Varin wins second consecutive New Yorker at Utica-Rome Speedway

By MIKE MALLETT
VERNON, NY – Bobby Varin struggled at Utica-Rome Speedway during the regular season but the Sharon Springs, N.Y., driver has been nothing but impressive in the special events held at the speedway. The driver of Dave Cruickshank’s famous double-zero won the Victoria event back in May and this past Saturday night he captured his third career win in the New Yorker.
“These guys are awesome,” said Varin. “My crew worked their tails off. My car was awesome today. I got the best car owner out there. Dave Cruickshank gives us a great car every week and he never gets upset even with my little tantrums and everything else. He’s a great guy and loves racing.”
Varin’s other wins in the prestigious event came back in 2008 and 2010. Varin’s dominance in the 100-lap affair paid him a hefty $10,000 for his efforts and earned him the final checkered flag of the 2011 season at the facility. Varin drove a JPM powered Bicknell to the win.
“For us to come out here and dominate like we did today is a testament to exactly what goes on behind the scenes with this team,” stated Varin. “We’ve struggled all year long. This really helps out. Winning this is a relief. We are not way off but we are off. I think we are getting there.”
Ryan Phelps started on the pole of the race and immediately jumped to the top spot. He held off early challenges from Jason Rood who had started on the outside of the front row and then Mike Mahaney who worked into the second spot by the fifth lap.
Eight laps into the race the first caution came out as Danny Varin, who started sixth, slowed and came to stop in the middle of turns one and two. This put Phelps and Mahaney on the front row for the restart. Phelps elected to go to the outside for the restart giving Mahaney the traditional poll spot which he took full advantage of.
Mahaney found some moisture on the bottom of the track and edged in front of Phelps at the green. He stayed alongside through turns one and two before finally completing the pass for the top spot as they raced to the line to complete lap nine.
Mahaney continued to work the bottom of the speedway while Phelps continued to run in the second position with Todd Burley also in the mix. Mahaney clicked off the laps at the front of the field with Phelps eventually reeling him back in and taking the lead back on lap 20.
Although Phelps held the lead, he couldn’t shake Mahaney. He stayed low and continued to challenge for the top position. The pair entered slower traffic with 23 laps complete and this changed the complexion of the event. Phelps and Mahaney now dove in out of lapped cars as they raced for the lead.
On lap 26 Mahaney’s impressive run came to an end. Mahaney attempted to get back by Phelps down the backstretch in traffic. Mahaney tucked low going into turn three with two lapped cars and Phelps to his outside. He made contact with the slower car causing something to break in the front end. He came around and stopped on the front straightaway ending his night.
The ensuing restart put Varin on the front row with Phelps. Phelps held the lead on lap 29 before Varin was able to wrestle it away from him running through the middle of turns one and two on lap 30. Once in front Varin raced away.
By lap 38, Varin began his battle with slower traffic that would last the rest of the event. As Varin worked traffic the 2011 Modified champion, Stewart Friesen move into the second spot. Friesen, a former New Yorker winner himself, used traffic to cut into Varin’s lead.
At the halfway point of the race, Varin paced the field with Friesen, Phelps, Burley and Ronnie Johnson completing the top five.
Varin continued to set a torrid pace. He worked multiple grooves to get through traffic. Each move put more cars between himself and Friesen who continued to run second. By lap 65 Varin was putting cars inside the top ten down laps and only one issue slowed his progress.
“We only had one issue in lapped traffic when we got hit really hard over in turn three,” said Varin. “I don’t know what he was thinking because he turned left. This car was dialed in tonight. I have to thank the guys at Bicknell and the guys at JPM engines for helping get this car where it needs to be.”
Ten laps later, Varin caught the sixth place running Matt Hulsizer. It took Varin a couple of laps but he was able to put him down a lap as well as the feature remained caution free. Friesen was still in pursuit but by this point he was nearly a full straightaway behind.
Over the course of the final 25 circuits, Varin lapped every car on the speedway except the top three. At the checkered flag Varin’s lead over Friesen was just over seven seconds.
Friesen capped off his 2011 season at the Utica-Rome Speedway with a strong second place finish. He had a strong Teo Pro car underneath him but he was unable to take advantage of slower traffic to get to Varin.
“We had a good race car but he (Varin) just kicked our butt,” joked Friesen. “It was a tough race. Hats off to those guys they got a great car with these sail panels and so do we. We will come back next year and try again. I thought we had a great race car tonight but Bobby just came up and blew our doors off.”
The Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., pilot had a spectacular season at the half-mile oval earning him his second consecutive title and a runner-up finish in the New Yorker event.
“It’s been a great season for us,” stated Friesen. “We race at a lot of different places and I’ll tell you what. Utica-Rome has the best fans and the best atmosphere and we love coming here on Sundays. Tom Cullen gives us a great race car to come here and do it. I look forward to being back here next year.”
Phelps, of Canandaigua, N.Y., raced a steady race and finished in third. He was the first non-track regular across the line with his No. 99.
“We stayed local this weekend and what this paid tonight made up for that,” said Phelps. “We are racing a little bit less and picking and choosing our shows. I’m really happy with our efforts tonight. I really like the speedway and I wish we could come here on Sundays but we only have so much equipment.”
Burley, of Spencerport, N.Y., finished in fourth while R. Johnson, the winner of Friday night’s event, completed the top five.
DART MACHINERY, GATES-COLE ASSOCIATE, AND DARYL’S HEAVY TRUCK REPAIR RACE SUMMARY
NEW YORKER 100 MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH-BOBBY VARIN, Stewart Friesen, Ryan Phelps, Todd Burley, Ronnie Johnson, Matt Hulsizer, Billy Trexler, Jr., Alan Johnson, Chad Brachmann, Mike Bowman, Ryan Odasz, Casey Williams, Willy Decker, Steve Paine, Alan Barker, Jason Rood, Mark Kislowski, Chris Hile, Pat Ward, Chad Phelps, Ted Lamb, Tim Fuller, Mike Mahaney, Jeff Hoetzler, and Danny Varin.
DNQ- Jim Davis, Steve Hulsizer, Brian Murphy, Elmo Reckner, Chris Busta, Chad Homan, Kevin Bates, Brad Alger, Chris Mackey, Alex Tonkin, Andy Bachetti, Jeremy Vunk, Kenny Tremont, Brad Godshalk, Mike Ward, Adam Roberts, Claude Hutchings, Jr., Dan Pompey, Derrick Podsiadlo, Matt DeLorenzo, Randy Chrysler, and Paul Kinney.