Media Contact: Steven Ovens - woodhullracewaypr@gmail.com or (315) 729-3825 For Immediate Release – July 10th, 2016 – Greg Mesler photo -
(WOODHULL, NY) – Billy Van Pelt was chosen as the Junior Fan Club fan of the night’s favorite driver and parked his Grant Hilfiger-owned No. 78 on the front stretch to meet one of his many fans. While interviewed, on Kibbe Concrete and NYSSCA Award Night, Van Pelt wasn’t sure if coming from the twelfth starting position was going to bode well for him to go for two feature wins in a row on the High Banks of the Woodhull Raceway.
Even ‘Billy The Kid’ can surprise himself every once in awhile.
‘B-Mac’ Boyd McTavish and ‘The Maniac’ Mike Bills would lead the field to Scott Lyon’s double green flags for the start of the Insinger Performance 370 Modified feature event. McTavish was quite fast in the Herrington Motorsports, Fast Track Race Parts, Firehouse Restaurant No. 1, as he would lead the opening seven circuits.
Bills would claw his way alongside McTavish on the bottom lane, and it only took one mistake by McTavish on lap seven in turn one, before Bills took the lead for himself. While Bills put some distance on the rest of the field, there was a big battle brewing well inside the top ten.
Van Pelt was slicing his way just outside the top five using the outside lane. Just about everyone was working the bottom lane as Ted White’s track prep crew had the track in a dry-slick condition with so much heat, humidity and wind beating down on “New York’s Toughest Bullring” late in the week.
Once up to the top five and racing with Brady Fultz, Van Pelt switched lanes and raced down low. Some may have thought the outside lane had gone away, but Van Pelt would have it to his disposal late in the event.
Bills led a good portion of the twenty-five lap feature, but late in the going started to get a great challenge from Cory Costa in the Costa’s Auto Body and Towing No. 02. The Corning, NY driver took to the whip on the inside lane, as Bills was racing one groove higher than the bottom lane as the race came to a thrilling close.
With Costa battling Bills, Van Pelt ate away at their lead and now went back to the line that had helped him make moves all race long- the tricky cushion on the outside. As lap twenty-two was put on the board, Van Pelt had caught the leaders and was ready to strike with a move that put the fans on their feet, fist-pumping the action that had come to see.
Van Pelt tossed the Mullen Carpet, Walker Plumbing, Instant Heat Wood Pellets ride to the top of turns three and four and exiting the fourth turn, made it three-wide with Bills and Costa to take the lead at the stripe on lap 23.
From there it was just a matter of who was going to finish second as Van Pelt raced to his third win of 2016 over Costa, Bills, a great run for Brady Fultz in fourth and McTavish with a much-needed top five effort from the pole. Costa was the second place prize winner courtesy of the representatives from NYSSCA.
“What really helped was Cory caught Mike and Mike slowed down for us,” said Van Pelt in Instant Heat Wood Pellets Victory Lane. “I was third, if Cory could have got by Mike quickly I never would have caught Cory.”
Van Pelt was content with a twelfth-to-third effort, but as he reeled in the leaders, Costa’s line dictated where he could try and make a move.
“I was working hard, doing whatever Cory didn’t do. When he went to the bottom (on Bills), that opened the door for me to drive around the outside. I had to keep going upstairs as everyone was hogging the bottom. Cory was really hitting the bottom good and pulling me off four.”
With seventeen cars in attendance Saturday night, Van Pelt also spoke to the quality of cars at Woodhull.
“We’ve got an awesome group of cars. We might only have seventeen, but we’ve got one of the best group of Modifieds around.”
The NAPA Crate Sportsman saw a new face in victory lane this week as young Dayton Brewer made his move on Stacy Jackson on lap nine and turned on the afterburners from there to win his first of the season.
Twenty-two’s were wild as Stacy Jackson’s No. 22J and Chris Daugherty’s No. 22JZ led the field to green. The pair was literally side-by-side for the entire first lap with a dead heat at the line for the lead on lap one. As they hauled off into turn one Jackson grabbed the lead and would lead the next seven laps.
Daugherty who has been fast and leads the point race, didn’t seem to quite have the speed and said afterwards, “We kind of gambled with the tires tonight, we probably should have gone a little harder on the left rear.”
It appeared the gamble had not paid off as Brewer swept by Daugherty on the bottom for second on lap three. From there, Brewer set out for Jackson as Brewer had finished the last two weeks with fourth place finishes and wanted to close the deal on this night.
Brewer caught Jackson on lap six and stalked Jackson down low, but couldn’t keep enough momentum to pull alongside. That all changed on lap nine, as Brewer got by and would not look back to score his first win of the season.
The young driver out of Jasper would take a half-straightaway lead to the double-checkered flags over Daugherty, Jackson, Mike Jackson and Brandon Butler. Daugherty was presented with the second NYSSCA award for the division, with Scott Tubbs receiving the ‘NYSSCA Wild Card Award.’
“I’m just glad I didn’t look like a liar,” said Brewer to the cheers from the grandstands at Woodhull. “I’ve been telling everyone if I can just finally get a good draw and a good starting position, I could win one. I’m glad I was able to pull it off.”
Brewer was glued to the bottom lane and never wavered in a car that Brewer noted was far from brand new.
“Maybe older is better, this is a 2007 (chassis). It’s a lot older than I think a lot of people think it is. It’s always just planted on the bottom. I love a dry slick track because not a lot people can keep it on the bottom, but I can.”
Steve LaBarron and Jason McGregor led the twelve-car field of SWL 360 Late Models to the green flag, and it was McGregor who was going to be the rabbit early on. McGregor in the Troups Creek Auto Parts, Payne’s No. 67J was fast early, as he would lead the opening thirteen laps in a race that was littered with caution flags early on.
Division point leader, Bruce Miller, moved to second place early and was ready to battle McGregor for his fourth win of 2016. Miller worked high and low, but McGregor had a fast ride underneath him as well.
Lap thirteen would see Miller finally get by to take the lead and he would go virtually untouched the win his fourth of the year. Glenn Whritenour charged through the field to finish in the second spot, as he didn’t quite have enough laps to make any advances to take the lead from Miller. Carl Hughes, Kurt Stebbins and LaBarron filled out the top five finishers with Whritenour taking the second place NYSSCA award.
“The track was really slick tonight and it felt like I was going slow but I guess as long as I’m going a little bit faster than the next guy it’s alright,” said Miller in Instant Heat Wood Pellets Victory Lane.
Miller has been known as a driver that likes to pound the cushion on a tachy surface, but they have really found something in the dry-slick with the No. 80.
“It’s hard it’s not really my driving style, I like to charge the corner. I don’t know if I’m slowing down too much for the corner or not. I feel like I’m on pins and needles because when it’s slick you can’t get out ahead of everyone else very far.”
The Joe Willcox Performance Automatics Street Stocks went fifty laps long in their $750-to-win event with a guaranteed starting spot on the line for the Fight Night All Star Street Stock Series ‘Woodhull 100’ coming up in late September. A rare appearance from Gene Balmer saw the driver from Elmira start on the outside pole and take the early lead on Zane King Jr.
As the field worked lap four, Brett Marlatt began to challenge Balmer for the lead while Dylan Cecce had battled from eighth to third. A yellow on lap eight for Matt Hamilton and Allison Pierce would be the last caution flag from lap eight all the way to lap thirty-nine.
In the long green flag run, Cecce would get by Marlatt and eventually around Balmer just one lap past half way at lap twenty-six. Glenn Whritenour had worked his way to the third position on the lap thirty-nine caution. That is where he would finish as well, until post-race tech inspection where a carburetor infraction was found, relegating Whritenour to a DQ for the night and a loss of fifty championship points by rule.
When the green was once again displayed, it would only last for one lap as Marlatt had an unfortunate spin in Turn 1 from fourth place collecting Teddy Morseman who had nowhere to go. On the restart, Kurt Stebbins worked the outside with reckless abandon, sweeping past Cecce for the lead with just five laps to go.
Morseman would have more problems just one lap later, as something broke in the front end which ended his night on lap forty-six on the hook. With the restart with four laps to go, Cecce would take to the outside to do everything he could to get back by Stebbins. It would not be enough as Stebbins would take his Potter chassis to Victory Lane over Cecce, making it a one-two finish for Potter Chassis.
Tracy Dunn ran inside the top ten and top five all night long, and would finish third. Jeredd Dennis and Dan Gardener completed the top five finishers. Afterwards, Instant Heat Wood Pellets was electric as Stebbins, who already has an Empire 100 victory under his belt, collected yet another extra-distance feature win. Cecce would pick up the second place NYSSCA bonus award.
“I don’t mind starting in the back,” said Stebbins. “Usually if you start in the front, you’re asking for trouble. I knew I had to go to the top because everyone was down there (down low) and they weren’t giving anything up. We had to do it somewhere.”
Though Stebbins was fast all night, it appeared that he was being very selective on when and how he made his moves as to not show the leaders the outside lane was working or who was using it.
“I was trying to stay back under cautions, I didn’t want them to know who was there.”
The Daugherty Auto Sales Mini Stock feature saw a spirited battle for the lead between John Hand Jr. and Ron Dailey Jr. The racing buddies that park near one another in the pit area had a fierce battle up front, but the win nearly went away for Dailey as he lost his brakes on lap number eleven. The loss of brakes explained a bonsai move for the lead on the inside of turn three, that prompted race officials to put Dailey back behind Hand on the next caution flag.
“I really didn’t mean to jump the infield there,” said Dailey in Instant Heat Wood Pellets Victory Lane. I set the car and I set it way too hard and it set the car toward the infield. John Hand and I are really good buddies. I didn’t mean that and I know John knows that.”
It took just one lap after the restart for Dailey to get back by Hand on the bottom, with Dailey taking the lead for good on lap twelve. Chris Woodard was going for his fifth win of 2016 on Saturday night, but would fall one spot short of doing so. He would earn the second place NYSSCA bonus for his second place effort. Hand, Jeffery Daugherty and Brian Grant Jr. rounded out the top five.
The Woodhull Auto Supply Front Wheel Drives hit the track for twenty laps on Saturday night and Nate Freeland put an old fashioned Saturday night short-track whipping on the field. Freeland led wire-to-wire for his third win of the season.
Dave Richmond and Shawn Gleason had a spirited battle as they did last Saturday night, but this week it was for the runner-up spot. Codie Baker and Adam DelGrosso battled for the fourth spot with Baker taking the position at the line.
“I had a great draw tonight and got lucky enough to start on the pole,” said Freeland. “After that I was just driving it around the track, giving it all she had.”
Gleason was awarded the second place NYSSCA bonus award for his runner-up effort.
Next week at Woodhull Raceway, a young racer who was lost far too soon will be remembered as Dgien Trucking presents the Jake Davis Memorial King of the Ring for the Insinger Performance 370 Modifieds. This is always a special event and there will surely be several new and old Jake Davis Memorial t-shirts to be seen in the pit and grandstand area.
The Insinger Performance 370 Modifieds will be joined by the 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 a non-points event for the 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 gates open at 4:30PM with admission just $12 for adults 13 and up, $6 for Seniors and ages 8-12 with children 7 and under always free at Woodhull Raceway. There is also plenty of free camping on location 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.
Woodhull Raceway Kibbe Concrete Night Official Results July 9th, 2016
INSINGER PERFORMANCE 370 MODIFIEDS, 17 cars (25 Laps): BILLY VAN PELT (3), Cory Costa, Mike Bills, Brady Fultz, Boyd McTavish, Eric Fisher, Kenny Peoples Jr., Donnie Lawson, Dillon Groover, Ryan Tracy, Josh Nobriga, Russell Morseman, Brian Doolittle, Bob Davis, Art Goodier, Kevin Chilson, Frank Dunning
Lap Leaders: McTavish 1-7, Bills 8-22, Van Pelt 23-25
H1: Kenny Peoples Jr., Cory Costa, Boyd McTavish
H2: Mike Bills, Brady Fultz, Billy Van Pelt
H3: Josh Nobriga, Eric Fisher, Bob Davis
NAPA CRATE SPORTSMAN, 19 cars (25 Laps): DAYTON BREWER (1), Chris Daugherty, Stacy Jackson, Mike Jackson, Brandon Butler, Tim Guild, David Mayo, Connor Brown, Bobby Peoples, Stevie Hartman III, Josh Keesey, Jerry Aldrich, Jake Dgien, Mickey Wilbur, Scott Tubbs, AJ Costley, Billy Williams, Tracy Stanford DNS: Zach Cary
Lap Leaders: Jackson/Daugherty 1, Jackson 2-8, Brewer 9-25
H1: Stacy Jackson, Bobby Peoples, AJ Costley
H2: Brandon Butler, Dayton Brewer, Jerry Aldrich
H3: Josh Keesey, David Mayo, Mike Jackson
SWL AWARDS 360 LATE MODELS, 12 cars (20 Laps): BRUCE MILLER (4), Glenn Whritenour, Carl Hughes, Kurt Stebbins, Steve LaBarron, Rick Loucks, Wally Wade, Jacob McConnell, Jason McGregor, Mick Seeley, Jay McConnell, Bob Lubberts
Lap Leaders: McGregor 1-12, Miller 13-20
H1: Carl Hughes, Glenn Whritenour, Jason McGregor
H2: Bruce Miller, Steve LaBarron, Kurt Stebbins
JOE WILLCOX PERFORMANCE AUTOMATICS STREET STOCKS, 15 cars (50 Laps): KURT STEBBINS (3), Dylan Cecce, Tracy Dunn, Jeredd Dennis, Dan Gardener, Gene Balmer, Zane King Jr., Branden Morseman, Trevor Tompkins, Matt Hamilton, Ron Butler, Allison Pierce, Teddy Morseman, Brett Marlatt DQ: Glenn Whritenour
Lap Leaders: Gene Balmer 1-25, Dylan Cecce 26-44, Stebbins 45-50
H1- Glenn Whritenour, Gene Balmer, Dan Gardener
H2- Tracy Dunn, Teddy Morseman, Zane King Jr.
DAUGHERTY AUTO SALES MINI STOCKS, 16 cars (20 Laps): RON DAILEY JR. (4), Chris Woodard, John Hand Jr., Jeffery Daugherty, Brian Grant Jr., Rick Amidon, Karl Born, Chip Warner, Mike Stone, Scott Lehman, Derrick Puryear, Corky Grant, Chris Hand, Mike Navone, Ajay Potrzebowski, Ray Hyer
Lap Leaders: John Hand Jr. 1-11, Ron Dailey Jr. 12-20
H1- Jeffery Daugherty, Ron Dailey Jr., Karl Born
H2- Chip Warner, Chris Woodard, John Hand Jr.
WOODHULL AUTO SUPPLY FRONT WHEEL DRIVES, 11 cars (20 Laps): NATE FREELAND (3), Shawn Gleason, Dave Richmond, Codie Baker, Adam DelGrosso, Matt Prescott, Carl LaBarron, Eric Farnham, Jay McConnell, Jordan Keefer, Joe Gillespie
Lap Leaders: Freeland 1-20
H1- Codie Baker, Dave Richmond, Shawn Gleason
H2- Matt Prescott, Nate Freeland, Jay McConnell
DAUGHERTY AUTO SALES WARRIORS, 5 cars (10 Laps): AJAY POTRZEBOWSKI JR. (4), Cole Youse, Brody Amidon, Kayley Potrzebowski, Trevor Hamilton
Lap Leaders: Potrzebowski Jr. 1-10