Robbie Green Takes 3rd Win Of The Season At Afton

Afton, NY 8/23/97

Robbie Green of Wallkill NY, scored his third win of the season on Mirabito Fuel Group/ Quickway Convience Store night at Afton Raceway. green took the lead from Earl Walrath on lap 11 in the 30 lap event, and then held off Paul Jensen for the win. Mike VanDusen of Otego NY scored the win in the 20 lap ELS feature, taking the lead on lap 19 from Rob Hart. Jim Gabriel Jr of Binghamton NY, scored yet another 20 lap Sportsman feature as Herm Slack of Whitney Point NY, scored his sixth Street Stock 20 lap feature. There were two first time winners in the 4 Cylinders and Pure Stocks, as Randy Mertz of Bainbridge NY, took the lead on the last lap to score the 15 lap 4 Cylinder win and David Dickey of Harpursville NY, scored his first ever 15 lap Pure Stock win.

Earl Walrath grabbed the early lead in the 30 lap Modified feature, and proceeded to open up a sizable lead until a lap 6 caution slowed the field when newcomer Tony Peppicelli spun off turn three. This would put Robbie Green outside of Walrath for the restart. At the green Walrath again grabbed the lead but Green put on the pressure and got by on lap 11. Meanwhile an intense battle was waging behind the leaders between Paul Jensen, Jeremy Smith, and Mitch Gibbs. This would continue until Smith came to a halt on the homestretch on lap 12. On the restart Green again assumed command and Jensen put the pressure on Walrath for second. With the battle for second going on Green was able to open up an eight car length advantage. Jensen finally was able to get by Walrath on lap 20 but could not run down the fleet Green Machine. At the checker Green scored a six car length victory for his third win of 97. Rounding out the top five were Jensen second, Walrath third, Gibbs fourth and Gary Smith fifth.

Rob Hart grabbed the early lead from the outside pole in the 20 lap ELS feature, out racing Doug Emery for the lead. This battle would continue until lap 5 when the caution flew for John Devel, who spun in turn one. On the restart it was again Hart with lead and Emery in second, Rick Hart third, Lee Sanders fourth and Richard Wood Jr fifth. Devel would again bring out the caution on lap 8 with another spin. With the top five the same Mike VanDusen began to pressure Wood for the fifth spot. VanDusen would move into the top five getting by Wood on lap 11. Another caution on lap 14 saw young Bill Bailey break and come to a halt in turn two, ending his night. On the restart Rob Hart continued in the lead and VanDusen started his march to the front getting fourth. VanDusen would take third on lap 16 getting by Rick Hart, and then would chase down both Emery and Rob Hart on lap 19 to take the lead. VanDusen would score the win by three car lengths with Rob Hart second Emery third, Sanders fourth and Rick Hart fifth.

Tim Mayne would grab the early lead in the 20 lap Sportsman feature, but would give way to Danny Ballard on lap 4. Ballard would open up a sizable lead and looked to be on his way to his first win, but Jim Gabriel Jr had other ideas. Gabriel marched to fourth by lap 7, then Mayne slipped on lap 8 moving Wink Hinkley to second and Gabriel to third. Gabriel took over second on lap 9 and then took the lead out of turn four on lap 10 using the inside to get by Ballard. At the half way mark the top five were Gabriel, Ballard, Mayne, Tony Ross and Hinkley. A four car tangle on lap 13 would shuffle the top five as Steve Anderson, Ross Hinkley and Cookie Morris tangled in turn two. Top five on the restart were Gabriel, Ballard, Mayne, Dan Yankowski and David Surice. Yankowski was the man on the move taking third on lap 17 and second on lap 19. Yankowski would run out of time though as Gabriel took his tenth win of the season by four car lengths. Rounding out the top five were Yankowski second , Hinkley third, Anderson fourth and Mayne fifth.

John Walker would take the earl lead in the 20 lap Street Stock feature and would hold the lead until a homestretch tangle on lap 7 forced a restart. Denny Smith, Butch Klinger and Arnie Slade were involved in the tangle and all would continue except Slade. On the restart Skip French assumed command, with Herm Slack moving to second. Steve Hewitt would slow bringing out another caution, and this would allow Slack to take the lead on the restart. At the half way mark it was Slack, French, Klinger, Walker and Smith. The top five would remain the same until lap 13 when Klinger would get by French for fourth. Klinger would try to close on Slack but to no avail, as Slack took his sixth win of the season. Rounding out the top five were Klinger second, French third, Smith fourth and Brian Belden fifth.

The 15 lap 4 Cylinder feature would get off to wild start as a turn one crash saw Duane Spoor flip hi car and Jamie Hurlburt have to be assisted from his battered machine. Both drivers would be all right and would leave their cars under their own power. When the race resumed Jamie Banta would take the lead being chased by Gene Brainard and Ralph Jennings Jr. Banta would hold the lead until lap 7 when, Brainard made a low move in turn three to assume command. The top five at this point would be Brainard, Banta, Jennings, Dave Burnett, and Randy Mertz. Burnett would take over third from Jennings on lap 9, only to slip on lap 10 and slide all the way back to seventh. A lap 11 restart on lap 11 saw Brainard still leading with, Banta, Mertz, Jennings and Rick Lashway rounding out the top five. Mertz would take over second on lap 12 and would then pressure Brainard for the lead. Brainard would get out of shape in turn four of lap 15 giving the win to Mertz for his first victory of the year. Rounding out the top five were Jennings second, Brainard third, Banta fourth, and Burnett fifth.

David Dickey would move from fourth to first on lap 1 of the 15 lap Pure Stock feature, and would never look back as he went on to score his first ever feature win. Dan Howe pressured Dickey, but to no avail as Dickey had his car working perfect. Bill Willsey would bring out the caution when he broke the front end on lap 8. At this point the top five were, Dickey, Howe, Jim Howard, Bill Cook of Harpursville, and Neil Palladino. A three car tangle on lap 9 involving Mike Stolaryck, Scott Chapman and Bill Cook of Bainbridge would again slow the field. On the restart Dickey would again assume command, with Howe and Howard waging a battle for second. Howard would take over second on lap 12 and Howe would drop from contention on lap 13. Dickey would take the checker by five car lengths to score his first ever win, with Howard second, Cook third, Andy Clement fourth and Palladino fifth.

This Friday night at Afton Raceway it will be CD100 night and you can start your Labor Day weekend off with a bang as we will present a Five Star card of racing action with the Modifieds, Sportsman, Street Stock, 4 Cylinder Stocks, and Pure Stocks, plus a $1000 to win Demo Derby. Gates will open at 5:00 PM and the racing action will start at 7:30 PM. The Demo Derby will be held right after the racing action. Afton Raceway is located on the Afton Fairgrounds, Exit 7 off Route 88 Afton NY. For more information call 607-722-6751 weekdays or the track at 607-639-1966 on racedays.

Official Finishes:

Modifieds: Robbie Green, Paul Jensen, Earl Walrath, Mitch Gibbs, Gary Smith, Mike Clapperton, Jerry Northrup, JR Hurlburt, Steve Cummings, Rich Tiffany, Mike Janicelli, Tony Peppicelli, Steve Eldred, Rich Price, Ron Ford, Joel Batzel, John Kollar, Mark Schoonover, Tim French, Pete Nowicki Jr, Jeremy Smith, John Guernsey, Mark Gray, DNS-George Lewis

ELS Sprints: Mike VanDusen, Rob Hart, Doug Emery, Lee Sanders, Rick Hart, Tommy Allen, Richard Wood Jr, Wayne Patterson, Bob Overton, Eric Damigan, Jim McCaffery, Paul Darsky, RC Faigle, Frank Longo, Fred Dittmer, George Ely, Bill Bailey, Warren Alekson, Don Wilson, John Devel, Robert Jones, Bob Wade, Mike Stelter

Sportsman: Jim Gabriel Jr, Dan Yankowski, Wink Hinkley, Steve Anderson, Tim Mayne, Cookie Morris, Dan Ballard, Tim Ross, Craig Pritchard, David Surice, Rich Ives, Tony Ross, Rich Strier, Russ Flint, Aaron Excell, Jeff Carner, Don Hart Jr, Bill Walters, Scott Ubner, Ted Harrington, Mike Gillette

Street Stocks: Herm Slack, Butch Klinger, Skip French, Denny Smith, John Walker, Brian Belden, Bill Harris, Steve Hewitt, Arnie Slade, Rodney Ward

4 Cylinder Stocks: Randy Mertz, Ralph Jennings Jr, Gene Brainard, Jamie Banta, Dave Burnett, Rick Lashway, Ken Hotaling, Bob Dedrick, Ralph Cuozzo, Brian Stiegerwald, Jim Potts, Tim Perry Sr, Rob Coulman, Jesse Howe, Ken Spoor, Dennis Vroman, Jaysen VanPatten, Rich Rought, Jamie Procter, Pete Christiansen, Jamie Hurlburt, Rich Watson, Duane Spoor, Al Barrett, DNS-Dave Wilkinson

Pure Stocks: David Dickey, Jim Howard, Bill Cook(Harpursville), Andy Clement, Neil Palladino, Shawn MacCumber, Todd Hurlburt, Bob Falciani, Dan Howe, Andy Tiffany, Mike Stolaryck, Bill Cook(Bainbridge), Scott Chapman, Bill Willsey