By Steve Pados, Accord Media
A great place to race, a pit-full of anxious racers, and a large enthusiastic crowd spelled the formula for success as Gary Palmer's Accord Speedway presented another great night of racing on Heart Chevrolet night in a six-division card at the speedway. While it was only the fifth night of racing for the 2008 season, the talented field of drivers were in mid-season form as they were able to use all of the wall to wall racing real estate at the refurbished speedplant.
In the headline Rhineback Ford Modified feature, John Lutes Jr and Barry Davis brought the talented 22-car starting field down for the start of the feature event. Lutes jumped out to quick lead and the veteran Davis held on to second. Garden Stater John Dixon made his presence known early as he drove from his fourth place starting position to challenge Lutes on lap-3. Dixon kept the horsepower up on the inside lane and moved past Lutes off turn-4. Dixon was seemingly in control of his own destiny until lap-9 when he began having problems in turning the car allowing Jackie Brown Jr to assume control of the lead on lap 11.
Back in mid-pack the racing lanes were thick with drivers attempting to break free of the close knit racing action. Andy Bachetti, who came into the race-night as the point leader, began his assault from 15th starting position and was one of those who worked his magic from the top to the bottom to find his way into the chase. Jerry Higbie was another as he drove the signature numbered 97 towards the front changing lanes at will to become a solid contender. Not to be overlooked was the hard-riding Scott Ferrier as he hustled his Orange Energy sponsored mount into contention from his 10th place start.
As the laps clicked off Brown was now in control, but hot on his heels was Ferrier. Keeping the pressure on Brown, Ferrier made his winning move on lap-24 as he set-up Brown first on the inside and then went topside on turn three. Ferrier got a great drive off of the top of the raceway, and became the new leader off of turn-4. Once in the lead Ferrier drove off to a comfortable lead in the remaining laps to score a very popular victory. Rich Ricci Jr rallied in the end to finish second with mid-race leader Jackie Brown Jr settling for third. Bachetti and Higbie completed the top five and the second five in-line were Jamie Yannone, Danny Tyler, John Lutes Jr, Barry Davis, and "Jumpin" John McGill. Bachetti held on to his point lead with his finish and Ricci Jr is currently second. Ferrier and Brown are deadlocked in third with Higbie one point behind in fifth place.
Veteran campaigner Bill Judge waited a long time to earn his first career win last week, but enjoyed the time in victory circle so much he raced to his second consecutive win the Bryant's Towing Pure Stock Division. Steve Smalley paced the field for one lap before yeilding to the "Cowboy" Bill Halstead. Halstead found the track much to his liking and raced away with with a three car length advantage over Bill Judge. Halstead came off of turn-2 on lap-8 a bit hot and spun to the inside of the raceway and with it losing his chance for a win. On the restart it was Bill Judge leading with 15-year old Tommy 'The Gun" Johnson in hot pursuit. Johnson threw everything he had at Judge but couldn't make the pass to lead the event. On the final lap Johnson went to the bottom of the raceway on turn-3 but defending track champion Joe Judge had caught the battling pair and went topside on turn-3. Joe Judge got a better run off of the corner and beat Johnson to the line to finish in second behind his father Bill. Johnson was third with Mike Dubois running strong to finish in fourth and Ryan Coon completing the top five.
In the Enzo's Ristorante and Pizza Pro Stocks, Charlie Schwartz Jr led the first three laps before giving way to the high-flying Bill Deak Sr on lap-4. Once Bill Deak Sr seized the lead it was pretty much academic after that as the New Milford, Connecticut resident rode to an easy 20-lap victory. John Roese in his Ford powered machine came in for the runner-up position and Bill Deak Jr finished third. Don Williams was fourth and Larry Temple Jr continued his great work to complete the top five.
The Camper's Barn Sportsman feature began with Mike Senecal testing the waters high and low with his new PMC mount for the 2008 racing season. Senecal enjoyed a 6-car length advantage at times in the early stages of the feature but a caution came out on lap-8 that bunched the field tightly together. On the restart some new players came into view as Senecal now had to contend with Jesse Marks and 8th place starting Howard Jarvis. "High-Side" Howard Jarvis took to the topside of the raceway and reeled in Senecal and took over the lead on lap-12 when Jarvis flirted with the outside retaining wall to take over the lead for good. Jarvis led the final laps to claim the win with Senecal in second place, Marks remained in third, John Sundlof continued to do his excellent work to finish fourth and Ryan Stortini made his first visit to Accord in 2008 a good one as he completed the top five. Three of the top finishers were in PMC Chassis.
The Heart Chevrolet Spec Sportsman event proved to be a marathon of time restraints. Scott Mathews took the early lead for two laps before a massive pile-up occurred among eight cars in turn-2. A considerable amount of time was needed to separate the tangled racers but eventually the race was restarted with rookie talnet Richard Smith assuming the lead. A caution flag two laps later halted the action with the time limit having expired on the event.
Richard Smith the declared the winner with Scott Mathews in second, Ty Odendahl in third, Steve Pinto in fourth, and Vinnie DeCicco completing the top five.
In the heldover Camper's Barn Sportsman event, Steve Meilleur jumped into the lead on the initial lap and wired the field with an impressive win in his Boardman Enterprises/Pelletier Brothers Plumbing sponsored machine. Brain Krummel, who has been a nice addition to the weekly Accord roster, continued to impress with a solid runner-up finish. John Sundlof was third, Ken Ferrier fourth, and Darrell Ford completing the top five.
The Northeast Vintage Cars made another appearance at the speedway and Mike Murphy drove away to victory. Ray See Sr was second with Rob Rowe hustling his tub coach to a third place finish. Jimmy Halpin was fourth in his Frankie Schneider look alike car and Pat Murphy completed the top five.
MUDPLUGS:
Even though the Hudson Valley was innundated with rain from Wednesday through Friday morning, Promoter Gary Palmer worked through the storms to create a mirror smooth, dust free racetrack for the hot competition the fans witnessed. The track was racy from all racing channels and the drivers and fans alike were deep in praise for the hard work Palmer puts into the facility. Prior to the running of the Modified feature more water was put to the racetrack and the drivers put in some additional laps to help prepare the track for the excellent feature event they would soon take part in.
New drivers at the racetrack this week including Ryan Stortini in the Sportsman ranks, Russ Nuzarro in the Pro Stock fromemrly handled by Rob Rowe, and John Gesztesi made his first appearance of the year in the Spec Sportsman ranks. Ken Boniface Jr took over the controls of the family-owned 69 and raced to a sixth place finish in the event. His brother Tyler was a winner last week in the division but was being punished by his Dad for not having the proper GPA on his report card and was forced to sit out of action a bit. Mr Boniface Sr explained it would be a good idea to let the fans know why Tyler was sitting out the event as education ranks number one with racing following.
Announcers Steve Pados and Andy Crane presented the first Pre-race show of the season with drivers Mike Senecal, Tommy Johnson and Bill Deak Jr bringing their racers behind the grandstands for the fans to view and become up-close and personal with the interviews they did before racing began. More of the same is planned for the upcoming weeks at the speedway.
Heat race winners included Justin Holland in the Rockbusters car, Howard Jarvis in his P&Z Rental Properties car, and Mike Senecal in his Hot Shotz Grille machine all winning heats in the Sportsman action. Pro-Stock heat winners included Bill Deak Sr in his Deak Electric machine and Emerson Cargain Jr in his Putnam Capital racer. Pure Stock heat winners were Richard Scott in his Doug Tyler & Son green machine and Bill Halstead in his Fallsberg Lumber mount. Spec Sportsman heat winners were Jeff Richardson in his Dirt Runners RC Club machine and Danny Conklin in his Accurate Construction racer.
Modifed heats went to Andy Bachetti, who dazzled the fans with his knowledge of the upper real estate of the speedway surface in his Albreada Waste Sponsored racer, John Lutes Jr in his Lute Family racer, and Scott Ferrier who showed of things to come with his Orange Energy machine.
Racing continues this week at the speedway with Midweek Madness presenting their opening night this coming Wednesday night on June 11th. Gates open at 5 PM with hot laps at 6:15 and racing beginning immediately thereafter. Admission price is $3.00 for the spectators and a good night to come and check out Quads, Bikes, Karts, Lawn Mowers and Slingshots all trying their hand on the quarter mile speedplant. racing continures on Friday June 13th as Empire Forklift sponsors a six division card at the raceway. A $250.00 bonus will be awaiting the winner of the Sportsman feature winner. The lone appearance of the CRSA Sprint cars will also be on the card and the "Original Lady Outlaw" Mares Stellfox is expected to be in the house piloting the ZTO Motorsports 327 sprinter as she mentors rookie driver Zach "Z-Man" O'Connell in becoming accustomed to his new racer. Jeff Van Steenberg and Jami Russell have been the winners of the first two CRSA outings and are expected to be part of the show with other notables such as Jeremy Quick, Warren Alexson, John Matrafailio and Marshall Gogg.
Pit gates open at the speedway at 4:30 with Spectator gates opening at 5 PM. Hot laps are at 6:30 and the racing begins at 7 PM. Admission is $12.00 for a regular show and $3.00 for those 11 and under.
Bryant's Towing Pure Stock: Bill Judge, Joe Judge, Tommy Johnson, Mike Dubois, Ryan Coon, Paul Aragon Jr, Mike Deyo, Steve Smalley, Andy Briggs, Bill Halstead, John Woinoski, Bill Merten, Ray Tarantino, Phil Johnson, Ralph Ronk, Joe Knoth, Rich Scott, Clarence Smith Jr
Rhinebeck Ford Modifieds: Scott Ferrier, Rich Ricci Jr, Jackie Brown Jr, Andy Bachetti, Jerry Higbie, Jamie Yannone, Danny Tyler, John Lutes Jr, Barry Davis, John McGill, Danny Tyler, Danny Creeden, David Bush, Rick Mill, Mark Pullen, Jerry Curry, Bill Papula, Tom Demarmels, John Dixon, Mel Schrufer,
Kevin Duryea, Mike Ricci, Nicky Lapp
Enzo's Ristorante & Pizza Pro Stocks: Bill Deak Sr, John Roese, Bill Deak Jr, Don Williams, Larry Temple Jr, Jon Routhier, Emerson Cargain Jr, Steve Hankle, Mark Lathrop, Don J Williams, Al Christiana Jr, Jimmy Sykes, Bill Rion, Roy Williams, John Rood, Torin Betterton, Terry O'Brien, Russ Nuzzaro, Charlie Schwartz Jr
Heart Chevrolet Spec Sportsman: Richard Smith, Scott Mathews, Tyler Odendahl, Steve Pinto, Vinnie DeCicco, Ken Boniface Jr, Bobby Hassenmayer, Phil Recchio, Jeff Richardson, Greg Hastie, Kyle Plumstead, Jack Skeritt, Eric Moon, Dan Conklin, John Gesztesi, Danny Cross, John Calcagni Jr, John Lieto, Sam Dwy, AJ Williams
Campers Barn Sportsman: Howard Jarvis, Mike Senecal, Jesse Marks, John Sundlof, Ryan Stortini, Steve Meilleur, Justin Holland, Joey Giachinta, Ray See Jr, Brain Krummel, Ken Ferrier, David Coene, Jeff Hulseapple, Tom Dakake, Larry Hendershot, Vinnie Gress, Larry Badaracco, Darrell Ford, Steve Krom, Jerry Craig, Randy Banks Jr
Campers Barn Sportsman: (Held Over) Steve Meilleur, Brian Krummel, John Sundlof, Ken Ferrier, Darrell Ford, Larry Hendershot, Justin Holland, Ladd Yeomans, Randy Banks Jr, Steve Krom, Mike Senecal, Larry Badaracco, David Coene, Ray See Jr, Joey Giachinta, Ken Boniface Jr, Vinnie Gress, Jesse Marks, Howard Jarvis, Greg McCloskey
Northeast Vintage Modifieds: Mike Murphy, Ray See Sr, Rob Rowe, Jimmy Halpin, Pat Murphy, Tom Cole III, John Hager, Mike Kehr
For further updates and information regarding the great racing at the Accord Speedway, logon to the their newly constructed website at: http://www.accordspeedway.com or call the speedway hotline at: 845 626 3478
A TRAIL OF DIRT LEADS RIGHT TO OUR DOOR