MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND FULTON WINS GO TO MICHAELS, DOUST,
KELSO, BUFFA, PIETROWICZ AND BARGABOS
Fulton, NY…A six-pack of features kept Fulton Speedway fans on the edge of their seats this past Saturday, and the night’s spotlight belonged to J.J. Michaels as he held off Jimmy Phelps and Alan Johnson to take the victory in the DIRT 358 Modified feature.
The war began at the drop of the green, as first Gus Schmidt, then Michaels, and then Schmidt again led the field on the first lap. Bill Shantel Sr. spun on lap 2, bringing out the race’s first yellow flag.
On the ensuing restart, Lance Petzoldt looped his 29 in nearly the same spot Shantel had spun before. At the same time, Steve Hulsizer suffered problems with his 88 and had to be towed to the pit area. Michaels held the lead on the restart, with Schmidt, Jason Barney, Mike Ward, and Roy Shields following close behind.
Moving from the back half of the field were Alan Johnson, Tom Kinsella, Dale Planck, Jimmy Phelps, and others as the race approached the ten-lap mark. Kinsella was strong on the top of the track, moving into sixth and challenging Mike Ward for fifth as Phelps, Johnson, Planck, and Gil Tegg stayed glued to his bumper.
Around the 18th lap Johnson’s 14J found some energy and he shot from fifth to second in a matter of a few laps. Ward and Kinsella made contact on lap 23, and Ward spun ending his hopes for a top five run. Michaels now had Johnson right on his bumper, with Jimmy Phelps, Barney, and Kinsella filling out the top five.
Just one more yellow would fly before race’s end, as Petzoldt stopped his 29 in turn two. Michaels ran the bottom of the track quite nicely, while Johnson ran the top, then tried to switch lanes and gave Phelps an opening to drive around him on the outside.
It appeared several times as though the 31 of Michaels may be overtaken, but he would not be denied and held off the first and second place points runners for his first victory of the year. The win by Michaels was both emotional and apropos; since it was Memorial Day Weekend and his father, long time Central New York racing legend John “Pops” Michaels, passed away this spring.
At the wire it was Michaels, Phelps, Johnson, Planck, and Barney followed by Kinsella, Tegg, John Barker, Schmidt, and Mike Hulsizer.
The Sportsman feature was a flag-to-flag domination by the R10 of Greg Doust. The 11 of Chad Phelps and the 111 of Walt McArdell ran second and third for the first few laps, but the 44c of Gregg Carner was charging toward the front and had second by lap 7.
Tim Sears started last on the field, but by lap 16 was in sixth. McArdell had troubles with his 111 with two laps left, and took the car to the pits. Doust hung on for the win, with Ron Richardson, Jim Bowman, Gregg Carner, and Sears rounded out the top five.
It took Darren Kelso just three laps to get the lead from Bruce Stanton in the Pure Stock event, but Dave Mannise had made his return to the speedway and was charging from the back of the pack. The race went virtually without incident as Mannise chased down the leader but couldn’t get by.
At the checkers it was Kelso with the victory over the 8 of Mannise. Jeff Pastorella, Chad Ray, and the 54 of Jay Finch rounded out the top five.
The Dwarf Car feature started the same way Brewerton’s feature ended the night before, as the 2x of Troy Van Allen, the 22x of Ken Gamlen, and the 2 of Tony Buffa occupied the first three spots. Buffa had the hot hand, as he took the lead on the third lap and quickly opened up some ground.
Just two yellows slowed the pace, the first on lap three for an Ed Lawton spin, and the second on lap 11 when Mark Weigelt slowed dramatically on the track. Van Allen dropped out of the event with problems, as did his two teammates in the Crawford stable.
In the end it was Buffa with a comfortable advantage as he sailed to the checkered flag. Wayne Younglove had an outstanding run for second, with Gamlen, Darren Forbes, and Jay Reid following close behind.
The Pro Stock event was a wild affair, with several yellows and bent machines. Early leader Chuck Matthews gave way to John Pietrowicz in the 1, who led just a few laps before the 18 of Jason Rood took over at the head of the class.
It wouldn’t take long for the Pietrowicz machine to find its way back to the lead and his first win of the 2000 season. Ray Maloney finished second followed by Jason Rood, T.J. Fitzgibbons, and the 16 of Jerry Holmes.
The first ever appearance of the Jetettes Womens Racing Series saw three competitors take to the high-banked Fulton oval. Jamie Bargabos, whose mother Kris races at Brewerton, took command of the feature event at the outset and pulled away to an easy victory.
Jean Amidon finished second in the 01 followed by the 3 of Jenny Deon. The series will be running several more times at Fulton and will also have some shows at Brewerton this season.
The next race at Fulton is Saturday, June 3rd. The Carson Automotive Group will present a special appearance by the ARDC Midgets, with a full program of DIRT 358 Modifieds, DIRT Sportsman, DIRT Pro Stocks, and Pure Stocks also on the agenda. Gates will open at 5pm, with racing scheduled for 7pm. For more information, contact the speedway office at (315) 593-6531 or find them online at www.fultonspeedway.com.
358 MODIFIEDS: J.J. MICHAELS, Jimmy Phelps, Alan Johnson, Dale Planck, Jason Barney, Tom Kinsella, Gil Tegg, John Barker, Gus Schmidt, Todd Burley, Ryan Baye, Roy Shields, Aaron Jacobus, Mike Gillette, Brent Wilcox, Mike Ward, Tim Murphy, Roger Phelps, Lansing Petzoldt, Bill Shantel Sr., Dave Reilly, Jeff Rudalavage, Aaron Excel, Steve Hulsizer. Heat winners – Shields, Ward, J. Phelps, Johnson. NGK Spark Plugs Halfway Leader – Michaels.
DIRT SPORTSMAN: GREG DOUST, Ron Richardson, Jim Bowman, Gregg Carner, Willy Decker, Chad Phelps, Tim Sears, Jamie Christian, Clayton Brewer, Bill Shantel Jr., Dave Bargabos, Paul Kinney, Paul Benz, John Cunningham, Tyke Morris, Rich Keller, Mark Yorker, Mike Holmes, Walt McArdell, Terry Knoblauch, Shane Donath, Henry Desormeau, Tim Johnson, Jeremy Pitcher, Ed Ferris, Darryl Hagen. Heat winners – Bowman, Phelps, Shantel. NGK Spark Plugs Halfway Leader – Doust.
DIRT PRO STOCKS: JOHN PIETROWICZ, Ray Maloney, Jason Rood, T. J. Fitzgibbons, Jerry Holmes, Dave Moyer, Scott Moyer, Joe Jackson, Rick Breed, Danny Winks, Dave Fox, Chuck Matthews, Keith Butler, Jamie Reese, Ryan Buske, Paul Strieff, and Roger Olschewske. Heat winners – Jackson, Holmes. NGK Spark Plugs Halfway Leader – Pietrowicz.
PURE STOCKS: DARREN KELSO, Dave Mannise, Jeff Pastorella, Chad Ray, Jay Finch Todd Kogel, Paul Mercier, Ken Connor, Bruce Stanton, David Kirk, Jeremy Bargabos, Rob Seavy, Gary Barton, Dennis Brown, Ray Fancher, Gary Chant, John Nickerson, Ron Hawkir, Walt Koperda, Phil Trimm, Scott Gravelding, Marty Davis.
DWARF CARS: Tony Buffa, Wayne Younglove, Ken Gamlen, Darren Forbes, Jay Reid, Bob Magner, David Orr, Barry Virts, Steve Miller, Ed Lawton, Mike Lasalle, Brenda Rice, Scott Nash, Carl Crawford Jr., Eric Crawford, Mark Weigelt, Troy Van Allen, Duane Knopp. Heat winners – Van Allen, Knopp.
JETETTES WOMENS RACING: Jamie Bargabos, Jean Amidon, Jenny Deon.