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ACCORD, NY - Jackie Brown Jr. of Hurley captured the second annual “The Gobbler’’ 50-lap Modified feature on April 14 at the Accord Speedway.




By FRANK CATIZONE 4/15/15

Brown, a former champion and prominent winner at the Ulster County facility, wrestled the lead away from Chuck McKee while racing off the fourth turn on the ninth lap and never looked back as he drove to an impressive victory in the event, which was postponed last November because of wet grounds and inclement weather.

Jeff Heotzler Sr. , after grabbing second place on the 26th lap, began reeling in Brown and appeared to be a contender for a payoff of more than $7,000. But Heotzler’s car slowed on the 34th lap and he was forced to retire with ignition problems.

That moved Danny Creeden into second place with McKee, Shaun Walker and Duane Howard running in the top five.

But they were no match to Brown, who drove his bottom line to perfection and kept Creeden behind him to the checkered flag.

Jerry Higbie, meanwhile, made some late-race moves to finish in third place with McKee, Mike Mahaney, Walker, Tyler Dippel, Jeff Strunk, Danny Johnson and Anthony Perrego rounding out the top 10.

Greg McCloskey was the class of the Sportsman field as he captured the 25-lap championship race ahead of Brad Szulewski, Randy Green, Rocky Warner and Ed Dachenhausen.

McCloskey took the lead away from Charles Hendrickson Jr. following a fifth-lap restart and neber trailed the rest of the way.

Kevin Skelly grabbed first place on the opening lap and never looked back as he captured the Pure Stock 20-lap feature ahead of Bob Sleight Jr., Jim Maher, Ray Tarantino and Kyle Wright.

Demetrios Drellos won the 20-lap Slingshot feature with Wyatt Clark and Matt Schultz following.


Busy Spring At Accord Speedway; New York Truck Parts Inc. Signs On As Title ‘Battle of the Bullring 3’ Sponsor For Tuesday, May 19 Short Track Super Series Fueled By Hi-Tek Visit; Reset ‘Gobbler’ Approaching Tuesday, April 14

ACCORD, NY – The effects have winter have begun to melt away in the serene hills of New York’s Ulster County. And that means only one thing: Accord Speedway will soon roar to life for a new year of auto racing.

Entering its 15th year under the leadership of Gary and Donna Palmer, the pristine quarter-mile oval has its most ambitious spring schedule in history planned for the upcoming campaign, with a pair of high-profile special events set for the first two months of the season.

On Tuesday, May 19 (rain date: May 20), the traveling Short Track Super Series (STSS) Fueled By Hi-Tek Modifieds return for the ‘Battle of the Bullring 3’ spectacular, a 53-lap main event paying $5,300 to the winner plus lap money and bonuses, $1,000 for 10th and $400 just to take the green flag! A number of contingency awards and product certificates further sweeten the pot for racers.

The event offers points toward the $15,000 STSS Bob Hilbert Sportswear North Region championship run, comprised of eight events at six venues: Accord, Big Diamond (Pa.), I-88 (N.Y.), Orange County (N.Y.), Thunder Mountain (N.Y.) and Woodhull (N.Y.).

A point fund of more than $38,000, to be distributed to the top-12 finishers, has been posted for the STSS North Region, placing greater emphasis on each stop during the series.

Also featured on the ‘Battle of the Bullring’ program: Open vs. Crate 602 Sportsman ($1,000-plus to win) and the popular Speedway Entertainment Slingshots.

For the third consecutive year, New York Truck Parts Inc. of Wurtsboro, N.Y., will serve as the headline ‘Battle of the Bullring’ sponsor.

New York Truck Parts offers a selection of medium and heavy duty recycled truck parts including diesel engines, transmissions, axles, cabs, hoods, tires, rims and more. New York Truck Parts also carries a selection of pre-owned trucks from major manufacturers.

Additionally, New York Truck Parts will buy scrap and offers roll-off dumpster rental services.

To learn more about New York Truck Parts, visit www.newyorktruckpartsinc.com, call 845.888.8088 or e-mail truckmann@gmail.com. New York Truck Parts is located at 12 O’Gorman Road Wurtsboro, NY 12790.

A year ago, Gary Mann’s New York Truck Parts No. 55 driven by Montgomery, N.Y., star Anthony Perrego emerged from a late-race battle with New Jersey’s Tommy Meier to win the ‘Battle of the Bullring’ special. Danny Creeden of Wurtsboro, N.Y., topped the 2013 inaugural event.

Brett Deyo of BD Motorsports Media LLC will again co-promote the ‘Battle of the Bullring’ with the Palmer family.

Prior to the ‘Battle of the Bullring’ in May, however, there are some “leftovers” that need to be served to southeastern New York race fans.

Postponed by weather and track conditions from last November, the ‘Gobbler’ is reset for Tuesday, April 14 (rain date: April 15). The event is headlined by a 50-lap Modified main event paying $7,117.11 to the winner. Sportsman (Open vs. Crate 602) run 25 laps for a $1,500 winner’s share, with the Ron Wright Memorial for Street Stocks/Pure Stocks and Slingshots completing the card.

Some of the top names in Northeast racing had assembled for the November event, including PA stars Duane Howard and Jeff Strunk, Delaware champion Matt Jester, the Central New York superstar brother combination of Danny and Alan Johnson, rising star Mike Mahaney, talented teenager Tyler Dippel, Short Track Super Series champion Andy Bachetti, Capital District runner Bobby Varin, past Accord BD Motorsports Media winners Creeden and Perrego and the tough Accord weekly cast led by siblings Mike and Rich Ricci, Jerry Higbie Jr., Danny Tyler, Tommy Meier and many more!

New entries will be welcomed at the ‘Gobbler’ event, but they must start behind those in attendance last November. New competitors will draw amongst themselves for starting positions.

Complete ‘Gobbler’ pricing, rules and general information can be found at the following link: http://bdmotorsportsmedia.com/gobbler-general-information/

A list of ‘Gobbler’ special awards and bonuses is posted on the web at http://bdmotorsportsmedia.com/gobbler-special-awards-bonuses/

To learn more about the Short Track Super Series or BD Motorsports Media LLC, visit www.shortttracksuperseries.com or www.bdmotorsportsmedia.com, call 845.728.2781 or e-mail bdmotorsportsmedia@gmail.com. “Like” Short Track Super Series on Facebook or follow @ShortTrackSS on Twitter.

Accord Speedway, a neat-and-tidy quarter-mile clay oval nestled in the hills of Ulster County, is located at 299 Whitfield Road Accord, NY 12404. The speedway is on the web at www.accordspeedway.com.