Fugel, Sylvester, Stanton Sr., DeGracia, Lindstadt, McGibbon, Curry, and See Sr. Victorius
June 28, Bethel, NY - After several weeks of trying, Eddie Redner proved that he had figured out the transition from dirt to asphalt in his Sportsman car, as he took advantage of his pole starting spot to lead every lap of the 25-lap feature and wound up in Victory Lane at Bethel Motor Speedway this past Saturday.
“It took me a couple of weeks to get the setup,” Redner commented in Victory Lane.
Redner was joined on the front row for the start of the race by Jerry Curry. The two made contact on the initial lap in turns one and two, and Curry came across the track on the backstretch, with several other cars getting involved. The caution came out for the incident, and the restart pitted Redner against Greg Morgan. Redner shot out front on the restart, and last week’s feature winner Dom Roselli came to second. Morgan was shuffled back to third. Dan Conklin looked to the inside of Morgan for third, and Conklin took the spot on lap two. Caution waved again when Bryanna Hurban spun in turn four on lap seven. Redner and Roselli restarted on the front row, with Redner getting the advantage. The two ran closely for several laps during the long green-flag run.
“I knew (Roselli) was right there,” Redner stated after the race. As the laps wound down, however, Redner was able to extend his lead, leaving Roselli and Conklin behind him battling for second. When the checkered flag waved, Redner was the winner, with Roselli second and Conklin third.
One week after blowing his motor and being forced to borrow a motor, Jim Fugel was declared the winner of the 15-lap BMS Modified feature. John Cote started on the pole, with Dan Wood on the outside. Cote grabbed the lead on the start, and Norm Barnes came to second. Fugel spun in turn two on the initial lap and the caution waved. Cote and Wood again made up the front row. Cote got back out front, but the caution came out again quickly as Keith Lenge spun on the backstretch and into the infield. This time, the restart pitted Cote against Barnes on the front row. Cote retained the top spot, with Barnes second. Kevin LaPolt, in his BMS Modified debut, came to third but drew the caution when he spun. Cote and Barnes ran side-by-side on the restart, but Barnes was able to get under Cote on lap three. On lap four, Cote and Barnes made contact that resulted in Barnes spinning, and the caution came out. Cote restarted on the pole, with LaPolt on the outside. Cote grabbed the lead, and Fugel took second from LaPolt. Barnes made his way back to the third spot. On lap ten, Barnes suffered a flat tire that sent the car careening off of the track, and the caution was out again. The single-file restart saw Cote out front, followed by Fugel and LaPolt. The trio finished the race in that order, but Cote was penalized after the race for his involvement in the earlier incident, and Fugel inherited the win. LaPolt was second in his first attempt behind the wheel in the division, and Lenge was credited with third.
Mark Sylvester was able to hold off multi-time 2009 feature winners Joe Barnes and Jesse Hilger en route to his first victory of the season in the 25-lap ECS Auto Stores Pro Stock feature. Sylvester started the race on the outside of the front row, with Jim Helt on the pole. Helt got out front, but Sylvester battled on the outside before finally grabbing the lead on the third lap. On lap five, Hilger used a single inside pass to get by both Barnes and Helt, putting Hilger in second behind Sylvester. One lap later, Barnes passed Helt for third. The only caution of the event came on lap 13, when Roy Crespo went around off of turn two. This closed up the field for a single-file restart, with Hilger and Barnes right on Sylvester’s bumper. Sylvester pulled away slightly, and Hilger and Barnes fought for second, with Barnes taking the spot as the field got the white flag. Sylvester claimed victory, with Barnes second and Hilger third.
Vinny Stanton Sr. led from flag to flag in the caution-free 15-lap Street Stock feature to collect his first win of 2009. Stanton started on the pole, with multi-time winner Gary VanOrden on the outside. VanOrden made contact with the wall and fell back through the field as Stanton took the lead. Kevin Skelly came to second, and Brent Shaddock grabbed third. VanOrden quickly came back through the field, as he took third on lap three and second one lap later. VanOrden started to reel Stanton back in, and had closed the gap by lap seven. By lap ten, the duo had a full straightaway lead over the rest of the field. VanOrden searched for a way past Stanton, but Stanton was able to hold off VanOrden’s advances. Stanton took down the win, followed by VanOrden and Skelly.
When the smoke cleared on the caution-free 15-lap Legends feature, Joe DeGracia found himself in Victory Lane for the first time. DeGracia started the race on the pole, with Joe Fresco on the outside pole. DeGracia immediately put his car out front. John Hugate came to second, and began to challenge DeGracia for the lead, with the two running side-by-side until Hugate was able to grab the spot on lap two. Hugate and DeGracia pulled away from Fresco, with DeGracia sitting behind Hugate and looking for a way past the leader. As the pair came through the final turns to the checkered flag, contact between them sent Hugate spinning out of the lead. DeGracia went on to claim the win, followed by Hugate and Fresco.
In the 4 Cylinder Senior division, Ed Linstadt returned to Victory Lane for the second time in 2009, winning the 15-lap feature event. Woody McGibbon and Larry O’Donnell started on the front row, with McGibbon grabbing the lead on the start. O’Donnell fell into second, with Lindstadt third. Lindstadt looked to the outside of O’Donnell for second on lap two, and the two put on a side-by-side battle for the spot, swapping it by a matter of inches several times before Lindstadt was able to solidly grab the position on lap seven. Lindstadt then looked to the outside of race leader McGibbon, racing side-by-side again. Lindstadt got the advantage on lap nine, but the pair continued to race side-by-side until lap 12, when Lindstadt was able to claim sole possession of the spot. As Lindstadt moved out front, Paul Curry took third. Lindstadt was the event winner, followed by McGibbon and Curry.
The holdover 4 Cylinder Junior race that had been postponed from last week was won by Jonathan McGibbon. McGibbon started the caution-free 15-lap event on the pole, with Vinny Stanton Jr. on the outside. McGibbon took the lead at the drop of the green, and Gary VanOrden Jr. came to second on lap two. Two laps later, however, Stanton worked his way past VanOrden to reclaim the second spot. Billy Curry followed Stanton past VanOrden to take third. Out front, McGibbon had pulled away from the field. Curry searched for a way around Stanton, but could not get the position as the leaders negotiated lapped traffic. Stanton and Curry were able to use the lapped traffic to catch McGibbon, and the three ran the final laps of the race nose to tail. McGibbon emerged the winner, followed by Stanton and Curry.
Billy Curry was the victor in the night’s regularly scheduled 15-lap 4 Cylinder Junior feature. Mike Travis and Joe Smith started on the front row, and the field went three- and four-wide into the first turn. Travis emerged in the lead, followed by Vinny Stanton Jr. and Curry. In a single lap, Curry passed both Stanton and Travis to claim the top spot. Caution waved on lap two for an incident involving several cars. Curry and Travis made up the front row for the restart, but the caution came out again on lap four. The two again led the field to green, with Curry out front. Travis was second, with Gary VanOrden Jr. in third. Caution flew again on lap seven, as Robert Beech came to a stop in turn two. The single-file restart saw Curry continue to lead. Brittany Houghtaling, who started the event ninth, worked her way into the third spot on lap 11. Another caution came out when Steven Schmidt and Chuck Clark got together between turns three and four. Over the final green-flag run, Curry held the lead and grabbed the win. Travis was second, followed by Houghtaling.
The Northeastern Vintage Dirt Modified Racing Club visited the speedway, with Raymond See Sr. collecting the win in the caution-free 20-lap feature. Jim Halpin started on the pole, with See on the outside. See jumped out to the lead, with Halpin second and Anthony Kubalack third. Howard Murphy grabbed third from Kubalack on lap two. Murphy then began to look for a way around Halpin, as See had built nearly a half-track lead over the rest of the field. On the final lap, Murphy was able to work his way around Halpin. See took home the win, followed by Murphy and Halpin.
Next Saturday, July 11th, the Allstar Race Trcuks will visit Bethel Motor Speedway. They will be joined on the schedule by the Sportsman, BMS Modified, ECS Pro Stock, Street Stock, and 4 Cylinder classes. Gates open at 3:30 p.m., with hot laps at 5:30 p.m. and racing slated to begin at 7 p.m. Grandstand admission is just $5. For more details and a complete schedule, visit www.bethelmotorspeedway.com.
Sportsman Feature Finish (25 laps): 1. Eddie Redner, 2. Dom Roselli, 3. Dan Conklin, 4. Greg Morgan, 5. Scott Matthews, 6. Jeff Hager, 7. Bryanna Hurban, 8. Jerry Curry, 9. Mike Skelly.
BMS Modified Feature Finish (15 laps): 1. Jim Fugel, 2. Kevin LaPolt, 3. Keith Lenge, 4. John Cote, 5. Dan Wood, 6. Norm Barnes. DNS – John Demarmels.
ECS Auto Stores Pro Stock Feature Finish (25 laps): 1. Mark Sylvester, 2. Joe Barnes, 3. Jesse Hilger, 4. Bobby Policastro, 5. Glenn Aumick, 6. Jim Helt, 7. John Hager, 8. Roy Crespo, 9. Gene Palmer. DNS – Clarence Palmer.
Street Stock Feature Finish (15 laps): 1. Vinny Stanton Sr., 2. Gary VanOrden, 3. Kevin Skelly, 4. Brent Shaddock, 5. Charlie Houghtaling.
Legends Feature Finish (15 laps): 1. Joe DeGracia, 2. John Hugate, 3. Joe Fresco.
4 Cylinder Senior Feature Finish (15 laps): 1. Ed Lindstadt, 2. Woody McGibbon, 3. Paul Curry, 4. Larry O’Donnell, 5. Patty Falkena, 6. Bill VanAiken, 7. Bert Long, 8. Deborah Babriecki.
4 Cylinder Junior Feature Finish (Holdover, 15 laps): 1. Jonathan McGibbon, 2. Vinny Stanton Jr., 3. Billy Curry, 4. Brittany Houghtaling, 5. Steven Schmidt, 6. Gary VanOrden Jr. 7. Chuck Clark, 8. Joe Smith, 9. Donald Kuhn, 10. Robert Beech, 11. Jamie Elliott, 12. Pat Somers, 13. Mike Travis. DNS – Kyle Elson, Ralph Davis.
4 Cylinder Junior Feature Finish (15 laps): 1. Billy Curry, 2. Mike Travis, 3. Brittany Houghtaling, 4. Gary VanOrden Jr., 5. Amber McGibbon, 6. Donald Kuhn, 7. Chuck Clark, 8. Jonathan McGibbon, 9. Steven Schmidt, 10. Robert Beech, 11. Vinny Stanton Jr., 12. Joe Smith. DNS – Amber VanOrden, Jamie Elliott.
Vintage Dirt Modified Feature Finish (20 laps): 1. Raymond See Sr., 2. Howard Murphy, 3. Jim Halpin, 4. Anthony Kubalack, 5. Ronnie Sauger
