RGeeProductions
09-05-2009, 10:38 AM
AMY CATALANO TAKES MOD TITLE, KLUTH WINS; BUTLER JR., STEFFENAHAGEN JR., RYAN BROWN AND BILL VERWYS ALSO CROWNED
The final night of the 2009 racing season came last Friday, September 4, at Spencer Speedway. A number of track titles were up for grabs, including a very tight point race in the NASCAR Weekly Modifieds.
On track Michael Bradshaw won the Auto Value Four Cylinder Scorpions 15-lap feature. He joins Bro Bradshaw as the only “Beginner Class” drivers to win an overall feature this season in the Auto Value Scorpion Division. Ryan Brown’s fourth place finish was good enough to wrap up the Beginners Class track title. Bill VerWys laid clam to the Pro-Class track title.
The Super Six division saw Keith Butler Jr. entering the night with the title in his pocket. He becomes just the first driver in this division to repeat as champion. He not only won the title, but he won the final 20-lapper of the year beating out Skip Powers.
“I’ll be back next year with the same car to see if I can win another one,” stated Butler Jr. in victory lane.
In Street Stock action Jim Steffenhagen Jr. had the title wrapped up going into the night’s final race. He also picks up a $500 bonus for being the first Crate Powered Street Stock in points. Bob Minacapelli took the feature win. Steffenhagen Jr. celebrated by doing a super burnout at the start-finish line, laying out a large cloud of smoke to the delight of the fans.
“It’s great getting a bonus like that,” stated Steffenhagen. “That’s half as much as the motor costs. That’s great, all you have to do is use your head to figure that out.”
All attention came down to the NASCAR Weekly Modifieds, where Amy Catalano had the opportunity to become Spencer Speedway’s first female modified champion. After he Brother-in-Law Buck Catalano dropped from the event, Amy had a wrap on the title. Ricky Kluth went on to take his first feature win at the speedway.
After congratulating Amy in victory lane, Kluth stated,” That was a good race. We’ll be up at Oswego next Friday.”
Amy added,” It been a long season, and our goal was to win a feature. We did that and tonight is a real bonus. I have to thank the fans for coming out each week.” She then thanked her husband Dave for keeping her modified, plus five microd cars for her four boys, on the track.”
The 35-lap NASCAR Modified feature saw Ricky Kluth take the lead at the drop of the green. Kevin Timmerman, also involved in the close points race, moved into second followed by Amy Catalano and Ryan Beeman. Moving up quickly was Buck Catalano, who passed half the starting field on the first lap.
Up front the top three ran shoulder-to-shoulder, each trying to get by for the lead. On lap nine, Buck came in contact with Finocchario, to take fourth. Finocchario started to fall back through the field and was about to be lapped when the deciding event for the track championship took place.
On lap 13, Jody London lost an engine in the third turn, spewing oil over the speedway. Although the yellow flew immediately, Buck could not slow quick enough, sliding off the turn and slamming into the disabled London machine. This eliminated Buck from the points race and allowed Finocchario to pit without losing his lap.
Finocchario then fought back from the back to pass Amy for fourth by lap 24. Amy had settled in to run a “smart” race and earn the title. Up front Timmerman tried repeatedly to pass Kluth, but had to settle for second. Beeman finished third followed by Finocchario and Amy came home fifth.
The 20-lap Street Stock main saw Bob Minacapelli take the lead and never look back. He was pressured constantly by Phil Alhart Jr. and Willie Strusz., as these three broke away from the rest of the field.
On lap 11, Strusz lost the handle on his machine and looped into the back stretch grass exiting the second turn. This allowed Steffenhagen to rejoin the front trio on the restart.
At the checkers it would be Minacapelli with the win followed by Alhart Jr. recording his eighth second place finish of the season. Steffenhagen Jr., Kris Hillegeer and Strusz rounded out the top five finishers.
The Super Six feature got off to a rocky start with a three car accident in the first turn. A second yellow flew when Skip Powers slid off the in the third turn. Up front Keith Butler Sr. led the way with Brandon Allen in second. Keith Butler Jr. slide by Allen on lap six and then passed his father on the next circuit to take the lead. Powers, who had to restart at the back of the field on lap one, came back through the field to take second on lap eight. He then closed in on Butler Jr. and started to pressure for the lead.
Butler Jr. held on for the win with Powers finishing a very close second at the line. Allen came home in third followed by Keith Butler Sr. and Peter Cowell to round out the top five.
The Auto Value Four Cylinder Scorpions saw their feature run green-to-checkers. Alison Knoepfler took the early lead over Mike Bradshaw. On lap seven, Bradshaw ducked low going down the back stretch to take the lead. The race would end with Bradshaw taking the win. Bill VerWys came home second following a tangle in the first turn involving all of the front runners. On this final lap Bro Bradshaw passed Newcomer Bob Polka, who had just purchased the Ed die Hawkins number 33, to finish third. Polka was then penalized two positions, which pushed Ryan Brown, and Alison Knoepfler into the top five.
SPENCER SPATTER: Amy was scheduled to appear on Pat Patterson’s “The Front Stretch” Sirius NASCAR Radio program Saturday morning to discuss her track championship…. Track promoter John White re-affirmed his intentions to do a major repaving project at the track, to start in the Fall. Plans also include renovations to the announcer’s tower… This will be the first repaving project at the track since 1964…..A tie in track points came in the modified division between Buck Catalano and Chris Finocchario for second. According to NASCAR ties are broken by first looking at track victories. Finocchario had two wins on the season and Buck had just one win, pushing Finocchario into second place points….All track points are listed as unofficial until verified by NASCAR.
Spencer Speedway is located just fifteen minutes east of Rochester , NY , along Route 104 in the Town of Williamson . Spencer Speedway is the local “ NASCAR Place to Race” for upstate New York . Points earned each week at Spencer are counted into the national NASCAR Whelen All-American Series championship. Look for the track to reopen in May 2010.
WHELEN ALL-AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP NIGHT SUMMARY
AUTO VALUE 4-CYLINDER SCORPIONS
HEAT 1: B. Bradshaw, B. Polka, A. Knoepfler, D. Lazzaro, B. Dennie.
HEAT 2: M. Bradshaw, R. Brown, B. VerWys, O. Bradshaw, T. Bradshaw.
FEATURE (15-laps): MICHAEL BRADSHAW, Bill VerWys, Bro Bradshaw, Ryan Brown, Alison Knoepfler, Bob Polka, Dale Lazzaro, Otis Bradshaw, Bob Martell, Beth Dennie, Jay Scott, Toad Bradshaw-DNS, Kevin Bertolone-DNS.
Final 2009 Spencer Auto Value Scorpions Points: Bill VerWys 736, Ryan Brown 643, Mike Bradshaw 625, Bro Bradshaw 621, Alison Knoepfler 575, Otis Bradshaw 551, Russell Peets 520, Dale Lazzaro 500, Kevin Bertolone 479, Beth Dennie 451
SUPER SIXES
HEAT 1: P. Davenport, R. Wilson, S. Powers, F. Follette, B. Allen.
HEAT 2: K. Butler Jr., K. Butler Sr., J. Kaper, R. Hillegeer, V. Grant.
FEATURE (20-laps): KEITH BUTLER JR., Skip Powers, Brandon Allen, Keith Butler Sr., Peter Cowell, Van Grant, Adam VanHall, Denny Coyle, Fred Follette, Patti Davenport, Justin Kaper, Rick Wilson, Ryan Hillegeer.
Gary M. Spaid
The final night of the 2009 racing season came last Friday, September 4, at Spencer Speedway. A number of track titles were up for grabs, including a very tight point race in the NASCAR Weekly Modifieds.
On track Michael Bradshaw won the Auto Value Four Cylinder Scorpions 15-lap feature. He joins Bro Bradshaw as the only “Beginner Class” drivers to win an overall feature this season in the Auto Value Scorpion Division. Ryan Brown’s fourth place finish was good enough to wrap up the Beginners Class track title. Bill VerWys laid clam to the Pro-Class track title.
The Super Six division saw Keith Butler Jr. entering the night with the title in his pocket. He becomes just the first driver in this division to repeat as champion. He not only won the title, but he won the final 20-lapper of the year beating out Skip Powers.
“I’ll be back next year with the same car to see if I can win another one,” stated Butler Jr. in victory lane.
In Street Stock action Jim Steffenhagen Jr. had the title wrapped up going into the night’s final race. He also picks up a $500 bonus for being the first Crate Powered Street Stock in points. Bob Minacapelli took the feature win. Steffenhagen Jr. celebrated by doing a super burnout at the start-finish line, laying out a large cloud of smoke to the delight of the fans.
“It’s great getting a bonus like that,” stated Steffenhagen. “That’s half as much as the motor costs. That’s great, all you have to do is use your head to figure that out.”
All attention came down to the NASCAR Weekly Modifieds, where Amy Catalano had the opportunity to become Spencer Speedway’s first female modified champion. After he Brother-in-Law Buck Catalano dropped from the event, Amy had a wrap on the title. Ricky Kluth went on to take his first feature win at the speedway.
After congratulating Amy in victory lane, Kluth stated,” That was a good race. We’ll be up at Oswego next Friday.”
Amy added,” It been a long season, and our goal was to win a feature. We did that and tonight is a real bonus. I have to thank the fans for coming out each week.” She then thanked her husband Dave for keeping her modified, plus five microd cars for her four boys, on the track.”
The 35-lap NASCAR Modified feature saw Ricky Kluth take the lead at the drop of the green. Kevin Timmerman, also involved in the close points race, moved into second followed by Amy Catalano and Ryan Beeman. Moving up quickly was Buck Catalano, who passed half the starting field on the first lap.
Up front the top three ran shoulder-to-shoulder, each trying to get by for the lead. On lap nine, Buck came in contact with Finocchario, to take fourth. Finocchario started to fall back through the field and was about to be lapped when the deciding event for the track championship took place.
On lap 13, Jody London lost an engine in the third turn, spewing oil over the speedway. Although the yellow flew immediately, Buck could not slow quick enough, sliding off the turn and slamming into the disabled London machine. This eliminated Buck from the points race and allowed Finocchario to pit without losing his lap.
Finocchario then fought back from the back to pass Amy for fourth by lap 24. Amy had settled in to run a “smart” race and earn the title. Up front Timmerman tried repeatedly to pass Kluth, but had to settle for second. Beeman finished third followed by Finocchario and Amy came home fifth.
The 20-lap Street Stock main saw Bob Minacapelli take the lead and never look back. He was pressured constantly by Phil Alhart Jr. and Willie Strusz., as these three broke away from the rest of the field.
On lap 11, Strusz lost the handle on his machine and looped into the back stretch grass exiting the second turn. This allowed Steffenhagen to rejoin the front trio on the restart.
At the checkers it would be Minacapelli with the win followed by Alhart Jr. recording his eighth second place finish of the season. Steffenhagen Jr., Kris Hillegeer and Strusz rounded out the top five finishers.
The Super Six feature got off to a rocky start with a three car accident in the first turn. A second yellow flew when Skip Powers slid off the in the third turn. Up front Keith Butler Sr. led the way with Brandon Allen in second. Keith Butler Jr. slide by Allen on lap six and then passed his father on the next circuit to take the lead. Powers, who had to restart at the back of the field on lap one, came back through the field to take second on lap eight. He then closed in on Butler Jr. and started to pressure for the lead.
Butler Jr. held on for the win with Powers finishing a very close second at the line. Allen came home in third followed by Keith Butler Sr. and Peter Cowell to round out the top five.
The Auto Value Four Cylinder Scorpions saw their feature run green-to-checkers. Alison Knoepfler took the early lead over Mike Bradshaw. On lap seven, Bradshaw ducked low going down the back stretch to take the lead. The race would end with Bradshaw taking the win. Bill VerWys came home second following a tangle in the first turn involving all of the front runners. On this final lap Bro Bradshaw passed Newcomer Bob Polka, who had just purchased the Ed die Hawkins number 33, to finish third. Polka was then penalized two positions, which pushed Ryan Brown, and Alison Knoepfler into the top five.
SPENCER SPATTER: Amy was scheduled to appear on Pat Patterson’s “The Front Stretch” Sirius NASCAR Radio program Saturday morning to discuss her track championship…. Track promoter John White re-affirmed his intentions to do a major repaving project at the track, to start in the Fall. Plans also include renovations to the announcer’s tower… This will be the first repaving project at the track since 1964…..A tie in track points came in the modified division between Buck Catalano and Chris Finocchario for second. According to NASCAR ties are broken by first looking at track victories. Finocchario had two wins on the season and Buck had just one win, pushing Finocchario into second place points….All track points are listed as unofficial until verified by NASCAR.
Spencer Speedway is located just fifteen minutes east of Rochester , NY , along Route 104 in the Town of Williamson . Spencer Speedway is the local “ NASCAR Place to Race” for upstate New York . Points earned each week at Spencer are counted into the national NASCAR Whelen All-American Series championship. Look for the track to reopen in May 2010.
WHELEN ALL-AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP NIGHT SUMMARY
AUTO VALUE 4-CYLINDER SCORPIONS
HEAT 1: B. Bradshaw, B. Polka, A. Knoepfler, D. Lazzaro, B. Dennie.
HEAT 2: M. Bradshaw, R. Brown, B. VerWys, O. Bradshaw, T. Bradshaw.
FEATURE (15-laps): MICHAEL BRADSHAW, Bill VerWys, Bro Bradshaw, Ryan Brown, Alison Knoepfler, Bob Polka, Dale Lazzaro, Otis Bradshaw, Bob Martell, Beth Dennie, Jay Scott, Toad Bradshaw-DNS, Kevin Bertolone-DNS.
Final 2009 Spencer Auto Value Scorpions Points: Bill VerWys 736, Ryan Brown 643, Mike Bradshaw 625, Bro Bradshaw 621, Alison Knoepfler 575, Otis Bradshaw 551, Russell Peets 520, Dale Lazzaro 500, Kevin Bertolone 479, Beth Dennie 451
SUPER SIXES
HEAT 1: P. Davenport, R. Wilson, S. Powers, F. Follette, B. Allen.
HEAT 2: K. Butler Jr., K. Butler Sr., J. Kaper, R. Hillegeer, V. Grant.
FEATURE (20-laps): KEITH BUTLER JR., Skip Powers, Brandon Allen, Keith Butler Sr., Peter Cowell, Van Grant, Adam VanHall, Denny Coyle, Fred Follette, Patti Davenport, Justin Kaper, Rick Wilson, Ryan Hillegeer.
Gary M. Spaid