KAWALCHUK'S FIRST ACCORD 358 MOD TRIUMPH IS A BIG ONE
By BRETT DEYO
ACCORD, NY - Tony Kawalchuk will have a lot to talk about at school Monday morning.
After all, the 14-year old phenom powered to his first career DIRT 358 Modified victory at Accord Speedway in one of the quarter mile oval's most prestigious events.
Kawalchuk, a ninth grader at nearby Rondout Valley High School, pulled off an upset win in the 55-lap Joe Winne Memorial Friday night, withstanding heavy pressure from Rich Ricci, Jr. to win in just his seventh small-block start.
"I never thought I'd win this quick," an ecstatic Kawalchuk exclaimed. "We've been fast all year, but it's tough in this class. I knew it would be a lot tougher than the Sportsman."
Kawalchuk's breakthrough triumph, worth $2,400, didn't come easy.
He battled from fifth starting position to the lead in five laps, coming out on top of a lap 5, turn 2 scramble with Jeremy Markle and Robbie Green to take over the position. Green moved into second on the 7th go round put heavy pressure on Kawalchuk, sticking the nose of his Gross Graphics No. 69 to the inside of the leader. However, Green's stint at the front of the field came to an end on lap 20 when contact with Mike Ricci sent both cars to the infield on the frontstretch.
That handed the runner up position to Rich Ricci, Jr.
The younger Ricci couldn't keep pace with the high-flying Kawalchuk, who inched away from the veteran on each of the five restarts in the second half of the extra distance grind, including one final caution flag with six laps remaining.
Kawalchuk protected the bottom groove in his Turco's Machine powered Troyer No. T5, forcing Ricci to run high to use the outside line to advance.
"The place where I found bite was on the very bottom of the track," said Kawalchuk, an Accord resident. "I drove in hard once and slid up the track; I knew I didn't want to do that again. I started running in easy on the bottom and tried to stay smooth. That seemed to work out better."
Did the teenager think he had enough to hold on?
"About lap 19, I looked up on the lap counter and I thought we might have a chance. I just didn't know if somebody would come on strong at the end, with the extra laps and I was worried about lapped traffic hurting me. You just don't know - I got into traffic once and the two guys slammed together and spun out in front of me. I didn't want to get involved in something."
Kawalchuk was one of only a handful of teams in the field without a two-way radio.
"We don't have a radio," he said. "So I didn't know who was behind me until Rich pulled up next to me on one of the cautions."
Rich Ricci, Jr. regained the point lead with a runner up effort in the Fall Fittings Dirt Wheels chassied No. 55, though the six-time champion couldn't make a serious run at Kawalchuk.
"I went with the wrong shocks," the New Paltz, N.Y. talent admitted. "I was too loose in the center of the corner. We were just as fast as the No. T5 in straightaway speed, but his corner speed was better than mine. I can't complain about second. It was a good night."
Tom Hindley forged a determined charge from 17th starting position to third in the Feder's Auto Group No. 17H. Hindley pressured Ricci in the late stages, pulling even with him on lap 42, but couldn't take over the runner up position.
Rick Mill continued his consistent season in fourth and Barry Davis outmaneuvered Kirk Horton on the final lap for fifth.
Heat victories for the 28 358 Modifieds in attendance went to Davis, Green and Mill. In his first appearance of 2003, Donnie Wilson topped the consolation.
Unfortunately, the curfew arrived before the DIRT Sportsman division could run its 25-lap feature, and it will be run first on the June 13 program. The second main will not be contested for double points, as is documented on the schedule.
28 Sportsman competitors filed into the pit area. Jim Winchell, Howard Jarvis and Keith Still were the heat winners, while Larry Ricci won the consolation.
62-year old Jimmy Langenback of Pittsfield, Mass. won a competitive 20-lap Pro Stock main. Langenback used the outside lane to sweep by some six cars in the final laps of the event, clearing race-long pacesetter George Christiana with the white flag in the air.
For Langenback, it marked his fourth victory of the season.
Christiana was second, ahead of Elwood Hewitt, Dave Colwell and Ken Hartshorn.
Two time track champion Peter Sindt overcame his early season struggles to win the 15-lap Mini Sprint main, Sindt, of Stone Ridge, N.Y. fought off the valiant last lap charges of John Lieto and 16-year old Geoff Quackenbush for his first victory of the season.
Richard Sennett was fourth and Jeremy Quick completed the front five.
In a thrilling last lap battle to the stripe Saugerties, N.Y.'s Pat Zimmer bested Jay Smalley to win the Pure Stock 15-lapper, his first triumph of the season. Mike Deyo finished third, ahead of Scott Kilmer and Charlie Houghtaling.
The evening, sponsored by Wide Open Motorsports, was run in honor of 1999 358 Modified champion Joe Winne, who lost his life to a heart attack while racing at Orange County (N.Y.) Fair Speedway during the 2000 running of Eastern States Weekend. Once again, the Winne family set up a pictorial display of his racing career and kept his memory alive with pins, shirts and other memorabilia.
Bernie Smith of Reclamation, Inc. added $500 to the 358 Mod purse ($100 each to the top five) while Catskill Mountain Bluegrass boosted the winner's share by $100 and Sportsman veteran Jim Winchell, a longtime supporter of Joe Winne, posted a $200 halfway leader bonus.
Racing resumes at the Action Track on Friday, June 13 with a full program of DIRT 358 Modifieds, DIRT Sportsman, Pro Stocks, Pure Stocks and Mini Sprints, plus Vintage Dirt Modifieds. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. with hot laps at 6 p.m. and racing at 7 p.m. For further info, contact the speedway office at (845) 626-3478 or check out the website: www.accordspeedway.com.
Pit Notes: Though Kawalchuk was a two time winner during his Sportsman rookie season, he had his share of critics upon entering the 358 Modified ranks. The early weeks had not been easy - he had been involved in several incidents and drew the ire of several veterans. However, the teenager silenced them all Friday night in a dominant performance...
Kawalchuk's father, Tony, was a three time Accord Sportsman winner in the mid 1990's...
Andy Bachetti's run as Accord point leader lasted just seven days. He battled from the rear of the field several times before getting turned around on lap 42, collecting Robbie Green. The Sheffield, Mass. star ended up 11th in the final rundown...
Orange County Fair Speedway mainstay Donnie Elliott made his first appearance of the season, finishing eighth in his debut. Elliott, whose family business rests across the street from OCFS, plans to run as an Accord regular for the remainder of the season...
Lebanon Valley regular Lucas Baker invaded the speedway for the extra distance affair but failed to make the feature field, as did newcomer Jim Introne...
The night marked the debut of the one way radio system. Despite a few first night bugs, operator Randy Filipowski was happy with the results. It did present a challenge for the 358 Modified racers who were allowed two-way radios for the extra distance main...
Donnie Wilson's ‘03 debut came to a grinding halt, literally, when the second generation racer from Ramsey, N.J. ran out of room in a first lap feature incident, severely damaging the rear suspension of his Teo-Pro car. Wilson looked strong in a consolation victory...
358 Modified Feature Finish: Tony Kawalchuk, Rich Ricci, Jr., Tom Hindley, Rick Mill, Barry Davis, Kirk Horton, Jimmy Johnson, Donnie Elliott, Jeremy Markle, Mike Ricci, Andy Bachetti, Allen Shiffler, Scott Ferrier, Joe Winne, Jr., Jimmy Halpin, Robbie Green, Kenny Baker, Fred Newkirk, Kenny McGuire, Donnie Wilson.
Did Not Qualify: Mike Murphy, John Sanders, Jim Introne, Lucas Baker, Rich Hansen, Mark Pullen, Ryan Stortini.
Pro Stock Feature Finish: Jim Langenback, George Christiana, Elwood Hewitt, Dave Colwell, Ken Hartshorn, Noel Osborne, Rob Johnson, Steve Murray, Tom Kuck, Butch Winnie, Scott Liese, Norbert Bracklow, John Odendahl, Leonard Brice, John Roese, Gene Temple, Scott Mill, Rich Colesanti, Chris Bottge, Mike Manetta.
Did Not Qualify: Rob Hoar, Clarence Palmer, Terry O'Brien, Anthony Vitale, Don Palmateer, Bryan McElheny.
Mini Sprint Feature Finish: Peter Sindt, John Lieto, Geoff Quackenbush, Rich Sennett, Jeremy Quick, Rob Scaccio, John Matrafailo, Ed Burgess, James Tomlinson, Todd Lapp, Mike Bosco, Clint Roehrs, Brian Baxter, Marc DuPuis, Brett Hockenberry, Kyle Lucas, Louis DuPuis, Joe Sanfillippo, Randy Caruso, Todd Bernier, Gary Reyer, Marshall Gogg, Jesse Baum, John Parete, John Wullum, Duane Koskey, Mark Rogers, Kevin Kondelka.
Did Not Start: Steve Boyd.
Pure Stock Feature Finish: Pat Zimmer, Jay Smalley, Mike Deyo, Scott Kilmer, Charlie Houghtaling, Greg Meola, Chris Meola, Rocky Warner, Bert Long, Mike Houghtaling, Sharon Byrne, Peter Warren, Chris Hardenberg, William Landrum, Shannon Cole, Don Carlson, Joe DiStefano, Mike DuBois, Matt DuBois, Jim Baxter.