LAP TIMES
PICTURES
LAUTERBORN ELECTRIC NIGHT
Mike Paz, BATAVIA NY (September 20, 2008) Despite being delayed a week by Mother Nature, Championship Night at Genesee Speedway once again provided race fans with spectacular racing in all divisions. At the end of the highly competitive evening, champions were crowned in 4 divisions: Dave Dubois nailed down the Castle Powered Late Model title, Colton Chappius won a hard fought, down-to-the-wire championship over Jeb Walworth in the Power Trip Energy Drink Street Stocks, Brandon Aradine won his PDI Mini-Stock crown in similar fashion over Dan Norton and Tom Urban wrapped up the DMI Driveway Sealing Bandit division honors. Also adding to the fans racing enjoyment on the final night of the 2008 schedule was a return of the always-popular New York Modified Midgets (NYMM) machines.
Dave DuBois had already proved his racing mettle earlier by earning the 2008 Black Rock Speedway Late Model Championship. Other drivers would have been satisfied with just one title but DuBois secured his second crown in the same season, in the same class, at Genesee Speedway. His fifth-place finish in the feature sealed the deal, with Bob Babbitt getting the final Castle Chemicals Late Model win in 2008.
Both the Power Trip Energy Drink Street Stocks and the Professional Driving Institute Mini-Stocks titles came down to the last lap of each of their respective features. Eventual Street Stock Champion Colton Chappius (who is enrolled in college in North Carolina and made 2 trips back to contest for the title) and Jeb Walworth have thrilled Genesee Speedway fans all year long with their nip-and-tuck points battle. These two young talents battled it out all the way to the checkered flag in the feature, with Walworh just squeezing out the victory on the front stretch over Chappius, whose runner-up finish guaranteed him the 2008 Street Stock Championship.
A similar battle ensued in the PDI Mini-Stock division, where both Brandon Aradine and Dan Norton came into the final race of the season with a chance to wear the champion’s crown. After the heats, the two points leaders started 1-2 in the feature. With no other cars to get in their way, the pair battled side-by-side throughout the race and down to the final turn before Aradine stayed slightly ahead of a hard-charging Dan Norton to get both the checkers and the championship.
Tom Urban needed only to start the final 10 lap feature in the DMI Driveway Sealer Bandit Division to cinch his hard-earned title.
Mike Lauterborn, completing his second year as Genesee Speedway promoter, expressed his gratitude to his staff, the drivers and all the race fans who attended events at the track this year. “I know I couldn’t hold any of the races without all the great people who work for the speedway” Lauterborn said. “My staff works extremely hard to make sure the events run safely and efficiently. Without them, there is no racing.”
“Many of our competitors put on great racing in all divisions this year”, Lauterborn continued. “But I’m especially grateful to the fans who supported the racing program throughout the year. We have great fans at Genesee Speedway and they were treated to some fantastic competition this year.”
An “End of the Year Awards Presentation” program is being planned to officially close the books on the Genesee Speedway 2008 racing season.
Contact Info: raceannouncer@gmail.com
| Mini Stocks | ||
| Finish | Car # | Name |
| 1 | 12b | Brandon Aradine |
| 2 | 0 | Dan Norton |
| 3 | x82 | Russ Wassner |
| 4 | 53 | Pat Powers |
| 5 | 7+1 | Ed Neal |
| 6 | 89 | Samantha Burch |
| 7 | 12 | Dylan Cecce |
| 8 | 63 | Duane Pingrey |
| 9 | 34 | Sean McKeller |
| Street Stocks | ||
| Finish | Car # | Name |
| 1 | 74 | Jeb Walworth |
| 2 | 60jr | Colton Chappius Jr. |
| 3 | 27c | Bill Kowsky |
| 4 | 20 | Matthew Pfalzer |
| 5 | 18 | Dan Pries |
| 6 | 87 | Doug Jones |
| 7 | 07 | Jeremy Denton |
| 8 | 14H | Ken Hixenbaugh |
| 9 | 75 | Steve Austin |
| 10 | 92 | Dave Bansmer |
| 11 | 2v | John Fry |
| 12 | 41 | Nathan Arnold |
| 13 | 34 | Byron DeWitt |
| 14 | 12 | John Giles |
| 15 | 2 | Jason Babbitt |
| 16 | 02 | David Downs |
| 17 | 24m | John Carlson |
| Late Models | ||
| Finish | Car # | Name |
| 1 | 2 | Bob Babbitt |
| 2 | 122 | Justin Chaddock |
| 3 | 22 | Tim Kauffman |
| 4 | 75 | Ron Magavero |
| 5 | 012 | Dave DuBois |
| 6 | 13jr | JJ Mazur |
| 7 | 70 | Pete Waldron |
| 8 | 15 | Jason Bridge |
| 9 | 13 | Billy Burd |
| 10 | 001 | Rich Hale |
| 11 | 54 | Don Newton |
| Bandits | ||
| Finish | Car # | Name |
| 1 | 12 | Tom Urban |
| 2 | 57 | Val Stephens |
| 3 | 7+1 | PJ Havens |
PICTURES
JIM "TIMEX" MORGAN NYMM SPRINT WINNER
JEB WALWORTH FEATURE WINNER
BOB BABBITT LATE MODEL WINNER
SEPT 6 ...PHOTO'S FROM DOUG
Rich Vleck, BATAVIA, NY (September 6, 2008)- On a night when the Genesee Speedway was smooth and even, so too was the competition; but Erick Rudolph would distinguish himself before the night was over.
Rudolph, of Ransomville, captured the first running of the premier New York Modified Midget event, exclusive to New York State Residents. Rudolph not only took home $1,500, but also knew he had beaten a solid field.
The driver of the No. 72 moved underneath Paul Habeck for the lead on lap six and never looked back, keeping a safe distance over the rest of the field.
Nothing seemed to phase the youngster on the night, as he switched wings, taped a new number on the second one, had a bad redraw from the feature, and saw his lead advantage evaporate on numerous occasions throughout the 25-lap A-Main.
Rudolph was able to drive his car into the corner significantly farther than the rest of the competition, giving him the ability to complete passes on the top of the speedway.
As the second-generation star was slicing through to the lead, David Ferguson was following Rudolph through the holes to get into second and settle for an impressive runner-up showing. In addition to winning his heat race, Ferguson was also the quick timer by over a ¼ of a second.
Eric Schwartz would score a solid third place showing, moving his way through the pack to complete the podium on the night. Zack Morgan and Nick Cooper would round out the very young top-five.
Early race front-runners Paul Habeck, Todd Cummings and Dan Miller all experienced problems before the finish.
On an overcast afternoon, 42 of the best modified midgets in the state invaded the 1/3-mile to compete for the largest purse in the history of NYMM.
Pete Waldron scored his first win in his career in dominating fashion during the Castle Powered Late Model Feature. Waldron, of Oakfield, led all 20 laps over the top point runners, Dave DuBois and Jon Rivers, hitting his setup perfectly under the slick conditions and cruising to the win.
“That track was perfect for me tonight,” said Waldron in Victory Lane. “That could not have been any better.
Waldron won his heat race, earning him the pole for the event. He only had to survive a few cautions and was clear to pick up the win.
Behind Waldron was the No. 012 of Dave DuBois. Because of his finish over third-place Jon Rivers, DuBois has all but locked up his first career championship at Genesee.
Tim Kauffman and Donny Newton were solid to complete the top-five.
Denton, of Brockport, held off Colton Chappius and Jeb Walworth, the top two in points, for the final seven laps as they trio was two and sometimes three-wide all the way to the end, as the cars all banged off one another coming the checkered flag.
“That was wild,” Denton stated atop his roof in Victory Lane, as he stayed steady on the topside of the speedway, leaving the bottom lane open but getting a run each time off of the corner.
Each time in the turns, Chappius, the point leader, would stab the brakes entering and then drift up the track. As the No. 60 would drift up near the No. 07 of Denton, Walworth would turn underneath both of them nearly every lap.
On the final circuit, as Chappius kept his car on the inside, Walworth carved through the middle, setting up the incredible three-wide finish. Denton forced his car to the inside, keeping the nose of his car just far enough ahead for the victory.
Walworth was able to secure second, while Colton Chappius held on to third, meaning he only needs to start the feature next week to secure the championship. Dan Pries and Dave Downs completed the top-five.
As an added bonus for the No. 07 team, Steve Austin, who used Denton’s car to run the non-winners scramble picked up the final victory, earning him his first win.
Wassner, of Bloomfield, moved around Duane Pingrey on lap four and held off a hard-charging Brandon Aradine on a final-lap restart. As the leaders went into turns 1 and 2, Aradine spun his No. 12b, allowing Wassner room to run to the win and setup a serious championship battle heading into next week.
Because of Aradine’s spin, he and Dan Norton, who ended up third, is now just two points ahead heading with one feature remaining.
Early leader Duane Pingrey was able to capture second ahead of Norton. Sean McKeller and Aradine rounded out the top-five.
Tom Urban inched closer to a championship season, placing second to mean that he only needs to start the field feature of the year to clinch the title. James Maier rounded out the podium.
Lap Leaders- Habeck 1-5, Rudolph 6-25.
Heat Winners- Ferguson, T. Morgan, Rudolph, Habeck, Smith, Coffey.
B-Main Winners- Homan, Scott.
Quick Time- Ferguson: 16.762 seconds
Lap Leaders- Waldron 1-20
Heat Winners- Babbitt, Waldron
Lap Leaders- Denton 1-13, Chappius 14, Denton 15, Chappius 16-17, Denton 18-20.
Heat Winners- Downs, Hixenbaugh
Street Stock Scramble:
Round 1- Dan Pries over John Giles
Round 2- Dave Downs over Dan Pries
Round 3- Dave Downs over John Fry
Championship Round- Steve Austin over Dave Downs
Professional Driver Institute Mini Stock Feature (15 Laps)- RUSS WASSNER, Duane Pingrey, Dan Norton, Sean McKeller, Brandon Aradine, Ed Neal, Samantha Burch, Brian Norton, Brett Crawford, Tom Amico, Alan Kemp (DQ), Jason Hull (DQ).
Lap Leaders- Pingrey 1-3, Wassner 4-15.
Heat Winners- Pingrey, Hull
DML Driveway Sealing Bandits (10 Laps)- P.J. HAVENS, Tom Urban, James Maier, Randy Barclay Jr., Val Stevens.
Lap Leaders- Havens 1-10
AUG 30TH
Rich Vleck, BATAVIA, NY (August 30, 2008)- Rob Richmond Jr. dramatically led all 20 laps of the Troyer Chassis Sportsman Feature to pick up his second career win, but the stories that unfolded behind the No. 93Jr for the championship were a major factor on the night.
The Rochester Resident picked up his second win of the season, taking the lead on the start of the race from his outside pole position and staying steady for the win. Before he could get to the checkered flags though, there were a few hurdles to clear.
The moment of race occurred on lap 17 when Richmond, 2007 Champion Rob Pratt and 2006 Champ Brian Sage engaged in a dogfight for the lead. At the same time, Ross Vleck came together with Mike O’Brien while battling for fifth place, bringing the caution out. As the leaders entered turn three, all three came together, with Sage ending up spun around. Because Sage did not maintain his position, he was told to rejoin at the tail of the field; Pratt was then given the same instruction for his roll in the incident. The result would be all the running room Richmond would need for the win.
“I got into Brian (Sage) on the backstretch and I have to apologize for that, I tried to race everyone clean,” said a jubilated Richmond in Victory Lane. “We had a great car all night and we had a lot of family here tonight.”
After the final restart, Richmond would have to hold off Justin Wright in the No. 11J, who scrambled hard for an opening but came up just short. Rookies Henry Maier and Jason Hallett would follow with Ricky Newton rounding out the top-five.
The incident with Sage and Pratt was even more significant because the unlikely duo were catapulted into Championship contention when the top three in points entering the race, Don Spatorico, John Venuto and Stubby Pangrazio, were all part of an eight-car pileup on lap seven. All of them would rejoin but for the mid-section of the race, it was Pratt with the provisional point lead.
Spatorico would eventually climb back up to eighth, which was more than enough to secure the track championship. As it turns out, even if Sage or Pratt would have won, the Ransomville Veteran still would have had enough to capture the title.
Justin Chaddock flew from the back of his heat to the front to score the win in his heat race. Starting up closer to the front in the feature, you would think things would be easy for him in the feature, but the final few laps were anything but that.
The local favorite picked up his third win of the year just days after having his trailer broken in to.
Chaddock lost the lead on lap 16 when he nearly spun his No. 122 Rocket Chassis out coming off of turn two. Point leader Dave DuBois would take the point but a persistent Chaddock would drive back around the No. 012 Shaw in lapped traffic and take the lead just before the races first caution on lap 17.
As the caution flew, the lapped car of Rich Hale was in between the top two, allowing Chaddock some breathing room on the restart. After DuBois moved into second in line though, a final caution on lap 19 would give him one more chance. On the final restart, Chaddock was perfect and drove away to the win.
Behind Chaddock and DuBois were Bob Babbitt, Jim Johnson and Ron Mogavero to complete the top-five.
Greenlief won his first heat race of the year and was out in front in the feature until the only caution of the event on lap when he handed over the lead to Stefanski. After two laps of following the No. 2 though, Greenelief recaptured the lead and would hang on for the win.
Behind Greenlief and Stefanski were Mike Martin, Butch Zimmerman and Brett Martin.
Walworth took the lead on a lap nine restart from Dan Pries and steadily drove away from point leader Colton Chappius over the second half of the race to be the first driver to score five wins in the street stocks this season.
Chappius inched closer to the track championship with the runner-up finish. Pries held on for another solid run in third. Doug Jones and Bill Kowsky rounded out the top-five.
The 2006 Track Champion waited until August to get his racing fix, but since taking to the track has rekindled his front-running ways.
Hull first took the lead on lap five when Samantha Burch and Ed Neal came together battling for the lead. Youngster Alan Kemp would snatch the lead away for a lap but Hull hit his marks the next time around the 1/3-mile to take the top spot back.
After the races only caution on lap 11, Hull was able to lead a five-car freight train for the final four circuits, with Kemp, point leader Brandon Aradine, Dan Norton and young Dylan Cecce completing the top-five.
Havens initially took lead on the drop of the green flag, but handed it over three laps into the event. Urban washed up the track five laps later though and would have to settle for second. Chad Dickinson would round out the podium.
For more information, visit
www.GeneseeSpeedway.com.
Lap Leaders- Waldron 1-2, Chaddock 3-15, DuBois 16, Chaddock 17-20.
Heat Winners- Chaddock, Rivers.
Lap Leaders- Richmond 1-20.
Heat Winners- Richmond, Maier.
2008 Champion- Don Spatorico.
Lap Leaders- Greenlief 1-8, Stefanski 9-10, Greenlief 11-20.
Heat Winner- Greenlief.
2008 Champion- Pete Stefanski
Lap Leaders- Kowsky 1-2, Pries 3-8, Walworth 9-20.
Heat Winners- Kowsky, Walworth.
Professional Driver Institute Mini Stock Feature (15 Laps)- JASON HULL, Alan Kemp, Brandon Aradine, Dan Norton, Dylan Cecce, Samantha Burch, Pat Powers, Duane Pingrey, Randy Barclay, Bobby Dickinson, Mike Sweeney, Ed Neal, Brian Norton, Vinnie Amico.
Lap Leaders- Burch 1-4, Hull 5-9, Kemp 10, Hull 11-15.
Heat Winners- Aradine, D. Norton.
DML Driveway Sealing Bandits (10 Laps)- P.J. HAVENS, Tom Urban, Chad Dickinson, Randy Barclay Jr., James Maier, Sarah Johnson.
Lap Leaders- Havens 1-2, Urban 3-6, Havens 7-10.
AUG 23....
“Like A Rock”: Spatorico, Walworth Continue Runs Toward Championships With Victories
Mike Paz, BATAVIA, NY (August 23, 2008) - With opportunities to earn points in each racing division fading away like the great summer weather, racing at Genesee Speedway took on a seriously competitive look on Ken Barrett Cadillac/Chevrolet night.
Racing in all classes was highly entertaining for the fans, especially in the Troyer Sportsman division. Coming into the feature, the point lead was tied between Don Spatorico and John Venuto with Stubby Pangrazio just 6 points further back in third. Spatorico served notice early in his heat race victory that he intended to stay up front in the points.
Steve Schumacher, also a heat winner, took the lead from his outside pole starting spot and led till the first caution on lap 5, brought out by Justin Wright for a tire down. Schumacher held the lead from the restart but Spatorico got by on lap 6. On the same lap, the yellow flew again for contact between Don Ogden and Guy Steffen.
On the restart, Spatorico pulled away from Schumacher with Pangrazio third and Venuto mired in the middle of the field. Caution #3 came out on lap 7 for contact between Brady Fultz and Rob Richmond Jr., with Mike O’Brien forced to pit with a right front tire down.
By this time, Venuto had worked his way up to 6th while Pangrazio slipped to 4th; letting Brian Sage get by. Yellow flag #4 waved on lap 10 for a solo spin by Guy Steffen in turn 1. On the restart, Spatorico again had to drive away from Schumacher but Sage, who has had a strong car all season long, battled Schumacher, finally getting by on lap 14. Defending division champ Rob Pratt then took up the challenge with Schumacher for third. Sage wasn’t finished as he caught Spatorico and the two duked it out on the final two laps. Spatorico was able to hold him off for the victory, with Schumacher salvaging a third, Pratt 4th and Venuto picking up the 5th spot just ahead of Pangrazio.
Spatorico was obviously very thrilled in Victory Lane, taking the time to make sure all of his sponsors got mentioned, along with his family and friends. Thus, with one race left to go on the schedule, Spatorico is now leading the points with Venuto second and Pangrazio 3rd.
Just as they have all year long, the Power Trip Energy Drink Street Stocks put on another fantastic show. Colton Chappius, Jr., the points leader coming into the feature, also notched a heat win, with Matt Pfalzer getting the other. With Lee Zimmerman (second place in points) out for the rest of the year with a shoulder injury, young Jeb Walworth seized the opportunity to improve on his third place in points as he won the feature. Chappius started eighth in the feature, with Walworth further back in 12th.
Fans got an early taste of the kind of racing this class has put on all year long with a 3-wide battle in turn one just after the green flag. John Giles (who inherited the pole after Darrel Moyer started tail) and Matt Pfalzer, who started third, made side-to-side contact in turn one while battling with outside pole sitter Steve Austin. Austin and Jeremy Denton used the high side to sprint into firs