Jun 4, 2016 03:45 PM EST
Rudolph Takes Advantage Of Payne’s Misfortune; Wins At Outlaw Speedway
Media Contact: Steven Ovens - pr@outlawspeedwayllc.com or (315) 729-3825
For Immediate Release – June 3rd, 2016 –
(Dundee, NY) – Eldon Payne Jr. could taste that sweet taste of victory. After having led the first twenty-nine laps in what was a crazy thirty-lap feature for the Friendly Dodge & Ford Big Block/Small Block Modifieds, but the final caution spelled disaster for Payne.
As the field slowed for the final caution flag on lap twenty-nine, Payne’s car darted to the top of turn four and came to an abrupt stop. The rear end of the Mike’s Harder Lemonade No. 28p didn’t have one more lap left in it.
Payne’s misfortune spelled huge opportunity for Ransomville, NY driver Erick Rudolph. Rudolph, a regular at Ransomville, was off on Friday night from competition in the Niagara region and took advantage of extra track time in preparation for Tuesday’s Short Track Super Series event at Outlaw. The test and tune session sure paid off.
Rudolph started the race from position number eighteen and quickly moved his way up to the top ten. He would get help from several caution flags during the event as right rear tires were the Achilles heel of several drivers on Friday night. During a caution at the half way mark, Rudolph had advanced fifteen spots to move up into the third spot.
Payne was extremely fast with his Billy The Kid Big Block engine, speeding around the cushion and logging some fast laps while doing so. But as the race wore on, Rudolph’s car got better and he started chasing Payne down for the lead.
The two battled tooth and nail with fewer than ten laps to go, but Payne had the ponies to keep his car out front. Rudolph appeared to have the position on more than one occasion, but the caution would come out and dash his hopes for the lead.
“It seemed like I almost got by (Payne) several times but the caution kept coming out,” said Rudolph in Outlaw Speedway’s brand new victory lane. “It looked like something broke on his car when the last caution came out.”
Rudolph was correct. The rear end on the No. 28p gave way as the caution came out on lap twenty-nine, ending Payne’s night in heartbreak.
“It’s too bad we couldn’t race it out until the end there, but I will take the win for my team,” said Rudolph who also leads the points for the North Region of the Short Track Super Series.
“With Ransomville being off, we decided to bring this car down here to shake it down and I imagine we will come back on Tuesday and leave it just like it is.”
Rudolph held off Tyler Siri and Danny Johnson on the last lap to score the victory. Steve Paine finished a strong fourth from twenty-first and Penn Yan, NY pilot Derrick Podsiadlo scored his third top five in four races.
In the Crate Sportsman division, AJ Lloyd turned what seemed like a career full of bad luck at Outlaw Speedway into a huge win on Friday night. Lloyd started the feature from the tenth position but would quickly move up through the field as the beginning of the feature saw several cautions and twenty-one minutes pass before even one lap was put on the board.
Once the race took Steve Kellogg’s green flag, the race ended up going green to checkered with Mike Buchanan taking the early advantage in his Precision Racing Fabrication No. 25. Buchanan would lead until Lloyd caught him in his Fox’s Auto No. 1F.
Lloyd made the race-winning pass on lap twelve, but encountered trouble after the pass was made. Thomas Video cameras were able to catch the right side nerf bar had come ajar from the side of the No. 1F ride. The rear nerf bar mount had come undone but was held to the car by the front mount for the remaining 13 laps.
Lloyd raced away to his first career Outlaw Speedway victory over Tommy Collins Jr. who had a banner night in his No. 713. Jake Dgien found the cushion late to power his way to the third spot, with early leader Buchanan and Tim Guild rounding out the top five positions.
“It feels really good because we’ve been so close here in the past,” said Lloyd. “One time we ran a fifty lapper here and led forty-eight laps and lost it with two to go. We struggled with the car at the beginning of the year but now I don’t know what we could do to make it even better.”
The Creekside Entertainment Street Stocks held double-features on Friday night, running their May 20th make up feature to start the night off. Chuck Winslow used a key piece of advice from his wife on the car’s set up and it paid off as Winslow ran away with the make up feature.
“My wife had an idea on the rear end of the car and I didn’t believe her, but I tried it and it worked,” said Winslow in Victory Lane. Winslow spoke to the plan on trying to keep the car in one piece for the first feature, to have something for later on.
“Get through the first one (feature) and then we can come back out here and race the rest of our night.”
Gene Balmer made a right rear last just long enough to finish second, while Nate Daggett had something come apart on the left front of his car to hang on to a third place finish. CJ Guererri and Jared Hill rounded out the top five finishers.
In the regularly scheduled event, LaVerne Knickerbocker smoked the field to bring home his first win of 2016. Knickerbocker started fourth, but in short order, found himself in the top spot as the field clicked off lap number one.
From that point, Knickerbocker led the way with Jeremy Potrzebowski running him down in the Jason Gleason No. 24hrs. Gleason loaned Potrzebowski the ride after a terminal problem surfaced on his own car late in the week before coming to the track.
Potrzebowski would get as close as a few car lengths but no closer, as Knickerbocker would not be denied. Potrzebowski held on for second, Tyler Yeagle came back from the back of the pack for third, CJ Guererri was strong and steady for fourth and Bob Buono rounded out the top five.
“I’m trying to take a little different approach this year and be more patient,” said Knickerbocker. “I see other people on the internet aren’t so patient but they sure like to talk about it. But we’re here in victory lane so that’s all that matters.”
After a rough race last Friday night, the Farmers Insurance IMCA Modifieds turned things around in a big way. A quick caution on the opening lap would be the only caution.
The IMCA brigade would go twenty laps caution-free after that with Shawn Bruce taking the victory- now giving him a motorsports victory in each of the last four decades. But to get the win, he had to hold off a fiercely charging Brandon Smith.
Smith had his No. 96x working well on Friday night, taking a heat win and battling Bruce for the victory. He closed in on Bruce with only a handful of laps remaining. The two made contact coming off turn four with five laps to go, but Smith showed a great deal of sportsmanship by letting Bruce gather it back in and continue on. Smith, however, would fall back and not be able to close the gap once more.
Bruce took his first victory of 2016 over Smith, Brad Smith in his Lethal chassis, Rodney Morgan fourth and Todd Stone with a solid fifth place finish.
“We ran a lot back in 2012, but parked the car as we just didn’t have the desire,” said Bruce with his son and crew chief in Victory Lane. “My boy said it’s time to go back out (and here we are). I felt (Smith) there once and he was a good sportsman and backed out and we went at it again.”
The four cylinder feature was once again dominated late by Ray Hyer in his No. 4D. But although Hyer crossed the line in first place, he would not keep the win. The car was taken to post-race tech and found to be in violation of the rules surrounding the carburetor on his racecar.
The updated running order at the finish will now show Dave Whetham, Erica Bell, Corky Grant, Del Cummings and Scott Bradley as the top five.
In the Winners Circle Deli Bandit division, Austin Labar made a last lap, last corner pass to capture his first career victory at Outlaw Speedway. Steven Perkins III led the race from the drop of the green flag, but Labar was closing in fast as the race wound down.
As the two cars took the white flag, Labar was there and ready to make his move. Perkins took the bottom lane through turns three and four, leaving the outside open for Labar. Labar drove it in deeper than he had all season long, picking up the gas quickly off turn four and beating Perkins in a drag race to Steve Kellogg’s checkered flag.
“I knew it was my time, so I had to take it,” said Labar in Victory Lane with his family by his side.
Coming up Tuesday at Outlaw Speedway, the Short Track Super Series will be in town for what expects to be the biggest Modified show of the season at the speedway paying $5,000-to-win, $1,000 for tenth and $400 just to take the green flag. The STSS will be joined by the Super Gen Products Grit Racing Series, Fight Night All Star Street Stock Series and a $600-to-win event for the Four Cylinders (Outlaw/Woodhull rules). Race time is set for 7:00PM with the grandstands opening up at 5:00PM sharp.
For more information race over to www.outlawspeedwayllc.com follow Outlaw Speedway on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OutlawSpeedwayLLC or follow us on Twitter @OutlawSpeedPR and Instagram @OutlawSpeedway
Outlaw Speedway is located at 82 Main St in Dundee, NY and holds dirt track racing weekly on Friday nights from mid-April through Labor Day Weekend in September. The speedway also hosts special events on the grounds with special races run during the fall months of September and October. A new era is being ushered in for 2016 as Tyler Siri takes over ownership of the Yates County oval nestled in the heart of the Finger Lakes.
Outlaw Speedway Elm Chevrolet Night Quick Results 6/3/2016:
FRIENDLY DODGE & FORD MODIFIEDS, 23 cars (30 Laps): ERICK RUDOLPH (1), Tyler Siri, Danny Johnson, Steve Paine, Derrick Podsiadlo, Brady Fultz, Dave Rauscher, Jim LaRock, Justin Wright, Joe Dgien, Marcus Dinkins, Randy Chrysler, Daryl Hilkert, Eldon Payne Jr., Cory Costa, Gary Tomkins, Lee Bills, Donnie Lawson, Billy Van Pelt, Jordan Siri, Ron Cartwright Jr., James Sweeting, Alan Johnson
Heat Race Winners: Donnie Lawson, Eldon Payne Jr., Gary Tomkins
Lap Leaders: Eldon Payne Jr. 1-29, Rudolph 30
CRATE SPORTSMAN, 21 cars (30 Laps): AJ LLOYD (1), Tommy Collins Jr., Jake Dgien, Mike Buchanan, Tim Guild, Chris Fisher, Dale Welty, Mike Jackson, Brent Ayers, Todd Hayward, Stacey Jackson, Brady Fultz, Lance Irwin, Zach Ziegenhagen, Eric Williams, Garett Rushlow, Loren Lincoln, Brett Buono, Ross Vleck DNS: Doug Smith, John Agnew
Heat Race Winners: Chris Fisher, Loren Lincoln, Brent Ayers
Lap Leaders: Mike Buchanan 1-11, AJ Lloyd 12-25
FARMERS INSURANCE IMCA MODIFIEDS, 11 cars (20 Laps): SHAWN BRUCE (1), Brandon Smith, Brad Smith, Rodney Morgan, Todd Stone, Phil Yaw, Rich Karlnoski, Tony Harris, Scott Sebring, Bruce Tinsley, Gary Lamphere
Heat Race Winners: Rodney Morgan, Brandon Smith
Lap Leaders: Shawn Bruce 1-20
CREEKSIDE ENTERTAINMENT STREET STOCKS, 18 cars (20 Laps): LAVERNE KNICKERBOCKER (1), Jeremy Potrzebowski, Tyler Yeagle, CJ Guererri, Bob Buono, Nate Daggett, Jared Hill, Carl Cleveland, JJ Kreidler, Chuck Winslow, John Burritt, Allison Teed, Ryan Krause, Gene Balmer, Quinn Sutherland, Tony Harris DQ: Jayson Smart DNS: Jeremy Trank
Heat Race Winners: Jared Hill, Quinn Sutherland
Lap Leaders: LaVerne Knickerbocker 1-20
CREEKSIDE ENTERTAINMENT STREET STOCKS MAY 20TH Make Up, 19 cars (20 Laps): CHUCK WINSLOW (2), Gene Balmer, Nate Daggett, CJ Guererri, Jared Hill, LaVerne Knickerbocker, JJ Kreidler, Jeremy Potrzebowski, Carl Cleveland, Quinn Sutherland, John Burritt, Jayson Smart, Tyler Yeagle, Tony Harris, Jeremy Trank, Allison Teed DQ: Rich Sharpsteen DNS: Adam Whipple, 2Q
Heat Race Winners: Chuck Winslow, LaVerne Knickerbocker
FOUR CYLINDERS, 24 cars (20 Laps): (Winner DQ), Dave Whetham, Erica Bell, Corky Grant, Del Cummings, Scott Bradley, Dan Smart, Jarod Brown, Nick Brown, Desi Force, Codie Baker, Brandon Kinner, Steve Perkins Jr., ShiAnn Labar, Timmy Borden, Chris Percy, Rich Sharpsteen, Jordan Keefer, Chad Ayers, Bruce Kinner, Craig Mahrt, Billy Bowers, Zach Teed DQ: Ray Hyer DNS: Chris Mashewske
Heat Race Winners: Del Cummings, Chris Percy, Dave Whetham
WINNERS CIRCLE DELI BANDITS, 2 cars (10 Laps): AUSTIN LABAR (1), Steven Perkins III
Lap Leaders: Steven Perkins III 1-9, Austin Labar 10
