Hagerstown Speedway

Busch Series driver Donnie Neuenberger of Brandywine is taking an indefinite medical leave of absence as the driver of the Moy Racing No. 77 car. Neuenberger has been diagnosed with follicular non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He will begin treatment immediately. Three-time Hagerstown Speedway champion Roy Deese of Jessup leads a tight points race in the late-model division, with Gary Stuhler of Greencastle, Pa., only one point behind going into Saturday's race. Ronnie Dennis, also from Jessup, has a one-point lead in the pure stocks division.

Rain wiped out all of last Friday's motor sports action and thunderstorms washed out last Saturday's racing at 75-80 Dragway and Lincoln Speedway.In sprint car action, Cris Eash, formerly of Woodbine continued his winning ways as he captured his eighth feature win at the Selinsgrove Speedway last Saturday. Eash's win followed a 10th-place finish against the World of Outlaws at Williams Grove last Thursday night. In Sunday night World of Outlaw action at Lincoln Speedway, Eash finished sixth.

At the 75-80 Dragway it was a family feud as Westminster's Malcolm Ford won the motorcycle class against his brother, Marion Ford from Hampstead.Todd Harris of Westminster won the Class I competition in five rounds of elimination in his dragster.Tom Humm of Taneytown defeated Westminster's George Hoff in the final round of the Class II Competition. Jim Peddicord of Westminster was a semifinalist in Class II, and Mount Airy's Joe Henry was also a semifinalist in his Camaro in Class I.I= Westminster's Josh Wagner won the New Jr. Dragster Class.

Indian summer has come to the area, and local drivers have used the good weather to their advantage.Finksburg's Al Shawver collected $1,000 for his second consecutive win of the 100-lap open competition in the street stock feature at Hagerstown Speedway last Sunday.Shawver grabbed first place on lap 19 and won by seven seconds after starting in 11th place. Shawver also won his heat race.Don Zechman of Westminster had the lead in the early going, but suffered a flat midway through to battle back to fourth.

The end of the season brought out the best in several area drivers.Charlie Schaffer of Hampstead was 11th and Gary Stuhler of Westminster was 25th in the Rod's Performance National 150-lap feature race at Hagerstown Speedway last Sunday.Stuhler was second and Schaffer was 10th in the time trials for the late models, and Schaffer was third in his heat.Stuhler finished the season ninth in the overall standings with 3,496 points for the Hagerstown track.Mike Harrison of Mount Airy was fourth in the seasonal standings with 3,031 points for limited late models.

Ice Skating Open Skating Session Where -- DiPietro Family Skating Center, Patterson Park When -- Today, noon-2 p.m. and 7 p.m.-9 p.m.; tomorrow, 3 p.m.-5 p.m. and 7 p.m.-9 p.m.; Sunday, 3 p.m.-5 p.m. What now? -- Dust off your skates and get a head start on winter. The indoor rink opens today for the season, which continues through April. General admission is $4, and skate rental is $2. Season passes are $30. The Ravens' season might be on thin ice, but the rink is expected to be frozen solid.

The 1998 racing season got under way last weekend at Lincoln and Hagerstown speedways. In the next couple of weeks, the rest of the area tracks will begin their season. Here is a review of local drag strips and oval tracks where most of the Carroll County drivers compete:Lincoln Speedway: Opened last Saturday and will have racing Saturdays through October. Race time is 2 p.m. until March 28, when it becomes 7: 30 p.m. The 3/8 -mile oval features sprint cars and thunder-cars with special events for the micro-sprints.

Staff report Several Carroll County racers roared to success last Sunday at the 75-80 Dragway:* Joe Mayne of Mount Airy was the runner-up to Dan Householder of Marriottsville in Class I competition.Mayne, in his Dragster, lost to Householder in his Duster. Also in that class, Ray Lewis of Woodbine went three rounds of competition.Westminster's Mike Hoff used his Mustang to roll to the final of Class II action and split first-place money with Chris Hruska of Mount Airy. Hruska also used a Mustang.

Area drivers excelled at the annual Central Maryland ET Nationals Sunday at Mason Dixon Speedway in Washington County.Three local competitors swept the top spots in the heavy division at the event, a joint venture between Mason Dixon and 75-80 Dragway in Monrovia, Frederick County.Corey Hess won the heavy class in his 1977 Ford Mustang, coveringthe quarter-mile track in 12.28 seconds, the exact time he had estimated on his dial in. Scott Lowman of Woodbine was second after false starting in his 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle.

Westminster's Brad McClelland got his third feature win of the season May 21 at Trail-Way Speedway in the 20-lap micro sprint feature.McClelland and Mike Stull, another Westminster resident, both won their heats.Hagerstown Speedway and Westminster's Gary Stuhler seem to together. Stuhler dominated the field as he won the Shorty Bowers/Bull Durham Memorial last Saturday in the 35-lap feature for superstock late models.It was the fourth win of the season for Stuhler at Hagerstown as he also won his heat.