AFTON, N.Y. – It’s been a long time since Craig Terrell found himself in victory lane at the end of the night. Terrell had won in every other division he’s raced in except for the Modifieds. The past few weeks he’s been very close at The New Afton Speedway most recently coming home second after Jeremy Smith passed him on the final lap. But, on Friday night, that all went by the wayside on Friday night.
Terrell, of Windsor, N.Y., inherited the lead on lap four in his Enders powered Teo Pro Car and held on to lead the rest of the 30 lap feature to claim his first ever Modified feature win.
“This is great,” said an excited Terrell. “Hopefully the rest come a lot easier than this one.”
Terrell started fifth in the feature and watched as John Siedlecky and Rich Price raced out in front. Siedlecky and Price battled for three laps with Price taking the lead on lap four. But that lead was short lived as Price spun in turn three after Siedlecky made contact with the rear of his machine. This handed the top spot to Terrell.
On the restart, Terrell got a great jump and was able to open up a slight advantage over the rest of the field when the caution flew quickly for Jeremy Smith on lap six.
With another restart coming, Terrell now had Mike Ricci on his rear bumper. As was the case with the previous start, Terrell got a great start to keep the top spot away from Ricci.
“I learned a lot about restarts at Brewerton,” said Terrell. “Those guys up there took me to school.”
With several more restarts coming, Terrell was perfect on every one keeping his Champion Builders ride out in front.
As the race came to a close, Terrell began to race in very heavy lapped traffic on lap 25.
“I just picked them off one at a time,” said Terrell. “I didn’t want to do anything that would get me into any trouble.”
Terrell was perfect the remainder of the race as he picked up the win. Tony Pepicelli of Princetown, N.Y. had to settle for second, J.R. Crouse of Nazareth, Pa., came home third, J.R. Hurlburt came from eighth to finish fourth, and Endicott, N.Y., driver, Matt Smith rounded out the top five.
In the Sportsman division, Adam Smith, of Triangle, N.Y., won his third 20 lap feature event of the season. Smith took the lead from Craig Pope on lap two and never looked back as he got himself right back into the points chase.
Smith started third in the main event and got second at the drop of the green flag. He quickly secured second as the caution came out for a five car tangle in turn two as lap one was completed. On the restart, Smith jumped to the high side and powered by Pope for the lead. Once in front he dealt with pressure from Butch Klinger and Bob Mills.
“I just kept the car on the bottom,” said Smith. “If they wanted to pass me, they were going to have to get me up top.”
By lap 13, Mills was in the second spot trying to work past Smith but he was unable to do anything. Smith kept powering off the bottom and held on for the win.
“The motor was popping at the end of the race,” said Smith. “I was just hoping it would hold on to the end.”
Chris Stull, of Cortland, N.Y., won his sixth feature event of the season over his teammate Wade Decker. Stull took the lead at the drop of the green flag using the high side of turn two to make the pass. Once in front, Stull held of Decker while grabbing the victory. The win helped Stull close the gap slightly on Decker in the points chase.
The Pure Stock 15 lap feature went to Darl Ellis Sr. of Binghamton. Ellis took the lead on lap 11 from Jeremy Shaw and held on for the win. Ellis started sixth in the main event with Jeff Witt taking the early advantage. Witt held the top spot for the first nine laps until Shaw made the pass for the lead on lap 10. Shaw worked past Witt on the bottom of turn two to take the lead while Ellis followed him through to grab the second spot at the same time. The race continued with Shaw leading the way until lap 13 when Ellis made a run on the bottom of turn four to take the lead as they came to the line. Ellis led the final two circuits to take the win with Rob Loucks finishing second.
In 4 Cylinder Super Stock action, Harold Humphrey returned after last week’s bad luck to capture the win in the 15 lap main event. Humphrey grabbed the lead at the drop of the green and never looked back as he went on to victory. Jim Money, of Oxford, N.Y., came from the ninth place starting spot to secure the second spot. Humphrey dealt with Money late in the race but was able to fend him off for the win.
Aaron Shelton, of Walton, N.Y. captured the 12 lap feature for the Enduro division. Shelton started outside the front row and led the entire distance while holding off John Squires.
There are only two regular season races left with only three Modified events remaining at the speedway. Coming on September 30 is the second annual “Fall Fling.” Modified drivers will be in action for 50 laps with $3,000 to win on the line. Also joining the program that evening are the Pro Stocks with $600 on the line for them. Stay tuned to the Afton Speedway website for more information concerning this show.
The New Afton Speedway hosts racing every Friday night at 7:30pm from April through September with a weekly six division show that is highlighted by the mighty Big/Small Block Modifieds featuring sail panels. The Speedway is located just off Interstate 88 at exit 7. For more information about the upcoming events at The New Afton Speedway, call the speedway office at (607) 657-8018 or checkout our website at http://www.thenewaftonspeedway.net.
MODIFIED FEATURE (30 LAPS)
Craig Terrell, Tony Pepicelli, J.R. Crouse, J.R. Hurlburt, Matt Smith, Jeff Sheely, Rich Price, Jimmy Reppert, Ed Harris, Dave Rosa, Bob Hamm Jr., Ricky Yetter, John Siedlecky, Steve Walsh, Ric Amo, Duane Hiller, Mike Ricci, Dan Morden, Michael McCollum, Jeremy Smith
HEAT RACE WINNERS: Price, Pepicelli
SPORTSMAN FEATURE (20 LAPS)
Adam Smith, Bob Mills, Butch Klinger, Olin Renwick, Harold Humphrey, Skip Pickwick, Duane Knapp, Rodney Hart, Craig Pope, Jeff Leslie, Matthew Latwinski, Ray Taylor, Dustin Winn, DNS – James Christ, Robert Krajcovic
HEAT RACE WINNERS: Hart, Smith
PRO STOCK FEATURE (20 LAPS)
Chris Stull, Wade Decker, Jason Rhodes, Paul Harrington, Dennis Valentine, Fred Christ, Dick Koch, Brett Barrett
HEAT RACE WINNER: Stull
PURE STOCK FEATURE (15 LAPS)
Darl Ellis Sr., Rob Loucks, Kurt Decker, Jeremy Shaw, Jerry Lobdell Jr., Mike Codington, Joe Buchek Sr., Tim Clapper, Jeff Witt, Steve Polhamus, Brandon Clapperton, Shaun Witt, Larry Rvmola, Tom Harrington, Brian Mills, Chuck Culbertson, Ron McMullen, Rob White, Dan Millard, Jamie Batzel
HEAT RACE WINNERS: Batzel, J. Witt
4 CYLINDER SUPER STOCK FEATURE (15 LAPS)
Harold Humphrey, Jim Money, Ralph Cuozzo Jr., Mike Stringer, George Crippen, Kevin Fassett, Terry Onyan, Jamie Hurlburt, Gary Card Jr.
HEAT RACE WINNERS: Crippen
4 CYLINDER ENDURO FEATURE (12 LAPS)
Aaron Shelton, John Squires, Gordie Finch, Rick Engelhardt, Cale Brownell, Mike Oliver, Joey Hurlburt, David Smith, John Lolos, Nate Youngs, Gary Kinne, Jim Palmer, Dave Finch, Dustin Wilber, Steven Gray, James Lee
HEAT RACE WINNERS: Squires, Shelton