Ricci Jr. Back On Track, Wins Inaugural Downes Memorial
By BRETT DEYO
ACCORD, NY - Rich Ricci Jr. picked a good night to get back on track.
Rebounding from an uncharacteristic month-long slump, Ricci returned to winning form Friday night at Accord Speedway. The New Paltz, N.Y., driver dominated the First Annual Rene Downes Memorial Mid-Season Championship 358-Modified 50-lapper, picking up a whopping $2,936 - $2,000 for the win and $936 in lap money.
Ricci earned his third victory of 2005 at the Ulster County track on double points night, propelling him back to the lead.
The race was run in memory of longtime car owner Rene Downes, who fielded dirt Modifieds for over 30 years before he passed away in Jan. 2004. The Downes team has been an Accord mainstay since the track reopened in 1992.
According to Ricci, a fresh Precision-built small-block engine was the ticket to turning around his lackluster performance.
"Two weeks ago, the last race here, I told my Dad 'we have to do something because I'm not driving this car anymore with that motor,'" Ricci said. "That Saturday, Will Galm and Dave Roehrs (two of Ricci's larger sponsors) came by and said 'here, put this toward a new motor' so we got this one.
"It's the first brand new engine we've ever had. It had never been run before tonight."
Starting 10th in his No. 55 Dirt Wheels mount, Ricci darted through a first-lap pileup on the frontstretch. Polesitter Larry Badaracco got tagged in the right side quarter panel, bounced off the frontstretch wall and landed on his roof, collecting six cars. No one was injured, but an extended red-flag period was needed to clean up the melee.
When the race restarted, Ricci sat fourth.
He powered around the outside to take second on lap three and began to reel in race leader Jimmy Johnson when the caution lights flickered on with seven laps complete.
Taking advantage of the double-file restart, Ricci battled side-by-side with Johnson for three laps around the quarter-mile oval before he took command on lap 10.
"This car was so good," Ricci exclaimed. "I saw Jimmy Johnson coming out of the corners spinning and I said 'he's all done.' I knew I could get him. Top or bottom, this car was golden."
Ricci simply drove away from Johnson, who had his hands full with Barry Davis. The Accord, N.Y., driver had raced from 19th to battle for second by lap 27. At that point, Ricci amassed a half-track lead.
Davis worked lap after lap on Johnson, but the crafty Bloomingburg, N.Y., native wouldn't relinquish the preferred bottom groove, preventing Davis from sliding by.
As Davis and Johnson battled, Ricci weaved through a heavy pack of lapped traffic. Understandably, he was relieved when a spin by Jeremy Markle on lap 45 curtailed a grueling 38-lap green flag run.
"I wasn't worried about the guys behind me," the 38-year-old said. "The main thing was, it gave me clear track."
A final caution flew on lap 46, but Ricci was up to the challenge. He etched his name in the record books as the first-ever Rene Downes Memorial winner.
Johnson, 46, narrowly fended off Davis for second, posting his best run since an Opening Night victory in his Precision-powered Bicknell.
"The car was pretty loose," Johnson said. "I started up front and a lot of guys behind me were faster, but it was just a deal where I was blocking the track. We were decent enough to stay there.
"I congratulated Barry (Davis) on a clean race. On those last couple of restarts, I let Rich go so I would have clean track to hold off Barry."
The run from the consolation to finish third was satisfying for Davis, though the personable 52-year-old wanted desperately to clear Johnson.
"If I could have got that 77 (Johnson), I thought I was faster," he said. "He was doing a good job there holding on.
"Overall, it was a good night. I'm happy finishing up front starting in the rear like I did."
Tom Hindley of Fair Oaks, N.Y., finished fourth and Poughkeepsie, N.Y.'s Ryan Stortini was fifth.
Heat winners for the 26 358-Modifieds in attendance were Stortini, Rich Ricci Jr. and John Ferrier. Andy Bachetti won the consolation.
Jamie Yannone took advantage of a tangle between the leaders to win a time-shortened 19-lap Sportsman feature.
Newburgh, N.Y.'s Yannone rode third in his Moshier-powered No. 21 Teo-Pro car when contact from Danny Creeden sent leader Jesse Marks spinning in turn one. Marks and Creeden had been battling for 10 laps before the incident.
Both cars went to the rear. Yannone inherited the lead and raced on to the $600 victory, his third of the season. The race was cut short by the 30-minute time limit.
"I don't like to win them that way," Yannone said. "But points are points and right now I need to make some up."
David Bush, driving a borrowed car from L.D. Smith, finished a solid second. In the process, the Accord, N.Y., driver matched his career-best finish. Nicole Tracy was a strong third, ahead of 16th-starter Chris Grispin and Tom Tomasko.
A pair of unexpected delays, including the ambulance leaving the property midway through the program, forced the Spec Sportsman main to be postponed until July 1 due to the 11:30 p.m. curfew.
D.J. Brooks nosed out Jeff Richardson earlier in the night to collect the heat win over a growing nine-car field.
Ray See Jr. got his poor luck out of the way on lap one in the Pro Stock feature when he headed pitside to change a left-rear flat tire. His fortunes quickly changed for the better.
See, of Patterson, N.Y., emerged with the lead on the 17th circuit of the 20-lap main when Scott Mill hit fluid put down by a lapped car in turn three and spun. See went on to score a division-high fourth win of '05 over Mike Manetta, Bill Deak Sr., Mill and Danny Tyler.
John Lieto didn't just drive from last-to-first to win the Mini-Sprint He survived an opening lap spin and took advantage of a lap-18 restart to snatch the checkered from teenager John Guarino.
When the caution lights flickered on with two laps remaining, the Mt. Kisco, N.Y., driver sat second.
Diving to the inside on the restart, Lieto out-dragged Guarino down the backstretch to take the lead. Guarino tried a final-lap high-low move, but Lieto raced to win number four of '05.
Guarino, who led laps 10-18, settled for second over Ralph Utter Jr., Skip Travis and Peter Sindt.
Joe DiStefano was the benefactor of post-race tech inspection, earning his first victory of the season in Pure Stock competition. DiStefano actually finished second, but Mike Sabia's apparent fifth win of '05 was nixed when he was disqualified for screw-in studs on his powerplant's heads.
Third-place finisher Herb DeWitt was disqualified for an illegal cam shuffling the final order of finish.
DiStefano took the win over Jim O'Neil, Bill Deak Jr., newcomer Bob Gibson and Paul Aragon Jr.
Mike Brown won the 15-lap Vintage Modified feature.
Racing resumes at Accord Speedway on Fri., July 1 with a full show of 358-Modifieds, Sportsman, Spec Sportsman, Pro Stocks, Mini-Sprints and Pure Stocks, plus fireworks, mechanical bull rides and a chicken barbecue sponsored by K&W Car Wash. Gates open at 4:30 p.m., with hot laps at 6:30 p.m. and racing at 7 p.m.
For more information, contact the speedway office at (845) 626-3478 or visit the website at: www.accordspeedway.com.
BIG A NOTES: A capacity crowd packed the grandstands. The swell in attendance was so large that the concession areas sold out midway through the night.
"We were thrilled," promoter Gary Palmer said. "It's the first nice night we've had, and it worked out great for us. My wife and I were taken by surprise by the turnout."....
$1,141 in lap and bonus money was distributed to the 358-Modified competitors in addition to the increased purse....
A flat right-rear tire on Andy Bachetti's car two laps from the finish was the final blow on an off-key outing. Bachetti, who desperately wanted to put the Downes Racing car into Victory Lane on a night honoring the team patriarch, struggled with the set-up of the '05 Bicknell low-rack car.
Bachetti and Co. are so disgusted by the car, in fact, that they plan to return with a different chassis next week....
It took two tow trucks to cart Dom Roselli's heavily-damaged No. 23 off the track following the lap-one skirmish....
Former Sportsman track champion Kevin Duryea returned in a 358-Modified, a No. 47K Teo-Pro car owned by Dale Shaver. Duryea has been running the car at Orange County (N.Y.) Fair Speedway....
After engine problems sidelined his 358-Modified powerplant, Andy Schlagel took advantage of the affordable GM Crate Engine to run in the Spec Sportsman division....
MACHO'S OF NEW PALTZ AND KINGSTON RACE SUMMARY
Rene Downes Memorial 358-Modified Feature Finish (50-laps): RICH RICCI JR., Jimmy Johnson, Barry Davis, Tom Hindley, Ryan Stortini, Jackie Brown Jr., Hank Goranson, Rich Salisbury, Bobby Hentschel, Mark Flach Jr., Phil Recchio, Andy Bachetti, John Ferrier, Jeremy Markle, Kevin Duryea, Larry Hendershot, Bill Papula, Larry Badaracco, Mark Pullen, Dom Roselli.
Did Not Qualify: Harry Baldwin, Cliff Bush, John Sanders, Rick Mill, Mike Murphy, Bob Cancellieri.
Sportsman Feature Finish: JAMIE YANNONE, David Bush, Nicole Tracy, Chris Grispin, Tom Tomasko, Dave Coene, Howard Jarvis, Jeff Geiges, Whitey Slavin, Chad Hadlick, Kenny Moulton Jr., John Lieto, Danny Creeden, Jesse Marks, Paul Minton, Mike Ketcham, Ken Ferrier, Will Galm, Keith Van Oyan, Steve Krom.
Did Not Qualify: John Sundlof, Ladd Yeomans, Don Johnson.
Spec Sportsman Starting Lineup (Curfewed until July 1): D.J. Brooks, Mike Van Tassel, Dan Archieri, Jeff Richardson, Brett Graham, Robbie Fairweather, Andy Schlagel, Alan Houghtaling, Danny Tyler.
Pro Stock Feature Finish: RAY SEE JR., Mike Manetta, Bill Deak Sr., Scott Mill, Danny Tyler, Katie Nugent, Norbert Bracklow, Howard Jarvis, Terry O'Brien, George Christiana, Jerry Craig.
Mini-Sprint Feature Finish: JOHN LIETO, John Guarino, Ralph Utter Jr., Skip Travis, Peter Sindt, Clint Roehrs, Bob Lynt, Brint Hockenberry, Kevin Horton, John Lodini, Rob Scaccio, Sam Rogers Sr., Darrell Quackenbush, Kevin Kondelka, Mel Lewis, Dana Carey, Hank Katz, Gary Reyer.
Pure Stock Feature Finish: JOE DISTEFANO, Jim O'Neil, Bill Deak Jr., Bob Gibson, Paul Aragon Jr., Bill Rion, Mike Deyo, Kevin Krusewski, Kyle Wright, John Woinoski, Ryan Hover, Steven Kanuk, Todd Houghtaling, Mark Sasso, Bill Judge.
Disqualified: Mike Sabia, Herb DeWitt.
Did Not Start: James DeCicco III, John Cole Jr.