Hard Work Results In Accord Win For Rich Ricci Jr.
By BRETT DEYO
ACCORD, NY – A plume of ominous white smoke trailed Rich Ricci Jr.’s car as he took the checkered in qualifying action.
For most teams, it would have signaled an early end to the night. Not for Ricci. It simply meant 60 minutes of hard work.
The thrifty Ricci crew, led by “Papa” Rich Ricci Sr., changed a head gasket in the Accord Speedway pit area. For their efforts, Ricci Jr. raced to his second straight victory, topping Friday night’s 30-lap B. Millens and Sons headliner. In the process, he extended his early-season point lead.
“We took the spark plug out after the heat and water poured out of the number eight cylinder,” Ricci said. “My Dad said ‘What do you want to do, load up or fix it?’ I told him to try and fix it.”
Ricci obtained a head gasket from the neighboring Crackers Motorsports team and helping hands from several different crews. Within an hour, the head gasket was replaced and Ricci was ready to race.
“It ran perfect,” Ricci said.
The New Paltz, N.Y., native started 12th in his Dirt Wheels No. 55 and narrowly avoided a lap-one skirmish that collected four cars, including Andy Bachetti. From that point on it was a trademark Ricci charge. He inched steadily forward running the inside groove.
Ricci took over third on lap eight. At that point he trailed only Jeremy Markle and polesitter Dom Roselli, who led from the outset.
“The bottom was great for me,” said the 38-year-old Ricci. “I could keep my car down there and had a good bite off (the corners). We came up quick.”
Ricci emerged in second on a lap-nine restart and set his sights on Roselli. The two short track aces ran single file until a caution on the 13th circuit changed the complexion of the event.
Taking full advantage of a double-file restart, eight-time champion Ricci rode the high line to the lead entering turn one.
“That was the move!” Ricci said. “On the outside (on the restart) the car stayed right there. It was clean racing. I’ve got to give him (Roselli) credit. He gave me the room once I was out there.
“I knew I had to get him there. He wasn’t gonna move off the bottom.”
Ricci rolled on to the win with ease, pacing the remainder of the distance to collect a $1,500 payday.
Roselli, meanwhile, etched his first bright spot in an otherwise abysmal early season, finishing a solid second in his Precision-powered Teo-Pro car.
The 44-year-old Middletown, N.Y., native had failed to qualify for the year’s first two races, an uncharacteristic lull for the four-time Lake Moc-A-Tek (Pa.) Speedway champion.
“He was just that much better than me,” smiled Roselli, clasping his fingers tightly together. “Once he got to second, I knew it would be a race to the first turn.
“Where he passed me was up one lane in the slick part of the track. I give him credit - he did it like a gentleman.”
Jeremy Markle of Port Jervis, N.Y., authored a determined drive to finish third, despite dropping a cylinder on lap five. Opening Night winner Jimmy Johnson and consistent Jackie Brown Jr. rounded out the top five.
Twenty-four 358-Modifieds signed in for competition. Heat winners included Roselli, Larry Hendershot and Andy Bachetti. Rick Mill topped the consolation.
Nicole Tracy thrilled the crowd with her first career victory in the 25-lap Sportsman feature.
“It’s about time!” exclaimed an emotional Tracy, who first joined the stock car ranks in 2003 following go-kart championships at Shelton (Conn.) Speedway and Accord.
Danbury, Conn.’s Tracy trailed the lead duo of Chris Grispin and Danny Creeden until lap 16 when Grispin tagged Creeden in turn three and both cars went spinning. Tracy negotiated the twirling machines and inherited the lead for the restart aboard her Tracy Tile No. 86 Teo-Pro car.
“I saw those two racing hard so I backed off a little bit,” Tracy said. “They both spun and steered right around them.”
The 18-year-old survived two restarts – including one on lap 24 – to pick up the $600 victory. It was an especially sweet triumph after Tracy failed to qualify on April 29.
Howard Jarvis made a late rally for second, ahead of Paul Minton (who failed post-race tech inspection), Tom Tomasko and Don Johnson.
Veteran Jeff Richardson of Goshen, N.Y., became the third different Spec Sportsman feature winner. Richardson led from green to checkered in the 20-lap main, driving his No. 50 Bicknell.
Mike Van Tassel, Robbie Fairweather, D.J. Brooks and Brian Houghtaling filled out the front five.
Scott Liese didn’t just return to Pro Stock Victory Lane after a year’s absence. He did it in style.
The second-generation driver from Port Ewen, N.Y., led the entire 20-lap distance for his first win since Sept. 6, 2003. Jerry Craig made a bid on the final lap, but came up a fender short in second. Scott Mill, Mike Manetta and Danny Tyler finished third through fifth, respectively.
In Mini-Sprint action, John Lieto continued his dominance, winning the 20-lap main. This week, the Mt. Kisco, N.Y., native passed tech inspection easily.
The battle up front for most of the distance involved polesitter Peter Sindt and rookie Ralph Utter Jr. That all changed on lap 16. Utter dove hard to the inside in turn four, driving over the front-end of Sindt’s No. 39 in the process.
Sindt subsequently slowed to bring out the caution and officials sent Utter to the rear for rough riding. Lieto, who had been third, inherited the lead and raced on to victory over Clint Roehrs, James Tomlinson, Bob Lynt and Skip Travis.
Mike Sabia remained undefeated in the Pure Stock division, topping the 15-lap main event. The Easton, Conn., driver started 11th and charged through the field. He took the lead prior to the halfway point and outdistanced Bill Deak Jr. for the win. Jim O’Neil, Joe Narok and Mike Deyo rounded out the top five.
Ray See Sr. of Patterson, N.Y., won the 15-lap Northeastern Vintage Dirt Modified Racing Club feature. It was the ’05 on-track debut for the NVDMRC, a group that actually races restored dirt Modifieds.
Racing resumes on Fri., May 13 with a six-division program of 358-Modifieds, Sportsman, Spec Sportsman, Pro Stocks, Mini-Sprints and Pure Stocks sponsored by Amsoil. The Pure Stock division will be in competition for double points along with a $100 bonus courtesy of KB’s Racing Photos.
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 check out the website: www.accordspeedway.com.
BIG A NOTES: The track surface drew praise from the pit area. It was smooth, boasted multiple grooves and had only minimal dust. The seven-division program rolled off rapidly, with the 358-Modified checkered dropping at 10:45 p.m. Only the Pro Stocks followed….
Car counts remained steady at 24 358-Modifieds, 23 Sportsman, 15 Pro Stocks, five Spec Sportsman, 18 Mini-Sprints, 22 Pure Stocks and 12 Vintage Modifieds….
358-Modified additions included Mike Murphy, Jim House, Sportsman graduate Harry Baldwin and Bob Cancellieri in the Jeff Heotzler Jr. Bicknell from last season….
Following the April 29 program, the Downes Racing team discovered a cracked piston in the powerplant of the No. 40 358-Mod driven by Andy Bachetti. With the engine in the shop, Bachetti was out of a ride for Friday’s show.
The Sheffield, Mass., native quickly landed on his feet. He hopped into the John Albreada-owned No. 4 for the evening, the three-race-old Teo-Pro car that he drove to a $10,000 victory at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway in 2003.
Bachetti looked strong with a heat win. However, a first-lap jingle in the feature damaged the car’s front-end and he was later eliminated on a lap-17 restart when contact with Ryan Stortini snapped off the right-front shock….
Tom Hindley was lucky to be at the track at all. Hindley was involved in a serious highway accident on Thursday just outside of Port Jervis on Route 209. Hindley collided with a tractor-trailer, totaling the truck he was driving. Hindley escaped with minor bruises….
B. MILLENS AND SONS RACE SUMMARY
358-Modified Feature Finish: RICH RICCI JR., Dom Roselli, Jeremy Markle, Jimmy Johnson, Jackie Brown Jr., Phil Recchio, Larry Hendershot, Ryan Stortini, Rick Mill, Bill Papula, Rich Salisbury, Harry Baldwin, Jim Halpin, John Ferrier, Larry Badaracco, Andy Bachetti, Tom Hindley, Mark Pullen, Mark Flach Jr., John Sanders.
Did Not Qualify: Mike Murphy, Jim House, Bob Cancellieri, John Howell.
Sportsman Feature Finish: NICOLE TRACY, Howard Jarvis, Paul Minton (DQ), Tom Tomasko, Don Johnson, Whitey Slavin, Jamie Yannone, Ken Ferrier, Jesse Marks, Steve Krom, Mike Ketcham, Jim Fugel, Danny Creeden, Jeff Geiges, Keith Leonard, Chad Hadlick, Jeff Hager, Ladd Yeomans, Dave Coene, Chris Grispin.
Did Not Qualify: Eric Moon, John Sundlof, John Lieto.
Spec Sportsman Feature Finish: JEFF RICHARDSON, Mike Van Tassel, Robbie Fairweather, D.J. Brooks, Brian Houghtaling.
Pro Stock Feature Finish: SCOTT LIESE, Jerry Craig, Scott Mill, Mike Manetta, Danny Tyler, Bill Deak Sr., George Christiana, Jim Sykes, Terry O’Brien, Steve Plumstead, Jared Hayes, Don Williams, Rob Rowe, Ray See Jr., Katie Nugent.
Mini-Sprint Feature Finish: JOHN LIETO, Clint Roehrs, James Tomlinson, Bob Lynt, Skip Travis, Kevin Horton, Ralph Utter Jr., John Lodini, Kevin Kondelka, Joe Bergin, Rich Ford, Gary Reyer, Peter Sindt, Mark Rogers, Ed Burgess, Mel Lewis.
Did Not Start: Josh Webb, Hank Katz.
Pure Stock Feature Finish: MIKE SABIA, Bill Deak Jr., Jim O’Neil, Joe Narok, Mike Deyo, Mike DuBois, Scott Ackerley, Todd Houghtaling, Ryan Hover, Paul Aragon Jr., Sharon Byrne, James DeCicco, John Woinoski, Darin Ploss, Bill Judge, Chris Kanuk, Bill Rion, Kyle Wright, Joe DiStefano, Kevin Krusewski.
Did Not Qualify: Joe Judge, Kenny Hopkins.