By BOBBY SWEENEY
WEEDSPORT, NY – Throughout the entirety of Tuesday night’s Super DIRTcar Series event at Weedsport, Tim McCreadie and Stewart Friesen waged war at the front of the field. After slide jobs, crossovers, and everything in between, it was Friesen claiming the big Hall of Fame 100 win by just a few feet over McCreadie.
Tim McCreadie launched to the lead on the opening lap of the first Modified race at Weedsport this year, opening up a comfortable lead over Friesen and Peter Britten early in the event. McCreadie held a steady half straightaway advantage on Friesen as the leaders caught the tail of the field, but his gap was eliminated as the first yellow of the race flew on lap 16.
Second-starting Britten had slowly drifted back through the field, and Jimmy Phelps had been slowly moving forward. The pair converged, literally, with contact sending Phelps into the outside wall and slowing to draw the caution.
On the restart, McCreadie picked up right where he left off, dancing away from Friesen and the rest of the field. Friesen held tough, hanging within striking distance of McCreadie as the laps rapidly clicked off on the lightning fast surface.
Behind the top two, the drivers of Tim Fuller, Erick Rudolph, Larry Wight, and others fought for position, with Wight coming out the best of that battle, clearing the others for third with 33 laps completed.
McCreadie’s Tuesday night cruise was abruptly disrupted on lap 45, as Brandon Walters’ mechanical issues in the rear end of his car forced the yellow to fly for the second time.
McCreadie chose the bottom on the restart, placing Friesen alongside him on the high side. The field returned green on lap 51, but McCreadie was unable to clear Friesen to get to his preferred top groove in turn one. McCreadie shot a slider, but Friesen was prepared and countered with a crossover. The pair raced side by side down the backstretch, with Friesen throwing a slide job of his own entering turn three. Friesen’s move stuck, as he was scored the leader to complete lap 52. Now, McCreadie was the one giving chase in second, with Wight ready to pounce in third.
Over the second half of the race, the top three ran under a metaphorical blanket, weaving through lapped traffic with perfection. During this time, Friesen was able to hold the top spot, but just barely, as his lead fluctuated from half a straightaway on one lap, to just a car length the next.
As the laps clicked off, Friesen began to explore the bottom of the racing surface a bit more, where McCreadie and especially Wight remained faithful to the large cushion at the far top of the track. The laps continued to count down under green, with the scene up front remaining the same, as McCreadie closely chased Friesen, and Wight closely chased both of them. McCreadie was there, but he just couldn’t get by Friesen.
On lap 97, Billy Whittaker’s ride came up limp, and Whittaker was unable to get the disabled car completely off the track. The caution flew for one last time, setting up a three-lap dash for the $10,000 winner’s prize.
Friesen got a good jump coming to the green flag, but much to McCreadie’s delight, chose to run the bottom. With McCreadie having his preferred lane open, he attacked, closing to within a foot of Friesen’s rear bumper as the leaders took the white flag.
As the pair raced towards the checkered, McCreadie got a massive run exiting turn four. Friesen slid high to the frontstretch wall, and McCreadie crossed over to the bottom with a ton of momentum. However, the momentum only carried McCreadie so far, as Friesen was able to hang on and beat McCreadie to the line by a few feet to win the Hall of Fame 100.
Larry Wight, Erick Rudolph, and Peter Britten followed to complete the top five.
Sportsman action was nothing short of dominated by Rocky Warner, as “The Flying Squirrel” claimed victory in the caution free 25-lap affair. Early in the event, nearly every driver fought for the inside lane around Weedsport, but Warner found the top before anyone else, blasting around Nick Guererri and to the lead just before halfway. Chasing Warner across the line, albeit a good distance back, was Sportsman Classic 75 winner Dave Marcuccilli and Taylor Caprara.
Super DIRTcar Series Statistical Report – Hall of Fame 100 at Weedsport Speedway – Weedsport, NY – July 11, 2017
Feature (100 Laps) – 1. 44 – Stewart Friesen [3] 2. 39 – Tim McCreadie [1] 3. 99L – Larry Wight [9] 4. 25 – Erick Rudolph [4] 5. 21a – Peter Britten [2] 6. 19 – Tim Fuller [5] 7. 84 – Gary Tompkins [14] 8. 91 – Billy Decker [7] 9. 3H – Justin Haers [10] 10. 42P – Pat Ward [16] 11. 11R – Rob Bellinger [15] 12. 7x – Steve Paine [19] 13. 6H – Max McLaughlin [11] 14. 14J – Alan Johnson [20] 15. 20 – Brett Hearn [12] 16. 8 – Rich Scagliotta [8] 17. 43 – Keith Flach [13] 18. X – Chad Phelps [23] 19. 98H – Jimmy Phelps [6] 20. 33 – Mike Mahaney [26] 21. 7M – Mike Maresca [24] 22. 23 – Kyle Coffey [27] 23. 34 – Andrew Ferguson [21] 24. 109 – Billy Whittaker [22] 25. 19W – Justin Wright [17] 26. 22 – Brandon Walters [25] 27. 5H – Chris Hile [18] 28. 21G – Kody Graham [31] 29. 14 – C.G. Morey [29] 30. 93 – Ryan Barlett [28] 31. 16 – Mike Bowman [30]
Qualifying Group 1 – 1. 20 – Brett Hearn, 15.662; 2. 8 – Rich Scagliotta, 15.723, 3. W19 – Justin Wright, 15.744, 4. 39 – Tim McCreadie, 15.930, 5. 34 Andrew Ferguson, 15.930, 6. 43 – Keith Flach, 15.978, 7. 21g – Kody Graham, 16.337, 8. 33 – Mike Mahaney, 16.363, 9. Y21 – Yan Bussiere.
Qualifying Group 2 – 1. 99L – Larry Wight, 15.657, 2. 44 – Stewart Friesen, 15.835, 3. 6H – Max McLaughlin, 15.864, 4. 84 – Gary Tomkins, 15.907, 5. 5H – Chris Hile, 16.031, 6. 14 – C.G. Morey, 16.112, 7. X – Chad Phelps, 16.252, 8. 23 – Kyle Coffey, 16.252, 9. 48T – Dave Rauscher, NT.
Qualifying Group 3 – 1. 25r – Erick Rudolph, 15.669, 2. 3H – Justin Haers, 15.676, 3. 21a – Peter Britten, 15.927, 4. 11r – Rob Bellinger, 16.002, 5. 7x – Steve Paine, 16.040, 6. 7m – Mike Maresca, 16.099. 7. 22 – Brandon Walters, 16.246, 8. 4 – Tim Murphy, NT
Qualifying Group 4 – 1. 91 – Billy Decker, 15.348, 2. 19 – Tim Fuller, 15.919, 3. 98H – Jimmy Phelps, 15.926, 4. 109 – Billy Whittaker, 16.006, 5. 42P – Pat Ward, 16.010, 6. 14J – Alan Johnson, 16.176, 7. 16 – Mike Bowman, 16.176, 8. 93 – Ryan Barlett
Heat 1 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) – 1. 20 – Brett Hearn, 2. 8 – Rich Scagliotta, 3. 39 – Tim McCreadie, 4. 43 – Keith Flach, 5. 19W – Justin Wright, 6. 34 – Andrew Ferguson, 7. 33 – Mike Mahaney, 8. 21g – Kody Graham, 9. Y21 – Yan Bussiere.
Heat 2 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) – 1. 99L – Larry Wight, 2. 44 – Stewart Friesen, 3. 6H – Max McLaughlin, 4. 84 – Gary Tompkins, 5. 5H – Chris Hile, 6. X – Chad Phelps, 7. 23 – Kyle Coffey, 8. 14 – C.G. Morey.
Heat 3 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) – 1. 25 – Erick Rudolph, 2. 3 – Justin Haers, 3. 21a – Peter Britten, 4. 11r – Rob Bellinger, 5. 7x – Steve Paine, 6. 7m – Mike Maresca, 7. 22 – Brandon Walters, 8. 4 – Tim Murphy.
Heat 4 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) – 1. 91 – Billy Decker, 2. 19 – Tim Fuller, 3. 98H – Jimmy Phelps, 4. 42p – Pat Ward, 5. 14J – Alan Johnson, 6. 109 – Billy Whittaker, 7. 93 – Ryan Bartlett, 8. 16 – Mike Bowman.
Last Chance Qualifier 1 (10 Laps – Six Transfer to Feature) – 1. 34 – Andrew Ferguson, 2. 109 – Billy Whittaker, 3. X – Chad Phelps, 4. 7m – Mike Maresca, 5. 22 – Brandon Walters, 6. 33 Mike Mahaney, 7. 23 – Kyle Coffey, 8. 93 – Bartlett, 9. 14 – C.G. Morey, 10. 16 – Mike Bowman, 11. 21g – Kody Graham, 12. 4 – Tim Murphy.
CONTINGENCY WINNERS: VP Racing Fuels ($50 Cash): Billy Decker; Pole Position Raceway Fast Time ($100 Cash): Billy Decker ; Bicknell Racing Products ($100 Product Certificate): Stewart Friesen; Cometic Gasket ($50 Cash): Steve Paine; Comp Cams ($50 Cash): Pat Ward; Comp Cams ($50 Product Certificate): Stewart Friesen; Edelbrock ($50 Cash): Pat Ward; Fox Racing Shocks ($50 Cash): Erick Rudolph; JE Pistons ($50 Cash): Peter Britten; JE Pistons (Product Certificate): Rich Scagloitta; JE Pistons (Product Certificate): Brandon Walters; KSE Racing Products Inc. ($50 Product Certificate): Gary Tompkins; MSD Ignition ($50 Cash): Stewart Friesen; MSD Ignition ($25 Cash): Justin Wright; SuperFlow Dynos & Flowbenches ($50 Cash): Rich Scagloitta; Wrisco Aluminum (Product Certificate): Stewart Friesen; JRI Shocks ($50 Cash): Max McLaughlin; Dig Safely 811 Redraw Bonus ($100 Cash): N/A; Speedy First Aid Hard Luck Award (Product Certificate): Jimmy Phelps; ASi Racewear ($50 Cash): Gary Tompkins.
Beyea Custom Headers Sportsman Shootout Series
Feature (25-laps): 1. 1J – Rocky Warner, 2. M1 – Dave Marcuccilli, 3. 21T – Taylor Caprara, 4. 20X – Kevin Ridley, 5. 34 – Kevin Root, 6. 25G – Nick Guererri, 7. 9X – Tyler Trump, 8. 1X – Willy Decker, 9. 15 – Todd Root, 10. 32R – Ron Davis III, 11. 99 – Ben Wheeler, 12. 18P – Casey Pavlick, 13. 12G – Matt Guererri, 14. 60 – Jackson Gill, 15. 38 – Zach Sobotka, 16. 111 – Brett Senek, 17. 82 – Will Shields, 18. 27Z – Dylan Zacharias, 19. 24K – Nick Krause, 20. 98T – Tyler Thompson, 21. 713 – Tom Collins, 22. 16 – Earl Rudy, 23. 20 – Dave Schilling, 24. 31B – Corey Barker, 25. 52 – Jessica Power, 26. 72 – Mike Prentice
Heat #1 (8-laps, 5-Qualify) 1. 15 – Todd Root, 2. 27Z – Dylan Zacharias, 3. 1X – Willy Decker, 4. 18P – Casey Pavlick, 5. 98T – Tyler Thompson, 6. 20 – Dave Schilling, 7. 52 – Jessica Power, 8. 21X – Eric Williams, 9. 22 – Geoffrey Daugherty
Heat #2 (8-laps, 5-Qualify): 1. 20X – Kevin Ridley, 2. 32R – Ron Davis III, 3. 1J – Rocky Warner, 4. 24K – Nick Krause, 5. 60 – Jackson Gill, 6. 82 – Will Shields, 7. 22J – Jeremy Dygert, 8. 21X – Jeff Devolli, 9. 21XX – Marty Kelly
Heat #3 (8-laps, 5-Qualify): 1. 21T – Taylor Caprara, 2. M1 – Dave Marcuccilli, 3. 9X – Tyler Trump, 4. 72 – Mike Prentice, 5. 111 – Brett Senek, 6. 713 – Tom Collings, 7. 21C – Brian Calabresse, 8. 1T – Charlie Tibbits
Heat #4 (8-laps, 5-Qualify): 1. 99 – Ben Wheeler, 2. 34 – Kevin Root, 3. 25G – Nick Guererri, 4. 12G – Matt Guererri, 5. 31 – Corey Barker, 6. 3 – Jacob Dijen, 7. 16 – Earl Rudy, 8. 38 – Zach Sobotka
Consi (8-laps, 4-Qualify): 1. 713 – Tom Collins, 2. 20 – Dave Schilling, 3. 38 – Zach Sobotka, 4. 82 – Will Shields, 5. 52 – Jessica Power, 6. 16 – Earl Rudy, 7. 21C – Brian Calabresse, 8. 22J – Jeremy Dygert, 9. 3 – Jacob Dijen, 10. 21C – Jeff Devoli, 11. 22 – Geoff Daugherty, 12. 21X – Eric Williams, 13. 1T – Charlie Tibbits, 14. 21XX – Marty Kelly
