|
By Dave Sully
(Little Valley, NY) Chad Ruhlman made a triumphant return to a packed Little Valley Speedway, romping to a convincing win over a talented field to win the $4000 first place check in the Super Late Model Feature on Tuesday, July 3rd. Ruhlman, from Bemus Point, who runs primarily at Eldora Speedway, won in his previous appearance at Little Valley several years ago, but it wasn’t quite this easy. Starting twelfth in the nineteen car field, Ruhlman darted into contention from the drop of the green, taking the lead from Brent Rhebergen on lap eight and then driving out to a huge lead. Later, he easily negotiated two restarts to beat previous race winner Bob Close going away.
Rhebergen took the lead from the drop of the green but was under siege from Chad Valone and Close immediately following a lap two restart. Close took second, while Ruhlman was on a tear, taking over third on lap four, and second on lap seven before claiming the top at the line on lap eight.
David Scott, who had a nine race winning streak at LVS stopped by Close on the 9th of June, worked his way to second on lap 10, but by the time he did, Ruhlman was close to a straightaway ahead and Scott was unable to dent the lead by very much. On lap nineteen it no longer mattered, as a caution for debris came out, and soon after, Scott retired with what appeared to be a right rear flat. He was unable to get it fixed in time for the restart and ended up stranded in the pit lane, with no caution until lap twenty-eight for him to safely rejoin the field.
Meanwhile, the chase was up to Close, but try as he might, he was no match for the irrepressible Ruhlman, who was clocked on a radar gun as high as 106 miles per hour down the long Little Valley front straightaway. Close ended up a distant second, followed by Todd Andrews, Rick Isadore, and Boom Briggs. Asked how he was able to dominate this night, he replied, “Tonight was the first night we’ve ever had a big motor here. This stuff is just superior equipment.” Regarding his daring pass of Close for second, he added, “Close was on the cushion, and I just went over the top of the cushion and I figured either that or we were going to end up in the fence, but with the equipment we had I had the confidence it would stick.” Ruhlman also mentioned that Ron Davies, a notorious rimrider from the past, had suggested he run against the fence, and he took the advice.
The twenty lap Super Stock Feature went to Steve Dixon, his first ever win at Little Valley, and it was a dandy. Dixon, from Smethport, PA, first had to take the lead from perennial front runner Randy Hall, then battle Larry Knowles for the second half of the race, swapping the lead several times as the two ran virtually side by side for close to nine laps before he finally eked out the win.
Hall, the defending super stock champ took the lead from the pole, but never could shake Dixon, who started third, but was up to second on the first lap. He hounded Hall for four laps before getting by at the line on lap five. Meanwhile Knowles, who went off eleventh, was making a frantic charge to the front, taking third on a lap ten restart, and then second from Hall on the next lap. He immediately began to pressure Dixon, but the young driver never wavered from his outside line as went on to claim an impressive victory.
Of his race with Knowles, Dixon noted, “I knew I had to run on the top. Every time he got up beside me I just ran a little bit harder and it stuck. Running that many laps side by side was pretty cool. I knew I was better off of four than he was on the bottom, so I just stayed out there.”
The Street Stocks put on a battle royal of their own as young Adam Ashcroft prevailed in a tight battle with previous race winner Chris Austin. Ashcroft, from Arcade, took the early lead, but Austin took over on lap three. He held a tenuous lead as both Ashcroft and former champion Brett Smith, who started eighth but moved up quickly, were all over him. The smooth running Austin, who was running the outside this night, in contrast to the last race when he hugged the bottom, doggedly held them off, with Smith eventually breaking, while Ashcroft kept the heat on. Ashcroft finally got a good run down the front chute to take the lead on lap twelve of the fifteen lap event and went on to the win. Austin ended up second, with Jason Schoonmaker, Mike Asel, and Adam Sixt, who started fifteenth, rounding out the top five.
Commenting on the race with Austin, Ashcroft declared, “We set the car up to run the high side. I just had to keep following him high, and he got a push there and I happened to get a run on him. Coming down the front stretch he gave me enough room.”
Rich Michael Jr. from Ischua, won his second E-Mod feature in a row, and though his car was very fast, he needed two big breaks to pull off the win. First, leader Randy Hall broke on lap eight after building a commanding lead. That handed the top spot to Tim Peterson, who was close to a straightaway ahead of Michael, who started seventh but had worked his way into the runnerup spot. With Peterson riding along with a substantial lead, the caution flew for a spin on lap fifteen, erasing the lead and putting Michael on his bumper for the restart. Michael took the lead on the restart and drove away on the remaining laps, while Peterson settled for second.
Finally, Craig Bedell from Little Valley put away the mini field easily, driving his pickup truck against a field of sedans, one of which was driven by his sister.
NOTES: The crowd on hand for the Tuesday night Freedom Daze event on the eve of the Fourth of July holiday, was one of the largest in recent memory……….There were ninety six cars in the pits on a perfect night for racing………The show ended with a moving fireworks display set to music……..The next race night is Saturday, July 14th when the super late models, super stocks, E-Mods and street stocks will be in action, starting at 6:00. Gates open at 3:00.
RESULTS:
Super Late Models: (30 laps) Chad Ruhlman, Bob Close, Todd Andrews, Rick Isadore, Boom Briggs, Jeff Hoffman, Brent Rhebergen, John Lobb, Miles Stitzinger, Greg Oakes, Bump Hedman, Chad Valone, Doug Ricotta, John Hedman, Al Brewer, David Scott, Kirk Bradley, Dutch Davies, and John Haggerty. Heat winners Bradley, Andrews, and Scott.
Super Stocks: (20 laps) Steve Dixon, Larry Knowles, Randy Hall, Jeff Chesebro, Todd Hansen, Bruce Miller, Bill Holmes, JJ Mazur, Scooter Pangrazio, Tim Peterson, Dan Cobb, John Kemp Jr., John Lichy, Dan Dunham, Tom Schnars, Butch Talbot, Dave Miller, Josh Pangrazio, Rich Michael Jr., and Ron Baker. Heat winners were Bruce Miller, Hansen, and Knowles.
Street Stocks: (15 laps) Adam Ashcroft, Chris Austin, Jason Schoonmaker, Mike Asel, Adam Sixt, Darren Morgan, Colton Chappius, Joe White, Josh Smallidge, Ron Hebner, Jason Dobson, Tim Bruce, Derrick Francis, Lee Zimmerman, Ron Richter, Rich Wojtowicz, Charles Silliman, Dan Morgan, Allen Neaman, Ted Pierce, Brett Smith, Rob Stromecki, Paul Gerace, Cliff Johnson, Vic Vena, Justin Tatlow, Jeremy Surowy, and Kelly Green. Heat winners were Ashcroft, Austin, and Smith.
E-Mods: (20 laps) Rich Michael Jr., Tim Peterson, Quincy Turner, Ryan Bright, Dustin Carlson, Darren Tarabori, John Woodward, Mike Samuelson, Damon Lewis, Brain Fardink, Craig Bedell, Kyle Bedell, Randy Hall, and Ed Carley. DNS John Lacki. Heat winners were Carley and Hall.
Minis: (15 laps) Craig Bedell, Levi Watson, Kevin Dzuroff, Dennis Erdmann, Kate Bedell, Jeff Erdmann, David Lowe, Jeff Yard, Justin Yohe, Steve Mowery, and Brad Ullman. Melissa Bedell and Nick Snayczuk. Heat winners were Dzuroff and Ullman.
|
|
