I-88 Speedway Recap for May 27, 2016
Story By;STEPHEN CLAPPERTON / I-88 SPEEDWAY MEDIA Photos By: OTTO GRAHAM / RACERSGUIDE.COM
Afton NY.-May 29,2016- Mitch Gibbs picked up his first Greg Page Construction Modified feature win of the season on Mirabito Fuel Group Night at I-88 Speedway. Gibbs, of Norwich, started tenth in the 24 car starting field before passing Binghamton’s Ken Titus on lap 15 on the inside coming off turn four.
Cortland’s Chris Bushnell led the early laps of the race after outdueling front row partner Don Hart Jr., of Bainbridge at the drop of the green. Titus moved into second place on the first lap and by lap two had pulled alongside the leader, he would slip under Bushnell one lap later on the inside of turn four to take the lead.
With Titus leading, sixth starting J.R. Hurlburt, of Otego, was running in third with Cortland’s Nick Nye in fourth and Gibbs in fifth,. Hurlburt and Gibbs made use of the inside groove and Hurlburt moved into second while Gibbs begins to pressure Nye for fourth. The caution came out on lap six for a slowing Matt Latwinski of West Clifford PA.
On the restart Hurlburt got a run on Titus and took over the top spot while Gibbs had worked his way up to third place. The caution came out on lap nine when Susquehanna PA’s Kenny Sparks came to a stop in turn three. When the race restarted, Titus dropped to the inside groove and recaptured the lead coming off turn four on lap ten.
At the halfway point Gibbs would lead Titus by a bumper at the line with Brett Tonkin, of Carbondale PA, in third. Gibbs would take control of the top spot one lap later at the top three cars were running nose to tail.
Gibbs would go on to take the win with Tonkin second, Sheffield MA’s Andy Bachetti third, Alan Barker of Norwich fourth and Hurlburt fifth.
“We picked the right tires tonight and had the right set up,” said Gibbs after the race.
Ricky Ross Jr., of Mountaintop PA grabbed his first Chambers and O’Hara Sportsmen trophy of the season on Friday night. Ross started fifth in the 18 car starting lineup and took the lead from pole-sitter Gary Card Jr., of Harpursville on lap 13 coming off turn two.
Card took the lead at the start of the race with front row starting partner Skip Pickwick, of Afton holding down second. The first caution of the race waved on lap 9 when Mount Upton’s Tim French Jr. came to a stop in turn two. The race restarted with Card leading, Pickwick second, Ross third, New Berlin’s Dwayne Jackson fourth and Delhi’s Dave Rosa fifth.
On the restart Ross slipped under Pickwick to take over second. Ross began to open a lead while Bethel’s Charlie Hendrickson Jr. began to charge from the back of the pack after breaking into the top five on lap 11. Hendrickson had moved into third place when the caution came out on lap 18 for Owego’s Dayton Coney stopping on the front stretch.
Ross went on to take the win with Card second, Hendrickson third, Jackson fourth and Saquoit’s Claude Hutchings Jr., fifth.
In the Williams Tire and Auto Crate Sportsmen feature Norwich’s Harold Humphrey passed early race leader A.J. Digsby, of Edmeston, on lap 12 and went on to take his second win of the season. Digsby finished second with New Milford PA’s Matt Brewer third, Matt Roberts, of Harpursville fourth and Travis Smith, also of Harpursville finished fifth in his augural run in the Crate Sportsmen division.
James Cornell grabbed his second Vernooy’s Automotive Excellence IMCA Modified feature win of the season Friday night. Cornell, of Harpursville, started seventh and took the lead from Stamford’s Beau Ballard on lap 8.
At the halfway point of the race Cornell had opened a half straightaway advantage over Ballard with Katellville’s Tyler Stoddard running third. After a caution on lap 11, Stoddard would pass Ballard to take over second coming of turn four.
Cornell would go on to take the win with Stoddard second, Cole third, Ballard fourth and Nineveh’s Gary Roberts fifth.
Steve Polhamus, of Windsor, took his first feature win in 8 years in the Nu Look Collision Street Stock feature in a race that saw the Polhamus racing team dominate the first three positions.
Polhamus started on the pole and led the early laps of the race until a lap five caution put Candor’s Jon Carpenter on the outside lane for the restart with Carpenter taking advantage of the opportunity to take the lead coming off turn two.
Carpenter would open a three car length advantage by lap ten. A lap fourteen caution bunched the field for a restart when Carpenter would pull into the infield relinquishing the lead to Polhamus who would go on to take the win. Doug Polhamus, of Windsor, finished second with Matt Bowman, also of Windsor third, Oneonta’s Dustin Harris finished fourth and Ray Linquist, another Windsor resident, finished fifth.
Will Eastman, of Oneonta took the lead from Binghamton’s Eric Boyd on lap three and went on to take his second MR Graphix Xcel Modified feature win of the season. Kyle Fallis, of Johnstown, finished second with Boyd third, Binghamton’s Steven Sherwood fourth and Kamdin Maby, of Susquehanna PA fifth.
Brandon Clapperton, of Sidney took the lead on a lap six restart and went on to take the first I-88 Speedway win of his career. Afton’s Rob Loucks finished second with Unadilla’s Ralph Cuozzo Jr. third, Bainbridge’s Rob Northrup fourth and Trey Palmer, of Bristol CT, fifth.
The night’s races were delayed due to a line of showers that went through the area at around 6:30 resulting in racing not beginning until 8:52. Due to the late start, the Xcel Modifieds and Trucks heats were dropped and five laps were added to their features. Despite the late start, the final checker fell before 11:30.
I-88 Speedway Results from Mirabito Energy Products Night, May 27, 2016
Greg Page Construction Modifieds (30 Laps) Mitch Gibbs, Brett Tonkin, Andy Bachetti, Alan Barker, J.R. Hurlburt, Rusty Smith, Mike Mahaney, Ken Titus, Nick Nye, Mike Clapperton, Chris Bushnell, Richard Smith, Mike Decker, Darwin Greene, Jeff Sheely, Kurt Decker, Brandon Walters, Paul Jensen, Steve Babicek, Matt Latwinski, Kenny Sparks, Bob Hamm, Don Hart Jr., Dave Rosa
Chambers and O’Hara Sportsmen (20 Laps) Ricky Ross Jr., Gary Card Jr., Charlie Hendrickson Jr., Dwayne Jackson, Claude Hutchings Jr., Dave Rosa, Skip Pickwick, Jeremy Vunk, Butch Klinger, Pat O’Hanlon, Jim Gould, Lisa Williams, Steve Andersen, Duane Knapp, Dayton Coney, Tyler Hart, Tim French Jr., Aaron Shelton
Williams Tire and Auto Crate Sportsmen (20 Laps) Harold Humphrey, A.J. Digsby, Matt Brewer, Matt Roberts, Travis Smith, Cody Clark, Gary Card Jr., Dustin Jordan, Pat Jordan, Matt Priscott, James McIntyre, Josh Mudge, Allan Hodge, Matt Hynes, Art Priscott
Vernooy’s Automotive Excellence IMCA Modifieds (20 Laps) James Cornell, Tyler Stoddard, Matt Cole, Beau Ballard, Gary Roberts, Gary Smith, Will Ward, Bill Ward, John Daniels, Mike Stoddard, Jim Cummings, Bobby Collins DNS Tim Vandemark
Nu Look Collision Street Stocks (20 Laps) Steve Polhamus, Doug Polhamus, Matt Bowman, Dustin Harris, Ray Lindquist, Kurt Decker, Eric Boynton, Tom Savercool, Rob Nober, Matt Thies, Dan Babcock, Ralph Cuozzo Jr., Dave Cronk, Rich Fife, Jon Carpenter, Jack Holcomb
MR Graphix Xcel Modifieds (15 Laps) Will Eastman, Kyle Fallis, Eric Boyd, Steven Sherwood, Kamdin Maby, C.J. Jochum, Paul DeRuyter, Bob Rowback, Bailey Boyd
Butler Auto Sales EST Trucks (15 Laps) Brandon Clapperton, Rob Loucks, Ralph Cuozzo Jr., Rob Northrup, Trey Palmer, Jerry Lanfair, Joe Bunt, Dustin Wilber, Doug O’Hara, Dylan Decker, Bob Crandall, James Fowlston
