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NEWS FROM JERRY HIGBIE RACING GOSHEN, NY-- Jerry Higbie Enjoys Another Solid Week With His Racing EffortsBy Steve Pados, GA Motorsports Media Orange County Fair Speedway 358 Modified Champion Jerry Higbie enjoyed another outstanding weekend in the racing wars as he rode to top finishes at his two main stomping this season. Higbie began the weekend with a tremendous Friday night effort at the Accord Speedway where he finished in fifth place in his Modified run. Higbie moved down to the Orange County Fair Speedway for the Saturday night action and finished his Modified effort with a seventh place at the end of the 30-lap headliner and came back in the 358 Modified event and captured third place. For Higbie the 358 portion of the evening was merely academic as he sealed the title last week with a great third place effort and with it put his third 358 Modified title into the OCFS record books. Higbie's other OCFS titles came in 2004 and 2005 in the 358 Modified division. At Accord on Friday evening, Higbie began the feature run from the eleventh starting position. Finding the sledding tough early on, Higbie was trapped behind some traffic early but just as quickly found some daylight and pointed his Mid City Transit sponsored Big Block powered racer to the front. Finding the top side of the raceway sealed off with a band of top runners, Higbie dove to the bottom of the raceway and quickly gained ground on the leaders. While Kevin Duryea raced into another zip code, the rest of the top five remained challenging right up until the end. Duryea captured the win, his second main event of the year with Barry Davis finishing in second place. John McGill was third with rookie Modified talent David Bush finishing in fourth place. Higbie was the fastest car on the track when the checkered flag flew and was credited with fifth place in the final rundown. With the result of his finish, Higbie closed the gap on the two individuals ahead of him who also have aspirations for the track crown. Andy Bachetti suffered through an early wreck that saw him lose five laps to the field before he re-entered the event. Bachetti was credited with a 17th place finish in the final rundown but still holds on to the point lead with 709 markers. Ten-time track champion Rich Ricci Jr also suffered from an off-night and was credited with eighth place and remains in second place in points with 701 points. Higbie has made it interesting as the final events of the Accord season wind down. After suffering from two dismal early season starts that saw his race car flame up on opening night and getting hooked into a wreck on the following week, Higbie has been a model of consistency the rest of the year. After securing his lone win at Accord with the running of the Joe Winne Memorial event, Higbie has been putting the pressure on both Bachetti and Ricci and now is just 25-points from leading the division with 684 points. With two point shows remaining, this slugfest will go right down to the wire. At Orange County on Saturday night, Higbie began his assault to the front from the 14th starting position. The track was fast and the time to make something happen would wind down quickly. Higbie worked his way forward as his drive to the front was spectacular. Tommy Meier was the man at the point on this night and captured the win with Tim Hindley finishing in second place. Higbie ran out of laps at the end and finished in third place and Brett Hearn and Chuck McKee completed the top five. The final point totals showed Higbie as the Champion with 580 points. Tim Hindley was the runnerup with 508 points. Johnny Guarino was third with 458 points and Craig Mitchell was fourth with 455 markers. Jimmy Johnson completed the top five with 454 points and last year's Champion David Van Horn was sixth with 447 points. In the Big Block portion of the evening, Higbie found a tougher journey to the front. Starting from 19th position, Higbie had to reel in ton of real estate to make his presence known. While Higbie was working his way forward, Jeff Heotzler Jr was the man at the point and set a blistering pace in his race car. While the fans were pulling for a "Little Jeffer" victory, veteran wheel twister Chris Shultz played the waiting game until late in the race when he took advantage of Heotzler slipping a bit on the racecourse and driving his race car by for the win. Jeff Heotzler Jr was second with Jeremy Markle finishing in third place. Chuck McKee was fourth and Brett Hearn completed the top five. Colin Jackson was sixth and Jerry Higbie settled for seventh in hisTeam Shaver mount. With David Van Horn just having to start the race on Saturday evening, he won his first Big Block title and did so without the benefit of a win during the season. Van Horn ended with 768 points and Chuck McKee, a four time track champion himself, was second with 735 points. Jerry Higbie finished in third with 706 points and Rookie Michael Storms ended in fourth with 683 tallies. Completing the top five was last years Modified champion Jeff Heotzler as he scored 657 points during the season. Jerry Higbie has no plans on competing at Syracuse this year unless something develops late. Instead, his Jerry Higbie Racing Teams will focus on the remainder of the Accord Speedway season and will concentrate on the Eastern States events at Orange County in October. The teams will plenty busy as Keith "K-Dog" Hoffman has been assigned to one of the signature 97 Higbie cars for the upcoming King of the Catskills race at Accord on September 26th. Hoffman, who is a multi-time Big Diamond Raceway champ as well as the 2001 titlist at New Egypt, is looking forward to racing at Accord as he has heard so many positive comments about the great racing taking place at the speedway, he began talking with Higbie about the possibility of a ride for the event and Higbie had his ROC mount available for the talented Hoffman. The pairing will be a good one as the Higbie team prepares for the season ending racing events. Higbie's aggressive 2008 racing schedule has found him in the thick of the racing action as he challenges for the Accord Speedway Title. For the Accord events, Higbie will race the family owned signature numbered 97 cars and Higbie's assault at OCFS netted him a third place in theTeam Shaver numbered 47 equipment as the Shaver Team had two Big Block cars for Higbie to steer. Sponsorship for the Teams comes from a great group of loyal sponsors who have supported Higbie throughout his successful racing career. Mid-City Transit, Mr K's Carpet Service, Behrent's Speed Center, SKJ Towing and BadaBing Pizza have all lent their support to the 97 cars, and Beaverkill Trout Hatchery, Superior Building Supply and Woodburne Lawn & Garden lend their support to the Shaver Team. Higbie will be seeking other opportunities with the Affordable Transmission numbered 17 now that he has secured the 358 Small Block title at OCFS. Jerry Higbie Racing would like to thank the entire racing community for their support and well wishes as the team prepares for a great season in racing this year. Higbie's business, HigFab, has been busy throughout the new racing season helping many teams with their racing programs. For more information regarding the services and capablities of the highly trained HigFab Staff, please contact the shop at: 845 294 0898. For additional information and updates regarding Jerry Higbie Racing, go to their newly constructed website at: http://www.higbieracing.com |
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