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Pratt, Johnson, Stefanski, Weller and Skeet open Genesee Speedway season with visits to victory lane.
Batavia, NY—May 5, 2007--By: Chris Rhynold, Media/Racer Relations Director
Genesee Speedway opened the 2007 racing season with Select Collision presenting the 5 Star racing program with a full house in the grandstands and 85 cars in the pits ready for action. Due to track conditions and time constraints it was decided by track staff to shorten the Sportsman and 360 Late Model features to 20 laps instead of the regular 25 laps to allow for track prep to be done to give the racers a decent racing surface.
In the Troyer Race Cars Sportsman Division Rob Pratt was victorious as he lead from wire to wire to score his first Genesee Speedway win of the 2007 season. On the initial start Pratt launched like he was shot out of a cannon. Yellow would hit the speedway on lap one as R.J. Kingdollar lost the handle of his sportsman in turn three. On the restart Pratt once again blasted away from the field with Rob Richmond Jr moving to 2nd and John Panattoni moving to 3rd. John Venuto was giving Panattoni a ton of pressure and could get to him but couldn’t complete the pass. By lap seven Pratt opened a full straight lead over Rob Richmond Jr and Venuto finally completed the pass on Panattoni and was starting to reel in Richmond Jr. The yellow would fly once again on lap ten as Steve Schumacher went around in turn three bunching up the field for a restart. Pratt paced the field to the restart and took off again and Ricky Newton Jr who was having a great run,
muscled by Don Spatorico and was setting his sights on the 4th place car of Panattoni. Richmond Jr. got loose bunching up the battle for 2nd place and Panattoni and Newton Jr. powered by Venuto. Pratt’s lead was becoming bigger and bigger but the battle for 2nd was escalating as Richmond Jr. was struggling with the handle on his car and Newton Jr. moved to 3rd and was hot on the tail of Richmond Jr. However, Newton Jr.’s stellar run would come to an end when he brought out the yellow on lap eighteen when he scraped the wall and spun going into turn one. This caution would bunch the field up for a green white checker finish. The restart was no different than any other, Pratt checked out and left the field in his dust scoring win number one at Genesee Speedway of 2007 followed by Rob Richmond Jr., John Venuto, Don Spatorico and John Panattoni. Heat wins would go to Don Spatorico and R.J. Kingdollar.
In the BDK Construction 360 Late Model Division, defending 360 Late Model champion, Jim Johnson wasted no time making his presence felt by scoring a win in a wild feature. Lap one would go yellow before the cars even hit turn one as Don Newton and T.J. Newton were banging door panels down the front stretch resulting in T.J. Newton spinning out. T.J. Newton would have to go pit side to replace a flat right front tire. On the restart JJ Mazur bolted to the front but couldn’t hold off a hard charging Jim Johnson when he took the lead on lap three just before caution would hit the speedway for a 2nd time. T.J. Newton and Bob Dickinson would be the cause of the caution as they came together in turn three. The wrecker would be needed to pry the Newton mount off of the front end of Dickinson’s car. Under the yellow, Jeff Bridge and Alan Wais would head pit side. Wais did not return to the speedway. The Late Models would get one more lap in the books before caution hit the speedway when Brian Farnsworth’s car stalled out on the restart collecting Carl Shetler and Tim Barnard. Barnard and Shetler returned to action, but the same could not be said for Farnsworth as he suffered a broken axle and would retire his ride for the night. The field would race seven more circuits before the yellow flew again when Tim Barnard lost the handle and spun into the infield. The track really slicked over and the dust had gotten so bad that the leader Jim Johnson who had a half-track lead pulled to the top of the speedway under yellow and relayed to an official that he couldn’t see a thing. At this point the race was red flagged as the track maintenance crew came out to fix the speedway. It had become a safety issue and was decided that red flagging the race and fixing the track was in everyone’s best interest. After a short track prep delay, racing resumed and Johnson still was the man to beat and no one seemed to have anything for him until the final two circuits. Mazur and DuBois were both within striking distance. On the last lap Dave DuBois slid past Mazur and was putting the power down with some impressive three-wheeling. DuBois would fall a couple laps short as he ran out of time and Jim Johnson would make his way to victory lane. Johnson would be followed by Dave DuBois, JJ Mazur, Bob Babbit and Brian Kotarski. Heat wins would go to JJ Mazur, Bob Babbit and Bill Holmes.
After the victory lane ceremonies, promoter Mike Lauterborn took the microphone and thanked the fans for their attendance and apologized for the delay.
The Greenlief’s Restaurant Pro-Stock Division seen no stranger to victory lane as long-time Pro Stock campaigner Pete Stefanski swept the night as he won his heat and made yet another visit to victory lane. Before the race even started, class sponsor Eric Greenlief dropped his car to the tail of the field from his outside pole starting position because his race car was suffering power steering problems. Butch Zimmerman took the early lead as Steve Lewis, Pete Stefanski and Mike Martin were in tow. Stefanski wasted no time and took the 2nd place spot from Lewis and was going after Zimmerman. Stefanski was utilizing the high side to make his passes and swapped the lead with Zimmerman as they battled side by side for 5 laps. Stefanski would finally complete the pass on lap six and never looked back. Despite the power steering issues, Greenlief was still able to muscle his way up to 7th. The yellow would only fly once for an incident with Don Barnes and Mike Townsend. Barnes spun in turn three and Townsend spun to avoid hitting the already spun out Barnes. Bunching the field up meant absolutely nothing to Stefanski, as he was able to open up a big lead and made his first visit to victory lane of 2007. Stefanski would be followed by Steve Lewis, Butch Zimmerman, Mike.Martin and JohnGagner. Heat wins went to Steve Lewis and Pete Stefanski.
The Bobcat of Buffalo Street Stocks, seen Wild Bill Weller make his way to victory lane in a controversial feature. 2006 champion Jeff Maxwell took the early lead from the outside pole position and was followed by Ron Richter. Maxwell had worked up a half straight lead before the yellow would fly for Barry Barczak. Newcomer and Rookie Jeb Walworth was running 3rd and the race turned into a four-way battle for the lead. Walworth got to the inside of Ron Richter and was ready to make the move under Maxwell. By the time Walworth got to Maxwell all four cars were leaning pretty hard on each other, which resulted in Walworth spinning Maxwell out which collected Richter and Barczak. Under the yellow, Maxwell showed his disgust with Walworth, which earned him a trip to the pit shack for a meeting with the officials. Walworth was sent tail for the altercation. Joey Spicola powered by David downs for 2nd but by that time Weller was well on his way to victory and collected his first feature win of 2007. Weller was followed by Joey Spicola, David Downs, Frank.Moyer and Dan Pries. Heat wins went to Jeff Maxwell and David Downs.
The Dickinson’s Auto Service Mini Stocks, seen Nick Skeet win over Dan Norton. Skeet moved into 1st with a slide job on Norton and started to check out. By lap eleven, Skeet opened up a ten-car lead but Norton seemed to be closing in. When the checkers fell Norton had run out of time and still had another 5 car lengths to go but fell short. Skeet was followed by Dan Norton, Ken Hixenbaugh, Bobby Dickinson and Russ Wassner. Heat wins went to Nick Skeet and Bobby Dickinson.
Be sure to join us next week when Batavia Sign Company presents The 5 Star Program. Pit Gates open at 4pm, Grandstand opens at 5pm, Green Flag drops at 6pm.
Feature Race Results
Dickinson’s Auto Service Mini Stocks
1. 8 Nick Skeet
2. 0 Dan Norton
3. 14 Ken Hixenbaugh
4. 328 Bobby Dickinson
5. x82 Russ Wassner
6. 013 Mark Forsha
7. 12b Brandon Aradine
8. 37 Jason Hull
9. 69 Roger Norton
10. 95 Randy Barkley
11. 86 Jeremy Barnard
12. 53 Pat Powers
13. 7+1 Ed Neal
Bobcat of Buffalo Street Stocks
1. 69 Bill Weller
2. 93 Joey Spicola
3. 02 David Downs
4. F3 Frank Moyer
5. 18 Dan Pries
6. 378 Carl Shetler
7. 74 Jeb Walworth
8. 4 Darrel Moyer
9. 2z Kenny Benouche
10. 13 Kevin Mitchell
11. 86 Barry Barczak
12. 14 Jeff Maxwell
13. 31x Ron Richter
14. 60jr Colton Chappius
15. 41 Robby Arnold
16. 2v John Fry
Greenlief’s Restaurant Pro Stocks
1. 2 Pete Stefanski
2. 11s Steve Lewis
3. 6 Butch Zimmerman
4. 99 Mike Martin
5. 3j John Gagner
6. 10 Brett Martin
7. 12g Eric Greenlief
8. 28 Don Barnes
9. 1fx Mike Townsend
10. 8 Jim Burch
11. 45 T.J. Newton
12. 11k Bill Kibbe
BDK Construction 360 Late Models
1. 93j Jim Johnson
2. 012 Dave DuBois
3. 13 JJ Mazur
4. 2 Bob Babbitt
5. 05 Brian Kotarski
6. 122 Justin Chaddock
7. 85 Jon Rivers
8. 18 Tim Barnard
9. 54 Don Newton
10. 51 Jeff Bridge
11. 75 Ron Mogavero
12. 15 Rich Mogavero
13. 45 T.J. Newton
14. 42 Derek Boyle
15. 58 Carl Shetler
16. 93b Tom Baker
17. 70 Pete Waldron
18. 001 Rich Hale
19. 07 Josh Pangrazio
20. 8 Bill Holmes
21. 1fx Brian Farnsworth
22. 117 Alan Wais
23. 713 Bob Dickinson
24. 22 Tim Kaufmann
Troyer Race Car Sportsman
1. p38 Rob Pratt
2. 93jr Rob Richmond Jr.
3. 44v John Venuto
4. 5 Don Spatorico
5. 67 John Panattoni
6. 04 Greg Mrzywka
7. 57 Don Ogden
8. 19w Justin Wright
9. 18j John Baker
10. 23 Ed Cain
11. 4t6 R.J. Kingdollar
12. 0 Stubby Pangrazio
13. 50 Tim Downs
14. 11n Ricky Newton Jr.
15. 56 Steve Schumacher
16. 6t4 Kerry Ball
17. 79g Guy Steffen
18. 57d Don Merrion
For Up to Date results and information visit our website at www.geneseespeedway.com .
For race day information call the speedway at 585-343-1076.
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