MIKE CLAPPERTON COLLECTS 1ST WIN IN TWO YEARS AT AFTON RACEWAY
Afton, NY…7/17/98.... Gary's U-Pull It of Binghamton presented a night of racing at
the Afton Raceway as Mike Clapperton, Geoff Carner, Denny Smith, Denny Decker
and Jim Potts picked up wins on the NASCAR Winston Racing Series on Friday
July 17th.
Steve Eldred and John Kollar paced the field of twenty-four to the start of
the 30-lap NASCAR Winston Racing Series Modified feature event. At the drop
of the green Kollar would jump out to the top spot. On the very next lap,
Jerry Northrup who started in position number four took over the lead.
Caution would appear on lap two, as Rich Tiffany and Jim Gabriel Jr. tangled
in turn two.
On the restart Northrup kept the lead with John Kollar, Brian Weaver, Chris
Bushnell and Mike Clapperton all in tow. Clapperton, who started in position
number eight was on the move and took over the third spot by lap six. Moving
to the front as well was Paul Jensen. Jensen was now up to fifth from his
tenth starting position.
On lap eight, with Northrup still in front, Clapperton took second away from
Brian Weaver and now had his sights set on the number one position occupied by
Jerry Northrup. On lap twelve, Clapperton took the lead and immediately
pulled away by six car lengths. Brian Weaver was now pressuring Northrup for
second and took the spot away on lap thirteen. Two laps later Paul Jensen
took the third spot away shuffling Northrup back to fourth.
At the midway point, Clapperton leads with Weaver second, Paul Jensen, Jerry
Northrup and Robbie Green completing the top five. Mitch Gibbs was starting a
charge to the front as he was biding his time. Gibbs moved into the sixth
spot on lap twenty and was now challenging Robbie Green for fifth. Caution
appeared on lap twenty-two, as Rich Tiffany would come to a stop in turn two.
On the restart, Mike Clapperton was able to keep Brian Weaver at bay, as he
would open up a six-car length advantage by lap twenty-five. Mitch Gibbs was
charging to the front and took the fifth spot away from Robbie Green on the
same lap. Two circuits later Gibbs took the third spot away from Paul Jensen
and was closing in on second place Brian Weaver. Clapperton was able to pull
away by ten car lengths as the white flag waved. Gibbs was pulling in Weaver
for the second position but ran out of laps.
As the checkers waved, Mike Clapperton collected his first win of the season
at Afton. This also marks the first win for Clapperton at the Afton Raceway
since 1996. Brian Weaver settled for second, Mitch Gibbs, Paul Jensen and
Robbie Green completed the top five. Heat wins on the night went to John
Kollar, Earl Walrath and Jerry Northrup.
In the 20-lap NASCAR Winston Shortrack Series Sportsman feature, Dave Burnett
and Geoff Carner brought the field to the start of the event. Carner would
take off at the drop of the green. Carner would open up a full straight away
lead on the rest of the field by lap ten. Tony Ross who started in position
number eleven was now in second and starting to chip away at the lead Carner
had built.
Caution appeared on lap fifteen, as Jim Crawn who was running in the third
spot jumped the wheel of second place Tony Ross sending Crawn off of turn
three. On the restart Ross would try to take the top spot away from Carner
but could not make the pass stick. On the last lap, Ross pulled even with
Carner going into turns three and four. Carner would hold off Tony Ross to
collect his first career win behind the wheel of a Sportsman. Ross had to
settle for second, Arnie Slade, Wink Hinkley and Craig Pritchard completed the
top five. Heat wins went to Geoff Carner and Craig Pritchard.
Denny Smith made it three wins in a row in the 20-lap Street Stock feature.
Smith took the lead on lap three from Joe Rohasavich. Smith would be
challenged all race long by Butch Klinger. These two drivers put on a show
for the fans, as they would race side by side in a great battle for the win.
On the last lap, Klinger took a look to the inside of Smith for the lead in
turn two, but could not make the move stick. Denny Smith went on for the win
followed by Butch Klinger in second, TJ Fitzgibbons, John Walker and Skip
French. Heat wins went to Bill Harris and Butch Klinger.
Denny Decker collected his third win of the season in the 15-lap Pure Stock
feature race. Jim Howard, Bill Hawkins, Neil Palladino and Bill Cook rounded
out the top five. Heat wins went to Bill Hawkins and Todd Hurlburt.
Jim Potts took the lead on lap six and went on to collect his second win of
the season in the 4 Cylinder Stock 15-lap feature. Following Potts across the
line were Gene Brainard, Jeff Burnett, Jamie Hurlburt and Harold Humphrey.
Heat wins went to Dennis Vroman and Jamie Banta.
NASCAR Winston Racing Series Modified Feature Finish 30-laps. MIKE
CLAPPERTON, Brian Weaver, Mitch Gibbs, Paul Jensen, Robbie Green, Chris
Bushnell, Jerry Northrup, JR Hurlburt, Tony Pepicelli, Doug Worthing, John
Guernsey, Gary Smith, Earl Walrath, John Kollar, Steve Eldred, Jim Gabriel
Jr., Marty Bunker, Mike Jones, John Ritter, Andy Tiffany, Rick Amo, Jeremy
Smith, Mark Gray, Mike Baldwin.
NASCAR Winston Shortrack Series Sportsman Feature Finish 20-laps. GEOFF
CARNER, Tony Ross, Arnie Slade, Wink Hinkley, Craig Pritchard, Aaron Excell,
Jim Crawn, Alan Johnson, Steve Davis, Pete Lyon, Dave Crandall, Bill Walters,
Tim Mayne, Steve Anderson, Dan Yankowski.
Street Stock Feature Finish 20-laps. DENNY SMITH, Butch Klinger, TJ
Fitzgibbons, John Walker, Skip French, Bill Wilsey, Andy Clement, Aaron
Hacker, Joe Rohasavich, Bob Zimmerman Jr., Bill Harris, Matt Roberts, Ken
Morey, Bob Zimmerman Sr., Paul Allen, Mark Davis.
Pure Stock Feature Finish 15-laps. DENNY DECKER, Jim Howard, Bill Hawkins,
Neil Palladino, Bill Cook, Mike Green, Scott Brown, Dan Callan, Dan Howe,
Dennis Valentine, Dave Rogers, Joe Bono, Harry Uhl Jr.
4 Cylinder Stock Feature Finish. JIM POTTS, Gene Brainard, Jeff Burnett,
Jamie Hurlburt, Harold Humphrey, Ralph Jennings Jr., Russell Card, Lonnie
Barnes, Rob Coulman, Skip Pickwick, Dave Jaindl, Dennis Vroman, Jamie Banta,
Dan Davis, Duane Spoor.