Smith Cruises to Fourth Win
by: Mike Mallett - 07/16/05
Afton, NY - With over 100 cars in the pit area and another impressive field of twenty-five Modifieds, Jeremy Smith of Triangle, N.Y. was able to pick up his fourth feature win of the season in his Express Mart sponsored ride.
Smith, who started along side Jeff Sheeley of Alplaus, N.Y. on the front row for the 30 lap affair, fell back into the runner-up spot for the first six circuits of the main event.
On lap 7, Smith went to the high-side in turn four to grab the top spot from Sheeley at the line. As the duo raced into turn one side-by-side, Smith ultimately gained the advantage on the top-side.
“The top wasn’t great but I was able to use it to take the lead,” said Smith. “It really allowed me to keep my momentum up and stay along side of him (Sheeley) long enough to take the spot.”
Once in front, Smith set the cruise control and began to pull away from the field. By lap 19 he found himself in heavy lapped traffic as he battled to maintain the top position with Jeff Sheeley who had pulled up to his rear bumper.
“Lapped traffic can be a little scary at times,” smiled Smith. “But tonight those guys held their line and did a good job not affecting the outcome of the race.”
Even with the lapped traffic factor, Smith was able to prevail and hold on for his fourth win of the 2005 season at the Afton Speedway.
Jeff Sheeley was forced to settle for the runner-up spot, after starting on the pole, Tony Pepicelli of Princeton, N.Y. made his way up from the 11th starting spot to finish third, Tillson, N.Y.’s Mike Ricci finished fourth, and Rich Price Jr. of Saoquoit, N.Y. rounded out the top five.
In the 20 lap main event for the Sportsman division it was Bainbridge, N.Y.’s Rodney Hart picking up his third Afton Speedway victory. Hart held off the challenges of Oneonta’s Brad Alger for the win.
“We’ve had some great luck so far here at Afton,” stated Hart. “We’ve raced here four times and been able to win three of them.”
Hart, who started 9th, quickly made his way into the top five. By lap 5 he was running in the second spot just behind Alger who had taken the lead one lap prior from pole-sitter Matt Latwinski. Hart then began to reel in Alger, looking for the right place to make the move for the lead. On lap 12, he found the top-side to his liking in turn 4 and powered by Alger as the pair raced down the front straightaway. The pair raced wheel to wheel for the next two laps until slight contact was made forcing Alger to fall in line behind Hart. Once Alger was no longer along side, the race belonged to Hart. He easily led the final six laps for the win.
Wade Decker held of his teammate Chris Stull to grab the 20 lap night-ender for the Pro Stock division. The Afton, N.Y. native took the lead at the drop of the green flag and led all 20 laps in the win. Although Stull was all over his rear bumper looking for the win, he was unable to pull of a remarkable pass as his teammate was just too strong.
Rob Loucks of Bainbridge, N.Y. loves when the Pure Stock division runs double features. For the second time this season, Loucks pulled the double-dip as he was able to win both main events. In the first 15 lapper, Loucks took the lead from Mike Codington on lap 10 for the win. In the second event, Loucks battled three wide with Codington and Jeremy Shaw while grabbing the victory. He made the pass on lap 12 after racing three wide for two laps trying to gain the advantage on the high side.
In the 4 Cylinder Stock division it was Mike Stringer of Cooperstown, N.Y. taking the checkered flag in the 15 lap race. Stringer passed Gary Card Jr. on lap 2 and never looked back en route to the win.
The pair of Enduro events were won by David Smith of Unadilla, N.Y. and Dan Slosek of West Winfield, N.Y. Smith passed Slosek on lap 7 for the win while Slosek moved by Gordie Finch en route to his win in the second 10 lap feature of the night.
MODIFIED (30 Laps)
Jeremy Smith, Jeff Sheeley, Tony Pepicelli, Mike Ricci, Rich Price Jr., J.R. Hurlburt, Craig Terrell, Don Hart Jr., Ricky Yetter, Chris Ostrowsky, Ed Strada Jr., Scott Frack, J.R. Crouse, Steve Walsh, Matt Smith, Bob Hamm Jr., Darren Keyser, Ed Harris, Duane Hiller, Bob Cancellieri, Brian Corcoran, Doug Rose, Mike McCollum, Dan Morden, Jim Corcoran
HEAT WINNERS: Jeff Sheeley, Jeremy Smith, Don Hart
SPORTSMAN (20 Laps)
Rodney Hart, Brad Alger, Rick Amo, Butch Klinger, Adam Smith, Matthew Latwinski, Bob Mills, Tim Votra, Pat O’ Hanlon, Mike Decker, Jessica Zemken, Dustin Winn, Jeff Leslie, Kurt Decker, Randy Banks Jr., Olin Renwick, Dan Frack, Skip Pickwick, Eric Moon, Craig Pope.
HEAT WINNERS: Brad Alger, Rodney Hart
PRO STOCK (20 Laps)
Wade Decker, Chris Stull, Jason Rhodes, Paul Harrington, Jimmy Howard, Pat Nolan, Dennis Valentine, A.J. Digsby, Brett Barrett, Mert Youngs, Mike Reynolds, Dick Koch, Gary Roberts, John Roese
HEAT WINNERS: Pat Nolan, Wade Decker
PURE STOCK 1 (15 Laps)
Rob Loucks, Jeremy Shaw, Darl Ellis, Jeff Witt, Sean Witt, Ron McMullen, Brandon Clapperton, Tom Harrington, Mike Codington
PURE STOCK 2 (15 Laps)
Rob Loucks, Mike Codington, Jeremy Shaw, Dan Searls, Darl Ellis, Buck Mills, Rob White, Ron McMullen, Sheppard Blodgett, Chuck Culbertson, Jeff Witt, Tom Harrington, Sean Witt, William Jones, Jr., Brandon Clapperton
HEAT WINNERS: Darl Ellis, Rob Loucks
4 CYLINDER SS (15 Laps)
Mike Stringer, George Crippen, Ralph Cuozzo Jr., Jim Money, Gary Card Jr., Kevin Fassett, Rich Powell, Barnie Fuller, Bill Fink, Terry Onyan, Ken Carson III, Joe Bunt
HEAT WINNERS: George Crippen, Gary Card Jr.
4 CYLINDER ENDURO 1 (10 Laps)
David Smith, Dan Slosek, Gordie Finch, Dustin Wilber, Rich Englehart Jr., Alex Gloeckler, Delbert Van Dyke, John Squires, Aaron Shelton, Gary Kinne, Dave Finch, Nate Youngs, Sean Rose
4 CYLINDER ENDURO 2 (10 Laps)
Dan Slosek, Gordie Finch, David Smith, Rick Engelhart, Dustin Wilber, John Squires, Gary Kinne, Alex Gloeckler, Cale Brownell, Jeremy Lowe, Dave Finch, Joey Hurlburt, Ralph MacBlain, Delbert Van Dyke, Steve Gray, Aaron Shelton, Zack Mills
HEAT WINNERS: Alex Gloeckler, David Smith