  Rich worked his way into the top ten when he was caught up in a seven car pile up in turn four.  After going to the pits for repairs, he started last in the field and raced his way back to eighth place before the checkers flew. 

Stateline Speedway, April 26, 2008 - Car Count - 29.  Finished third in the heat race.  Started seventh in the feature and finished 12th.  "We were off tonight due to a wrong tire pick.  I will take credit for this because I was the one that lobbied everyone to run these tires.  We were a little on the hard side when the track could have used a much softer tire.  We will put this behind us and move on," Rich said.

Stateline Speedway, April 19, 2008 - Car Count - 26.  Finished second in the heat race.  Finished third in the feature.  The team is very upbeat about starting out with a good finish like this, because, this is the car that they struggled all season with last year.  "Toby changed a lot of things on this car over the winter, and it sure felt a lot better," commented Rich.  "We will see how it progresses as the season goes on, but I think we might have found something here."