HURLBURT, COOK AND HUMPHREY PICK UP AFTON WINS!

Afton, NY… Action at the fast 3/8 mile speedway came to a premature ending for the night with 8 laps left to go in the Pure Stock final as Pure Stock driver Charlie Holcomb, of Maryland, NY, took a wild ride into the front stretch catch fence, taking out much of the fence and two light poles.

No one was injured in the incident, but the racing program had to be put on hold for the evening. The final 8 laps of the Pure Stocks and the held over Dwarf Feature will be made up this coming Friday.

In DIRT 358 Modified action, Otego native J.R. Hurlburt notched his third win of the season in his belt as he took home top honors in the 30 lap main.

Hurlburt started ninth in the field, and quickly made his way to the front, taking over the lead from Ed Strada, of South Canaan. Strada held on to the second spot until Sidney Center's Mike Clapperton took over the spot on a lap 8 restart.

Mitch Gibbs, of North Norwich, seemed to be getting faster as the race progressed. Gibbs moved up from his 8th starting spot to challenge Clapperton for second as they neared the half-way point.

Gibbs got a good bite two laps later and took over the number two position, setting his sights on Hurlburt for the lead. The two hooked up for a great side by side battle with Gibbs running low and Hurlburt up high. The outside lien had it though, as Hurlburt came home the victor as the checkers flew.

Gibbs finished second, with Clapperton, Jeremy Smith, of Triangle, and Jeff Rudalavage, of Olyphant, PA, completing the top five.

Chad Cook, of Deposit, made his way to victory lane for the fourth time this season in the DIRT Sportsman division.

Cook, who started 10th in the 20 lap Feature event benefited from multiple cautions at the start of the race, as he found himself sitting out front with just four laps in the books.

Don Hart, Jr., of Harpursville, and Walton's Butch Klinger ran in second and third, but Cook had the car set up and was opening up his lead.

Current Sportsman points leader Arnie Slade, of Guilford, originally started 9th, but had to start from the back after getting tangled up in one of the early race accidents.

Slade quickly made his way to the front, as he took over the second spot from Hart with four laps to go as the caution flag came out.

Cook, who had enjoyed a sizeable lead now had Slade right on his back bumper. As they returned to green flag racing, Slade put the pressure on, but came up short as Cook held on for the win.

Slade's second place finish keeps him 12 points ahead of Cook in the points battle. Klinger finished third, followed by Binghamton's Chris Ostrowsky and Ladd Yeomans, of Swan Lake. Gloversville's Joe Rando came up with an impressive sixth place run after rolling his mount earlier in the race.

In the 20 lap Pro Stock feature event, Walton driver Jason Schlafer took the early race lead from his pole starting position, with Afton's Johnny Walker riding in second.

Norwich native Harold Humphrey wasted no time getting to the front from his seventh starting position, as he took over the second spot from Walker on a lap 4 restart.

Humphrey took over the lead from Schlafer two laps later and started to open up his lead from the pack. P. J. Goodwin, of Binghamton, and Denny Smith, of Trout Creek, who started 8th and 5th respectively, moved up through the field to make a three-way battle for second with Walker.

With just one lap left to go, Goodwin got under Walker for second, but Walker lost the handle on his ride collecting Goodwin on his way by, sending him spinning off the track.

Smith inherited second as Walker had to restart at the back of the pack. Humphrey held on for the win, his second of the season, followed by Smith, Neil Palladino, Brian Steigerwald and Todd Hurlburt.

Newfield's Bob Doolittle picked up his first Afton Speedway victory of the season in the Four Cylinder stocks.

Doolittle started third in the 15 lap Feature, and grabbed the lead from Norwich's Scott Johnson on the sixth lap.

Harpursville's Russ Hendrickson, Jr., moved up to pressure Johnson for the second spot, until he got caught up with Ralph Cuozzo, Jr., with just two laps left to go.

Ralph Jennings, Jr., of Afton, moved up into third, but couldn't get a run on either Doolittle or Johnson, as he came in for third. Hendrickson finished fourth with Cuozzo in fifth.

The action will pick up next Friday night with the remainder of the Pure Stock feature event, as well as a full card of racing on the schedule. As always, gates open at 5pm, with races set to start at 7:30pm sharp.

358 MODIFIED RESULTS: J.R. HURLBURT, Mitch Gibbs, Mike Clapperton, Jeremy Smith, Jeff Rudalavage, Aaron Excell, George Hoffmier Jr, Ed Strada, Brian Malcolm, John Siedlecky, Rich Scagliotta, Jim Witko Sr, Rick Amo, Steve Walsh, Dana Wagner, Jim Witko Jr, Pete Nowicki Jr, Brad Schaffer, Skip French.

SPORTSMAN RESULTS: CHAD COOK, Arnie Slade, Butch Klinger, Chris Ostrowsky, Ladd Yeomans, Joe Rando, Paul Kinney, Bob Conklin, Jessica Zemken, Billy Price, Chad O'Hara, Tim Ross, Don Hart Jr, Darren Keyser, Bill Harris, Ronnie Centner Jr, Craig Pritchard, Craig Pope, Tim French, Shawn Mahoney, Dave Crandall.

PRO STOCK RESULTS: HAROLD HUMPHREY, Denny Smith, Neil Palladino, Brian Steigerwald, Todd Hurlburt, Roger Lewis, Jason Schlafer, James Cornell, Jason Bartsch, John Walker, P.J. Goodwin, Russ Card, Pat Nolan, Wade Decker, Mike Decker, Heath Cerny, Jason Youngs.

FOUR CYLINDER STOCK: BOB DOOLITTLE, Scott Johnson, Ralph Jennings Jr, Russ Hendrickson, Ralph Cuozzo Jr, Skip Pickwick, Ed Leslie, Jason Jaindl, Danielle Smith, George Crippen, Jamie Banta (DNS).