FULTON SPEEDWAY FEATURE WINS GO TO ROGER PHELPS, TIM SEARS, T.J. FITZGIBBONS, AND CHAD RAY ON RIVERSIDE INN NIGHT
Fulton, NY…Roger Phelps scored his first DIRT 358 Modified feature win in over a year at Fulton on a misty Saturday night. Other winners included Tim Sears in the DIRT Sportsman, T.J. Fitzgibbons in the Pro-Stocks, and Chad Ray in the Pure Stocks.
The 358 feature saw two up and coming drivers start in the front row, as Lance Petzoldt and Tim Murphy Jr. brought the field down to Steve Rickett’s green flag. Petzoldt jumped out to the early lead with Murphy right behind in second. Gus Schmidt, Aaron Jacobus, and Gil Tegg ran top five early.
The race’s first yellow came out on lap 3 for debris in turn four. Defending track champion Jimmy Phelps was in 13th at the time, with Alan Johnson mired out of the top 15 at this point.
Petzoldt led the field down for the restart, and the race continued green until lap 6 when the 44 of Ty Hunt stalled in turn four. Schmidt, Tegg, and Mike Ward followed Petzoldt and Murphy as the green returned. Ward would take his 45m to the pits shortly after the race got back underway.
Roger Phelps was quietly moving through the field, and by lap ten was running fourth. Alan Johnson was also charging from his consolation starting spot, and was up to 12th as the lap counter turned to 11.
Jeremy Smith brought out the third caution of the event on lap 12, and under the yellow second place Murphy had ignition problems with his 87m and was forced to drop out of the event. It was a tough break for the 17-year old rookie, who was running the best he has all season.
On the ensuing restart, the attrition continued as the 88 of Hulsizer was the victim of a chain reaction and wound up with a collapsed front end. His day would be cut short by this incident, as the damage was too severe to repair.
Roger Phelps continued his march to the field when he picked up second place behind Petzoldt, who was stubbornly hanging on to the lead. Jimmy Phelps was now up to third, with Tegg running fourth and Jason Barney charging up to fifth. Alan Johnson was now 6th, followed by Schmidt, Pete Taylor, Roy Shields, and Ryan Baye.
Jimmy Phelps’ thoughts of winning two in a row were dashed on lap 18 when a suspension part broke on his 99 and he was forced to stop on the track and had to watch the end of the race from the pits. Gus Schmidt also slowed and pitted on the ensuing restart, relegating the “heavy hauler” to a lesser finish than he had hoped for.
Lap 19 was the lucky circuit for Roger Phelps, as the “Baldwinsville Bullet” dropped his Gypsum Express 99 underneath Petzoldt and went by. Jason Barney’s great run in the top five ended suddenly on lap 23 when he got caught in a “brake check” and spun his Stadium Trucks 87 in turn four.
Roger Phelps simply pulled away for the remainder of the event and went on to victory. Petzoldt drove a superb race for second, with Tegg, Baye, and Johnson also running strong to round out the top five. Roy Shields, Pat Lynch, John Barker, Jason Barney, and Billy Woodworth filled out the remainder of the top ten.
Greg Carner made the start of the Sportsman race exciting as he jumped three-wide under Greg Doust and Jim Bowman, but it was Doust taking the lead. Bowman jumped to the head of the class on lap two, and began to pull away for the moment.
Disaster struck for Bowman on lap 7 as he and Doust tangled trying to go underneath a slower car, while at the same time John Cunningham, Bill Shantel Jr., and Ron Richardson got caught up in turn four. Shantel would have to make a pit stop but would return to finish the race.
Tim Sears had started the race in 14th, and blasted quickly through the field, taking over second on the lap 7 restart. Clayt Brewer had his Alltel 33jr in third, with the 44c of Carner and the 18 of Rich Keller right behind.
Russ Hefti spun his mount on lap ten, and the Paul Benz 29 broke loose and came around on lap 16 before Sears crossed the finish line first to take the win. Brewer did a fabulous job to wind up second, followed by Bowman, Carner, and Keller. Rounding out the top ten were Mark Yorker, John Cunningham, Chad Phelps, Tyke Morris, and Ron Richardson.
The Pro-Stock feature began with Jason Rood out front and Jerry Holmes chasing him closely in second. A yellow for a stalled racer on lap two gave Holmes the opportunity to use the restart to his advantage, and by the time the third lap was history Holmes had his 16 out front.
While Holmes, Rood, and T.J. Fitzgibbons diced it out for the top three spots, the motor on the 35 of Jamie Reese got too hot to handle and momentarily caught fire, bringing out the only red flag of the night on lap 6. Reese was unharmed in the incident, and the fire was out instantaneously.
Tom Sears, driving the Dan Brown owned 21jr, went pitside just after the restart as the battle for the front spot continued. Fitzgibbons grabbed the lead on lap ten and went on to take top honors in a very competitive race.
Jerry Holmes finished second followed by Jason Rood, Phil Retter, and John Pietrowicz. Ray Maloney, Joe Jackson, Ryan Buske, Dave Fox, and Dan Winks filled out the top ten.
The Pure Stock finale saw Bruce Stanton take the early lead, but his day would end early as Chad Ray beat out Darren Kelso for the win. It was Ray’s first win of the year at Fulton, and his 73d was strong in the effort.
Ray was the winner, Kelso finished second, and Jeff Pastorella was third. Jay Finch and Scott Gravelding filled out the top five. Joe Reeves, Paul Mercier, Ken Conner, Gary Barton, and David Kirk rounded out the top ten.
Saturday, May 27th’s Memorial Weekend bonanza at Fulton includes DIRT Modifieds, DIRT Sportsman, Pro-Stocks, and Pure Stocks. The Dwarf Cars, a 4-Cylinder Rollover contest, and the Jetettes Womens Racing Series will add to the festivities. Gates open at 5pm, with race time scheduled for 7pm. For more information, contact the speedway office at (315) 593-6531 or see their website at www.fultonspeedway.com.
MODIFIEDS – ROGER PHELPS, Lansing Petzoldt, Gil Tegg, Ryan Baye, Alan Johnson, Roy Shields, Pat Lynch, John Barker, Jason Barney, Billy Woodworth, Brent Wilcox, Jeremy Smith, Aaron Jacobus, Gus Schmidt, Erik Van Scriver, Pete Taylor, Jimmy Phelps, Tim Murphy Jr., Steve Hulsizer, J.J. Michaels, Ty Hunt, Mike Ward, Tim Harris, Tony Buffa, and Dave Reilly. DNQ – Jeff Rudalavage, Jim Burke, and Bill Shantel Sr. Halfway Leader – Lance Petzoldt. Heat winners – Petzoldt, Tegg, Roger Phelps. Consi – Alan Johnson.
SPORTSMAN – TIM SEARS, Clayt Brewer, Jim Bowman, Gregg Carner, Rich Keller, Mark Yorker, John Cunningham, Chad Phelps, Tyke Morris, Ron Richardson, Mike Holmes, Paul Benz, Jeremy Pitcher, Steve Kotary, Willie Decker, Jimmy Kite, Bill Shantel Jr., Dave Bargabos, Russ Hefti, Tim Johnson, Tom Collins, Walt McCardell, Greg Doust, Ed Ferris, Tony Knoblauch. Halfway Leader – Jim Bowman. Heat Winners – Brewer, Phelps, and Doust.
PRO STOCKS – T.J. FITZGIBBONS, Jerry Holmes, Jason Rood, Phil Retter, John Pietrowicz, Ray Maloney, Joe Jackson, Ryan Buske, Dave Fox, Danny Winks, Chuck Matthews, Roger Olschewske, Scott Meyer, Paul Stoneberg, Tom Sears, and Jamie Reese. Halfway Leader – Jerry Holmes. Heat Winners – Rood and Holmes.
PURE STOCKS – CHAD RAY, Darren Kelso, Jeff Pastorella, Jay Finch, Scott Gravelding, Joe Reeves, Paul Mercier, Ken Connor, Gary Barton, David Kirk, Jeremy Bargabos, Rob Seavy, Dennis Brown, Marty Davis, Bruce Stanton, Joe Buske, Phil Trimm, and Adam Morley. Halfway Leader – Chad Ray. Heat winners – Finch and Ray.