TREMONT DOMINATES, WINS BOTH MODIFIED FEATURES
JULY 11, 1998
WEST LEBANON, NY- It was a huge night of racing at Saturday night at Lebanon as several divisions ran double features. Kenny Tremont took home the victory in both the 30-lap modified features. Jeff Cassidy won the first 20-lap sportsman feature and Art Collins took home the second feature. Adam Haas won the first street stock feature. The second street stock feature was postponed due to curfew and will be made up next week. Freihofer Baking, Funplex and Snap-On Tools were the evening's sponsors.
Goff took the lead at the start of the first 30-lap modified feature. The caution flew immediately for an incident in turn one. Donnie Corellis was one of the cars that were involved in the incident. He would rejoin the field after a quick run down pit road. Brett Hearn and Rich Ricci Jr were moving up from their mid-pack starting spots in a hurry as the caution flew again on lap two.
Todd Wilkinson would grab the front spot from Goff on the ensuing restart. J.R. Heffner has had a good start to the 1998 season, consistently running in the top five. In this feature it would be no different. He was up to third by lap three. Disaster would strike on lap five.
Contact in the front of the pack started a chain reaction crash. Drivers involved in the wreck included: Chris Moore, Guy Sheldon, Mike Benson, John Hewitt, Steve Devine, Rich Ricci Jr. and Brett Hearn. Moore and Hearn were stuck together pretty good and it took a long time to get the cars separated. As a result the red flag was flown so that the teams could refuel their cars. Two drivers that avoided the incident were Kenny Tremont and Donnie Corellis. Both drivers benefited from the incident and sat sixth and seventh respectively after the yellow.
Wilkinson would retain the top spot on the restart. Eddie Marshall would drop out of the event on the restart. Marshall was running a strong fifth at the time. Tremont would pass Heffner for third on lap nine, while Corellis would take fifth on the same lap. Wilkinson would continue to run strong on the front. He had opened up a twenty-car advantage by lap eleven. Heavy lapped traffic would come into play by lap 12. Tremont would grab second on lap 13 and set his sights on the high-flying Wilkinson.
Corellis would move up to fourth by lap 19, but his good run ended just two laps later. Mechanical problems would force Corellis pitside on lap 21. Tremont would catch Wilkinson and pass him for the lead on lap 21. Maynard Forrette would have another good feature run he was up to fifth by lap 22. Rich Ricci Jr would move up steadily after being involved in that lap five wreck. He was seventh with less than ten laps remaining.
Jason Goff looked strong running in third for most of the event. His good run would end on lap 26 as he went to the pits. Tremont was untouchable at the front. He was able to sustain a big lead after several late race cautions. He would cross the finish line first for the fifth time in 1998. Wilkinson had a strong run finishing second, Heffner third, Forrette fourth and Donnie Ackner rounded out the top five.
Eddie Marshall took the lead on the start of the second modified feature and would hold the top spot until lap nine. Kenny Tremont looked like he had been shot out of a cannon. He was up to fourth by lap four. John Hewitt would take fifth from Guy Sheldon on lap five. A caution flag slowed the field on lap seven for the first time. Tremont would grab second on the restart. Rich Ricci Jr. would take fifth on lap nine from Hewitt.
Tremont caught Marshall on lap eight and the two drivers went side by side for the lead. Tremont would complete the pass on lap nine and motor away from the pack. Good racing in the top ten as Chris Moore and Ricci raced for fourth. Hewitt and Jody Tornabene raced for sixth. Tremont would open a half-straightaway lead by lap 12. Todd Wilkinson's night would end on lap 14. Brett Hearn was still showing signs of the early feature incident and was not competitive.
Moore and Ricci put on a good race for fourth between laps 18-21. Moore would take fourth and pass Guy Sheldon for third on lap 27. The only problems that Tremont encountered were lapped traffic, but he was patient getting around the slower cars. He crossed the finish line a half a track ahead of second place Marshall. Moore was third, Ricci fourth and Sheldon fifth. This was Tremont sixth win on the season. It also gave him the lead in the modified point standings. The last driver to win two modified features in one night was six years ago. Billy Decker accomplished this feat on the same week in 1992.
Rookie driver, Frank Harper, led the first laps of the first 20-lap street stock feature. Eddie Riiska would move up to second by lap two. The yellow flag would fly on lap three. Joe Bennett spun out in turn two and collected up Art Collins. Jeff Cassidy, Riiska and Bob Hackel would run three wide for the second position on the restart. Cassidy would take the second spot by lap four. The yellow flew again on lap six and Cassidy would take the lead on the restart. Harper would begin to lose positions rapidly as the several cars made the pass around him. Hackel moved up to second Riiska to third and George Marcus fourth. Then yellow would fly twice on lap eight. Marcus would move up to third on the second restart. Bobby Chalmers was headed toward the front, taking fourth on lap nine. Hackel and Marcus would battle for the second spot on lap 10, as Cassidy cruised on the lead. Riiska and Chris Kokosa would battle for fifth on lap ten as well. Kokosa would have problems on lap twelve dropping well off the pace. Collins recovered nicely from the early race incident; he was seventh by lap 13.
Meanwhile things were going all Jeff Cassidy's way. He enjoyed a half-straightaway lead by lap 15. A good race continued for the number two spot as Chalmers threaded the needle between Marcus and Hackel to take second. Cassidy finished well ahead of the pack as Chalmers came home second, Hackel third, Marcus fourth and Collins fifth.
Frank Harper also led the start of the second sportsman feature. He held on to the lead until lap six. Hawley Smith was running second early in the race as the heavy hitters began to make their way to the front. Bobby Hackel was coming up fast he was third by lap three. Art Collins almost spun while making the pass for fifth. He gathered it up and was able to make the pass stick on lap four.
The caution would fly for the second time on lap four. The restart would see Collins race with Tony Laporte for fourth. Chris Kokosa and George Marcus would run sixth and seventh respectively on lap five. Harper would push in turn two allowing Smith do take the lead on lap six. Harper would try to pass Smith back for the lead going into turn three, the two made contact which caused both to spin. Hackel would inherit the lead and Collins would take second as a result. Kokosa would try and pass Laporte for third on lap eight, but could not make the pass stick.
Marcus would take fourth on a lap eight restart and Bobby Chalmers would break into the top five on lap nine. Marcus would take third as the field came down for halfway. Hackel and Collins would breakaway from the rest of the pack by lap 13. Collins would catch Hackel on lap 13 and take the lead from Hackel on the next lap. Chalmers would see a top five-performance end on with a left rear flat tire on lap 15. Hawley Smith would come back from an early race problem to take fifth on lap 16. Marcus and Hackel would race for second in the final stages on the event. Hackel was able to hold off Marcus's challenges as Collins pulled away on the lead. Collins was first, Hackel second, Marcus third, Kokosa fourth and Laporte rounded out the top five.
Rob Yetman was the early race leader in the first 20-lap street stock feature. He would hold the lead for the first seven laps of the event. He would lose the lead on lap seven to Adam Haas. Good action in the front of the pack as the top six cars ran side by side for several laps. Danny Sanchez was headed; he was up to third by lap ten.
Point leader, Scott Goversten would not have a good run. He was involved in a lap one incident and was never in contention after that. Sanchez would catch the second place car of Ricky Duzlak and make the pass for second on lap 15. Sanchez tried to catch Haas, but Haas had a big lead and took home his third win of the season. Sanchez finished second, Ricky Duzlak third, Bob Duzlak fourth and Lorne Browe fifth.
The second street stock feature will be run next week on Rifenburg Construction Night.
7-04 MODIFIED SUMMARY--KENNY TREMONT Jr, Todd Wilkinson, J.R. Heffner, Maynard Forrette, Donnie Ackner, Rich Ricci Jr, Mike Benson, Guy Sheldon, John Hewitt, Dave Leckonby, Jody Tornabene, Chris Moore, Rich Ricci Sr, Dave Mosher, Brett Hearn, Jason Goff, Chip Mitchell, Donnie Corellis, Denny Young, Mark Hagadorn, Mike King, Ron Cartwright, Eddie Marshall, Steve Devine, Dickie Larkin
7-11 MODIFIED SUMMARY--KENNY TREMONT Jr, Eddie Marshall, Chris Moore, Rich Ricci Jr, Guy Sheldon, John Hewitt, Donnie Ackner, Jody Tornabene, Maynard Forrette, J.R. Heffner, Dave Leckonby, Steve Devine, Brett Hearn, Mike Benson, Garry Waters, Rich Ricci Sr, Chip Mitchell, Dave Mosher, Donnie Corellis, Denny Young, Mike Kulzer, Todd Wilkinson, Mike King, Mark Hagadorn
7-04 SPORTSMAN SUMMARY--JEFF CASSIDY, Bobby Chalmers, Bobby Hackel, George Marcus, Art Collins, Ron Blake, Ed Riiska, Jason Tompkins, Mike Mason, Jay Casey, Hawley Smith, J.R. Delvechio, Lee Gagliardi, Wes Powell, Mike Boomhower, Joe Bennett, Scott Puckett, Chris Kokosa, Tony La Porta, Dave Baronowski, Carmon Carnibucci, K.C. Goewey, Frank Harper, Jim Chenette, Dave Sanchez, Will Galm, Tony Ferrieao
7-11 SPORTSMAN SUMMARY--ART COLLINS, Bobby Hackel, George Marcus, Chris Kokosa, Tony La Porta, Ron Blake, Hawley Smith, Jeff Cassidy, Ed Riiska, Jay Casey, Mike Mason, Wes Powell, Bobby Chalmers, Roy Bridge, Frank Harper, Scott Puckett, Darral Hulbert, Mike Boomhower, Lee Gagliardi, Joe Bennett, Mike Visconti, J.R. Delvechio, Tony Ferrieao, Jason Tompkins, Dave Baronowski, Jason Herrington
7-11 IMCA MODIFIED SUMMARY--CORY FACHINI, Craig Simmons, Brian Wilbur, Karl Hacker, Phil Balmer, Anthony Markou, Jeff Heath, George Catanzano, Chris Crews, Jeff Carr, Kevin Priest, Kevin Buff, Bill Lander, Rich Colesanti, Dennis Cooper, Paul LaRochelle, Jim Rajczi, Don Denue, Steve Hough
7-04 STREET STOCK SUMMARY--ADAM HAAS, Ricky Duzlak, Danny Sanchez, Bob Duzlak, Lorne Browe, Rob Yetman, Ray Hall, John Routhier, Tom Bortle, Victor Hopkins, Spencer Hughes, Bobby Blackburn, Rick Spencer, Charlie Humes, Steve Brownell, Jeff Kelmel, Henry Tanner, Scott Govertsen, Shane Peele, Hugh Page, Todd Goldstein, Don Ely
7-11 ROOKIE STREET STOCK SUMMARY--PAUL ROGERS, John Denue, Mike Bungay, Joe Platt, Gary Turner, Paul Burfiend, Tim Emmons, Brian Keough, Don Collins, Chris Lawlor, E J Legeyt, Walt Clark
7-04 PURE STOCK C SUMMARY--KIRK STANAWAY, Bill Hughes, Tom Sanchez Jr, William Hammell, Tim Drumm, Scott Kilmer, Bob Palmer, Steve Laskow, Rich Kratt, Ron Fredericks, Henry Warner, Bill Krug, Peter Huntoon
7-11 PURE STOCK A SUMMARY--GEORGE MILES, Carl Baillargeron, Dave Colwell, Danny Burl, Jake Coons, Philip Moffit, Art Lafferty, Danny Ensign, Charlie Woodard, Ed Ashley, Jim Dellea, R. Schumann Jr, Ryan Crellin, Anthony Lopresti, Joe Mottosheski
7-11 PURE STOCK B SUMMARY--JEFF HASSAN, Steve Hatch, Guy Hughes, Pete Leffler, Anthony Cotugno, Mark Huston, Ron Tritchler, Wayne Proper Sr, Tom Meltz, Eric Sbrega, Bruce Moffit, Jeff Haas, Louis Mellan, Peter De Figlio,
7-11 PURE STOCK C SUMMARY--RON FREDERICKS, Scott Kilmer, Josh Webb, William Hammell, Bill Hughes, Tim Drumm, Rich Kratt, Kirk Stanaway, Tom Sanchez Jr, Henry Warner, Bob Palmer, Peter Huntoon, Bill Krug