CHAMPIONSHIP NIGHTS AT WOODHULL
The Modified championship was all wrapped up before the nights racing, but all other classes were up for grabs. With double points offered there were plenty of hungry guys on hand to grab them.
First on the card was the 358 Modifieds for their 25-lap Season Championship race. Although Steve Hartman Sr. had already been crowned champ, the rest of the field was yet to be determined. The first caution was thrown on just the 2nd lap for Donnie Lawson, Steve Mullen & Larry Doolittle getting together. Doolittle got the worst end of that deal as he was sent packing over the bank & needed assistance to get going again. The green was dropped, followed immediately by the yellow again when Donnie’s dad Don Lawson got loose & collected Chuck Kennison and Frank Dunning. We got racing underway again, but a spin collected Kevin Chilson, Mullen, Steve Hartman Jr, “Rocket” Roger Williams, Chuck Kennison and Doolittle ag! ain. Hartman Jr & Williams got right out of there, but the rest needed a little help. Mullen went pitside with a flat, locked up front wheel. Chilson had some body damage, but continued on to line up again. Due to the 3 yellows in just 2 laps, Race Director Jerry Symmonds lined them up single file. With Larry Keegan on the point, Starter Scott Colgrove waved the green again. Dave Dubois was also having a great night running up in 3rd. Larry Doolittle’s bad luck continued as he spun on lap 7 coming out of turn 4. Billy “The Kid” VanPelt took over the lead on lap 8. Hartman Sr came up to play with VanPelt as he took over the runner up spot on the 12th lap. Lap 13 proved to be an unlucky one for Billy Williams as he came down the front straight with some heavy front-end damage. On the next restart, “Action” Mike Jackson hopped up into 3rd and Lyle Sherwood followed him. The final yellow came on lap 17 when Doolittle went over the back bank in turn 4 & Chuck Kennison spun into the infield in turn 1. VanPelt went on for the win, his 6th of the year. Champ Hartman Sr, was the runner up for this race, Mike Jackson got the 3rd spot with Lyle Sherwood and Larry Keegan in his best run ! of the year in 5th.
The Super Stocks took to the track next to determine who they would crown champ. The first lap saw Mike Writenour, Ed Mills and Andy Kroll come together going into turn 1, but all three got going under their own power. There was no need for the caution flag, but Writenour & Mills made their way to the pits. Kyle Lefelhoc who led from the pole, lost the lead on the 5th circuit when Greg Crooker came up & took it away. The next lap saw the 1st yellow for the Supers when Mark Costa spun while running in the top 5. When Rich Marlatt came around to take the yellow, he had a flat right rear, but lucky for him, he had time to go pitside & put his crew to work changing the tire.! They got him out before the green came out again. Mick Seeley was the recipient of the next yellow on lap 7 when he & Marlatt got together in turn 2. Back to the racing action, Scott Brown & Glenn Writenour battle for 4th as Mike Hilfiger goes by Lefelhoc for 2nd. Brown & Writenour followed Hilfiger right on past. Lap 11 brought caution again when Andy Kroll went spinning. The top 2 in points coming into the night Larry Knowles & Greg Galligan were running 6th & 7th when Mark Costa headed to the pits with a flat tire. Lap 15 was a bad one for the #15 of Glen Writenour as he spun in turn 4 & Lefelhoc got caught up in it. That puts Knowles & Galligan into 5th & 6th. Galligan got a good run up high & gets by Knowles for 5th. At the line it was a photo finish for 5th between Knowles & Bob Lubberts. After conferring with the scorer’s Race Director Jerry Symmonds made the call & Lubberts got the 5th spot with Knowles having to settle for 6th. On the cool down lap, Lubberts lost the left rear tire, wheel & all & the tow truck had to bring him across the scales. This was a very close points battle, with Knowles having an 8-point lead going into the feature. With Galligan finishing 3rd, and Knowles finishing 6th, Galligan received 6 points more than Knowles, giving “The Racing Guy” Larry Knowles a scant 2 point advantage to become the 2003 Super Stock Track Champion.
The Street Stocks were lead to the green by Kevin Young in the Gary Archer back up car. In turn 1 of lap 2, Dave Davis & Tom Space got together to bring out the 1st yellow. On the restart Mike Williams would thread the needle right between Joe Nobriga & Jeff Smith to try & grab 2nd, but Bob Clark, Geoff McNally & Cliff Moss, all got stuck together & drove over the back bank to bring the yellow back out. All three cars involved headed to the pits with heavy damage. With just one lap in the books, Moss & McNally are able to return to the track before the restart. McNally was sent back to the pits by the safety crew to check out what appeared to be a loose wheel. After getting checked out he returned to the track with a bent upper a frame & was able to continue. On the restart, Jeff Smith took the lead from the outside pole, but Williams had it at the line to complete lap 2. Coming around for lap 3, Williams still had the point, but Joe Nobriga was hot on his tail. The yellow flew on lap 5 for Tom Space, Gary Archer & Cliff Moss when they spun in turn 3. Racing resumed & Henry Miracle snagged the runner up spot from Smith. Joe Dgien brought the yellow out on lap 10 when he spun in turn 2. Williams was not happy to see the caution as he had opened up a good lead on the rest of the field. He still held cont! rol on the restart but Miracle was right on him. Miracle pulled right up beside him on lap 14. Miracle & Williams were running neck in neck lap after lap. At the checkers, it was Williams crossing the line first, and after careful calculating in the scorer’s tower, it was determined Mike Williams was the Champion by just a single point over David Gee.
The Grand Finale of Championship night was the Mini Stock Class. This class has provided some fantastic racing over the season & their points battle came down to the last night of racing as well. Ted Morseman couldn’t get up to speed when the green dropped but the rest of the field did a great job getting around him. Brian “Corky” Grant hopped out to the lead but on lap 4 the pick up truck of AJ Costly got around almost collecting point leader Ray Hyer to bring out the first yellow for the Minis. On the restart it was Grant in command with Jason Ketrow and Josh Mills 2nd in points, Hyer and 3rd place Chad Dickerson in the top 5. Hyer drove high & Mills drove low to make a Jason Ketrow sandwich, and on lap ! 6 it was Mills taking over the top spot from Grant. On the next lap, Mills & Dickerson were dead even at the line, but Ray Sharpstein spun to bring out the yellow. They didn’t need the caution to get all bunched up as there was no breathing room as it was. For the restart it was Mills, Dickerson, Hyer. Unfortunately, the next caution on lap 8 was for the point leader Hyer when he spun in turn 4. That left Mills & Dickerson to battle with Grant & Jeff Stone came up to join in 4th spot. On lap 12, Dickerson had the lead at the line when 4th place runner Stone spun into the infield & Ray Hyer had to head pitside with a flat right rear. Whe! n Scott Colegrove threw the white flag, Dickerson & Mills were neck in neck. At the checkers, it was Mills by just a bumper for the win & to lock up the championship. With Mills taking the win & Hyer finishing way back, Hyer ended up 2nd for the year by 42 points.
Next week will cap off the season, as our track champions will be honored in a ceremony on the track for all the fans to see.
HEAT RESULTS
358 Modifieds – 88m-Mike Jackson, 17-Lyle Sherwood, 123-Dale Welty
Super Stocks – 17-Greg Galligan, 67-Rich Marlatt, 11-Mike Hilfiger
Street Stocks – 40-Jeff Smith, 72-Joe Nobriga, 94-Dave Dubois
Mini Stocks – 20-Dennis French, 84-Josh Mills, 11-Jason Ketrow
FEATURE RESULTS
358 Modifieds – 12x-Billy VanPelt, z8-Steve Hartman Sr, 88m-Mike Jackson, 17-Lyle Sherwood, 18-Don Lawson, 123-Dale Welty, 66-Stacy Jackson, 13x-Frank Dunning
Super Stocks – 32-Greg Crooker, 11-Mike Hilfiger, 87-Scott Brown, 17-Greg Galligan, 3-Jason Knowles, 77-Bob Lubberts, 4-Larry Knowles, 04-Jim Buck, 5k-Kenny Peoples Sr.
Street Stocks – 19-Mike Williams, 5-Henry Miracle, 40-Jeff Smith, 35-Dave Gee, 66-Dan Gordon, 23-Cliff Moss, 94-Dave Davis, 72-Joe Nobriga, 38-Phil Hall, 8-Bill Shea
Mini Stocks – 84-Josh Mills, 57-Chad Dickerson, 46-Brian Grant, 81-Don Knowles, 31-Bill VanEtten, 20-Dennis French, 17-Joe Kurtz, 93-Jared Hill, 27-Ryan Davenport, 11-Jason Ketrow