The Doctor Makes A $20K House Call At Fultons Victoria 200
Fulton, NY - Someone said a doctor was in the house at the Fulton Speedway on Saturday, and that was Doctor J Danny Johnson. Not only did he surgically pick apart the 49-car starting field in the 15th annual Victoria 200, he collected over $20,000 in the process. Johnson led 189 of the race s 200 laps, and took home the Victoria trophy for the first time ever.
A.J. Romano led the field down to the green, but Fred Cade spun into a pole tire in turn four on the opening lap and brought out a quick yellow. Cade was a guranteed starter, but he won his heat so he did not need to rely on that spot.
Caution laps counted in this event, so the green flew for a brief moment on lap five before a multi-car tangle in turn four involved several cars. After four more yellow laps, Danny Johnson drove by the 4 of A.J. Romano to lead when green flag racing resumed.
With ten on the lapboard Johnson was out front with Romano, Jimmy Horton, Ron Holmes, and the 89B of Todd Burley rounding out the top five. The race went back under caution on lap 12, as Alex Hoag, who was involved in the earlier tangle in turn four, had his misfortune continue as he wound up on the inside of the track in turn two. He was able to restart.
Johnson took off again on the restart, with Ron Holmes stepping up his pace and taking over second. Romano was still holding down third, with Billy Decker in the B& F Machine RK1 fourth and Burley fifth. Over the next few laps, Tim McCreadie in the Heroux Racing 21 moved past Burley and began chasing Decker.
The race continued under green until lap 20 when Darryl Ruggles developed a problem on his machine and stopped in turn two. The 1B of Pete Bicknell had just gotten past Burley for fifth, so when the race got back underway three laps later, the top five was Johnson, Holmes, Romano, McCreadie, and Bicknell.
Holmes tried to stay with Johnson, but the 27J opened up some ground as the race moved toward lap 50. McCreadie moved up to challenge Holmes for the runnerup spot, while Bobby Varin in the Dover Brake 00 began to show some muster and was in the top five when Alan Johnson s 14J developed a flat tire on lap 39, turning on the yellow lights for the fifth time.
Steve Hulsizer had put his motor in the Randy Ross 91 for the day, and the New England Financial Services car was running well when he lost the handle and spun in turn one, changing the caution count to six in the first 50 laps. J.J. Michaels and Joe Plazek both ducked into the pits at this time, with Michaels being done for the day.
Through all the stops and starts, the 27J of Johnson maintained a slight advantage and left everyone else fighting amongst themselves. The 21 of McCreadie passed Holmes on lap 52 for second, but could not muster a challenge for the lead until after lap 60, when he surprised Holmes on a restart and took control briefly.
McCreadie was fast on the bottom, and Johnson was up to the task on top as the pair diced for the lead in a battle that left the record crowd cheering wildly. Johnson fought until lap 72, then managed to pin McCreadie in traffic and retake the lead. Holmes was in third place watching the duo, while Horton and Varin were filling fourth and fifth at this point.
Green flag racing prevailed until lap 89 when Dan Miller spun out on the back straightaway. Johnson continued to maintain his advantage until the halfway break, which officially ended with McCreadie, Holmes, Tim Fuller and Steve Paine running behind the leader in the top five. Vic Coffey, Jimmy Horton, Bobby Varin, Billy Decker, and John Moravec were running sixth through tenth.
After a twenty minute break to allow the drivers to change tires, add fuel, and make adjustments to their cars, the race resumed for the second 100 lap segment. Holmes made the first move of this chess match as he slipped by McCreadie and took second for a few laps.
Kirk Horton stopped his 7K on the front stretch on lap 104, adding another yellow to the history books. Johnson, Holmes, McCreadie, Fuller, and Vic Coffey were all trying to test each other to see what they had once the race got back underway.
Traffic began to play a factor as the drivers settled down for a green flag segment that would last for 27 laps. Johnson and McCreadie worked their way through traffic, with Holmes hanging on to third and a great battle developing for fourth between Coffey, Fuller, and Decker.
Holmes had his luck run out on lap 136 as he caught one of the inside pole tires in turn three and suffered damage to his front end. Jimmy Gabriel had a flat tire a few laps later as the caution bug temporarily returned. Brett Hearn had quietly slithered through the field, and on the restart following the Gabriel caution Hearn shot from 8th to 5th.
Another long stretch of green flag racing began with Johnson, McCreadie, and Decker battling furiously in and out of traffic. Decker passed McCreadie on lap 163, and two laps later Ryan Baye was involved in a jingle in turn four and his American Auger machine ended up stopped on the track in turn four.
This caution closed the field for what would be the final time, as the remainder of the race would be run under green. Johnson would be challenged off and on, but would have more than enough to stave off McCreadie and Decker in traffic, providing the key to his first ever Victoria 200 victory.
At a post-race press conference, Johnson said, To win the Victoria 200 feels awesome. I had an awesome car today, and the traffic fell just right for us. I watched the Sportsman race last night, and I knew the top would be good for a while. I was able to run the first 100 laps and not hurt the tires too much, so I just told myself to stay focused and it worked out.
When the checkered flag flew it was The Doctor Danny Johnson in victory lane. Johnson led 189 out of the 200 laps, with A.J. Romano leading 8 laps and Tim McCreadie out front for three. Finishing second through fifth were McCreadie, Decker, Steve Paine, and Vic Coffey. Tim Fuller, Brett Hearn, Pat Ward, Chuck Bower, and Bobby Varin rounded out the top ten.
A stellar field of 128 cars were on hand for the event, with 49 of them qualifying for the 200. Many of those who did not make the show were expected to remain on hand for a non-qualifiers program that was being run the next day, along with IMCA Modified and 4-Cylinder action.
15th Annual Victoria 200 Feature Finish: DANNY JOHNSON, Tim McCreadie, Billy Decker, Steve Paine, Vic Coffey, Tim Fuller, Brett Hearn, Pat Ward, Chuck Bower, Bobby Varin, John Moravec, Jim Mahaney, Don Scarborough, Steve Hulsizer, Pete Bicknell, Rich Ricci, Jimmy Horton, Jimmy Phelps, Todd Burley, Billy Wilcox, Keith Hoffman, Mike Colsten, Jim Gabriel Jr., Donnie Wetmore, A.J. Romano, Alan Johnson, Gus Schmidt, Ted Lamb, Alex Hoag, Dan Miller, Kayle Robidoux, Ryan Baye, Frank Caprara, Mike Ricci, Ron Holmes, Mitch Gibbs, Darryl Ruggles, Jason Barney, Kyle Jacobs, Roger Phelps, J.R. Hurlburt, Jerry Higbie, Kirk Horton, Joe Plazek, Don Lawson, Tim Hindley, John Barker, J.J. Michaels, and Fred Cade.
END
DIVISION: Sunoco Race Fuels 358-Modified Super DIRT Series: Race #22
TRACK: Fulton Speedway - Fulton, New York
DATE: Saturday - September 30, 2000
FIN STR CAR# DRIVER TEAM
1 6 27j Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY Sweeteners Plus-Prudential Sec.-A&C Speedworld/Troyer/C.C. Perf.
2 12 21m Tim McCreadie/Watertown,NY Heroux Excavation/Troyer/Morrison
3 20 1rk Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY B&F General Machine-Follweiler's Garage-Qual.Hardwoods/Olsen/Enders
4 22 7x Steve Paine/Waterloo,NY Summit-Junell Corp./TEO/Finger Lakes
5 13 32c Vic Coffey/Leicester,NY Sweeteners Plus-Prudential Sec.-A&C Speedworld/TEO/C.C. Perf.
6 17 19 Tim Fuller/Edwards,NY Kinney Drugs-Dixon Steel/Olsen/Morrison
7 27 20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ Brioschi-Madsen Motorsports/TEO/Enders
8 25 42p Pat Ward/Genoa,NY Gypsum Express,Ltd./TEO/Moshier
9 31 99b Chuck Bower/Lansing,NY Currier Plastics-Mier Tool Company/TEO/Finger Lakes
10 9 00 Bobby Varin/Sharon Springs,NY Dover Brake-Corigliano Towing/Troyer/DeSarbo
11 28 1m John Moravec/Penn Yan,NY Southern Tier Lumber/TEO/Stapleton
12 16 21 Jim Mahaney/King Ferry,NY Hamilton-Wilber Oil Co./TEO/Morrison
13 49 11vt Don Scarborough/Brandon,VT Bicknell Racing Products/Bicknell/Edgerton Eng.
14 23 91 Steve Hulsizer/Brewerton,NY Pence & Assoc.-New England Financial-Quality Hardwoods/Olsen/Bloss
15 8 1b Pete Bicknell/St.Catharines,ONT Pillsbury Doughboy-Beachy Motorsports/Bicknell/Enders
16 24 55 Rich Ricci,Jr./New Paltz,NY Fall Fittings Steel Fabricators-Trailer King/Olsen/Precision
17 4 30 Jimmy Horton/Neshanic Station,NJ Pole Tavern Equipment Sales-Cedar Hill Farms/Olsen/Morrison
18 38 99j Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY FleetPride/Troyer/Finger Lakes
19 2 89b Todd Burley/Spencerport,NY New England Performance-Sweet Promotions/Troyer/Morrison
20 11 19w Billy Wilcox/Watertown,NY F.X. Caprara Car Companies-Shelby's Deli/Troyer/Morrison
21 26 5 Keith Hoffman/Whitehall,PA Bashore Trucking-Wenger's Farm Machinery/Troyer/Morrison
22 37 51 Mike Colsten/Binghamton,NY Don's Automotive Mall/Troyer/Heads By Doc
23 5 1j Jim Gabriel,Jr./Binghamton,NY Cooper Tires/TEO/Gabriel
24 36 1r Donnie Wetmore/Concord,NC Reilley's Landscaping-R&R Speed Supplies/Bicknell/Finger Lakes
25 1 4j A.J. Romano/Johnstown,NY Labatt Blue-Skip's Racing/Troyer/Morrison
26 21 14j Alan Johnson/Phelps,NY Johnson Racing/Bicknell/Morrison
27 35 30 Gus Schmidt/Liverpool,NY Schmidt Trucking-Euclid Hotel/Troyer/Morrison
28 34 L82 Ted Lamb,Jr./Clay,NY Lamb Racing/TEO/J.McCoy
29 45 7h Alex Hoag/Bath,NY Covered Wagon Tours/Troyer/DSE
30 41 22 Dan Miller/St.Catharines,ONT Jim's Factory Outlet/Bicknell/Fioravanti
31 47 46 Kayle Robidoux/St-Constant,QUE Bert Transmission-St-Constant Auto Mazda/TEO/Pro-Motion
32 39 2 Ryan Baye/Constantia,NY American Auger Water Wells/Bicknell/Moshier
33 29 fx1 Frankie Caprara/Watertown,NY Manheim Auto Auction-F.X. Caprara Cars/Troyer/Gor-Den
34 15 76 Mike Ricci/New Paltz,NY Gen-Plus,Inc.-Apple Greens Golf Course/TEO/JPM
35 10 82 Ron Holmes/Oneida,NY Ralph's Collision/Bicknell/Precision
36 18 7 Mitch Gibbs/North Norwich,NY Steel Sales,Inc./Olsen/Wilson
37 30 48jr. Darryl Ruggles/Hopewell,NY Ruggles Auto Body World-B&J Lawn Care/TEO/Ruggles
38 14 87 Jason Barney/Constantia,NY Stadium International-Pit Stop/Bicknell/Moshier
39 46 37 Kyle Jacobs/Hogansburg,NY Seneca Cigarettes-Wolf Clan Truck Stop/TEO/Dyke
40 33 99 Roger Phelps/Fulton,NY Gypsum Express Ltd.-Beesmer Furniture/TEO/Morrison
41 48 46h J.R. Hurlburt/Otego,NY W&D Smith & Sons Construction/TEO/Borello
42 32 97h Jerry Higbie,Jr./Middletown,NY Mr. K's Carpet Service/TEO/Precision
43 40 7k Kirk Horton/Eldred,NY W.D. Potato Trucking-Sonny's Service Center/Olsen/Horton
44 7 1p Joe Plazek/Caistor Center,ONT Plazek Auto Recyclers/Troyer/DSE
45 44 18L Don Lawson/Woodhull,NY Southern Tier Lumber/TEO/Empson
46 19 1h Tim Hindley/Monticello,NY Trackside Magazine/TEO/Hindley
47 42 12 John Barker,Jr./Fulton,NY Sweet Inspirations Drive-In/Troyer/Barker
48 43 31 J.J. Michaels/Baldwinsville,NY Schmidt Trucking/Troyer/Morrison
49 3 12c Fred Cade/Niagara Falls,ONT Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel/Troyer/Morrison
EVENT SUMMARY:
LAP LEADERS: Romano (1-8), D.Johnson (9-68), McCreadie (69-71), D.Johnson (72-200),
CAUTIONS: 12 for 49 laps.
HEAT WINNERS: Varin, Horton, Burley, Gabriel, Cade, Wilcox, Holmes, D.Johnson, McCreadie, Romano, Plazek, Bicknell.
CONSI WINNERS: Ward, Hoffman, Hearn, Moravec, Caprara, Ruggles.
SYRACUSE SUNOCO RACE FUELS 150 QUALIFIER: Tim Fuller.
KINNEY DRUGS HALFWAY LEADER: Danny Johnson.
BERT HARD CHARGER: Don Scarborough.
TOTAL PURSE: $63,500.
CARS ENTERED: 127.
NEXT 358-MOD SERIES EVENT: Brewerton Speedway - October 5, 2000.