PAINE PICKS UP 10TH IN HIGH SPEED CHESS MATCH
By Chris Marquart
DUNDEE, NY -- Steve Paine came out on top of a high speed game of chess in Friday night’s 25-lap DIRT 358-Modified event at Black Rock Speedway.
Gil Tegg ran a masterful race, assuming the lead on lap 10 and establishing his Troyer mount as the car that Paine would have to solve if he was to take his 10th win of the year.
Tegg was able to block Paine, running his car on the top of the speedway and getting better pull in the straightaways than Paine.
"I gained in the corners. I was better in and all the way through the corners, but he could pull away in the straights," Paine said after the win. "I didn’t think we’d ever get by him."
Tegg got by Paine in the early going while Derrick Podsiadlo lead from the outside pole. It took Tegg just seven laps to charge into the top five after starting 13th. Dave DuBois hopped the cushion in the first turn on lap 8. The No. 6X spun and yellow flew.
The restart saw Tegg get up on the wheel and drive by Podsiadlo on the top of the speedway. Tegg looked very strong using the high groove.
Once out front, Tegg started legging out his lead; on lap 11, Paine took over the runner up spot, but had a two-second deficit to make up before he could even consider his options in passing Tegg. Bobby Parrow slowed on the back stretch, negating Tegg’s lead.
Paine fired with Tegg; Podsaidlo spun in the first turn and collected Mike Jackson, Dave DuBois, Tim Sebring and Bryon Turner. All cars were able to continue. The field reset and Tegg again held on the top with Paine in tow. Paine hung back and drove hard through the corners, reeling in Tegg’s No. 22, but not finding the drive enough off the corners.
"We were better getting in and all the way around to the exit," Paine said. "There was a little strip of brown on the bottom and a little strip on top and a whole lot of slick in between. He knew I was there."
"He gave me a few shots," Tegg said. "I was using up a lot of the track, but not enough. He was waiting for me to make a mistake."
The final yellow of the night flew when Parrow again slowed in turn three with a bent W-Link, which controls rear-end travel and wiggle.
Tegg got out strong again; Paine lagged back and made a run in the third turn.
With just five to go, Tegg slipped in the fourth turn and brought the car off wider that he wanted and Paine drew even. Tegg tried running Paine down the speedway, but Paine backed out and remained patient. Tegg dropped to the bottom getting into turn three and Paine kept the car wound up and drove around the outside. Tegg was better off the bottom and held even, but Paine pulled a car length off the second turn and held the lead for the final two laps.
"The last caution cost us the race," Tegg said. "I could hear him before the caution, but he wasn't right up on me. Maybe we would have been better off without the caution."
"I don't think that last caution did either one of us any good," Paine said. "We were both good under green and we were both good after cautions. Sometimes, you get a car that gets loose after a caution."
Paine said this car was "different." It had a bizarre feel in the middle of the corners, but the harder he drove the car, the better it seemed to respond.
"We were just toying with them," Paine joked. "We just made a show for the fans. Really, though. I didn’t think that we’d ever get by him. We passed him with a little bit of luck."
"I got in the middle of the track and got loose in three and four," Tegg said. "It looked shiny coming off and they said he was quick. He was gaining on me. We got a little sideways and usually, if you can keep your car straighter than the guy in front of you, you're going to eventually get by him.
"I knew if I drifted out and diamond the track off a little bit, it would pinch him a little getting in. He raced me clean and we're happy."
Throughout the night, Mother Nature was playing a game of her own, holding a juicy trump card over the whole of Yates County. Threats of rain canceled the Empire Super Sprint B-Main and Dash event and the winged feature was moved up to make sure at least the sprint show was completed.
Rain drizzled over the four-tenths most of the night, but it was not enough to dock the racing program. It put moisture into the track throughout the night, leaving the track very tacky.
"This is probably the fastest I’ve ever been here," Paine said. "It was wicked fast. We were flat footed almost the whole way. You’d lift a little getting into the corners, but you were right back on it again."
The Yates County Rapid Transit Authority enjoyed the fast speedway, going one-two in the Empire Super Sprint’s visit to the winged warrior friendly speedway.
Lance Yonge notched his first-ever sprint victory at Black Rock Speedway, taking the lead with 11 laps remaining in the 25-lap feature.
"We’ve always ran good here, but we’ve never been able to win," Yonge said in the Knapp & Schalppi Victory Lane. "This is the best one ever."
Yonge, a former 358-Modified track champion, was flooded with support from the crowd and numerous friends and family members in the winner’s circle.
Once Yonge got the tires heated up, he became unstoppable. On lap 13, Yonge and leader Bubby Kerrick split the lapped car of Dick Spadaro entering the third turn. Yonge secured the lead through the third turn as the Yates County Rapid Transit Authority diced side-by-side. At the line, Yonge had a car length and legged out the win.
Kerrick had one last shot with two laps remaining. Yellow flew when Spadaro and Kyle Moffitt tangled off the second turn and spun down the backstraight. On the restart, Yonge had things in control and Kerrick held for second. John Karklin, the ESS winner when the tour was last in Dundee, took third over Alain Bergeron and Justin Barger.
Steve Brace withstood a late yellow and an ensuing two-lap dash to notch his first win in the Super Stock Ranks in 2003. Brace had planned on taking a break from racing after winning back-to-back Pro Truck Championships, but was coaxed back into the seat of Chris McCann’s No. 4JM hot rod.
Brace took over on the third lap and stymied first Quinn Sutherland and then Carl Cleveland for the win. Cleveland battled with Joe Povoski over the last two laps for the runner up spot, holding an edge off the top of turns two and turns four. Povoski took third ahead of Quinn Sutherland and Tommy Barron.
Barron was driving a DIRT-sanctioned Pro Stock in the DIRT Pro Stock’s first-ever event. Being the first Pro Stock across the line was worth an extra $100. Other Pro Stock runners were: James Henry, Kevin Smith, Spike Smith, Frank Guererri Jr. And Brian Thompson.
Bob Buono came out on top of a wild three-truck battle that lasted the final 10 laps of the Regional Pro Truck 20 lap feature. Larry Knowles moved to second on a lap 10 restart and quickly began pestering leader Bob Buono for the top spot. Knowles was running a high line around the fast speedway; Buono parlayed his every move. As the duo raced off the corners, Tommy Austin came roaring up to make it a three truck battle. Buono had the preferred line and Austin was holding strong on the inside, blocking Knowles’ attempts to diamond off the corner and make a run at Buono. Buono did an excellent job of protecting his line and took the win. Knowles got second over Austin; Jim Schuyler and Doug Buckley rounded out the top five.
With a wild move, Ray Hyer moved to the lead off the fourth turn in the Four-Cylinder main event. Hyer drove hard on a high line going into the third turn and with just three laps to go, overtook Jack Ayers for the runner up spot. Having built the momentum on the top side, Hyer pumped right on by leader Karl Weichenthal. Weichenthal gave chase, but could not top Hyer’s red No. 80 and could not repel Ayers. Ayers took second at the checkers. Weichenthal was third ahead of Terry Povoski and Alfred Clark.
Jon Wallenbeck and Laverne Knickerbocker III started in the last row of the 16-car Bandit feature and the duo drove through the field and cracked the top five just two laps. Knickerbocker was looking for his second win in as many weeks, but as he put a low move on Rick Kelly, Kelly dropped low to block and Knickerbocker left the racing surface. Jon Wallenbeck snaked by on the high side of the out of shape cars and went on to collect the win. Knickerbocker held for second, Kelly dropped to fourth behind Derek Mills and ahead of George Park Jr.
---Pit Notes---
Alex Hoag, Steve Paine and Aaron Jacobus won the 358-Modified heats... Gil Tegg Jr. Will take the Syracuse qualifying spot. Tegg, if he chooses, will have guaranteed starter’s status in the Sunoco/Aplus 150 at Super DIRT Week at the New York State Fair Grounds in Syracuse in October... Stevie Brace won the first of three Super Stock heat races. It was his first checkered flag in a Super Stock car... Dave Fultz returned with a signed doctors release and drove the Super Stock main for the first time in two weeks. He finished tenth and also celebrated his 50th birthday... Frank Guererri jr. Finished the last half of the Super Stock main dragging James Henry’s left-side bumper with him. The two had made contact and the bumper was lodged under a side-rail on Guererri’s No. 113JR.
------
Martin Chevrolet-Knight Settlement Sand & Gravel Feature Results
DIRT 358-Modifieds (25 laps): Steve Paine, Gil Tegg Jr., Chuck Graham, Brian Swarthout, Alex Hoag, Bryon Turner, Stacy Jackson, Terry Hough, Aaron Jacobus, Mike Jackson, Dave DuBois, Tim Sebring, Fran Hilton, Bobby Parrow, Derrick Podsiadlo, Jim Mahaney, Ron Cartwright Jr., Ron White, Don Slover, Allen Willoughby, Mike Schultz. DNS: Jim Hull.
Lap leaders: D.Podsiadlo 1-9; G.Tegg 10-22; S.Paine 23-25.
Heat winners: A.Hoag, S.Paine, A.Jacobus.
Empire Super Sprints (25 laps): Lance Yonge, Bubby Kerrick, John Karklin Jr., Alain Bergeron, Justin Barger, George Ely, Tim Kelly, Mike Lutz, Doug Emery, Rick Wilson, Dan Kaszubinski, Mike Stelter, Rob Dietrick, Nick Fratto, Bobby Podolak, Ray Preston, Don Sharp Jr., Dick Spadaro, Randy Years, Scott Bonnell, Kyle Moffit, Brian Dumigan, Tim Barnard, Jeff Van Dusen.
Lap leaders: G.Ely 1-9; B.Kerrick 10-13; L.Yonge 14-25.
Heat winners: J.Van Dusen, B.Kerrick, G.Ely.
PPG Super Stocks Feature 2 (25 laps):Steve Brace, Joe Povoski, Carl Cleveland, Quinn Sutherland, Tom Barron, Frank Guererri Jr., Bill Miller, Sparky Hills, Nate Daggett, Dave Fultz, Stevie Brace, John Sutryk, Andy Krall, Spike Smith, Rob Conklin, Ed Mills, Brian Thompson, Bobby Teed, Brandon Smith, James Henry, Kevin Smith. DNS: Fred Buckley, Chris McCann.
Lap leaders: J.Povoski 1-2; S.Brace 3-20.
Heat winners: S.Brace, S.Brace, R.Conklin.
Regional Pro Trucks (20 laps): Bob Buono, Larry Knowles, Tom Austin, Jim Schuyler, Doug Buckley, Keith Austin, Jeff Barner, Keith Lane, Serenity Sutherland, Les Irwin, Ken Houck, Brian Metcalf, Brian Doolittle, Henry Taylor.
Lap leaders: D.Buckley 1-6; B.Buono 7-20.
Heat winners: J.Barner, B.Buono.
Four Cylinders (20 laps): Ray Hyer, Jack Ayers, Karl Weichenthal, Terry Povoski, Alfred Clark, Ray Speicher, Mike Hughey, Ryan Davenport, Del Cummings, Kevin Young, Jared Hill, Tom Postalwait, Brooks Leach, Steven Ovens, Rich Sharpsteen, Shawn Brace, Willy Grant Jr., Ray Cornish, Mark Wallenbeck, Phil Yaw, Tim Jensen, Jake Clancey, Robert Beach, Josh Mills, Mike Smith, George Park Sr. DNS: Chad Dickerson.
Lap leaders: R.Sharpsteen 1-8; K.Weichenthal 9-16; R.Hyer 17-20.
Heat winners: K.Weichenthal, R.Speicher, Mike Hughey.
Bandits (10 laps): Jon Wallenbeck, LaVerne Knickerbocker III, Derek Mills, Rich Kelly, George Park Jr., Jeremy Abbey, Jamie Schuyler, Brady Fultz, Brent Ayers, C.J. Winslow, Justin Longacre, Anthony Teed, Adam Travis, Brian Butler, Brad Ovens.
Lap leaders: R.Kelly 1-5; J.Wallenbeck 6-10.