by Carol Houssock

(Chemung, NY) New track manager, Jody Buckley, should head to the nearest gaming table. he bet big, promoting a Pack-the-Track with a $4 admission as the season opener at WilliamsAutoGroup.com presents Chemung Speedrome. Add to that the high-dollar annual Bob Hanbury Memorial for the Sunoco Modifieds, and you have a winning hand. Buckley’s huge gamble paid off in a big way, with great weather and a record-breaking crowd. Buckley’s opening remarks to the thousands in attendance included thanks to the many in the racing community who believed in his efforts and helped make opening night something fans and race teams will talk about for years. The other reason they’ll talk is how the headline race ended.

Luck of the draw put Charlie Sharpsteen and Justin Petcosky on the front row for the start of the 42-lap feature. Both spun before the first lap was complete, moving Jimmy Zacharias and Rusty Smith from row 2 to row 1 for the 2nd attempt. Zacharias led the way and held the lead following a caution when Andy Lewis spun. While working lap 14 Zach Curren spun and that put Bobby Osgood alongside Zacharias for the restart. Osgood capitalized on a great restart and took the lead. On the 20th lap Daren Scherer, Zach Truesdail and Smith got together while battling for position. Smith was done for the night, and Zacharias pitted with a flat left rear.

With 3 of the top 5 either out or restarting in the rear, Tony Hanbury pulled up beside Osgood on the front row. That was all Hanbury needed, and he took the lead with a nice pass. Sharpsteen, meanwhile, was engaged in a spirited battle for 3rd with John Wilber. They got together and Sharpsteen had race-ending contact with the front stretch wall, putting the race under its 7th caution period. Two more cautions slowed the remainder of this one, but nothing was going to slow down Hanbury. He held on for the crowd-pleasing win and took home the most cherished trophy now in his collection. Hanbury’s father passed away unexpectedly 6 months ago, and this was his first race without his best friend by his side.

Following a burnout with checkered flag in hand, Hanbury drove to the Horseheads Pick-a-Part Victory Lane and joined a family that had suffered a tremendous loss. As he climbed from the car and heard the fan reaction, he knew he had done something very special. “I had no fortune in the heat race and didn’t know what was gonna happen,” he told the crowd. “I want to thank Bobby Osgood for clean restarts and the respect he showed tonight. I owe him one.” Osgood finished 2nd, with Truesdail, Zacharias and Wilber all in the top 5. Zacharias, Osgood and Sharpsteen won the 3 heat races.

Hanbury had organized a lap sponsorship program that resulted in over $7,000 being shared among drivers in the top 10. Mike Nichols, who won the Street Stock feature, drew the winning positions for the 42 laps in front of the crowd prior to the big race. Several small businesses in Owego, NY had donated money that was split between the race winner and the 50/50.

Multi-time Street Stock champion, Mike Nichols, races for wins. Friday night he raced for, and got, a sweep. Winner of heat race #1, he drew the 5th starting spot but wasted no time chasing down the leaders. Hank Buchanan led the first 3 laps before losing that spot the Chris Daugherty. A pair of early cautions bunched up the field and brought Nichols up to 3rd spot for the lap 7 restart. A lap leader it was the 72 of Nichols who led the way. Daugherty’s strong run ended with 12 laps in the book. He slowly headed to the pits and handed over 2nd to Buchanan.

With 10 laps to go Nichols had a commanding lead, leaving behind a 3-way battle for 2nd involving Buchanan, Terry Potrzebowski and defending track champ Jeff Goodwin. On lap 17 Goodwin took over 3rd while Potrzebowski tried to reel in Nichols. He closed the gap some, but not nearly what was needed and Nichols cruised to the finish line first. Heat winner Potrzebowski finished 2nd, ahead of Goodwin, Buchanan and Dylan Terry. Post-race tech resulted in a DQ for Buchanan, a 4th place finish for Terry, and a top-5 for Brittany Jack.

Mike Alcaro is a force to be reckoned with, and on opening night he was on top of his INEX Legends game once again. Richie Vanderpool drew the pole he led the way for the first 8 laps. Andrew Bickford’s spin on lap 9 brought the field together for the restart and Alcaro had moved up from 15th to 6th at that point. Justin Petcosky, running 2nd, was applying heavy pressure to Vanderpool. While working lap 16 Petcosky and Matt Priscott got together in turn 4. At that point Alcaro, running 2nd, pulled up alongside Vanderpool for the restart. He took the lead on the backstretch but Vanderpool had the advantage as the lap was scored. The final restart came following a spin by Michael Campbell, and the drama up front continued. This time Alcaro got the better of Vanderpool, took the lead, and held it over the remaining 6 laps. Last year Alcaro won 5 of the 6 races he ran at Chemung. This time his win was over Vanderpool, Daren Scherer, Brandon Michael and Priscott. Vanderpool and Michael won the 2 heats.

Gene Purvis, multi-time 4 Cylinder champ, took the lead from Phil Haner early on, but a tough battle for 3rd turned dramatic. Defending champ Jeremy Potrzebowski and Gullo made contact in their battle and both ended up with flat tires. As they headed pit side, Milton Price spun and brought out the only caution. Over the last half of the race Haner and Purvis pulled away and took their fight right to the checkered flag. This one went to Purvis with Haner, Joe Lane, Frank Morich and Ryan Purvis all posting top-5 finishes.

The FWD 4 Cylinders ran a 10-lap feature. Dayton Cote drew the pole and led the first lap. Zack Keeney found his way around Cote and, once in front, pulled away to a comfortable lead and what became an equally comfortable margin of victory. Cote finished 2nd, ahead of Marcus Wood, Kurtis Benjamin and David Cook.

Racing resumes this Friday at 7:30 PM. Pit gates open at 5, with grandstand gates and practice starting at 6 PM. First heat race hits the track at 7:30 PM sharp. Grandstand admission is $10 for adults, $6 for seniors and kids ages 6-15, and always free for kids 5 and under. Fans who bring their grandstand ticket stub from April 30th will get $2 off admission this Friday. Anyone wanting more information can call Buckley at 607-738-1125 or check the track’s website, www.chemungspeedrome.net. Chemung Speedrome and the NASCAR Whelen All American Series – Short Track Racing At Its Best!

Results:
NASCAR Sunoco Modifieds Bob Hanbury Memorial (42 Laps) TONY HANBURY, Bobby Osgood, Zach Truesdail, Jimmy Zacharias, John Wilber, John Markovic, Zane Zeiner, Zack Curren, Andy Lewis, Larry Jaynes, Daryl Lewis, Jr., TJ Potrzebowski, Charlie Sharpsteen, Patrick Emerling, Daren Scherer, Rusty Smith, JR Kent, Lee Sharpsteen, Justin Petcosky, Dan Scott

Street Stocks (25 Laps) MIKE NICHOLS, Terry Potrzebowski, Jeff Goodwin, Dylan Terry, Brittany Jack, Brandon Ameigh, Terry Ostrander, Chris Daugherty, Jim House, John Lane, Ken Evans (DNS), Hank Buchanan (DQ)

INEX Legends (25 Laps) MIKE ALCARO, Richie Vanderpool, Daren Scherer, Brandon Michael, Matt Priscott, Art Priscott, Andrew Stotler, Cody Frantz, Matt Evans, Beth Scherer, Michael Campbell, AJ Griffin, Ravin Schrantz, Andrew Bickford, John Bacon, Barry Schrantz, Justin Petcosky

4 Cylinder (15 Laps) GENE PURVIS, Phil Haner, Joe Lane, Frank Morich, Ryan Purvis, Milton Price, Jeremy Potrzebowski, Tony Gullo

4 Cylinder FWD (10 Laps) ZACK KEENEY, Dayton Cote, Marcus Wood, Kurtis Benjamin, David Cook