Media Contact: Steven Ovens - woodhullracewaypr@gmail.com or (315) 729-3825 For Immediate Release – September 7th, 2016 – SWL Awards photo -
(WOODHULL, NY) – Mike Bills thrilled fans on Saturday night enroute to his third Woodhull Raceway Insinger Performance 370 Modified feature win of the season. Bills worked the extreme outside lane of the race track and help off a hard-charging Donnie Lawson to grab the victory.
Bills and Lawson found themselves at the front of the field for the majority of the event, which wound down to a classic battle between two of Woodhull’s best. Lawson was working the bottom lane to perfection, but Bills was running on the ragged edge of control on the outside to always nose ahead back into the lead at the start/finish line.
Bills’ efforts took fans back to Short Track Super Series Night when Andy Bachetti thrilled the crowd with his run on the outside cushion of the track. Hit it just right, and you were the King of the Bullring. Hit it wrong, and Bills was apt to lose the lead to Lawson and likely several other positions.
Billy Van Pelt started in the twelfth position and worked his way into the third spot late in the race. He would not able to make a charge at the top two, as Bills and Lawson were solidly the cars that would settle the win. Van Pelt had already wrapped up his eighteenth track title the week prior, with championship night just being another opportunity to try and capture small block win number 200 of his career.
Lawson was waiting for one slip up by Bills, but it would not happen. Bills took home his third win of the year over Lawson, Van Pelt, Eric Fisher and Russell Morseman.
The NAPA Crate Sportsman was all about the ‘new school’ on Saturday night as Stevie Hartman III and Dayton Brewer were the class of the field on Kibbe Oil & Gas Field Service Night. Hartman led the majority of the race, after having luck on his side in the post-heat redraw.
Hartman had a solid race car to go with his good racing luck, as he showed the field the fast way around early. The driver on the move, though, was Jasper, NY pilot Dayton Brewer. Brewer took all of sixteen laps to finally break into the runner-up position, then setting his sights on Hartman who was looking for his first win of the season on Championship Night.
With less than five laps remaining, Brewer was putting an immense amount of pressure on Hartman. Hartman was running the low line, but Brewer somehow managed to find another half lane lower to race on. Several times Brewer found himself catching a piece of the raised infield berm- not letting any space or opportunity to challenge Hartman go untouched.
On the final lap, Brewer got the better run into turn three. Hartman didn’t roll over and let Brewer by, as the pair would drag race it out to the checkered flag with Brewer getting the win by the narrowest of margins.
Hartman had to settle for a heartbreaking second place effort over Josh Keesey, Collin Brown and AJ Costley. Brown was surprised with a special interview on the front stretch, and paced the Sportsman field prior to the green as this was the last race before he would be headed into training for the United States Armed Forces.
On behalf of the Woodhull Raceway ownership, staff, racers and fans- THANK YOU Collin for your future service to our country!
Jason McGregor and Steve LaBarron started on the front row of the final points race of the 2016 season in the SWL Awards 360 Late Models. Although Bruce Miller had the championship locked up from the previous week, the race was one you did not want to miss.
LaBarron grabbed the lead at the start and they ran three-wide coming out of turn two. McGregor, LaBarron and Glenn Whritenour would all fight for the lead for five laps.
McGregor jumped for the lead and was holding off Carl Hughes and Miller. Hughes and Miller battled for second and started to break away from the pack along with the leader McGregor.
On lap nine, caution number two of the night came out from contact involving two cars in turn one. On the restart, McGregor still sat in first, Hughes second, Miller third, Whritenour fourth and Rick Loucks in fifth. This restart would be under single file.
McGregor held the lead and would continue to do so until the next caution came out on lap twelve. McGregor continued to lead under the green flag and the action moved to second as Miller and Hughes battle it out. Hughes tried to make a move on McGregor on lap sixteen but could not make it happen.
On lap eighteen, Miller got by Hughes for second and the caution comes out for Hughes who had heavy front end damage in turn four. McGregor knew he was going to need to be on point for the restart, with the points champion on his bumper for the restart.
On the restart McGregor pushed to keep the lead as Miller tried to make a move.
McGregor brought home the win for the final points race at Woodhull Raceway for the 2016 season. Miller came in second and Glenn Whritenour in third. Miller would win the championship for the SWL Awards 360 Late Models.
The Joe Willcox Performance Automatics Street Stocks went into this race undecided on the point championship. Kurt Stebbins had a lead on Teddy Morseman, but the difference in heat race bonus points earned created a scenario for Stebbins where he only needed to take the green flag. That proved costly, as Stebbins had issues with his car during intermission.
Due to rear end issues, Stebbins was not able to run his own car. Dennis Cummings stepped up to the plate for his teammate, letting him borrow his car to run for points. After points were tallied up all Stebbins had to do was start the race in the Cummings machine.
Josh Sawyer and Brett Marlatt started on the front row with Stebbins all the way in the back due to the car change. Sawyer would grab the lead at the drop of the green flag.
The green flag action would be short lived, as there was caution in turn one involving three cars. One of those three cars was Kurt Stebbins. On the restart Sawyer would be in first, Marlatt in second and Allison Pierce in third.
Sawyer was making his Woodhull debut with a Nitro Chassis Street Stock, trying to get the hot setup underneath it for the upcoming Fall money shows in the area. It was an all-Nitro kind of night as Marlatt was also rocking his new Nitro chassis with a borrowed engine under the hood.
The race was littered with caution flags that put a damper on the first half of the event. Sawyer was clearly the dominant machine in clean air, but his competition rarely had a chance to string consecutive laps together to try and attempt a run at him.
Lap fourteen would bring out another caution, with Zane King Jr. spinning out. On the restart, Marlatt would try to go the inside of Sawyer but wouldn’t have enough to pull alongside.
Sawyer would get the win with Marlatt coming in second and Jeredd Dennis with one of his best Woodhull efforts of 2016 in third. Stebbins celebrated the track title alongside Sawyer in Instant Heat Wood Pellets Victory Lane.
The Daugherty Auto Sales Mini Stock division had two racers take the green flag who could potentially be crowned points champion. All Chris Woodard or Ron Dailey Jr had to do was win the race. Chris Woodard started on the pole and knew what he needed to do.
An early caution on lap one would call for another restart, after Jeff Daugherty got too high in turns three and four. Woodard showed no mercy and continued to grab the lead on the restart.
Ray Hyer would try to make runs at Woodard, but Woodard was a man on a mission. Woodard contined to lead laps and extend his lead, while Ron Dailey Jr. battled Hyer for second on lap six. Dailey took over second and started to move towards Woodard. Hyer was not giving up and wanted another feature win to add to his great season both at Outlaw and Woodhull.
By that time, Woodard had nearly an entire straightaway lead. Dailey and Hyer continued to battle as Woodard continued to lead.
A late caution on lap 18 caused the pack to tighten back up. The 53c of Chris Hand had slowed on the straightaway, putting Dailey on the rear of Woodard’s bumper. Both wanted the championship but only one could win.
Woodard got the jump at the green flag and had the hammer down all the way to the checkered flag bringing home the win and the championship. Dailey Jr. would finish second and John Hand Jr would come home in third.
The Woodhull Auto Supply Front Wheel Drives had a similar situation for their track championship. Shawn Gleason and Codie Baker were tied for the lead going into the night, with Gleason taking a one-point lead over Baker to the feature after winning his heat.
In the feature, Gleason just simply laid the lumber to the field. The only car that had similar speed was that of Dave Richmond’s No. 93D. But even with Richmond in second, Gleason still had the superior car.
Baker essentially never had the chance to contend, as his car appeared to be set up for the outside lane. Unfortunately for Baker, the Modifieds, Sportsman and Late Models had really used up the outside lane. Making it an ideal situation for Gleason who has dominated the bottom lane in his previous wins in 2016.
Gleason would go on to win the race and the championship in grand fashion.
The Daugherty Auto Sales Warriors saw a thrilling finish, as Horseheads, NY driver Kayley Potrzebowski nailed down her first career Warriors feature win with a last lap pass in turn three.
Several cars including 2016 track champion Ajay Potrzebowski Jr. and second place point man Cole Youse would be involved in separate incidents that took them out of contention.
Brody Amidon was left to battle it out with Kayley Potrzebowski for the win. Going into turn three with just a half-lap remaining, Potrzebowski made a daring move on the inside lane and snuck past Amidon to take the lead.
The contact slowed Potrzebowski slightly, allowing Trevor Hamilton to close the gap. But Hamilton didn’t have enough to steal Potrzebowski’s glory on this night. She becomes the first female winner all season at Woodhull and shared Victory Lane with her brother, who won the track championship, and their family.
This Saturday at Woodhull Raceway will be the annual Lyle Sherwood Memorial presented by Griffith Energy. The Big Block/Small Block Modifieds will race for $1,700 along with the Crate Sportsman, 360 Late Models, Street Stocks running Empire 100 rules, Mini Stocks and Front Wheel Drives. The Warriors have completed their racing schedule for 2016.
Race time is set for 5:30PM with the gates swinging open at 3:30PM. That is a change from the normal Saturday night start time, so mark down 5:30PM on your calendars.
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 Oil & Gas Field Service Night Official Results Sept. 3rd, 2016
INSINGER PERFORMANCE 370 MODIFIEDS, 17 cars (25 Laps): MIKE BILLS (3), Donnie Lawson, Billy Van Pelt, Eric Fisher, Russell Morseman, Boyd McTavish, Ryan Tracy, Frank Dunning, Brady Fultz, Lee Bills, Kenny Peoples Jr., Brian Doolittle, Kevin Chilson, Josh Nobriga, Dillon Groover, Dave DuBois, Bobby Davis
H1- Brady Fultz, Josh Nobriga, Eric Fisher H2- Dillon Groover, Kevin Chilson, Ryan Tracy
H3- Billy Van Pelt, Donnie Lawson, Mike Bills
NAPA CRATE SPORTSMAN, 19 cars (25 Laps): DAYTON BREWER (2), Stevie Hartman III, Josh Keesey, Collin Brown, AJ Costley, Chris Daugherty, Ray Smith, Brandon Martin, Jake Dgien, Josh Sawyer, Greg Young, Jason Gleason, Tracy Stanford, Wade Knickerbocker, Jerry Aldrich, Tim Guild, Stacy Jackson DQ: Brandon Butler, David Mayo
H1- AJ Costley, Chris Daugherty, Tim Guild H2- Jake Dgien, Josh Keesey, Josh Sawyer H3- Dayton Brewer, Collin Brown, Ray Smith
SWL AWARDS 360 LATE MODELS, 10 cars (20 Laps): JASON MCGREGOR (2), Bruce Miller, Glenn Whritenour, Kurt Stebbins, Mick Seeley, Rick Loucks, Carl Hughes, Jacob McConnell, Bobby Lubberts, Steve LaBarron
H1- Carl Hughes, Jason McGregor, Kurt Stebbins
H2- Steve LaBarron, Bruce Miller, Glenn Whritenour
JOE WILLCOX PERFORMANCE AUTOMATICS STREET STOCKS, 16 cars (20 Laps): JOSH SAWYER (1), Brett Marlatt, Jeredd Dennis, Glenn Whritenour, Tracy Dunn, Teddy Morseman, Kurt Stebbins, Matt Jilson, Allison Pierce, Zane King Jr., Trevor Tompkins, Branden Morseman, Matt Hamilton, Dan Gardner DNS: Chad Brian, Dennis Cummings
H1- Kurt Stebbins, Glenn Whritenour, Teddy Morseman
H2- Josh Sawyer, Jeredd Dennis, Tracy Dunn
DAUGHERTY AUTO SALES MINI STOCKS, 13 cars (20 Laps): CHRIS WOODARD (6), Ron Dailey Jr., John Hand Jr., Ray Hyer, Karl Born, Rick Amidon, Jeffery Daugherty, Corky Grant, Chip Warner, Scott Lehman, Derrick Puryear, Chris Hand DNS: Jason Warner
H1- John Hand, Ray Hyer, Rick Amidon H2- Chris Woodard, Ron Dailey Jr., Corky Grant
WOODHULL AUTO SUPPLY FWD, 13 cars (20 Laps): SHAWN GLEASON (4), Dave Richmond, Nate Freeland, Codie Baker, Matt Prescott, Ron Hill, Nick Brown, Carl LaBarron, Chris Shelley, James Howard, Joe Gillespie, Adam DelGrosso DNS: Ryan Austin
H1- Shawn Gleason, Carl LaBarron, Matt Prescott H2- Nate Freeland, Codie Baker, Adam DelGrosso
DAUGHERTY AUTO SALES WARRIORS, 5 cars (10 laps): KAYLEY POTRZEBOWSKI (1st Warrior Win), Trevor Hamilton, Ajay Potrzebowski Jr., Brody Amidon, Cole Youse