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TEAMWORK PAYS OFF FOR MCCREADIE ON OPENING NIGHT




Fonda Speedway successfully opened the 2004 racing season under bright sunny skies Saturday afternoon as Coors Light and Benjamin Moore sponsored the annual Ice Jam Big Block/Small Block Shootout. Fifty-seven modifieds were on hand for the event but the win in the feature was all about team work for Tim McCreadie, Vic Coffey, and the Sweeteners Plus Race Team.



Tim McCreadie decided to come to Fonda for the opening event and after warm-ups probably wished he didn’t after crashing hard into the wall between turns three and four wiping out the front end of his big block modified. The back-up car of his teammate Vic Coffey was then unloaded and from there the rest is history as McCreadie took home the $3,000 win.



“This win is for all of the guys on the crew of the Sweeteners Plus Race Team,” McCreadie said in victory lane. “We were testing our late model this week so that car was still in the trailer and we didn’t have a back-up modified. Vic and all of the guys unloaded his back-up car and got it ready for me to race. I have to thank my car owners Ann and Carl Myers for having enough racecars for us to run because apparently I can’t keep just one together.”



McCreadie never even planned on being in the northeast this weekend but his plans were changed when his father Bob McCreadie suffered a back injury while racing down in Charlotte last weekend at the Lowes Motor Speedway.



“I was supposed to be racing my World of Outlaws Late Model this week in Kentucky but when my father got injured I stuck around and taught his driving school at the Cayuga County Fair Speedway this past week,” McCreadie said. “Since I love to run here at Fonda I decided to come here and race and I am glad I did because the track was real racy today and it was a lot of fun to run on a track like that.”



The start of the race saw the fourth place starting car of Vinnie Vitale get off to a very slow start as the green flag was thrown causing all of the cars in back of him to scramble to get by him without hitting him or any other cars. That was the closest to a yellow that the event ever saw as the entire 50-lap event was run without a single caution.



Pat Ward was the early leader from his pole position start with Jack Johnson who was in his new ride in the Spraker owned #1J second early on. Brett Hearn who is always fast when he comes to Fonda started eleventh but was already up to third as lap two was completed and four laps later he took over the second spot and set his sights on the leader.



Hearn stuck his nose inside the leader a couple of times in turn three but each time Ward was up to the challenge and held the advantage. While all of that was going on Tim Fuller and McCreadie were making their way to the front sitting in the third and fourth positions respectively on lap fourteen. Two laps later McCreadie made a great move on the backstretch to get by both Fuller and Hearn into the second spot. McCreadie’s next move was for the lead as he got by both Ward and a lap car on lap eighteen to take over the top spot.



At one point McCreadie moved out to a straightaway advantage but the race was far from over as lap cars slowed the leader and allowed Ward to close in with twelve laps to go. Each lap Ward would stay on the rear nerf bar of the leader as there were now lap cars all around the leaders. When McCreadie was able to squeeze between two lap cars with ten laps to go that sealed up the win for him as the hole closed up and didn’t allow Ward to get by as quickly.



McCreadie lapped up to the eighth place car on his way to the win, the second of his career at the Track of Champions. Ward, Hearn, Fuller, and Matt Sheppard completed the top five in the event.



Matt DeLorenzo finished eighth and because he was the first small block across the finish line he earned a $500 bonus along with a guaranteed starting spot for the Sunoco/A-Plus 358-Modified event during Super DIRT Week in Syracuse this October “The track was great and I had a lot of fun racing here today,” DeLorenzo said. “I really need to thank my brother Mike for all of his help today.”



Next Saturday Fonda is in action again with modifieds, sportsman, pro stocks, and street stocks on the racing card which begins at 1:00 p.m.



MODIFIED QUALIFYING – 57 total cars – 3 qualify

HEAT 1 – Alton Palmer, Ryan Odasz, Willy Decker

HEAT 2 – Matt DeLorenzo, Tim McCreadie, Vinnie Vitale

HEAT 3 – Tim Fuller, Danny O’Brien, Jack Johnson

HEAT 4 – Vic Coffey, Ronnie Johnson, Randy Chrysler

HEAT 5 – Brett Hearn, A.J. Romano, Pat Ward



MODIFIED CONSOLATIONS – 3 qualify

CONSI 1 – Dave Lape, Andy Bachetti, Ray Zemken

CONSI 2 – Jeff Trombley, John Alberti, Mario Clair

CONSI 3 – Billy Decker, Ron Holmes, Craig Hanson

CONSI 4 – Matt Sheppard, Tony Pepicelli, Bob Sitterly



COORS LIGHT AND BENJAMIN MOORE MODIFIED FEATURE – 50 LAPS – TIM MCCREADIE, Pat Ward, Brett Hearn, Tim Fuller, Matt Sheppard, Billy Decker, Vic Coffey, Matt DeLorenzo, A.J. Romano, Ryan Odasz, Jack Johnson, Dave Lape, Tony Pepicelli, Mario Clair, Alton Palmer, Randy Chrysler, Willy Decker, Ron Holmes, Bobby Vedder, Craig Hanson, John Alberti, Ray Zemken, Andy Bachetti, Jeff Trombley, Bob Sitterly, Ronnie Johnson, Danny O’Brien, Vinnie Vitale