Lighting Larry Wight Tames the Highbanks of Fulton Again
Story By: DAVE MEDLER / FULTON SPEEDWAY MEDIA
Photos By: JAY FISH / RACERSGUIDE.COM
FULTON, NY – June 17, 2017 – You always hear in racing the term, “He was on rails,” when describing a fast race car. Saturday night at the Fulton Speedway you could have put Larry Wight’s picture next to that description.
In the 35 lap Tracey Road Equipment Big Block Modified feature Wight started 18th and quickly made his way forward into the top five by lap 10. Once in the top five it would take Wight just 6 laps to take the lead for good, out running teammate Pat Ward to the checkers for his second straight win and third overall at Fulton in 2017.
Other winners on RFH’s Hide-A-Way night were, Glenn Forward and Ron Davis III (Sportsman) Jason Parkhurst (Late Models) Tyler Rogers and John Strickler (Novice Sportsman) Chris Bonoffski (4-Cylinders) Chris Rombough (One-on-One Spectator).
Matt Hulsizer jumped out to the lead in the 35 lap Modified feature and by the end of lap 1 had already opened almost a full straightaway lead on the field.
With 5 laps complete Hulsizer was still turning quick laps out front with Mike Bowman chasing as he ran alone in second. Roy Bresnahan, Jim Witko Jr. and Tim Mayne raced for third through fifth.
At the 10-lap mark Hulsizer was flying out front with a full straightaway lead. Bowman still raced in second but was soon going to have company as Larry Wight, who started 18th, was coming rapidly, gaining on Bowman. Wight would move into second on lap 14 and quickly started closing the gap on Hulsizer.
The yellow would wave on lap 15 to tighten the field up just before halfway. Under yellow laps Hulsizer suddenly slowed and headed to the pits ending his bid for the win.
When the green came back out and the rest of the distance there was no denying Wight in his FX Caprara Chevy/Tracey Road Equipment/NAPA Auto Parts/LJL Kevlar Racing Engines/No.99L/Bicknell. The only thing that slowed him down was a late quick caution. Teammate Pat Ward finished a strong second followed by Tim Sears Jr., Jimmy Phelps and Chad Phelps to round out the top five.
With 39 SUNY Canton Sportsman signed in the pits a pair of 25 lap features were run.
In the first 25 lap feature Willy Decker and Brett Draper would lead early laps in close nose-to-tail and side-by-side racing that saw Mike Stanton Jr. take over the top spot on lap 9.
Stanton and Glenn Forward would put on an intense battle for the lead, running side-by-side, attempted slide jobs all without making contact. A few car lengths back, a close battle was going on between Alan Fink, Decker, Corey Barker and Todd Root.
A yellow on lap 18 would give the field a chance to catch their breath for the 7 lap dash to the checkers.
On the restart Froward was able to slide up in front of Stanton to be scored the new leader. As the final laps clicked off it was obvious something was wrong with Stanton as he started losing positions. On lap 23 Stanton suddenly slowed in turn four with smoke billowing out from under his hood.
Over the final laps Fink threw everything he had at Forward but to no avail as Forward stayed on the topside to be first under the checkers over Fink. Todd Root, Corey Barker and Billy Clark Jr. finished third through fifth.
In the second 25 lap feature Jason Amidon would have his best run of the season as he would lead the opening 11 laps before Will Shields would take the lead on lap 12.
Shields and Ron Davis III would have a close race for the top spot until lap 19 when Davis wrestled the lead away from Shields. Once out front Davis would drive away for the 2.366 seconds over Will Shields. Nick Krause, Mike Button and Jeremy Dygert finished third through fifth.
In the 20 lap Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux Late Model feature it was total domination by Jason Parkhurst who took his second win of the year.
Parkhurst took the lead on lap 2 from Brandon Carvey and after that ran away for 4.714 margin of victory over Chris Fleming. Kevan Cook, Sean Beardsley and Jason Occhino finished third through fifth.
The E&V Energy Novice Sportsman ran a pair of 15 lap features.
In the first feature Tom Mackey lead the opening 4 laps before he got high in turns three and four allowing Tyler Rogers to drive by and into the lead on lap 5.
Once out front nobody seriously challenged Rogers the rest of the distance. Joe Abbass, Kyle Root, Ryan Gustin and Tom Mackey finished second through fifth.
In the second 15 lap feature Colby Herzog jumped out to the lead at the drop of the green and held a sizeable lead until a yellow on lap 7 that bunched the field up.
Over the final laps John Strickler hounded Herzog finally taking the lead on lap 12 and was never headed the rest of the way. Herzog, Jimmy Moyer, Rachel Zacharias and Matthew Becker finished second through fifth.
In a post race weigh in Herzog was light on the scales.
In the 15 lap JB Logging & Firewood feature Jacobe Palmiter, Dakota Bechler, Chris Bonoffski and Ray Bechler would all spend time in the lead in a close battle for the win. In the end it would be Bonoffski taking his fourth win in five starts in 2017.
In the One-on-One Spectator races it was Chris Rombough out of Fulton taking the victory.
There will be no racing this Saturday, June 24 for High School graduation festivities.
Saturday, July 1 NAPA Auto Parts will present a holiday weekend spectacular featuring the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints Speedweek plus Tracey Road Equipment Big Block Modifieds. Also on the race card will be the SUNY Canton Sportsman, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux Late Models and E&V Energy Novice Sportsman.
Adult grandstand admission is $20 with everyone 18 years old and younger FREE. Gates will open at 5:00 with racing at 7:00.
Any questions you might have and for marketing opportunities please contact Cory Reed (315) 593-6531 or cory@fultonspeedway.com. For the latest news visit www.fultonspeedway.com. Like the track Facebook page www.facebook.com/FultonSpeedway.
RFH’s Hide-A-Way Night June 17 Results.
(Tracey Road Equipment Modifieds 35 Laps) – LARRY WIGHT, Pat Ward, Tim Sears Jr., Jimmy Phelps, Chad Phelps, Billy Whittaker, Mike Bowman, Jim Witko Jr., Adam Roberts, Roy Bresnahan, Max McLaughlin, Katelyn Hile, Andrew Ferguson, Kody Graham, Joe August Jr., Tim Murphy, Ryan Jordan, Tim Kerr, Tom Sears Jr., Matt Hulsizer, Tim Mayne, Tim Harris, Chris Hile.
(SUNY Canton Sportsman #1 25 Laps) – GLENN FORWARD, Alan Fink, Todd Root, Corey Barker, Billy Clark Jr., Chris Mackey, Willy Decker Jr., Kyle Kiehn, Wade Chrisman, Joey Bounagurio, Ricky Yelle, Steve Marshall, Tyler Trump, Stephen Denton, Aron Backus, Torrey Stoughtenger, Kyle Perry, Mike Stanton Jr., AJ Miller, Brett Draper.
(SUNY Canton Sportsman #2 25 Laps) – RON DAVIS III, Will Shields, Nick Krause, Mike Button, Jeremy Dygert, Jeremy Pitcher,Chris Cunningham, Mike Phelps, Kyle Demerto, Ryan Hatherill, JJ Courcy, Pat LaPage, Jason Amidon, Jim Spano, Nate Higgins, Dorian Wahdan, Haiden Burdick, Dylan Zacharias, Jessica Power.
(Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux Late Models 20 Laps) – JASON PARKHURST, Chris Fleming, Kevan Cook, Sean Beardsley, Jason Occhino, Dale Caswell, Bret Belden, Chad Homan, Steven Coit, Mike Kazmierczak, Dick Parkhurst, Brandon Carvey, Max Hill.
(E&V Energy Novice Sportsman #1 15 Laps) – TYLER ROGERS, Joe Abbass, Kyle Rood, Ryan Gustin, Tom Mackey, Dan Dupra, Tom Juno, Wesley Hayes, Bill Megnin, Kearra Backus.
(E&V Energy Novice Sportsman #2 15 Laps) – JOHN STRICKLER, Jimmy Moyer, Rachel Zacharias, Matthew Becker, Jake Davis, Robert Gage, Pat Nolan, Dakota Bechler, Jake Petit, Colby Herzog.
(JB Logging & Firewood 4-Cylinders 15 Laps) – CHRIS BONOFFSKI, Ray Bechler, Dakota Bechler, Jacobe Palmiter, Evan Wright, Quinn Wallis, Stephanie Seeley, Jeremy Lueck, Ken Pitsley, David DeNova, Joe Buske Jr., Nate Powers.
(One-on-One Spectator Races) – Chris Rombough.
