Pepicelli Claims Regular Season Finale At Afton Raceway
Afton, New York....9/10/99.....Tony Pepicelli of Duanesburg passed Chris Bushnell on lap six and went on to win his sixth and the final points race of the season last Friday night at the Afton Speedway in the Modified thirty lapper that decided the final season point standings.
The race got of to a rocky start with four yellows in the first two laps with John Guernsey heading the field before Bushnell took over on lap three. Guernsey led the next three circuits which saw two more yellows fly before Pepicelli used a power move and went by on lap six. Once in command Pepicelli put it on cruise and wasn’t seriously challenged until Mitch Gibbs moved into second with eight laps to go. Gibbs closed to Pepicelli’s rear bumper but couldn’t make a pass on him and had to settle for second which was enough to move him by J. R. Hurlburt in the final rundown for second spot in the point chase. Green stayed in contention but would up third which was enough to crown him the 1999 Afton Speedway Modified champion. Last week’s winner Mike Clapperton was fourth while Hurlburt rounded out the top five.
Arnie Slade took the lead on lap one of the twenty lap Sportsman feature that also had a close point battle going into the event. Tim French trailed point leader Jim Crawn by eighteen points as the field took the initial green flag. Slade led the first nine laps of the event before four time winner Dave Rosa took over. Rosa stretched his advantage over Slade as the laps wound as the two point combatants worked their way through the heavy traffic. French got to third at the checkers behind Rosa and Slade but it wasn’t enough as Crawn finished in the sixth spot which was enough to give Crawn the title by a very narrow margin. Mike Walters took home a strong fourth while Don Hart Jr. claimed the fifth spot.
The twenty lap Pro Stock feature saw rookie Harold Humphrey lead the first three laps before point chaser Chad Cook take over from his tenth starting spot. The first yellow of the race was the most important one of the year for veteran Butch Klinger who held a tenuous three point margin over Cook going into the event. Mark Davis and Klinger tangled in turn four and Klinger got turned around as the field came down to complete lap number one. Klinger and Davis both went to the rear and the race resumed and now it was a game of catch up for Klinger. The quick Johnny Walker took up the chase on Cook on lap six as he moved into second spot while Klinger was beginning his march back to the front. Klinger moved back to third by lap seven but that’s as far as he got as Cook survived three more yellow flags to claim his first ever Pro Stock championship sixteen points over the hard luck Klinger. Walker finished a strong second while Klinger, P. J. Goodwin and Winnie Winchester completed the top five. The other point chaser Denny Smith finished sixth.
All Neil Palladino had to do to win the 1999 Pure Stock title at Afton was start. And start he did. Palladino took the lead from third place starter Denny Decker on lap six of the fifteen lap event. A fast Andy Tiffany moved into second on lap eight and started to seriously challenge Palladino as the laps wound down. Tiffany actually got under Palladino on lap fourteen as the white flag flew. Tiffany’s chances for a win went awry as he got into thurn three a little too hard on the last lap and Palladino cruised under the checker with another feature win and the final points title. Todd Hurlburt got under a spinning Tiffany to take second while Tiffany had to settle for third. Decker and Mike Springstead completed the top five.
Ralph Cuozzo Sr. was the strongest of the strong as he edged out Dave Jaindl to capture his first Four Cylinder feature of the year. Cuozzo led every lap enroute to the victory that saw Jaindl mount a serious challenge late in the fifteen lapper that also saw point ramifications if point leader Harold Humphrey had a poor finish on this double point night. Jaindl moved into second with three laps to go and actually ran side by side with Cuozzo on the last lap. Contact was made between the two but Cuozzo held his ground and came home the winner and Jaindl had to settle for second. Todd Hurlburt, subbing for an injured Brian Steigerwald came home third in the Steigerwald mount while the two point battlers Dennis Vroman and Harold Humphrey came home fourth and fifth respectively.
The Central New York Mini Sprint Tour was on hand for their fourth show at the Afton Speedway and for the second time this year it was defending series champ Marc Lapan showing the way. Lapan took the lead on lap three from pole sitter Mike Emhoff and never looked back. A surprising Jeff Howell moved into second after Emhoff went to the pits with mechanical problems on lap nine. The fifteen lap feature was marred by two red flags. The first occurred on lap three when Bryan Burns got into the front stretch fence and flipped and was hit by a couple of other cars. Everyone was okay and the race resumed. On lap nine Jeff Collins also turned turtle on the front stretch and again everybody was okay. The second red brought Howell on Lapan’s rear nerf bar but that was as close as he got as Lapan cruised home the winner at Afton for the second time this season. Howelll came home second followed by Darrell Quackenbush, Peter Sindt and A. J. Bagozzi.
Gordie Isham took the lead on the initial green, lead every lap and went on to claim the Dwarf Car feature but it was Duane Knapp who shared the laurels. Knapp garnered his first ever track championship as he beat out Alan Barker for the crown. Isham was followed across the line by Barker, Knapp, Dominick Commesso and Matt Vosburgh.
Next week the action switches to Saturday night with the running of the prestigious Victoria Qualifiers for the Modifieds and Sportsman cars. The Modifieds will run forty laps for $1500 to win and the Sportsman will run extra distance for extra bucks. Also on the card will be a full regular show for the Pro Stocks, Pure Stocks and Four Cylinder Stocks. Points are all done for those classes so it’s just come and run for the money. Gates will open next Saturday at 4:00 with the first heat scheduled to go off at 6:30. Remember it’s Saturday not Friday. Also plans are in the works for the second annual Halloween Spooktacular. Look for announcements in upcoming weeks.
MODIFIED FINISH: Tony Pepicelli, Mitch Gibbs, Robbie Green, Mike Clapperton, J. R. Hurlburt, Rick Amo, Jeremy Smith, Aaron Excell, John Guernsey, Chris Bushnell.
SPORTSMAN FEATURE: Dave Rosa, Arnie Slade, Tim French, Mike Walters, Don Hart Jr., Jim Crawn, Craig Pritchard, Dave Crandall, Don Newell Jr., Brad Jones.
PRO STOCK FINISH: Chad Cook, Johnny Walker, Butch Klinger, P. J. Goodwin, Winnie Winchester, Denny Smith, Jason Schlafer, Mark Davis, Erik Knudsen, Terry Mudge.
PURE STOCK FINISH: Neil Palladino, Todd Hurlburt, Andy Tiffany, Denny Decker, Mike Springstead, Jim Laubmeier, Bob Falciani, Tony Pease, Rodney Hart, Shawn Mills.
FOUR CYLINDER FINISH: Ralph Cuozzo Sr., Dave Jaindl, Todd Hurlburt, Dennis Vroman, Harold Humphrey, Skip Pickwick, Mike Darrell, Scott Johnson, Jamie Banta, Dickie Schutt.
MINI SPRINT FEATURE: Marc Lapan, Jeff Howell, Darrell Quackenbush, Ed Warren, Peter Sindt, A. J. Bagozzi, Jeff Lamothe, John Anderika, Billy Wayman, Gene Kotary.
COOK, AND HUMPHREY TAKE VICTORIA SPOTS AT AFTON
Speedway.....Chad Cook, in the Pro Stocks, Bill Cook, in the Pure Stocks and Harold Humphrey, in the Four Cylinders were the big winners last Monday evening at the Afton Speedway as all three drivers grabbed off guaranteed starting spots in the Victoria 200 weekend of racing.
Jason Youngs led the first two laps of the Pro Stock event before point leader Butch Klinger took over on lap three. Klinger’s lead was short lived however as eight time feature winner Chad Cook pass Klinger for the lead on lap five. Cook led the rest of the way despite the plethora of yellow flags that dotted the event. Mike Decker worked his way through the pack to challenge Cook at the end. Decker was even along side Cook on the white flag lap but a yellow flag negated that try. Cook held on as the checkers flew to get win number and the guaranteed starting spot. Decker came home second followed by Denny Smith in third, Scott Brown in fourth and Johnny Walker in fifth.
Todd Hurlburt was well on his way to winning the twenty lap Pure Stock event when a tire blew out coming off turn four on the fourteenth lap of the race. Shawn Mills inherited the lead which he held until eighteen when former Afton Speedway track champ Bill Cook passed Mills going into turn four. Cook made the pass stick and went on to win his first Afton Speedway race this season and with it the guaranteed starting spot at Fulton. Andy Tiffany made a late race charge to come home second while point leader Neil Palladino also got by Mills for third. Mills was fourth and Joe Bono completed the top five.
Ralph Cuozzo Sr. led the first two laps of the twenty lap Four Cylinder Stock event before the fast Dave Jaindl took over on lap three. Harold Humphrey was a little faster though as he claimed the top spot a couple of laps later. Humphrey led the rest of the way for his eleventh win of the year plus the guaranteed starting spot.. Skyline regular Jim Money made a rare Afton appearance and came home second followed by Ralph Cuozzo Jr., in third, Jamie Banta, fourth and Brian Steigerwald.
The ageless Gordie Isham once again led wire to wire to cop another Dwarf Car feature. Mark Cook provided an early challenge but broke on the white flag lap giving second place to Kevin Titus. Duane Knapp was third while Cook was credited with fourth and Dominick Commesso was fifth.
A Sportsman feature was also on the Monday card and Jim Crawn took home the non-point victory over "Fast" Eddie White. Gary Smith was third, Steve Anderson fourth and Dave Crandall took fifth.
PRO STOCK FINISH: Chad Cook, Mike Decker, Denny Smith, Scott Brown, Johnny Walker, Rich Keehle, P. J. Goodwin, Jeff Witt, Jason Schlafer, Erik Knudsen
PURE STOCK FINISH: Bill Cook, Andy Tiffany, Neil Palladino, Shawn Mills, Joe Bono, Dennis Valentine, Mike Wilbur, Todd Hurlburt, Jim Laubmeier, Bob Stilson.
FOUR CYLINDER FINISH: Harold Humphrey, Jim Money, Ralph Cuozzo Jr., Jamie Banta, Brian Steigerwald, Dennis Vroman, Ralph Cuozzo Sr.,