August 9

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Speedway News
Contact: Tracy Chirico
tracy.chirico@bethelmotorspeedway.com

Conklin Returns to Victory Lane at Bethel Motor Speedway

August 9, BETHEL, NY - It has been just over two months since Dan Conklin recorded his last win in the Sportsman division at Bethel Motor Speedway, but this past Saturday night Conklin used his pole starting position to its full potential, landing himself in Victory Lane for the sixth time this season. Conklin led all 25 laps en route to the win.
Conklin was joined on the front row for the start by last week’s winner, Jerry Curry. Conklin got out front at the drop of the green, while Curry grabbed second and Greg Morgan took third. Conklin began to pull away from the field, while Morgan was being challenged for the third spot by Dom Roselli. On lap five, contact between Roselli and Morgan resulted in Morgan spinning, and the caution waved. Conklin and Curry were given the opportunity to do battle on the front row once again, and Conklin mimicked his earlier success, taking the lead. Roselli tested Curry on the inside for second, and Roselli secured the spot on lap six. Jake Schlagel, making only his second 2009 appearance at Bethel, passed Curry for third on lap nine, but his stay in the position was short-lived, as Curry wrestled it back before a lap was completed. On lap ten, Schalgel and Curry made contact, resulting in a caution. The single file restart saw Conklin out front, with Roselli and Darrell Ford in tow. Another caution came on lap 14, as Tony Suozzo, Bryanna Hurban, and Schlagel all got together in turn four. Conklin again led Roselli and Curry to the green on the restart, as Tyler Boniface and Jim Halpin looked to break into the top three. Schlagel slid through the infield on lap 16, bringing out the caution, and the front of the field restarted in the same order once again. There had been no change in position at the front of the field before the yellow flag was displayed on lap 19 for Hurban. Conklin again took off from the pole. Behind him, Boniface went to the inside of Ford for third coming to the white flag. Conklin was busy contending with Roselli, who was right on his bumper. As the leaders exited turn four heading to the checkered flag, they encountered a lapped car, and Conklin was forced to take his car low while Roselli went high to make the pass. Conklin was ultimately victorious. Roselli had to be content with second, while Boniface finished third.

Over the course of the 2009 season, Matt Maring has been consistently fast in the Legends division, and more than once he could almost sense victory but fell short because of mechanical failure or an incident on the track. This weekend, however, that was not the case as Maring took down the win in the division’s 25-lap feature. Seven-time 2009 feature winner Mike Alcaro started on the pole, with Maring on the outside. Alcaro immediately jumped out front, with Maring in second and Joe DeGracia third. Contact between Joe Graf and Michael Blaskey on lap seven resulted in Graf spinning for the first caution of the race. Alcaro and Maring, who are teammates, restarted on the front row. Alcaro again grabbed the lead, as Maring settled into second and DeGracia held off Mike Carroll’s attempts to take third. Just two laps later, Alcaro suddenly slowed coming off of turn four, causing the field to check up behind him. The caution waved as several cars behind Alcaro bunched up, and Alcaro ended up in the infield. Alcaro retired from the event due to a broken motor mount. Maring inherited the pole for the restart, with DeGracia to his outside. Maring grabbed the lead, and DeGracia took second as Mike Carroll and Blaskey ran side-by-side for third. The next caution came on lap 13, after Raven Schrantz went around. Maring led DeGracia, Carroll, and the rest of the field on the single-file restart, but another caution was needed on lap 18 when Jim Sylvester spun. On the next restart, Maring began to pull away from the field. Behind him, John Demarmels looked to the outside of Graf for fifth, but Graf spun, drawing the caution on lap 22. Maring continued to show the way over the final laps of the event. On the white flag lap, contact between Carroll and Blaskey resulted in Blaskey sliding through the infield, but no caution was necessary. Maring drove on to his first win, with DeGracia second. Carroll and Demarmels crossed the line side-by-side, with Carroll taking third by a slight margin.

Mikey Policastro took the checkers in the Bandolero event.

Just one week after mechanical woes prevented him from competing in the feature event, John Cote found his way to Victory Lane, taking down the win the 15-lap BMS Modified race. Cote started on the pole, with Skip LaPolt on the outside pole. Cote jumped out front at the drop of the green. LaPolt settled into second, and Norm Barnes came to third on the initial lap. One lap later, Barnes used an inside pass to take second from LaPolt. The top three ran nose-to-tail, as Barnes searched for a way past Cote. On lap 13, Barnes made a last-ditch effort to grab the lead on the outside. As Cote powered away from Barnes, LaPolt worked his way underneath Barnes, but the two made contact that sent Barnes spinning and bringing out the only caution of the event. Cote led Jim Fugel and Barnes on the single-file restart for the one-lap shootout to determine the winner. Cote held off the rest of the field, and collected the win. Fugel was second, with Barnes third.

For the second time in 2009, Clarence Palmer was standing in Victory Lane at the conclusion of the 20-lap ECS Auto Stores Pro Stock feature. The win was made even more rewarding, as long-time Bethel race fan Phil Cancel had added extra money to the purse. C. Palmer started on the pole, with his father, Gene Palmer, to his outside. C. Palmer grabbed the lead on the start, as Bobby Policastro came to second and G. Palmer was shuffled back to third. Policastro looked to the inside of C. Palmer on lap two and the two made contact, but both were able to correct their cars and hold their positions. The top two began to distance themselves from the field. Policastro pulled alongside C. Palmer’s outside, and the two ran side-by-side until Policastro was able to move solidly out front on lap five. Two laps later, Joe Barnes marched past G. Palmer on the outside to claim third. By the halfway point, Policastro had built a sizeable lead over C. Palmer, who maintained a considerable lead over Barnes. Barnes closed the gap, however, and took second from C. Palmer on lap 16. As the leaders approached lapped traffic, Policastro’s lead was virtually wiped out, and the top three ran nose-to-tail. Barnes looked to the inside of Policastro for the lead, but contact between the two sent Policastro spinning and the yellow waved on lap 19. This handed the lead to C. Palmer, who was followed by Mark Sylvester and Jim Helt. C. Palmer drove on to victory, with Sylvester second and Helt third.

Gary VanOrden continued his winning ways in the Street Stock division, claiming the checkers in the 15-lap feature. Rich Wheeler and Brent Shaddock made up the front row for the start. Wheeler got out front on the start, and Kevin Skelly came to second. VanOrden, who started the race fifth, worked his way up to third on the initial lap. VanOrden then looked to the outside of Skelly, and VanOrden took over the second spot on lap four. VanOrden continued on the outside, and moved past Wheeler for the lead on the same lap. Behind him, contact between Tommy Johnson and Vinny Stanton Sr. caused Stanton Sr. to spin, bringing out the caution on lap five. VanOrden restarted on the pole, with Wheeler on his outside. VanOrden jumped out front on the restart, while Skelly and Wheeler battled side-by-side for second. Skelly took second, and Wheeler settled into third. Stanton Sr. worked his way back through the field and overtook Wheeler for third on lap eight. With five laps to go, however, VanOrden had a significant lead. Tommy Johnson, last week’s feature event winner, looked to take third and used a lapped car to his advantage as he got past Stanton Sr. on lap 11. VanOrden cruised to the win, followed by Skelly and Johnson.

For the first time in 2009, Diane Hughson scored the win in the 4 Cylinder Senior event, after grabbing the lead just prior to the halfway point of the 15-lap event. Paul Curry started on the pole, alongside Russell Sniffen. Curry got out front, as Sniffen took second and Hughson claimed third. Hughson looked to the inside of Sniffen for second, and Hughson grabbed the spot. Caution waved on lap three as Ed Lindstadt’s car slowed on the backstretch. The restart pitted Curry against Hughson on the front row. On the restart, contact between Woody McGibbon and Larry O’Donnell sent O’Donnell around and caution was back out before a lap was completed. Curry and Hughson again attempted the restart, and Curry took the lead, followed by Hughson and Sniffen. The top two pulled away from the rest of the field, and Hughson grabbed the lead from Curry’s inside on lap seven. Contact between Curry and Sniffen on lap 11 caused Curry to fall back in the field, but no caution was thrown as McGibbon grabbed second and Sniffen was shuffled back to third. Hughson claimed the win, with McGibbon second and Sniffen third.

Billy Curry visited Victory Lane not once, but twice, as he scored wins in both the holdover and regular features for the 4 Cylinder Junior class. In the holdover race, Curry grabbed the lead on a lap one restart, while Jonathan McGibbon moved to second and polesitter Chuck Clark was shuffled back to third. Vinny Stanton Jr. worked his way into third on lap two, but the top two began to pull away from the rest of the field while two- and three-wide battles took place behind them. With two laps to go, the leaders encountered heavy lapped traffic. Curry was able to hold his lead and grab the win, followed by McGibbon and Stanton Jr.

Curry didn’t grab the lead in the night’s regular feature until lap 11, after Amber McGibbon, Kyle Elson, and Schmitz had all taken turns leading the event. The race, which only had one caution with four laps remaining, was won by Curry. Schmitz was second, and Jonathan McGibbon finished third.

Sportsman Feature Finish (25 laps): 1. Dan Conklin, 2. Dom Roselli, 3. Tyler Boniface, 4. Jim Halpin, 5. Greg Morgan, 6. Kenneth Boniface, 7. Phil Collins, 8. Tony Suozzo, 9. Bryanna Hurban, 10. Darrell Ford, 11. Jake Schlagel, 12. Jerry Curry.

Legends Feature Finish (25 laps): 1. Matt Maring, 2. Joe DeGracia, 3. Mike Carroll, 4. Johhn Demarmels, 5. Raven Schrantz, 6. Jim Sylvester, 7. Joe Fresco, 8. Joe Graf, 9. Michael Blaskey, 10. Mike Alcaro, 11. John Hugate. DNS – Justin Strumpf.

Bandolero Feature Finish: 1. Mikey Policastro.

BMS Modified Feature Finish (15 laps): 1. John Cote, 2. Jim Fugel, 3. Norm Barnes, 4. Skip LaPolt. DNS – John Demarmels.

ECS Auto Stores Pro Stock Feature Finish (20 laps): 1. Clarence Palmer, 2. Mark Sylvester, 3. Jim Helt, 4. Joe Barnes, 5. Bobby Policastro, 6. Gene Palmer, 7. Ken Hopkins Jr., 8. Kip Lowitz.

Street Stock Feature Finish (15 laps): 1. Gary VanOrden, 2 Kevin Skelly, 3. Tommy Johnson, 4. Vinny Stanton Sr. 5. Rich Wheeler, 6. Chris Chirico, 7. Shawn Maloney, 8. Brent Shaddock.

4 Cylinder Senior Feature Finish (15 laps): 1. Diane Hughson, 2. Woody McGibbon, 3. Russell Sniffen, 4. Jim Hughson, 5. Larry O’Donnell, 6. Paul Curry, 7. Patty Falkena, 8. Tim Curry, 9. Ed Lindstadt.

4 Cylinder Junior Feature Finish (Holdover race, 15 laps): Billy Curry, 2. Jonathan McGibbon, 3. Vinny Stanton Jr., 4. Jason Chevalier, 5. Gerry Kingeter, 6. Jamie Elliott, 7. Gary VanOrden Jr. 8. Chuck Clark, 9. Amber McGibbon, 10. Steven Schmitz, 11. Joe Smith.

4 Cylinder Junior Feature Finish (15 laps): 1. Billy Curry, 2. Steven Schmitz, 3. Jonathan McGibbon, 4. Gerry Kingeter, 5. Kyle Elson, 6. Amber McGibbon, 7. Donald Kuhn, 8. Gary VanOrden Jr., 9. Vinny Stanton Jr., 10. Amber VanOrden, 11. Robert Beech, 12. Jamie Elliott, 13. Kayla Curry.

Speedway News
Are you ready for some peace, love, and edge of your seat racing? Bethel Motor Speedway is Racing Hippie Style this weekend. It’s time to blow the dust off your Hippie wardrobe and see some rockin racing.

BETHEL MOTOR SPEEDWAY READY FOR A BUSY WEEKEND WITH A NEW SPONSOR

August 11, BETHEL, NY - The buzz is getting louder in the auto racing community, as both drivers and fans are now counting down the days until one of the biggest weekends of the year at the 1/4-mile paved oval of Bethel Motor Speedway in White Lake, NY. This weekend, the speedway will present two days of auto racing excitement.

On Saturday, August 15th, Bethel Motor Speedway will host LegendStock 2009 presented by RACEceiver and Jeff Bank. The prestigious 40-lap, $1,500-to-win race for the INEX-sanctioned Legends cars, will feature some of the top driving talent from throughout the Northeast. Drivers from as far away as Minnesota, North Carolina, and Georgia have also expressed their intent to compete in the event, which drew 35 entries last year. Winners in each class will receive a three-foot tall guitar-shaped trophy in addition to their winnings, and the overall winner will also receive a provisional starting spot in the 2nd Annual Legends Fall Classic to be held at Sundance Vacations Speedway (PA) in October. Both the Hard Charger in the LegendStock event and the winner of the Bandolero event will receive a two-foot tall guitar-shaped trophy as well.

Last year's Semi-Pro and Masters division winners, Mike Alcaro and Tim Brockhouse, confirmed their intent to compete several months ago. Alcaro has been running regularly at Bethel during the 2009 season, and has scored seven wins at the speedway, including a victory in the 50-lap INEX Asphalt Nationals qualifier held earlier this month. While Alcaro topped the Semi-Pro field at the LegendStock event last season, he has moved into the Pro division for 2009 and will have to contend with drivers in that class in LegendStock 2009. Brockhouse, who set fast time at LegendStock 2008 and won the Masters division, is a Minnesota driver who has run more than 20 races on both asphalt and dirt in the Midwest so far in 2009, and scored a win in his class at the INEX Dirt Nationals qualifier held at Elko Speedway (MN) in July. For the past several months, the lingering question has been the plans of last year's overall and Pro division winner, Michael Gervais Jr., who has moved out of Legends racing this year. Recently, however, Gervais confirmed that he had secured a ride for LegendStock 2009, and the Connecticut driver will be on hand to defend his win this weekend.

Joining the Legends and Bandoleros on the schedule on Saturday will be the ECS Auto Stores Pro Stock and 4 Cylinder classes. Gates will open at 3 p.m., with hot laps taking to the track at 4:30 p.m.

Sunday's racing schedule will be headlined by SportsmanStock 2009 presented by Jeff Bank. The race will be a 50-lap affair,
which will pay $1,000 to the winner. The dirt Sportsman cars have been added to the regular weekly schedule at Bethel, and have become very popular. Dan Conklin, who recorded his sixth win of 2009 last weekend, is expected to be a tough competitor; as is Greg Morgan, who may very well have recorded the most laps of any driver in the class at Bethel this season and seems to be on the verge of his first win. Numerous other Bethel regulars will take to the track as well, and the race is expected to draw in dirt talent from across the region looking for a shot at the $1,000 payday and bragging rights.

Also on Sunday's schedule will be an additional race for the Legends, as well as the Street Stock division. Gates will open at 3 p.m. on Sunday as well, with hot laps slated to begin at 4:30 p.m.

In the event of rain on Saturday, all of the scheduled races will be run on Sunday, with the gates opening at 1 p.m. Grandstand admsiion at Bethel is just $5. More details and a full schedule for the speedway are available at www.bethelmotorspeedway.com.
Contact: Tracy Chirico
tracy.chirico@bethelmotorspeedway.com

Conklin Returns to Victory Lane at Bethel Motor Speedway

August 9, BETHEL, NY - It has been just over two months since Dan Conklin recorded his last win in the Sportsman division at Bethel Motor Speedway, but this past Saturday night Conklin used his pole starting position to its full potential, landing himself in Victory Lane for the sixth time this season. Conklin led all 25 laps en route to the win.
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