RICH RICCI , JR. USES ALL THE TRACK IN ACCORD WIN
By BRETT DEYO
ACCORD, NY - Rich Ricci, Jr. used the entire track Friday night at Accord Speedway.
The six-time champion from New Paltz, N.Y. worked the outside line in his ascent through the field, then guarded the bottom lane in the final laps to win the 30-lap Ellenville National Bank DIRT 358 Modified feature. The $1,500 score marked his fifth victory of the 2003 season.
"There wasn't a cushion or a whole lot of bite up high tonight," Ricci, 37, said. "So I made my own groove. They were all putting around the bottom - I had to make something happen."
Starting from 11th position in his Precision-powered Dirt Wheels mount, Ricci executed a series of three wide, outside moves to crack the top five, taking advantage of a several early caution flags and an intense battle for the lead involving Ken Baker and Barry Davis.
Davis, the veteran of 30 years of Accord competition, moved his Troyer No. 9D to the point with six laps in the books, in search of his first victory since the 1999 season. Meanwhile, Ricci was on the move. On a lap 10 restart, the second generation chauffeur powered off the high side to advance from sixth to third in one slick maneuver.
Two circuits later, he muscled by Jeremy Markle and set his sights on the leader.
A lap 14 restart set up a double file restart and that was all Ricci needed, sliding past Davis to take over the lead in less than one green flag lap.
"I hit the wall hard one of the three wide deals with Jimmy Johnson," Ricci later stated. "After that, the car wasn't that great. It was sliding and I couldn't get it to lock and turn. It really jolted the car on the boiler plate. That's when I started protecting the bottom."
Immediately after taking the lead, Ricci dropped to the inner hub of the speedway, while Barry Davis and a hard charging Andy Bachetti ran in formation. Bachetti moved his No. 40 to the outside of Davis on lap 21, but a caution with eight laps remaining proved to be his undoing.
Scorers reverted to the last completed green flag lap, moving a visibly irate Bachetti back to third for the restart.
Bachetti stopped on the frontstretch and threw the mandatory one way radio out the window of his car in protest. He eventually rejoined the field in third.
Finally, the Sheffield, Mass. 27-year old worked by Davis again on lap 27 and made a determined drive on Ricci, but ran out of time and settled for second, roughly a car length short of the oval's perennial king.
In the process, Ricci gained 4 points in the chase for the $5,000 track championship.
"Andy is tough here, and he's gonna be tough in the point race," Ricci said. "When I saw him in second on the scoreboard, I knew I had to be on my toes."
Following his $1,000 second place finish, Bachetti remained irritated.
"I understand going back to the last lap," he said. "But my problem is, I never know when the lap is scored or it isn't. I'm more upset about the 55 gaining three spots on one yellow when I didn't think they took the lap, then I got put behind the 79 twice, then the 9D."
Amidst the controversy, Davis recorded another stout run for third, just ahead of Tom Hindley who overcame three opening lap skirmishes for fourth. Jeremy Markle completed the front five, continuing his maturation into a consistent frontrunner.
The regularly scheduled DIRT Sportsman feature was claimed by the curfew. Heat wins for the 26 cars in attendance went to Ray See, Jr., Larry Badaracco and Jeff Hulseapple. Kevin Duryea topped the consolation. The 25-lap feature event, along with the 15-lap Pure Stock main, will be contested prior to the August 22 program.
The heldover DIRT Sportsman feature from June 6 was dominated by local standout Howard Jarvis. The Accord, N.Y. resident led from wire to wire in the 25-lap affair, dodging late race lapped traffic for his second victory of the season - and his career. Jarvis is in his second full season of Sportsman competition.
On the early night tacky surface, he was untouchable.
"The car was really good," an elated Jarvis said. "The lapped traffic was tough. They were running two and three wide, but I made it through."
Mike Van Pelt had a solid run from eighth starting spot to finish second, just ahead of point leader Kevin Duryea and chief rival David Towns, who checked in third and fourth, respectively. Go Kart graduate Keith Still continued his solid season with a fifth place finish.
Big Al Cheney came out on top of a classic battle with Dickie Colesanti to win his second of the year in the 20-lap Pro Stock feature. Cheney, who makes the three hour haul from Cranbury, N.J. on a weekly basis, maintained momentum on the high side of the track to pull ahead of the former Lebanon Valley (N.Y.) Speedway regular with three laps remaining.
Colesanti settled for second, besting Larry Temple, Jr., Norbert Bracklow and Lenny Brice.
Rob Scaccio of Suffern, N.Y. returned to glory in the 20-lap Mini Sprint main. Scaccio moved from ninth to take over the lead on a seventh lap restart. Once in front, he was never seriously challenged, opening up a comfortable lead en route to the win, his first since July 4. John Matrafailo finished second in the D&D Napa No. 8, besting defending champion Peter Sindt to the stripe. Newcomer Mark Gerard and Stephen LaPine rounded out the top five.
The Northeast Vintage Dirt Modifieds were on hand with a solid field of 13 cars and former I.M.C.A. Modified driver Mike Brown bested Jimmy Halpin in a tight race to the line. Brown was already a winner at the Fonda (N.Y.) Speedway this season with his Falcon.
Notable: Frank Cozze joined the 358 Modified ranks aboard Craig "Hollywood" Mitchell's RGP powered PMC mount. The Wind Gap, Pa. star struggled to get a hold on the track surface and missed qualifying by one spot in the consolation. It was a surprise to many as Cozze dominated each of his prior appearances at the track, but it was his first attempt on the DIRT Hoosier tires. He had only competed in open comp shows until Friday night...
Noticeably absent was Mike Ricci, who was hospitalized on Thursday night with painful kidney stones. According to crew member Tommy Ryan, Ricci doubled over in pain at the race shop on Thursday night before checking in to Benedictine Hospital, where he remained on Friday. The crew hoped to contact Dale Planck to fill in as the driver for the night, but ran out of time...
A scary incident took place in the third Modified heat race when Scott Ferrier violently spun around in turn one, hitting corner man Bob Ryder with his right rear tire. Ryder, who complained of a sore knee, dove over the jersey barrier for safety and later returned to his post...
Mini Sprint rookie Clint Roehrs landed on his side on the initial start of the feature. Track officials returned him to his wheels and he rebounded for sixth...
Whip City (Mass.) Speedway 750cc Mini Sprint point leader Mark Gerard joined the ranks, finishing fourth in his first run at the speedway against the more powerful 1200cc machines. Gerard, a former Go Kart standout, overcame a pair of incidents to claim a top five...
Danny Creeden debuted a sharp new lettering package on his No. 16x Sportsman, courtesy of graphics newcomer Jason Vogel and his Hawley, Pa. based Vogel Race Designs. For Creeden, it was a large improvement over the electrical tape of one week ago...
358 Modified Feature Finish: Rich Ricci, Jr., Andy Bachetti, Barry Davis, Tom Hindley, Jeremy Markle, Scott Ferrier, J.R. Heffner, Fred Newkirk, Allen Shiffler, Bruce Leote, Mark Pullen, Ryan Stortini, John Sanders, Robbie Green, Jimmy Johnson, Hank Goranson, Donnie Wilson, Kenny Baker, Tony Kawalchuk, Ken McGuire.
Did Not Qualify: Frank Cozze, Jim Halpin, Will Robinson, Joe Winne, Jr.
Heldover Sportsman Feature Finish: Howard Jarvis, Mike Van Pelt, Kevin Duryea, David Towns, Keith Still, Tom Tomasko, Harry Baldwin, Lee Smith, Henry Sherman, Rich Oxford, Larry Badaracco, Dave Coene, Jimmy Fugel, Ray See, Jr., Bill Van Inwegen, Nicole Tracy, Danny Creeden, Jeff Hulseapple, T.J. Pasko, Chris Grispin.
Did Not Qualify: Jim House, Don Johnson, Bill Papula, Ken Moulton, Paul Minton.
Pro Stock Feature Finish: Al Cheney, Dickie Colesanti, Larry Temple, Jr., Norbert Bracklow, Lenny Brice, Noel Osborne, Jim Langenback, Bill Liese, Butch Winnie, Steve Murray, Jerry Craig, Ray Williams, Mike Manetta, Ron Rion, Ken Hartshorn, Terry O'Brien, Rob Hoar, George Christiana, John Roese, Scott Mill.
Did Not Qualify: Chris Bottge, Josh Henke, John Rood, Larry Ball, Lenny Helmich.
Mini Sprint Feature Finish: Rob Scaccio, John Matrafailo, Peter Sindt, Mark Gerard, Stephen LaPine, Clint Roehrs, Jon Moore, Mark Rogers, Kyle Lucas, Randy Caruso, Kevin Kondelka, Jeremy Quick, Bobby Lynt, Tom Richard, Rich Sennett, Geoff Quackenbush, Todd Lapp.
Did Not Start: Paul Bigelow, Brian Baxter, Jesse Baum, Jim Johnston.