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Grant Hilfiger Gets 1st Open Wheel Feature Win at Woodhull’s Sportsman Open
Woodhull, NY… With the local racing season winding down, over 120 drivers and crews weren’t quite ready to call it quits yet and packed the pits for round three of Woodhull Raceway’s “specials only” series. A picture perfect autumn day treated the fans to some warmer than usual weather and some scorching hot racing action. It took four heats and two consolation events to trim the 35 entrants of the S&W Awards Open Sportsman class down to the 24 cars that would start the 40-lap feature. Woodhull Crate Sportsman co-champion Bill Brewer landed the pole position for the main event with veteran modified pilot Tony Harris to his outside. Brewer jumped to the early lead, looking to add another victory to his 2007 portfolio. However, Penn Can and Five Mile Point regular Grant Hilfiger showed that he had the hunger and the hot rod to take the lead on lap three. By the midpoint of the race, Hilfiger had opened up a commanding lead and Brewer had a comfortable cushion on a spirited battle between Harris and fellow modified pilot, Mike Jackson. On lap 26, while in the midst of heavy lap traffic, Harris and Jackson tangled with a group of lap cars, which resulted in Jackson being relegated to the tail of the field and Harris being towed off the track. On the ensuing restart, Hilfiger once again established his command of the race and motored on to his first open wheel victory of his career. Brewer held strong for second, followed by last week’s feature winner, Donnie Lawson. Ed White, driving Hilfiger’s back-up machine, made it an even more memorable night for the team by taking home fourth. Veteran racer Gene Sharpsteen came form his 11th starting position to round out the top five. Whenever IMCA pilot Sean Lias shows up at a race track, every other competitor has to bring their “A” game in order to have a chance at victory. Saturday night was no different, as Lias needed just three laps to work his way into the lead of the IMCA Modified feature. However, northeast standout Mark Griffin took control of the second position and worked hard to keep the Lias machine within sight. As the laps were winding down, Lias began to pick up a heavy push in the middle of the corner and Griffin closed in to keep the heat on the former IMCA regional champion. Caution waved with just one lap to go, and Griffin stayed locked to Lias’ rear bumper on the restart, hoping for Lias to slip. As the two entered turn one, Lias once again pushed up the banking and Griffin saw the daylight he needed to snag the lead and pull off the upset victory. Lias would have to settle for second, with former Woodhull regular Larry Robbins racing home for third. Gary Roberts and Mike Stoddard rounded out the top five. Engine builder and Morgan’s Auto Street Stock competitor Tony Foth has been enjoying success in Woodhull’s open format races, having already picked up a feature win in week one. The luck of the draw put Foth on the pole for Saturday night’s main event, and would prove to be an unlucky draw for the remainder of the Street Stock Open field, as they had nothing for Tony and his “Foth Power”. Foth grabbed the lead on lap one and was never seriously challenged as he powered his way to his second feature win in three weeks. Josh Nobriga worked his way around Terry Potrzebowski, who started second, to lay claim to the runner-up spot, with Potrzebowski hanging tight for third. Jeff Hellwig continued his string of top five finishes in the open events by crossing the stripe in fourth, with Woodhull regular Zack Sutton finishing fifth. The Signs Plus Mini Stock Open class saw two very familiar last names in local short track racing doing battle for the majority of the feature. AJ Potrzebowski, who usually competes his 4-cylinder on asphalt, bolted from his 3rd starting spot to the lead on lap one. Soon, Rich Sharpsteen III would join AJ at the front and the two raced hard for the lead as they battled their way through heavy lap traffic. Sharpsteen took his potent “Flying X” to the high side and powered around Potrzebowski with just six laps to go. Just as the white flag waved, the two leaders were still nose to tail when a cluster of lap cars crossed them up in turn one. Sharpsteen worked his way through the tangle, but Potrzebowski would have to go to the rear of the field as caution waved. This put Ted Morseman Jr. on Sharpsteen’s bumper for the one lap shootout, but Morseman couldn’t make the pass and Sharpsteen laid claim to the checkered flag. Brian Grant Sr. had another strong outing by picking up third, with Woodhull newcomers Rich Powell and Bud Carnes finishing out the top five. The LaBarron Brothers FWD open was led to the green by pole sitter Artie Mosher and to his outside, Carl LeBarron. LeBarron held the lead early but, by lap three, Kevin Patton powered his way to the top spot. Jamie Freeman quickly worked his way forward to challenge Patton for the lead numerous times, but Patton held strong and came home victorious. Freeman garnished a close second, followed by JR Hoppe, who came all the way from 12th to earn third. 2007 FWD champion Ron Daily Jr. picked up a solid fourth, with Mosher hanging tough to finish fifth. Next week will be the season finale at Woodhull Raceway with the 2nd annual Bully Hill Fall Shootout taking place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Get your racing fix for the winter by heading to the high banks for a full weekend of exciting dirt track action!
Woodhull Raceway Quick Results 09-29-07
S&W Photos and Awards Open Crate Sportsman (35 cars in attendance) Heat Wins: Gene Sharpsteen, AJ Costley, Donnie Lawson, Craig Gardner Consi: Tony Hooker, Larry Keegan 40 Lap Feature: Grant Hilfiger, Bill Brewer, Donnie Lawson, Ed White, Gene Sharpsteen, Larry Keegan, Steve Hartman Sr, Dave Yehl, Jeoff Powell, Craig Gardner, Bill VanEtten, Wesley Campbell, Mike Jackson, Tony Hooker, Art Goodier, Joe Dgien, Brian White, Tony Harris, Steve Anderson, Gary Lampman, AJ Costley, Casey Pavlick, Steve Hartman Jr.IMCA: (11 cars in attendance) Heat Win: Sean Lias, Mark Griffin 20 Lap Feature: Mark Griffin, Sean Lias, Larry Robbins, Gary Roberts, Mike Stoddard, Lyle Smith, Jeremy Shaw, Tony Kelly, Josh Sawyer Open Street Stocks (27 cars in attendance) Heat Wins: Dan Gordon, Josh Nobriga, Tony Foth 20 Lap Feature: Tony Foth, Josh Nobriga, Terry Potrzebowski, Jeff Hillwig, Zack Sutton, Rich Sharpsteen II, Barry Payne, Nick Robinson, Gene Sharpsteen, Cliff Moss, Ed Hulslander, 89, Danny Gordon, Butch Dibble, Cal Buchanan, Russell Morseman, John Hand, Ben Hulslander, Ken Thomas, 111, Rod Mullen, Doug Colton, Brian Butler, 19, Brooks Leach, Henry Miracle, Dylan Potter, John Miller Open Mini Stock (25 cars in attendance) Heat Wins: Josh Collins, Ted Morseman, Jr, AJ Potrzebowski 20 Lap Feature: Rich Sharpsteen, Ted Morseman Jr, Brian Grant, Rich Powell, Bud Carnes, Tracy Dunn, Bill Shea, Jeff Brown, Natasha Clark, Tom Kleintop, Mark Phelps, Brett Crawford, Billy Groover, Doug Colton, Nick Robinson, Justin Campbell, Nick Galayda, AJ Potrzebowski, 79, Josh Collins, Matt Capluzzi, 96, Brandon Ameigh, Don Coleman, Lynn Burrell Open FWD (23 cars in attendance) Heat Wins: JR Hoppe, Brandon Martin 20 Lap Feature: Kevin Patton, Jamie Freeman, JR Hoppe, Ron Daily Jr, Artie Mosher, Brandon Martin, Ed White, Cody Baker, Dave Fink, Wesley McDonald, Carl LeBarron, Robert Symonds, James Howard, Dan Wood, Kyle Morehouse, Tara Freeman, Jacob Clarke, Sheila Burgess, Roger Taft, Mark Guinup, Allison Pierce, Mark Sullivan, Isaac Byler
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