Elbows Up for the National Open

The 2012 season as been a challenging journey for the Brian Montieth and Premier Auto Works Race Team.  The best worst season as crew chief Scott Zellers puts it.

“We definitely aren’t happy with the way the season unfolded so far”, said Zellers. “We are either very good and win or very bad and don’t finish”.

The team struck up 12 wins to date this season making the most wins in one season for this 10 year veteran team, with a lot of big races still to come including this weekend’s National Open at Williams Grove Speedway.

“There is always a lot of hype when they [World of Outlaws] come into town and it’s always a big deal,” stated driver Brian Montieth.  “It’s always Outlaw vs. Posse and the stakes are always high”, he continued. “I try not to get worked up over it and just go out there and do what I always do.”

Montieth has parked the Premier Auto Works; Auto Locator #21 machine in victory lane four times so far this year at William Grove, the most of any driver has this season. They will try again this weekend as they “Edge” a little closer to an Outlaw win.

“For the past couple of months, we really have been trying different things”, explained Car Owner Jerry Parrish.  “Brian is a unique driver and finding ways to suit his driving style is always challenging.” We made some changes and we have to just see how things go.”

Be sure to come out to Williams Grove Speedway and cheer on Brian and the team this Friday and Saturday night as the Pennsylvania Posse take on the World of Outlaws. Time trials are set to get underway at 7:30PM both nights.

Follow us on Twitter @BrianMontieth or @PremierRacing21.

Montieth Sweeps the Weekend in PA

Victory Lane at Big Diamond Speedway

When you have a driver like Brian Montieth behind the wheel of your race car, it’s never a dull moment on and off the track. Especially, when he wins three, 410 features in a row and banks in over $17K to kick off the Pennsylvania Speedweek. There is no denying that the man referred to as “The Edge” can drive the wheels off of anything and he has been proving it every time he hits the track.

“It’s been almost ten years now that this team has been going strong with Montieth,” said car owner Jerry Parrish. “We have a very solid team this year, and couldn’t ask for anything more than the chemistry these guys have together.”

The Premier Racing team definitely brewed up something big this weekend in there lab in New Oxford, PA as they scored over $5,000 in prize money at Williams Grove on Friday night, $7,000 at Lincoln Speedway for the Kevin Gobrecht Memorial on Saturday and $5,000 Sunday night at Big Diamond Speedway.

“We have had some pretty bad luck here lately, said Montieth after picking up the win Saturday night at Lincoln, “but I think every team goes through it at some point in the season. This Triple X Chassis and Don Ott Motor have been amazing and the guys at the shop have had this car rockin’.”

Little did he know this rockin’ machine would be back in victory lane on Sunday night as the team made their first debut at Big Diamond Speedway. Montieth timed 11th quick and landed him a pole position in his heat and for the A-Main. He lead all 30 laps and claimed the long dragged win in the Coal Cracker County.

The Premier Racing Team will attempt to run the entire Speedweek here in PA with next on the list to travel to Brian’s neck of the woods at Grandview Speedway. As far as the remainder of the season goes, we will have to stay tuned to see what this team has in store.

Be sure to follow Brian and the Premier Race Team on Twitter and Facebook for updates throughout the race night. @brianmontieth @premierracing21

Montieth Rebounds to a Win at Lincoln!

Any win is a good win, but a much needed win came to Brian Montieth and the Premier Racing Team on Saturday night at Lincoln Speedway. The team has been struggling for quite some time now and the tolerance on Montieth was starting to show.

“We’ve been struggling bad,” said Montieth in victory lane, “We’ve pretty much looked like crap the past month and-a-half. This was a big morale booster for the team, and hopefully we can keep everything turned around now.”

The last win for the Premier Racing Team fell back in April at Lincoln; and since then the team has struggled to find their mark They competed in fourteen races and only settling into the top ten in five of them.

“We have to stay positive, said crew chief Scott Zellers, “We have an awesome team this year we just have some really bad luck. The month of June looks pretty calm for us and we are hoping to get this Triple X chassis and Don Ott Motor in great shape for some upcoming events we have planned.”

Look forward to seeing Premier Auto Works Racing Team back in action on Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway and then on Saturday at Lincoln Speedway.

Be sure to follow Brian on Twitter @BrianMontieth and the Premier Racing Team @PremierRacing21 for weekend racing updates at the track.

Montieth Looking To Bounce Back From Rough Weekend with The Outlaws

After a disappointing weekend with the Outlaws, Brian Montieth and the Premier Auto Works Racing Team are looking to bounce back from a misfortunate weekend.

“We struggle badly when it comes to time trials,” said Montieth after not being able to make it through the inversion on Saturday night. “This Triple X is ready to fire, but we are missing something. The Outlaws are such an elite set of drivers, it all comes down to time trials and your pill draw and frankly, we can't do either right now."

After Wednesday night’s rain out at Lincoln, the reschedule rain date moved the World of Outlaws appearance to Lincoln Speedway to Thursday.

“The track was dry as can be for time trials,” explained Montieth. “I could not believe after all that rain we got on Wednesday dust was blowing for hot laps.”

After the inversion with time trials, Brian started 9th in his heat. Fighting his way up to finish 5th, qualified him for the feature in the 24th starting spot. They ended Thursday night’s race in 16th.

The World of Outlaws traveled to Williams Grove on Friday and Saturday for their first appearance there this season. 40+ cars signed in for both nights.

Montieth finished Friday night’s race in the 13th spot after charging from the rear of the field. Saturday night, the team had to take a provisional after not being able to qualify from the B-main and finished 27th after coming off the pace during the feature.

The Premier Auto Works Racing Team will be back in action on Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway and then on Saturday at Lincoln Speedway as they prepare for the upcoming Keystone Cup that is set to begin on May 23rd at Grandview Speedway.

Be sure to follow Brian on Twitter @BrianMontieth and the Premier Racing Team @PremierRacing21 for weekend racing updates at the track.

Montieth Claims Spring Championship at Lincoln

Brian Montieth and the Premier Racing team picked up win number two for the season last Saturday night at Lincoln Speedway. This is Montieth’s 28th career win at Lincoln since joining the Premier Racing Team nearly ten years ago.

“We have such a great team we put together here over the years,” said Monieth after claiming the $4,000 prize at Lincoln Speedway. “I have to give credit to my boys in the shop. They work none stop getting this Triple X machine together and it pays off.”

The Four Time Track Champ didn’t have an easy road to victory lane on Saturday night, but he sure did make it look simple going out and timing second quick in time trials. After the top eighteen cars were inverted from time trials, this landed Brian a 6th starting spot for his heat race. On a track that was hard to pass, Montieth finished 5th qualify him for the A-Main and also getting his time back.

Starting the feature Montieth was positioned on the inside of row two after an inversion pill of four was drawn. He quickly made his way into second on the start and stayed nose to tail with race leader Danny Dietrich until lap 25 where he made his move in heaving lap traffic.

Once in the lead, Brian pulled away in the final five laps of the 30 lap feature to a 2.46-second win.

“I didn’t think the track was going to come back to life after looking at it in the heat races, but I guess Fred (Putney) knew what he was doing. He made it a little bit racey,” said Montieth after exiting the Jerry Parrish-owned Premier Auto Works/Auto Locator #21 in victory lane.

The Premier Racing Team will be back in action on Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway as they try to rebound from a costly motor failure from last weekend.

Be sure to check Brian and the Premier Racing Team each out on Facebook and Twitter for weekend racing updates.

Montieth finds his grove after an up and down start to the season

Brian Montieth, who is no stranger to victory lane, found himself right back in spotlight Saturday afternoon after picking up the win at Lincoln Speedway. After a rocky start to the season, finishing 4th on the opening day at Lincoln and then not being able to qualify the following week surely played its toll on Montieth and the Premier Racing Team.

“I have to give my hats off to the guys in the shop for putting together another car after last week, I destroyed that one, and that was my fault,” said Montieth upon exiting his Triple X Race Car.

They proved that it wasn’t on there addenda this weekend as they went on to not only win their heat race but also win the 410 feature at Lincoln Speedway. Montieth started 4th in his heat and quickly made his way to the front to claim the heat win and a 7th starting spot in the feature. After fighting his way through the front of the field and managing his way through lapped traffic, Brian went on to claim his first win of the 2012 season and his 27th career win at Lincoln Speedway!

On Sunday, Selinsgrove Speedway held their season opener for the 410 sprinters. Montieth started 8th in his heat and finished 6th qualifying him for the A-Main. He was buried deep in the field in 18th starting spot for the start. By lap 10, he was already making his way through the field and sitting in 9th when a caution came out for race leader Brent Marks. Montieth restarted 8th and fought his way up to finish 4th when the checkered flag dropped.

“We had a great weekend,” said car owner Jerry Parrish. “Usually we are awful in the day time shows and surprisingly, we been really good the past couple of weeks. I’m looking forward to seeing how we make the adjustment to night racing next weekend.”

The Premier Auto Works Race Team will head to Lincoln Speedway again next Saturday as the racing continues and starts under the lights. For more racing updates, be sure to follow Brian and the Premier racing team on Facebook and Twitter!

Premier Racing Ready to Kick Off the 2012 Season

New Oxford, PA – February 23, 2012 - As the weekend approaches, so does the start of the 2012 sprint car racing season in Central Pennsylvania, but it hasn't really stopped for this race team since the final checkered flag of 2011 fell back in October.

Scott Zellers, crew chief for the Premier Auto Works Race Team, said, “We have been at it all winter long. We treat the off-season like we do the regular season. It’s definitely a team effort. All of the guys on this team work just as hard in the winter by getting everything together for the upcoming season as they do all season long. That’s why we are usually pretty strong on opening day.”

With the upcoming season only days away, what does the Premier Auto Works Race Team have in store for the 2012 season? “We don’t really have a set schedule for this year,” Zellers said. “We are going to play it by ear and see what our options are for the next weekend. It’s a challenge we face every season. Brian [Montieth] has his own business and all of us on the team have full-time jobs, so it’s hard for us to say we are doing this, this and this, when we don’t know if we really are. I think we would like to try and travel a lot more with the Outlaws when they come around and venture to some different tracks, but we’ll see what happens.”

One thing they can say for sure is that you’re almost certain to see them every Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway. “We finished second in points there for the last two seasons,” said car owner Jerry Parrish. “It’s our time now!”

Opening day at Williams Grove Speedway isn’t until the end of March, but the team will have plenty of time to de-thaw after the winter as they are looking to have at least five races under their belt before The Grove’s opening day on March 23rd. The Premier Race Team will hit the track for the first time in 2012 this Saturday, February 25th at Lincoln Speedway! Be sure to check out all the new merchandise on-hand opening day at the track.

For instant updates throughout the season and on race nights, be sure to follow the Premier Racing Team on Facebook and Twitter!