Once in a while you get to be a part of a piece of racing history that seems unreal.
Such was the case Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway when 17-year-old Aaron Ott of East Berlin recorded his first career victory at the track in not only the 410 sprints, but also in the URC 360 feature as well.
And what made it all really surreal was the fact that rim-rider Brian Montieth and Ott staged the same battle for the lead in both events with Montieth settling for second both times.
Walking away from the pay window, Montieth car owner Jerry Parrish said, "We should have had that first one."
It was close with Montieth charging forward from his 15th starting spot to be on Ott's tail more than once. He had a clear shot fouled up with three laps left when a lapped car got in the way.
But Montieth gathered it back up and ran Ott down on the final lap, diving into the third corner going for the win, coming up just short.
Ott was overwhelmed in victory lane. And he was even more so some 20 minutes later when he pulled off the same feat over Montieth again, this time in the URC feature.
"You've just won twice at Williams Grove in under a half-hour, how's life?" I asked Ott.
"I don't know what to say. I'm speechless," he said.
The 410 win was his first anywhere in the division.
Ott is the son of veteran engine builder Don Ott, who has been powering Fred Rahmer to victories for years.
PA SPEEDWEEK UNDER WAY: The 19th annual Pennsylvania Speedweek series for 410 sprints kicked off Saturday at Lincoln Speedway where 37 cars signed in for the 10th annual Kevin Gobrecht Memorial. Driving a replica of the Amoco No. 93 driven by Gobrecht before his death, Montieth set fast time and went on to win his first-ever Speedweek feature.
As a result, Montieth took the early point lead as the series moved to Bedford Speedway last night.
Monday night is a rain date for the Bedford show before Grandview hosts leg three on Tuesday. Wednesday belongs to Hagerstown, Md., followed by a two-day stand at Williams Grove on Thursday and Friday. The final rounds of action take place at Port Royal on Saturday and Selinsgrove on Sunday. The Selinsgrove show will be the first appearance of the year by the 410s at the track. Defending event winners are Cody Darrah at Port Royal and Fred Rahmer at Selinsgrove.
AREA RESULTS: Pat Cannon of Etters went three-for-three in the 358-sprint division Saturday at Selinsgrove, besting Nate Snyder. Eric Hons held off Jeff Rine for the late model win while New Berlin's Matt Johnson took pro stock and Brian Johnson won roadrunners. There were 24 sprints and 15 lates in action.
At Port Royal Speedway on Saturday, 358s were also in action and Nicole Bower won the feature. Scott Haus won his sixth late model main of the season. There were 17 358s and 23 lates in action.
Bobby Allen's grandson Logan Schuchart won the first 358 feature of his career Friday night, at TrailWay Speedway.
OHIO CHAMPION: Stevie Smith and the Zemco No. 1 sprint team wrapped up the 27th annual Ohio Speedweek series title Saturday with a third-place finish at Fremont Speedway. Smith recorded a pair of wins during the week, back-to-back Tuesday and Wednesday at Hilltop and Waynesfield. Other winners included Tim Shaffer at Millstream and Fremont. Terry McCarl won the Eldora kickoff and Danny Smith picked up Limaland. Smith and the team were to pick up Pa Speedweek last night at Bedford Speedway.
KK RETURNS: Keith Kauffman debuted in his new ride at the Speedweek opener Saturday at Lincoln. Kauffman raced the Heffner No. 27 to a 16th-place finish in the feature.
n Shawn Brouse covers motorsports for The Daily Item. E-mail comments to sports@dailyitem.com
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