RUDALAVAGE AND FRENCH AMONG REPEATERS,
WADE DECKER CLAIMS FIRST AFTON SPEEDWAY PRO STOCK WIN OF 2002
AFTON - It was a mix of repeat feature winners and one big first 2002 visit to victory lane during Pine Line Auto/DAGS Auto Parts Night at Afton Speedway Friday night.
Jeff Rudalavage from Olyphant, Pa. scored his fourth 358 Modified feature win of the 2002 season, Rockdale’s Tim French picked up Sportsman win number five, Buck Mills from Willet became a six-time Pure Stock feature winner and Shawn Mills of Windsor scored 4-Cylinder Stock checkered flag number eight. Louie Gordinier from Berkshire won the Dwarf Car 15-lap main event as the mini-warriors made a special visit to Afton.
Wade Decker of Afton had knocked on victory lane’s door several times this season, but the door finally opened this week as Decker held off the hard-charging James Cornell for his initial 2002 Pro Stock win on the Afton Speedway oval.
Duane Hiller started on the pole for the 30-lap 358 Modified feature, but he quickly moved out the way as Adam Smith surged to the point for the first two circuits until the caution flag flew as Skip French had mechanical problems.
J.R. Hurlburt grabbed the top spot on the lap three restart with Smith, Mitch Gibbs, Donnie Hart and Rudalavage entered the picture, but the caution flew again on lap five to bunch the field up.
On this lap five restart, Rudalavage, who had started the feature in 11th place, used a great restart from the outside of row two to power into the lead with Hurlburt, Gibbs, Jeremy Smith and Adam Smith in tow. George Suprick entered the top five on lap six.
Gibbs’ strong run ended on lap 8 with a flat tire as Arnie Slade moved into the top five after the caution flag slowdown.
Rudalavage easily pulled away again as Hurlburt, Jeremy Smith, Suprick and Slade pursued. The lead continued to grow at this point with Hart moving back to fifth on lap 11 and Smith moving into the runner-up spot on lap 24.
At the checkered flag, Rudalavage had a straightaway lead over Smith with Hurlburt, Suprick and Hart rounding out the top five. The thirteenth top-5 finish of the season by Rudalavage increased his points lead over Smith to 18 points (842 to 824).
In one held-over note in the 358 ranks, Jeremy Smith did accept the guaranteed starting spot for the 75-lap 358-Modified feature during Super DIRT Week at the New York State Fairgrounds. Mitch Gibbs, the August 2 feature winner at Afton, already had earned a spot earlier this season, so it went to the next eligible car, which was Smith.
The Sportsman feature was one of the best all season long as polesitter Steve Anderson and French, who started third, traded the lead a dozen times over the first six laps. Anderson would lead at the start of the lap, French would stick the nose of his car in front and Anderson would retake the advantage by the end of the lap. Butch Klinger rode in the third spot with Chad Cook and Chad O’Hara rounding out the top five. Cook moved into third on lap five, but Klinger would reclaim the spot on lap 10 for the remainder of the 20 laps.
French finally completed his pass of Anderson on lap six and would lead the remainder of the main event. Anderson did try a couple of moves to retake the lead, but the Rockdale Rocket was in command.
At the checkered flag, it was French, Anderson, Klinger, Cook and Rodney Hart. O’Hara placed sixth in one of his best runs in recent weeks after getting passed by Hart on lap 18.
The night was made better for points leader Cook earlier in the evening as he won $100 in the Steve’s Mobile Homes five-lap Dash for Cash with French, Klinger, Anderson and O’Hara rounding out the order of finish in that special event.
Ralph Finnegan brought the Pro Stocks to the green flag at the start of the 20-lap feature, but Denny Decker used the quicker outside groove to grab the lead by the end of lap one from his fourth starting spot. Harold Humphrey slid into the runner-up spot on lap two with Neil Palladino, Wade Decker and Finnegan completing the top five. As the caution lap flew on lap five, Wade Decker had moved into third place and James Cornell replaced Finnegan in fifth.
On the restart, Humphrey took the lead for one lap, but he got a flat tire on lap six as Denny Decker retook the point and Humphrey headed to pits under caution on lap seven as the Deckers were 1-2 with Todd Hurlburt charging into third place.
Denny Decker would keep Wade Decker at bay as Cornell climbed into third on lap 10 while Pat Nolan reached the top five by passing Palladino on the same lap. The order would remain the same until lap 18 when Denny Decker suffered a flat tire and Nolan’s 17x mount broke to bring out the caution.
On the first restart Wade Decker held the advantage as Cornell made a move for the lead, but the caution flag came back out as Hurlburt came to a halt.
The second lap 18 restart saw Decker get the advantage again as Cornell never really mounted a serious threat. Humphrey finished third with Palladino and Denny Decker rounding out the top five. The win was Decker’s ninth top-5 finish of 2002.
A post-race inspection of the top five finishers resulted in Denny Decker being disqualified with an illegal carburetor. Jason Schlafer was credited with a fifth place finish after Decker’s DQ.
Charlie Holcomb took the lead from the outside pole at the start of the 15-lap Pure Stock main event, but Bob Mills took the point one lap later with Buck Mills, Ralph Jennings and Shaun Walker in tow. Holcomb brought out the first caution of the race with a flat tire on lap 3.
On the restart, Bob Mills led the field to the green flag, but he pushed high in turn three as Buck Mills and Walker moved into the top two spots with Bob Mills, Jennings and Paul Harrington next in line.
Mills and Walker remained in the top two spots for the remainder of the feature with Bob Mills in third for all but one of the remaining circuits. Kurt Decker moved around Jennings for fourth on lap nine. Jennings’ top five run ended when his mount lost power on lap 13 as Chris White jumped into fourth with Harrington back in fifth as Decker slipped back while avoiding Jennings.
On the lap 14 restart, Buck Mills pulled away as Walker settled for second in the final two lap dash. Bob Mills held on to third as Decker charged into fourth and Chris White rounded out the top five.
Jack Hill led the first lap of the 15-lap 4-Cylinder Stock feature, but he faded quickly as Scott Johnson charged to the front of the pack. By lap four, the order stabilized with Johnson, Skip Pickwick, Mills, George Crippen and Ralph Cuozzo, Jr. being the top five.
The caution flag flew on lap10 when Johnson spun on his own. Mills grabbed the lead from Pickwick on the restart as Crippen, Couzzo and Jamie Banta dropped into line. The order would not change until the final lap. Mills and Pickwick remained 1-2 with Banta charging into third place. Crippen was fourth and Cuozzo rounded out the top five.
Six Dwarf cars came to Afton for a special appearance Friday night. Gordinier started on the pole and led all 15 laps. He won by one-half a lap over Ed Knapp with Dale Williams, Bunk Ellis, Duane Knapp and Chris Thompson completing the finishing order.
A special thanks also goes out to Burger King of Sidney, Ponderosa, Pine Line Auto and all the others who helped make the annual Kids’ Poster Night a big success. Nine kids submitted some great posters and the judge had a very hard time determining the winner. In the end, every kid did receive a reward for the great job they did with their posters.
When the drivers return to Afton Speedway this Friday, it will be one of the final three points shows for this 2002 season as the 358 Modifieds, Sportsman, Pro Stocks, Pure Stocks and 4-Cylinder Stocks take the green flag at 7:15 p.m.
For more information on any upcoming activities at the speedway, call the track office at 607-639-1966 or log on to the official Afton Speedway website at www.aftonspeedway.50megs.com. Afton Speedway is located on the Afton Fairgrounds, Route 41, off of Exit 7 of Interstate 88.
PINE LINE AUTO/DAGS AUTO PARTS FEATURE RESULTS
358 MODIFIEDS (30 laps): JEFF RUDALAVAGE, Jeremy Smith, J.R. Hurlburt, George Suprick, Don Hart, Jr., Arnie Slade, Joel Thomas, Duane Hiller, Todd Thomas, Pete Lyon, Adam Smith, Jim Introne, Mitch Gibbs, Pat Dabiere, Skip French, Roger Lewis, Steve Walsh.
Heat winners: J. Smith, Hart, French.
SPORTSMAN (20 laps): TIM FRENCH, Steve Anderson, Butch Klinger, Chad Cook, Rodney Hart, Chad O’Hara, Jim Fugel, David Crandall, Olin Renwick, Craig Pope. DNS-Steve Simmons.
Heat winners: French, Cook.
PRO STOCKS (20 laps): WADE DECKER, James Cornell, Harold Humphrey, Neil Palladino, Jason Schlafer, Brian Steigerwald, Winnie Winchester, Ralph Finnegan, Todd Hurlburt, Chad Hyzer, Pat Nolan, Jason Youngs. DQ-Denny Decker.
Heat winners: W. Decker, Humphrey.
PURE STOCKS (15 laps): BUCK MILLS, Shaun Walker, Bob Mills, Kurt Decker, Chris White, Jason Bond, Paul Harrington, Joe Barnes, Ralph Jennings, Dennis Valentine, Rob White, Charlie Holcomb, Robert Krascovic. DQ-Butch Green.
Heat winners: Bob Mills, Holcomb.
4-CYLINDER STOCKS (15 laps): SHAWN MILLS, Skip Pickwick, Jamie Banta, George Crippen, Ralph Cuozzo, Jr., Dave Jaindl, Chris Torbett, Jim Money, Ron Cummings, Ken Carson, Craig Ruston, Brandon Clapperton, Scott Johnson, Ken Hotaling, Ron McMullen, Jack Hill.
Heat winners: Hotaling, Crippen.