Max McLaughlin Uses Restart To Charge To Brewerton Speedway Modified Win

Max McLaughlin Uses Restart To Charge To Brewerton Speedway Modified Win

Story By: Dave Medler / Brewerton Speedway

Photos By: Mike Johnson / RacersGuide.com

BREWERTON, NY – Max McLaughlin from Mooresville, NC came into Friday night, third in points with one feature win plus five top-five and eight top-ten finishes with only four point races left in the 2018 season.

The number 13 would be good luck for McLaughlin as that was his starting spot in the 35-lap Tracey Road Equipment DIRTcar Modified feature.

There was a red flag on lap 23 and all drivers were okay. On the restart McLaughlin would drive by Larry Wight and into the lead. Once out front McLaughlin would hold off repeated challenges from Wight for his second win of the year at the ‘D-Shaped Dirt Demon.’

Other winners on NAPA Auto Parts night were, Nick Krause & Corey Barker (SUNY Canton DIRTcar Sportsman) Justin Williams (STARS Mod Lites) Evan Wright (JB Logging & Firewood 4-Cylinders).

Tim Harris and Roy Bresnahan would lead the Modified field down to the green with Bresnahan grabbing the early advantage in the 35-lap battle.

Bresnahan would hold a narrow lead on lap 5 as Andrew Ferguson and Larry Wight battled side-by-side for second and third with Chris Hile and Harris running fourth and fifth.

By lap 10 Ferguson and Wight were running side-by-side for the top spot with Bresnahan, Hile and Tim Sears Jr. having their own race for third through fifth.

Wight would drive by Ferguson for the lead on lap 12 and quickly put a few car lengths between him and Ferguson.

With 15 laps showing on the scoring tower, Wight still showed the way with Ferguson still in the hunt in second. Sears, Bresnahan and Hile waged their own fight for third through fifth.

The yellow flag would wave on lap 21 when Sears, who was running second, got hit and spun by a lapped car in turn-one.

When the race went back green and the lap counter hit lap 23 the most serious incident of the season happened.

On the front straightaway a competitor would turn Tim Kerr sideways as the field started to stack up. Rob Bellinger would get airborne after contacting Katelyn Hile’s front end, launching his car hard into the back end of Tim Sears Jr. Also suffering serious damage was Pat Ward. All drivers were okay and the five cars involved would not return.

When the race went back green, McLaughlin drove around Wight to be scored the new leader.

Over the remaining laps Larry Wight would throw everything he had at Max McLaughlin, but McLaughlin was too strong going under starter Dave Farney’s checkers first. Chris Hile, Jimmy Phelps and Chad Phelps finished third through fifth.

In the first 25-lap SUNY Canton Sportsman feature Joey Buonagurio and Joe Abbass would lead the opening couple laps while the racing behind them was two and three wide in battles for positions.

Abbass would hold a ten-car length advantage until a caution on lap 9 would put heavy hitters Billy Clark Jr., Nick Krause, Chris Mackey and Alan Fink right with Abbass for the restart.

When the green came back out Krause would move into second and start pressuring Abbass for the top spot. On lap 11 Krause would drive into the lead.

With 10 laps to go Krause was on cruise control out front with Willy Decker Jr. chasing as he ran alone in second. Clark, Fink and Abbass were in a close fight for third through fifth.

A yellow on lap 17 would give the field one last shot at Krause. When the race went back green and the rest of the distance nobody seriously challenged Nick Krause as he cruised to the win. Alan Fink, Willy Decker Jr., Billy Clark Jr. and Chris Mackey finished second through fifth.

In the second 25-lap SUNY Canton Sportsman feature Joe Kline and Colby Herzog would both lead laps in the early going. Behind the top two the racing was bumper to bumper and side by side battles throughout the top ten with positions changing every lap.

On lap 14 Corey Barker was running on rails a on the bottom of the speedway as he bolted into the lead exiting turn four.

The second half of the race would see division point leader Kevin Root move into second and set his sights on Barker for the win. Barker was too strong, beating Root to the checkers by 0.571 of a second. Will Shields, Mike Stanton Jr. and Chris Cunningham finished third through fifth.

In the 20-lap STARS Mod Lite feature Tucker Halliday would lead the opening lap as Mike Mullen bolted into the lead one lap later.

On lap 5 Mullen and Doug Williams were in a two-car breakaway race for the lead. Behind the top two Halliday, Zack Babcock and Dave Brown raced for top five spots.

At the halfway mark you could have almost thrown a blanket over the top five of Mullen, Doug Williams, Justin Williams, Babcock and Brown.

After racing his way into second on lap 13 it would take Justin Williams just two laps to drive under Mullen and into the lead. Once out front Justin Williams would outrun his dad, Doug Williams to the checkers. Zack Babcock, Dave Brown and Joe Garafolo finished third the fifth.

In the 15-lap JB Logging & Firewood 4-Cylinder feature it was total domination by Evan Wright. Wright started in 11th position and had the lead by lap 3. Once out front nobody seriously challenged Wright the rest of the way as he cruised to the win. Chris Bonoffski, Quinn Wallis, Ray Bechler and Chuck Powelczyk finished second through fifth.

This Friday, August 17 Ehrlich Pest Control will present a night of fast, family affordable, fun racing featuring the Tracey Road Equipment DIRTcar Modifieds, SUNY Canton DIRTcar Sportsman, STARS Mod Lites and JB Logging & Firewood 4-Cylinders.

Adult grandstand admission is $12 with everyone 18 years old and younger free. Pit admission is $27 Member, $30 Non-Member. Grandstands open at 5:30 pm with racing at 7:30 pm.

Any questions you have about the 2018 season or for marketing opportunities please contact Cory Reed (315) 668-6906 or cory@brewertonspeedway.com . For all the latest news go to www.brewertonspeedway.com
-Facebook page www.facebook.com/BrewertonSpeedway .

August 10 – NAPA Auto Parts Night Results.

(Tracey Road Equipment DIRTcar Modifieds 35 Laps) – MAX MCLAUGHLIN, Larry Wight, Chris Hile, Jimmy Phelps, Chad Phelps, Andrew Ferguson, Tom Sears Jr., Gary Tomkins, Willy Decker, Jim Witko, Jeremy Smith, Roy Bresnahan, Tim Harris, Tim Kerr, Pat Ward, Tim Sears Jr., Katelyn Hile, Rob Bellinger, Roy Shields, Andy Noto

(SUNY Canton DIRTcar Sportsman #1 25 Laps) – NICK KRAUSE, Alan Fink, Willy Decker Jr., Billy Clark Jr., Chris Mackey, Jim Spano, Zach Sobotka, Joe Abbass, Mike Button, John Strickler, Joey Buonagurio, Chris Bonoffski, Tyler Corcoran, Robert Gage, Brian Evenden, Rich Townsend, Mike Fowler, Jake Petit, Tony Finch II, Amy Holland.

(SUNY Canton DIRTcar Sportsman #2 25 Laps) – COREY BARKER, Kevin Root, Will Shields, Mike Stanton Jr., Chris Cunningham, Brent Joy, Mark Yorker, Colby Herzog, Stephen Denton, Earl Rudy, Tyler Murray, Sean Beardsley, Joe Kline, Jeff Taylor, Ricky Yelle, Chris Corbett, Rick Miller, Dylan Zacharias, Joe Sobotka.

(STARS Mod Lites 20 Laps) – JUSTIN WILLIAMS, Doug Williams, Zack Babcock, Dave Brown, Joe Garafolo, Tom Perkins, Mike Mullen, Tucker Halliday, Kelly Skinner, Shawn Hort, Jim Dunham, Clayton Brewer, Ryan Halliday.

(JB Logging & Firewood 4-Cylinders 15 Laps) – EVAN WRIGHT, Chris Bonoffski, Quinn Wallis, Ray Bechler, Chuck Powelczyk, Nate Powers, Adam Gates, Damien Bechler, Jerry Curcie, Sam Curcie, Sabrina Jeffries, Dylan Curcie, Stephanie Seeley, Clayton Koch, Ken Pitsley.