06/10/17 - Tommy Catalano Brings Home A Win At Spencer

Tommy Catalano picked up his tenth NASCAR Sunoco Modified feature win at Spencer Speedway last Friday. He was able to lead the entire 35-laps, besting Mike Leaty at the finish line.

“That was a long race for sure,” stated Catalano. “The car started off really good, but got a bit off near the end. I was not looking for a caution then.”

The Super Six feature saw eventual feature winner Tim Faro and Brand Allen run side-by-side for 17 laps. During that time Allen was only able to stick his nose in front twice. In the end Faro rolled home the winner.

“Brandon is my best friend,” stated Faro. “I wouldn’t race anyone else like that. That was so fun.”

The Grandpa Dog 4-Cyclinders saw Maddy Virts lead the entire 15-lap distance. When asked why she is so fast her comment was, “I have a red car and red cars are fast.”

A special appearance by the Classic Asphalt Modifieds took place also. . Mark Tychoniewitz wheels his number 99 Pinto bodied Modified home in first. The real show during the feature was Darryl Ruggles who ran third, spun. He then came back to third again, only to spin a second time. That event put him out of the race.

The 35-lap NASCAR Sunoco Modified main saw Tommy Catalano jump into the lead from his pole starting position, with Daryl Lewis Jr. in tow. Mike Leaty was able to pass Lewis Jr. to grab second on lap three and tucked tight on Catalano’s rear bumper.

Lewis Jr., now found himself in a battle for third with defending track champion, Kevin Timmerman. This allowed the two leaders to pull out to a four car advantage.

The race would run green-to-checkers with the leaders turning laps of 19 plus seconds around the large half mile oval. At the finish it was Catalano followed by Leaty, Lewis Jr., Timmerman and Amy Catalano to round out the top five.

Maddy Virts dominated the Grandpa Dog 4-Cylinder feature. She grabbed the lead and was never headed. Paul Flye tried to run her down, but fell short by nearly five car lengths. In third some ten car lengths back was Jacob Gustafson. He was followed by A.J. Montgomery and Corey Copeland.

“You have to be mature to run these cars,” added Virts. “You have to use your head as well as your foot.”

The Super Six feature was the best race of the night. Tim Faro and Brandon All raced side-by-side for the first 17 laps of the race to see who would get the lead and the win. Also up front were Barrett Schenk and Ashley Schoonmaker.

It would be lapped cars on lap 16 of 20, that would determine who would come out on top. As the leaders bore down on the lap cars, Faro went to the outside as the others gathered behind the lapped cars. This allowed Faro to pull out front of Allen.

With two laps to go Schenk pulled low in turn three to pass Allen for second. He would try to gather in Faro too, but fell short at the finish line.

The Classic Asphalt Modifieds put on a great show with Mark Tychoniewitz, Ontario, coming home the eventual winner.

One sad moment saw Bob Ripley skid across the infield grass and make contact with his left front with the inside wall going into turn one. Ripley piloted a Geoff Bodine “Valiant bodied” look alike car. He slowed the car enough so only minor suspension damage was done.

Terry Wilson, South Wales, came home second after the fastest car on the track, Darryl Ruggles, Hopewell, spun out a second time and dropped out of the race. Chic Voit, in a special Ron Martin tribute car came home in third.

SPENCER SHORTS: The kids club is kicking into high gear offering a coloring contest in the near future…The Sunoco Modified teams were turning laps just one second slower than their “full blown” cousins the RoC modifieds from the week earlier…a blast from the past, saw the Swain brothers in attendance as race fans…efforts have started to bring electronic scoring in the NASCAR Sunoco Modified division at the track.

This coming Friday, June 16, sees the New York SuperStocks return for the second time in 2017, to do battle of the fast half mile oval. Also on the race card are the three main NASCAR divisions at Spencer; the NASCAR Sunoco Modifieds, Super Sixes and Grandpa Dog 4-cylinder Scorpions. Race time starts at 7:15 p.m. sharp.

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 Central New York in 2017. Points earned each week at Spencer are counted as part of the national NASCAR Whelen All-American Point Chase.

For more information go to: www.spencerspeedway.org.

SPENCER SPEEDWAY SUNOCO NIGHT SUMMARY

GRANDPA DOG 4 CYLINDER
HEAT 1: M. Virts, C. Copeland, A.J. Montgomery, D. Heimes.
HEAT 2: P. Flye, J. Gustafson, D. Alexander, A. Montgomery.
FEATURE (15-lap): MADDY VIRTS, Paul Flye, Jacob Gustafson, A.J. Montgomery, Corey Copeland, Dave Heimes, Dalton Alexander, Allie Montgomery.

SUPER SIXES
HEAT 1: B. Allen, A. Cocilova, B. Hallett, B. Schenk, A. Schoonmaker.
HEAT 2: T. Faro, A. VanHall, V. Grant, C. Hogan, B. Inch.
FEATURE (20-laps): TIM FARO, Barrett Schenk, Brandon Allen, Ashley Schoonmaker, Brian Hallett, Andy Cocilova, Adam VanHall, Van Grant, Chris Connors, Bill Inch, Chris Hogan, Allison Knoepfler.

CLASSIC ASPHALT MODIFIEDS
HEAT 1: M. Tychoniewitz, D. Ruggles, B. Ripley, T. Janes.
HEAT 2: T. Wilson, T. Gulier, S. Hossfeld, C. Voit, J. Bachmann.
FEATURE (16-laps): MARK TYCHONIEWITZ, Terry Wilson, Chic Voit, Tom Guiler, Scott Hossfeld, Tim Janes, Joe Bachmann, Darryl Ruggles, Bob Ripley.

NASCAR SUNOCO MODIFIEDS
HEAT 1: To. Catalano, D. Lewis Jr., M. Leaty, K. Timmerman, A. Lewis.
HEAT 2: E. Hawkins, B. Lippa Jr., A. Catalano, K. Heroth, T. Alloco.
FEATURE (35-laps): TOMMY CATALANO, Mike Leaty, Daryl Lewis Jr., Kevin Timmerman, Amy Catalano, Eddie Hawkins, Bobby Lippa Jr., Timmy Catalano, Kreig Heroth, Alloco, Andy Lewis, DNS: Chris Finocchario, Steve Link.


Gary M. Spaid