Smith Wins the Battle and the Championship
by: Mike Mallett - 09/10/05
Afton, NY - It’s a long season and it’s been a hard fought battle for the point title. Week in and week out drivers needed the consistency and some luck to keep them atop the points. On Friday night, all that was meaningless as it came down to the final lap in the 30 lap Modified feature event for two drivers.
Jeremy Smith, of Triangle, N.Y. came into the night third in and points and left with the 2005 Track Championship by one point over J.R. Hurlburt.
“This car either wins or finishes last,” said Smith. “We didn’t really think about the points most of the year, we just wanted to come out here and get feature wins.
“I don’t think we worried as much as the other guys did.”
Smith started the feature event in seventh with point title contenders Hurlburt and Tony Pepicelli behind him.
Smith negotiated early cautions and by lap seven sat inside the top five with Mike McCollum of Hawley, Pa., setting the early pace.
By lap 10, Smith, Hurburt, and Pepicelli were all inside the top five looking for the race win.
McCollum held onto the lead until lap 20 when Smith slid below him and Hurlburt in turn two to secure the number one spot.
“I knew J.R. (Hurlburt) had gone with a little harder tires so I had to take it easy,” said Smith. “The bottom was there and it came around late in the race allowing me to take the lead.”
On lap 21, Hurlburt moved into the number two spot and only two laps later found himself along side Smith.
“We raced hard and we never touched,” said Smith. “I have a lot of respect for him and I remember watching him race when I was still in the pure stock division.
“He’s not a dirty driver and I made sure that I wasn’t going to do anything to mess us both up.”
They continued to race two wide all the way around the speedway with Smith leading by feet on the front stretch and Hurlburt having the advantage off of turn two.
On the final lap, Smith was behind as the pair entered into turn three but he beat Hurlburt off the corner to take the win and the title by a matter of inches.
“I learned a lot about racing like this when I raced at Fulton,” said Smith. “It was a great race but I feel bad that J.R. (Hurlburt) didn’t get the title.
“Last week I water pump problems and they were the first ones to offer me their backup pump if we needed, they are great people.”
Hurlburt, of Otego, N.Y., was unable to get the run he needed off of turn four to pick up the win in the event. Although he had gotten by Smith early in the distance, he couldn’t get by McCollum which allowed Smith to get back by him.
“I think the difference in that race was that I couldn’t get by the two car (McCollum),” said Hurlburt. “I couldn’t get around him and I can’t fault him for anything, he was racing for the win.”
Hurlburt, disappointed about losing the race, was even more upset about losing the title.
“I’ve raced here since this place opened,” said Hurlburt. “I really wanted this title but we’ll go on and keep racing and see what happens.”
Craig Terrell, of Windsor, N.Y., came home third, Mike Ricci in his Jim Winchell owned ride came home fourth, and the 2005 Accord Speedway Champion, Rich Ricci Jr. finished fifth.
Rodney Hart, of Bainbridge, N.Y., came back from two tough weeks to take home the win the Sportsman feature. Hart used the high side of turn one on lap 4 of the 20 lap feature event to take the lead. Dustin Winn had taken the lead at the drop of the green flag and the youngster looked good but he was no match for Hart. Once in front, Hart had Bob Mills nipping at his heals. By lap seven, Mills worked the high side while Hart worked the bottom with the two going side-by-side for several laps until was able to pull away on lap 15. He led the rest of the distance for the win.
“We’ve had a couple of tough weeks but we got things back on track,” said Hart. “But these guys work so hard week and after week and this win is a result of their hard work.”
Mills, of South Plymouth, N.Y., settled for second but captured his first ever Track Championship.
“This is quite a rush,” said Mills. “Don and Julie Newell (car owners) give me the best equipment and I have to thank them. It’s my first ever championship and it still hasn’t sunk in that I actually won it.”
Wade Decker, of Afton, N.Y., took the checkered flag first in the 20 lap Pro Stock feature event. Decker put himself in the lead on the very first lap of the feature event as he moved from fourth to first. Decker moved to the low-side of the speedway in turn four to get past Paul Harrington for the lead. Decker led the remaining laps while holding off his teammate Chris Stull. The win gave Decker the 2005 Pro Stock Track Championship.
Decker backed up his win in the Pro Stock feature by jumping in Kurt Decker’s car for the Pure Stock feature event. Decker started 13th in the feature event but wasted little time getting to the top spot. Jamie Batzel jumped out to the early lead until lap number two when he and Jeff Witt made contact on the front-stretch sending Witt sideways while another car made hard contact with Witt’s car causing it to catch on fire. Witt was shaken but alright after the incident. Batzel was sent to the rear of the field for the contact as Jeremy Shaw inherited the lead. Shaw led the next two laps until Decker was able to pass him on lap four. Once in the lead Decker raced out to the victory giving him two feature wins on the evening. Rob Loucks, of Bainbridge, N.Y., rode his twelve top ten finishes to the 2005 Pure Stock point title.
In the 4 Cylinder Super Stock feature event, Harold Humphrey led all 15 laps en route to the feature win. Humphrey held off the 2005 Track Champion George Crippen, of Cooperstown, N.Y.
The 12 lap 4 Cylinder Enduro feature went to Dustin Wilbur, of Wells Bridge, N.Y. Wilbur led the entire distance hoping to grab the 2005 championship but he fell 12 points short to Gordie Finch, of Sidney Center, N.Y.
September 30 brings the final Modified show of 2005 as they compete in a 50 lap Big Block / Small Block challenge event paying $3,000 to the winner. Joining the Modifieds, in a Spooktacular tune-up, are the Pro Stocks in a $600 to win feature and the Pure Stocks have been added as they will compete for $500 to win prize.
The New Afton Speedway hosts racing every Friday night at 7:30pm from April through September with a weekly six division show that is highlighted by the mighty Big/Small Block Modifieds featuring sail panels. The Speedway is located just off Interstate 88 at exit 7. For more information about the upcoming events at The New Afton Speedway, call the speedway office at (607) 657-8018 or checkout our website at http://www.thenewaftonspeedway.net.
MODIFIED FEATURE (30 LAPS)
Jeremy Smith, J.R. Hurlburt, Craig Terrell, Mike Ricci, Rich Ricci Jr., J.R. Crouse, Mike McCollum, James Cornell, John Siedlecky, Rich Price, Duane Hiller, Matt Smith, Ricky Yetter, Jimmy Reppert, Jim Corcoran, Dan Fassett, Bob Hamm Jr., Tony Pepicelli, George Kostelansky, Steve Walsh, Brian Corcoran, Dan Morden
HEAT WINNERS: McCollum, M. Ricci, Siedlecky
SPORTSMAN FEATURE (20 LAPS)
Rodney Hart, Bob Mills, Butch Klinger, Dustin Winn, Adam Smith, Ladd Yeomans, Matt Latwinski, Skip Pickwick, Jeff Leslie, Olin Renwick, Harold Humphrey, Craig Pope.
HEAT WINNERS: Mills, Hart
PRO STOCK FEATURE (20 LAPS)
Wade Decker, Chris Stull, Joe Reeves, Pat Nolan, Paul Harrington, Dick Koch, Fred Christ, Josh Humphries
HEAT WINNER: Stull
PURE STOCK FEATURE (15 LAPS)
Wade Decker, Darl Ellis Sr., Jeremy Shaw, Rob Loucks, Tom Harrington, Joe Buchek, Bob Facciahi, Ron McMullens, Chuck Culbertson, Mike Codington, Shaun Witt, Jeff Witt, Steve Polhamus, Ralph Maclain, Brandon Clapperton
HEAT WINNERS: J. Witt, J. Shaw
4 CYLINDER SUPER STOCK FEATURE (15 LAPS)
Harold Humphrey, George Crippen, Ralph Cuozzo Jr., Gary Card Jr., Jim Money, Kevin Fassett, Terry Onyan
HEAT WINNER: Humphrey
4 CYLINDER ENDURO FEATURE (12 LAPS)
Dustin Wilbur, Cale Brownell, Gary Kinne, Aaron Shelton, John Squires Jr., David Finch, Rick Engelhardt, David Smith, Steven Gray, Gordy Finch, Delbert Van Dyke, Joey Hurlburt, James Lee, Chris Wheller, Jeremy Lowe
HEAT WINNERS: Wilbur, Shelton