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4/19/2008 – Woodhull, NY
Most fans like to see the 358-Modifieds go around the “High Banks” of Woodhull raceway, but I can say that the crate sportsman class was very impressive!
Art Goodier, driving the No.1g took the win in his first ever start in the Crate Sportsman division. Art started in the third position with Ray Smith on the pole, Art would get the lead on the first lap coming out of turn four passing Ray Smith;
“I knew he (Ray Smith) was going to go in hard and I just went in soft entering the corner and get a good run coming off,” said Goodier. “We were just going out there to do the best we could, we came with that attitude, we are going to come back and try to repeat, being consistent is what it takes.”
Art wanted to give special thanks to Larry Gleason and also Steve Hartman,
“Steve and Larry are a big help, they came from the Z8 crew, and Larry sets the car up so it helps a lot,” stated Goodier. “When the car is working like it is now, you just squeeze the gas, brake and work the steering wheel and you’re not fighting it, the car pretty much drives itself.”
Congratulations goes out to Goodier, winning the first race in his rookie year on the first night out, I sure didn’t think I was going to interview him, on the first night, but Goodier knows now that when I come around it most likely is for a good thing.
Ray Smith was running second on lap 11 and got loose in turn four pushing him back to sixth place.
“I was just trying to hard to get in the lead and lost it, but I’m having fun,” Smith said after the feature, he ended up finishing fifth.
After Art took the lead it was pretty much a done deal as he held off a few late race charges of the no. 1 of Joe Dgien.
In heat one action, Donnie Lawson would take the win while Art Goodier finished second while posting the fastest lap times, but didn’t have enough to catch Lawson. Gary Lampman finished third with Casey Pavlick and Dave Yehl rounding out the top five.
In heat two, Joe Dgien took the checkers over Donny Knowles with Bill VanEtten finishing third. I missed an interview with Joe, as he was busy pulling out his engine, as the top two in the feature would have to do this, as the engines are going on the dyno to make sure they are legal. Vern Wasson mentioned that the drivers will get their engines back by midweek so they can get them back in for next Saturday nights racing action.
Tony Hooker in his #13 took the heat three win over Ray Smith followed by Kreg Crooker.
Tony had a chat with me and it sounds like he is having a lot of fun racing on the dirt.
“I used to run on the asphalt and coming from there to racing on dirt, it still is a bit of a learning curve for me. Last year over the winter I found out I didn’t know much about dirt cars and had all the wrong parts on the car. We changed everything on the car and it is a whole different car now. I was talking with Ron Cartwright, and also Kenny Peoples Sr. and Jr. who have helped me out a ton. With that I help them out and they help me out, that is what it’s all about. This year I plan on finishing in the top five – top seven in points.”
Not too many cautions made for some great racing action. The Crate Sportsman are very close and competitive and I also think that this class will grow in the future, and with the crate engines being affordable to the racers, I’m sure that more people will get in just for that reason.
The 360 Late Models took to the track, and for myself, being a Modified fan, these Late Models are totally different but the racing is just as good.
Heat wins went to Jeremy Wonderling in the no.3j for heat one and Glenn Whritenour in his no.15 in heat two. Jeremy was coming off from a win the night before at Black Rock Speedway.
In the feature, Bob Buono and Tim Schram would end up drawing the front row starting spots, using the unique draw system that Woodhull is using this year. (More on this in future article.) This would set the heat winners deep in the field with Jeremy starting in the 12th position with Glenn right behind him in the 14th spot on the grid. Schram, took off with the early lead and defending champion, Wayne Robertson ended his night early by lap three he slowed in turn four, and was off the pace. Shortly there after on the restart Buono would end his night going up in a big puff of steam, as to my understanding it was a radiator hose that came off the car. By this time, Whritenour and Wonderling were charging hard and the no. 3j of Wonderling was taking the very high groove, or shall I say the extreme outside groove over the bank on the back stretch. He was almost launching himself off the bank and into turn three. It was very impressive driving and the crowd was on their feet for this one. The drivers last year in the 360 Late Model division asked the management that they could have 25-laps instead of the normal 20-laps they raced in 2007. Owner Vern Wasson said in the drivers meeting that he is going to do whatever it takes to get the show done in a timely fashion this year for the fans. So this feature was plagued with cautions pushing the event back to 20-laps. At the finish, Glenn Whritenhour pushed himself all the way to the lead to capture the season opener over Jeremy Wonderling, with the No.01 of Josh Sawyer in third. Following them to the line to round out the top five were Brett Buono and Josh Smith.
With Black Rock and Woodhull being two different configurations, I asked Jeremy how much the setup changes from track to track;
“I just changed gears for tonight and that’s about it, I wasn’t hooked up all night long and didn’t have anything for Glenn. The track tonight was a bit rough, but actually it was two different corners; turn four was so slippery that you couldn’t touch the gas and one and two was rough and you had to let of the gas, and then back on it, it was rough, it threw you all over the place.”
Jeremy went on to talk about how it is racing at Woodhull Raceway;
“For the first couple weeks, Vern (Wasson) will get it figured out (track conditions), Vern is great, he took care of us last year and that’s one of the reasons I come here. He was good when it came to rainouts, as he asked us the drivers what we wanted to do, he really cares for his drivers and he wants the racers to have a good time and put on a great show for the fans.”
Glenn Whritenhour sure proved to everyone that he will be a threat to win on a regular basis, as he lived up to his words that he told me last week, “We didn’t come here to lose.”
He sure didn’t, Glenn went over to Black Rock also the night before to shake down the car.
“We had a little bit of problem with the engine last night, and it was god to find out then. We put a little bit of a different setup in for here and used one from last year. The track was a little bit better than last week, turns one and two were a bit rough still, but other than that, I liked it had some bite to it kind of fast and had to pick your line.”
I wasn’t sure if Glenn knew that Jeremy was running close behind him near the end of the feature, and this is what I call good sportsmanship;
“I expect Jeremy some place close, he is a good front runner, we swapped some paint before, but we both have a lot of respect for each other. I like racing against him, I don’t feel any threat for him to take me out, if he has a better car, then he will be up front or if my car is better I will be.”
I thought by shortening the laps to 20, that might have played a part in Glenn reaching victory lane, but I was mistaken.
“I don’t think so, this car has bee good on longer green flag laps the better I would pull away; Close racing supply put a good package behind me as well as Empson Automotive and also the guy who builds my transmission was here tonight, Joe Wilcox. I want to definitely thank RLB Trucking, he is a great guy with a little outfit in Jasper, NY, and he hauls a lot of stuff.”
The Street Stock division at Woodhull Raceway is one of the best divisions at the track as the racing is always very close. The drivers put a lot of time into their cars and many of them have some great looking paint jobs on the cars, which really shows these guys love to race and look good while doing it.
Brian Knowles and a Jeff Smith took heat wins in the nights qualifying races.
In the feature Brian Knowles started out front and took the lead and never looked back, Rod Mullen would get by heat two winner Jeff Smith to take second with Jeff closely behind for third. Brett Marlett and Zach Sutton followed behind in 4th and 5th respectively.
“The track tonight, I thought there was a lot of bite into it, the car was more superior tonight more than on any other opening night, because with my luck (bad luck in previous openers) it’s the way it goes. I can’t believe to come out of the chute and take the heat win and to take the feature victory. That don’t happen to maybe just one guy every year, I have to thank everybody who showed up on the crew to help out tonight, and we really didn’t change much from the heat to the feature, just a little bit.”
The Mini Stock feature event went to Ted Morseman Jr., while the Front Wheel Drive Enduro feature went to Brian Grant Jr. Full Results Below.
The overall experience at Woodhull was very interesting, and a very well put on show.
The management of Woodhull raceway does care about the fans and drivers, for example, the 360 Late Model feature was shortened to 20 laps due to many cautions, and it was announced that the victory lane celebrations would be doubled up to save time and get the show done at a decent hour. The stands were packed and so were the pits with a total of 109 cars turning laps in the evening’s events.
Joe Wilcox Performance Automatics was the official sponsor of the night, and for those that do not know, Joe specializes in transmissions and he is the person to talk to if you need a transmission. He brings a transmission with him every time he goes to the track to have it available to anyone who needs it, or in case some of the drivers he sponsors needs one also.
Just as usual, if anyone wants to give feedback good or bad, leave any and all comments to me right here at tomames@dirttrackdigest.com . I’ll be posting the next edition of “The Write Track” this week, so be sure to keep you fingers clicking that mouse and look for my articles and interviews exclusively right here on Dirt Track Digest.com.
Woodhull Raceway Full Results 4/19/08
Joe Willcox Performance Automatics
S&W Awards & Photos Crate Sportsman (20 laps) 24 Cars
Heats: Donnie Lawson, Joe Dgien, Tony Hooker
Feature: ART GOODIER, Joe Dgien, Casey Pavlick, Dave Yehl, Ray Smith, Donnie Lawson, Charlie Winchell, Bill VanEtten, Tony Hooker, Gary Lampman, Nate DeLong, Scott Brown, Bill Shea, Kreg Crooker, Larry Keegan, Cale Paul, Kevin McPherson, Bob Paul, Bob Johnson, Donnie Knowles, AJ Costley, Kenny Peoples, Jr, Nick Galayda, Wesley Campbell
Napa 360 Late Model (20 laps) 16 Cars
Heats: Jeremy Wonderling, Glenn Whritenour
Feature: GLENN WRITENOUR, Jeremy Wonderling, Josh Sawyer, Brett Buono, Josh Smith, Mike Smith, Jared Dennis, Tim Schram, Darwin Davis, Donnie Tuthill, Bob Buono, Wayne Robertson, Mick Seeley, Steve Williams
Morgan’s Auto Repair Street Stocks (20 laps) 19 Cars
Heats: Brian Knowles, Jeff Smith
Feature: BRIAN KNOWLES, Rod Mullen, Jeff Smith, Brett Marlatt, Zack Sutton, Dan Gordon, Jared Hill, Cliff Moss, Tony Foth, Brian Butler, Russell Morseman, III, Butch Dibble, Gilbert Sharpsteen, Brett Crawford, Kevin Patton, Kurt Stebbins
Signs Plus Mini Stocks (20 laps) 25 Cars
Heats: Jason Ketrow, Ted Morseman Jr., Brian Grant, Sr.
Feature: TED MORSEMAN JR., Brian Grant Sr., Eddie Mills, Tom Kleintop, Jason Ketrow, Tracy Dunn, Rick McDaniels, Chris McCann, Dennis Erdmann, Mike Smith, Lynn Burrell, Aaron Bartas, Chuck Leisure, Rich Sharpsteen, Jeff Erdmann, William Gardner, Jeff Brown, Randy Dunn, Pat Toupin, Brian Freese, Chris Woodard, Billy Groover, Brent Kirk, Randy Bauman, Morgan Taft, John Hand Jr.
LaBarron Brothers Repair & Parts FWD (15 laps) 25 Cars
Heats: Artie Mosher, Brian Grant, Jr., Ron Daily, Jr.
Feature: BRIAN GRANT JR., Ron Daily Jr., John Heidrick, Gary Baker II, Artie Mosher, Tom McGlynn, Mark Schenck, Ron Hill, Cody Baker, Andrew Mathieu, Jacob Clark, James Howard, Scott Cummings, Allison Pierce, Gary Baker I, Lynn Richmond, Mark Sullivan, G.W. Rogers, Courtney Patton, Brandon Martin, Robert Symonds, Roger Taft, J.R. Hoppe, Joe Birdsell, Billy Joe Birdsell, 40
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