MANTHA AND JACOBS SPLIT FROGTOWN FEATURES
HOGANSBURG, NY - Peter Mantha, Jr. of Gatineau, QUE won the make-up Wolf Clan Truck Stop Firecracker 50 while Kyle Jacobs of Hogansburg won the Stewart's Shops regular Modified main event in a very busy night of racing at the Frogtown International Speedway. In other racing action, Mike Allen of Norwood won the Pro Stocks, Duane Brainard of Massena won the Semi-Pro, Kurtis McPhee of Cornwall, ONT won the 4-Cylinder Bandits and Jody Swamp of Hogansburg won the 15-Lap Slick Track Enduro.
The night kicked off with the Wolf Clan Truck Stop Firecracker 50, which picked up on lap 11, with Peter Mantha leading and Dave Heaslip of Smith Falls, ONT in second. Mantha and Heaslip set a fast pace, but the race was red-flagged on lap 18 when Buck White tangled with a car and came to a halt in turn two, while Roy Tarbell, at speed, slammed into White's car and rolled over. Both drivers were uninjured. When the action resumed, it was still Mantha, Heaslip and Brian McDonald lead the way. As the leaders worked through heavy lapped traffic, Heaslip caught Mantha and briefly moved into the lead, but at the same time the caution waved for Mark Hitchcock's stopped racer. As per track rules, the field was aligned by the last complete lap, moving Mantha back into the top spot. When the green waved, Mantha rocketed ahead and would not be challenged for the rest of the event. Heaslip held second spot until he was forced to pull into the pits with just five laps to go, moving Brian McDonald into the runner-up spot. Mantha streaked on for the win, with McDonald second, Massena's Kevin Fetterly coming on strong for third, Iroquois, ONT's Bill Mullin fourth and Renfrew, ONT's Jerry Skebo rounding out the top five.
The second Modified feature was caution-filled, requiring three restarts before the first lap could be scored. However, once the action got going, the fans were treated to a fast, competitive race as Kyle Jacobs moved into the lead on lap one and held off Mike Perrotte for the win. Buck White of Hogansburg and Morrisonville's Sam Liechty were running a strong in second and third in the early laps, but the caution waved on lap 11 when Matt Gonyo, who'd just gone a lap down, collected the fourth-place car of Billy Cook on the frontstretch. Dave Heaslip lost a wheel in a shuffle behind the tangle, and all three drivers were done for the night. When racing resumed, Mike Perrotte put on a charge, moving to second on lap 15, and Todd Stewart moving up to third two laps later. Buck White spun on lap 19, setting up a six-lap sprint to the finish, but Jacobs held off Perrotte and Stewart to grab his second win of the season.
Mike Allen led every lap to get his first Pro Stock feature win of the season, but John Greene and Dave Renaud were applying the pressure right until the checkers flew. In the Semi-Pro division, Canton's Pete Backus looked like he was going to get his first win of the season, but Duane Brainard swept by him with a last lap pass to get the win. Backus finished second with Jamie Martin finishing third. Kurtis McPhee grabbed the lead in the bandit division on lap six, while Mitch Jock charged from the back of the pack to grab second; Tammy Jalbert had a fine run to finish third. The race was red-flagged on lap five when Bryan Loeb tangled with two cars and barrel-rolled in a multi-car incident; Loeb suffered a broken shoulder blade, but says he expects to return to action within a couple of weeks. Next Saturday night, July 17th is Frogtown Hobbies/NorthNet night, with double features in the Pro Stocks, Semi-Pro and 4-Cylinder Bandits, along with a full show of racing for the Modifieds and a 25-lap Enduro. Fans will get a chance to meet the Semi-Pro drivers during an intermission autograph session, with racing set to start at 7:30 PM.
Frogtown International Speedway is in Hogansburg, NY, one mile east of the International Bridge to Cornwall, ONT. From Route 37, turn south onto Frogtown Road, next to the Mohawk Bingo Palace. For race day weather info, call 518-358-9017.
MODIFIEDS (50 LAPS; RESTARTED ON LAP 11): PETER MANTHA JR., Brian McDonald, Kevin Fetterly, Bill Mullin, Jerry Skebo, Craig Ormsby, Greg Monica, Bruce Sawyer, Leon Gonyo, Gilles Perrault, Matt Gonyo, Mike Perrotte, Simon Marcoux, Dave Heaslip, Mike Reyell, Bill Cook, Todd Stewart, Mark Hitchcock, Kyle Jacobs, Del LeGrow, Sam Liechty, Jim Lazore, Tom Jock Jr., Keith Dingwall, Buck White, Roy Tarbell, Pierre Dagenais, Bill Woodward.
MODIFIEDS: KYLE JACOBS, Mike Perrotte, Todd Stewart, Bill Mullin, Sam Liechty, Brian McDonald, Jim Lazore, Leon Gonyo, Kevin Fetterly, Gilles Perrault, Greg Monica, Jerry Skebo, Buck White, Bruce Sawyer, Simon Marcoux, Jean Foucault, Dave Heaslip, Bill Cook, Matt Gonyo, Mike Reyell, Tom Jock Jr., Mark Hitchcock, Craig Ormsby, Keith Dingwall. DQ: Peter Mantha, Jr., DNS: Roy Tarbell, Del LeGrow
PRO STOCKS: MIKE ALLEN, John Greene, Dave Renaud, Steve Francis, Marc Therrien, Sid Harmer, Mark Denny, Adam Chapman, Jody Swamp, Benny Gladding, Ed Lazore.
SEMI-PRO: DUANE BRAINARD, Pete Backus, Jamie Martin, Keith Coughlin, Reggie Castell, Tim Allen, Greg Snyder, Brian Moulton, Gordon Derouchie, Scott Sharp, Jody Beckstead, Louie Jackson. DNS: Brent Moulton, John Brainard, Denis Andre.
4-CYLINDER BANDITS: KURTIS MCPHEE, Mitch Jock, Tammy Jalbert, Ron Giroux, Kevin Fetterly, Jr., Chris Trembley, Jason Fetterly, Brian Patterson, Mike McDonald, Bryan Loeb, Richard Brunelle, Eric Tyo, Casey Swamp, Ann Pecore.