DANNY JOHNSON RETURNS TO CANANDAIGUA WINNER'S CIRCLE

CANANDAIGUA, NY.8/22/98..Danny Johnson, from Rochester, NY, recorded his second DIRT Modified feature victory last Saturday at the Canandaigua Speedway driving the Auto Value-F.X. Caprara number FX1 Troyer. Todd Henderson, the track sportsman points leader, took top honors in the 20-lap Sportsman feature, his first win of the year at the track. Tom Barron recorded Canandaigua win number 10, third in a row, on his sponsor's night, All County Construction. All County Construction also paid each heat race winner $50, as well as added $50 to the Entry Stock feature winner's share of the purse. Fred Salzburg took his aged Ford Granada to victory in the Entry Stocks.

The 35-lap DIRT Modified feature started with Scott Schrader leading the first lap, only to go under the yellow as Bill Hoff looped his 358-modified in the fourth turn. On the restart Bryon Turner grabbed the front spot, as Schrader faded back to third behind Pat Ward.

A two car spin in the fourth turn brought out the yellow flag for the seconds time on lap five, as Chuck Hebing and Steve Schultz both rejoined the field at the rear. Pat Ward was now the leader, taking the front spot on restart.

On lap seven a wheel came off the Scott Boudinot car just as he was exiting the second turn. Boudinot steered his car into the infield, but the errant wheel bounded down the back stretch. Steve Paine slammed into this wheel, bending the right front wheel on his car. He pitted and repaired his damage as best his team could during this caution. He would return, but not be a factor the rest of the race.

The battle for the lead became intense. Billy Decker used an outside move in turn four to move from third to first, passing both Danny Johnson and Ward. Johnson battled back and took his turn at the front of the field on lap 13, passing Decker by inches at the line. He then switched lanes to the outside grove and drove away from the field.

On lap 18 the red flag had to replace the yellow as four cars came together in the fourth turn, literally blocking the speedway. Steve Schultz and Mike Ward laid at the bottom of the turn, while Jeff Hoff and Ted Bauer were in the concrete wall to the outside of the track. No driver was injured in this wreck.

Yellow flag fever was over for the remainder of the race. Danny Johnson won by five car lengths over Pat Ward. Decker finished third followed by Vic Coffey and Bob McCreadie.

"The Troyer felt real comfortable on the outside of the track", stated Johnson. "I was to thank all of the people at Troyers and the FX team for allowing me a chance to win one here tonight."

The 20-lap Sportsman feature saw Todd Henderson grab the lead at the drop of the green flag. On lap five, Lance Dusett, running in fourth, blew his engine going into the third turn, spewing liquid on the track. Great driving avoided any contact.

Howie Albrecht came the from the rear of the field to take the lead on lap seven. Henderson battled back, retaking the front spot on lap 13. A yellow flag on lap 16 found Albrecht in second and Vince Vitale running third. On the restart Vitale was able to pass Albrecht for second only to have Albrecht, bump wheels going into the first turn, retake the runner up spot. Vitale gave Albrecht a tap on the rear bumper for the contact. This would latter ignite a near fight on the back stretch after the race. Albrecht blocked the Vitale car and he exited his car, pushing an official. He then proceeded to jump onto the hood of the Vitale car and jump up and down on the hood. He then returned to his own car as officials had to hod Vitale back.

As for the finish of the race, Henderson took the win, with Albrecht second. Steve Gray took third at the line from Vitale. Russ Lyons finished fifth. Albrecht was fined his earnings and suspended from the speedway for one week for his actions taken on the back stretch.

Bobby Lutz seemed to have a hold on the street stock feature until lap nine when Tommy Barron took command. Barron screamed home with his tenth win of the year followed by Les Whyte, Lutz, Randy Miller and John Unaman.

The race was slowed by four yellows, all for minor spin outs on the speedway. Barron now has twelve top five finishes, as does Whyte. Whyte has not been able to find victory lane this season, but has seven second place finishes to his credit.

Fred Salzburg took the top spot in the Entry Stocks.

Only three weeks of racing remain at Canandaigua for the 1998 season, August 29, September 5 and September 19. The final points night, September 5, will also serve as "Legends Night" at the track, honoring past drivers who competed at Canandaigua over the years. Any driver interested in attending the "Legends Night" activities should contact Tom Skibinski at DIRT headquarters, (315)834-6606 X28.

Racing resumes this Saturday with the green flag falling at 7 p.m. sharp.

ALL COUNTY CONSTRUCTION NIGHT SUMMARY

ENTRY STOCKS

FEATURE (10-laps): FRED SALZBURG, Leroy Lewis, Beatle Peters, Dan Weisner, Mike Majors, Mike Archer, Mike Minutolo, Brad Steinruck, Jim VanArsdale, Mike Shaw, Todd Stanton.

STREET STOCKS

HEAT 1: B. Brown, L. Burnett, E. Oldfield, J. Burba, D. Conant Jr.

HEAT 2: T. Chapman, L. Whyte, T. Barron, Ra. Miller, J. McGuigan.

HEAT 3: Ri. Miller, J. Unaman, B. Lutz, B. Fremouw, P. Barone.

FEATURE (15-laps): TOM BARRON, Les Whyte, Bobby Lutz, Randy Miller, John Unaman, Billy Brown, Scott Fremouw, Rick Miller, Lee Burnett, Dave Conant Jr., Steve Pesarek, Jim Burba, Rd Oldfield, Phil Barone, Carl Reynolds II, Chad Homan, Jerry Sullivan, Tiger Chapman, Jim McGuigan, Jim Stone.

SPORTSMAN

HEAT 1: L. Dusett, T. Henderson, V. Vitale, R. Lyons, C. Ridsdale, W. Czymmek.

HEAT 2: M. Button, R. Holden, S. Gray, P. Guererri, H. Albrecht, T. Preston.

FEATURE (20-laps): TODD HENDERSON, Howie Albrecht, Steve Gray, Vince Vitale, Russ Lyons, Paul Guererri, Steve Oplinger, Mike Button, Randy Holden, Keith Stell, Wade Czymmek, Todd Preston, Dave McQuay, Gary Hotelling, Chris Ridsdale, Ricky VanNeil, John Pfeffer, Bill Hebing, Lance Dusett.

MODIFIED

HEAT 1: P. Ward, B. Varin, D. Ruggles, R. Bliss Jr., T. Bauer.

HEAT 2: C. Hebing, S. Paine, B. Turner, S. Schultz, J. Moravec.

HEAT 3: B. Decker, D. Johnson, T. Fuller, S. Schrader, S. Glover.

FEATURE (35-laps): DANNY JOHNSON, Pat Ward, Billy Decker, Vic Coffey, Bob McCreadie, Tim Fuller, Darryl Ruggles, Chuck Hebing, John Moravec, Bryon Turner, Bobby Varin, Steve Paine, Ray Bliss jr., Steve Lead, Jeff Hoff, Steve Schultz, Bill Hoff, Steve Glover, Mike Ward, Ted Bauer, Charlie Donk, Scott Schrader, Scott Boudinot, Max Phillips Jr.