BRAD ALGER RECORDS FIRST CAREER SPORTSMAN WIN ON
BANJO RADIO GROUP NIGHT AT THE NEW AFTON SPEEDWAY
AFTON, NY – It was a night of many firsts this past Friday at The New Afton Speedway. The
“High Noon Band” gave the first live performance of any band before the racing action and during
intermission. BIG KAT Country (95.3 FM, WBKT) did its first ever live remote broadcast, but there was
one first event that proved to be even bigger. Brad Alger of Oneonta continued his solid 2004 season start
with a flag-to-flag run for his first ever DIRT Sportsman Modified victory as the BANJO Radio Group
sponsored the great racing program.
Otego hot shoe J.R. Hurlburt captured his first win of the season in the DIRT 358-Modified ranks;
Pete Gulick of Binghamton won his second DIRT Pro Stock feature; Unadilla's Paul Harrington used a
great last turn pass to record his first Pure Stock win of 2004. Jim Palmer from Downsville became a
two-time winner in the 4-Cylinder Enduros.
Alger started the 20-lap DIRT Sportsman main event on the outside of the front row and quickly
shot to the point coming out of Turn Two as polesitter Craig Pope settled into the second spot. Tim
French, Butch Klinger and Loren Lincoln completed the top five for the first two circuits around the
quick 4/10-mile layout.
The only caution flew on lap three when Tim Nye came to rest against the backstretch wall. On the
restart, Alger put some daylight between himself and the rest of the pack while French moved into the
runner-up spot. Pope held on to third place with Lincoln and Klinger in tow. Pope would fade slightly as
the laps click away as Lincoln, Klinger and Jessica Zemken would overtake him on lap 10.
The running order would remain the same until the checkered flag where Alger would comes across
the start/finish line two car-lengths ahead of French. Lincoln completed his best run of the season in
third place with points leader Klinger in fourth and Zemken rounding out the top five.
Pete Lyon brought the DIRT 358 Modifieds to the green flag for their 30-lap main event, but outside
polesitter Ben Bushaw used the quicker outside groove to grab the lead. Lyon held on the second spot for
one lap before Hurlburt flew by him. By lap three, Jamie Christian, J.R. Crouse and Jeff Rudalavage were
running in the top five.
The best battle among the top five cars was between Crouse and Rudalavage as the two
Pennsylvania veterans fought for the fourth spot. The two cars came across the line door handle to door
handle on lap six as Rudalavage finally completed the pass.
The caution flag flew on lap nine as Steve Walsh came to a halt with mechanical problems around
the tire and axle area. Bushaw elected to start on the inside of the front row, but the outside groove was
still quicker as Hurlburt moved around Bushaw's 36x machine to take the lead. Bushaw held on the
second with Crouse, Christian, Willy Decker and Mitch Gibbs close behind as the caution flag flew after
just one lap for Rudalavage's slowing machine. Hurlburt kept his lead on the restart by choosing the
outside groove as Bushaw tried to get a good bite on the low side.
A caution flag on lap 12 for Pete Kinney and a lap-15 yellow flag for Tony Ross, both cars slowing
with mechanical problems, were the final times the field would all be slowed down. When the green flag
flew on the lap 15 restart, Bushaw swung to the outside and slowed momentarily which allowed Gibbs,
Decker, Crouse and Christian to all flew by on the low side. Hurlburt enjoyed his view from the point and
held off the challenges of Gibbs to post a three car-length victory at the checkered flag. Gibbs maintained
his points lead with a second place run as Decker, Crouse and Christian rounded out the top five.
Polesitter Pat Nolan led the first lap of the 20-lap DIRT Pro Stock feature, but the caution flew after
one lap when A.J. Digsby spun in Turn Four. On the restart, Gulick powered into the top spot with Bret
Belden second. Nolan, Jeremy Clark and Bob Mills rounded out the top five. Belden seemed to have his
early season mechanical gremlins behind him as he grabbed the lead on lap five when Gulick bobbled in
Turn One and drifted to the high side of the track. The caution flew one lap later when Todd Hurlburt
came to a halt in Turn One. During the caution period, Belden went to the pits and Gulick inherited the
top spot again.
Gulick tried to pull away on the restart, but a determined Mills stayed close behind as Clark, Smith
and Nolan stayed in contention as well. Mills' great run came to a end when he spun in Turn Four with a
broken ball joint before lap 19 was completed. That moved Clark, Smith, Nolan and Jason Youngs into
the top five.
On the restart, Gulick built a five car-length advantage over Clark and maintained it for the final two
circuits. Clark, Smith, Nolan and Youngs kept their top-five spots in the final running order.
Harrington started on the pole for the Pure Stock 15-lap feature and he was one of two drivers that
were looking for a good run after a miserable start to the 2004 season. Harrington has suffered a number
of problems with the engine and handling during the first four weeks, but everything looked good as he
led the first five laps.
That other driver with problems has been two-time defending track champion Buck Mills, who despite a
feature win back in week two, has had nothing but bad luck. Mills was in the runner-up spot as the
caution flag flew on lap six for Charlie Holcomb's spin in turn Two.
On the restart, Mills roared past Harrington for the top spot, but he never opened more than a six
car-length advantage over Harrington while points leader Dick Stark moved into the third spot. Joe Bucek
and Jeremy Shaw were also running in the top five. It appeared that Mills had a victory wrapped up, but
the fan belt was slipping and his car began to overheat. With Harrington just waiting for the right moment
to make a pass, Mills' mount sputtered coming out of Turn Four on the final lap. That was the break
Harrington was looking for and he quickly pulled in front and took the checkered flag. Mills was able to
hold on for second with Stark, Buchek and Shaw rounding out the top five.
The Friday night, ADMAR Supply Company will sponsor a great five-card racing program of DIRT
358 Modified, DIRT Sportsman, DIRT Pro Stock, Pure Stock and 4-Cylinder Enduro action at The New
Afton Speedway. It will also be Scout Night. All scouts and adult leaders in uniform will get into the
track for half price. There will also be loads of excitement during the Drivers’ Scooter Races. Gates will
open at 5 p.m. with the racing action to begin at 7:30.
If you have any questions on any upcoming events, you may call the speedway office at 607-657-
8018; the track office at 607-639-1966 or you may log on to The New Afton Speedway website at www.
thenewaftonspeedway.com. The New Afton Speedway, Friday’s Best Family Entertainment Value, is
located on the Afton Fairgrounds off of Interstate 88, Exit 7, on Route 41.