Accord, NY- Robbie Green Finds Gold In Triumphant Return To Accord Speedway Victory Lane
By: Steve Pados, Accord Speedway Media
A picture perfect summer day in the Catskill Mountains proved to be the backdrop for an explosion and celebration later in the evening as the gates of the Accord Speedway opened and welcomed in a huge standing room only crowd for its Independence Day racing show Friday evening and the great crowd on hand was treated to some amazing fireworks both on and off the race track as Robbie Green became the fourth and final leader of the United Pump and Tank Modified event and went on to record his first Modified win at the speedway in a few years. Rich Ricci III claimed his second win of the season in the Escape RV Sportsman finale while Brandon McGill showed the rest of the field his tailpipes as he recorded his second on the season in the Healey Brothers Spec Sportsman showdown. Al Christiana continues on track as the force to be reckoned with in the Ruges Performance Center Pro Stocks as he wired the field for his fifth win of the season. "The Intimidator" Ray Tarantino scored his second win of the season in the Arkel Motors Pure Stock run for the roses. Ashley Rogosich scored her initial win of the season in the Want Ad Digest All Star Slingshot finale while "The Italian Stallion" Vinnie Visconti took advantage of the mechanical woes of Hunter Lapp to lead the final lap of the WRWD Radio Junior Slingshot feature and capture his second consecutive win at the speedway. The racing, fireworks, dancing and victory lane interviews were completed by 11 PM and presented by Saugerties Lumber. Behrents Speed Center was the Checkered Flag sponsor for last evening's Modified feature. ASI Trophies handled the great looking plaques in the Lucas Oil Products Victory Lane.
The "Gem in the Catskills" speedplant was exploding with excitement from start to finish. Inside the Accord Speedway perimeter, the grand wizards of illumination, Alonzo Fireworks presented the over the top light-show extravaganza and filled the Ulster County skies with their sky-wizardry magic. The tremendous promotional efforts of Accord Speedway Promoters Gary and Donna Palmer were vividly on display as the hard-working and dedicated team, who are enjoying their fifteenth season in command at Accord, presented another fabulous show for the spectators. The loyal Accord race crowd that began to form in line around 4 PM, quickly filled the grandstands to full capacity and the overflow portion of the crowd found a good spot underneath the announcer's tower to witness the great racing action and the spectacular fireworks and light show. The fans were treated to an exceptional Chicken BBQ served up by Handsome Devil BBQ and the food lines and Emma's Sweets and Treats remained busy throughout the evening. The Sparrow's Nest Charity event took place on the grounds with some great prizes offered up by a number of businesses and fans.
Richie Eurich and Brad Rothaupt brought the United Pump and Tank Modified starting field down for the start of the 30-lap headliner and it was Rothaupt grabbing the lead and holding it for the first two go-arounds until Eurich blasted by him to set the pace. Eurich would lead until lap-11 but was under siege from Jeff Heotzler Jr for at least five laps until Heotzler found a seam on the inside of the raceway to pull even and slip past Eurich for the lead. Heotzler's lead would be short-lived as sixth place starting Robbie Green was on the move and eating up real estate at a Pac-Man's pace. Green was able to pull even with Heotzler on lap-13 and forge ahead on lap-14 to seize command of the point. Green, who has returned to the cockpit after a four year hiatus from driving chores to assist his son Randy's career, showed he has plenty left in the tank as he held off the father and son duo of Jeff Heotzler Jr and Sr to score the win. The popular victory carried over into the Lucas Oil Products Victory Lane for the joyous Green. Heotzler Jr was second with Heotzler Sr in third in a great drive. Jackie Brown raced from 15th to claim fourth place and Richie Eurich completed the top five. The returning Danny Creeden was sixth after starting from 19th starting spot while Danny Tyler, Jerry Higbie, Craig Mitchell and JR Heffner rounded out the top ten.
The Escape RV Sportsman event had Rich Ricci III with the hot ticket as he utilized the top of the raceway to grab the lead out of turn two on the opening lap to lead all of the way and claim win number two in 2015. The win was far from easy for the youngster as veteran campaigners Dave Werber and Kevin Ward put plenty of pressure on Ricci throughout the event. Werber, Ward, Jimmy Wells and Jesse Marks completed the top five while sixth through tenth were Ralph Ronk, Ken Ferrier, Phil Goetchius, Joe Giachinta and Joey Bonetti.
Brandon McGill did his visual homework as he used the same line Rich Ricci II used in nailing down his win. McGill shot out into the lead off of turn two using the top of the raceway as his benchmark throughout the event. Nick Johnson applied the pressure throughout the excursion and was able to stick the nose of his race car under McGill on occasion but McGill would apply the steam to the throttle to hold off Johnson for the win. Robbie Knipe, Joey Bruning and Shane Jablonka finished up the top five while Danny Cross, Ed Dachenhausen, Phil Johnson Joey Decker and newcomer Leo Fotopolous completed the top ten.
Al Christiana had himself pretty much of a cakewalk in the Ruge's Performance Center Pro Stock headliner. Christiana grabbed the lead and quickly opened up some real estate between and the rest of the field. A restart brought the field together and Greg Sleight took up the chase on Christiana after the green flag came out again. There would be no denying Christiana on this night as he raced to his fifth win of the season. Sleight was the runner-up in a solid run for him after a few weeks of suffering from mechanical malfunctions. Chrissie rider was third with John Rood fourth, John Roese fifth, Dave Demorest sixth, Bill Rion seventh and newcomer Adam Warner eighth.
Ray Tarantino led all fifteen laps of the Arkel Motors headliner for the Pure Stock division to claim his second win of the season. While Tarantino was comfortable upfront, the racing behind him was spectacular. The changing of positions throughout the run were incredible as driver after driver made his/her moves to race forward. Livy Johnson was the runner-up with Gary Ronk third, Bob Sleight in fourth and Chris Streeter in fifth. Bob Palmer, John Woinoski, Steve Williams, Paul Aragon Jr and Jim Cuneo rounded out the top ten.
Defending track champion Wyatt Clark led the first five laps of the Want Ad Digest All Star Slingshot finale until slowed by mechanical woes. Ashley Rogosich inherited the lead and that would be all she needed as she raced away to a comfortable win over Tommy Zwart. Michelle Campbell was third with Matt Shultz, Don Boonstra, and newcomer Mike Schinina completing the field.
Ryan McCartney led the first eight laps of the WRWD Radio Junior Slingshot feature. Hunter Lapp was able to slip past him on lap nine and appeared to be headed to victory. On lap-14 coming off of turn two a cloud of smoke slowed Lapp down and Visconti whizzed on by him and raced to the finish line for his second straight win. Josh Marcus was second with John Kendall in third, Lapp in fourth and Justin Sleight rounding out the top five.
Gemstones:
Alonzo Fireworks presented another masterpiece of a light show to the great Accord racing fans. As the speedway went dark, it was showtime for the firecracker fanatics as the sky above the speedway was filled with all colors of the rainbow and then some that haven't been named as of yet. The close to half hour rock your socks off program was capped off with a series of high voltage explosive charges in the final twelve seconds of the spectacular light show extravaganza. Special thanks to DJ Tim Adams for the CD music that accompanied the fireworks show.
The fabulous concession stand offered up the famous Chicken BBQ as the specialty for the evening, served picnic style with all of the trimmings and handled by the experts at Handsome Devil BBQ and was well received by the overflow crowd. The hard working kitchen staff busted their humps from the opening bell as they worked overtime and then some with a performance that would have made Chef Emeril Lagasse proud.
Saugerties Lumber representative Shawn spent some time in the tower with Announcer Steve Pados explaining the many offerings from his company. Texas Roadhouse in Kingston also had representative "The Z-Man" Zach O'Connell on the grounds with some gift certificates if the fans could answer some trivia questions offered up by Zach's father Paul O'Connell. Christa from Sparrow's Nest and O'Connell offered their thoughts in interviews with Pados regarding the great evening at the speedway. Marty from Upstate Auto offered up bicycles for a lucky and girl and Julie Brown and Colin Lapierre were the winners. Marty won the Mini iPad offered up by Accord Speedway.
The Sparrow's Nest charity at the speedway will continue throughout the remainder of the 2015 racing season. Close to $2,000.00 was raised during the evening for the 501(c)3 charity which supplies meals to caregivers for families who are battling cancer. A special thanks goes out to the great Accord fans and the Palmer Family, John Liggins Insurance, Auto Zone of Kingston, Kingston Nissan, Texas Roadhouse of Kingston, Jackie Brown Racing, Northeast Racing Videos, MFY Entertainment, Ed Dempsey Tattoo, Etsy Seller Doyle 1313, Venus Adorned Clothing Boutique, Dreaming of the Mouse, Romeo Chevrolet, Halmar International, Tommy Meier Racing, Danny Tyler Racing, Arkel Motors, Handsome Devil BBQ, Indian Ridge Motorsports, Will Auchmoody, Ryan Auchmoody and the Auchmoody Family.
Heat races were captured by Jeff Heotzler Jr, Scott Ferrier and Rich Ricci Jr in the Modifieds with Frank Smith III, and Rich Ricci III being victorious in the Sportsman heats. Brandon McGill, Dana Carey and Nick Plumstead were triumphant in the Spec Sportsman heats and Al Christiana scored the win in the Pro Stock heat. Livy Johnson, Chris Streeter and Ray Tarantino enjoyed wins in the Pure Stock heats. The Junior Slingshot heat was captured by Ryan McCartney and the All Star Slingshot heat win was recorded by Matt Shultz.
Many new faces arrived at the speedway for the first time in 2015 and among them were Craig Mitchell, Danny Creeden, Will Auchmoody, and Bob McGannon in the Modifieds. Shane Jablonka took a guest ride in the Nick Plumstead racer while Plumstead switched over to another ride for the evening. Leo Fotopolous made his first appearance of the season and the former Slingshot star scored a nice tenth place finish in his initial outing. Adam Warner made his first Accord start in the Pro Stocks and the Pure Stock ranks were bolstered by newcomers Matt Guadagno, Stan Vishinski, John Cole Jr, Kyle Welsh and Dick Shaddock. Mike Schinina made his first Accord start in the All Star Slingshots.
Mike Ricci escaped injury when jockeying for position in a strong run for the roses ended up against the Redi-Rock International barriers in turn one. Dana Carey enjoyed a solid run in his feature event (3rd) only to come up short in weight on the scales to suffer a DQ for the evening. The former Lightning Sprint star had himself a fast rod throughout the evening of racing.
A belated birthday offering goes out to Austin Moyer. Many thanks to Wright's Farm Market and Liggins Insurance Agency for the great pie offerings in Victory Lane.