You also posted that the 88 results were missing.
Tommy Van Scoy Jr. of Shavertown believed the third time would be the charm. Jerry Coffee of Avoca thought that twice would be nice.
Coffee, driving a Class Formula-Atlantic March, got his wish by successfully defending his championship Sunday at the 37th Bachman Duryea Hillclimb.
Coffee won it with a time of 1:53.990 on his final run Sunday to edge Van Scoy, who drove a Class Formula-Atlantic March to a time of 1:54.632.
Van Scoy had come close to victory in his first two Hillclimbs, but narrowly finished second both times. Van Scoy played bridesmaid again Sunday.
Nine-time champion Kerry Hitt, driving a Corvette in the Open class, was third at 1:57.320.
Tony Byrne of Flying Hills, driving a Tiga in Class Sports 2000, was fourth at 2:00.665. Jim Oswald of Reading, driving a VW in Class A-Sports Racing, was fifth at 2:03.748. Chris Berns of Fleetwood, driving a Zink in Class Formula 400, was sixth at 2:05.631 and set a class record.
Van Scoy led after every run - except the last. His time on his first run Sunday was 1:55.275. At that point, Hitt of Harrisburg was second (1:57.320) and Coffee was third (2:00.014).
Van Scoy bettered his time by about a half-second on his next run, despite spinning his wheels at the start and encountering another problem.
”I came into the second corner, laid on the brakes, and the car went a little squirrelly on me,'' he said. ”I didn't lose control, but I lost a little time there. The car ran beautiful. I just messed up.''
Despite that, the pressure was on Coffee, who had hit a hay bale near the end of his run, bending his front wing.
Coffee, who set the hill record last year with a time of 1:52.164 over the 2.21-mile course up Duryea Drive, also spun his wheels at the start, but not as badly as Van Scoy. From there, Coffee did what he had to for the win.
”I looked for a good, hard start and we got it,'' Coffee said. ”We try to set up our car to work better, perhaps, than the competition through the early parts of the course. We get through the tight, twisty turns and the fast sections of the course. The car kind of takes care of itself.
”My crew really works. They never stop working. Right up until the final run, they were making adjustments that did pay off in the long run. We owe a ”thank you very much' to the guys and ladies of our team. Without them, none of this would be any fun at all, quite frankly.
”That last run was a good, strong run, but far from what I'd call a clean run. You're constantly groping for speed throughout the hill.''
Coffee said he felt pressure to repeat.
”The easy thing for us to do was stay home,'' he said. ”But it's always been fun for me to come here to Duryea. As far as losing the championship, sure, that's a real possibility. And it will happen someday, but it won't happen without a fight.''
Hitt might have regained the title had he not encountered some difficulties with his new Corvette on his first run.
”We put in a five-speed transmission,'' he said. ”I'm so used to running with a four-speed. In shifting a five-speed, first (gear) is over to the left and back. Second is where first should be and so on.
”As I was going up the short straight, my mind was thinking third gear and I want to go fourth, but I'm pulling back instead of pushing it forward. I just really blew it.
”The first time I shifted this car was when I drove it from the trailer to my parking space here. The shifting pattern is different; the transmission is different.''
”Kerry had a nice, strong run,'' Van Scoy said. ”Coming through the lower part of the course, he missed a gear here and there. That may have been the difference in this race.''
Hitt, who did not race last year following a string of seven ”King of the Hill'' titles, slowed to a 2:03.662 on his final run.
Even though he did not win, Hitt said he is pleased with his new car.
”We've been working three years in designing and building it,'' he said. ”The whole chassis is new. We've lowered the center of gravity in the car. We have a new suspension on the rear. We have no sway bars on the car in the front and rear. This is the most powerful car I've ever driven.''
Coffee, who defeated Van Scoy by a little more than a second last year, said he was hoping to race against his archrivals here.
”The ”Big Three' is something we all hoped would happen,'' Coffee said. ”We had a chance to talk about it a few weeks back at Pocono (International Raceway).
”We all made a commitment to come here, and I'm glad to see the other fellows lived up to their end of the bargain. It did make the weekend exciting for all of us and the fans.''
”Jerry and Tommy are good people, good drivers,'' Hitt said. ”Whoever wins, wins. At Pocono, Jerry and Tommy told me: ”Come on down. Let's have some fun.' We sure did have some fun today.''
NOTES: Also in the top 10 overall were Mark Kilpatrick of Reading, seventh, with a class-record time of 2:06.208; Mike Wilson of Bolton, Mass., eighth, 2:06.553; Marcus Barrow of Brookline, Mass., ninth, 2:06.567; and Jim Cosner of New Hope, 10th, 2:08.501. . . . Thirteen class records were set Sunday. None were set Saturday because of the rain. Last year, eight class records were set on the first day of competition, 11 on the second. . . . Dr. Pat Enzman-Alspach received the Doug Hollinger Sportsmanship Award . She has been track physician / racer at the Hillclimb for several years. She set the class record in Class Sports Renault Sunday with a time of 2:20.979. . . . Lloyd Geib Jr. of Lebanon, driving an MGB and competing in his 26th Hillclimb, won in Class E-Production. It was his 10th class championship here. . . . Alec Knight of Ringoes, N.J., driving a 1933 three-wheel Morgan in Class Vintage, improved with each run at the Hillclimb. Saturday, he had times of 3:46.016 and 3:39.351. Sunday, his times were 3:29.284 and 3:23.062. . . . Officials reported two accidents Sunday with no major injuries.
