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.

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.

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.

Western New York driver Chuck Hossfeld knew he had the best car on Saturday night at Oswego Speedway and overcame any challenger en route to the Race of Champions Parts Plus 200 Modified ... cont.

Andrew Schartner drew pole position and held off dangerous past-champions for 100 laps on Saturday night to claim his first Small Block Supermodified Classic victory at Oswego ... cont.

By - Chris Porter
Photos - Jim Feeney

Kicking off 2011’s Classic Weekend, Chris Perley pocketed his seventh winged supermodified feature win at the Oswego Speedway on Friday night, his second at the lakeside oval this season. The Rowley, Mass. native and multi-time International Super Modified Association (ISMA) series champion completely ... cont.

WILLIAMSON, NY - The race of the evening was between Spencer Speedway officials and Mother Nature. At 8:45 the rains fell forcing racing to be called for the night, bringing the 2011 points season down to just one race ... cont.

SOUTH PLATTSBURGH – George Foley of Saranac Lake took command of the Dick Nephew Memorial 50 with 10 laps to go and went on to his third win of the season in ... cont.

Port City native, David Danzer, graduated from his rookie season in style Saturday night at the Oswego Speedway. The first-year driver piloted his No. 52 Hawk Chassis supermodified to victory in the regular season finale at ... cont.

Mexico, N.Y. native, Mike Bond, put an exclamation point on winning his third Small Block Supermodified (SBS) track title Saturday night at the Oswego Speedway, with a last-lap pass to win the ... cont.