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A Night Full of Firsts at the Rolling Wheels Raceway Season Opener! Weedsport, NY - Simply put, it was a night of firsts at the 29th Annual DIRT Challenge Cup presented by Ferris Mowers here at Rolling Wheels Raceway as Tim Fuller along with Frank “Bubba” Burnell and Jipp Ortiz secured their first win here at “The Fast Track” in their respected divisions.
Big Block Modifieds With the drop of the green flag, pole sitter Tim Fuller charged into turns three and four for the 50-lap feature assuming full control of the 26 car field as Brett Hearn and Alan Johnson followed quickly behind. But the first caution of the night would fly after the completion of the opening lap sending the boys back to the line with Fuller opting for the outside lane. Fuller’s decision seemed to be just what the doctor ordered, as he went wheel to wheel with Johnson’s 14j ride going into turns one and two, only to pull away seconds later from the pack. As Gary Tomkins cleared the #93 of Ryan Bartlett for 6th through the eighth circuit, Fuller found himself nearing lapped traffic with a comfortable 2 second lead on the competition. Action would come to a halt by lap 17 as the #90 of Scott Parliament came to a stop in turn two bringing out the second caution of the night. Reminiscent to the previous restart, Fuller retained the lead position with ease; however, the middle of the pack was in full force as both Jimmy and Ryan Phelps were making moves, closing in on top 10 positions after starting the feature deep in the field. As the laps continued to fall, Fuller negotiated through the lapped congestion managing a large lead over the pack, but a caution thrown with six laps to go gave the remaining heavy hitters one more shot at Fuller and his seemingly unstoppable ride. Fuller got right back to business at the restart, resuming his leading role a top the Big Blocks, but the New Jersey native, Hearn took advantage of his speed on the top side flying past Johnson with five laps to go. However, the Smith Bros Concrete sponsored #74 was too much too handle for Hearn as he would settle for second best as the checkered flag waved on the 50-lap feature. Top Five: Tim Fuller, Brett Hearn, Alan Johnson, Matt Sheppard, and Gary Tomkins Sportsman Modifieds Jipp Ortiz aboard the #0 would start and end the night a top the Sportsman Modified division, cruising across the finish line with a 2.4 second lead over the pack. Seemingly, the opening circuits of the 20 lap feature gave the Ransomville, N.Y native his toughest competition as Dave Marcuccilli stalked Ortiz around the bullring until brief contact between the two entering the back straightaway during the second circuit created enough space for Ortiz to pull away from the field. From there, it was all Ortiz as he continued to ricochet around the track weaving in and out of traffic by lap 13. Marcuccilli and Justin Wright continued to battle throughout the night for second best, but Wright seemed to have all the right moves, holding off Marcuccilli as Ortiz snatched the checkered flag. Top Five: Jipp Ortiz, Justin Wright, Dave Marcuccilli, Steve Gray, and Ryan Susice. Street Stocks In a green to checkered flag feature, Frank “Bubba” Burnell secured his first feature win here at Rolling Wheels Raceway in front of a few hundred of his closest friends Sunday night.Burnell would take full advantage of his pole position, shooting out to a healthy lead at the drop of the green as Blane Smith and Dave Manise could only try to keep up with the Waterloo, NY native. Starting out the night’s feature in seventh place, Steve Crouse gave fans quite the show, ending the night in second place after exploiting the inside groove snatching the number two spot from Blane with just five laps to go. However, there was enough gusto aboard Crouse’s #02 to overtake the leader as Burnell met up with DIRTcar’s favorite announcer Shane Andrews in Victory Lane. Top Five: Frank Burnell, Steve Crouse, Blane Smith, Dave Manise, and Andy Fisk. Midstate Vintage Mods The Midstate Vintage Mods were able to give fans a look back into dirt track racing’s past as they hit the field for two action packed features. The young gun from Webster, N.Y., Matt Scott found success aboard his 1937 Chevy, passing Dr. Phil Claussen for the lead via the inside lane exiting turn four with just two laps to go. During the second feature of the night, pole sitter John Applebee would lose control of the lead before the first lap could be recorded in the books, as David Charczuk snatched the lead from Applebee in his #99 flame inspired Gremlin. Charczuk would hold onto the lead for the remainder of the feature, parking his car alongside Matt Scott and Midstate Vintage Mod Hobby winner, Ray Demolin. Results: Big Block Modifieds: (1) Tim Fuller, (2) Brett Hearn, (3) Alan Johnson, (4) Matt Sheppard, (5) Gary Tomkins, (6) Billy Decker, (7) Steve Paine, (8) Jeff Brownell Jr, (9) Chad Phelps, (10) Jeff Hitler, (11) Jimmy Phelps, (12) Billy Dunn, (13) Ryan Phelps, (14) Larry Wright, (15) Rob Bellinger, (16) Chad Homan, (17) Mike Storms, (18) Del Rougeux Jr, (19) Eric Fisher, (20) Dale Planck, (21) Tom Sears, (22) Keith Flash, (23) Ryan Bartlett, (24) Scott Parliament, (25) Frank Cabrera, (26) Vinny Vitale Sportsman Modifieds: (1) Jipp Ortiz, (2) Justin Wright, (3) Dave Marcuccilli, (4) Steve Gray, (5) Ryan Susice, (6) Sammy Reakes IV, (7) John Petrowicz, (8) Anthony Rizzardo, (9) Todd Town, (10) Matthew Hitchcock, (11) Brandon Sweet, (12) Alan Fink, (13) Kevin Ridley, (14) Tim Sears Jr, (15) Matt Billings, (16) James Spano, (17) Mark Osmstead Jr, (18) Eric Giguere, (19) Jeremy Pitcher, (20) Loren Lincoln, (21) Dan Wiesner, (22) Tom Juhl, (23) Brandon Hagen, (24) Justin Henderson, (25) Chris Raabe, (26) Don Spatorico |
