By BILL FOLEY
Four nights and announcing Modifieds, Sportsman, Novice Sportsman, Late Models, Pro Stocks, Open Sportsmen, Four-Cylinders and Mod-Lites probably mean that hundreds of names were going through my mind as I tended to my announcing chores.
Tiring? Yes! Worth it? Definitely!!!!
A four race weekend. Lately getting three in or in fact getting two nights in without moisture falling from the sky or the temperature dipping into record season lows have been hard to come by.
Wow Show on a Cold, Cold Night
Okay, so four shows in four nights. Who would have ever thought that was possible with the way that Mother Nature has treated us this year?
Artistically this was a huge success, but the weather certainly didn’t help allow any comfort for the definitely die-hard only fans. The King of Dirt series is really interesting and what a loyal following in Sportsman (55 cars) and Pro Stocks (36). The invaders run at Lebanon Valley, Albany-Saratoga, Fonda, Bear Ridge and Accord and even toss in a Canandaigua car to go along with the regulars thus providing a tremendous Sportsman cross section. In hindsight maybe there was too much on the schedule because the rain delay basically amounted to what intermission would have usually been and the final fans didn’t exit the track until just before the midnight hour.
It was return to normal on Sunday to the Modifieds as new faces or long absent drivers were in Victory Lane on three of the four nights, but Matt Sheppard brought it all back to reality in convincing fashion as he logged his 28th feature win at Utica-Rome moving him to ninth in the all time win list past Jack Johnson.
However, UR was really far from normal. The Empire Sprint Series race came down to the final turn and actually just shot of the start finish line for the top four spots. Jason Barney and Shawn Donath put on a battle royal with all of the necessary and anticipated slide jobs before a huge crash at the finish line which sent Donath flipping wildly the last half of the front stretch.
In victory lane Barney sounded like the guy who lost. He was apologetic and quite soft spoken. He said, “I didn’t want to win that way”, but also explained he drove the entire race without brakes. (Video of crash is below)
While all eyes were witnessing a win about as long as your middle finger, the third place battle royale participants Larry Wight and Lucas Wolfe were having their own show and at the line the former World of Outlaw driver got Lightening at the line for yet another check the transponder for a decision finish.
Pro Stocks in the King of Dirt Series brought many names that we all see at Syracuse, or excuse me use to see at Syracuse on the Mile. All 36 started the 30 lapper and there were minimal yellows. However, the hometown UR drivers more than held their own on this night as they swept the top four spots and Luke Horning (from 11th) put on a great battle with Mike Welch (third) while Pete Stefanski came on late for the runner up spot. Nick Stone started 34th, passed 30 cars and finished fourth.
UR Sportsman drivers held their own as 32 cars started and 23 loaded up after the three consolations. Rocky Warner won by over 2.5 seconds, but Dave Marcuccilli and Warner put on a show throughout most of the 30 lapper. Local runner “The Ninja” Daryl Nutting was third, but was disqualified.
Sunday Pit Stops
Connor Cleveland started 16th and got fourth in the Sportsman…
Beth Bellinger went from 24th to 10th, Jeremy Pitts 27th to 7th for some of the top movers and shakers…
Stephen Denton had substantial damage in a main event crash…
Matt Janczuk, a favorite, went home with a broken race car after his heat…
Dave Moyer lost the motor on his modified on Thursday and hopped in his son’s sportsman to come home fifth behind track regular Chris Mackey…
Marc Johnson again in the top three in the Mods, but had a problem and went to the rear…New mod faces included Alan Barker, Pete Taylor, Jessey Mueller, Rusty Smith, Billy Dunn and Scott Batzing…
Mahaney had the Buzz Chew 88 out and got stronger as the night went on coming home third…
Wight two top fives on the night with a fourth in the sprints and fifth in the Mods. He started 11th in the sprint heat due to his transponder not registering. He was worth the price of admission with one lap as he roared up to second and passed just about everyone on the first lap…
Sprints turning just over 16 second laps early as it was FAST!!!!!!…
Jeff Cook was towed off in his heat due to front end problems, started in back of the B Main and won it…
Anthony Cardamone had a Dave Lape tribute paint job on his open sportsman. Brought back some memories….
Point leader Jeremy Vunk had his open towed off during the main and finished 15th…
Car counts were Sprints 31, Sportsman 55, Pro Stocks 36, Modifieds 20 and Open Sportsmen 16…
Worked with Mike Warren, Lebanon Valley and Albany-Saratoga announcer, for the King of Dirt series and he was a classy guy. Professional, classy and a pleasure to work with. Great tag team guy and it is nice when a traveling announcer includes the home track guys in the night…
KOD will be back at Utica Rome later this year. Check out schedule. It is worth it…
Saturday Surprise, Surprise, Surprise
Fulton on Saturday was really a bonus as meteorologists all week long said we would probably have the night off. At 7 a.m. it was pouring and I started looking for other things to do for a “date night” with my wife.
However, when the rain disappeared, it disappeared for good.
To add to the surprise of racing were the names in Victory Lane and how some of them got there.
Willy, not Billy, Decker became the third surprise winner in three night of Modified racing, Novice Sportsman Torrey Stoughtenger and Rachel Zacharias garnered their first evers while Chris Fleming did something he really hasn’t done much this year…dominate the Late Model field. Ron Davis made a daring do pass on a restart that eventually led to his sportsman win while one of the best mains was the four cylinders with eventual winner Ray Bechler doing battle with Dakota Bechler and Chuck Powelczyk right to the finish. Jeremie Isabell chalked up the Mod-Lites. Yes, there were some surprises.
Fans had to walk away talking about Decker holding off Pat Ward for lap after lap of the mod main and then throw in the late charge by Larry Wight who just got Pat at the line for third. It was a good one. Throw in Jimmy Phelps and you had a Decker win by .211 over Wight, .270 over Ward and 830 over Phelps. It was a good one.
Long night with seven features, but it took about four hours to complete the 24 races for the night along with a decent intermission.
Saturday Pit Stops
Jeff Isabell Jr. hit the wall along with Jeff Sykes at the start of the Mod-Lite main. Isabell sustained a back injury, but on Sunday morning was okay, but sore…
Mod Tim Schneider brought out his new car, but at the start of his heat he slid through the infield nearly hitting a safety truck. Tim indicated the rear end had locked up and was done for the night…
A.J. Kingsley and his dad Eric spent the afternoon replacing the motor, got to the track as one of the last cars, and got caught up in a multi car pile up in the main event…
LM Johnny Hill had one of the best races of his career, challenged for the lead at one point and settled for third…
Jason Parkhurst lost his power steering with a plume of smoke in his heat, rallied and finished fifth in the main…
New Late Model Ed Straton a regular at Outlaw was on hand for the first time..
Novice heats were interesting with Rachel Zacharias winning by 3 of a second over Willy Decker in one; Jackson Gill winning by .8 of a second over Andrew Wren while Kelly Smith eked out a .034 win over Torrey Stoughtenger…
Sportsman Dylan Zacharias won by .3 of a second, Gregg Kimball .4 of a second while RDIII had a .192 win over Mike Phelps and that wasn’t even the closest as in heat four my eyes said Chris Cunningham won over Jim Spano, but the transponder had it reversed by .039 of a second. As I said there was a lot of close racing…
Cornwall Speedway small-block regular Brian McDonald was on hand with a big block testing it for the SDS show at Eldora…
Adam Roberts in the back up Tim Sears Jr. ride. It was the car that got the front end crunched at Syracuse. Adam is putting together a new car as he lost a motor a few weeks ago. So his future father in law Tim Sears provided the ride for Saturday. On June 25 Tim’s daughter Sam and Adam are getting married. Tell it was a racing family as the wedding is on a night that the track is of
No Full Moon, but Trouble Brews
It was a “full moon” racing night with a quarter moon showing at Brewerton on Friday.
Chris Hile chalked up his first Modified win in spectacular style holding off the ever-present Jimmy Phelps, but for the Hile team it was a moment that took years and at times before it appeared it was going to happen and simply didn’t.
Chris thanked his family as this is indeed a family project and it took him a long time to get to the interview as he was surrounded by well wishing family members in the largest family gathering since Thanksgiving.
First time winners are always sweet and the emotion of the moment is contagious.
Glenn “Fast” Forward had never raced at Brewerton before this year. The Utica-Rome defending pro stock champion use to do double duty there with his Sportsman. This year he is running just the Sportsman and told me on opening night, “We were finished with work about 3:30 and figured we would come here to race. I haven’t even had a chance to think about the fact we have never run here before.” He adapted quickly from the huge sweeping UR layout to the tight confines of the Demon.
With three laps to go he nearly got taken out by a lapped car as a flat tire slowed his competitor and he have to take evasive action to miss him. When the year started he didn’t know how often he would run Brewerton, but coming off a win, third and fourth the past three times out you would think the Demon has found another regular.
Jim Boget finally got the 800 pound gorilla off his back and after a couple of close seconds came home the winner in the Mod-Lites.
Then there was the Four-Cylinder main and though the racing was interesting to say the least, the moods were bad and ugly when it was over. Last week three time feature winner Ray Bechler found himself in the fourth turn wall at the start. I didn’t see it as I was walking up from the previous Victory Lane. However, there was some blame being laid on Chuck Powelczyk.
When this 15 lapper started Bechler and Powelczyk got together in the back stretch and it appeared that Bechler might have been the aggressor on this one. Chuck went back and I mean baaaaaaaccccckkkkkk in the field. Green stayed out and the 17 worked it’s way back to the front for what proved to be an interesting confrontation between the duo in the final laps. Eventually win 84 came to the Poweczyk. In Victory Lane he indicated that he did not intentionally take out Bechler the week before. It was emotional and the Adrenalin was flowing. However, I have a feeling the fans liked it.
Now for something I don’t usually approach, but it needs to be addressed. The Sportsman division is healthy, but by their own doing the drivers could make it unhealthy in time. The past two mains at Brewerton have been close to demolition derbies. In the past yellows were infrequent, but with over 30 cars in the pits drivers are battling for every inch. Accidents, damage, hard feelings and building a not so good reputation for the class is starting to occur.
One person noted “If you watch Mods and they get crowded going into the first turn you can see some of the veterans back off knowing that their chance will come, but that doesn’t happen in the sportsman anymore.”
Patience is part of winning a race, but the last couple of weeks the Sportsman main at Brewerton has appeared like the old street stock class. That class had good racing, but lots of contact and wrecks along with physical confrontations on the track and in the pits. The Sportsman class doesn’t need to go there.
Starter Dave Farney has provided direction, but recently it hasn’t worked. Some veteran teams noted that they are pulling off during main events because they have sustained enough damage and don’t need further.
I have never been a driver, but watching from the tower I am watching a solid racing class become a crashfest. Personally I enjoy the division and have really liked to competitiveness.
Drivers shouldn’t have to load their cars thinking “Why am I racing in this class?” That has happened recently. Sometimes it is good to talk to veterans who might be mentors, other times it is a matter of self reflection and a little patience (which is a tough word to use in racing) or simply maybe they have just been two of “those nights” and regularity will return. Who knows, but let’s hope that things change for the better.
Friday Pit Stops
Good to see Roy Shields back in the pits. He has been racing since 1960 and along with grandson Wil are one of those true racing families who have given so much to the sport…
Billy Clark is limiting his racing to just Brewerton and spending Saturday with his 18 month old child…
J.J. Courcy was back in the Sportsman on Friday…
Ryan Arbuthnot returned in the Modified division…
Thought Lowell Zehr might have lost a motor the week before, but he noted “The tip over sensor stopped the motor and I didn’t even flip.” However, he noted in the main when he did flip that the hit by Zach Babcock who flew off a yuke tire at full speed “was the hardest hit I have ever had in racing.”…
Sam Carista taking a few weeks off, but when he returns it is hoped his new car will be ready as grand daughter Stephanie Seeley is excited to be behind the wheel of Sam’s current 30. By the way the new car is being built by Sam’s son Ed…
Corey Barker got on his top at the start of the Sportsman main…
In Sportsman heat three the battle between Beth Bellinger, Corey Barker and Forward was sensational for the final qualifying spot. Bellinger and Barker put on a solid two car battle in the consi and the two finished up front…
Four Cylinder heat two saw Colby Herzog, Chris Bonoffski and Sam Curcie putting on a three car war at the front of the field…
Zach Sobotka looked good and was leading the Sportsman main, but on the 13th lap lost the handle in turn two, spun and went to the rear. Ugh…
Jeff Isabell Jr. was second on the 14th lap and caught a yuke tire ending his night in the Mod-Lites…
Sam Usborne had a sensational drive in the mod lites as he ran up front most of the race before settling for fifth…
Night One Some Surprises
So it all started last Thursday at the Utica-Rome Speedway as Bill and Kim Shea want to get enough required shows in for their NASCAR drivers and the point money.
There was not one repeat winner in Victory Lane as Robbie Bellinger was pressured midway through the main by Marc Johnson, but held on for a one second win. For Bellinger it was his first UR win since early 2012 while surprisingly Johnson has never won at the track.
Sometimes over a PA system there aren’t words, but just sounds to describe what you are witnessing. When 602 driver Matt Janczuk did. He started 13th, but on a lap six restart was sitting in seventh place. By the end of the lap he was leading going from seventh to the point with a spectacular *alls out move. Man was he outside. He said his car felt like his old Open Sportsman. Last time out he lost in a record setting closest finish in history and this time wins by seven seconds. Guess the time off did him good.
Mike Welch took a long road to Victory Lane as he pitted after a four car tangle in his heat, went to the back and rallied for the win in the prelim and outdistanced the feature field. Meanwhile, Jack Miller had a one second win over Jeremy Vunk.
Thursday Pit Stops
Danny Varin and Larry Wight battled wheel to wheel in sprints at Fulton two weeks ago and tonight they fought for third and fourth throughout the big block main. Larry arrived late as he was on a business trip and didn’t land in Syracuse until 6:30…
Matt Sheppard had a hard drive to fifth, but consistency is needed in the point chases…
Sportsman driver Brent Joy was over on his top the previous week at Brewerton, but was really strong at the front of the field early on in the UR main. He settled for seventh…
Jack Speshock was a new driver in the pits and the Malta driver came home ninth in the Sportsman main…
Mike Coffey Jr. from Ballston Spa also out for first time…
Modified driver Dave Moyer went up in smoke in the main. The team has been out since opening night when they lost a motor….
Stewart Friesen running in fifth with an eye-appealing battle with Mike Mahaney, but dropped out on the 22nd lap…
Mahaney talked a bit about the Buzz Chew 88 team. They are working on building a third car and he noted that they only have a few races under their belts thus far, but is extremely positive…
Troy Fleming from Murfreesboro, Tenn., was in the Sportsman pits…
Good to see Vinnie Vitale get a seventh in the main. Maybe his luck is changing…
Tim Fuller pulled off after two laps…
Open Sportsman co-point leader Heath Carney flipped on the eighth lap of the main. Car landed on all fours, but done for the night…
Charlie Tibbitts was one of the major sponsors of the night, hadn’t qualified for a main event, but the rookie won his qualifying heat.
Oops I Did It Again
Okay so sometimes after I finish a column I go back through my scribbled pad and discover I left some things out. Of note and not mentioned last week was the ninth to first in a lap by Larry Wight in the Patriot Sprint heat that basically automatically made him the leader for the night in passing points. What a start he had and it was wild to watch…
Late model driver Brandon Ford just keeps getting better and was a solid contender until right rear suspension problems hit him in the main event. He was going to challenge for the win
Sorry if this one is a little long, but it isn’t often I get four consecutive nights of racing action. Hope you enjoyed it.
Any comments or information send along to foley395@hotmail.com. See you next time around.