FULLER BESTS McCREADIE BY A MERE .026 SECONDS AFTER 200 LAPS
ELBRIDGE, NY...Tim Fuller, from Edwards, NY, took advantage of a late race miss cue by a number of drivers who were caught in the pits changing tires. Fuller had to hold off a charging Tim McCreadie over the final 20 laps to claim a slim margin of victory to take home the $12,000 first place money.
"I just have to thank a whole bunch of people who stood by me when I was nothing," stated Fuller. "Bob (Foust) picked me up when I was nothing and I probably have the bet, no I do have the best equipment on the track today."
In an accompanying feature, Russ Hefti, from nearby Jordan, NY took top honors in the 30-lap Sunoco Race Fuels Sportsman Combined Championship run.
The 200-lap Dynomax-Advance Auto Parts saw Chuck Bower set fast time and then turn around and redraw the pole starting position. Bower, from Lansing, NY, turned in a lap of 21.689 seconds for a speed of 103.739 mph on the dry slick blackened speedway surface.
It was outside pole sitter Alan Johnson who grabbed the lead at the drop of the green. the green wasn't out long as the yellow flew on lap two when Butch Tittle slowed with a flat right front tire. A quick pitstop saw Tittle remain on the lead lap.
The race restarted on lap six and was immediately yellow flagged again when Chuck Hebing looped out of the pack in the first turn on the restart.
Through these early lap Johnson held onto first followed by Tim McCreadie, his younger brother Danny Johnson and Bower. McCreadie tried to make a race of it by passing Alan on the low side, in the second turn, on lap 27 to take the lead. Johnson tied to respond, but had to hold fast on the rear bumper of McCreadie. His opportunity came with the lapped car of Jason barney on lap 34. Johnson ducked low in the fourth turn to retake the lead from McCreadie, using Barney's car as a pick. McCreadie answered by quickly taking a high line in the third turn to retake the front spot. Alan then tried the low line in the third turn but settled back into second behind McCreadie.
The yellow reappeared on lap 37 when Jerry Higbie slowed in the third turn. He ducked into the pits and out of the race.
On lap 42 Alan pulled along side of McCreadie to retake the lead on the next lap. Johnson then began to pull out a small advantage over McCreadie with Danny in third followed by Brett Hearn and Gary Tomkins. By lap 50 the top five cars stretched out nearly a half lap apart.
Steve Paine passed Hearn for fourth down the back stretch on lap 59. The whole front end of the race was about to change when the yellow flew on lap 74 when Hearn slowed with a flat right rear tire. This set up wholesale pit stops as the race had passed the 50 lap mark at which time mandatory pit stops would count.
Bob McCreadie stayed on the track to lead lap 75. But by lap 76, with pit stops completed Alan Johnson was again scored as the leader of the race followed by his brother Danny and Tim McCreadie.
The yellow flew for a fifth time on lap 84 when Steve Hulsizer slowed with a flat tire in the third turn. A handful of cars decided to pit including third place Danny Johnson for a new tire.
On lap 89 McCreadie again passed Johnson for the lead. Tim then began to pull out nearly a six second lead, a full straight away lead, buy the halfway mark of the feature.
McCreadie continued to pull away from Johnson, now up to an 8 second advantage, on lap 116, when the yellow flew as Jason Barney broke the front end of his machine just off the front chute. Again a number of top runner pitted for new rubber during this yellow including Chad Brachmann, Hearn, Billy Decker and Fuller.
Alan Johnson began to close in on McCreadie over the next fifteen laps, and then passing him for the lead on lap 133, using an outside pass through the second turn. Johnson then began to build his own advantage. By the lap 150 mark Johnson held an 8.2 second lead over McCreadie.
The drama of the race was about to take place. On lap 154 the yellow flew when Vic Coffey slowed on the front stretch with a flat tire. Decker, Johnson, McCreadie, Tomkins, Paine, Sheppard and Pat Ward all pitted. But the yellow flag only stayed out for just two laps catching a number of these drivers in the pits and losing a lap to the leaders, including Tomkins and Ward, who were on the lead lap before their pit stop.
Tim Fuller now found himself in the lead with Danny Johnson second followed by McCreadie, Alan Johnson and Kenny Tremont. Fuller build up nearly a ten second lead over McCreadie when all of a sudden McCreadie began to whittle the lead down. Lap-after-lap McCreadie closed on Fuller. With just ten laps remaining in the race McCreadie had closed onto the rear bumper of the Fuller machine. As the pair exited the fourth turn McCreadie tried the high groove but fell short by just .026 seconds at the wire. Alan Johnson held on to claim third followed by Danny Johnson and Tremont, the only five cars on the lead lap.
"My crew told me over the radio to stay low," continued Fuller from victory lane. "I knew there wasn't much to grab hold of up top so I took their advise to heart."
The 30-lap DIRT Sportsman feature saw the entire field forced to have a complete restart when cars went spinning everywhere at the start of the feature. Greg Doust claimed the early lead of the race followed by Paul Guererri and Russ Hefti.
Scott George brought out the first yellow after the restart when he suffered a flat tire and slowed on the track. Instead of clearing the speedway he stopped in the first turn sending the entire field scrambling. Lance Willix II had no place to go and made contact with the end of the angled Jersey barrier. This sent his car sailing up into the air, landing on it's nose and flipping to the inside the first turn. Willix emerged uninjured but his race was over for the day.
Hefti was able to pass Doust on the restart as Shawn Donath pulled into third. Hefti held nearly a four second lead over Doust by the halfway mark in the race.
Stewart Friesen began to pressure Doust, finally passing Greg on lap 25 for second. Jessica Zemken exited the race track on this same lap over the third turn embankment. She returned to the track but not before the yellow flew.
Hefti held off Friesen over the final five laps to take the win. Doust came home in third followed by Guererri and Donath.
Pit Notes: Again a great field of cars was on hand for the Dynomax Weekend Sunday events. Seventy-one sportsman reported to the track and 48 DIRT Modifieds were on hand...two cars were found light at the scales following time trials and were placed at the back of their heat races...Racing returns to Rolling Wheels Raceway on Friday, October 11 and Saturday October 12, as part of Super DIRT Week XXXII at the New York State Fairgrounds.
DYNOMAX WORLD SERIES OF DIRT TRACK RACING DAY 2 SUMMARY
DIRT SPORTSMAN
HEAT 1: P. Guererri, B. Shantel Jr., C. Phelps.
HEAT 2: G. Doust, S. Friesen, G. Bosse.
HEAT 3: R. Hefti, B. MacTavish, D. Wiesner.
HEAT 4: M. Potter, M. Butler, B. Tonkin.
HEAT 5: Sw. Donath, B. Sage, T. Perrego.
HEAT 6: A. Ferri, J. Pfeffer, D. Just.
CONSI 1: J. Zemken, T. Juhl (dq).
CONSI 2: Ti. Sears, E. Payne Jr.
CONSI 3: Sn. Donath, T. Jones.
ADDED: R. Ledingham, J. Scarborough, L. Willix II, T. Henderson, T. Clemons, S. George.
FEATURE (30-laps): RUSS HEFTI, Stewart Friesen, Greg Doust, Paul Guererri, Shawn Donath, Adam Ferri, Tim Clemons, Brian Sage, Bill Shantel Jr., John Pfeffer, Mark Potter, Tim Sears, Boyd MacTavish, Chad Phelps, Dan Wiesner, Dave Just, Tom Perrego, George Bosse, Shane Donath, Ron Ledingham, Tim Jones, Todd Henderson, Brett Tonkin, Tim Dwyer, John Scarborough, Jessica Zemken, Scott George, Matt Butler, Lance Willix II, Eldon Payne Jr.
DIRT MODIFIEDS
TIME TRIALS: Chuck Bower 21.689 (103.739 mph), Vic Coffey 21.703, Alex Hoag 21.852, Billy Decker 21.925, Danny Johnson 22.000, Bob McCreadie 22.043, Tim Fuller 22.046, Tim McCreadie 22.132, Brett Hearn 22.145, Dave Axton 22.158, Steve Hulsizer 22.171, Danny O'Brien 22.186, Joe Beyea 22.294, Chad Brachmann 22.325, Steve Paine 22.550, Rich Laubach 22.556, Vince Vitale 22.562, Alan Johnson 22.665, Pat Ward 22.742, Pete Bicknell 22.812, Jack Johnson 22.859, Tom Sears Jr. 22.882, Ted Lamb Jr. 22.912, Butch Tittle 22.949, Ray Bliss 23.051, Jerry Higbie 23.060, Matt Sheppard 23.108, Jimmy Phelps 23.127, Todd Milton 23.151, Jason Barney 23.203, Eric Grauveau 23.210, Gary Tomkins 23.214, Pierre Dagenais 23.230, Chuck Hebing 23.272, Bobby Varin 23.309, Kenny Tremont Jr. 23.332, Tony Pepicelli 23.437, Jeff Brownell 23.492, Ryan Phelps 23.549, Chris Shultz 23.555, A.J. Romano 23.617, Mike Kolka 23.810, Shawn Beardsley 23.967, Jeff Heotzler 24.031, Dave VanHorn Jr. 24.081, Alan Shiffler 24.133, Zach Aubertine 24.323, Brian McDonald 23.370 (dq), Rich Swarthout 23.451 (dq), Jeff Isabel NT
HEAT 1: T. Fuller, A. Hoag, S. Paine, S. Hulsizer, P. Ward.
HEAT 2: T. McCreadie, B. Decker, G. tomkins, B. Tittle, K. Tremont.
HEAT 3: D. Johnson, B. Hearn, J. Beyea, R. Bliss, J. Johnson.
HEAT 4: C. Brachmann, A. Johnson, B. Mccreadie, D. Axton, T. Sears Jr.
CONSI 1: B. Varin, A.J. Romano, T. Lamb Jr., M. Sheppard.
CONSI 2: C. Hebing, P. Bicknell, J. Barney, R. Laubach.
FEATURE (200-laps): TIM FULLER, Tim McCreadie, Alan Johnson, Danny Johnson, Kenny Tremont, Steve Paine, Pat Ward, Billy Decker, Gary tomkins, Brett Hearn, Vic Coffey, Chad Brachmann, Alex Hoag, Matt Sheppard, Steve Hulsizer, Chuck Bower, Bobby Varin, Ted Lamb Jr., Butch Tittle, Dave Axton, Jason barney, A.J. Romano, Bob McCreadie, Rich Laubach, Jack Johnson, Tom Sears Jr., Chuck Hebing, Jerry Higbie, Joe Beyea, Ray Bliss, Pete Bicknell.