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FULTON, NY - Alan Johnson of Phelps came from the ninth starting position to win a torrid battle at Fulton Speedway last Saturday June 30 on Fernandez Auto Mall / Dig Safely NY Night. Johnson took the lead on lap 21 and bested a field of 39 Modifieds to take the 35-lap, $2,000 to win, FX Caprara Car Companies / Dig Safely NY 5-Star-DIRTcar Modified Mini Series special. Other winners on the night were Billy Clark Jr. in the UMP Pro Stocks, Ron Hawker in the UMP Street Stocks, Dan Williams in the ESDCA Mod Lites, Joey Delacruz in the Gypsum Express Crate Sportsman, and Jerry Herbert in the 4-Cylinder Enduros Enduros.
Willy Decker driving the Kyle Lewis No. 09 and Vic Coffey set the pace to the starters green flag with Coffey grabbing the slight advantage. As the top two raced side by the first yellow of the race would fly on lap two. Brian Weaver and John Ramsey made hard contact going into turn three; Ramsey would drive away and rejoin the race as Weaver was done for the night being towed off the speedway.
As the race progressed in the early stages Pat O’Brien was able to shoot to the bottom of the track going into turn one grabbing a slight lead over the Decker machine. While O’Brien and Decker raced side by side, Dale Planck was starting to make his presence known as he moved into 3rd and stared to chase down the two leaders. With the top cars using every inch of the speedway, Planck made a banzai move on lap twelve. O’Brien and Decker were using the top and bottom of the track, Planck made a daring tight move shooting between the two leaders and grabbing the lead as the trio exited turn four.
While Planck was looking to run away and hide from the rest of the field, Alan Johnson quietly worked his way into second place by lap 15, also on the move was two consi cars Danny Johnson and Jimmy Phelps as they were about to join the battle for the win.
As the race reached the halfway point Planck still led using the top and Johnson was pursuing and cutting into the lead using the extreme bottom of the speedway. Exiting turn two Planck jumped the cushion allowing Johnson to grab the lead on lap 21. With only 10 laps to go the high flying Danny Johnson moved into second and he took off after his brother Alan. With a handful of laps to go Danny Johnson was able to stay with or pull even with Alan Johnson and made one last bold move to try to grab the lead. On lap 31 exiting turn four Danny Johnson jumped the cushion and turned his No.27j sideways, Johnson saved his car, but that allowed Jimmy Phelps and Dale Planck to slip by. While Phelps and Planck raced side by side for second that allowed Alan Johnson enough time to stretch out his lead and grab the checkers. Jimmy Phelps settled for second with Dale Planck coming home third, Danny Johnson and Vic Coffey rounded out the top five. Steve Paine, Pat Ward, Gary Tomkins, Willy Decker and Chad Phelps completed the top ten.
After exiting his Wallace Stacey owned, Bully’s Truck Stop, No.14j Alan Johnson talked about his win, "This car really worked great tonight the guys just keep working hard on this thing." Johnson also had praise for the speedway track crew, "It didn’t matter where you started the race tonight, you could race anywhere, top, bottom the middle, it didn’t matter." Johnson, who very late in the race moved to the top of the track related why, "I knew Danny was coming and I saw his nose a couple of times, I knew I had to try something different." Once Alan knew he could hold off Danny he moved back to the bottom for the victory.
Ron Hawker overcame an early race spin to avoid an accident to take the 20-lap UMP Street Stock win. Hawker used up every part of the speedway to work his way to the front. Once in the lead Hawker used the bottom groove to hold off Dave Bruno. Dave Mannise, Dan Hoffman Sr and Josh Blackwell completed the top five.
“I really had to get hard on the brakes and spin out to avoid the cars," Said Hawker about the early race incident that sent him to the rear. "Once I got the lead I was going to the bottom, if they wanted the lead they were going to have to go around me," finished up Hawker about his win. It was Hawkers third win of the season and second in a row at Fulton.
This week the UMP Pro Stocks put on a much better show completing all 20-laps of their feature. Bill Clark Jr parked his car in victory lane after a hard fought victory. Dick Parkhurst, Pat Hobbs, Jason Parkhurst, and Dale Guernsey completed the top five.
"We have had a terrible month," said Clark in victory lane. "We have tried everything on this car, changing shocks, springs and just about everything else. Tonight everything worked great," related Clark.
In other action Dan Williams took advantage of a up front starting spot to grab his fourth win in the ESDCA Mod Lite feature. Tim Devendorf, Mikey Hay, Andrew Schartner, and Barry Virts were the rest of the top five. Joey Delacruz held off a determined Tim Sears Jr to win his first ever Gypsum Express Crate 15-lap feature win. Third was Mike Fowler, followed by Keith Hotchkiss, and Jake Reilley. Jerry Herbert took top honors in the 25-lap Enduro over Kelly Smith, Les Baker, Keith Zirbel, and Jacob Palmiter.
Coming up this Saturday July 7 at Fulton Speedway is Military Appreciation Night featuring the DIRTcar Modifieds, DIRTcar Sportsman, UMP Pro Stocks, UMP Street Stocks, Gypsum Express Crate Sportsman, ESDCA Mod Lites, and 4-Cylinder Enduros. All military personnel with a valid ID will be admitted free of charge. Race time is set for 7pm. For more information, contact the track office at (315) 593-6531, the raceline at (315) 668-RACE, or visit www.fultonspeedway.com.
FULTON SPEEDWAY RACE SUMMARY
FERNANDEZ AUTO MALL / DIG SAFELY NY NIGHT
RACE DATE: JUNE 30, 2007
DIRTcar MODIFIEDS FX CAPRARA CAR COMPANIES / DIG SAFELY NY 5-STAR MINI-SERIES (35-Laps) – ALAN JOHNSON, Jimmy Phelps, Dale Planck, Danny Johnson, Vic Coffey, Steve Paine, Pat Ward, Gary Tomkins, Willy Decker, Chad Phelps, Sean Beardsley, Kevin Bates, Dave Rauscher, Jeff Isabell, Dan Vauter, John Pfeffer, Chuck Bower, Tim Sears, Ryan Phelps, Pat O’Brien, Kenny Stafford, John Ramsey, Justin Haers, Brian Weaver. DNQ – Jim Witko Jr., Tim O’Brien, Roy Bresnahan, Vinnie Vitale, Shannon Whaley, Jeremy Smith, Johnny Hill, John Barker Jr., Brett Tonkin, Brian Murphy, Matt Fink, Terry Kloblock, Alan Fink, Joe Isabell, Tom Sears Jr.
UMP STREET STOCKS (20-Laps) – RON HAWKER, Dave Bruno, Dave Mannise, Dan Hofmann Sr., Josh Blackwell, Steve Crouse, Jim Wallace, Matt Henderson, Joe Schirm, Gary Barton, Dan Hofmann Jr., Quentin Burton, Glenn Weaver, Nick Rizzo, Steve Woodworth, Bob Munger.
UMP PRO STOCKS (20-Laps) – BILLY CLARK JR., Dick Parkhurst, Pat Hobbs, Jason Parkhurst, Dale Guernsey, Jerry Button, Rob Seavy, Jack Terrell, Rusty Marsden, Adam Hunt, Mike Vaughn, Jim Donaldson, Scott Conover, Jim Evans, Dave Briggs.
ESDCA MOD LITES (20-LAPS) – DAN WILLIAMS, Tim Devendorf, Mikey Hay, Andrew Schartner, Barry Virts, Jeff Barker, Adam Murphy, Rocco Leone, Tommy Felicia, Larry Casbohm, Kelly Skinner, Mark Brighton, Mike Mullen, Lisa Thomas, Ken Gamlen, Justin Crisafulli, Lowell Zehr, Brenda Rice, Mike Virginia.
GYPSUM EXPRESS CRATE SPORTSMAN (15-Laps) – JOEY DELACRUZ, Timmy Sears Jr., Mike Fowler, Keith Hotchkiss, Jake Reilley, Laslow Howiefeld, Katelyn Kane, Sean McCarthy, Brad Godshalk.
4-CYLINDER ENDURO (25-Laps) – JERRY HERBERT, Kelly Smith, Les Baker, Keith Zirbel, Jacob Palmiter.
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