PAINE, LUTZ WIN AT BLACK ROCK OPENER
By Chris Marquart
DUNDEE, NY- In Friday night's season opener, Steve Paine was like a cat with a mouse on a string. He seemingly toyed with the competition before pouncing, flashing his claws and showing the ever-present dominance that is the Yellow No. 7x.
Paine went off to his 56th career victory in Friday night's 25-lap main. Paine started 8th in an all-star field, but Woodhull Track Champion Steve Hartman spun before one lap was completed. The field was reset and by the time lap one clicked of the counter, Paine was third.
A series of cautions helped him past Matt Sheppard and Dale Planck and eventually led to the undoing of early leader Bryon Turner.
But - as easy as he made it look - Paine said it wasn't exactly a walk in the park.
"The track is a lot different," said the 5-time 358-Modified Track champion. "I had to find a line that I liked consistently. I'd run fine one lap, then hit a rut the next."
The fourth and final yellow of the night came on lap 12 when Derick Podsiadlo and Kenny Johnson tangled in the second turn. As he did in the previous three restarts, Turner opted for the outside line.
"It was starting to get choppy down in the bottom of turn one and I thought I could get some momentum on the top and keep him in the rough stuff," Turner said. "He seemed to get through the rough stuff fine, so that didn't help us."
Paine fired with Turner and as they exited the fourth turn, the duo were deadlocked at the line. Turner, in previous restarts had found bite on the high side of turn two and was able to hold Paine at bay. This time around, Paine found a line a kept event with the Biz-Turner Motorsports No. 11.
He launched deep into turn three and powered his way to the lead. From there, Paine checked out on the field. Planck came up for second, Turner dropped back to third and Matt Sheppard and Alex Hoag - last year's points runner up - took fifth.
Paine said that getting pinned on the inside was not as much of a disadvantage as Turner had hoped.
"(Turner was good), but I like the inside better anyway. You had to hit the holes right in one and two. It was narrow, but my car's good on the bottom," Paine said.
Turner's third place run was the first time out with his new Bicknell.
"We're a little rusty from sitting all winter and (Steve's) been racing a few down in Charlotte," Turner said. "He was warmed up and we weren't. It was a new car and everything, so we're happy with third the first time out and it's in one piece.
"We're happy with it. We didn't change anything all night. We wanted to get some seat time in it before we got to twisting it around. We stuck with what we came with to get used to it."
On Friday, practice was canceled due to weather. Early Saturday, track crews sloughed the top layer of wet, soggy clay off the track to reveal a tricky and dusty surface.
"It stayed together better than I thought it was going to. With the weather we had and then Friday night and canceling practice (I wasn't sure what it would be)," Turner said. "Usually, we go before the sprinters and the track is a little better than normal. This time, we had to go afterwards and they shined it up a little bit, but it was still decent."
Paine said that visibility was not too much of a problem.
"It didn't get too bad, but when you get one that's stopped - like the time there was one under the starter's stand - I came off four behind Turner and was going to go to the outside and I didn't. If I had I would have drove right into him. I never saw him," Paine said. "Then, they put the caution out long after he was sitting there.
"The track's funny. It's got water under it, but it's got a sealed over surface on the top. It looks like there's water coming up through but yet it's dusty."
Both Paine and Planck were torn down after the race, but neither search turned up any mischief.
Dave Fultz, defending Super Stock champion, started deep in the field for the 20-lap Super Stock feature and ran the gauntlet to take the win.
Quinn Sutherland started on the pole and lead the first four laps. Rob Conklin took over for the following three before Fultz completed the decisive pass with 11 laps remaining.
The yellow lights came on with two tours remaining after Ed Mills looped his car in the second turn. Conklin had little for Fultz; Randy Eggleston, Steve Brace and Carl Cleveland rounded out the top five.
Phil Yaw ran a super race in the 4-Cylinder main. Instead of splitting the 4-bangers into a pair of 15-lap features, the event was combined into a single 20-lap event.
Yaw grabbed the win followed across by Kevin Young, Tom Stewart Mike Hughey and Terry Povoski.
The Empire Super Sprints were on hand, kicking off their 20th Anniversary tour.
Mike Lutz avenged his Bully Hill Nationals mishap in winning the night's 25-lap main event. Eight-time ESS Champion Mike Woodring started on the pole and looked to be the class of the field before Lutz found bite in the middle of the race track.
Lutz ran Woodring down and darted to the inside to take the lead on lap 9. Cautions kept the field out of lapped traffic for most of the event.
Woodring gave one last dive in the final turns, working lapped traffic and finding Lutz' rear nerf bar, but it was too little too late. Rick Wilson, the winner of the Dash event took third ahead of Dan Kaszubinski and Erin Crocker.
The Brothers Johnson - Alan and Danny - were both in the field for Friday's feature. The brothers Farney, Jeff - promoter of Canandaigua Speedway - and Dave - the official flagger for the Advance Auto Parts Modified Super DIRT Series - were also on hand for the big $2,003-to-win small block main.
The connection? There really isn't any.
Danny Johnson is unsure of what he will do in 2003 though he may be a regular runner at Canandaigua. Jeff said that any rumors of Alan Johnson returning to Canandaigua Speedway as a regular are just that: rumors.
The track had a decent number of invaders looking to steal the $2,003 pay out and jaunt back to their home tracks.
Matt Sheppard, Willy Decker and Randy Chrysler were among the non-regulars to show up for the Saturday night twin-bill. Stephane Mill made the haul in from Quebec with a sharp looking No. 68 to make his first start - ever - in a DIRT 358-modified.
Dale Welty made an appearance Friday night, piloting a team car to Chuck Kennison's No. 9x 358-Modified. He did not make the main event, but had a strong showing in the B-main. His run put to rest rumors that circulated throughout the winter months that foretold of his return in a modified.
Welty, a former Elmira-Ithaca Auto Paint-PPG Super Stock Champion, was wearing the No. 123 on his black and yellow small block, the number he made popular in the full-fendered division.
Dave DuBois, another super stock carry over was driving a small block last night and Jeff Baroody moved over from the 4-Cylinders to pilot the DuBois Brothers No. 29 in the Super Stock division. Baroody had a great run going, holding down a solid top five finish before catching a rut and taking the bead off his right front tire with three laps to go.
Steve Brace, the 2001 and 2002 Regional Truck/Trailer Pro Truck champion, moved over to the Super Stock ranks and after starting deep in the field, drove to a strong top-five finish.
The wildest ride of the night was during the B-main for the Empire Super Sprints. Tim Barnard, driving the No. 78, tangled with Jeff Van Dusen in the second turn of the tight Yates county oval and launched over Van Dusen's right rear.
The No. 78 went into a violent flip, going end-over-end and tagging a light pole at the entrance to pit row. The light held strong and though twisted 180-degrees, did not fall.
Dan Kaszubinski took a wild ride off turn three, but kept the wheels planted and continued. He restarted at the end of the pack, but found a fast high line around the 4/10-mile bull ring and worked to a fourth-place finish.
Karl Weichenthal took a hard lick in the 4-Cylinders. He got tagged and drove head long into the end of the turn four curbing. At Black Rock, there is an access break in the curbing at the apex of each turn. Weichenthal tagged the blunt face of that break and mangled the nose of his No. 01 Ford Mustang. The damaged looked worse than it was; Weichenthal re-fired and continued.
Big Foote's Screen Printing & Apparel Final Top-10
358-Modifieds (25 laps): 7x-Steve Paine, 77x-Dale Planck, 11-Bryon Turner, 28s-Matt Sheppard 7h-Alex Hoag, 112-Alan Johnson, 27j-Danny Johnson, 21k-Randy Chrysler, 1-Rich Swarthout, 6x-Dave DuBois.
B-Main winner (8 laps): 5w-Ron White, 88m-Mike Jackson.
Heat winners (8 laps): 77x-Dale Planck, 99-Charlie Donk, 7x-Steve Paine.
PPG Super Stocks (20 laps): 70-Dave Fultz, 75x-Rob Conklin, 07-Randy Eggleston, 4-Steve Brace, 22-Carl Cleveland, 37-Stevie Brace, 45-Sparky Hill, 57j-Joe Povoski, 11j-Jeff Ripley, 96x-Brandon Smith.
Heat winners (8 laps): 55x-Rich Karlnoski, 36-Quinn Sutherland.
4-Cylinder Stocks (20 laps): 98-Phil Yaw, 86-Kevin Young, 84s-Tom Stewart, 15-Mike Hughey, 57j-Terry Povoski, 1x-Steven Ovens, 14-Ray Speicher, 07-Doug Barton, 29-Jack Ayers, 93-Jared Hill.
Heat winners (8 laps): 57-Terry Povoski, 84-Tom Stewart.
Empire Super Sprints (25 laps): 58-Mike Lutz, 19-Mike Woodring, 42w-Rick Wilson, 20-Dan Kaszubinski, 16-Erin Crocker, 5-Lance Yonge, 7-Bobby Podolak, 57-Tom Taber, 27-Bill Bailey, 13-Bill Coffey.
B-Main winner (8 laps): 7k-Billy Krul.
Dash: 42w-Rick Wilson.
Heat winners (8 laps): 13-Bill Coffey, 20-Dan Kaszubinski, 16-Erin Crocker.