BACHETTI PROVES HIS WORTH AGAIN, WINS FOURTH AT ACCORD
By BRETT DEYO
ACCORD, NY - It isn't just winning that makes Andy Bachetti so happy with his performance at Accord Speedway.
What really thrills him is the fact that he can do so on a consistent basis.
Last Friday night, the Sheffield, Mass., star proved once again he is the driver to be reckoned with at the Ulster County facility, taking the victory in the Crackers Motorsports/Fabrications by Tauschman 30-lap 358-Modified feature.
For Bachetti, the checkered marked win number four of the season at the Big A.
"We hit on something here and we've been fast week in and week out," noted Bachetti.
"It feels good to show everybody we're no fluke. We're fast on a consistent basis here."
While a rash of caution flags interrupted the early laps, former Sportsman champion Jim Winchell burst into the lead on lap three. As Winchell set the pace, Bachetti picked his way forward from 10th starting position.
By lap five, he reached the runner-up spot in the Downes Racing No. 40.
Following a lap-seven yellow for Tony Kawalchuk, an intense battle for the lead developed, with the 28-year-old working the low line on Winchell. While he was able to stick the nose of the A&C Performance-powered Bicknell to the inside, Winchell fended off all his attempts.
With ten laps remaining, Bachetti moved his line to the outside of the tacky oval, and that decision made all the difference.
"I tried it and tried it down low," Bachetti said. "He was a little better down there."
Building momentum up high, Bachetti pulled even with Winchell on lap 23, squeezing between Winchell and the boiler plate wall on the frontstretch. Winchell bobbled momentarily in turn two, handing sole possession of the lead over to Bachetti.
He then marched on to the victory.
"We were rolling around the top and he was lighting them (his rear tires) up down there," Bachetti explained of the winning move.
"I got right to him and he gave me the room. I was ready for him."
Winchell, 47, of Stone Ridge, N.Y., finished second in his Precision-powered Teo-Pro No. 17, matching his stellar run in last season's Turkey Chase 100.
"I lost my brakes just about when I got the lead," Winchell said. "Sometimes they'd be there, then I'd have to pump them, and a few times it (the pedal) went to the floor.
"I nursed the car in on the bottom when I saw Andy up there," he continued. "When I got on the gas (in turn two) the car pushed straight at him so I rolled out of it."
Robbie Green worked from 12th to finish third. In the process he took the point lead away from Rich Ricci Jr.
Larry Hendershot authored his best effort of the season in fourth, and 16th-starter Jerry Higbie Jr. rounded out the top five.
Heat winners for the 27 358-Modifieds in attendance were Hendershot, Rich Ricci Jr. and Bachetti, while Higbie won the consolation.
Bachetti won the Tom's Small Engine Repair Dash-for-Cash.
The hard-luck run for Jamie Yannone in the Sportsman division ended, as the Wallkill, N.Y., 24-year-old took the win in the 25-lap feature.
Yannone, in his No. 21 Teo-Pro car, grabbed the lead on lap one, but battled a loose racecar and a hard-charging Chris Grispin over the final seven laps.
The leaders raced side-by-side, with Grispin trying to find some bite on the inner hub. Yannone kept his momentum up on the outside of the quarter-mile oval and beat Grispin to the line for the $600 payday.
"The car was getting a little loose on me," noted Yannone, who was a mid-season addition to the field. "It was a hell of a race, he (Grispin) ran me clean."
It marked Yannone's fourth career Sportsman win, backing up his three earlier triumphs at Orange County (N.Y.) Fair Speedway.
Grispin finished second, followed by Dave Coene, Kevin Duryea and Jesse Marks.
Doug Tyler Jr.'s prominence in the Pro Stock ranks continued with a win in the 20-lap feature event, the fourth triumph of the season for the Cottekill, N.Y., native. Tyler worked forward from deep in the field to take over the top spot on lap 15 from Bill Deak Sr., who led from the outset.
Don Williams finished second, with Norbert Bracklow, Deak and Steve Murray in tow.
Clint Roehrs didn't wait long to record his second career Mini-Sprint victory.
One week after posting his first, the New Paltz, N.Y., teenager raced to number two in the 20-lap headliner. Roehrs came from seventh position to take over the lead on the second lap, then opened up a healthy advantage on the field.
The battle for second spot turned ugly on lap 19 when John Lieto and Peter Sindt touched wheels in turn four, sending Sindt flipping and Lieto hard into the wall. Both drivers walked away uninjured.
Inheriting second was Rob Scaccio, who led John Parete, rookie John Guarino and Todd Lapp across the stripe.
Mike Casario of Denville, N.J., grabbed the top spot on a lap-one restart and never looked back in the 15-lap 250cc Micro-Sprint main.
Casario, who started third, survived a lap-14 caution to record his fourth trip to Victory Lane of the year. On the final lap, Lex Burritt of Reading, Conn., overtook Ralph Utter Jr. for second with an inside move. Utter, Mark Palome and Rich McKay rounded out the front five.
Mike Deyo took advantage of a front-row starting position to lead wire-to-wire in the Pure Stock 15-lap feature. The New Windsor, N.Y., driver took off from the outside pole, repelled a mid-race challenge from Phil Goetschius and raced to his third victory of the 2004 season.
Goetschius, Bill Deak Jr., Joe Giachinta and Mike DuBois rounded out the top five.
Ray See Sr. drove his Gremlin-bodied No. 5 to the victory in the 15-lap Northeast Vintage Dirt Modified Racing Club feature.
NOTABLE: Night sponsors Crackers Motorsports and Fabrications by Tauschman raffled off a pair of bicycle and scooter/helmet combinations to the kids in attendance, in conjunction with Team Kids and Race Against Drugs.
They also handed out Frisbees, activity books and displayed the No. 73 358-Modified show car, while Butch Tittle and John Guarino signed autographs….
The Ricci brothers were both casualties of incidents. Rich Jr. was out on lap one with a busted spindle, two flat tires and a severely bent wheel. He finished dead-last.
Older sibling Mike, who was forced to qualify through the consolation, headed pitside first on lap 15, then climbed into the top seven only to sustain his second right-front flat tire of the night and a broken shock tower on lap 24….
1994 Accord DIRT 358-Modified champion Jerry Higbie Jr. returned in a 2004 Bicknell car equipped with a Precision/Behrent powerplant. It was the maiden voyage for the Phil Cancel-owned machine, and the Slate Hill, N.Y., driver posted a top five.
Higbie said he will be hit and miss in the late-season shows….
Car counts were 27 358-Modifieds, 22 Sportsman, 13 Pro Stocks, 17 Mini-Sprints, 12 250cc Micro-Sprints and 20 Pure Stocks….
Racing resumes at the Action Track on Friday, September 3 with a full six-division program of 358-Modifieds, Sportsman, Pro Stocks, Pure Stocks, Mini-Sprints and 250cc Micro-Sprints presented by Reclamation, Inc.
The 358-Modified division will be racing for double points.
Gates open at 4:30 p.m., with hot laps at 6:15 p.m. and racing at 7 p.m. For more info, contact the speedway office at (845) 626-3478 or check out the website: www.accordspeedway.com.
Fabrications by Tauschman/Crackers Motorsports Race Summary
358-Modified Feature Finish: ANDY BACHETTI, Jim Winchell, Robbie Green, Larry Hendershot, Jerry Higbie Jr., Dom Roselli, Phil Recchio, Scott Ferrier, John Sanders, Rich Salisbury, Marc Johnson, Butch Tittle, Bob Hentschel, Mike Ricci, Mark Pullen, Barry Davis, Joe Winne Jr., Tony Kawalchuk, Hank Goranson, Rich Ricci Jr.
Did Not Qualify: Ryan Stortini, Jackie Brown Jr., Cliff Bush, Bob Cancellieri, John McGill, Greg Morgan, Les Andrews.
Sportsman Feature Finish: JAMIE YANNONE, Chris Grispin, Dave Coene, Kevin Duryea, Jesse Marks, L.D. Smith, Nicole Tracy, Don Johnson, Chuck Davis, Rick Mill, Larry Badaracco, Mike Senecal, Jeff Hager, Howard Jarvis, Danny Creeden, Jeff Hulseapple, Jim Rossell, David Bush, Paul Minton, Steve Krom.
Did Not Qualify: Keith Van Oyan, Mike Van Tassel.
Pro Stock Feature Finish: DOUG TYLER JR., Don Williams, Norbert Bracklow, Bill Deak Sr., Steve Murray, Ray See Jr., John Roese, Mike Manetta, Jerry Craig, Steve Plumstead, Rob Hoar, Scott Mill, Terry O'Brien.
Mini-Sprint Feature Finish: CLINT ROEHRS, Rob Scaccio, John Parete, John Guarino, Todd Lapp, Jake Schlagel, John Matrafailo, Kevin Horton, Gary Reyer, Geoff Quackenbush, Peter Sindt, John Lieto, Mark Rogers, Rich Sennett, Michael Storms, Marshall Gogg, Kevin Kondelka.
250cc Micro-Sprint Feature Finish: MIKE CASARIO, Lex Burritt, Ralph Utter Jr., Mark Palome, Rich McKay, Coleman Gulick, Rich Casario, Stephanie Stevens, M.C. Bodick, Chris Kervatt, Phil Bessette, Jordan Tittle, Chris Weiss.
Pure Stock Feature Finish: MIKE DEYO, Phil Goetschius, Bill Deak Jr., Joe Giachinta, Mike DuBois, Danny Tyler, Jim O'Neill, Joe Narok, Kevin Krusewski, Hank Morin, D.J. Brooks, Sharon Byrne, Chris Meola, Christopher Kanuk, Joe DiStefano, Ryan Hover, Joe Kasulis, Chris Meola, John Davis, Mike Sabia.