Accord, NY- "The Chairman Of The Board" Rich Ricci Dominates King Of The Catskills At Accord Speedway
By: Steve Pados, Accord Speedway Media
The Ulster County weather was perfectly warm and breezy, the Accord Speedway was in top form and a great roster of drivers and a standing room only crowd proved to be a win/win for Promoters Gary and Donna Palmer to host their annual King of the Catskills event at the speedway. Working right up until race time, Gary Palmer had the pristine quarter mile clay speedplant in impeccable condition and the attention to detail enabled the stout field of Modified and Sportsman competitors to race wall to wall throughout the evening of racing events. The evening of speed was headlined by sponsor Bruce Insinger and his Insinger Fuel Team. Check them out on the web at: www.insingerperformance.com
When all was said and done, Modified short track specialist "The Chairman of the Board" Rich Ricci jumped on the talented Modified field at the drop of the green flag and never looked back as he dominated the racing action in a wire to wire triumph at the speedway. The win for Ricci was his fourth King of the Catskills triumph and Ricci walked away with the $5,000.00 prize that went along with it. In the Healey Brothers Group Sportsman Joe Giachinta Memorial 30-lap shootout, Chris Stevens led only the final turn and one half to nip Corey Cormier at the finish line to capture the win and the $1,500.00 pay day that awaited him in the Lucas Oil Products Victory Lane. In the Nightcap for the Emmanuel's Marketplace Fireball Four Cylinder Enduros, George Zeininger continued his mastery over the rest of the Enduro field to go on and win his third Enduro event of the season and with the win walk away with a hefty haul of money.
Twenty-four of some of the finest Modifieds on the East Coast today took off in a run for the roses in the King of the Catskills headliner with Rich Ricci wasting no time to blast out into the lead. Pole Sitter Jeff Strunk followed and stayed close early in the event. A few early skirmishes dropped some quality talent from the field as Danny Creeden, Anthony Perrego, Joey Grammes and Mike Colsten were some of the early casualties. On each restart Ricci was able to get the great starts and by the midpoint of the event had stepped away from the field.
Things were beginning to heat up as Mike Ricci made a run for the front and Jimmy Horton was working the baseline of the speedway as if he were on rails. Mike Ricci slipped past Strunk and a few laps later Horton was able to do the same. Tommy Meier, Andy Bachetti, Brian Krummel and Nick Rochinski were in the hunt as well and after forty laps things began to change rapidly in the make-up of the event. Mike Ricci raced into second place only to lose the spot a few laps later to Jimmy Horton who had gotten past Strunk. Tommy Meier came back to life as slipped by Bachetti. Horton closed the distance on Rich Ricci quickly and they were nose to tail on lap-48. Horton slowed for a slower car in front of him and seemed to lose a bit of momentum. The final ten laps found Rich Ricci uncontested as he drove to a convincing win in a dominating effort for the New Paltz, New York resident. Jimmy Horton began his drive to the front from eleventh starting place and did a great job of mastering the baseline of the speedway for runner-up honors. Mike Ricci was third with a real strong run. Jeff Strunk, the defending champion of the event in 2015, ran a strong fourth and Tommy Meier completed the top five finishers. Brian Krummel headed up the second five with Andy Bachetti seventh, Nick Rochinski eighth, Donnie Elliott ninth and Danny Tyler completing the top ten. Ricci turned the fastest time during the event with a 13.184 second clocking and Strunk was right behind with a 13.386 time.
Aaron Doolittle and Joe Conklin made up the front row for the Sportsman main event named in honor of the late Joe Giachinta. Giachinta was a true gentleman and friend of the speedway and lost his life in an industrial accident last November. Conklin outhustled Doolittle for the point and led the first five laps until Kenny Hinsch used the bottom of the speedway to get past him. The next time around would prove the undoing of Conklin as a skirmish removed him to the sidelines. Hinsch would lead the way until lap seventeen as Corey Cormier went topside to take command of the event and Hinsch would meet the inside barrier and be done for the evening.
On the restart it would Cormier showing the way with Chris Stevens taking up the chase from 14th starting position. Cormier was back at the top of the speedway and as the leaders came upon slower traffic, Stevens was working the bottom to erase any lead Cormier had built up. Slower traffic would come into play quickly as a pack of cars were running together and Cormier went to the top to slip past them. As the white flag flew Cormier and Stevens were nose to tail and dodging traffic left and right. As they reached turn three, Cormier went to the top and Stevens went to the baseline with Stevens sliding up and Cormier driving down and the two cars touched and it would be Stevens just nipping Cormier for the win.
Joey Bruning from 13th starting position would finish third with Tyler Johnston fourth and Allison Ricci from 17th completing the top five. The second five were steady Milton Mann, Daniel Morgiewicz, Chris Lynch, Nick Plumstead and Phil Goetchius. Corey Cormier turned the fastest lap when he clocked 13.557 seconds.
The veteran campaigner George Zeininger wasted no time in charging to the front in the 50-lap Emmanuel's Marketplace Fireball Four Cylinder Enduro excursion. Zeininger, who captured two wins earlier in the 2016 season and the defending champion of the event last year, had himself a stout race car and was able to drive away from the field and go on to victory. Former Street Stock campaigner Gene Helms has found a new place to race with the Enduros as he enjoyed a solid run for runner-up honors. Johnny Bankich paced himself throughout the event and finished just behind Helms for third place money.
GEMSTONES:
The showcased event of the season at Accord for the Palmer Family was another spectacular event for the successful promotional team now in their 16th season at operating their Ulster County facility. The racing was superb as every Modified and Sportsman heat resembled a mini feature event. The standing room only crowd came from far and wide with as many as twelve states representing the statewide support of the tremendous racing activity. Parking was at a premium and the grounds were abuzz with excitement for the long awaited evening of racing at the "Gem in the Catskills". The turnstiles of fans filled the concession areas all night long as they devoured the great cuisine offered up by the speedway concessions.
41 Modifieds made their way to the pit area along with 39 sportsman and 31 Four Cylinder Enduros. Five heats were needed for the Modifieds with Joey Grammes, Ed Dachenhausen, Brian Krummel, Mike Ricci and Nick Petrilak scoring wins. The Sportsman division cars also ran five heats with Aaron Doolittle, Joe Conklin, Corey Cormier, Brandon McGill and Tyler Boniface capturing the wins. Three B-Mains were needed for the Modifieds with Danny Creeden, Brain Malcolm and Danny Tyler collecting the wins. Three Sportsman B-Mains were needed and won by Leo Fotopolous, Jimmy Johnson and Rich Ricci III.
Both divisions were in abundance with drivers on this evening and many did not make the final transfer into the feature and the speedway management would like to thank everyone for making a fine effort to get into the lineup. Brad Szulewski, Ken Ferrier, Mike Butler, Bobby Trapper, Bob Hentschel, Chris Shultz, Chuck McKee, Kurt Hundeland, Danny Kronk, Brett Graham, Ray See, Richard Smith, Ed Burgess, Brad Rothaupt and Joe Judge. Sportsman drivers included Jamie Yannone, Vinnie Gress, Stan Vishinski, Mike Murphy, Ryan McCartney, Phil Johnson, Jim Introne, Kyle Rohner, Mark Connolly, Matt Shultz, Dave Demorest and Travis Codswell.
Grandma Annies Pies were back in victory lane last evening courtesy of Liggan Insurance, Wright's Farm Market, Rosendale Farmers Market and Cousin Pete Donohue.
Condolences go out to the Tyler Racing Team as Mike Edwards, the longtime crew chief for Doug Tyler, passed away during the past week.
"Uncle" Mike Hansen from WRWD Radio 107.3 FM was back in the house and once again enjoyed the show as he helped out with commentary throughout the evening.
The Giachinta Family was at the speedway and presented the Joe Giachinta Cup to the winner Chris Stevens.
Speedway management thanks all of our drivers and fans for a great season at the speedway.
Halloween Havoc is next up on the Accord Speedway schedule. The date is October 29th with a full itinerary of racing and fun things for the families of racing to enjoy. Hay Rides, Balloon Sculpturing, Pumpkin Painting, Kid's Costume Parade, Bike Raffle Give-a-ways courtesy of Upstate Auto and just a part of some great fall fun.
RESULTS:
United Pump and Tank Modifieds: (60 laps $5,000.00) Rich Ricci, Jimmy Horton, Mike Ricci, Jeff Strunk, Tommy Meier, Brian Krummel, Andy Bachetti, Nick Rochinski, Donnie Elliott, Danny Tyler, Scott Ferrier, Jesse Marks, Nick Petrilak, Rob Rowe, Brian Malcolm, Ed Dachenhausen, Richie Eurich, Joey Grammes, Danny Creeden, Anthony Perrego, Jimmy Wells, Bobby Trapper Jr, Mike Colsten, Mike Kolka
Healey Brothers Sportsman: (30 Laps $1,500.00) Chris Stevens, Corey Cormier, Joey Bruning, Tyler Johnston, Allison Ricci, Milton Mann, Daniel Morgiewicz, Chris Lynch, Nick Plumstead, Phil Goetchius, Troy Arnold, Ralph Ronk, Jimmy Johnson, Brandon McGill, Leo Fotopolous, Connor Otten, Rich Ricci III, Jim Kraus, Frank Venezia, Brad Horton, Robbie Knipe, Jimmy Wells, Kenny Hinsch, Tyler Boniface, Joe Conklin, Aaron Doolittle
Emmanuel's Marketplace Fireball Four Cylinder Enduros: George Zeininger, Gene Helms, Johnny Bankich