Media Contact: Steven Ovens - woodhullracewaypr@gmail.com or (315) 729-3825 For Immediate Release – June 19th, 2016 –
(WOODHULL, NY) – It has been quite a surprise that seventeen-time Woodhull track champion Billy Van Pelt had yet to grace victory lane at Woodhull Raceway so far this season. The driver that has as many laps, if not more, than all of his fellow competitors finally bagged a win for car owner Grant Hilfiger.
That win came in the same Bicknell chassis that Hilfiger took to victory lane in the Insinger Performance 370 Modified opener. Van Pelt rolled off the starting grid in the tenth position and worked high and low to make moves to put himself in position to win the race.
Donnie Lawson and Dave DuBois led the field to the green flag for the start of the twenty-five-lap event sponsored by Troups Creek Auto Parts. Lawson bolted to the lead and set a fast pace with sophomore sensation Dillon Groover from Beaver Dams, NY chasing after the Woodhull Auto Supply No. 11.
Lawson and Groover logged laps in clean air, while Van Pelt charged through the field with reckless abandon. The driver from Westfield, PA caught the back bumper of Groover just before the halfway mark and had to work hard to get by.
Van Pelt would later say, “He’s been listening real well. He used up every ounce of race track .”
But Groover would slip up coming off turn two on lap fifteen and Van Pelt would make him pay, taking over the runner-up spot. It would take ‘BVP’ just two more laps to throw the Grant Hilfiger Contracting, Instant Heat Wood Pellets ride on the cushion to power by Lawson who was committed to the bottom lane.
From there, it was Van Pelt on cruise control that streaked across the line to Scott Lyon’s checkered flag for the first time since his win in the 2015 Bullring Challenge last Fall.
“Slap me, am I awake?” said Van Pelt. “I started to wonder if I could still win. Hats off to my crew chief tonight, ole ‘Captain Quick’ wanted to have a talk with me and he told me what to do and I did exactly what he said. Boy did it pay off!”
But starting where he did in tenth, Van Pelt wasn’t so sure that he could get to the top five, much less the lead.
“I really thought starting tenth tonight, if I got to fourth or fifth I’d be lucky,” noted Van Pelt.
It was also his first opportunity for Van Pelt to win for his car owner this season- their last season that they will be racing together. Van Pelt didn’t stop short of affirming Hilfiger’s commitment to winning races right up until their last event together.
“Grant is all for trying to make sure we win and last week he got ahold of me and said ‘what’s going on?’ because we just haven’t won. We’ve been close and everyone is working hard but it’s been tough.”
Lawson, Groover, Cory Costa and Eric Fisher rounded out the top five finishers.
In the NAPA Crate Sportsman, it was a fulfillment of a Father’s Day Weekend sweep for the Jackson brothers, Stacy and Mike. Mike won the Crate Sportsman feature Friday night at Outlaw Speedway, just one week after having Stacy win and dedicate the win to their father who was lost in the offseason.
Saturday night, Stacy kept the roll going by dominating the field by a full straightaway to win. It was a true comeback story for Jackson, who has had as bad a season as a racer could have to start things out. A destroyed frame, blown motors, flat tires and DNQ’s have been the story for Stacy at Woodhull- but not on this night.
Jackson started on the pole and would leave no doubt whatsoever, as the event would go green-to-checkered for twenty-five laps.
“It’s always special to win at home,” said Jackson in Instant Heat Wood Pellets Victory Lane. “Woodhull has always been our home track for years. I destroyed a car here and we went home and clipped it from the motor forward. Everyone said it wouldn’t work but I thought it would work fine. I’m even running tires that you would never think of running here.”
Certainly a special night for the family, with their fallen Patriarch on their minds.
“My dad was probably the biggest part of this,” said Jackson. “Last time I won was for dad, and every time I win is going to be for dad. That’s what keeps us driving.”
While Jackson was out front, AJ Costley, David Mayo, Tim Guild and Chris Daugherty filled out the top five finishing positions.
The SWL Awards 360 Late Models drove double-duty on Saturday night as they competed in the King of the Ring event sponsored by Troups Creek Auto Parts. Bruce Miller and Glenn Whritenour found themselves in the Finals and it was Whritenour who would claim his first career King of the Ring victory. Hard to believe for a driver who has dominated the 360 Late Model ranks at Woodhull for years.
In the twenty-lap feature event, Miller would excel on the tacky conditions on the third-mile Steuben County oval. Miller is always fast on the heavy, tacky track conditions and he showed why on Saturday night.
Miller led out front and was virtually never touched for the lead. But it was the battle for second and third that had the crowd entertained. Steve LaBarron, driving the Troups Creek Auto Parts No. 29, was hard-charging his way to the front of the field from his seventh starting position.
LaBarron got to third on a lap seven restart and then moved past Whritenour for second at the halfway mark. But it would not be enough, as Whritenour would sneak past him before the finish. Miller would get the win over Whritenour, LaBarron, Carl Hughes and Kurt Stebbins.
“I’ve been working on my slick track setup this year and have been able to dial it back when the track is hooked up like it was tonight,” said Miller. “I have a really thick notebook, but that’s because we have a lot of notes on setups that don’t work. It really comes down to developing a baseline setup because the track is so unique, my setup here really doesn’t work anywhere else.”
Dylan Cecce celebrated Father’s Day Weekend in style, holding his son Carson and the checkered flag in Instant Heat Wood Pellets Victory Lane after winning the twenty-lap Joe Willcox Performance Automatics Street Stock feature. Cecce won his second race in a row and his fourth of the season after having to start in twelfth due to winning last weekend.
Josh Saywer, racing for Jeredd Dennis on Saturday, and Tracy Dunn led the field to green. Dunn led the field on lap one and would lead the first six circuits before giving way to Cecce. Cecce dodged an early accident that allowed him to gain four crucial spots enroute to his bid for the lead and eventually the win.
“It was all the car tonight,” said Cecce. “We changed a ton of stuff this week. You think you’re fast and then everyone catches you. After the heat we changed shocks, springs, all kinds of stuff. Starting twelfth was discouraging, but that wreck really helped us move up. I just couldn’t believe how fast the car was.”
Cecce would beat out the night’s hard charger Branden Morseman to the line for the win. Morseman recovered from an early spin to finish second and had one of the fastest cars on the track at the end of the race. Kurt Stebbins, Dunn and Sawyer filled out the top five.
Ray Hyer drove away from the Daugherty Auto Sales Mini Stock field to get the feature win on Saturday night, winning by a half-track at the checkered flag. Hyer was the only driver who dared to dance with the devil on the cushion and was rewarded for doing so, taking the lead for good early in the event JJ Kreidler.
While Hyer streaked across the line, Kreidler, Born, Corky Grant and Chris Woodard battled hard within the top five but finishing in that order.
“I was letting off all the way around,” said Hyer. “I just let it coast on in there and then squeezed the gas to let it finish it off.”
After so many great runs without finishes to show for them, Hyer finally cracked victory lane at Woodhull for car owners Brian and Vanessa Grant.
The most daring move of the night went out to Nate Freeland in the Woodhull Auto Supply Front Wheel Drive division. Freeland started on the front row and led a majority of the event, but would have to hold off Codie Baker for the victory. Baker would take the lead on lap nineteen as the pair crossed the start/finish line, but they would not finish that way.
Freeland had just enough room between Baker and the cushion to squeeze in between the two in turn three, which turned out to be the winning move. Freeland rode the cushion and used that momentum to win at the line by a half car-length over Baker, Matt Prescott, Jay McConnell and Adam DelGrosso.
“I just drove it in hard and hope it would stick, and it stuck,” said Freeland who seemed surprised that his move paid off with a win.
Next week at Woodhull Raceway, Instant Heat Wood Pellets sponsors one of the biggest nights of the season with the Jim Williams Memorial Fireworks show. Advance sale tickets, as well as reserved seating is available for purchase at the track all week long this coming week.
The box office will also be open from 10a.m. until noon on Saturday for fans convenience. It should be noted by fans that general admission gates this Saturday will open at 3:30p.m., a full hour earlier than normal.
Camping is of course free as always at Woodhull, but fans camping on the track side of the pond on the track grounds will be asked to purchase presale tickets for Saturday’s show. General admission will be $12 for ages 13 and up.
It will be a complete show with the Insinger Performance 370 Modifieds, NAPA Crate Sportsman, SWL Awards 360 Late Models, Joe Willcox Performance Automatics Street Stocks, Daugherty Auto Sales Mini Stocks, Woodhull Auto Supply Front Wheel Drives and Daugherty Auto Sales Warriors.
Pit gates will open at 3:30PM with Scott Lyon’s first green flag of the night waving promptly at 6:30PM. General admission is just $12 for adults 13 and up, $6 for Seniors and ages 8-12 with children 7 and under always free at Woodhull Raceway.
Race fans are encouraged to sign up for the fastest alerts from Woodhull Raceway’s Rained Out Alert system by sending the text message “WoodhullAlert” to 84483, message and data rates may apply.
For more information race over to www.woodhullraceway.com, Like Woodhull Raceway on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WoodhullRaceway or Follow Woodhull on Twitter @WoodhullPR.
Woodhull Raceway is located in Woodhull, NY, just 30 minutes West of Corning, NY and competes weekly on Saturday nights from mid-April through Labor Day Weekend. The track offers several special events including the Patriot Sprint Tour 360 Sprints and the Short Track Super Series Modifieds in mid-August.
Troups Creek Auto Parts Night
Woodhull Raceway Quick Results June 18th, 2016
Start Time: 6:58PM
End Time: 11:00PM
INSINGER PERFORMANCE 370 MODIFIEDS, 16 cars (25 Laps): BILLY VAN PELT (1), Donnie Lawson, Dillon Groover, Cory Costa, Eric Fisher, Brady Fultz, Josh Nobriga, Mike Bills, Russell Morseman, Boyd McTavish, Brian Doolittle, Dave DuBois, Art Goodier, Steve Hartman Jr., Kenny Peoples Jr., Kevin Chilson
H1: Donnie Lawson, Eric Fisher, Mike Bills
H2: Josh Nobriga, Billy Van Pelt, Cory Costa
NAPA CRATE SPORTSMAN, 17 cars (25 Laps): STACY JACKSON (1), AJ Costley, David Mayo, Tim Guild, Chris Daugherty, Brandon Martin, Josh Keesey, Mike Jackson, Brandon Butler, Marc Benson, Tracy Stanford, Stevie Hartman III, Dayton Brewer, Jerry Aldrich, Scott Tubbs, Zach Cary DNS: Mickey Wilbur
H1: Chris Daugherty, David Mayo, Tim Guild
H2: Brandon Butler, Josh Keesey, Marc Benson
H3: Stacy Jackson, AJ Costley, Brandon Martin
SWL AWARDS 360 LATE MODELS, 10 cars (20 Laps): BRUCE MILLER (3), Glenn Whritenour, Steve LaBarron, Carl Hughes, Kurt Stebbins, Wally Wade, Jason McGregor, Mick Seeley, Jay McConnell, Jacob McConnell
H1: Kurt Stebbins, Wally Wade, Bruce Miller
H2: Jay McConnell, Glenn Whritenour, Carl Hughes
JOE WILLCOX PERFORMANCE AUTOMATICS STREET STOCKS, 13 cars (20 Laps): DYLAN CECCE (4), Branden Morseman, Kurt Stebbins, Tracy Dunn, Josh Sawyer, Teddy Morseman, Brett Marlatt, Matt Hamilton, Allison Pierce, Bill Tompkins, Glenn Whritenour, Trevor Tompkins, Zane King Jr.
H1- Kurt Stebbins, Teddy Morseman, Tracy Dunn
H2- Dylan Cecce, Zane King Jr., Josh Sawyer
DAUGHERTY AUTO SALES MINI STOCKS, 16 cars (20 Laps): RAY HYER (1), James Kriedler III, Karl Born, Corky Grant, Chris Woodard, Ron Dailey Jr., Rick Amidon, Jeffery Daugherty, Chip Warner, John Hand Jr., Mike Navone, Jason Warner, Derrick Puryear, Ajay Potrzebowski, Chris Hand DNS: Scott Lehman
H1- Corky Grant, Ray Hyer, Karl Born
H2- James Kreidler III, Chip Warner, Rick Amidon
WOODHULL AUTO SUPPLY FRONT WHEEL DRIVES, 11 cars (20 Laps): NATE FREELAND (1), Codie Baker, Matt Prescott, Jay McConnell, Adam DelGrosso, Dave Richmond, Shawn Gleason, Carl LaBarron, Ryan Austin, Nick Brown, Eric Simons
H1- Matt Prescott, Nate Freeland, Adam DelGrosso
H2- Codie Baker, Shawn Gleason, Nick Brown