Sep 8, 2016 12:12 AM EST
‘The Doctor’ Wins Battle, Paine Wins War With 9th Outlaw Championship
Media Contact: Steven Ovens - pr@outlawspeedwayllc.com or (315) 729-3825
For Immediate Release – September 7th, 2016 – Don Romeo photo -
(Dundee, NY) – Steve Paine needed at least a sixth place finish to clinch his ninth career Outlaw Speedway track championship and a cool $5,000 prize. With a second place finish to Danny Johnson on Friday, it mattered not what Alan Johnson did.
Johnson started Friday night’s double points championship toward the front of the pack, and well out of title contention as his Shakelton NAPA Auto Parts Bicknell was a part-time competitor in the second half of 2016. Paine started alongside Alan Johnson and quickly sliced his way into the top five, putting the pressure on Johnson to keep pace if he wanted a shot at the title.
Cory Costa set a blistering pace early on from the front row, and looked as though he might take a victory at Outlaw for the second season in a row. Costa won his first career Modified win in 2015 on the ‘Fast Four-Tenths-Mile.’
But it was going to be an uphill battle for Costa, as ‘The Doctor’ was on top of his game Friday night. The driver from Phelps closed in on the back bumper of Costa and worked high and low to try and sneak by. Johnson made several daring high-low switches in turns three and four, with the Outlaw Speedway fans standing up and waving in appreciation of the tremendous battle for the lead.
Paine continued to stay ahead of ‘AJ Slideways’ throughout the event, with the championship never coming into question. Alan would finish fourth in the final rundown, but was just a tick off the pace of the leaders out front. A respectable three-win season found Johnson trailing Paine by forty-four markers at the checkered flag.
The race for the lead, and the win, was between Danny Johnson and Costa though. The two made contact while battling for the lead, which later proved costly for Costa as he would suffer a flat tire and drop off the pace to the pit area.
Once Johnson got out front, he was able to run consistent laps enroute to his second Outlaw Speedway victory of the 2016 season. Paine finished second followed by Tyler Siri, Alan Johnson and Justin Wright the top five.
“It was tough racing out there, but really enjoyable,” said Johnson in Outlaw Victory Lane. “I didn’t think I was going to be able to get him (Costa), he was running a tough race. He slipped up a little bit and we were able to get by.”
For Paine, Friday night was the culmination of a championship he badly wanted to win.
“It’s nice to win the points and it’s good money,” said Paine. “Tyler put up a good point fund this year and we are glad to be here. There’s a lot going on here, it’s a fast little racetrack.”
It was not the kind of night to be one of the leaders in the Crate Sportsman championship Friday night. Chris Fisher, Tommy Collins Jr., Dale Welty and AJ Lloyd all had their own problems throughout the night, leaving fans to wonder if Fisher would keep the points lead at nights end? Or would one of the contenders survive and claim the title?
Fisher put an emphatic exclamation point on that answer, as he would survive several incidents to not only win his first Crate Sportsman feature event, but his first track championship as well in the process. But it wasn’t easy for the Penn Yan, NY driver of the Bully Hill Vineyards, Fisher Tree Service No. 37.
Fisher had to dodge a spinning Frank Guererri Jr. on lap number two, but narrowly got by without damage. Then later in the event, Fisher found his car spun into the outside wall on the front stretch that took out title contenders Tommy Collins Jr. and Dale Welty. Collins went off on the hook, while Welty went to the hot pit lane for diagnosis from his brother Darrell and then to the trailer.
That left AJ Lloyd as the lone contender, but contact while battling inside the top five broke something on the front end of the Fox’s Auto No. 1F. Lloyd battled for the remaining ten laps of the event, but Fisher was a man on a mission and wasn’t going to squander his first opportunity at the title.
Fisher went around the outside of Loren Lincoln’s No. 2 to take the lead, with two laps to go, on lap twenty-three. From there, Fisher placed the exclamation point on an up and down year that saw Fisher drive through the pain of a broken shoulder for four weeks, earlier in the year.
Fisher would hit the walk-off home run over Lincoln, Guererri Jr., Brett Buono and Lloyd.
“Talk about a turn of events tonight,” said a relieved Fisher. “I didn’t think after going into the wall that much was going to come of it. I’m not really sure (how much contact he had with the wall), but it was enough to get my attention that’s for sure.”
Fisher spoke to how much the night meant to both him and his dad George, who both have been a fixture at Outlaw Speedway for years.
“It means a lot to both of us, we dumped a lot of money into it this year.”
The Crate Late Model feature had an interesting caveat to it as well, as Jason Knowles had an opportunity to clinch the track championship with a win. But, if his brother Brian Knowles were to win the race and he finished second- Brian would have won the championship in a tiebreaker.
The set up the stage for a thrilling finish as Jason led the field for the shortened to fifteen-lap feature event. Jason led, but Brian had found the outside lane and was charging hard in the closing laps. On the final lap, Brian worked the outside of three and four and looked to have a good run off turn four.
However it was Jason who held on for the win at the line, with Brian only able to pull up alongside the right rear quarter panel at the double checkered flags. TJ Downs finished third in his first Outlaw Speedway start, Adam Depuy was fourth and Bob Buono rounded out the top five.
“I was just trying to stay below the rough stuff,” said Knowles in Victory Lane. “I knew if I stayed low, it would be hard for someone to roll through the rough stuff to get by.”
As far as winning a championship in the first season for the RUSH Crate Late Models?
“It’s been a roller coaster ride. We’ve had the high of the highs and the low of the lows, but the crew fought real hard.”
The Farmers Insurance IMCA Modified feature also saw a thriller to finish off their 2016 championship, as Brandon Smith was just two points behind Shawn Bruce going into the feature event. With the IMCA’s being one point per position and not racing for double points, Smith would have to beat Bruce by three spots to win the title outright.
Much like the Sportsman contenders, Bruce and Smith found themselves in trouble in the opening laps of the event. Bruce spun to avoid a car that was out of shape in turn two on the opening green flag lap, but suffered no damage.
Once the field restarted, Jeff Austin got out of shape in a battle with both Bruce and Smith, with all three cars crashing on the outside of turn two. Bruce and Smith would continue, with Bruce suffering front end damage and not being a factor for the win or even a top five finish. But what he was able to do, was keep Smith one spot behind him which helped Bruce clinch the 2016 championship.
While some focused on the battle between Bruce and Smith, the battle for the lead was a spirited one between ‘Dick in the Dirt’ Rich Karlnoski, who raced for the lead with Scott Sebing. Sebring had a great 2016 season and won his first feature well over a month ago, but it would be veteran experience that would win out on this night as Karlnoski raced his way to the season championship victory.
Sebring following Karlnoski across the line, followed by Tony Harris, Todd Stone and Phil Yaw in the top five.
“That was fun, I threw everything but the kitchen sink at this ole girl and it worked,” said Karlnoski. “That new clay helped too. Once we got it worked in, oh my God was there bite out there!”
Chuck Winslow only needed to take the green flag on Friday night to clinch the 2016 championship in the Creekside Entertainment Street Stock division. But with one more checkered flag on the line- Winslow was not going to just roll over, take the green and call it a night.
Winslow methodically worked his way through the field in short order, moving up to the fourth position on lap two. From there, Winslow overtook the third place car on the next lap and set his sights on the leaders.
The driver out of Elmira, NY drove like a man possessed, as he would make short work of both Gene Balmer and JJ Kreidler to take the race lead by the halfway mark. From there, Winslow kept the Precision Racing Fabrication No. 61 nice and straight off the bottom of the corners and put the hammer down as Outlaw Speedway fans have seen him do all season long.
Nobody had anything for Winslow on championship night, as he cruised away to his eighth victory of the season over Balmer, LaVerne Knickerbocker, Kreidler and CJ Guererri the top five.
“About three weeks ago we finished fourth and felt like we were in a rut,” said Winslow when asked at what point in the season they started thinking about points, for a team that prides themselves on not paying attention to the points.
“The kids and the wife said hey this thing is reachable, let’s use our heads. This thing was in pieces at two o’clock this afternoon, just going over everything one more time.”
It was Winslow’s first time knocking down a track title at Outlaw Speedway.
“We would points race, probably ten years ago, and it would drive you crazy and change the way you would race. We said let’s have fun, win races and the points will be the points.”
The Four Cylinder championship was a dandy! Erica Bell took a minimal margin lead over Dave Whetham and more distance over Ray Hyer going into championship night. But what she didn’t realize, was that Hyer was on a mission to sweep the entire night of events.
Whetham suffered problems under the hood and dropped out of title contention during the makeup feature. Hyer pounced on the opportunity to move into the second spot with a win in the feature made up from the week before. Bell would finish in the fifth spot, but Hyer was now in contention for the title as the field went back pitside to prepare for the double points feature later on in the night.
Hyer started in the fifteenth spot for the double points feature and put on a driving clinic, gaining ten spots on the first lap before a caution slowed the field. The crowd in attendance was on the edge of their seats, as the comeback story was starting to become a reality. Could Hyer miss the opening race, have a race win taken away weeks later, suffer a terrible family tragedy a few weeks after that and STILL come back to pull off the 2016 championship?
Bell would make sure that Hyer would come close, but not seal the deal on the track title. She would get up on the wheel, made some aggressive passes on her way to the third position and maintain that spot for the remainder of the race.
With only needing a top five to clinch, Bell saw Hyer race on to the win but her team nail down her first Four Cylinder championship. She’s also the first female track champion since Allison Teed in 2014, who won the Bandit championship that season under the name Yates County Speedway.
“Hats off to her (Bell),” said Hyer in Victory Lane. “She ran hard all year long and it wasn’t easy. Hats off for Brian and Vanessa for putting me in the car.”
Bell was ecstatic about the championship.
“I knew I had to finish fifth,” said Bell. “The track was excellent, and my car just wanted to hook up so I knew I had it. The clay helped the surface out a lot.”
Jordan Bacon made it nine straight feature wins in a row Friday night, driving the Grant Team No. 4D6. Bacon has been electric since joining the Winner Circle Deli Bandit division, standing in Victory Lane in every race he competed in at Outlaw Speedway this season.
Bacon quickly moved to the front of the field to take the lead from Joey Clark in the No. 1, who once again showed how much he has improved since joining the Bandit division. Austin Labar needed only to finish in the third position to clinch the 2016 title, and finished exactly there behind Bacon and Clark. Steven Perkins III finished fourth and will take home the runner-up spot in the points race.
"After winning our first feature, I never thought I'd be standing here having won nine in a row," said Bacon. "I have to send a big thank you to Brian and Vanessa Grant for letting me drive their car."
"My goal tonight was finish ahead of the 38 and we did that," said Labar on closing out with the 2016 championship. "I have to thank Brian Grant and Ray Hyer for letting me drive their car when we had motor problems, to keep the points lead."
As the Winners Circle Deli Bandits have shown all season, the future is bright for racing at Outlaw Speedway.
Next up for Outlaw Speedway is a huge weekend in September for the Outlaw Fall Nationals. Friday September 23rd will see the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints, Patriot Sprint Tour and United Racing Club converge for a $5,000-to-win 360 sprint car showdown.
The Crate Sportsman will go 25 laps on Hoosier tires for $1,500-to-win. IMCA Modifieds will go 25 laps for a cool $1,000-to-win in an IMCA SuperNationals 2017 qualifier. The Street Stocks will go 35 laps for $1,500-to-win and the top two finishers earning guaranteed starting spot for the Empire 100 in October. Always exciting, the 4 Cylinders will race Open Outlaw rules for 25 laps paying $1,000 to the winner.
Saturday will see race number two of three for the Sunoco $25,000 Modified Triple Crown, going 40 laps for a $5,000 top prize with an open tire rule. There will also be an open tire Crate Sportsman Shootout paying $2,000 to the winner after 35 laps. IMCA Empire Series competitors will race 35 laps for $1,500-to-win in another IMCA SuperNationals 2017 qualifier. 4 Cylinders will go 30 laps for $1,500-to-win as well as the 600 Micro Sprints racing 20 laps for a $1,000 top prize.
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 Suburban Propane Championship Night Official Results 9/2/2016:
FRIENDLY DODGE & FORD MODIFIEDS, 22 cars (30 Laps): DANNY JOHNSON (2), Steve Paine, Tyler Siri, Alan Johnson, Justin Wright, Marcus Dinkins, Eldon Payne, Jordan Siri, Derrick Podsiadlo, Jim LaRock, Gary Tomkins, Ron Cartwright, Joe Dgien, Daryl Hilkert, Donnie Lawson, Fran Hilton, Brian Doolittle, Cory Costa, Brady Fultz, Billy Van Pelt, Walt Chyrywaty, Lee Bills
Heat Winners: Cory Costa, Tyler Siri, Brady Fultz
CRATE SPORTSMAN, 16 cars (25 Laps): CHRIS FISHER (1), Loren Lincoln, Frank Guererri Jr., Brett Buono, AJ Lloyd, Mike Buchanan, Rob Bussey, Doug Smith, John Austin, Mike Jackson, Stacey Jackson, Brent Ayers, Tommy Collins Jr., Dale Welty, Josh Butler, Todd Hayward
Heat Winners: Mike Jackson, Dale Welty
CRATE LATE MODELS, 5 cars (20 Laps): JASON KNOWLES (5), Brian Knowles, TJ Downs, Adam Depuy, Bob Buono
Heat Winner: Jason Knowles
FARMERS INSURANCE IMCA MODIFIEDS, 11 cars (20 Laps): RICH KARLNOSKI (3), Scott Sebring, Tony Harris, Todd Stone, Phil Yaw, Shawn Bruce, Brandon Smith, Sparky Hills, Brad Smith, Jeff Austin DNS: David Chambers
Heat Winners: Rich Karlnoski, Scott Sebring
CREEKSIDE ENTERTAINMENT STREET STOCKS, 17 cars (20 Laps): CHUCK WINSLOW (8), Gene Balmer, LaVerne Knickerbocker, CJ Guererri, JJ Kreidler, Quinn Sutherland, Jared Hill, Nate Daggett, Jayson Smart, Ryan Krause, Carl Cleveland, John Burritt, Allison Teed, Christian Thompson, Tony Harris, Jake Karlnoski, Jeremy Trank
Heat Winners: Gene Balmer, Jayson Smart, Nate Daggett
FOUR CYLINDERS 8/26/16 MAKE UP, 24 cars (20 Laps): RAY HYER (5), JJ Kreidler, Mike Stone, Chad Ayers, Erica Bell, Chris Percy, Zach Teed, Scott Lehman, Desi Force, Dan Smart, Brent Ayers, Ron Hill, Billy Bowers, Derrick Puryear, Jarod Brown, ShiAnn Labar, Timmy Borden, Timmy Van Etten, Steven Perkins, Codie Baker, Dave Whetham, Brian Grant Jr., Bruce Kinner, Jordan Keefer
FOUR CYLINDERS, 28 cars (20 Laps): RAY HYER (6), Chad Ayers, Erica Bell, Craig Mahrt, Brad Rathbun Jr., Timmy Borden, Zach Teed, Adam DelGrosso, Mike Stone, JJ Kreidler, ShiAnn Labar, Dan Smart, Jeremy Bunn, Chris Percy, Brian Grant Jr., Steven Perkins, Brent Ayers, Ron Hill, Timmy Van Etten, Jarod Brown, Billy Bowers, Dave Whetham, Derrick Puryear, Chris Davis, Codie Baker, Scott Lehman DNS: Desi Force, Quinton Davis
Heat Winners: Ray Hyer, JJ Kreidler, Erica Bell, Mike Stone
WINNERS CIRCLE DELI BANDITS, 4 cars (10 Laps): JORDAN BACON (9), Joey Clark, Austin Labar, Steven Perkins III
