GRAHAM ICES THE FIELD IN BUFFALO SABRES 358 MOD
By Chris Marquart
DUNDEE, NY -- With the power of 1,000 Bison powering the red and black no. 34G to the front, Chuck Graham wrestled the lead from Aaron Jacobus on lap six.
And there he stayed.
Graham, wheeling the new Buffalo Sabres-Bulb Direct DIRT 358-Modified to the point, drove a hard race, holding off Steve Paine to pick up his first-career feature win at Black Rock Speedway in Yates County, NY and his first ever victory in a DIRT 358-Modified.
"This is very, very meaningful," Graham said as he laid a pair of stickers on the counter in his trailer. "It’s great to get a win here and beat people like Gilly (Tegg) and Steve (Paine). But it’s even better because my Mom is here and she doesn’t come out for these much. And of course, my wife and the kids who are so loyal and are here every week saw it."
Graham’s stickers: one black, one white, read "DIRT Motorsports Feature Winner" and "Black Rock Speedway Feature Winner." They were bright, but paled in comparison to the bright smile on Graham’s face.
As Graham pulled the car up to victory lane, the entire grandstand area was on their feet, cheering.
"This car is great," Graham said. "It was better on long runs, but it would drive anyplace I put it."
And that’s probably the key to Graham’s win.
During intermission, track crews grated off the berm, making the track wider and pushing the groove further to the outside. Heavy rains in the Yates County area kept moisture in the speedway and the track was tacky all night. By taking off the cushion, it exposed the tacky clay underneath and made for a very fast race track.
"I had to keep hitting my marks," Graham said. "It was fast and on top, there was a lot of tack. I knew Steve was there."
Steve, referencing Steve Paine -- the five-time defending Track Champion, the BRS 358-Mod career wins leader and a 10-time winner already this season -- was all over Graham.
"I would have been better in traffic," Paine said. "The car was good. We should have drove around him the one time he dropped to the inside. If I stayed on top, we would have went right around him like last week with Tegg."
Paine made a bold outside pass on Tegg last week to steal the win with two laps to go. This week, Paine tried the inside a number of times, but could only draw even with Graham.
Paine made one final drive off the fourth turn on the last lap, but staying in the gas would have ended up wrecking both cars. Cooler heads prevailed; the Paine Motorsports race team maintains the Graham car and motor.
"I was confident in the car," said Graham. "I knew I had to stay on my line. I knew we had a fast car."
Graham apparently had confidence to spare.
With six laps remaining and surrounded by lapped traffic, Graham was defending the lead coming off the fourth turn and navigating the back markers in turn one. Paine was all over Graham and had a run at the lead. The inside line slowed down and Graham jumped to the top of the speedway, making contact with the No. 13 of Kevin Chilson. Chilson spun and cars scattered. Ron White ended up spinning to the inside of the speedway; Alex Hoag backed in on top of the White car. Hoag went to the pits with a damaged racecar, an engine that developed a skip and the headache of preparing a car for the Turning Stone Casino 358 Super DIRT Series event Tuesday.
"I feel bad that all happened," Graham said. "I really didn’t have anyplace to go and I didn’t know what to do."
"I missed the No. 13 car by about that much," Paine said, holding two fingers about an inch a part.
In the fracas, Graham went over the berm and off the track, but was able to return to the speedway without losing any track position.
"Going that far out of the way and slowing down that much? I don’t know how we kept the lead," Graham said.
It was that moment that helped Graham hold on. Paine’s left rear quarter panel was buckled and rubbing on the tire. In fear of blowing the shoe, Paine held off a little bit; Brian Swarthout, Aaron Jacobus and Gil Tegg Jr filled out the top five behind Graham.
Steve Brace tallied the Super Stock division’s 20-lap main, picking up his second win in a row. Brace took over the lead position just three laps into the feature and used consistent lines to pace himself to the win. Brace went in on the same marks each and every lap, taking the preferred line on the middle-to-outside edge of the speedway, keeping Ed Mills at bay. Yellow flew with four laps remaining as Donnie Smith launched off the third turn and out of the speedway. He had been fighting for the third spot. The restart gave Mills one last chance to make a run, but Brace stymied his advances with his unfaltering consistency.
Tommy Austin denied Larry Knowles the Regional Pro Truck main. Austin had the strongest truck on the speedway in the 20 lap feature, but found himself in a hard position as a very fast Knowles lined up behind him for a late race restart. Austin, the winner of the first-ever Pro Truck Track Championship, was up to the challenge and held on for the win.
Ray Hyer scored his third win of the year in the Four Cylinder ranks. Hyer took the lead from Ryan Davenport just after the half way mark in the 20 lap main and checked out, leaving Davenport to hold off Mike Hughey and Ray Speicher for the runner up spot. Davenport looked strong, leading laps two through seven, and again on lap 10, but was bypassed by Hyer’s No. 80 on lap 11.
Jon Wallenbeck and LaVerne Knickerbocker III started in the last row this week and wasted little time making tracks to the front of the pack. Knickerbocker rode in the top five in just two laps and took the lead on the third lap. Wallenbeck closed in on Knickerbocker’s No. 87, but could do nothing with the blue Ford Mustang.
Jamie Swarthout wheeled the No. 15 to a win in the 8-lap Ladies’ Four-Cylinder main. The ladies have been added to the final two regularly scheduled Friday events. The Ladies of Black Rock will be racing this coming Friday and the next, but not at the Bully Hill Vineyards Sprint Nationals.
--Pit Notes--
Bill Foose of Naples won the 80cc Suzuki ATV. The first name drawn was Steven Williamson of Greenwood, but he did not respond in five minutes and a second ticket was drawn... Bobby Parrow won his first heat in a Modified... Ron White was driving an Olsen-Troyer hybrid built by Fran Hilton and Rich Swarthout. He opted for that over his 1991 Bicknell... The night’s feature was slowed by a pair of red flag situations... A number of cars were at the Speedway as a shakedown for Tuesday’s Turning Stone Casino 358-Modified Super DIRT Series event...
Knapp & Schalppi Night Feature Results
DIRT 358-Modifieds (25 laps): Chuck Graham, Steve Paine, Brian Swarthout, Aaron Jacobus, Gil Tegg Jr., Terry Hough, Jim Mahaney, Stacy Jackson, Mike Jackson, Roger Williams, Bill Deming, Derrick Podsiadlo, Bobby Davis, Alex Hoag, Bobby Parrow, Kevin Chilson, Ron White, Bill Williams, Allen Willoughby, Dave DuBois, Donnie Slover, Mike Schultz.
Lap leaders: A.Jacobus 1-5; C.Graham 6-25.
Heat winners: A.Hoag, B.Parrow, D.DuBois.
PPG Super Stocks (20 laps): Steve Brace, Ed Mills, Carl Cleveland, Bill Miller, Sparky Hills, Quinn Sutherland, Bobby Teed, Don Smith, Spike Smith, Nate Daggett, Stevie Brace, John Sutryk, Chris McCann, Brandon Smith, Rob Conklin, Joe Povoski, Andy Krall.
Lap leaders: S.Brace Jr. 1; B.Smith 2; S.Brace 3-20.
Heat winners: S.Brace Jr., B.Teed.
Regional Pro Trucks (20 laps): Tommy Austin, Larry Knowles, Jeff Barner, Jim Schuyler, Doug Buckley, Keith Austin, Ken Houck, Brian Doolittle, Brian Metcalf, Bob Buono, Keith Lane, Les Irwin, Henry Taylor, Serenity Sutherland.
Lap leaders: K.Lane 1-2; T.Austin 3-20.
Heat winners: T.Austin, B.Buono.
Four Cylinders (20 laps): Ray Hyer, Ryan Davenport, Mike Hughey, Ray Speicher, Jack Ayers, Alfy Clark, Terry Povoski, Willy Grant Jr., Phil Yaw, Mark Wallenbeck, Kevin Young, Jared Hill, Steven Ovens, Brian Crawford, Rick Sharpsteen, Mike Smith, George Park Sr., Tim Jensen, Brooks Leach, Ray Cornish, Robert Beach, John Houck, Tom Postalwait, Josh Mills, Jerry Buckley, Dennis French.
Lap leaders: K.Young 1; R.Davenport 2-7; M.Hughey 8-9; R.Davenport 10; R.Hyer 11-20.
Heat winners: J.Mills, R.Davenport, P.Yaw.
Bandits (10 laps): Laverne Knickerbocker III, Jon Wallenbeck, Brad Ovens, Brady Fultz, Brian Butler, Jamie Schuyler, Brett Crawford, Derek Mills, Justin Longacre, Rich Kelly, C.J. Winslow, Jeremy Abbey, Brent Ayers, Anthony Teed, George Park Jr., Adam Austin.
Lap leaders: B.Ovens 1-3; L.Knickerbocker III 4-10.
Ladies Four Cylinder (10 laps): Jamie Swarthout, Nicola Knickerbocker, Shirley Miller, Krystal Schmidt, Brenda Rosemier, Ida Austin, Crystal Ayers, Chris Putman, Becky Young, Melody Clark, Keri Conklin, Sandra Lanphear, Kathi Hyer.
Lap leaders: I.Austin 1-3; J.Swarthout 4-8.