Aug 22, 2016 12:07 PM EST
Steve Paine Executes Spin-To-Win For 95th Outlaw Speedway Victory; Buono Makes It A Hig Fab Sweep In Sportsman
Media Contact: Steven Ovens - pr@outlawspeedwayllc.com or (315) 729-3825
For Immediate Release – August 22nd, 2016 – Don Romeo photo -
(Dundee, NY) – It was a good night to be driving a Hig Fab Chassis on Friday at Outlaw Speedway. The relatively new chassis builder that splashed on the scene swept both the Friendly Dodge & Ford Modified feature as well as the Crate Sportsman feature event on Knapp & Schlappi Lumber Company Night.
Eight-time Outlaw Speedway track champion ‘The Hurricane’ Steve Paine looked like the Paine of old on Friday night, charging through the field after a second lap accident. Paine started in the thirteenth position at Scott Hixson’s initial green flag, but an incident in the first and second turns that swept Paine and Daryl Hilkert into a spin, would make the division point leader restart in the twentieth position.
Ron Cartwright Jr. was the rabbit early on in the event, leading the race from his pole starting spot. The race would restart and complete two more laps before the caution would come out once again.
Entering turn three, Tyler Siri’s No. 5* made contact with the back bumper of Gary Tomkins’ No. 84 and Tomkins went around. Tomkins collected Danny Johnson’s No. 27J, with Tomkins and Johnson suffering significant damage and not being able to continue. Siri was sent to the rear for the restart.
Another quick caution for Dale Welty on lap five, would set up a seventeen lap green flag run That was incredibly entertaining. Cartwright, Joe Dgien and Donnie Lawson put on a great race for the lead, with these drivers all using three different lanes to try and advance position.
Outlaw Speedway laid new clay in several areas of the four-tenths-mile oval prior to last week’s rained out event, and it surely passed its first test on Friday. Unfortunately for Dgien, the right rear tire wouldn’t last all thirty laps with the No. 3x drawing the caution on lap twenty-two for a shredded right rear sneaker.
On the restart, Donnie Lawson rode his momentum off a third place Short Track Super Series effort Wednesday, to the bottom lane underneath Cartwright for the lead. Cartwright and Lawson made contact in the first turn, as they battled for the lead on what appeared to be tires that were beginning to go away.
After the contact, Cartwright came up slow with damage. While all of this was happening, Paine was charging his way back into the top five and in contention for the victory.
Paine clawed his was back from the lap two spin, to catch the leaders with just five laps to go. Alan Johnson was also working his way through the top five, trying to not let Paine get away and extend his point lead any further.
But Paine was not to be denied. Paine threw it against the cushion with authority to take the lead away from Lawson on lap twenty-six- making the Outlaw Speedway crowd stand on their feet. The fans were willing their favorite driver to the front, as he chased down win number ninety-five at Outlaw Speedway in his storied career at Dundee.
Paine pulled away and ran away with the Modified victory over Johnson, Lawson, Derrick Podsiadlo and Jordan Siri. As Paine exited the car in Outlaw Victory Lane, the crowd went crazy.
“It’s really great, that’s why we do it,” said Paine after snagging number ninety-five. “I love putting on a good clean show for the fans here and I try to do my best.”
Paine talked about being frustrated with the crashes that took place Friday night, as well as the last couple races at Outlaw. Paine said it made him mad, and helped him find the line that would lead his charge to the front and the win.
“It just got looking to be like the last time we were here, a crash fast and I just can’t stand that. It just drives me crazy. I found a little something on top when I wasn’t so happy and it really worked.”
But through the frustration, Paine made it work and blasted his No. 7x to the lead and another win at a track he has loved racing at for several decades.
“I like coming here every week. Once I’m here I have fun every minute I’m here. I have to thank my crew for all the work when our car has been in pieces and Hig Fab for building the cars.”
Brett Buono made it a Hig Fab sweep on Friday night, bagging his second victory of 2016 on the ‘Fast Four-Tenths-Mile’. Buono started on the outside pole after Brent Ayers was unable to take the green flag with problems on his No. 29 during the pace laps.
Stacy Jackson, in his recently purchased No. 31, took the green flag with Buono flanking him on the front row for the initial green. Jackson jumped out into the lead on the opening lap, with Buono in tow.
A few early cautions put Buono on the outside lane for restarts and allowed him to see what his Hig Fab Chassis could do on that outer lane. Buono dedicated his No. 64b to the outside lane and was able to chip away at Jackson’s lead.
As the race approached half way, Buono made his move on the outside of Jackson, in what was a great race for the lead. Buono finally got by Jackson and began to pull away to a three car length lead.
Buono would drive away, leaving Jackson to contend with Chris Fisher who would take over the points lead after a second place finish. At the checkered flag, Buono had a half-straightaway lead over Fisher, Dale Welty, Jackson and Doug Smith with his first top five since June 24th and third of the season.
“We tried a couple of things in the heat and it didn’t work,” said Buono with Mel Thomas in Victory Lane. “We changed them back for the feature and obviously it worked.”
Buono talked about the track conditions, as it was a topic of conversation and praise Friday night.
“The track was better, very drivable and had a lot of bite. I could go high or low, I just can’t say enough about this Hig Fab Chassis.”
The Crate Late Model feature event was pretty entertaining as Wayne Robertson was in attendance on Friday night and gave Brian Knowles an incredible challenge for the RUSH sanctioned Late Model victory.
Jason Knowles and Robertson led the field to green, but they were the first feature on the track. There were several spots that still had some moisture on the surface, creating some heads up moments for the five-car field- but made for a hell of a race for the lead.
While Jason led the event early, Brian would eventually take the lead and have to hold off Robertson to keep the lead. Robertson tried high and low, even getting dangerously close to the yuke tires on the inside of the track trying to get by.
Brian Knowles went on to his fifth win of the season and second in a row at Outlaw. Robertson was second, Jason third, Bob Buono fourth and Adam Depuy the top five.
“I would see his nose every once in awhile,” said Knowles in Outlaw Victory Lane. “There was a bump in turn three that would bottom out the right front, and when I hit that I’d slide up and see his nose again. I just focused on hitting my marks, run my line and not let him get a run on me.”
In a night filled with entertaining races, the Farmers Insurance IMCA Modified feature ranked up toward the top of the list for entertainment. ‘Dick in the Dirt’ Rich Karlnoski took the early lead from the front row, and looked to run away to pick up his third victory of the season.
However, Penn Yan-native Scott Sebring had something to say about that. Sebring, who picked up his first career win earlier this year, made Karlnoski work to stay in the lead. But one driver who was making moves toward the front was I-88 regular Matt Cole.
Cole had a great set up underneath the No. 24x, and worked and worked Karlnoski to get by. Karlnoski would fight off the advances of Cole, even changing his line to try and break Cole’s momentum.
But Cole wasn’t going to be denied, as Cole swept by and would take the lead on lap number seventeen. Once Cole got by, he kept the rest of the field at arm’s reach to score his first Outlaw Speedway win of 2016 in a rare appearance with I-88 off for the Delaware County Fair.
Karlnoski held on for second, Sebring third, Brandon Smith fourth and point leader Shawn Bruce maintaining his point lead with a top five.
“It was a really fun race, I have to thank (Karlnoski) for running me clean. We touched a little bit, but it was just good hard racing,” reflected Cole on the battle for the lead.
“You just have to change the way you’re driving (to get by the leader). I was driving in real real hard and I figured out that, if I slowed down a little bit going in, it would give me the drive coming off (the corner).”
It was a happy victory lane celebration for the Cole family as Matt celebrated the win with his dad. On top of the winner’s trophy, Cole and the rest of the Super Six Show winners took home a free tire grinder from the night’s sponsor Knapp & Schlappi.
The Creekside Entertainment Street Stocks made their way to the track after the IMCA Modifieds, and LaVerne Knickerbocker assured that the feature following the great IMCA battle would not be overshadowed.
Knickerbocker was back in his first race since having the front end of his Nitro Chassis destroyed, after being forced into a yuke tire in turn one on July 29th. The driver from Corning was disqualified for exiting his car and tossing his helmet in frustration, but the crew went to work on getting the No. 187 to Nitro Chassis headquarters for repairs.
Knickerbocker turned that frustration into motivation right off the trailer Friday night. He would fight Chuck Winslow in the heat race to get the win, in a heat that saw Knickerbocker make aggressive moves you don’t normally see in a heat race. He made everyone take notice in the qualifiers that the feature win would go through the 187.
JJ Kreidler and Carl Cleveland led the field to the green flag with Kreidler taking the early advantage. Knickerbocker’s handicap put him back in the fifteenth starting spot, meaning he’d have to keep the pressure on for all twenty laps.
Quinn Sutherland took the lead from Kreidler on lap three in his No. 57J. Sutherland would ultimately finish second to Knickerbocker, but would be disqualified in post-race tech inspection.
A lap thirteen caution allowed Knickerbocker to catch the leaders and reset his chances to get the lead. Knickerbocker took to the whip at the drop of the green on the restart, quickly taking second place and forcing his way to the bottom lane to reel in Sutherland.
“I just had to have some patience tonight,” said Knickerbocker in Victory Lane. “If I could just get to the bottom of one and two, I’m usually pretty good down there. They kept leaving that half a groove to a groove down there for me. I said if you’re going to leave it, I’m going to take it.”
Knickerbocker did exactly that, taking the lead with five laps remaining. Once out in the lead, Knickerbocker got even faster, leaving the field to nearly a full straightaway lead at the double-checkered flags.
“Joel took care of my car for me, it cost us $1,300 to come back here but I guess it paid off,” Knickerbocker said after his roof dance with his infamous steering wheel. “This is a good (win) because of all the hard work we had to go through to get here. My buddy Luke and Lance helped me out quite a bit to get it squared away once we got it back from Joel, I’ve got to thank those guys for the help.”
Desi Force and Scott Bradley led the field to the green flag in the Four Cylinder feature race, with lady racer Force leading the opening circuit. Force had a great race going in her No. 94, only to see it go away off the front bumper of one of her competitors on lap six. Force was battling for a top five spot with two other cars, when she would see her car spin the infield on the backstretch.
Brian Grant Jr. had taken the lead on lap on lap four and had a fast racecar under him in the No. 4D6. JJ Kreidler made his way through the field in Rich Sharpsteen’s Flyin’ X machine and caught a great break as Billy Bowers lost a wheel on his No. 17, drawing the caution on lap twelve.
On the restart, Kreidler put the pressure on strong for Grant Jr. for the lead. Grant Jr. was fast on Friday night, but not fast enough to hold off Kreidler who got by to take the lead with five laps to go.
Kreidler drove away to his sixth win of the season and fourth points victory of 2016. Grant Jr. finished second, followed by Codie Baker, Chad Ayers and Ray Hyer.
“It seems to be hooking up, I like the way it drives. It doesn’t handle quite like mine, but it handles good enough to get in Victory Lane,” said Kreidler.
In a story that is beginning to sound like a broken record, Jordan Bacon found himself in Outlaw Victory Lane, yet again in the Winners Circle Deli Bandit division. Bacon started up front and stayed up front, holding off an initial challenge from Joey Clark in the No. 1 car.
Bacon cruised away from there, to score his seventh win in as many races for the fourteen-year-old driver who started halfway through the regular season. ‘Burnin’ Bacon’ got it done again over point leader Austin Labar, Clark and Steven Perkins III.
“I have to send a huge shout out to Brian and Vanessa Grant for letting me run their car,” said Bacon in Victory Lane. This was of course after busting chops for the flat tire they had on their race trailer on the way to the races.
This week at Outlaw Speedway is Back To School Night, sponsored by Superior Plus Energy Services. It will be an important race as there are only two point races left, with championship night offering double points. Teams and fans will no doubtedly by on the edge of their seat for the next two events that will close out the 2016 season at Outlaw Speedway.
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 Knapp & Schlappi Night Official Results 8/19/2016:
FRIENDLY DODGE & FORD MODIFIEDS, 21 cars (30 Laps): STEVE PAINE (2), Alan Johnson, Donnie Lawson, Derrick Podsiadlo, Jordan Siri, Tyler Siri, Justin Wright, Cory Costa, Daryl Hilkert, Jim LaRock, Fran Hilton, Marcus Dinkins, Joe Dgien, Ron Cartwright Jr., Randy Brokaw, Brian Swarthout, Wayne Robertson, Dale Welty, Gary Tomkins, Danny Johnson, Brady Fultz
Heat Winners: Ron Cartwright Jr., Joe Dgien, Gary Tomkins
CRATE SPORTSMAN, 19 cars (25 Laps): BRETT BUONO (2), Chris Fisher, Dale Welty, Stacy Jackson, Doug Smith, Rob Bussey, Loren Lincoln, Mike Jackson, Frank Guererri Jr., Tommy Collins Jr., Chris Silvers, Eric Williams, John Agnew, Todd Hayward, Mike Buchanan, Zach Ziegenhagen, Dean Loughlin, AJ Lloyd DNS: Brent Ayers
Heat Winners: Doug Smith, Dale Welty, Brent Ayers
CRATE LATE MODELS, 5 cars (20 Laps): BRIAN KNOWLES (5), Wayne Robertson, Jason Knowles, Bob Buono, Adam Depuy
Heat Winner: Wayne Robertson
FARMERS INSURANCE IMCA MODIFIEDS, 15 cars (20 Laps): MATT COLE (1), Rich Karlnoski, Scott Sebring, Brandon Smith, Shawn Bruce, Brad Smith, Will Ward, Rich Michael Jr., Phil Yaw, Sparky Hills, Billy Ward, Jeff Austin, Nicholas MacMillan DNS: Kevin Smith, David Chambers
Heat Winners: Phil Yaw, Shawn Bruce
CREEKSIDE ENTERTAINMENT STREET STOCKS, 20 cars (20 Laps): LAVERNE KNICKERBOCKER (4), Bob Buono, CJ Guererri, Chuck Winslow, JJ Kreidler, Jake Karlnoski, Ryan Krause, Nate Daggett, Carl Cleveland, John Burritt, Brad Steinruck, Jayson Smart, Allison Teed, Adam Whipple, Christian Thompspn, Gene Balmer, Landon Albanese, Jared Hill DQ: Quinn Sutherland DNS: Jeremy Trank
Heat Winners: LaVerne Knickerbocker, JJ Kreidler, Bob Buono
FOUR CYLINDERS, 24 cars (20 Laps): JJ KREIDLER (5), Brian Grant Jr., Codie Baker, Chad Ayers, Ray Hyer, Dave Whetham, Corky Grant, Zach Teed, Desi Force, ShiAnn Labar, Timmy Borden, Erica Bell, Jarod Brown, Timmy Van Etten, Bruce Kinner, Chris Percy, Craig Mahrt, Mike Stone, Steven Perkins, Scott Bradley, Billy Bowers, Brad Rathbun, Ryan Krause DNS: Del Cummings
Heat Winners: Brian Grant Jr., Ray Hyer, Chad Ayers
WINNERS CIRCLE DELI BANDITS, 4 cars (10 Laps): JORDAN BACON (7), Austin Labar, Joey Clark, Steven Perkins III
