By BOBBY SWEENEY
FULTON, NY – Tom Sears Jr. picked up the Modified victory at the Fulton Speedway in dominant fashion Saturday evening, snatching the lead early on and cruising to his second win of the year.
Matt Hulsizer, fresh off a strong second place run at Brewerton, jumped out to the lead in the opening laps, trailed by Tom Sears Jr. and Tim Mayne. Hulsizer never had much time to enjoy his advantage, as fourth-starting Sears rolled past to secure the top spot on lap 8. Hulsizer maintained in second, while Max McLaughlin climbed to third just before halfway. The first yellow of the race flew on lap 17, as Mike Maresca, Tim Sears Jr, and Chad Phelps tangled in turn two. Under the yellow, Jimmy Phelps’s machine shut off while running in fifth, ending his night and perfect record of top five finishes at the track this year.
After mechanical problems in his heat, Larry Wight was forced to start tail on the feature. Wight, unphased by the task of driving from last to the front, had fought his way up to sixth as the field returned green. However, his run came to a halt as a flat right front on lap 22 forced him into the pits and to the rear of the field. Up front, McLaughlin worked past Hulsizer for second and set his sights on Sears, hoping to steal his first ever Modified feature win. After starting 12th, McLaughlin’s run stopped at second, as he was unable to close on Sears in final laps of the event. At the finish, Tom Sears Jr. crossed the line in front of Max McLaughlin, Pat Ward, Matt Hulsizer, and Chris Hile.
Jason Barney grabbed the checkered in race four of ESS Speedweek, rolling past Mike Mahaney late to take the win and turning around a week that Barney noted was not up to his standards. In Sportsman action, Alan Fink got his second win of the day, winning at Brewerton in the early morning hours and taking the victory at Fulton in the late night hours of Saturday. Billy Clark took top honors in the second of two Sportsman events, passing Willy Decker Jr. on the last lap to net his first win of the year. Chad Homan added another Late Model win to his resume, while Jimmy Moyer won in Novice Sportsman.
(Tracey Road Equipment Modifieds 35 Laps) – TOM SEARS JR., Max McLaughlin, Pat Ward, Matt Hulsizer, Chris Hile, Tim Sears Jr., Mike Bowman, Billy Whittaker, Jim Witko, Larry Wight, Andrew Ferguson, Chad Phelps, Katelyn Hile, Adam Roberts, Tim Mayne, Jimmy Phelps, Tim Kerr, Roy Bresnahan, Mike Maresca, Tim Harris, Andy Noto, James Walsh, Tim Murphy, DNS -Cody Graham, Ryan Jordan.
(Larkin Mowing of Oswego NY $25 Heat Winner Bonus) – Tom Sears Jr., Matt Hulsizer, Jimmy Phelps.
(Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints 25 Laps) – JASON BARNEY, Chuck Hebing, Danny Varin, Billy VanInwegen, Mike Mahaney, Matt Billings, Paul Kinney, George Suprick, Jeff Cook, Joe Trenca, Matt Tanner, Mark Smith, Mike Haggenbottom, Yan Bilodeau, Jonathan Preston, Paulie Colagiovanni, Kelly Hebing, Dalton Herrick, Dave Axton, Chad Miller, Emily VanInwegen, Shawn Donath, Scott Holcomb, Coleman Gulick.
(SUNY Canton Sportsman #1- 25 Laps) – ALAN FINK, Rocky Warner, Nick Krause, Zach Sobotka, Corey Barker, Will Shields, Jessica Power, Mike Phelps, Jeremy Pitcher, Amy Holland, Nate Higgins, Wade Chrisman, Brett Draper, Pat LaPage, Bailer Groves, JJ Courcy, Jeremy Dygert, Colby Herzog, Aron Backus.
(SUNY Canton Sportsman #2 – 25 Laps) – BILLY CLARK JR, Willy Decker Jr., Tyler Trump, Glenn Forward, Chris Cunningham, Tom Collins, Ron Davis III, Mike Button, Ricky Yelle, Ryan Hatherill, Todd Root, Tyler Thompson, Joey Buonagurio, Kyle Perry, Matt Janczuk, Dorian Wahdan, Torrey Stoughtenger, Dave Rogers, Chris Mackey.
(Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux Late Models 20 Laps) – CHAD HOMAN, Jason Occhino, Kevan Cook, Jason Parkhurst, Sean Beardsley, Steve Coit, Mike Kazmierczak, Ryan Halliday, Dick Parkhurst, Bret Belden, Chris Fleming, DNS- Brad Smith.
(E&V Energy Novice Sportsman 15 Laps) – JIMMY MOYER, Wesley Hayes, Kearra Backus, Casey Cunningham, Dan Dupra, Matthew Becker, Jake Petit, Ryan Gustin, Robert Gage, Tyler Rogers, Tom Juno, Kyle Root, Jake Davis
