The Outside Groove Brought Great Racing Action
By Dawn Maynard
It was Stanton's Cattle Company & Lil' Dave's Excavating Night which saw some awesome racing action. Kiddie rides started the evening off as many young and old got to ride with their favorite drivers.
First feature on the racing card was the Crate Sportsman. Scot Torbitt and Kyle Smith brought the twenty-one car field to the green. Torbitt took the top spot advantage until lap three. Unfortunate night for Jared Green who found a mechanical problem that sent him pit side. He was not able to continue in the twenty-five lap event. On the restart Scot regained the lead with Dale Welty, Matt Brewer and Gary Smith in pursuit. The high side started to come in and Matt Brewer was the first one to try it out. It appeared the way to go, at the halfway point Gary Smith was now using it. He went from fourth to first in one lap. After seeing how well it was working Dale Welty decided to give the outside a try. Dale also did well on the outside moving into the third position. Todd Titus has been using the inside groove to make his way to second. On lap twenty the number twenty-eight of Mike Travis spun bringing out the final caution of the race. Single file restart found Gary Smith in first, Todd Titus in second and Dale Welty in third. Welty made the move to get second and set his sights on Gary Smith in first. They battled side by side until the white flag lap. Welty assumed the lead and went on to capture the feature win. Rounding out the top five were Gary Smith, Todd Titus, Jim Cummings and Scot Torbitt. Dale remarked in victory lane that the win was great as the past few weeks have been a roller coaster ride for the race team.
The mighty 600cc Modifieds were up next with Chris Carman and Ryan David-Kadaronak made up the front row. Chris took the lead as Ryan Jordan made his move into second position. Charlie Towner was now in third with the hopes of making sure the Jordan number one didn't win. Ryan Jordan took the lead on the next lap from Chris. He opened a three car advantage over Charlie Towner who was now in second. Charlie raced hard trying to catch the Jordan machine. On lap eleven the Phil Burns car brought out the only caution of the event. Tightening up the field for the restart saw the top three nose to tail going to green. Dillon Beadle who was now in third was battling with eighth place starter John Dininny. Dininny who also found the outside groove to his liking was attempting to steal away third. While upfront Ryan Jordan was in command. As the checkered flag fell Ryan Jordan grabbed another feature win. Charlie Towner finished in second, third went to Dillion Beadle, fourth to John Dininny, with last week's feature winner Ryan David-Kadaronak coming in fifth. Victory lane was an emotional one as Ryan dedicated the win to his car owner mom who passed away this past week. He also commented that the track was the best one of the season.
The mighty Modifieds made their way onto the track for the thirty lap feature. Bobby Puckett and Jim Introne brought the twenty-two car field to the green. Puckett and Introne began their battle. Puckett got control of the lead, with a couple of early cautions plaguing the event. The outside was once again the place to race. Bobby took control of the lead again on the restart. Introne and Tyler Yeagle were working outside. Jim was hoping to steal the top spot from Bobby. Tyler Yeagle who started in eighth was now in fifth. Others using the outside groove and making moves included Darwin Greene, Brett Tonkin and Shaun Walker. Jim Introne now in the lead had company coming. Darwin Greene on the inside was looking for the lead from Introne. Brett Tonkin on the move was using the outside. He was looking to grab the win. While Introne and Greene battled Brett Tonkin was moving up too. Tonkin made his move around the 9x of Jim to take the lead. Meanwhile behind him Brandon Loucks was using the outside to his advantage. Brandon started in eleventh, now closing in on the third position. Shaun Walker brought out the final caution with a flat tire. He made a pitstop and came back to finish the feature event. As the laps wound down JR Hurlburt took over second. Brett Tonkin continued to lead the feature bringing home the checkered flag. Finishing in second was JR Hurlburt, Brandon Loucks secured third, great run for Nick Made in fourth and completing the top five was Kenny Titus. The modified feature was one of the most exciting races of the season. The outside groove came in for this popular division, giving the fans great racing action.
The Limited Sportsman feature was up next with Jason Shedd and Derrick Shaffer in the front row. Jason grabbed the early lead, Devon Green went into the middle of the top two attempting to grab the lead. He did not complete the move and was in third. Behind Jason the battle was heating up as the outside groove once again was working. Caution came out on lap seven for Tom Davey who spun in turn four. On the restart Shedd resumed the lead,but Dylan Nichols was now in second. Last week's feature winner Johnny Williams and Matthew Backus were making their way to the front. Dylan made his way around the car of Jason Shedd to take the lead. Johnny Williams had made his way into second. On the white flag lap the caution came out after contact was made. Shedd got into the rear of the Williams machine causing him to spin. The restart now found Nichols in the lead, but Devon Green and Matthew Backus were right behind him. The final lap was a tricky one as it took another restart to finish it. Dylan Nichols did hold off Devon Green, Matthew Backus, Johnny Williams and Buck Brown to grab the checkered flag. Dylan remarked that his team spent a lot of late nights in the garage this week. He is thankful for all their hard work.
The popular Front Wheel Drive division found twelve teams all hoping to pick up their feature win. Bryant Beach and Andy Bolles made up the front row. As the cars came to the green flag Collin Mills thought he would make it three wide on the inside hoping to steal the lead. He and Bolles made contact, with Andy spinning. Rich Wagner also got caught up in caution ending the 8W night. Mills was sent to the rear for the contact. On the restart Bryant Beach assumed the lead. Coming from the rear Bolles and Mills were making their way to the front. Several newcomers in this division made the racing action exciting. Tim Degrote who was in second now had Collin Mills and Andy Bolles on his bumper. Mills made the pass for second around Degrote. He now was looking to grab the lead from Bryant Beach. The white flag flew with Bryant in command of the feature. As he crossed under the starters stand the red flag came out as one of the cars caught fire. The race was over and Bryant Beach picked up his very first feature win. Rounding out the top five were Collin Mills, Andy Bolles, newcomers Tim Degrote in fourth, Anthony Tarantino in fifth.
The final feature event of the night was the Factory GStocks. Mahlon Shoemaker and Tommy Groover brought the field to the green. Mahlon had the early control of the twenty lap event. Behind Mahlon the battle for second found Kyle Spoor, Rich Green and Tommy Groover racing three wide. Rich Green moves into second position, looking for the top spot. On the next lap Green takes the lead with Tommy Groover grabbing second. The battle for third between Shoemaker and Kyle Spoor was tight. Justin Slezak was in fifth looking for the chance to move up. Rich Green out front had opened a sizable lead over the Groover machine. Gary Ronk and Jason Towner were battling when contact was made. Ronk went off the hook ending his night. With six laps left in the twenty lap event, Rich Green had to hold off Tommy Groover and Kyle Spoor. One more caution happened as Hank Morin spun. On the restart Rich opened up a three car lead to record another feature win. Finishing behind the Green machine was Tommy Groover, Kyle Spoor, Jordan Towner and Mahlon Shoemaker.
The night found all kinds of outside groove racing action giving the fans a lot to talk about. Kids had rides with their favorite drivers. Coming up next week will be Mirabito Energy Night. The Southern Tier Spectacular Modified Special will be the top billing. This will feature Twin 20 lap events for the Modifieds. All the other weekly divisions will be on hand. The IMCA modifieds will make their bi-weekly appearance. You won't want to miss any of the exciting racing that will take place. For more information on what's happening check out the Afton Motorsports Park Fan Facebook page.