HARD WORK ENDS IN VICTORY FOR MIKE RICCI IN WINNE MEMORIAL
By BRETT DEYO
ACCORD, NY - He may have been the last car into the pit area, but Mike Ricci was first when it counted at Accord Speedway.
Following a weeklong scramble to piece his car together following a May 28 incident, Ricci powered to victory in the 55-lap 358-Modified Joe Winne Memorial presented by Campers Barn last Friday night at the Ulster County quarter-mile oval.
The evening was dedicated to the memory of 1999 track champion Joe Winne, who succumbed to a heart attack while in competition at Orange County (N.Y.) Fair Speedway during the 2000 running of Eastern States Weekend.
For his win in the 4th annual event, Ricci collected $2,000.
"The car was tore up bad last week," he said, referring to the melee that saw Ricci run over his own errant rubrail. "It tore up the rear end, we had to put a new rear under the car this week, the back of the transmission was broken, the torque plate, everything.
"I've got to thank my crew and my Dad. We were working on this thing until after 4 o'clock today."
Due to a pair of poor finishes in recent weeks, the elder Ricci started the extra-distance affair from sixth position. By lap three, he ducked to the inside of polesitter Jackie Brown Jr. to take over the top spot in his JPM-powered Teo-Pro car.
"We had a good starting spot, which helped a lot," Ricci, 39, remarked. "A lot of times here it's whoever gets to the front first."
As Ricci led, 11th starter Robbie Green moved methodically forward, taking advantage of several early restarts in his ascent though traffic. Green broke free on lap 12 with an inside move on Brown, then set his sights on the leader.
Despite a series of caution periods through the mid-portions of the event, Green worked on building momentum in his No. 69, entering the turn high then arcing low to make a run on Ricci.
The duo broke away and ran nose to tail, as Green inched closer to Ricci with each passing circuit. On lap 40, the Wallkill, N.Y., veteran got a run entering the first turn, but Ricci slammed the door and forced his way back to the bottom.
Green then tried his Precision-powered Teo-Pro on the outside line, but Ricci moved up the track on the frontstretch with ten laps remaining to block the advance.
Following a 46th lap caution, Green was on the charge again, but in the process clipped the berm in turn two on lap 48, losing the momentum that had carried him to Ricci's rear bumper.
"Around lap 45 I thought I might have been faster than him (Ricci) but I couldn't get around him," Green admitted. "I needed lapped traffic to have a good shot at getting by, but every time we got there, the caution would come out."
The caution periods also provided Ricci with a much-needed opportunity to cool his tires. He could be seen running on the extreme inside in the cooler, moist clay.
"It's about tire management," he said. "A long race like this on the softer rubber can be really tough. You've got to be easy on the tires to have something left."
Ricci was able to maintain his advantage following the final caution on lap 50. However, he encountered a scare in the form of Mike Van Tassel in the final set of corners.
Van Tassel, running in the middle of the groove, moved to the inside directly in front of Ricci, who had to dart to the infield, while Green quickly made an outside maneuver for the drag race to the stripe.
Ricci's move allowed him to narrowly edge out Green.
"I didn't know which way to go," Ricci remarked. "I had Joe (Grasso) on the radio and he didn't even know to tell me to go high or low, because you never know if the lapped car will move up or move down."
Green, meanwhile, was slightly disappointed with second.
"I should be happy but I'm not," he said bluntly. "Going as good as we have been and to be this far along without a win is tough.
"With that lapped car there on the last lap, I thought I could have made something happen, but he (Ricci) did what he needed to do."
Butch Tittle of Saylorsburg, Pa., started 17th took over third on a lap 26 restart. He remained there for the rest of the distance, posting his best finish since strapping into Peter Reynolds's 1992 Kneisel a month ago.
"The way Green and Ricci were going at it, I thought I might win by default," the 50-year-old exclaimed. "Unfortunately for me there wasn't enough default."
Barry Davis of Accord, N.Y, rallied to a fourth place effort and point leader Rich Ricci Jr. rounded out the top five.
For the fourth time in seven starts this season, Wallkill, N.Y.'s Kevin Duryea visited Sportsman victory lane in his former Alan Johnson Bicknell car.
Duryea, 24, outgunned Danny Creeden on a fifth lap restart, then motored on to the $600 win. Only a mid-race pack of heavy lapped traffic served as a hindrance, but the defending champion negotiated the slower machines flawlessly.
"This car has been great," he remarked. "We put in a new steering box this week -Ed Tauschman did a great job rebuilding it for us."
Creeden, of Middletown, N.Y., regained the point lead with a runner-up effort. Dave Coene, Tom Tomasko and a stout L.D. Smith completed the front five.
Al Cheney III of Cranbury, N.J., came out the victor of a time-shortened 13-lap Pro Stock main. Cheney worked by John Roese after several laps of wheel to wheel action and raced on to his second checkered of 2004.
Roese broke out of his bad luck in second. Ray See Jr., Butch Winnie and Norbert Bracklow rounded out the top five.
Another week, another win for John Lieto in the Mini-Sprint division.
Mt. Kisco, N.Y.'s Lieto completed a 10th to first charge within the span of nine circuits, powering around early pacesetter John Parete for a lead that he would never relinquish. It marked his fourth Accord win of 2004.
John Matrafailo raced from ninth to finish second, ahead of former track champion Peter Sindt, Parete and an improving Mark Rogers in the best effort of his career.
Mike Casario of Denville, N.J., pulled off a win in the 20-lap 250cc Micro-Sprint main. Casario, who started third, worked by Rich Casario on a third lap restart, then outdistanced Ralph Utter Jr. for the win.
Utter, who triumphed in the inaugural appearance for the Micro-Sprints, finished a straightaway back in second. Ed Krupa of Nazareth, Pa., finished third in his first 2004 appearance, besting Rich Casario and Pat Potter.
On the third lap, contact with Rich McKay entering turn three sent Frank Venezia into a series of flips. In the midst, his No. 27 cleared the boiler plate wall and landed in the surrounding grassy area.
The Little Ferry, N.J., driver, who was uninjured, became the first driver since the 1992 reopening to exit the bounds of the speedway.
Unfortunately, the 11:30 p.m. curfew arrived before the 15-lap Pure Stock feature could be contested. It will be run on June 11. Heat wins went to Joe DiStefano and Kevin Krusewski.
Racing resumes at the Action Track on Friday June 11 with a full program of 358-Modifieds, Sportsman, Pro Stocks, Pure Stocks, 250cc Micro-Sprints, Mini-Sprints and Vintage Modifieds plus the heldover Pure Stock main from June 4. The evening will be sponsored by Minnewaska Motors.
Gates open at 4:30 p.m. with hot laps at 6:15 p.m. and racing at 7 p.m. For more information, contact the speedway office at (845) 626-3478 or check out the official website: www.accordspeedway.com.
NOTABLE: Again this year, the Winne family exerted a great deal of effort to make the evening memorable, passing out ribbons and stickers, holding raffles, selling shirts and even organizing a dump truck to release hundreds of black and teal balloons prior to the start of the 358-Modified main….
Sadly, Joe Winne Jr.'s night was over even before it started; he was involved in a lap two incident, returned to the track but retired on lap 26….
Also involved in the second lap skirmish was Andy Bachetti. Significant front suspension damage relegated him to dead last….
Butch Tittle's third place finish came with a broken left front caliper and a blown out right front shock….
Dom Roselli's first Accord start since the 2002 season finale was eventful. The Middletown, N.Y., driver spun on lap six, raced back to the top five only to get turned around on a 26th lap restart, then picked his way forward to take sixth at the finish.
Roselli, a displaced Lake Moc-A-Tek (Pa.) Speedway regular, will be at Accord for the remainder of the season. On Friday, he was behind the wheel of the Teo-Pro car normally campaigned by teammate Carl Pittenger, as it is equipped with a DIRT-legal small block powerplant….
The maturation of young Go-Kart graduate Marc Johnson continued. The Altimont, N.Y., talent rebounded from three early race tangles for seventh….
Rich Ricci Jr. overcame a right front flat tire on lap 13, then a pair of tangles (laps 18 and 20) to record a top five finish….
Joe Winne Memorial 358-Modified Feature Finish: MIKE RICCI, Robbie Green, Butch Tittle, Barry Davis, Rich Ricci Jr., Dom Roselli, Marc Johnson, John McGill, Jackie Brown Jr., Tony Kawalchuk, Ryan Stortini, Bob Cancellieri, Mike Van Tassel, John Sanders, Mark Pullen, Phil Recchio, Fred Newkirk, Jeremy Markle, Scott Ferrier, Joe Winne Jr., Andy Bachetti.
Sportsman Feature Finish: KEVIN DURYEA, Danny Creeden, Dave Coene, Tom Tomasko, L.D. Smith, Don Johnson, Mike Senecal, Jesse Marks, Harry Baldwin, Bill Van Inwegen, Jeff Hulseapple, Joe Pravia, Howard Jarvis, Larry Badaracco, Paul Minton, Steve Krom, Chad Hadlick, Kenny Moulton Jr., Chris Grispin, Cliff Bush.
Did Not Qualify: Dave Bush, Jeff Hager, Nicole Tracy, Jim Fugel.
Pro Stock Feature Finish: AL CHENEY III, John Roese, Ray See Jr., Butch Winnie, Norbert Bracklow, Don Williams, Doug Tyler Jr., Jerry Craig, Mike Manetta, Terry O'Brien, Steve Murray, Bill Deak Sr., Pat Zimmer, Lenny Brice, Eric Moon.
Mini-Sprint Feature Finish: JOHN LIETO, John Matrafailo, Peter Sindt, John Parete, Mark Rogers, Rich Sennett, Darrell Quackenbush, Clint Roehrs, Bobby Lynt, Gary Reyer, John Guarino, Rich Ford, Rob Scaccio, Todd Lapp, Ed Burgess, Randy Caruso, Kevin Horton, Kevin Kondelka.
250cc Micro-Sprint Feature Finish: MIKE CASARIO, Ralph Utter Jr., Ed Krupa, Rich Casario, Pat Potter, Charles Redlich, Jay Sisco, Doc Young, Chris Kervatt, Lex Burritt, Frank Venezia, Michael Storms, Rich McKay, Chris Weiss.
Curfewed Pure Stock Feature Starting Lineup: Joe DiStefano, D.J. Brooks, Sharon Byrne, Joe Giachinta, Kevin Krusewski, Joe Judge, Mike DuBois, Danny Tyler, Mike Deyo, Tony Polemeni, Bill Deak Jr., Kyle Wright, Bill Judge, Ryan Hover, Fred Davis Jr.