DALE PLANCK PICKS UP FIRST CAN-AM SPEEDWAY WIN
LAFARGEVILLE NY: 5/9/98....A busy night was on the schedule this past Saturday at the Can-Am Speedway, with nine feature events for the fans to look forward too. A complete show of all six classes, plus (3) of the rained out features from Mountain Dew night on May 2nd awaited another great crowd on a another rain threatening night.
The postponed B-Main for 358 DIRT Modifeds saw rookie Scott Parliament take the lead at the drop of the green but former track champion Dave Heaslip grabbed the top spot on lap two. The story of the race though was long time 358 competitor Steve Bilow. Bilow started in position number (4) and began to pressure Heaslip for the lead at the halfway point in the (10) lap event. Bilow took advantage of the wide racing groove and was shown as leader on lap 5. Bilow went on for a very popular win over Mike Hulsizer, Heaslip, Bob Bennett and Jeremy Baye.
The rained out Street Stock feature was next with Steve Rookey and Al Pitts bringing the small field of seven cars to the green. Pitts wasted little time getting to the front spot on lap one. Rookey settled into second until lap (3) when Bill Eisele moved around. Eisele would not let Pitts out of his sight but could not get close enough to challenge for the win. Pitts went on to win number two of the season over Eisele, Rookey, Rich Murtaugh, and Ricky Breed.
Glen Erwin and Debbie Stevenson brought the IMCA Modifieds to the line for their rained out event with Stevenson taking the early lead. Eddie O'Neil was making a run to the front and was shown in position number two on lap one. Stevenson continued to lead looking for her first ever IMCA win but O'Neil used his years of experience to take over the top spot on lap 6. O'Neil was being chased by young Frank Caprara and son Ron O'Neil as the competitive division had the fans cheering for their favorite. Caprara made the move for the lead stick with two to go and went on for his first IMCA win at Can-Am. Ron O'Neil bested father Eddie for second with Jim Graves and Larry Bezner completing the top five.
The final rain delayed event was the 25 lap 358 DIRT Modified feature. Lansing Petzoldt and Dale Planck dominated their heats one week ago to grab the front row starting positions. Planck has had a rough beginning since choosing to call Can-Am his Saturday night home in 1998 but at the drop of the green he powered into the lead hoping to turn things around. His pressure would come early from Rick Wilson, Petzoldt and opening night winner Tim McCreadie. The drivers were all searching for the fastest line around the fast 1/2 mile as the track surface came in hard with an excellent top and bottom groove. At the halfway mark Planck continued to lead as he worked his way through lapped traffic. The laps were winding down and Planck had some of the best 358 DIRT Modified drivers trying to get close enough to take the win away. When the checkered flew Planck had turned his bad luck around with a popular Can-Am Speedway win. Wilson, Petzoldt, McCreadie and Pat O'Brien finishing in positions two through five.
The regular activities were up next with six features to be held on Erie Materials, Appledale Farmers Market and C-Way Golf Club and Restaurant night. The racing would change as regular handicapping would now be used to line up the features, putting many of the quicker cars in the rear of the fields at the start.
Erv Miller and rookie Kevin Presley paced the full field of 24 Economy Stocks for their 10 feature and Presley jumped to the early lead. Kyle Sharp was on a mission as he came from starting position number 10 to take the lead away from Presley on lap two. Miller settled into second with opening night winner John Eiss making his way to front. At halfway, Sharp remained in the lead with Eiss now second and Craig Collier third. Eiss made a move for the lead and the front runners ran side by side over the last three laps with neither one getting an advantage he could keep. As they came off of turn four for the checkered they were still side by side but Eiss inched out the win over Sharp. Collier held on for third with Presley having a great finish in forth and Ernie Taylor coming across fifth.
The 12 lap Street Stock feature saw Bill Eisele charge from starting position number 6 to the lead on lap one over taking front row starters Doug Murphy and Laurie Handschuh. Eisele had finished second to Al Pitts twice in 1998 and was looking to stop the Pitts win streak at two but Pitts showed his strength and took the top spot away from Eisele on lap 5. Eisele again could keep within striking distance waiting for Pitts to make a mistake with Steve Rookey and Nick Makuch hoping to close in. Pitts remained unbeaten in '98 with win number three, Eisele came across second for the third time this season with Rookey continuing his consistent year in third. Makuch and outsider Ricky Breed completed the top five.
Only five Late Models took the feature green with Tim Busler and Ronnie McConnell on the front row. McConnell grabbed the lead at the start with Busler settling into second. Busler would bring out the caution on lap 3 handing the second spot to teammate Scott Kelsey. Opening night winner Wayne Side moved into the runner up spot on lap 4 and tried to chase down McConnell for the lead but McConnell was to strong on this night and went on for the win. The rest of the top five was Side, Kelsey, Dan Jalbert and Busler.
The IMCA Modified class continues to grow as 15 cars took to the speedway for the 12 lap feature. Tony Finch has been making the trip up Interstate 81 this season and was shown as the leader of lap one with rookie Neal Bryden and Larry Bezner second and third. Debbie Stevenson was having a great run as she made her way to the top spot on lap 4. Rob Keller arrived at the speedway late and started in position number 15 but was on the move along with outsider George Cantazano. Keller had the surface figured out and took the lead away from Stevenson on lap 7 bringing Cantanzano with him. The caution flew with just three laps to go tightening the field and giving everyone one last shot at Keller for the win. When the race resumed it was Keller back in front and on to his first win of the season at Can-Am. Cantanzano made the long trip worth while as he came across second followed by Neal Edgar, Ron O'Neil and Jim Graves.
The DIRT Sportsman saw 21 cars called to the line with Matt Butler and RJ Gibbons on the front row. Butler held the lead until lap two when Gibbons moved around and into the top spot. On a lap 5 restart the race would change as drivers at the front of the pack made contact sending cars everywhere. On the restart it was Gibbons followed by Todd VanTassel and Jeff Narrow. Opening night winner Steve Hall and Jim Spano were the two on the move as they made their way into the top five on lap nine. Gibbons was having a great run but Hall was putting the pressure on and took over the lead on lap 10. Spano made a run at Hall the last two laps but came up a little short settling for second. Jeff Narrow, Gibbons and Mike Clark rounded out the top five.
The 358 DIRT Modified B-Main saw eight cars take the green and John Ramsey jumped into the lead. Ramsey looked like he would be hard to beat as he was turning times as quick as anyone had all night but his great run came to an end on lap 7 of the 10 lap event when he slowed with mechanical problems. Ty Hunt took over the top spot when the race resumed and went on for the win over Dave Bartlett, Laurent Ladouceur, Delbert LaGrow and Buck White.
The 358 DIRT Modified main was one that people will be talking about for a long time. Former Go-Kart racer Scott Parliament started on the inside of the front row and opened up a comfortable lead in his first ever feature event. Parliament held the lead through a couple of early cautions and looked as though he may have been on his way to a major upset victory. As the field began to spread out on the multi-groove surface drivers like Pat O'Brien, Tim McCreadie and Billy Wilcox were making their way to the front. The Hoff brothers Billy and Jeff were having a spirited family battle going on for second and third with Jeff getting the advantage and taking the lead away from Parliament on lap 11. O'Brien made the move for the lead stick on lap 14 with McCreadie moving into position number two one lap later. Wilcox made his way into the top three by lap 17 and the race was on. The final nine laps saw O'Brien on the top side of the speedway, McCreadie on the bottom and Wilcox looking for a way by. McCreadie could draw even in the corners but O'Brien used his momentum off the top to keep the lead at start finish line on every lap. As they came through turn four on the final lap the two leaders switched lanes and McCreadie came across the winner. O'Brien, Wilcox, Wilson and Hoff completed the top five.
Next week will be another long night at Can-Am with the Economy Stock, Late Model and DIRT Sportsman features that werer postponed on May 2nd starting the nights program. A complete six division show will follow plus the only appearance of the season for the Mid-State Vintage Stock Car Club. Racing will be sponsored by Fastlube of Watertown and the FK Gailey Company. Gates will open at 5:00 with the first green coming out at 7:00. For more information call the speedway at (315) 658-4431 or E-Mail can be sent to can-amspeedway@juno.com. Information can also be found on the internet at www.can-amspeedway.com.
PEPSI-COLA/MT. DEW
358 DIRT MODIFIED FINISH FROM 5/2: Dale Planck, Rick Wilson, Lansing Petzoldt, Tim McCreadie, Pat O'Brien, Bill Wilcox, Lee Gill, Danny O'Brien, Pierre Dagenais, Todd Stewart, Doug Fuller, Steve Hulsizer, Jeff Sykes, Kevin Martin, John Ramsey, Jim Narrow, Jeff Hoff, George McIntyre, Dale Eggleston, Bill Hoff, George Horning, Dave Rielly, Brian McDonald DNS: Chris Jones
358 DIRT MODIFIED B-MAIN FINISH FROM 5/2: Steve Bilow, Mike Hulsizer, Dave Heaslip, Bob Bennett, Jeremy Baye, Scott Parliament DNS: Bob Reny, Tom Jock
IMCA MODIFIED FINSIH FROM 5/2: Frank Caprara, Ron O'Neil, Eddie O'Neil, Jim Graves, Larry Bezner, Debbie Stevenson, Colleen Finch, Glen Erwin, Neal Bryden, John Bell, Tony Finch
STREET STOCK FINISH FROM 5/2: Al Pitts, Bill Eisele, Steve Rookey, Rich Murtaugh, Ricky Breed, Doug Murphy, Laurie Handschuh
ECONOMY STOCK FINISH: John Eiss, Kyle Sharp, Craig Collier, Kevin Presley, Ernie Taylor, Ken Partridge, Roger Bushey, Travis Andrews, Wesley Churchill, Hunter Grimes, Charles Duffany, Jeff Hunter, Don Scales, Kevin Therrien, Joseph Combs, Les Sanford, Jim Lang, Rick Dusckas, Erv Miller, Andrew Howard, Clint Middlemiss, Billy Gardner DNS: Pete Backus
STREET STOCK FINISH: Al Pitts, Bill Eisele, Steve Rookey, Nick Makuch, Ricky Breed, Laurie Handschuh, Steve Francis, Doug Murphy, Rich Murtaugh, Brian Rogers, Scott Kocher, Dave Orvis
LATE MODEL FINISH: Ronnie McConnell, Wayne Side, Scott Kelsey, Dan Jalbert, Tim Busler
IMCA MODIFED FINISH: Rob Keller, George Cantanzano, Neal Edger, Ron O'Neil, Jim Graves, Neal Brydon, Frank Caprara, Glen Erwin, Debbie Stevenson, John Bell, Colleen Finch, Tony Finch, Tim Collette, Larry Bezner, Eddie O'Neil
FASTLUBE OF WATERTOWN
DIRT SPORTSMAN FINISH: Steve Hall, Jim Spano, Jeff Narrow, RJ Gibbons, Mike Clark, Ryan Baye, Scott Britton, Ben Tucker, Todd VanTassel, Matt Butler, Scott MacCue, Dave Surace, Larry Lamb, Rick Amo, Tim VanBrocklin, Larry Bivens, Mark Yorker, Ronnie Wadsforth, Rich Hall, Dave O'Conner DNS: Bob Wilcox
358 DIRT MODIFIED
B-MAIN FINISH: Ty Hunt, Dave Bartlett, Laurent Ladouceur, Delbert LaGrow, Buck White, Rob Winters, John Ramsey, Bob Bennett DNS: Pierre Mantha, Bob Ostrander, Dave Rielly, Geogre Horning, Bob Reny, Mike Hulsizer
PEPSI-COLA/MT. DEW
358 DIRT MODIFIED FINISH: Tim McCreadie, Pat O'Brien, Bill Wilcox, Rick Wilson, Jeff Hoff, Dale Eggleston, Todd Stewart, Danny O'Brien, Pierre Dagenais, Lee Gill, Scott Parliament, Jeff Sykes, Dale Planck, Lansing Petzoldt, Dave Heaslip, Doug Fuller, Bill Hoff, George McIntyre, Jim Narrow, Kevin Martin, Brian McDonald, Steve Hulsizer, Jeremy Baye, Steve Bilow, Jay Hopkins