Ricci explosive in Accord 50-lapper
by Debbie Gardner
ACCORD, NY (June 30, 2000) — The month of June went out with a bang at the Accord Speedway this past Friday night. The 50-lap feature event for the 358 Modifieds was an explosive display of racing among the 16-car field of competitors. Sponsored by the Stevens family of Middletown Motorsports, Mike Ricci was fortunate enough to take home two in a row with another victory over brother Rich.
Before the 358 feature, fireworks provided by Telestar Display of Auburn, lit up the sky as the ooohs and ahhs were clearly heard. The grand finale' was like none other ever seen. The colors were brilliant, the explosions were grand and the arena was lit up by the show.
It was then on to another grand finale'. The 358 feature was marred by a 7-car pile up on the backstretch as Rick Mill went on the outside and ran out of racing surface collecting 6 more behind him. Five cars were now finished for the night by the end of lap three. It seemed to be clearly Rich's night for a victory as he took the lead on lap one and held off his brother's very hard charges. By mid-way, Mike took over, but Rich was not to give in and regained his lead. These two veteran drivers maintained a back and forth of race leaders for the rest of the race. However, Mike took over on lap 42 and Rich was unable to recover after that point. At the wave of the checkered flag, it was Mike Ricci, Rich Ricci, Jr., Chris Moore, Jeremy Markle and Jay Halpin.
The Sportsman division saw the return of Doug Tyler, Sr. trying his best to keep up with the new generation of drivers. It was a vast disappointment for Lem Atkins as he spun coming off of turn four and then went over the wheel of Harry Baldin in turn one and overturned. In doing so, seven other competitors were looking at the business end of the tow truck. Jim Fugel took over, but was only able to hold back Jim Winchell's efforts to take the lead for four laps. Winchell was followed by Jimmy Johnson and Glenn Daley who are very strong competitors in this field. At the finish it was Winchell, Johnson, Daley, Mike VanPelt and Tom DeMarmels.
Street stock action was plagued with cautions as George Christiana held onto the first position from flag to flag holding off Bill Liese and Rich Dymond. Liese spun at the half-way mark and Dymond continued the pressure as Ray See Jr. overtook the third spot looking for a way to catch the leaders. Tom Dembeck returned to the front of the pack and was successful in finishing third ahead of See's 4th place finish. Gene Palmer was finally able to avoid any mishaps and completed his first race on the racing surface rather than the infield and captured fifth place.
George Miles returned to the Strictly Stock victory lane ahead of Scott Kilmer and Charlie Rose, Jr. During the evening, 358 Modified driver, Jeremy Markle and his crew went through the stands collecting money to be given to the Olivia Tremont Fund. Olivia is the adopted daughter of long-time veteran Kenny Tremont. She is gravely ill needing a heart-lung transplant. Not yet one year old, it is our hope to collect a substantial amount to offset her medical bills ahead of her. Drivers will be collecting from the fans throughout the month of July.This week, $294 was put into the account to be sent to the Tremont family. THANK YOU!
The vintage modifieds return next week along with the regular show. Green flag racing is at 7:30 p.m.