JIM GABIREL JR. CAPTURES FIRST EVER BIG BLOCK WIN AT BREWERTON
BREWERTON, NY.....It was a night of firsts at Brewerton Speedway on Roger Burdick Dodge Family Autograph Night as Jim Gabriel Jr. notched his first ever DIRT Modified win and George Valenti also netted a first ever win in the IMCA Modifieds. Troy Van Allen and Harvey Calkins Jr. were repeat winners in the Dwarf cars and 4 Cylinders respectively.
Chuck Hebing led the opening lap of the 35-lap DIRT Modified feature event, but surrendered the lead to Tim McCreadie on the second lap of the main. Vic Coffey was also in the hunt, as was Jimmy Phelps. As Coffey faded through the field, Phelps battled side by side with McCreadie, taking the lead from him on lap 6. Further back in the field, Billy Decker and Danny Johnson moved to the outside lane and began a charge to the front, and they were joined by former feature winner Dale Planck.
As the race approached halfway, Jim Gabriel Jr. also moved into the top five and began a torrid battle with Planck and Decker behind leader Phelps. On lap 17, Phelps suddenly swerved into the infield on the backstretch with mechanical problems, handing the lead to Planck. Planck's run at the top lasted one lap as Decker swept into the lead, with Gabriel and Danny Johnson in tow.
Gabriel faded for a few laps, but stuck to the bottom groove while Decker and Johnson ran both high and low looking for bite. As the race moved into its final stages, Gabriel's move paid off as he first slipped past Danny, then got the measure of Decker with five laps to go. Planck moved into second, but could not catch Gabriel, who recorded his first ever DIRT Modified feature win. Decker came home third, followed by Danny and Pat Ward, who worked his way to fifth after an early pit stop. DIRT Modified heat wins went to Phelps, McCreadie, and Decker.
The 20-lap IMCA Modified feature event saw George Valenti jump into the early lead while behind him Ron O'Neil and Rob Keller made strong charges early to move into a battle for second with Tony Finch. As Keller and O'Neil moved past Finch, Sean Lias was charging up through the field with Bob Bradt. As Valenti stretched out his advantage, Lias came into the battle for second and third and ran several laps side by side with O'Neil, while Keller settled into the fourth position.
Lias got into the second spot with just five laps left to go, and was sitting behind Valenti on the final restart. Once under green, Valenti drove smoothly to pull away from Lias and record his first ever feature win, a remarkable story considering Valenti had no prior racing experience coming into this season. Lias shredded a right rear tire on the final lap, fading to eighth spot at the checkers. Bradt, O'Neil, Keller, and Dick Weiland completed the top five. IMCA Modified heats were won by Keller, Bradt, and Weiland.
The 20-lap Dwarf car feature began with Dan Boyce pacing the field with Tom Juhl battling for the top spot while multiple winners Tony Buffa and Troy Van Allen stormed through the pack into the top five. Juhl did take the lead for one lap, but suffered a mechanical problem and dropped out. Buffa swept into the lead on lap 9, taking Van Allen with him, and the duo spent the final half of the feature locked in a fight for the top spot. Van Allen was able to slip past Buffa on lap 14, but the action wasn't over as Buffa tried valiantly to get the lead back.
As the checkers fell, Van Allen had just a couple of car lengths on Buffa and notched another feature win. Eric Crawford took the third spot, while Boyce held off Ken Gamlen for the fourth position. Dwarf car heats were won by Juhl, Gamlen, and Van Allen, while Ed Lawton won the Dwarf car "B" Main.
The 15-lap 4 Cylinder feature race saw Roger West sweep into the lead on lap as he drove by Brett Hubbard. Multi-time feature winner Harvey Calkins Jr. moved into the second spot and the duo drove away from the field to hold their own battle for the top spot. Calkins tried several times to slip into the lead, but West proved to be a tough customer, holding off Calkins' charges on repeated occasions.
With four laps to go, Calkins finally found a low lane in turn two and moved past West and motored to the checkered flag with West close behind. Jim Olin, Brian Evenden, and Tim Koch rounded out the top five. 4 Cylinder heats went to Calkins, West, and Jim Lalone.
Next Friday night, a regular show of DIRT Modifieds, IMCA Modifieds, Dwarf cars, and 4 Cylinders will be presented by NGK Spark Plugs and Sam's Lakeside Restaurant. One On One Spectator races will be the special added attraction. Gates will open at 5:30pm and racing starts at 7:30pm.
RACE SUMMARY-ROGER BURDICK DODGE NIGHT
BREWERTON SPEEDWAY-JUNE 4, 1999
DIRT MODIFIED FEATURE-JIM GABRIEL JR., Dale Planck, Billy Decker, Danny Johnson, Pat Ward, Alan Johnson, Steve Hulsizer (SB), Chuck Bower, Tim Fuller, Vic Coffey, Chuck Hebing, Mike Hulsizer (SB), Roger Phelps (SB), Ryan Baye (SB), Bob Bennett (SB), Tim McCreadie, Jim Phelps, Scott Prentice, Ray Bliss, Bill Gill.
IMCA MODIFIED FEATURE-GEORGE VALENTI, Bob Bradt, Ron O'Neil, Rob Keller, Dick Weiland, Cory Fachini, Tim Murphy, Sean Lias, Aaron Jacobs, Don Alvord, Jim Evans, Doug McKane, Pat Hobbs, Tony Finch, Les Hubbard, Colleen Finch, John Bell, Bill Anderson, Bill Klinkowsky, Dane Keller.
DWARF CAR FEATURE-TROY VAN ALLEN, Tony Buffa, Eric Crawford, Dan Boyce, Ken Gamlen, Pat Pontello, RJ Grimshaw, Mark Weigelt, David Orr, Jay Reid, Brandon Phelps, Carl Crawford, Bob Garafolo, Wayne Younglove, Bob McCarthy, Kelly Skinner, Frank Doll Jr., Kevin DonHauser, Barry Virts, Scott Nash, Tom Juhl, Kevin Battelle, Ed Lawton, David Reals.
4 CYLINDER FEATURE-HARVEY CALKINS JR., Roger West, Jim Olin, Brian Evenden, Tim Koch, Doug Battles, Mark Warner, John Powers, Brett Hubbard, Roger Olechewske, Jon Amidon, Bob Whipple, Joe Breer, Jason Amidon, Darik Van Epps, John West, Kevan Cook, John Clark, Jim Lalone, Chris Bargabus, Walt Van Epps, Jim Stott, Channie Joyner.