Andy Bachetti ‘Hustles’ Woodhull Raceway High Banks For $5,300 SSTS Victory

Andy Bachetti ‘Hustles’ Woodhull Raceway High Banks For $5,300 Short Track Super Series Victory Wednesday Night

Story By: Brett Deyo/SSTS

Photos By: RacersGuide.com Photo Staff

WOODHULL, NY – Andy Bachetti gained his retribution at Woodhull Raceway.

Bachetti, of Sheffield, Mass., appeared poised for victory in the 2016 visit by the Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series (STSS) Fueled By VP to the high-banked, paperclip-shaped oval. However, while racing into the lead in the final laps, he slid off the top of turn three and lost his chances.

That all changed Wednesday night.

Bachetti was able to overcome a poor initial draw through the gate, top his heat race and charge to the win in the ‘Hustlin’ the High Banks 53’ presented by NAPA Auto Parts, Two Rivers Timber and Maple City Dodge.

The ‘Wild Child’ earned $5,300 for his efforts and pressed into the point lead with two events remaining in the STSS Halmar North Region.

“It feels good to win one here,” Bachetti said of his first-ever triumph at the Ted and Brandi White-owned facility. “We had one get away from us last year here. Tonight, it all worked out in our favor.”

Bachetti, via a redraw of top qualifiers, started fifth in the field of 29. In just two laps’ time, he had driven his fluorescent green and black No. 4 into the top spot.

Numerous early tangles produced double-file restarts, which Bachetti mastered each time. Fellow STSS regular Anthony Perrego pushed the Superior Remodeling No. 44 into second on lap five as side-by-side battles raged behind the leaders.

Red-hot Matt Sheppard put the Sweeteners Plus No. 92s into the third spot on lap 10.

During a 20-lap green-flag stretch during the mid-portions of the event, Danny Creeden joined the leaders, advancing to fourth after starting 13th.

Yellows on laps 40 and a final, green-then-checkered opportunity on lap 52, brought the field to Bachetti’s bumper. He was not to be denied, however.

The win for Bachetti was the third of his career with the STSS, having two checkered flags at Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, N.Y. (2014 & 2017) to his credit.

“This gives us some momentum going into the last two North series shows,” Bachetti bottom-lined.

Perrego, a two-time STSS winner this season in North Region action, settled for second-place pay ($3,000) with the Brian Smith operation. Waterloo, N.Y.’s Sheppard ended his drive in third after citing tire selection as his downfall in the short runs.

Creeden, of Wurtsboro, N.Y., righted his recent bad luck on the series with a fourth-place result. Teenager Dillon Groover authored an impressive drive to finish fifth, the best-career STSS finish for the Beaver Dams, N.Y., Woodhull regular.

Finishing sixth through 10th, respectively, were Billy Van Pelt of Westfield, Pa., who started 19th; Tommy Meier of Waldwick, N.J., up from 15th in a steady effort; Hard Charger Stacy Jackson of Woodhull, N.Y., who started 27th and earned an additional $150 for his efforts; track regular Donnie Lawson of Woodhull, N.Y.; and Ryan Jordan of Dryden, N.Y., who started 28th.

A field of 42 STSS Modifieds required five heat races to be run. Winners were Groover, Perrego, Sheppard, Bachetti and Brian Malcolm. Three consolations went to Brady Fultz, Brett Tonkin and Cory Costa.

Support-division winners included Donnie Lawson (GRIT Sportsman) and Dylon Gleason (Mini-Stock).

STSS Halmar North Region action returns on October 6-7 at Afton Motorsports Park in Afton, N.Y., for the American Racer Cup Short Track SuperNationals 10 featuring two full days of racing. The next Velocita-USA South Region event is Tuesday, August 29 at Georgetown (Del.) Speedway for the ‘Blast at the Beach 4’ event.

To learn more about the Short Track Super Series Fueled By VP or BD Motorsports Media LLC, visit www.shorttracksuperseries.com or www.bdmotorsportsmedia.com, call 845.728.2781 during business hours, e-mail bdmotorsportsmedia@gmail.com, “like” Short Track Super Series on Facebook or follow @ShortTrackSS on Twitter.

HIGH BANK HOT SPOTS: A band of heavy rain and severe weather on the original Tuesday date forced the postponement of the event by 24 hours to a beautiful Wednesday with bright sunshine and temperatures in the 70s. A healthy crowd turned out despite the rain date….

Woodhull promoter Ted White provided pyrotechnics during the national anthem, four-wide salute and post-race Victory Lane ceremonies….

Andy Bachetti pulled ’43’ out of a possible 60 through the date, but was not deterred by the poor draw en route to the win….

Billy Decker led the standings entering Wednesday night but struggled uncharacteristically in his first Woodhull appearance since the mid-1980s, finishing 17th….

Despite the busy program, STSS Modified action was completed by 9:40 p.m. through a quickly paced show….

A scare for Tommy Meier during hot laps was ultimately diagnosed as a dead battery on the Jeff Behrent-owned No. 3….

The 2017 Short Track Super Series is presented by American Racer/Lias Tire, VP Racing Fuel, Bob Hilbert Sportswear, Halmar International, Allstar Performance, ATL Racing Fuel Cells, Behrent’s Performance Warehouse, Bicknell Racing Products, Dirt Track Digest, Fast Axle, Fox Racing Shocks, Hig Fab, Henry’s Exhaust, HyperCo, Keizer Wheels, Kirkey Racing Fabrication, K&N, QA1, Race Pro Weekly, Racing Optics, Speed51.com, Teo-Pro Car, Velocita, Weld & Wilwood.

HUSTLIN’ THE HIGH BANKS RACE SUMMARY – WOODHULL RACEWAY AUGUST 23, 2017

Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series Fueled By VP Halmar North Region Event No. 7 Big-Block/Small-Block Modified Feature Finish (50 laps): ANDY BACHETTI, Anthony Perrego, Matt Sheppard, Danny Creeden, Dillon Groover, Billy Van Pelt, Tommy Meier, Stacy Jackson, Donnie Lawson, Ryan Jordan, Cory Costa, Nick Nye, Jeremy Smith, Mike Mahaney, Alan Rudalavage, Brady Fultz, Billy Decker, Matt DeLorenzo, J.R. Hurlburt, Craig Hanson, Russell Morseman, Brian Doolittle, Brian Malcolm, Byron Worthing, Grant Hilfiger, Kenny Peoples, Jerry Higbie, Jeffrey Daugherty, Brett Tonkin.

Did Not Qualify: Dan Humes, Curt Van Pelt, Steve Paine, Randy Brokaw, Kevin Chilson, Bryce Martin, Dayton Brewer, Joe Dgien, Brandon Martin, Dylan Dewert, Eric Fisher, Mike Bills, Bob Silvernail.

American Racer/Lias Tire Bonuses (FREE tire): Ryan Jordan (10th) & Mike Mahaney (14th)
ATL Fuel Cell Bonus ($200 Certificate): Dillon Groover (fifth)
Behrent’s Performance Warehouse Bonuses ($50 gift card): Danny Creeden (fourth) & Donnie Lawson (ninth)
Fast Axle Bonus ($50 Certificate): Billy Van Pelt (sixth)
Keizer Racing Wheels Bonus (FREE Wheel): Anthony Perrego (second)
QA1 Hard Charger Bonus ($50 Certificate): Stacy Jackson (27th to eighth)
VP Racing Fuels Bonuses ($50 Certificates): Anthony Perrego (second), Nick Nye (12th) and Brian Doolittle (22nd)
VP Racing Fuels Hard Charger Bonus ($150): Stacy Jackson (27th to eighth)
Weld Wheels Bonus ($50 Certificate): Brady Fultz (16th)
Wilwood ‘Lucky 7’ Bonus ($50 Certificate): Tommy Meier (seventh)