Ferrier Gets Needed Confidence Boost
by: Mike Mallett - 06/25/05
Afton, NY - For the first time in a month, Mother Nature allowed a racing program to take place at The New Afton Speedway. Although it was the hottest night of the summer to date, the racing action on the speedway was even hotter as the New York State Stock Car Association was in attendance for the evening.
Scott Ferrier, 43, of Middletown, N.Y. captured his first 30 lap Modified feature ever at The New Afton Speedway in only his fourth career start.
“The car has been close all year,” said an extremely happy Ferrier. “But this week we finally got everything working the way it’s supposed to.”
Ferrier started third in the feature but quickly moved by front row starters Ricky Yetter and Matt Smith to grab the lead on the very first lap.
“I knew I was better than the two cars in front of me,” said Ferrier. “But I didn’t want to do anything crazy so I just went in on the bottom and those two in front slid up the track giving me the opening.”
Now in front, Ferrier had to deal with lapped traffic as well as Princeton, N.Y. native Tony Pepicelli.
“I knew if I kept the car on the bottom no one was going to get me,” stated Ferrier. “Again I was just patient, worked the bottom, and got by the lapped cars without any trouble.”
Pepicelli was able to close the gap on Ferrier as the race wound down, but it was to no avail as Ferrier was able to step up his pace en route to a feature victory.
“I heard someone behind me and I knew it was time to pick it up,” commented Ferrier. “When I did that the car got a little tight and I had to compensate. Once I was able to do the right things to stop the car from pushing I knew I was going to be alright.”
With Ferrier taking the feature win, Tony Pepicelli was forced to settle for the runner-up spot.
“He was really good tonight,” stated Pepicelli. “I didn’t have anything for him.”
Following Pepicelli to the line was former winner Ed Strada Jr. of South Canaan, Pa, Windsor, N.Y. driver Bob Hamm Jr. and fifth was the no. 7 of Matt Smith.
In other racing action the first event on the speedway was a 20 Lap dance for the Sportsman Modifieds and it went to Bob Mills of South Plymouth, N.Y. It was Mills second career triumph as the former Pro-Stock competitor. Mills took the top spot from young upstart Jeff Leslie on lap 11. Leslie gave Mills everything he had but in the end Mills proved to be too strong as he worked passed Leslie on the bottom of turn 3.
“This car didn’t like the outside,” said Mills in victory lane. “It felt great on the bottom and that’s where I kept it in order to make my way to the front.”
In Sportsman feature number two it was Rodney Hart of Bainbridge, N.Y. picking up his first win of the season. Once again Jeff Leslie led the opening laps but he quickly relinquished the lead to Brad Alger in the 78a. Alger held the lead for a brief period as Butch Klinger worked his way into the lead on lap 14. Klinger one of the toughest competitors at the speedway normally a fixture in victory lane couldn’t hold of Hart. On lap 15, Hart used a low line pass in turn 4 to grab the lead and the victory.
“I’ve been helping my brother (Don Hart, Jr.) all season long and that was a big part of this win,” said Hart. “We tried a few things different on this car and the setup was definitely the difference tonight.”
The 20 Lap Pro Stock feature event saw one of the closest wins by any driver this season at the speedway. Chris Stull of Cortland, N.Y. passed his teammate Wade Decker as the pair crossed the start finish line to pick up the $500 prize from Point Building and Remodeling. Stull barely captured the win as he and Decker were virtually even. Stull had worked his way back through the field after an early race mishap. Jerry Holmes had led the first 12 laps. He battled hard with past feature winner Brett Barrett. On lap 12, Barrett made his move to the bottom of turn two. As he and Holmes came off the corner they got stuck together sending each of the them into the wall on the back straightaway. Paul Harrington inherited the lead for a short time but gave it over to Decker on 16. Then, on the final lap, Stull made his move off the corner for his fourth feature victory of the season.
In the first Pure Stock feature of the evening Rob Loucks of Bainbridge, N.Y. picked up the win in the 15 lap event. Loucks took the top spot at the drop of the green flag and led the entire distance for the win. Loucks as he was able to win by a comfortable distance over Buck Mills and K.J. Yager.
In the nightcap for the Pure Stocks, Loucks picked up his second feature win of the evening. This win came after a lap 1 spin that saw him sitting on the infield with a flat tire. Loucks would get it fixed and return to the speedway before going a lap down. By lap 7 he made his way into the runner-up spot and began putting the moves on race leader Jeremy Shaw. The two battled side-by-side for the next three laps with Loucks making the pass in turn 3 on lap 10. From that point on it was smooth sailing for Loucks as he recorded his second consecutive feature win.
In the 4 Cylinder Stock division it was all Mike Stringer of Cooperstown, N.Y. Stringer grabbed the lead on lap 1 after using a great move in corner number 3. Stringer went on to lead all 15 laps over second place runner George Crippen.
The 4 Cylinder Enduro 10 lap feature went to Aaron Shelton. Shelton, of Walton, N.Y. had a fierce battle with both Gordie Finch and Sean Gardiner. The three battled throughout the entire distance with Shelton leading every lap. Although Shelton led the entire distance, the three were never more than a car length apart.
Coming this Tuesday night, June 28th The New Afton Speedway and Budweiser will present Summer Slam ’05. On the card for the evening will be the Sportsman Modifieds will compete in a 50 lap main event for $1,000 to win. The Central New York Mini Sprints will also be on hand in a $1,000 to win 25 lap event. The Pure Stocks will compete for $500 in a Hurricane Qualifier and the previously rained out Pabis Memorial for the IMCA Style Modifieds will be run. The race will feature a 27 lap main event with a possible $550 going to the race winner.
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 (30 Laps)
Scott Ferrier, Tony Pepicelli, Ed Strada, Bob Hamm Jr., Matt Smith, Mike Ricci, Robbie Green, Rich Price, Craig Mitchell, J.R. Hurlburt, J.R. Crouse, Chris Ostrowsky, Brain Corcoran, Steve Walsh, Ryan Olsummer, Ed Harris, Don Hart Jr., James Cornell, Craig Terrell, Ricky Yetter, Duane Hiller, Bob Conklin, Michael McCollum, Jeff Sheely
DNS – Jim Corcoran, Jeremy Smith, Larry Keegan, Dave Rosa
HEAT WINNERS: Pepicelli, Hamm Jr., Ferrier
SPORTSMAN #1 (20 Laps)
Bob Mills, Butch Klinger, Brad Alger, Rick Amo, Keith Still, Skip Pickwick, Adam Smith, Pat O’Hanlon, Craig Pope, Matthew Latwinski, Brett Boyer, Jeff Leslie, Dustin Winn, Dan Yankowski, Randy Banks, Jeremy Consla, Shawn, Lawyer, Danny Varin.
SPORTSMAN #2 (20 Laps)
Rodney Hart, Bob Mills, Mike Decker, Brett Boyer, Butch Klinger, Skip Pickwick, Olin Renwick, Rick Amo, Pat O’Hanlon, Joshua Pursell, Dan Yankowski, Adam Smith, Kurt Decker, Randy Banks, Keith Still, Dustin Winn, Brad Alger, Jeff Leslie, Steve Ragan, Craig Pope, Matthew Latwinski
HEAT WINNERS: Still, Leslie, Hart
PRO STOCKS (15 Laps)
Chris Stull, Wade Decker, Paul Harrington, Jerry Holmes, Pat Nolan, John Roese, Jim Money, Dick Koch, Joe Reeves, Dennis Valentine, Brett Barrett
HEAT WINNERS: Harrington, W. Decker
PURE STOCKS #1 (15 Laps)
Rob Loucks, Buck Mills, K. J. Yager, Jeremy Shaw, Mike Codington, Ron McMullen, Brandon Clapperton, Jeff Witt, Tom Harrington, Shaun Witt
PURE STOCKS #2 (15 Laps)
Rob Loucks, Ivan Joslin, Dan Searls, Jeremy Shaw, Frank Mills, Darl Ellis Jr., Matt Spencer, Jeff Witt, Philip Prescott, Tim Clapper, Chuck Culbertson, Tom Harrington, Shaun Witt, Brandon Clapperton, K. J. Yager, Ron McMullen, Mike Codington.
HEAT WINNERS: Searls, Codington
4 CYLINDER STOCKS (15 Laps)
Mike Stringer, George Crippen, Ralph Cuozzo Jr., Gary Card Jr., Jim Money, Terry Onyan, Joe Bunt
HEAT WINNERS: NONE
4 CYLINDER ENDURO (10 Laps)
Aaron Shelton, Gordie Finch, Sean Gardiner, Dustin Wilber, Alex Gloecker, Rick Engelhardt, David Smith, Gary Kinne, James Lee, John Squires, Jeremy Lowe, Steven Gray, David Finch, Lucas Mills, Delbert Van Dyke, Chuck Corbin.
HEAT WINNERS: Shelton, S. Gardiner
NYSSCA WINNERS: Tony Pepicelli (Modified), Rodney Hart (Sportsman), Paul Harrington (Pro Stock), Jeff Witt (Pure Stock) and the random draw winner went to Larry Keegan.