JIM MAHANEY WOW'S 'EM AT FULTON
Fulton, NY..Jim Mahaney hadn't been to victory lane since 1994. Last Saturday night, he held off both Jimmy and Roger Phelps to pick up one of the more popular Fulton Speedway 358-Modified victories of the year on Sterling Trucks/Raymond's Car Care night at the Route 57 oval.
Other winners included Paul Kinney and Tim Sears in the DIRT Sportsman features, T.J. Fitzgibbons in the Pro Stocks, Dave Mannise in the Pure Stocks, Tony Buffa in the ESDCA Dwarf Cars, and Jamie Bargabos in the Jetettes Women's Racing Series.
In the conclusion of the rained out Sportsman feature from August 15th, Paul Kinney led the field down for the restart with his Castrol 19. The scheduled distance was 25-laps, and three laps were run off before the rains came on the 15th with Kinney leading.
At the drop of the green, Clayt Brewer went to work on the Kinney car, and was able to make the pass and lead lap 4. Both are former Quarter-Midget racers, and both have feature wins in their division this year, although Kinney’s win did not come at Fulton. .
Ron Richardson was putting pressure on Kinney for second by lap 8, and dove under him out of turn four on lap 9 to take the spot, and then set sail after Brewer. The yellow lights had to be turned on as 13 went up on the board, as the 14 of Jeremy Pitcher suffered a flat tire and slowed to a crawl pace. Shane Donath had been showing a great deal of smoke for the last few laps out of the back of his Z28, and went to the pits at this time.
Richardson ran right on the bumper of the 33jr of Brewer when the green flag flew again, and the two wound up hooked together down the back straightaway, allowing Kinney to shoot past them and reclaim the top spot. The caution came out, and both Richardson and Brewer had to go to the tail of the field.
Kinney’s new nemesis would be Mark Yorker. On the restart, Jim Kite, Jim Bowman, and Ryan Richardson had an unscheduled meeting in turn two and the field was right back to yellow again.
The 19 of Kinney pulled away as the 20 lap mark was reached, but Tim Sears was headed toward the teenager in a hurry, taking second from the 24 of Yorker with four laps left. It did not appear he would catch Kinney, but Shawn Donath’s flat tire with one lap left brought out the caution and set the stage for a shootout.
Both the green and the white flags flew simultaneously, and Kinney immediately dropped to the bottom of the racetrack and forced Sears to find a groove in which to pass him. The Fulton points leader had no success in finding a hole, and Kinney went on to claim his first ever Fulton Speedway victory.
At the checkers it was Kinney over Sears, Yorker, Doust, and the 99 of Dave Bargabos. The NGK Spark Plugs Halfway Leader was Clayt Brewer.
Roger Phelps started up front for the DIRT 358-Modified feature, and took the lead at the drop of the green. Pete Taylor, Tim Murphy, Jim Mahaney, and Larry Witko followed along behind. Mahaney had his 21 hooked up, and blasted into second by lap 2.
Phelps was strong, but Mahaney proved stronger as he moved up to the top of the track and powered by the 99 of Phelps on the 6th lap into the lead. Tim Murphy was holding onto third with his 87m, with Dale Planck moving into fourth and Billy Shantel fifth as lap 10 went up on the board.
Pete Taylor brought out the race’s first yellow on lap 15 when he stopped in turn four. Planck had gotten by Murphy and was continuing to charge toward the front of the field. On the restart, Planck simply dusted both Phelps and Mahaney and commandeered the top spot.
Although Planck led the next several laps, including the NGK Spark Plugs Halfway Lap, Mahaney made him work for them as he battled side-by-side and stayed right with the Homer, NY hotshoe. Planck began to shoe some smoke out of the 77x, but continued to run strong. Phelps was doing a sensational job hanging on to third.
Jason Barney had worked his way from deep in the field up to fourth, with Gus Schmidt fifth and Jimmy Phelps running sixth by lap 24 with the borrowed Billy Woodworth 10. When lap 28 went up on the board, the 77x finally gave out and Planck pulled off into the infield. This left Mahaney in the lead, but the 10 of Jimmy Phelps was preparing to add his two cents to the battle for the win.
Only a yellow for Lance Petzoldt’s unsolicited trip into the inside pole tire in turn two cooled the battle for the lead. Jimmy Phelps was working the bottom of the track to perfection, and shot into second on the lap 32 restart. Mahaney preferred the top of the track, so this set up a shootout that had the fans on their feet as they crossed the line toward the end.
Phelps actually led lap 34, but Mahaney borrowed a “refuse to lose” t-shirt from Jeff Gordon and powered back around Phelps on the final lap to score his first victory since 1994. Jimmy Phelps ended up second, with Roger Phelps third, Ryan Baye fourth, and Gus Schmidt rounding out the top five.
Ryan Richardson jumped out front briefly in the DIRT Sportsman race, but the 33 of Clayt Brewer took over just as the yellow flag flew on lap 2 for a multi-car jingle that left Jim Bowman’s car with some sheet metal damage. Brewer and Richardson were followed by the Z28 of Shane Donath, Jim Kite’s 19, and the 262 of Ron Richardson.
Ron Richardson stayed smooth as he methodically worked his way through the top five, and actually raced Brewer for a lap before passing him for the lead on lap 7. Just as he took the lead, the second caution was waved for another multi-car accident. Chad Phelps, Mark Yorker, and Shane Donath came together, resulting in damage to all three cars.
On the ensuing restart, another group of cars jammed up in turn two, with Paul Benz and Rich Keller winding up hooked together. Richardson, Brewer, Tim Sears, Kite, and Jeremy Pitcher were now the top five as the field took the green looking toward lap 9.
Juhl broke into the top five on the restart, as Sears took advantage of a Brewer bobble on lap 10 to take over second. Richardson led the NGK Spark Plugs Halfway Lap, but now had the division’s points leader to contend with for the remainder of the 20-lap feature event.
It only took Sears a few laps to find a way by Richardson, as he did so with 6 to go. Pitcher was enjoying some competitive spirit with his 14, and held off both Juhl and Kite in the closing laps to pick up third. At the stripe, it was Sears with the win, followed by Richardson, Pitcher, Juhl, and Kite.
The Pro Stock feature began the same way it has several times this season, with Paul Streiff on top with his 00. Streiff had T.J. Fitzgibbons close behind him, and by lap three Jerry Holmes joined the chase.
Fitzgibbons found some bit in the low groove as the lead duo entered turn 3 on lap 8, and took over the top spot. The 9r of Roger Olschewske and the 35 of Jamie Reese made contact and spun on lap 7, bringing out a caution. The top five at this point, one lap shy of halfway, was Fitzgibbons, Holmes, Scott Moyer, Streiff, and Mike Watkins.
Streiff fell out of the top five shortly after the restart, and two laps later Paul Stoneburg and Dan Winks collided in turn 3, with Winks winding up in the infield. Stoneburg was able to rejoin the race, but would not be a factor.
Fitzgibbons and Holmes battled throughout the middle stages, right down to lap 18, when Moyer worked his way by the 16 for second. Fitzgibbons was pressured throughout the event, but held his line perfectly and went on to claim the victory.
Finishing second was Holmes, with Moyer, Jason Rood, and Ray Maloney rounding out the top five. Phil Retter, who was in the top five for several laps with his 44x, wound up tangling with Joe Jackson on lap 13 and that incident put both of them out of the event. The NGK Spark Plugs Halfway Leader was Fitzgibbons.
The Pure Stocks were scheduled for a 15-lap contest, in which Joe Buske would lead the first lap. Lap 2, however, was not one Buske would like to remember, as he spun in turn two and was clipped by another car. Fortunately, no one suffered any consequential damage, and the race restarted with Dave Mannise leading Jay Finch, Jeremy Bargabos, Todd Koegel, and Rob Seavy.
Dan Butterfield had the misfortune of losing the driver’s side door of his car on lap four, ending his day early and putting the caution lights back on. Rookie Billy “The Kid” Allen brought his 20 around on the next lap, but after that the field settled in for some great racing.
Mannise found a familiar car chasing his back bumper in the form of the Hood 17, driven by John Pietrowicz. “John P” tried everything he could think of to get around Mannise but “Mr. Pure Stock” had the better car on this day. Mannise held on for a tight victory, with Pietrowicz finishing second, Chad Ray third, Jay Finch doing a superb job to finish fourth, and Ken Connors rounding out the top five. The NGK Spark Plugs Halfway Leader was Mannise.
The 12-lap ESDCA Dwarf Car Feature began with Troy Van Allen jumping out front. Tony Buffa, who uses a phone booth to change from his Dwarf Car suit on Friday into a 358-Modified suit for Saturday’s racing at Fulton, wore both suits on this night and by lap five had driven around Van Allen to take the lead for good.
Ken Gamlen cleared the mosquitos out from over the track when his motor went up in smoke on lap 9, bringing out the only yellow of the event. Buffa was able to hold on for the victory, with Van Allen finishing second, Barry Virts third, Eric Crawford fourth, and Ed Lawton running a strong race to finish fifth.
In the night’s closing feature, Jamie Bargabos defeated Jean Amidon and Jenny Dion to win her second Jetettes Women’s Racing feature of the season. The Jetettes have one race left, and that is at Brewerton on September 8th.
The next race at Fulton is Saturday, August 26th. Seneca Falls E-Z Lube will sponsor Family Autograph Night. A full show of DIRT 358-Modifieds, DIRT Sportsman, DIRT Pro Stocks, and Pure Stocks will be on the card, plus the special driver autograph session at intermission. This is a perfect night to bring the family for an exciting night of racing. With only one points show left following this event the competition should be intense all night long. Gates will open at 5pm, with race time scheduled for 7pm sharp. For more information, contact the speedway office at (315) 593-6531 or see them online at www.fultonspeedway.com.
DIRT SPORTSMAN (conclusion of the Aug. 15 feature): PAUL KINNEY, Tim Sears, Mark Yorker, Greg Doust, Dave Bargabos, Willie Decker, Tom Juhl, Ron Richardson, Clayt Brewer, Ron Cettner, Shawn Donath, Rich Keller, Paul Benz, Jeremy Pitcher, Ryan Richardson, Jim Bowman, Jim Kite, Gregg Carner, Shane Donath, Walt McCardell, John Cunningham, Jim Spano, John Plumb, Kyle Wilson, Anthony Fiorentino, Bill Shantel Jr., and Ed Ferris.
DIRT 358-MODIFIED: Jim Mahaney, Jimmy Phelps, Roger Phelps, Ryan Baye, Gus Schmidt, Alan Johnson, Mitch Gibbs, Tom Sears, J. J. Michaels, Gil Tegg, John Barker, Tim Murphy, Bill Shantel, Jeff Rudalavage, Chris Bushnell, Jim Witko Jr., Ty Hunt, Jim Rothwell, Jason Barney, Lance Petzoldt, Dale Planck, Dave Reilly, Ted Lamb, Steve Hulsizer, Pete Taylor.
DIRT SPORTSMAN: Tim Sears, Ron Richardson, Jeremy Pitcher, Tom Juhl, Jim Kite, Dave Bargabos, Paul Kinney, Walt McCardell, Clayt Brewer, Greg Doust, Paul Benz, Tim Johnson, Russ Hefti, Ryan Richardson, Willie Decker, Chad Phelps, Shawn Donath, Mark Yorker, Gregg Carner, John Juhl, Rich Keller, Steve Way, Shane Donath, and Jim Bowman.
DIRT PRO STOCK: T. J. Fitzgibbons, Jerry Holmes, Scott Moyer, Jason rood, Ray Maloney, Mike Watkins, Dave Moyer, Paul Streiff, Rick Breed, Keith Butler, Joe Jackson, Ryan Buske, Dave Fox, Chuck Matthews, Leroy Sabin, Paul Stoneburg, Phil Retter, Dan Winks, Jamie Reese, Roger Olschewske.
PURE STOCK: Dave Mannise, John Pietrowicz, Chad Ray, Jay Finch, Ken Connor, Jeremy Bargabos, Dan Hatch, Todd Koegel, Bobby Newman, Joe Buske, Adam Morley, Gary Barton, David Kirk, Dennis Brown, Phil Trimm, Rob Seavy, Billy Allen, John Nickerson, Marty Davis, Chris Smiedy, Bruce Stanton, Scott Beales, Rob Whipple, and Dan Butterfield.
ESDCA DWARF CARS: Tony Buffa, Troy Van Allen, Barry Virts, Eric Crawford, Ed Lawton, Scott Nash, Darren Forbes, Oly Johnson, David Orr, Brenda Rice, Bob McCarthy, Ken Gamlen.
JETETTES: Jamie Bargabos, Jean Amidon, and Jenny Dion.