MECHANICSBURG
 Anytime Doug Esh starts on the front row, he’s going to be the man to beat.

 Despite suffering through a dismal start to the season with his new Leach Brothers/Panchos Racing Products team, the Lancaster driver just couldn’t seem to put together what it took to finish up front.

 Friday night, Esh led all 25 laps of the 410 Sprint car feature at Williams Grove Speedway, ending the slump to become the fourth different winner in four events at the track.

 With great weather for the first time all season, a large crowd was on hand to see the new Musco lighting as the track paid tribute to its fallen owner, Morgan Hughes, who passed away last Saturday morning.  “It’s tough to lose somebody big like that in racing but hopefully Justin (Loh) and the family can keep the deal going. Hats off to the family.”

 “I started the race up there behind the pace car (Hughes’ Mercedes) and then to win is pretty neat,” said Esh. “I never really got to know Morgan Hughes that well so if I could give anything for not knowing him, this win is for him.” The win was the 14th career for Esh.

 The feature went non stop until lap 24 when the yellow was thrown for fluid dropped on the track by AJ Michael.

 The yellow may have saved Esh from a final lap pass by a hard charging Brian Montieth.

 Montieth erased a three-second led held by Esh over the final five laps and was poised to make a challenge for the lead when the yellow flag appeared on the final lap.

  Esh went to the bottom on the restart while Montieth, of Phoenixville powered around the top and was all over Esh on the backstretch. Montieth’s bid for the win ended when he made contact with the fourth turn wall and settled for second over Jeff Shepard, of Upperco, Md., Sinking Spring’s Don Kreitz, Jr. and Millerstown’s Todd Shaffer.

 Rick Lafferty led the first three laps before Esh drove by with a move off the fourth turn.

 Esh opened up a big lead while Kreitz, Montieth and Shepard were putting on a great battle for the runner-up spot.

 Montieth managed to get around Kreitz on lap 20 and quickly reeled in the No. 30 sprinter of Esh.

 “It was our race to lose,” said Esh after earning $3,000 for the win. “Sometimes winning from the front doesn’t seem that rewarding until you get that paycheck. The guys that start deeper in the pack have to work a lot harder than the guys who are up front in clean air. But we were pretty good tonight and we got this one off our back and hopefully there will be many more to come.”

 Completing the top 10 were Lafferty, Mark Smith, Fred Rahmer, Chad Layton and Mike Erdley.

 Todd Rittenhouse, Jr. inherited the lead on lap 10 of the 20-lap 358 Sprint car feature and drove to his first career Williams Grove victory.

 John Westbrook, who took the lead from Rittenhouse on lap two, had checked out from the field only have suffer mechanical woes at the halfway point of the race.

 Rittenhouse went unchallenged in the non stop event for the win followed by Danny Massey, Cory Haas, Pat Cannon and Adam Wilt. Haas’ car went up in flames after the checkered flag.

 Rounding out the top 10 were Aaron Ott, Scott Geesey, Dave Calaman, Chad Criswell and Mark Freeland.

 Heats for the 29 410 Sprints were won by Lafferty, Esh and Shaffer while Brian Leppo won the consolation.

 Cannon, Calaman, Ott and Freeland were 358 sprint car heat winners. Elvin Diller, III and Blane Heimbach won the two consolations for the 39-car field.

 Williams Grove returns to action next Friday night with the Tommy Hinnershitz Memorial for 410 Sprints paying $6,000 to win.