By - Carol D Haynes, ISMA PR
Photos – Jim Feeney

Epping, NH – A huge throng of fans turned out to watch the rebirth of the traditional Star Classic and they weren’t disappointed. It was a classic race!  And, it was a perfect day for Russ Wood at Star Speedway Saturday. He led all 150 green flag laps, collecting the lion’s share of the over $10,000 in lap money and bonuses, plus the $5,000 winner’s share of the purse.

It had not been a great year for the Holbrook-Wood team until then, with a blown motor almost keeping Wood out of a race he’d won five times over the years. Then a borrowed motor from fellow competitor Howie Lane, made it all happen. Wood, by virtue of time trials and handicapping, sat on the pole and he took full advantage of the position. Taking off with first his teammate Rob Summers, then five-time Classic winner Chris Perley challenging the entire distance, Wood was able to stay out front through traffic and cautions. It was a very big boost to what has been a declining season of late.

Russ, amidst a huge throng of well-wishers, said in victory lane. “I want to thank Howie Lane for our borrowed motor. Without that we wouldn’t be here. Thanks to Jeff Holbrook and the entire crew for working so hard, my parents and wife and kids  – everyone whose supported us this year. We’ve had an up and down year. This makes it all worthwhile.”

With a lot of lap money and a halfway bonus of $1,000 to give incentive, Russ mapped out his strategy. “I was kind of thinking lap money at the beginning. I knew Chris would be coming. I figured he’d blow right by me. But, my car was really not bad. We borrowed a motor from Howie and it was good on power. I can’t believe that we held off Chris. I knew when he … cont.

By – Chris Porter
Photos – Bev&Ken Dippel Photos

Kevin Timmerman entered Friday evening with a slim lead over Mike Leaty in Spencer Speedway’s NASCAR Sportsman Modified points chase. However, two runner-up finishes in his orange and white No. 17 secured his position atop the standings, ending the night (and season) a mere 12 points ahead of Leaty in the final totals, successfully defending his track title.

Sportsman modified drivers kicked off the final Friday night of racing at Spencer Speedway for 2011 with a make-up race from the previous week which had been rained out. Dave Catalano would pocket his first win in many years in the 35-lapper – a race that also saw Timmerman finish ahead of Leaty, padding his points lead heading into the 100-lap nightcap.

The duo would start side-by-side in row No. 2, with Leaty taking the lead away from Daryl Lewis, Jr. on lap No. 3. Doing all he could do to help his own cause, Leaty would lead the next 96 laps en route to the win. However, running second, Timmerman would keep Leaty’s No. 1 in sight the whole night. Eddie Hawkins bumped him back to third in the closing … cont.

By – Chris Porter
Photos – Jim Feeney

Growing up, every young (and young at heart) racecar driver dreams of someday making “the pass.” The scenario of coming from behind on the final lap of the biggest race, in front of a roaring crowd and claiming victory has played out in the minds of every driver at every level of racing.

On Sunday afternoon at the Oswego Speedway, a 43-year old Canajoharie, N.Y. supermodified pilot named Otto Sitterly, played out “the pass” on the track, seizing his second Budweiser International Classic 200 with an outside venture on Classic teammate Mike Lichty.

The fact that Lichty was driving a team car, negated the probability of Sitterly making a bonsai-type move that would put both of the John Nicotra-owned cars in danger. However, he wasn’t about to let the teammate factor determine the outcome.

“It wasn’t something that I’d planned for laps,” Sitterly said of his last-lap pass. “I kept trying to do the crossover, roll high into three … But, Lou Cicconi told Mike to keep the car low. I saw him tapping the rail. Mike may have kept it just a little too low for what he needed to do.”

Sitterly says he decided to give it a go on the outside rather than try another sling-shot move down low.

“That last lap, I was against the wall where the line is. When I went to roll the outside of him, I didn’t know if I was going to do a crossover or what. When I got up even with him, I said I’m going to bang this throttle one time here. I got next to him and that’s just what I did. I banged the throttle … The sparks would’ve flew before I would’ve not gassed it up. I wouldn’t have just let him go.”

Seeking his first Classic win, Lichty knew he could expect to see Sitterly making an outside bid on the final lap – especially seeing how he knew he’d accidentally left it open. However, the teammate factor played a role in how he handled the situation as well.

“I was so conservative on the white flag lap,” Lichty said. “Going into one and coming out of two, I really pinched it low and drove straight into the corner and Otto got a nice, big run on the outside. Once he showed me a wheel, I picked up the throttle a little bit. I had all the wheel I could into it and I just drove right straight up to the fence. I’m like ‘You know what, I could run him right up to the third groove and there’s going to be one car in the fence and we’re going to come out with a win.’ But I’d rather see a one-two finish for John and everybody, you know.”

Lichty added that if it were his own car, he would’ve risked running it further up the track to defend his lead.

“We had the race,” he said. “If it wasn’t a team car, we would’ve won, because … cont.

*** Holland NASCAR Motorsports Complex Press ***

Holland, NY – The 51st season at the Holland NASCAR Motorsports Complex came to a formal close on Saturday evening, November 20th with the annual awards banquet, honoring the champions and top competitors from the 2010 racing season at the Western New York race plant. The event was held in the Fillmore Ballroom of the Millennium Airport Hotel in Cheektowaga, NY.

Buffalo based comedian Nick Syracuse entertained the crowd of about 300 in between awards presentations.

During the banquet, a collection was held to benefit Bank of Holland Charger champion Zach Myers, who was seriously injured in an ATV incident earlier in the week. Zach is currently improving, but remains in serious condition at the Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo.

In addition to the championship hardware and point fund monies, each divisional champion received a full size photo posterboard placard of car and driver courtesy of the VSP Marketing Graphic Group of West Seneca, NY.

Mike Fiebelkorn, Jr. of Eden, NY earned his second career track title, taking top honors in the NASCAR Raginwolf.com Pro Modifieds. Fiebelkorn scored three consecutive feature wins at the mid-point of the season which put him in the driver’s seat for the championship in Holland’s designated NASCAR Whelen All-American Series division, adding to a consistent record of top three points finishes in . . . (cont.)

This past Sunday, the Oswego County Quarter Midget Club held a regular points show at its home track in Volney.

Addison Bowman took top honors in the Jr. Honda class and continues to hold a comfortable lead in the division’s season points standings.

Results in the Sr. Honda and Light 160 classes saw Amylynn Holland and Zach Sobotka swap last week’s finishing positions. Holland scored the victory in the Sr. Honda class while finishing second in the Light 160 division. Sobotka ran runner-up to Holland in the Sr. Honda class, but took the win in the Light 160′s.

Sobotka still leads Holland in the Sr. Honda points, while Holland continues to hold the advantage over Sobotka in the Light 160′s.

Bailey Groves swept the Heavy Honda and Heavy 160 events. Groves holds a slim lead over Brett Draper in the Heavy Honda points standings. In turn, Draper holds the advantage over Groves in the Heavy 160 class.

Division points leader, Gabryel Fortino, earned the . . . . .

*** Spencer Press ***

WILLIAMSON, NY – Racing was canceled last Friday, July 23, when a line of heavy showers swept through Central New York. It was the second time in 2010 that racing had to be canceled due to the weather.

“Not only had the rains pounded us in the early afternoon, but the weatherman was calling for a 60% chance of the rains continuing into the evening,” stated promoter John White. He added, “We are looking at rescheduling the Twin 25’s for the Sunoco Modifieds sometime in August.”

Only six more oval track races remain on the calendar at Spencer in 2010. The season final is scheduled for . . . . .

By - JJ  Andrews

This week we’ll have a couple of SuperStars, both of which were earned by some smooth driving on the speedway last weekend.

Dave Cliff Jr. drove FOUR incident-free features last Saturday, driving in both divisions. Cliff picked up the ride in the Strong Racing #98 car when driver Joey Payne decided to drive the team’s newer car, and the Strong’s dragged Cliff to the other side of the pits at the last minute to turn the wheels. When that June 19th race was . . . . .