HINDLEY BRINGS BEST IRON, DRIVES TO ACCORD VICTORY
By BRETT DEYO
ACCORD, NY - To win at Accord Speedway, you need your best iron.
Just ask Tom Hindley.
After some feeble early season attempts in "second rate" equipment, Hindley returned with the potent mount he campaigns at Orange County (N.Y.) Fair Speedway. The Fair Oaks, N.Y., veteran drove to a dominant victory in Saturday night's Mid-Hudson Concrete 30-lap 358-Modified headliner.
The $1,500 score was Hindley's first win at the Ulster County track since July 20, 2001.
"You don't come here with second rate equipment," Hindley said.
"The way this place is any more, you have to come with best. That's why I brought the good car here once Orange County closed."
Piloting a 1999 Teo-Pro car with a Precision/homebuilt powerplant, Hindley started from third position, but wasted little time getting to the front. He made an outside move around polesitter Cliff Bush on lap two.
While Hindley led, a hard-charging Tony Kawalchuk made tracks forward. On a lap-eight restart, the teenager piloted his Thew-owned No. 314 to the inside of Rich Ricci Jr. to grab second.
Kawalchuk's fine run came to an end on lap 17, however, when his car's engine momentarily bogged in turn four, drawing the caution.
The incident put 14th-starter Mike Ricci, who worked by his younger brother on lap 15, into second for the restart.
"I wasn't worried," Hindley said. "I could put this thing everywhere - high, low wherever I wanted to go with it."
Despite a slew of caution flags - a total of ten slowed the rough-and-tumble contest - the 38-year-old Hindley handily drove away from Ricci, hugging the inside groove in his Smykla Trucking No. 17H.
"One thing I know about Accord after coming here 30 years is if you've got a good car and you're leading, stay on the bottom," Hindley said.
"I knew they (the Ricci brothers) wouldn't go around me up top. They would've had to go through me."
Rosendale, N.Y.'s Ricci was content with the $1,000 runner-up effort.
"It was a good run. We needed a little more to run with Tom at the end."
Rich Ricci Jr.'s third place run handed him the point lead, as a vacationing Robbie Green was not in attendance. The seven-time champion now holds a scant 11-point lead over brother Mike.
Scott Ferrier was fourth and Jackie Brown Jr. rebounded from a lap-two spin for fifth.
Heat wins for the 21 358-Mods went to Cliff Bush, Ferrier and Hindley.
Not even a heat race incident or 16th starting position could keep Jamie Yannone from victory in the 25-lap Sportsman feature.
The Wallkill, N.Y., driver worked tirelessly to repair extensive damage from hard impact with the backstretch wall during the heat.
Yannone won the consolation to qualify for the feature and proceeded to blast through the field in the extreme outside groove en route to his second consecutive victory, worth $600.
Yannone's winning move came on lap 16. The 24-year-old powered around Steve Krom and Jesse Marks simultaneously in turn four, squeezing his No. 21 Teo-Pro car between Krom's car and the boiler plate.
"The higher I go, the better it is," Yannone surmised of his car.
Marks, of Napanoch, N.Y., continued his stellar late-season performances with a second place effort. Krom was a career-best third, ahead of Larry Badaracco and Nicole Tracy.
For the second time in as many events, apparent Mini-Sprint victory slipped from the hands of James Tomlinson.
On Saturday, defeat came at the hands of John Lieto.
When race-long leader Tomlinson bobbled momentarily on lap 16 in lapped traffic, Mt. Kisco, N.Y.'s Lieto seized the opportunity. He powered to the inside in turn two, opening up some distance in the late stages for his seventh '04 triumph.
Westport, Conn.'s Tomlinson settled for second, ahead of Clint Roehrs, John Guarino and Rob Scaccio.
A lap-eight restart propelled West Milford, N.J.'s Ralph Utter Jr. to victory in the 15-lap 250cc Micro-Sprint main.
The caution erased a sizable early advantage accrued by Rick Casario, allowing Utter to make the outside pass with ease. Casario dropped off the pace on lap 12, leaving second to Mark Palome. Third through fifth went to Jay Sisco, Mike Maluk and M.C. Bodick.
Doug Tyler Jr. swept the pair of 20-lap Pro Stock features.
The Cottekill, N.Y., veteran pulled off a slingshot pass of Mike Manetta in the heldover event from September 25. In turn two on the final lap, Tyler set his car in high, then ducked low to make the deciding move.
Tyler beat Manetta down the backstretch for the win. Ray See Jr., Norbert Bracklow and Don Williams were third through fifth, respectively.
In the regularly scheduled event, Tyler trailed Manetta until, on lap 14 the race leader caught a piece of a Don Williams/Steve Plumstead collision exiting turn four and headed pitside with a flat left-front tire. Tyler went on to record his seventh triumph of the '04 campaign over Bracklow, Ray See Jr., John Roese and Lenny Brice.
In the heldover 15-lap Pure Stock main from September 11, Joe Narok of Highland, N.Y., drove to his first victory of the season. Narok made a high-side maneuver around D.J. Brooks and Joe Giachinta on lap two, then cruised to a comfortable victory over Mike Sabia, who took over second on the final lap.
Mike DuBois, Brooks and Bill Deak Jr. rounded out the top five.
Jim O'Neil of Elizaville, N.Y., out-dragged Mike Sabia to snatch his first ever Accord victory in the 15-lap Pure Stock feature. Easton, Conn.'s Sabia tried the inside through the final set of corners, but O'Neil won out at the line by a half car-length.
Joe Narok, Bill Deak Jr. and Bill Rion completed the front five. Rion, however, was disqualified in tech for an oversized carburetor.
Robby Casti of Mahopac, N.Y., won the 15-lap Vintage Modified feature with a lap-13 pass of Drew Evanyke in lapped traffic.
Racing resumes on Saturday October 16 with a full program of 358-Modifieds, Sportsman, Pro Stocks, Mini-Sprints, 250cc Micro-Sprints and Pure Stocks. Gates open at 3 p.m. with hot laps at 5 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.
For more information, contact the speedway office at (845) 626-3478 or check out the website: www.accordspeedway.com.
NOTABLE: Twenty-one 358-Modifieds, 23 Sportsman, 19 Pro Stocks, 14 Mini-Sprints, 10 250cc Micro-Sprints, 24 Pure Stocks and 14 Vintage Modifieds signed in for the show, run opposite Super DIRT Week….
Penn-Can (Pa.) Speedway regular Mike Loney and Penn-Can/Five Mile Point (N.Y.) mainstay Bill Deckelman were additions to the Sportsman field. After stout heat race performances, both were eliminated in a first lap crash….
Rich Ricci. Jr. piloted the Dirt Wheels car usually reserved for big-block action on the Lebanon Valley (N.Y.) Speedway high banks….
Isaac Neiger, a veteran dirt track competitor from California, took the wheel of Donnie Wilson's No. 7 for the night….
Kawalchuk was in his third event driving for the Thew brothers, who successfully fielded cars in the mid 1990s for Tim Hindley and Kawalchuk's father….
Yannone credited Tom Hindley for help in piecing his car back together following the heat race impact….
Mid-Hudson Concrete Race Summary
358-Modified Feature Finish: TOM HINDLEY, Mike Ricci, Rich Ricci Jr., Scott Ferrier, Jackie Brown Jr., Jeremy Markle, Ryan Stortini, John McGill, Tom Perrego, Marc Johnson, Dom Roselli, Jason Tompkins, Allan Kellogg, Joe Uliana, Isaac Neiger, Greg Morgan, Tony Kawalchuk, Phil Recchio, Cliff Bush, John Sanders.
Disqualified: Chris Johnson.
Sportsman Feature Finish: JAMIE YANNONE, Jesse Marks, Steve Krom, Larry Badaracco, Nicole Tracy, L.D. Smith, Chris Grispin, Dave Coene, David Bush, Howard Jarvis, Paul Minton, Chad Hadlick, Chuck Davis, Mike Senecal, Don Johnson, Kevin Duryea, Mike Loney, Steve Kyzer, Jim Rossell, Bill Deckelman.
Did Not Qualify: Billy Tanner, Dave Reynolds, Mike Van Tassel.
Pro Stock Feature Finish: DOUG TYLER JR., Norbert Bracklow, Ray See Jr., John Roese, Lenny Brice, Larry Temple Jr., Bill Deak Sr., Jerry Craig, Bill Knapp, Mike Manetta, Jim Hewitt, Rob Hoar, Tom Cole, Steve Plumstead, Jared Hayes, Terry O'Brien, John Rood.
Disqualified: Don Williams.
Did Not Start: George Christiana.
Pro Stock Heldover Feature Finish (From 9/25): DOUG TYLER JR., Mike Manetta, Ray See Jr., Norbert Bracklow, Don Williams, John Roese, Bill Deak Sr., Larry Temple Jr., Terry O'Brien, Steve Plumstead, John Rood, Rob Hoar, Jerry Craig, Jared Hayes.
Did Not Start: Scott Mill, Floyd Schmidt, Dave Slate, James Devitt.
Mini-Sprint Feature Finish: JOHN LIETO, James Tomlinson, Clint Roehrs, John Guarino, Rob Scaccio, John Parete, Geoff Quackenbush, Bob Dance, Kevin Kondelka, Peter Sindt, Gary Reyer, Jake Schlagel.
Did Not Start: Todd Lapp, John Matrafailo.
250cc Micro-Sprint Feature Finish: RALPH UTTER JR., Mark Palome, Jay Sisco, Mike Maluk, M.C. Bodick, Mike Barrett, Rick Casario, Mike Casario, Chris Kervatt.
Did Not Start: Lex Burritt.
Pure Stock Feature Finish: JIM O'NEIL, Mike Sabia, Joe Narok, Bill Deak Jr., Ira Landrum, D.J. Brooks, Sharon Byrne, Erik Holmgren, Joe DiStefano, Fred Davis Jr., Kevin Krusewski, Danny Tyler, Kyle Wright, Bob Swanson, Jay Smalley, John Woinoski, Rich Roger, John Cole Jr., Joe Giachinta, Mike DuBois.
Disqualified: Bill Rion.
Did Not Qualify: Chris Kanuk, Darin Ploss, Chris Meola.
Pure Stock Heldover Feature Finish (From 9/11): JOE NAROK, Mike Sabia, Mike DuBois, D.J. Brooks, Bill Deak Jr., Jay Smalley, Joe Giachinta, Bill Rion, Kevin Krusewski, Chris Meola, Kyle Wright, John Woinoski, Chris Kanuk, Danny Tyler, Joe DiStefano, Jim O'Neil.
Did Not Start: John Davis, Mike Deyo, Greg Meola, Ron Blake.