RICH RICCI JR. KEEPS ON WINNING AT ACCORD
By BRETT DEYO
ACCORD, NY - For Rich Ricci Jr., winning at Accord Speedway is becoming business as usual.
The New Paltz, N.Y., driver scored his third consecutive victory at the Ulster County quarter-mile oval last Friday night, topping the Hig Fabrications 358-Modified 30-lap feature in dominant fashion.
Ricci, a seven-time track champion, raced from 12th to the victory.
"This car is just awesome here," the elated victor said of his familiar Precision-powered Dirt Wheels mount.
"It would go anywhere I wanted it to go. It just stuck like glue."
Following a series of three-wide scrambles in the early portions of the event, Mike Ricci, who started 10th, powered by Ryan Stortini on a fourth lap restart for the lead. Three laps later, Andy Bachetti took the Downes Racing No. 40 to the outside and grabbed the runner-up spot, with the younger Ricci in tow.
The top three ran nose to tail until a caution for John Sanders on lap 12 set up a pivotal restart.
First, Rich Ricci Jr. cleared Bachetti on the inside, then he went to work on his brother. Coming to the line for lap 14, Mike Ricci slid up the track and his sibling took advantage, grabbing the top spot.
"I was setting him up," the 37-year-old Ricci said of the family affair up front. "On that restart, I knew what they were gonna do - in that situation the third place car always has the advantage.
"Mike was trying to move Andy up and I got by him (Bachetti). I saw Mike's car was getting looser and looser and he bobbled in four. I shot right underneath him."
One lap after losing the lead, the right side rubrail on Mike Ricci's car came loose on the backstretch. In the process, he drove over it and busted the rear suspension of his No. 406.
The second half of the main clicked off under green flag conditions and Ricci cruised to the win with a comfortable margin.
Bachetti, of Sheffield, Mass., settled for second despite losing his brakes early on.
"I lost the brakes on the second lap," he said, pointing out a broken right front brake line on his Bicknell mount.
"The pedal went right to the floor, so it was tough to roll it in there after that. I had to drive in the corner not knowing if it would catch. I think a clump of mud must have gotten up in there."
Ryan Stortini of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., finished third in his H.P. Autotech-powered Troyer SLR car. For the 30-year-old, it marked his best career finish.
Robbie Green was fourth and J.R. Heffner rounded out the top five.
In his second season of Accord competition, Somerville, N.J.'s Tom Tomasko picked up his breakthrough victory in the 25-lap Sportsman feature.
Tomasko started eighth and grabbed the lead from Nicole Tracy on lap four with an inside maneuver. He had to fight off a persistent challenge from former track champion Jeff Hulseapple for the remainder of the distance.
A caution on lap 17 put the Bloomingburg, N.Y., chauffeur on Tomasko's rear bumper for the sprint to the finish.
Hulseapple made a charge on the final lap heading down the backstretch, but the personable Garden State competitor threw the block and raced to the $600 payday in his Agin Signs No. 721.
"Jeff is a real veteran here," Tomasko said. "I knew he wasn't going to give me anything. I had to run a flawless last eight laps."
Hulseapple settled for second, ahead of Harry Baldwin, who took over the point lead with a third place finish. 16th starter Kevin Duryea raced to fourth and Don Johnson rounded out the top five in the best performance of his career.
Lenny Brice continued his maturation in the Pro Stock division with his second victory of 2004 in the 20-lap main. The Ulster Park, N.Y., native worked by Jerry Craig for the top spot on the seventh lap and raced on to the win.
Don Williams finished second, securing a one-two sweep for cars built in the Saugerties, N.Y., shop of Elwood Hewitt.
Doug Tyler Jr., Mike Manetta and Norbert Bracklow rounded out the top five.
Whenever John Lieto enters the Accord pit area, he is a threat to win.
The Mt. Kisco, N.Y., competitor, who is not a weekly regular, showed his talent with his third win of the year at the Big A in the 20-lap Mini-Sprint main.
Lieto started fourteenth and carved through the field in short order, taking over the lead from defending champion Jeremy Quick on lap 11.
He then fought off Marc Guerard for his fourth win in five starts this season.
John Matrafailo, Peter Sindt and Rich Sennett rounded out the top five.
Ralph Utter Jr. of West Milford, N.J., scored the win in the inaugural appearance of the season for the 250cc Micro-Sprints.
Utter, who spun in his heat race, started ninth in the main but moved his No. 19J to the lead by fifth circuit of the 15-lap main. Rich McKay, Chris Weiss, Jay Sisco and Mike Casario trailed.
Mike Deyo pulled off last lap heroics to win the 15-lap Pure Stock main.
Deyo, who ran the final two circuits with no brakes, squeezed his No. 14 to the inside of Joe Judge and the lapped car of Peter Warren in turn one, then beat race-long leader Judge to the line for the win, his first of the year.
Judge was second, ahead of Bill Deak Jr. and Danny Tyler. D.J. Brooks recorded his first ever top five, taking fifth at the line.
Jimmy Halpin of Wappingers Falls, N.Y., raced by Mike Brown in the final corner to top the 15-lap Vintage Modified main.
NOTABLE: When Mike Ricci's rubrail came loose on lap 15 in the 358-Mod main, it caused a scare for two drivers.
Andy Bachetti, who was running directly behind Ricci, said the rail nearly entered the roll cage of his car. In fact, Bachetti said he ducked his head as it bounced off the structure surrounding him.
It then became entangled under Ryan Stortini's No. 7, flipping upward and busting one of the header pipes on his car. "It got real loud all of a sudden," Stortini said. "I was actually worried it might have gotten the oil pan."….
With "Papa Rich" Ricci Sr. not attending Friday night, Rich Jr. spent some time on the cell phone discussing set-ups with the team patriarch….
Nicole Tracy skipped the senior prom at her Danbury (Conn.) High School to race at Accord on Friday. The teenager attended her "Snowball Dance" in February with Orange County (N.Y.) Fair Speedway Sportsman driver Shane Jablonka. The reason: she knew she would be racing on prom night….
Tom Hindley's terrible luck continued. The Fair Oaks, N.Y., standout spun from third on lap four; the ensuing contact with Bachetti sent him to the pits with a flat left rear tire….
Popular Pure Stock racer Sharon Byrne took a wild ride in the main event, rolling her No. 7 in the first turn before landing on her side. Byrne walked away uninjured….
Heavy rainfall in the area up until noon on Friday caused the track surface to be soft and choppy. Gary Palmer and the track crew were left with no choice but to salvage what they could with some intermission grooming that included use of the roller….
Racing resumes on Friday, June 4 with the 4th Annual Joe Winne Memorial Night, highlighted by a 55-lap, $2,000 to win 358-Modified feature, plus a full program of Sportsman, Pro Stocks, Mini-Sprints, 250cc Micro-Sprints and Pure Stocks sponsored by Camper's Barn.
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.
358-Modified Feature Finish: RICH RICCI JR., Andy Bachetti, Ryan Stortini, Robbie Green, J.R. Heffner, Marc Johnson, Butch Tittle, John McGill, Tom Hindley, Mark Pullen, Fred Newkirk, Jackie Brown Sr., Scott Ferrier, Joe Winne Jr., Mike Ricci, John Sanders, Phil Recchio, Chris Johnson, Jeremy Markle.
Sportsman Feature Finish: TOM TOMASKO, Jeff Hulseapple, Harry Baldwin, Kevin Duryea, Don Johnson, Dave Coene, Howard Jarvis, Jim Fugel, Larry Badaracco, Nicole Tracy, L.D. Smith, Jesse Marks, Jeff Hager, Danny Creeden, Paul Minton, Bill Van Inwegen, Steve Krom, David Bush, Cliff Bush, Jim Winchell.
Did Not Qualify: Mike Senecal, Joe Pravia, Chad Hadlick.
Pro Stock Feature Finish: LENNY BRICE, Don Williams, Doug Tyler Jr., Mike Manetta, Norbert Bracklow, Butch Winnie, Jerry Craig, Ray See Jr., Bill Deak, Steve Murray, Terry O'Brien, Al Cheney III, Eric Moon, Pat Zimmer, George Christiana, James Devitt, John Roese.
Mini-Sprint Feature Finish: JOHN LIETO, Marc Guerard, John Matrafailo, Peter Sindt, Rich Sennett, Rich Ford, Mark Rogers, Kevin Kondelka, Gary Reyer, Kevin Horton, John Guarino, Jeremy Quick, Clint Roehrs, Geoff Quackenbush, Marshall Gogg, John Wullum.
Did Not Start: Joe Bergin, Rob Scaccio, John Parete.
250cc Micro-Sprint Feature Finish: RALPH UTTER JR., Rich McKay, Chris Weiss, Jay Sisco, Mike Casario, Michael Storms, Rick Casario, Chris Kervatt, Charlie Redlich, Lex Burritt.
Pure Stock Feature Finish: MIKE DEYO, Joe Judge, Bill Deak Jr., Danny Tyler, D.J. Brooks, Kevin Krusewski, Fred Davis Jr., Mike DuBois, Stephen Kanuk, Peter Warren, Kyle Wright, Joe Giachinta, Sharon Byrne, George Decker.
Did Not Start: Bill Judge, Joe DiStefano.