ALAN JOHNSON TAKES ADVANCE AUTO PARTS 100, ROBERT N. PETROCCI MEMORIAL
ELBRIDGE, NY...Alan Johnson came on strong during the last two-thirds of the 100 lap Robert N. Petrocci Memorial to score a key win. Johnson, the current series points leader extended his points lead to 57 points over the second place finisher Brett Hearn. Phil Vigneri won his first Rolling Wheels Sportsman main, taking the 20-lap feature run.
Danny Johnson and Tim McCreadie started on the front row of the 100-lapper by virtue of their respective finishes at Syracuse during the afternoon. The driver redraw for this event was for positions three through sixteen.
Danny Johnson quickly established a lead over Chuck Bower, McCreadie and Tim Fuller. Fuller won a battle between himself and McCreadie and was able to take third on lap four.
The first yellow flag flew on lap six, when Tom Juhl slowed on the backstretch. When the green flew again Bower held tight to the rear of the Johnson machine. On lap 14 the yellow was out a second time when Dave Axton spun in the third turn. The restart saw yet a third yellow when Chris Shultz and Dave Stonebreaker got together between the third and fourth turns. more significantly, Brett Hearn was able to pass Bower for the runner up position.
Johnson now had to hold of Hearn, and by lap 19, Tim Fuller too. The yellow was out again on lap 20 as Pat Ward, driving the Jason Barney number 87, went off the back stretch and Stonebreaker slowed with a flat tire.
Alan Johnson was able to gain third on the restart as his younger brother was still battling with Hearn at the front. A yellow on lap 25 for Bobby Varin, who had a flat tire in the second turn, bunched the front of the field together once more. This time Alan Johnson passed Hearn for second. Hearn responded trying a high line down the front stretch, but fell short.
On lap 34, with yellow laps now counting, the yellow flew when Billy Decker came to a stop in the fourth turn. This time Alan Johnson was there to challenge his brother Danny for the lead. On lap 37, Alan ducked low exiting the fourth turn and took the lead. He quickly drew away from his brother to a 1.027 second advantage.
Danny Johnson was now within Hearn's grasp. On lap 43 Hearn drove high in the third turn and then low on the front cute to pass Danny for second. The yellow was out again on lap 47 when Dave Axton slowed in the fourth turn. This cut back on Alan's tremendous lead. Johnson was still able to put a 1.1 second lead over Hearn until lap 61 when the yellow flew for the eighth time in the race. Frank Caprara had driven off the third turn and Steve Hulsizer had come to a stop in the second turn.
Johnson had three more yellows to content with before the race came to an end. Lap 73 saw pre-race favorite Tim McCreadie break a rear radius rod and drive to the infield with his rear axle skewed in the frame.
Johnson took the victory by 3.8 seconds, a full straight away over Hearn. Bobby Varin drove an excellent last half of the race with a flat left front tire to finish third. Chuck Bower and Steve Paine rounded out the top five finishers. A.J. Romano's seventh place finish earned him the Syracuse spot.
The 20-lap DIRT Sportsman feature was also caution filled. The original start had to be aborted after three cars came together in between the third and fourth turns. Phil Vigneri was the leader and continued to lead throughout the entire race.
Mark Potter drove a consistent race to finish second. Tim Sears passed Eldon Payne Jr. on lap 14 to claim the third place finish in the race. Ryan Odasz and Payne Jr. rounded out the top five finishers.
A special 50-lap enduro also was run at the end of the regular program.
The next show at Rolling Wheels raceway will be the 16th Annual Dynomax Performance Mufflers Wheels Weekend, Saturday and Sunday, September 21 and 22. The Saturday program starts at 3 p.m. and includes events for the 358-modifieds, pure stock-street stocks, sportsman and enduros. The Sunday show will feature the Pro-Stocks and the DIRT Modifieds in the Paine Motorsports 200. A special bus race has also been added to Sunday's racing card. Race time on Sunday begins at 1 p.m. sharp.
GUIDO'S TOWN & COUNTRY FLORIST-BUDWEISER-OWASCO BEVERAGES
presents the ROBERT N. PETROCCI MEMORIAL NIGHT SUMMARY
SPORTSMAN
HEAT 1: Ph. Vigneri, D. Wiesner, D. VanHorn Jr., R. Odasz, R. Loveless.
HEAT 2: M. Potter, E. Payne Jr., K. Wills, J. Pfeffer, Pt. Vingeri.
HEAT 3: D. Wetmore Jr., R. Richardson, G. Doust, Sw. Donath, R. Miller.
HEAT 4: R. Chrysler, R. Bussey, T. Sears, D. Hagan, J. Livingston.
CONSI 1: G. Gallerie, J. Plumb, T. Perrego.
CONSI 2: J. Zemken, D. Towns, B. Shantel Jr.
FEATURE (20-laps): PHIL VIGNERI, Mark Potter, Tim Sears, Ryan Odasz, Eldon Payne Jr., Dave VanHorn Jr., Gary Gallerie, Jessica Zemken, Pat Vigneri, David Towns, Tom Perrego, Rick Miller, Randy Chrysler, Donnie Wetmore Jr., Bill Shantel Jr., John Pfeffer, Jim Livingston, Kevin Wills, Daryl Hagan, Dan Wiesner, Shawn Donath, Rob Bussey, Greg Doust, Ryan Richardson, John Plumb, Ron Loveless.
MODIFIED
TIME TRIALS: Brett Hearn 20.566 (109.404 mph), Chris Shultz 20.687, Frank Cozze 20.728, Tim Fuller 20.730, Billy Decker 20.738, Tim McCreadie 20.806, Steve Paine 20.834, Vic Coffey 20.928, Chuck Bower 20.936, Alan Johnson 20.995, Gary Tomkins 21.140, Bob McCreadie 21.199, Bobby Varin 21.203, Dave Axton 21.236, Todd Burley 21.239, Jimmy Phelps 21.267, Jerry Higbie 21.272, Kenny Tremont 21.306, Steve Hulsizer 21.354, A.J. Romano 21.381, Pat ward 21.388, Ray Bliss Jr. 21.459, Joe Beyea 21.477, Frankie Caprara Jr 21.493, Alan Shiffler 21.726, Dave Stonebreaker 21.738, Tom Sears Jr. 21.872, Shawn Beardsley 22.081, John LaValla 22.611, Jim LaRock 22.706, Brian McDonald 22.789, Jim Burke 22.883, Oscar Boria 25.340, Ron George Jr. NT, Tom Juhl NT.
HEAT 1: S. Paine, F. Cozze, T. Burley, G. Tomkins, T. Sears jr.
HEAT 2: T. Fuller, V. Coffey, B. McCreadie, A.J. Romano, J. Phelps.
HEAT 3: C. Bower, B. Decker, B. Varin, J. Higbie, A. Shiffler.
HEAT 4: A. Johnson, K. Tremont, D. Axton, T. Juhl, D. Stonebreaker.
CONSI: F. Caprara Jr., J. Beyea, P. Ward, S. Hulsizer, J. LaRock, B. McDonald.
FEATURE (100-laps): ALAN JOHNSON, Brett Hearn, Bobby Varin, Chuck Bower, Steve Paine, Gary Tomkins, A.J. Romano, Tim Fuller, Joe Beyea, Kenny Tremont, Todd Burley, Chris Shultz, Pat Ward, Vic Coffey, Tim McCreadie, Danny Johnson, Tom Sears Jr., Frankie Caprara Jr., Steve Hulsizer, Jerry Higbie, Jimmy Phelps, Alan Shiffler, Tom Juhl, Dave Stone Breaker, Bob McCreadie, Dave Axton, Brian McDonald, Billy Decker, Jim LaRock, Frank Cozze.