Newberrytown, Pa. Susquehanna Speedway Park promoter Todd Fisher and the entire SSP staff were hustling through Thursday night''s program as quickly as they could with rain in the area. They needed all the help they could get from the ARDC drivers and the ARDC pilots delivered with 20-lap feature that ran caution free. Caution free features are great for promoters and fans, but for front running drivers who are handicapped to the middle of the pack -- like eventual winner Steve Buckwalter -- they make the job that much more challenging. Buckwalter started 10th, picked his way through the field and dove under Randy Monroe, Jr. on the white flag lap to steal the win.

"To be honest, in the beginning I really didn''t think I was going to be able to get up there," Buckwalter shared after the race. "I was getting frustrated because I kept getting boxed in, then I started over-driving the car. When PJ (Gargiulo) got by me, I had to slow down in one corner and the car actually went quicker. Then I remembered the old saying, ''slow down to go fast," Buckwalter explained.

Randy Monroe Jr. and Scott Zipp brought the 26 car field to the green flag. Monroe showed his power as he immediately began to open a gap. Frank Polimeda showed early strength jumping from fourth starting spot to second. Scott Zipp faltered losing several spots in the early laps, but then began to recover by going to the high groove and re-passing several cars to get back to second spot. Polimeda began to struggle and started to go in the opposite direction, dropping through the pack where he would eventually finish 11th.

While all this shuffling was going on up front, fifth row starters Gargiulo and Buckwalter were making some noise of their own, with Gargiulo showing in the top five by lap 8 and Steve Buckwalter sweeping by on lap 9 to become the 5th place runner. From there Buckwalter began a quick but methodical climb to 4th on lap 11 and 3rd on lap 12. On lap 13, PJ Gargiulo slipped into fourth, and at the five lap to go sign Buckwalter moved into second.

Buckwalter now had a huge task ahead of him as Monroe had built a sizable lead and Buckwalter only had five laps to slice into it. The driver known as the "Royersford Rocket" did just that, as each lap the gap became noticeably smaller. Going into turns 3 and 4 with the white flag in the air Buckwalter dove to the extreme inside and got his car between the rail and Monroe''s no. 27. When told that that move didn''t exactly look like ''slow down to go fast,'' Buckwalter responded matter of factly. "I knew I had to get by him in the corner, because his motor is so strong on the straightaway," Buckwalter remembered. "So I made sure I got alongside him, then used the brakes." Buckwalter completed the pass at the white flag and went on to take his 16th career ARDC win and third of the 2008 season.

Monroe was visibly disappointed at leading every lap and losing it on the last lap, but still showed toughness doing a victory lane interview. "Yeah it sucks leading every lap and losing it at the end," he said honestly. "I put that on myself slipping up a little bit on that corner. But I''ve still got to thank H&B Railroad, WO Grubb and Bryan Kobylarz for doing a great job for me. It was still a good night and a good points night," Monroe said. Monroe went into the night with a 3 point lead on Polimeda and stretched it with Polimeda finishing 11th.

33 ARDC Midgets signed in for competition. Heat races were won by Frank Polimeda, Drew Heistand and Randy Monroe Jr.

1) 0-Steve Buckwalter 2) 27-Randy Monroe Jr. 3) 99-Scott Zipp 4) 51-PJ Gargiulo 5) 77-Nick Wean 6) 9-Steve Lenig 7) 83-Bruce Buckwalter 8) 29-Zack Martini 9) 21-Andy Martin 10) 86-Tracy Readinger 11) 44-Frank Polimeda 12) 14-AJ Ernesto 13) 11-Eric Heydenreich 14) 00-Greg Robinson 15) 12-Drew Heistand 16) 75-Ryan Watt 17) 54-Ryan Smith 18) 55-Steve Craig 19) 4-Michelle Miller 20) 84-Jimmy Commock 21) 3-Tracy Miller 22) 34-Shane Penny 23) 25-Chris Zrinski 24) 20-Carey Becker 25) 16-Dave Shirk 26) 46-Brett Arndt