BACK-TO-BACK WINS AT THE NEW AFTON SPEEDWAY FOR

RUDALAVAGE AND FRENCH ON WAAL NIGHT

AFTON, NY - It took a couple of weeks for two veterans to get their cars completely dialed-in, but

now this duo have become the hottest drivers at The New Afton Speedway. For a second straight week,

Jeff Rudalavage of Olyphant, PA was the dominant driver in the DIRT 358 Modified feature while Tim

French of Rockdale followed up with a repeat performance by winning the DIRT Sportsman main event

on WAAL Night.

Other drivers to claim the checkered flag were Jamie Griffiths of Springville, PA, who captured the

BRC Lazer Shootout 20-lap feature for the Late Models; Otego’s Todd Hurlburt notched his first DIRT

Pro Stock win of 2004; Paul Harrington of Unadilla celebrated his 22nd birthday one day early with his

second Pure Stock victory of 2004; Bob Doolittle from Newfield won the 4-Cylinder Super Stock main

event and Rich Gardiner of Chenango Forks was the 4-Cylinder Enduro winner.

Dan Vauter brought the field to the green flag for the 30-lap DIRT 358 Modified feature and the

polesitter grabbed the early lead with Chris Ostrowsky, Mitch Gibbs, Jeremy Smith, J.R. Hurlburt and

Rudalavage in tow. he top three positions did not change for the first six laps while Rudalavage picked

his way to the fourth spot and Billy Van Pelt climbed into the top five.

Vauter would lead three more circuits on the 4/10-mile as Rudalavage marched into the number two

spot. On lap 9, Rudalavage made his move with a strong pass on the outside of Vauter coming out of

Turn Four. Vauter would slide back to the sixth spot by the time the checkered flag flew.

Rudalavage pulled away once he reached the point as the Modifieds ran 30 caution-free laps after

the lone restart on the opening lap. At the checkered flag, Rudalavage had an eight car-length victory

over Gibbs with an Pelt completing a impressive third place run. Hurlburt was fourth with Willy Decker,

who brought out the caution on lap one, came back strong to round out the top five.

Adam Smith started the 20-lap DIRT Sportsman main event on the pole and led the first seven laps.

French started seventh, but quickly moved into third place behind Loren Lincoln on the opening lap. By

lap five, French was in second place and setting his sights on Smith.

On lap eight, Smith slowed going down the backstretch and French flew by with Butch Klinger,

Lincoln, Tim Mayne and Steve Anderson in tow. The caution flew for

Smith as the field was working lap nine. Smith came across the start/finish line to complete his lap and

headed to the pits for some quick repairs. He caught a break when several cars tangled in Turn One on

he restart , which immediately brought out another yellow flag. Smith would rejoin the field before the

next restart for lap 9.

As the green flag flew, French slowly pulled away and kept command of the feature, which only

slowed again on lap 18. That was just a momentary set-back as French built a comfortable lead of seven

car-lengths over the final three laps with Klinger holding on the second place. Anderson, Smith and

Craig Pope completed the top five.

Griffiths grabbed the lead for polesitter Brent Dyer on the opening lap of the BRC Lazer Shootout 20-

lap Late Model feature and he led the first three laps before the first of several caution flags flew over the

next four laps. On the first lap four restart, Griffiths went to hard into Turn One and did a slow quarter-

spin, coming to rest by the entrance to pit road as the caution flew again. Allen Coy seized the

opportunity and grabbed the lead while the rest of the field shuffled positions thanks to two restarts on

lap seven due to caution flags.

Coy appeared to have an advantage over Dyer, but Griffiths was one of the few drivers who could

really work the outside groove and he charged into the second spot by lap nine. It took three more laps

for Griffiths to track down Coy and retake the lead on lap 12. From there, Griffiths completed his spin-

to-win run with a full straightaway advantage over Coy at the checkered flag. Jason Carmen, Keith

Mudge and Dan Clark completed the top five.

Chad Hyzer started on the pole for the DIRT Pro Stock 20-lap feature, but he was quickly

overtaken by Hurlburt, who started in the third position. Jason Youngs raced into the number two spot as

Jeremy Clark Denny Smith and Hyzer gave chase. Clark moved around Youngs on lap two for the

runner-up spot while Smith dropped Youngs to fourth on lap three. Pat Nolan charged into the top five

after the second lap as well. By lap six, Hurlburt was holding a tow to three car-length advantage over

Clark with Smith, Nolan and Youngs all involved in position battles with each other.

The only caution flag in the event flew on lap nine when Hyzer spun in Turn 2. On the restart,

Hurlburt kept the top spot with Clark trying to find his way by while fighting off Smith, who had Bob

Mills charging towards him after taking over the fourth spot on lap 10.

Hurlburt completed his flag-to-flag run with a three car-length advantage over Clark, but the rest of

the top five changed in the final three circuits. Smith’s car had been smoking and a small fire broke out

in the engine compartment and he quickly drove to the infield to the safety crew who extinguished the

flames. Mills pulled into the infield moments later with an unknown problem so Nolan took the checkered

flag in third place. Bret Belden, borrowing Ed Ostrander’s car, came home fourth with Youngs in fifth.

Buck Mills used a string of recent bad luck to earn the pole position for the Pure Stock 15-lap main

event and Harrington lined-up on the outside of the front row. Mills broke away on the green flag and

was well on his way to victory with Harrington his closest pursuer.

The caution flag flew on lap 14 when Omar Afify spun in Turn Four. On the restart, Mills felt the

pressure from Harrington and drove too deep into Turn One. His car slid up to the wall and Harrington

dove underneath him for the lead. Mills recovered quickly and tried to pressure Harrington in Turn Three,

but the 41H car held its line and kept the lead. Harrington opened a little daylight on the final lap and

posted a three car-length victory over Mills. Rich Green won a spirited battle with David Pope and

brother Butch Green for third place. Butch came across the line in fourth, but was penalized one spot for

jumping on the restart, which gave Pope the fourth spot.

Doolittle brought the 4-Cylinder Super Stocks to the green flag for their first feature since rejoining

the weekly program and the Newfield driver was untouchable in the flag-to-flag 15-lap win. Jim Money

stayed close as was two car-lengths behind at the checkered flag. George Crippen made a solid third-

place run as Ken Hotaling and Ralph Cuozzo, Jr. rounded out the top five.

The Friday night will be Afton Appreciation Night at the speedway with a full slate of DIRT 358

Modified, DIRT Sportsman, DIRT Pro Stock, Pure Stock, 4-Cylinder Super Stock and 4-Cylinder

Enduro action. For the 358’s, it will be a Sunoco/A-Plus Qualifier with the winner earning a guaranteed

starting spot in the Syracuse/A-Plus 358-Modified Championship 150-lap race at the New York State

Fairgrounds during Super DIRT Week in October. 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.