Accord, NY- "Iron" Mike Ricci Romps To OCFS Qualifier Victory; Yankowski and Steuer Capture Slingshot Tour Wins At Accord Speedway By: Steve Pados, Accord Speedway Media
The continued great wave of warm summer weather provided the proper backdrop for the mighty stars and cars of the Accord Speedway on Friday evening with an over-filled pit area to do battle at the "Gem in the Catskills" racing facility. The normal quiet serenity of the Catskill Mountains gave way to the intoxicating sounds of hot rod racing action on Friday evening and another good sized crowd of eager racing fans came out to see their racing heroes carve out a fabulous and entertaining seven division racing card at the speedway. When the final event was checkered, seven happy winners found their way to the Lucas Oil Products Victory Lane on an evening sponsored by the Orange County Fair Speedway, home of the Eastern States 200. The Checkered Flag Bonus was sponsored by Halmar International.
In the United Pump and Tank Modified division, "Iron" Mike Ricci found all of the racing channels to his liking as he ran down early leader Ken Ferrier and romped to his fourth win of the season and in doing so claimed the qualifying spot for the prestigious 54th running of the Eastern States 200 to be held in Middletown, New York from October 23rd to the 26th. Olivia Johnson turned her week from rags to riches as she capture her first career win in the Arkel Motors Pure Stock division. Johnson and her crew spent the better part of the week getting her racer back in shape after she barrel-rolled her race car one week ago. Dave Werber charged into the lead on the first lap and remained there to capture his third win of the season in the Escape RV Sportsmen clash. Defending track champion Ed Dachenhausen used a row start to show his tail feathers to everyone as he carved his third notch in his Accord gun belt for 2015 as he captured the Healey Brothers Group Spec Sportsman feature main event. John Roese continued to put the finishing touches on his return to the speedway as he captured his second win of the season in the Ruge's Performance Center Pro Stock division feature. In an evening dedicated to the stars of the Slingshot divisions, Alex Yankowski captured the WRWD Radio Junior Slingshot division shoot out with a fabulous run and Dillon Steuer was victorious in the Want AD Digest All Star Slingshot feature, both events counting for the National Slingshot Titles for 2015.
Ken Ferrier and Joe Judge brought the field of United Pump and Tank Modifieds down for the start of the 30-lap headliner. Ferrier, in only his third Modified start, seized the lead at the start with Joe Judge following. Robbie Green made his presence known but from eighth starting position came Mike Ricci, now back in his regular mount. Ricci found the fresh real estate at any point of the race track and quickly made his way into the runner-up slot. Ricci attacked high and low and got underneath Ferrier before the midway point of the race to take over the lead. Once out front, Ricci put on a clinic with his Backwoods Brew/Direct Fleet Service sponsored race car as he went on to capture his fourth win of the season at Accord. Jeff Heotzler Sr enjoyed another strong run for runner-up honors. Ken Ferrier was third in a fine showing with Robbie Green fourth and Joe Judge nailing down a top five finish. Scott Ferrier headed up the second five with Richie Eurich, Tommy Johnson, Jeff Heotzler Jr and the returning Dave Hinsch completing the top ten.
The Escape RV Sportsman division finale found Dave Werber grabbing the lead at the start of the event from his teammate Frank Smith and opening up a good margin early on. Jesse Marks broke free and challenged with Jimmy Wells and Kevin Ward also in the hunt. Marks would get close to Werber but Werber hit his marks all of the way around the speedway to notch his third win of the season. Marks was second, with Wells, Ward and the returning Ray See Jr providing some heavy opposition throughout the 25 lap encounter. Phil Goetchius, Ralph Ronk, Joe Giachinta, Chris Daley and Frank Smith completed the top ten.
The Arkel Motors sponsored Pure Stock event got underway with Olivia Johnson and Tanner Johnson making up the front row. Livy was on the hammer from the drop of the green flag and set sail around the speedway. Ray Tarantino broke free from the pack early and began to reel Johnson in little by little. A caution on lap seven brought the field to a halt and Johnson's lead disappeared. On the restart, Johnson remained in front but Tarantino was knocking on the door. The pair worked nose to tail for a few laps but Johnson was in the zone and captured a very popular win at the speedway. Tarantino would finish second with Bob Sleight, Chris Streeter and Steve Williams completing the top five. Gary Ronk, Bob Palmer, Chris Kanuk, Harry Bachman and "The Duker" John Cole rounded out the top ten.
Ed Dachenhausen was shot out a cannon at the start of the Healey Brothers Group Spec Sportsman feature event as he quickly raced away from the field. Part time campaigner in 2015, Jimmy Johnson, got into the groove and quickly began to reel in Dachenhausen. Although the pair would get nose to tail during the feature run it would be Dachenhausen in for the win in his Judd Construction/Upstate Auto sponsored hot rod. Jimmy Johnson claimed runner-up honors with Robbie Knipe, Kyle Rohner and Phil Johnson claiming top five spots. Dan Speedling and Patrick Murphy would be the next two finishers.
John Roese gunned his Ford powered racer into the lead at the start of the Ruge's Performance Center Pro Stock encounter and led all fifteen laps to record his second win of the season. Roese looked like the Roese of old as he slowly gains his racing legs after losing part of the season recovering from injuries suffered in a logging accident. Al Christiana, Dave Demorest, Ron Rion and Wayne Taylor completed the field.
Eighteen cars went to the post for the Junior Slingshot Tour event. New Jersey's Cole Stangle led for the first lap but it would be Alex Yankowski going to the top of the raceway on turn two to seize command of the lead. Yankowski's Fire Management Control hot rod was up to the task at hand as he opened up some distance on the field seemingly at will. "The Flash" Bobby Flood moved into second after a restart and would get close on restarts but the evening belonged to Yankowski as he claimed his first ever win at the Accord facility. Flood was second with current Tour points leader Justin Mills third, Matt DeRitter hustling to fourth in a fine run and Tyler Peet rounding out the top five. Samantha Muller, Kyle Braun, Kyle Smith, Cole Stangle and Gavin Santee completed the top ten.
In the All Star Slingshot shoot-out, Dillon Steuer grabbed the lead at the start but Charlie Lawrence would out-hustle him off of turn two to grab the lead. Lawrence would lead the first three laps until a scramble brought the field to caution. On the restart, Steuer would pay back the scenario as he out-hustled Lawrence to take over the lead. Once in front, Steuer was right on the money as he remained there throughout the rest of the run to go on and claim the victory. Lawrence enjoyed a solid run for second with Cody Kline racing from tenth to finish third. The reigning national champion Dylan Hoch was fourth and Accord regular Ashley Rogosich was fifth. The second five found Louden Reimert heading up the parade with Anthony Raisner, Henry Anderson, Steve Van Valkenburg and Daniel Morgiewicz completing the top ten. Ryan McCartney, Matt Stangle, Jarrad Miller, Caitlin Krum and Vermont's Marty Kelly completed the top fifteen.
GEMSTONES:
Through the determined efforts of Promoter Gary Palmer, the speedway was in fabulous racing condition and the many racing channels provided the drivers a wall to wall track surface to race on. The close side by side racing action that Accord is well noted for has kept the fans on the edge of their seats all season long.
Pure Stock heats went to Ray Tarantino and Tanner Johnson. Modified preliminaries were captured by Robbie Green, Richie Eurich and Scott Ferrier. The one Spec Sportsman heat was claimed by Ed Dachenhausen. Jimmy Wells and Dave Werber captured the Sportsman heats while John Roese won the Pro Stock heat event. The All Star Slingshots competed in a dual heat format with Dillon Steuer, Ashley Rogosich and Charlie Lawrence winning the first round while Steuer, Henry Anderson and Cody Kline claimed wins in the second round. The Junior Slingshots had Justin Mills, Alex Yankowski and Cole Stangle winning heats in the first round while Hunter Lapp, Bobby Flood and and Stangle captured win in the second round.
Many new faces arrived last night for their first Accord start as the Slingshot crowd does a great job in supporting their drivers. Matt and Cole Stangle, Clayton McCartney, Tyler Peet, Kyle Braun, Gavin Santee, Kyle Smith, and Nic Flammer were were faces on the Accord scene. Dave Hinsch was back at the speedway with a new Modified that looked good and ran well throughout the evening. The Ricci's, Allison and Rich III, made their debuts in the Modifieds and both did nice jobs on the speedway with the sail panels attached. Ray See Jr made his first Accord start in some time and was a quick study with a fifth place finish in his first time back. Youngster Collin DuBois made his second start at the speedway but was plagued all night with transmission problems. Tom Hausman, Alan Tarantino and John Cole all returned to the speedway with their Pure Stocks.
Modified legend Gary Balough was back at the speedway assisting the Halmar racing team and spent a good part of the evening in the grandstand tower chatting with friends and taking in the racing action.
Bridgeport Speedway racing guru Danny Serrano was on board last evening and enjoyed his time there talking to drivers and talking racing in the tower with the two Gary's, Palmer and Balough.
After his racing was completed, Slingshot star Marty Kelly assisted announcer Steve Pados with the play by play and victory lane interviews. Marty is a fine announcer in his own right and may at some point have to choose between the driving and announcing chores or just continue to do both.
The speedway will offer a special dedication on the anniversary of 9/11 next week as all police, firefighters and EMT's will be admitted to the speedway free with the department ID. Taylor Rental will be the headline sponsor for the event highlighting the night of champions at the speedway.
The new Accord Speedway T-shirts have arrived and are on sale at $10.00 each with plus sizes being $2.00 more.
A super amount of interest is already in place for the upcoming King of the Catskills weekend at the speedway. With some very big dollars in place, a banner field for all divisions is anticipated. More information will be released as the countdown is coming quickly.
Racing is on tap every Friday night at Accord Speedway from April through September. Pit Gates open at 4:30; Spectator Gates open at 5:00; Hot Laps are at 6:30 and the racing begins at 7 PM. Admission for Adults $14.00; Seniors (65+) $12.00; Children $3.00 (11+ under) Indoor Seating $20.00; Family four pack special: 2 Adults + 2 Children and $20.00 in Accord Bucks for $44.00 (a savings of $10.00) Special shows do have an increase in admission.
September 11th brings the "Night of Champions" to the speedway grounds on an evening sponsored by Taylor Rental. All 2105 division champions will be named and interviewed in the Lucas Oil Products Victory Lane.
Racing fans are encouraged to secure your plans for the "King of the Catskills" spectacular coming to the speedway on September 18th and sponsored by Insinger Fuels. The Modified event will be 60 laps and offering a grand prize of $5,000.00 to the winner. The Sportsmen will race for 30 laps and the winner will receive a $1,500.00 prize. Enduro racing will immediately follow the feature events with $2,000.00 on the line for the winner.
For further updates and information regarding all of the news and additions to the Accord Speedway, log on to their well documented website at: http://accordspeedway.com or call the speedway hotline at: 845 626 3478. For photo and video work of the latest Accord Speedway racing action, contact Northeast Racing Videos at: 518 535 0020 or through their website at: http://northeastracingvideos.com
At the Accord Speedway............................................
A TRAIL OF DIRT LEADS RIGHT TO OUR DOOR
Accord, NY - Accord Speedway Welcomes In The National Slingshot And Junior Slingshot Tours This Friday By: Steve Pados, GA Motorsports Media
With the regular season quickly approaching the final stretch of the 2015 racing season, the Accord Speedway has some special events on tap to give the speedway's loyal racing fans something extra to cheer about. Accord Speedway swings back into action on Friday evening, September 4th with the Junior and All Star Slingshot divisions highlighting an eight card race format at the speedway. The upcoming program will have special significance on the highly competitive and popular All Star Slingshot and Junior Slingshot divisiondivision. The event once again brings together the best of the best in the small car divisions as the stars of the National Slingshot Tour will arrive to challenge the hometown heroes of the Accord Speedway. The racing will feature the tour mandated dual heat format with the top finishers out of the heat events starting upfront. The loyal racing fans have been treated to some great racing action in all divisions as the solid roster of weekly participants have given their all to entertain their adoring fans.
The invading stars of the National Slingshot Tour are headed up by the defending National Slingshot Champion Dylan Hoch. Hoch (1060) holds a narrow 20 point lead heading into Accord with former National Champion "The Oley Jet" Brett Bieber (1040) breathing down his tailpipes. Sixty points out is another former National Champion "The Captain" Cody Kline (1000). Rounding out the remainder of the top ten is: Loudon Reimert (949), and former Accord regular Dillon Steuer (769). Don Schmidt (584) holds down tenth place and is followed by Henry Anderson (539) and Anthony Raisner (520). Raisner was impressive earlier in the season when he borrowed the Ashley Rogosich back-up car. Others excpected in are Goshen, New York's "The Big D" Daniel Morgiewicz and former speedway regular Demetrios Drellos.
Since the event also carries Empire Region points, additional names such as Joe Krum, Vermont's Marty Kelly, Steve Van Valkenburg, Caitlin Krum, Jordan Lawrence and Chris Hall can be added to the list. Hall was a surprise entrant earlier in the season at Accord when he got behind the wheel of the Charlie Lawrence car he usually crew chiefs on and walked away with a stout victory at the speedway during an Empire Region Tour event.
The hometown stars at Accord will counter with defending track champion Wyatt Clark. New Jersey's Ashley Rogosich has enjoyed a break-out season at the speedway with four wins and "The Junior Rock" Matt Shultz has leaped into the limelight with six wins to his credit. "Kid Wicked" Tyler Pirone, Tommy Zwart, Ryan McCartney, Don Boonstra, "The Flash" Bobby Flood, Nick Del Campo, "The Otisville Outlaw" Corey Cormier, Jarad Miller and others are expected in to hold down the fort against the outside invaders.
The Junior Slingshot stars have been dubbed "The Stars Of Tomorrow" since the division began by Hamlin and Accord Speedway announcer Steve Pados and the tremendous amount of talent that has evolved since the division began is just over the top. Leading the National points coming into the event is "The Highside Hustler" Justin Mills (610). Mills is coming off a weekend in which he scored two wins making him a favorite for the upcoming event. New Jersey's Cole Stangle (536) sits in second place with Kutztown's Kyle Smith (514) and Lehighton's Gavin Santee (499) close on his heels. The remainder of the top ten are Kyle Braun (496), Alex Yankowski (485), Hunter Lapp (485), Tyler Peet (484), Bobby Flood (410), and Nic Flammer (400).
Accord Speedway puts their hopes on a number of driving talents featuring Hunter Lapp knocking off five wins thus far and following the tour leading the parade of Accord stars for the event. Josh Marcus with seven wins, "The Italian Stallion" Vinnie Visconti with two wins, Samantha Muller with a lone win head up the supporting group of hometown stars. Additional drivers include, Matt DeRitter, Jake Mason, The Sleight Brothers; Justin and Jayden, Ryan Auchmoody, Ashton DeWitt, Peyton Speedling, Michael Corbin and John Kendall.