Buffalino Wheels Small Block To Third NES Victory; Bouc 2020 Modified Champ

(Jim Brown Photo)

Buffalino Wheels Small Block To Third NES Victory; Bouc 2020 Modified Champ

NEW EGYPT, NJ – Dominick Buffalino took the lead from Dakota Kessler on a lap 20 restart and went on to pick up his third New Egypt Speedway Vahlco Wheels Modified win of 2020 on Saturday night.

“This is getting to be a thing, I like it,” exclaimed Buffalino post race. “I want to thank my crew, my girlfriend, everyone that helped me. Thanks to the fans, everyone that’s here.

Frank Venezia led the field to the green and jumped out to the early race lead before relinquishing the lead on lap seven to Dakota Kessler who was fast a week ago until he tangled with a lapped car while running second.

The man on the move early on in the 30 lap affair was Ryan Krachun who started seventh and cracked the podium on the 10th lap.

The first yellow flag of the event flew when Cale Ross spun at the exit of turn two after contact with the No. 76 of Jimmy Blewett on the 15th lap.

On the restart Kessler continued to lead the way and appeared to be on his way to his first career Vahlco Wheels Modified victory.

A new challenger entered the fray on lap 17 when two-time winner Dominick Buffalino made his way past Krachun and into the runner-up position.

The second yellow flag of the event occurred when Danny Carlough crept to a stop in between turns three and four putting Buffalino alongside Kessler on the ensuing restart.

Kessler jumped back out to the lead following the restart despite being hounded by Buffalino, Buffalino utilizing a spec-small block power plant versus the big block in which he had used throughout the season would draw even with Kessler but would not be able to clear him for position over the course of the next two laps.

The final yellow of the event flew when championship contender Mike Butler was found facing the wrong way on a one way street in turns one and two.

When green replaced yellow, Buffalino wound his small block up on the outside and as the field came down to complete lap number 20, Buffalino would be scored as the new race leader.

Over the course of the next 10 laps, Buffalino would check out and run off into the Central Jersey night winning his third Modified event of the year by 2.923 seconds over runner-up Dakota Kessler.

17th place starter Billy Pauch Jr. charged hard late in the game to finish third, while Ryan Krachun and Wade Hendrickson completed the top five.

“I didn’t get to sleep much this past week because we had to change motors, this motor wasn’t done until Wednesday. I gotta thank Frank Boardwick for rushing to get this done. I’m glad it’s in, it’s a hell of a lot easier to drive with a small block in it,” said Buffalino.

By virtue of his 10th place finish Danny Bouc is officially the 2020 New Egypt Speedway Vahlco Wheels Modified champion.

“This has been in the works for a long time,” said Bouc. “I think this is the year I showed the least amount of speed and consistency out of all of them. We’ve lost them just about every way you could have over the years but we’ll take it.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a short season or whatever the circumstances were, we worked really hard for this, this one is for my guys, my mom, my dad, my girlfriend, they all sacrifice so much so that I can do this, we’re non stop working on this car. I’m very relieved.”

Rich Mellor took the race lead from Heidi Hedin on lap four and went on to score his fourth Larry’s Hot Rods & Harley’s Northeast Wingless Sprint Cars Presented By: The Meat Shoppe win over Brian Spencer, Mick D’Agastino, Heidi Hedin and Mark Bitner.

Howie Finch passed Walt McIntyre coming to the two to go signal to pick up his first Ice Less LLC Crate Modified main event of the 2020 season. McIntyre ran a career best to finish second, Dan Fleming, Sammy Martz Jr. and Justin Grosso rounded out the top five.

Justin Dunn scored the 4-Cylinder victory over his father Scott Dunn, Mike Fox, Joe Garey Sr., and Tim Jones.

Nick Stephan was the victor in the Lyons Construction/Metal Fab Rookie Sportsman.

During the first heat race of the night NEWS Sprint Car driver Jeremy Quick was involved in an incident which saw his No. 3 flip several times in turns one and two. Quick was extricated from his car and flown via helicopter to a local hospital. Quick posted on social media early Sunday morning that he was ok, just extremely sore.

New Egypt Speedway is back in action next Saturday night, September 19th with Championship Night. That’s right, 2020 Track Championships in the Larry’s Hot Rods & Harley’s Northeast Wingless Sprint Cars Presented By: The Meat Shoppe, Sportsman, Ice Less LLC Crate Modifieds, Street Stocks, 4-Cylinders and the Lyons Construction/Metal Fab Rookie Sportsman will all be decided.

Pit Gates will open at 3pm, Grandstands at 4pm, with hot laps hitting the speedway at 5pm and the first green flag flying at 6pm. Adult (16+) admission will be $20, Seniors (65+) will be $18, Teens (12-15) & Military w/ID are $10 with Kids 11 & Under being FREE!

Then on Saturday night October 3rd will be the All Star Cup 100 for the Vahlco Wheels Modifieds paying $10,000 to win, $1,000 for 10th and $500 just to make the 100 lap feature. The Ice Less LLC Crate Modifieds will do battle in a 30 lap main event paying $1,000 to win event with the 4-Cylinders completing the racing card. Gates will open at 3pm on the 3rd with hot laps hitting the Speedway at 5pm and racing beginning at 6pm.

New Egypt Speedway, which is New Jersey’s premier dirt racing facility, is located on Route 539 just minutes from Six Flags Great Adventure and the New Jersey Turnpike. A racy 7/16-mile D-shaped dirt oval, New Egypt Speedway serves Garden State race fans with some of the best competition in the country. New Egypt’s state-of-the-art facilities feature daylight-quality lighting and excellent sightlines from any seat in the house. The grandstands are fully wheelchair accessible with wide, clear, and well-groomed walkways. Concession facilities serve up everything from Jersey Burgers to ice cream treats at family-friendly prices.
For more information, visit online: www.newegyptspeedway.net, “Like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/newegyptspeedwayofficial, or follow us on Twitter @nesspeedway.

Vahlco Wheels Modifieds Feature Results (30 Laps): 1.) DOMINICK BUFFALINO 2.) Dakota Kessler 3.) Billy Pauch Jr 4.) Ryan Krachun 5.) Wade Hendrickson 6.) Brandon Grosso 7.) Bryan Kuhl 8.) Davey Sammons 9.) John McClelland 10.) Danny Bouc 11.) Steve Davis 12.) Frank Cozze 13.) Mike Butler 14.) David Van Horn 15.) JR Fulper 16.) Blaine Bracelin 17.) Kory Fleming 18.) Danny Carlough 19.) 20.) DJ Hunt 21.) Marty Resnick 22.) Bruce Gsell 23.) Cale Ross 24.) Jimmy Blewett 2020 Vahlco Wheels Modified Champion: Danny Bouc

Larry’s Hot Rods & Harley’s Northeast Wingless Sprint Cars Presented By The Meat Shoppe Feature Results (20 Laps): 1.) RICH MELLOR 2.) Brian Spencer 3.) Mick D’Agastino 4.) Heidi Hedin 5.) Mark Bitner 6.) Larry Drake 7.) Steve Kyser 8.) Ken Nealis 9.) Duane Nixon 10.) John Brammell 11.) Ricky Rutt 12.) Gary Huston 13.) Charlie Weslowski 14.) Lee Nardelli DNS: Brad Schaale, Jeremy Quick

Ice Less LLC Crate Modified Results (20 Laps): 1.) Howie Finch 2.) Glenn McIntyre 3.) Dan Fleming 4.) Sammy Martz Jr 5.) Justin Grosso 6.) Jim Housworth 7.) Ryan Heim 8.) Matt Miller 9.) Nick Van Wickle 10.) DJ Hunt 11.) Joe Nappi 12.) Jake Bedell 13.) Anthony Tramontana 14.) Vinny Troia 15.) Johnny Bangs 16.) Zach Merola 17.) Tom Princiotta 18.) Robby Dunn 19.) Kevin Borden 20.) Nick Stephan 21.) Bobby Holzwarth 22.) Mason Magee 23.) Aaron Weaver 24.) Ryan Krushinski 25.) Ryan Simmons

4-Cylinder Feature Results (15 Laps): 1.) JUSTIN DUNN 2.) Scott Dunn 3.) Mike Fox 4.) Joe Garey Sr 5.) Tim Jones 6.) Shea Wills 7.) Eric Degler 8.) 9.) Brian Barker 10.) Dom Antonelli 11.) John Ciallella 12.) Joseph Wolfe

Lyons Construction/Metal Fab Rookie Sportsman Feature Results (8 Laps): 1.) NICK STEPHAN 2.) Mason Magee 3.) Paul Mancini 4.) Amanda Buchel 5.) Sarah Napora