June 27

Speedway News

Roselli Claims First 2009 Win at Bethel Motor Speedway
Alcaro, Mckintosh, Cote, Barnes, Stanton , Curry, Murphy, and Nowak Also Win

June 27, BETHEL, NY - Dan Conklin’s three-race winning streak in the Sportsman division at Bethel Motor Speedway was brought to an end this past Saturday, as Dom Roselli sat in Victory Lane at the conclusion of the 25-lap event. Roselli came from the fourth starting spot to claim victory.

Jeff Hager started on the pole, with Jerry Curry on the outside. Curry got out front on the start. On the initial lap, Roselli came to second while Greg Morgan grabbed third. Curry and Roselli immediately began to pull away from the rest of the field, with Roselli constantly challenging Curry for the lead. By lap nine, the leaders came up on lapped traffic that was running side-by-side for position. As they worked their way through the traffic, the caution came out for Bryanna Hurban, whose car had come to a rest at the entrance to turn one. The field restarted single-file, with Curry out front and Roselli in tow. Conklin looked to the inside of Morgan for third on lap 12, and the two made contact, resulting in Conklin lsiding through the infield and drawing a caution. One lap later, the caution was out again, as Hager spun. The race resumed with Curry continuing to lead. Danny Creeden and Morgan ran side-by-side for the third spot, with Creeden taking the position on lap 14. On lap 19, Roselli was finally able to pull alongside Curry to contend for the lead. Roselli grabbed the lead and Creeden took second as Curry’s night went up in a puff of smoke and the car ended up in the infield. Caution waved once again on lap 24, after an incident involving several cars ended with Morgan’s car resting against the third turn wall. This handed the third spot to Ray See Jr. The one-lap shootout for the win saw Roselli cross the finish line first, followed by Creeden and See Jr.
INEX Legends
In the Legends division, Mike Alcaro continued his winning streak, besting the field in a 25-lap feature. Glenn Maningo started on the pole, and was joined on the front row by Joe Fresco. Maningo shot out to the lead. Joe Graf grabbed second on the initial lap, while Joe DeGracia came to third. DeGracia looked to the inside of Graf on lap three, and DeGracia took second. Alcaro, who had started third, was marching through the field, and he took third from Graf on lap six. On lap nine, Alcaro passed DeGracia on the outside for second, and he set his sights on Maningo. Alcaro again used the outside, taking the lead from Maningo on lap ten. Kevin Nowak had followed Alcaro through the field and now sat in second. The caution came out on lap 12 for John Hugate, who was sideways in turn two. Alcaro and Nowak started on the front row for the restart. Alcaro jumped out front on the restart. Nowak settled into second, and Jason Palmer came to third. Alcaro began to distance himself from the field, leaving Nowak and Palmer to battle for second behind him. Palmer made numerous attempts to pass Nowak in the closing laps, but was unsuccessful. When the checkered flag flew, Alcaro was the winner. Nowak was second, with Palmer third.

In the ten-lap Bandolero feature, Nova Scotia ’s Ryan Mckintosh claimed victory over Joseph Graf Jr.

At the conclusion of the BMS Modified race, John Cote once again sat in Victory Lane . Cote was on the pole for the start, with Dan Wood on the outside pole. Cote got out front at the drop of the green, and the field ran three-wide behind him for second on the initial lap, resulting in a caution when Norm Barnes hit the wall on the backstretch. Cote and Wood again started on the front row. Cote grabbed the lead, while Johnny Demarmels came to second. Jim Fugel shot under Demarmels to grab second. Cote and Fugel formed a two-car breakaway, building nearly a full straightaway lead over Demarmels. Barnes used an inside move to take third on lap 12. One lap later, the caution waved as Fugel’s motor blew. Barnes pitted under the caution as well, and Demarmels inherited second. Cote continued to lead on the single-file restart. Barnes passed Wood on the white flag lap. Cote won the event, followed by Demarmels and Barnes.

Pro-Stock Division
After an exciting side-by-side battle for the lead that lasted several laps and included a number of lead changes, Joe Barnes found himself in Victory Lane when the checkered flag flew on the 25-lap ECS Auto Stores Pro Stock feature.. Jim Helt and Charlie Howe Jr. started on the front row. Helt got out front, but was quickly challenged by Howe Jr., who used an inside pass to take the spot on lap two. Barnes grabbed third from Gene Palmer on lap six, and passed Helt for second one lap later. The top three cars were running nose-to-tail, and were joined by fourth-place Bobby Policastro as the race reached the halfway point. On lap 13, the caution waved for Palmer, whose car got sideways on the frontstretch and also collected Jesse Hilger. The field restarted single-file, but Barnes wasted no time in getting alongside Howe Jr. The two ran side-by-side, swapping the spot several times before Howe Jr. was able to put his car back out front on lap 21. With two laps to go, Barnes again looked to the outside of Howe Jr., and Barnes grabbed the lead by inches on lap 24. Barnes went on to collect the win, with Howe Jr. second and Policastro coming to third on the final lap.

Gary VanOrden’s undefeated streak in the Street Stock division came to an end when Vinny Stanton grabbed the win after leading the entire distance of the caution-free event. Stanton started on the pole, with VanOrden on the outside. The duo ran side-by-side, with Stanton holding on to the lead, until Stanton was finally able to put his car out front on lap five. Tommy Johnson sat in third. The leaders had to contend with lapped cars, with Stanton using the lapped cars on several occasions to keep VanOrden behind him. With two laps to go, the leaders had finally cleared the lapped traffic. Time ran out for VanOrden, however, and Stanton claimed victory. VanOrden was second, with Johnson third.

Paul Curry came from the back of the pack to grab another win in the 15-lap 4 Cylinder Senior race. Woody McGibbon started on the pole, with Larry O’Donnell on the outside. McGibbon shot out front and O’Donnell settled into second while Patty Falkena and Ed Lindstadt battled side-by-side for third. Curry wasted no time coming through the field, and he wrestled his way into third by lap five. On the following lap, Curry went to the outside of O’Donnell, and Curry took second coming across the line. Curry then used the same move to grab the lead from McGibbon on lap ten. The two ran side-by-side, but Curry never surrendered the top spot. Curry went on to claim the win, followed by McGibbon and O’Donnell.

The Northeastern Vintage Dirt Modified Racing Club visited the speedway, with Howard Murphy claiming the win in the 20-lap event that was run in memory of Murphy’s former crew member John Marcinak. H. Murphy started on the pole, with Pat Murphy on the outside. The caution came out on the initial lap for P. Murphy. H. Murphy and Jim Halpin restarted on the front row, with H. Murphy getting out front. Halpin settled into second, with Raymond See Sr. in third. H. Murphy pulled away from the rest of the field, which was spread around the speedway. He led Halpin by nearly half a straightaway by the time the race reached the halfway point, and he extended the lead to a full straightaway by lap 15. H. Murphy took down the win, with Halpin second and See Sr. third.

Also visiting the speedway were 4/6 cylinder enduro trucks from Long Island . Bobby Pease started on the pole, with Greg Harris on the outside. Pease took the lead on the start, and John Cozza almost immediately went to the inside of Harris to take over second. Cozza then looked to the inside of Pease for the lead, but Pease was able to hold on until lap three, when Cozza got past for the spot. Kevin Nowak was up to third. Nowak went to the inside of Pease on lap six, but Pease was able to hold him off. Two laps later, however, Nowak used the same move and pulled alongside Pease on the inside, with Nowak grabbing second. By lap ten, Cozza had built nearly a full straightaway lead, and Nowak would have to cover a lot of ground to catch the leader. On lap 11, as Gregor looked to the inside of Pease for third, the two made contact that caused Gregor to spin, bringing out the caution. Chris Chirico was forced to retire from the race under the caution, as he had a broken radiator.. Cozza and Nowak restarted on the front row, with Nowak inching into the lead as the duo came across the start/finish line. His lead was short-lived, though, as Cozza pulled out front on lap 12. Cozza and Nowak then began to pull away from the rest of the field. Just past the halfway point of the race, Gregor was able to wrestle third from Pease. At the front of the field, Nowak continued to battle Cozza for the lead. Nowak made contact with Cozza on lap 18 and dove past to take the lead. The fight for third continued, as Pease took it back again on lap 19. Gregor pulled to the inside of Pease on lap 23, and the two ran side-by-side, swapping the position, until Pease put his truck solidly in the spot on lap 26. Out front, Nowak continued to lead with Cozza right on his bumper. More than half a straightaway behind them, Pease, Gregor, and James Badalato waged a three-way fight for third. When the checkered flag flew, Nowak sat in Victory Lane . Cozza was second, and Pease finished third.

Sportsman Feature Finish (25 laps): 1. Dom Roselli, 2.. Danny Creeden, 3. Ray See Jr., 4. Jeff Richardson, 5. John Aumick, 6. Anthony Perrego, 7. Dan Conklin, 8. Jake Slegel, 9. Scott Matthews, 10. Greg Morgan, 11. Jeff Hager, 12. Ed Redner, 13. Tony Squicciarini, 14. Bryanna Hurban, 15. Jerry Curry.

Legends Feature Finish (25 laps): 1. Mike Alcaro, 2. Kevin Nowak, 3. Jason Palmer, 4. Matt Maring, 5. Glenn Maningo, 6. Joe DeGracia, 7. John Hugate, 8. JD Abrahams, 9. Joe Graf, 10. Joe Fresco, 11. Paul Dodorico, 12. Raven Schrantz, 13. John Lotti, 14. Joe Sedotto, 15. Andy Brigham. DNS – Greg DiCanio.

Bandolero Feature Finish (10 laps): Ryan Mckintosh, Joseph Graf Jr.

BMS Modified Feature Finish (16 laps): 1. John Cote, 2. Johnny Demarmels, 3. Norm Barnes, 4. Dan Wood, 5. Jim Fugel.

ECS Auto Stores Pro Stock Feature Finish (25 laps): 1. Joe Barnes, 2. Charlie Howe Jr., 3. Bobby Policastro, 4. Mark Sylvester, 5. Jim Helt, 6. John Hager, 7. Glenn Aumick, 8. Patsy Hedges, 9. Jesse Hilger, 10. Gene Palmer, 11. Clarence Palmer.

Street Stock Feature Finish (15 laps): 1. Vinny Stanton, 2. Gary VanOrden, 3. Tommy Johnson, 4. Mike Consales, 5. Bryan Johnson, 6. Rich Wheeler, 7. John Woinoski.

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

Vintage Dirt Modified Feature Finish (20 laps): 1. Howard Murphy, 2. Jim Halpin, 3. Raymond See Sr., 4. John Hager, 5. Pat Murphy, 6. Leon Sauger.

4/6 Cylinder Truck Finish (30 laps) : 1. Kevin Nowak, 2. John Cozza, 3. Bobby Pease, 4. Jeff Gregor, 5. James Badalato, 6. Greg Harris, 7. Chris Chirico. DNS – Bryan Kelly.