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BACHETTI CONSTRUCTS FIRST BIG BLOCK WIN OF SEASON ON RIVENBURG NIGHT AT LV



QUINN TAKES CHECKER IN 358-MODS
By Ed & Betty Biittig

West Lebanon, NY- July 17, 2004 -It was a special night on the high banks as the Rivenburg Construction Company sponsored a patriotic night of racing. Andy Bachetti of Great Barrington, Ma. made it special night for the Albreada No. 4 fans as he picked up his first win of the season at Lebanon Valley in the big block modified main event. The win also gave Bachetti a spot in the Victoria 200 to be run at Fulton Speedway in October. Bachetti grabbed the lead on lap two and never looked back. “Our motor program started coming around and this PMC car is awesome, I really want to thank Pete Chuckta,” said Bachetti in victory lane.

After being the slowest car in warm ups, Matt Quinn was extremely happy to be standing in victory lane at the finish of the 24-lap 358-Modified Main event.

Jay Casey found victory lane in the Pro Stock action after leading all 20 laps of the main event. Winner of the Rookie Pro Stock feature was George Miles, Jr. Pure Stock winners for the night were Mark Stevens, Jason Casey, Pete DeFigilio and Dave Striebel who was declared the winner after Scott Kilmer was disqualified in Pure Stock event #4.

One of the most popular nights on the Valley schedule is Rivenburg Construction Night. Saturday night was true to form as George Rivenburg and his Construction team brought a patriotic theme to the intermission parade of Rivenburg Construction trucks and vehicles on the high banks. Rivenburg Construction has been in business for over 40 years and has also been a sponsor at Lebanon Valley for over ten. As a special treat for the fans this year, eleven year old Jessica Rivenburg, granddaughter of George & Elaine sang the National Anthem. Rivenburg also sponsors the modified racecars of Donnie Corellis and John Hewitt.

Modified action saw sixteen-year-old Kyle Sheldon on the front row along side Mel Schruffer. Schruffer grabbed the lead at the green and quickly pulled away but not far from Andy Bachetti who moved into second by lap two. As Schuffer and Bachetti pulled away from the field, John Alberti raced in third and Sheldon hung onto fourth. Bachetti slipped to the high side of Schuffer on lap five and took the lead. On the next lap the first yellow flew. The two cars involved were the No. 518 of Kyle Sheldon and the No. 27 of Brian Berger. John Hewitt and Mike King were also involved and both moved to the pits for consultation with their crews.

Bachetti led on the restart with Schuffer still second. Tremont, Hearn and Ricci were now in a close race for fifth. Hector Stratton grabbed second from Schuffer on lap ten. He was now in position to chase the leader, Bachetti. John Alberti held off the challenges of Tremont for fifth lap after lap. Bachetti continued to stretch out his lead. At the halfway point it was Hearn who got by Tremont for the fifth position. Hearn moved by Alberti on the next lap and was now chasing Schuffer for third. Stratton and Bachetti were still the top two. By lap 20, Bachetti encountered lap traffic but it was insignificant to the high-flying No. 4. Lap traffic slowed Stratton enough for Hearn to close in on second position. Ricci moved past Tremont for fifth but encountered the car of Mel Schuffer as he raced down the backstretch. Ricci spun and recovered but as the field moved down the backstretch under caution, Ricci saw reason to retaliated by hitting Schuffer’s No. 84 with his No. 55. Schuffer was given the black flag for the initial incident and went to the pits before the green flew once again.

On the restart, Bachetti pulled into the lead but the No. 87 of Stratton was slowing gaining ground on the leader. With only three laps to go, Hearn moved around Stratton for second and set his sights on Bachetti. With the white flag in the air Bachetti kept his pace and Hearn was unable to catch him.

Modified heat event winners were J. R. Heffner, Steve Hough and Kenny Tremont.

The 358-Mods were added to the program for the third time this season and when the field came to the green for the 24-lap event Craig Simmons was on the point. Sean Gallivan led the first lap with the No. 32 of Matt Quinn dropping into second. The first of many cautions came out for the car of Denny Young, Jr. when he slowed on the front stretch after dropping a stream of water from the fourth turn to the first. On the restart, Matt Quinn grabbed the lead from Gallivan. As the field came down the front stretch the No. 5 of Marshall came in contact with another car and was slammed into the Jersey barrier along the inside of the track. Marshall walked away from the accident. The No. 57 of Corellis was towed to the pit area from the second turn. On the restart, Quinn was once again in the lead at the line. Tremont was on the move and by lap seven was in second place. Bachetti was close behind and challenged the No. 115 on the backstretch, lap after lap. The next caution was thrown for the No. 4 of Brett Hearn when he slowed at the entrance to the pits on the backstretch with a flat tire. Hearn returned to the track as the next caution came out for KC Goewey when he tapped the outside wall in turn two. As the field came to the green for the restart the top four cars were side by side. As the race pasted the halfway point, Quinn extended his lead, with Tremont and Bachetti running second and third, followed by JR Heffner. Bachetti continued to challenge Tremont by couldn’t make his No. 4 stick to the inside groove. As the race came to the checker it was Quinn for the win with Tremont, Bachetti, Heffner and Guy Sheldon fifth over Hearn who came back to finish sixth.

Qualifying heat wins for the 358-Modifieds went to Sean Gallivan and Matt Quinn.

The Sportsman main was the last but not the least in the racing action for the night. Chad Pierce and Chris Kokosa brought the field to the green and Kokosa moved ahead of Pierce for the lead by turn one. As Pierce dropped back to fourth, Ferriero and Browe moved into second and third position. The first caution flag flew on lap two for the No. 402 of Joe Mabb, Jr.

On the restart Kokosa held the lead and a side-by-side battle ensued between Browe and Ferriero. Browe got past Ferriero and started reeling in the Kokosa No. 00. Browe challenged Kokosa in turn four but was unable to take the lead. Browe continued to challenge on the restart with Kokosa ending up in the first turn wall.

Browe led on the restart and Art Collins moved into second around Ferriero. Only one lap was complete before the caution flew once again for the consi winner, Poover Daley. Now Art Collins was in position to challenge Browe and he did as the green flew once again. KC Goewey, who has been the man to beat this season in the Sportsman, moved into the top five on lap eight. Browe continued to stretch out his lead and by the halfway point was five car lengths ahead of second place runner, Collins. Ryan Larkin now sat third, Frank Harper fourth and Goewey still fifth. Browe’s lead was wiped out by a caution for Kim LaVoy on lap 11. On the restart, Browe pulled away from Collins and was able to stay ahead of the defending champion until the checker. Collins finished second, followed by Harper, Goewey and Knipe who moved into the top five on the final laps. Sportsman heat wins went to Frank Harper, Chris Kokosa and Anthony Ferriero. Poover Daley won the Consi.

Jay Corbin and Jay Casey led the Pro Stock main event to the green with Jay Casey the one coming out on top. By lap two, LaRochelle and Bill Lobdell were battling for second spot with Langenback soon getting in the mix. Langenback got by Lobdell and set his sights on the LaRochelle No. 78. Casey was still in the lead but his lead was slowly diminishing. The first yellow flag flew for Robbie Speed on the frontstretch and the No. 118 of Jeff Kelmel on the backstretch. Casey led on the restart and as the field raced into turn one, Buddy Hencke slid up into the wall and the caution flew once again. When the green flew once again, Jay Casey was still in the lead. LaRochelle was second as the veteran Langenback raced with Bill Lobdell for third. When Lobdell slid high in turn four, Scott Govertsen moved into the fourth spot and started chasing the No. 54L of Langenback. As the front group raced for the top positions, point leader, Rob Yetman was steadily racing his way into the top five. As the field came to the white flag, smoke poured out of the back of the Langenback car and he dropped to the pits in turn four. Casey held the lead for the win followed by LaRochelle, Govertsen, Lobdell and Sanchez.

Pro Stock heat wins went to Jay Casey and Scott Govertsen.

The Rookie Pro Stock feature was a 10-lap barnburner that was slowed by two cautions before the halfway point. Jim Cronk led the event from lap three until George Miles, Jr. grabbed it from him on lap six. Cronk dropped back to third. Miles went on to the checker.

Next week the racing will double up on the high banks as the World of Outlaw Sprints return to the Valley on Sunday, July 25th for the rescheduled rain out show from June 1st sponsored by Carquest. Saturday night will be a regular show sponsored by IGA Supermarkets, Hometown Wheels, Snap-On Tools and also features the popular Spectator Races.

7-17 RIFENBURG CONSTRUCTION

MODIFIED RESULTS (30 LAPS) - 1 Andy Bachetti, 2 Brett Hearn, 3 Hector Stratton, 4 Kenny Tremont Jr, 5 J.R. Heffner, 6 Eddie Marshall, 7 Wayne Jelley, 8 Rob Pitcher, 9 Guy Sheldon, 10 Matt Quinn, 11 Donnie Corellis, 12 Steve Hough, 13 Denny Soltis, 14 Rich Ricci Jr, 15 Dave Leckonby, 16 Russ Reckner,17 Mike King, 18 Wes Powell, 19 Dave McFeeters, 20 John Ruchel, 21 Paul Gilardi, 22 Chris Whitehead, 23 John Alberti, 24 Mel Schruffer, 25 Brian Berger, 26 John Hewitt, 27 Kyle Sheldon

358 MODIFIED RESULTS (24 LAPS) - 1 Matt Quinn, 2 Kenny Tremont Jr, 3 Andy Bachetti, 4 J.R. Heffner, 5 Guy Sheldon, 6 Brett Hearn, 7 Rich Salsbury, 8 K.C. Goewey, 9 Sean Gallivan, 10 Ted Teal, 11 Phil Arnold, 12 Craig Simmons, 13 Roy Bridge, 14 Eddie Marshall, 15 Donnie Corellis, 16 Denny Young Jr, 17 Danny Watson

SPORTSMAN RESULTS (20 LAPS) - 1 Lorne Browe, 2 Art Collins, 3 Frank Harper, 4 K.C. Goewey, 5 Bobby Knipe, 6 Ryan Larkin, 7 Tony Ferriero, 8 Ed Harkin, 9 Kory Sandstedt, 10 Carmon Carnibucci, 11 Jeff Watson, 12 Hawley Smith, 13 Kyle Hoffman, 14 Jason Tompkins, 15 Poover Daley, 16 Chad Pierce, 17 Brian Sandstedt, 18 Mike Mason, 19 Greg DeCamp, 20 Wayne Keyes, 21 Joe Mabb Jr, 22 Rob Barile, 23 Kim LaVoy, 24 Chris Kokosa

PRO STOCK RESULTS (20 LAPS) - 1 Jay Casey, 2 Paul LaRochelle, 3 Scott Govertsen, 4 Bill Lobdell Jr, 5 Danny Sanchez, 6 Rob Yetman, 7 Chris Crews, 8 Tom Brandt, 8 Jeff Kelmel, 9 Paul Rogers, 10 Jay Corbin, 12 Jim Langenback, 13 Kevin Ward, 14 Buddy Hencke, 15 Robbie Speed

ROOKIE PRO STOCK RESULTS (10 LAPS) - 1 George Miles, 2 Pete Everett, 3 Jim Cronk, 4 Jery Helms, 5 Rick Dempsey, 6 Brian Keough, 7 E.J. Legeyt, 8 Larry Megan, 9 Ron Johnson, 10 Ronnie Jacobsen, 11 Jim Keough, 12 Jeff Haas, 13 John Santolin, 14 Steve Hankle, 15 Danny Burl

PURE STOCK #1 RESULTS (8 LAPS) - 1 Mark Stevens, 2 Bob Burl, 3 Jay LaMountain, 4 Ryan Coon, 5 John Chapman, 6 Jason Casey, 7 Joe Landry, 8 Richard Puff, 9 Steve Hatch, 10 Dave Houser, 11 Eric Ofiesh, 12 Jesse Murphy, 13 Earl Soulier

PURE STOCK #2 RESULTS (8 LAPS) - 1 Jason Casey, 2 Chrissy Hilt, 3 Tom Murphy, 4 Brian Houghtaling, 5 Don Coon, 6 Joe Chenail, 7 Ed Hatch, 8 Tony Arcoleo, 9 Sparky King, 10 Paul Handlowich, 11 Jeff Wilbur, 12 Matt Humes, 13 Anthony Maddalla

PURE STOCK #3 RESULTS (8LAPS) - 1 Pete DeFiglio, 2 Rich Douglass, 3 Bob Palmer, 4 Al Relyea, 5 Mike Eichstedt, 6 Nick Hilt Jr, 7 Jon Routhier, 8 Tom Harkins, 9 Pete Wiegand, 10 Dave Stickles, 11 Robert Hammell, 12 Kevin Hilt

PURE STOCK #4 RESULTS(8 LAPS) - 1 Dave Striebel, 2 Mike Grehl Jr, 3 Larry Ball, 4 Randy Myers, 5 Jay Kreutziger Jr, 6 Don Collins, 7 Karl Castagna, 8 JoAnn Stevens,9 Joe Walcott, 10 Shannon McDermott