Timmy Mac wows hometown crowd at Can Am
LaFargeville, NY: Timmy McCreadie from nearby Watertown, NY pulled off a very popular win in the 100 lap Kinney Drug Pepsi Cola Super DIRT Series race for DIRT modifieds at the Can Am Motorsports Park Wednesday night. Timmy raced go-karts at Can Am in the early 90’s before graduating to the 358 ranks and winning features at Can Am and now has won a big block modified feature as well.
With a huge crowd on hand, 38 cars were signed into the pits in an attempt to make the starting field. Thirty-three cars took the green flag from Starter Steve Rickett with Kenny Tremont and Gary Tomkins on the front row bring the field to the start of the race. Tomkins lead the first six laps before stopping in turn four with problems that put him out for the race. Timmy then grabbed the lead from Tim Fuller on the 7th lap, and it was then a matter of trying to hold off the field. “I thought the track was going to be one lane, but it wasn’t. It was a lot of fun out there tonight.”
With the track in excellent race condition with multi grooves, some cars were using the low line and others were up on top. Among those up on top was Frank Cozze who put his Car Quest Auto Parts Teo all the way on top of the track and was just picking off cars with ease while making his way to the front. After only 12 laps, Cozze, who started 31st, had made his way all the way to 8th place. The front pack consisted of McCreadie, Fuller, Alan Johnson, local 358 driver Lee Gill with a big block in his Channel 7 News Bicknell and another Can Am regular 358 and big block runner Pat Ward. In just two more laps, Cozze flew into the 4th spot with Billy Decker also taking to the high road and moving quickly into second. Also on the move was the Budweiser 3 of Brett Hearn who earlier had set second fastest time trial time but who drew starting position 14 for the feature. Just post the quarter point of the race; it was McCreadie, Decker, Fuller, Cozze and Hearn making up the top five. The Bicknell car of Alan Johnson then started making his presence felt once again and working his way back into the top five in the 40’s. Local fans were rooting on the Hometown Hammer, Lee Gill, who had a strong run going, but then some telltale smoke starting appearing on the Channel 7 News mount and Lee pulled it to the infield on lap 45 putting him out of the race. At the halfway point, the lead pack was McCreadie, AJ, Decker, Hearn, Fuller, Cozze, Ward, Tom Sears, Jason Barney and Gus Schmidt. Bob McCreadie, in a brand new Troyer, also decided to try the top and was flying around the top and all the way to 9th spot by lap 59. On lap 60, the yellow lights came on with Vic Coffey losing out on a four-wide run down the backstretch finding the 32C spinning around. When racing resumed, it was getting to be show time and the battle for second found Johnson and Decker side by side battling for position right behind the McCreadie Teo. Johnson won the battle for second, and with 25 to go Bob McCreadie slid high in turns one and two and then again in three and four that send him to the pits. With only five laps to go, Frank Cozze’s strong run came to an end as he pulled his car off to the inside of the track on the homestretch. Timmy Mac radioed to his crew that he thought his right rear was going, but he was able to hold off Johnson enroute to his fifth big block Super DIRT Series win of the season. Tim Fuller came home third, followed by Decker, Hearn, Ward, Sears, Steve Paine, David Hebert and Chuck Bower. The Syracuse big block spot went to Pat Ward, while the 358 spot awarded to the top finishing 358 went to local favorite Bill Gill in the Dealmaker Auto Group car.
In the companion IMCA modified 15lap feature, it was rookie John Dumas winning his first IMCA feature ever. The former go-kart racer at the Can Am go-kart track put himself out front early and never looked back as Bob Thurston, Jr., Paul Calhoun, Rick Reed, Larry Bezner and others all tried to battle their way to the lead, but the young rookie was in control. At the halfway point, it was Dumas, Chris Taylor, Calhoun, Bezner and Thurston. With the last half of the race green, the young rookie showed what he was made off. “I never dreamed I could come and win like this.” Well, he did and he was in convincing fashion over Taylor, Calhoun, Bezner and Thurston rounding out the top five.
The last race of the evening was the Pure Stock feature. Front-runner Scott Castor encountered problems with his 69C in the heat and borrowed the car of Ken Hamm for the feature. Mark Barker, from nearby Evans Mills, raced out to the early lead over Chuck Cushman, Brian Holder, Travis Andrews and Dave Pope. Cushman took the lead on the 7th lap and was running out front until lap 13 when track champion Dave Mannise put his number 8 out front and remained there to take the checkers over Cushman with Barker, Pope and Andrews trailing.
Modifieds: (100L) TIM MCCREADIE, Alan Johnson, Tim Fuller, Billy Decker, Brett Hearn, Pat Ward, Tom Sears, Steve Paine, David Hebert, Chuck Bower, Frankie Caprara, Jason Barney, Kenny Tremont, Steve Poirier, Danny Johnson, Bobby Varin, Bill Gill, Gus Schmidt, Todd Burley, Frank Cozze, Ryan Baye, Bob McCreadie, Billy Wilcox, Vic Coffey, Butch Tittle, Wayne Side, Lee Gill, Danny O’Brien, Mario Clair, Scott Parliament, Todd Stewart, Mike Adderley, Gary Tomkins. DNQ: Mike Doty, Steve Hulsizer, Ryan Bartlett, Brian McDonald, David Surace
IMCA Mods: JOHN DUMAS, Chris Taylor, Paul Calhoun, Larry Bezner, Bob Thurston, Jr., Rick Reed, Rick Dusckas, Brian Copp, Jeff Bannister, Erv Miller, Ken Klinkowsky, Bill Anderson, Jr., John Mason, Dan Hilts, Michael Jeffries, Hunter Grimes, Billy Dunn, Rob Keller. DNS: Neal Edgar, Jeff Shannon, Bentley Aiken
Pure Stocks: DAVE MANNISE, Chuck Cushman, Mark Barker, Dave Pope, Travis Andrews, Scott Castor, Brian Holder, Don Scales, Mark Webb, Kim Mallette, Rob Simmons, Justin Mason, Dana Aikins, George Sanford, Charles Duffany. DNS: Ken Hamm