Tom Sears Jr. Uses Late Race Pass For Fulton Modified Victory

Story By: DAVE MEDLER / FULTON SPEEDWAY – FULTON, NY – A huge field of cars greeted a large crowd Saturday at the Fulton Speedway for racing and Demolition Derbies night.

In the 35 lap Tracey Road Equipment Modified feature, Tom Sears Jr. took the lead from Adam Roberts on lap 28 and then had to hold off Jimmy Phelps and Larry Wight for the popular win.

Other winners on Scott Jeffery’s Performance Plus, MJ’s Music Bar & Banquet Facility, Ox Creek Performance Night were, Jeremy Dygert (Sportsman) Todd Root (Sportsman) Chad Homan (Late Models) Kyle Perry (Novice Sportsman) Steve Marshall (Novice Sportsman) Ray Bechler (4-Cylinders).

Tim Mayne and Adam Roberts would lead the Tracey Road Equipment DIRTcar Modified 35 lap feature to the green with Roberts grabbing the early lead.

On lap 5 Roberts held a narrow lead over Ryan Jordan. Behind the top two Tom Sears and Max McLaughlin started running down Roberts and Jordan.

At lap 10 Roberts held a ten car length lead as Jordan and Sears ran side by side for second and third with McLaughlin and Andrew Ferguson showing in the top five.

With 15 laps complete, Roberts saw his lead shrink as he had Sears closing fast. Jordan, McLaughlin and Ferguson ran third through fifth.

On lap 20, Roberts and Sears still fought for the lead with Jimmy Phelps, McLaughlin and Larry Wight third through fifth locked in their own battle.

With 10 to go Roberts was putting on a great drive leading by a narrow margin over Sears, Phelps and Wight.

On lap 28 Sears used the low line to get by Roberts to be scored the new leader.

On lap 34 the yellow would wave setting up a green, white, checker fight for the win.

Jimmy Phelps and Larry Wight threw everything they had at Tom Sears Jr. but Sears hit his marks grabbing the narrow win over Phelps and Wight. Max McLaughlin and Chris Hile finished fourth and fifth.

With 41 SUNY Canton DIRTcar Sportsman cars in the pits, two full purse, full point, 25 lap features were run.

In the first feature Chris Cunningham bolted out to a half a straightaway lead.

At lap 5 Cunningham still led with Jeremy Dygert starting to close in on Cunningham. Nate Higgins, Mike Button and Tyler Thompson battled for third through fifth.

Lap 10 Cunningham and Dygert were in a two car breakaway for the lead. Higgins, Button and Thompson still showed in the top five.

On lap 12 Dygert used the outside groove of the speedway to drive by Cunningham and into the lead.

Dygert opened a comfortable lead with 10 laps to go. Cunningham, Higgins, Alan Fink and Mike Button raced in the top five.

Over the remaining laps nobody had anything for Jeremy Dygert as he was the first under the checkers. Nate Higgins, Chris Cunningham, Alan Fink and Jeremy Pitcher finished second through fifth.

In the second 25 lap feature, Wade Chrisman and Will Shields took off in a two car breakaway.

With 5 laps complete, Chrisman, Shields and Billy Clark Jr. showed the way at the front of the field as Todd Root and Tyler Trump raced for fourth and fifth.

The yellow would wave on lap 6 to tighten the field up.

On the restart Root would go from fourth to second and set his sights on Chrisman. On lap 8 using the bottom of the speedway, Root would drive by Chrisman to be scored the new leader.

With 10 laps complete, Root opened a ten car length lead with Chrisman, Shields, Clark and Trump in a tight battle for second through fifth.

On lap 15 Root was on cruise control out front. You could have almost thrown a blanket over Shields, Chrisman, Clark and Trump in a tight fight for positions.

Over the final laps and no yellows to tighten the field up, Todd Root cruised to the win. Second through fifth came down to the checkers with Will Shields, Wade Chrisman, Billy Clark Jr. and Tyler Trump finishing second through fifth.

Bret Belden would grab the lead in the 20 lap Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux RUSH Late Model feature with Dale Caswell all over Belden before a quick yellow on lap 3.

On the restart, Caswell would use the bottom of the speedway to drive into the top spot before another yellow.

Another caution on lap 9 would erase the full straightaway lead Caswell built up over the the field.

At the halfway point Kevan Cook would take the lead and open a ten car length lead as Caswell had mechanical problems.

Over the final laps Cook and Chad Homan but on a barn burner race for the lead. On lap 17 Homan took a narrow lead. Coming down for the checkers Homan and Cook came out of turn four side by side with Homan picking up the narrow .090 win. Bret Belden, Jason Parkhurst and Jason Occhino finished third through fifth.

In the first E&V Energy 15 lap feature John Strickler led the opening 13 laps until a tire started going down. On lap 14 a yellow flag would tighten the field up for a green, white, checker finish. On the restart, leader Charlie Tibbitts spun in turn four. Kyle Perry would lead the rest of the way for his second win in a row. Kearra Backus, Ryan Gustin, Bill Sauve and Charlie Tibbitts would finish second through fifth.

The second 15 lap E&V Energy Novice Sportsman feature would see Tyler Rogers jump out to the lead at the drop of the green and build up a sizable lead. With no yellows, Steve Marshall ran down Rogers making an exciting last lap pass for the win.

Jamie Radley led the opening 2 laps of the of the 15 lap JB Logging & Firewood feature until Joe Buske Jr. took over the top spot.

After a yellow on lap 7, Ray Bechler would take the lead and show the way until lap 12 when Chris Bonoffski took the lead but the race was far from over. On the final lap, exiting turn four, Bonoffski would get a flat, letting Ray Bechler get by for the win. Quinn Wallis would finish second with Bonoffski holding on for third. Dakota Bechler and Joe Buske Jr. finished fourth and fifth.

In a pair of Demo Derbies, Alyssa Ingraham from Otego, NY won the youth and Paul Owen from Brookfield, NY won the 4-6 Cylinder.

This Saturday, June 3 Penn Power Group presents the Patriot Sprint Tour plus Tracey Road Equipment Modifieds, SUNY Canton Sportsman, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux Late Models and the E&V Energy Novice Sportsman. The JB Logging & Firewood 4-Cylinders have the night off.

Adult grandstand admission is $20 with everyone 18 years old and younger FREE. Pit admission is $35. Gates open at 5:00 with racing at 7:00.

Any questions you might have and for marketing opportunities please contact Cory Reed (315) 593-6531 or cory@fultonspeedway.com. For all the latest news go to www.fultonspeedway.com. Like the track Facebook page www.facebook.com/FultonSpeedway.

Scott Jeffery’s Performance Plus, MJ’s Music Bar & Banquet Facility, Ox Creek Performance Night Results

(Tracey Road Equipment DIRTcar Modifieds 35 Laps) – TOM SEARS JR., Jimmy Phelps, Larry Wight, Max McLaughlin, Chris Hile, Adam Roberts, Billy Whittaker, Chad Phelps, Tim Kerr, Tim Sears Jr., Andrew Ferguson, Marc Johnson, Mike Bowman, Roy Bresnahan, Katelyn Hile, Joe August Jr., Andy Noto, Kody Graham, Tim Mayne, Pat Ward, Matt Hulsizer, Ryan Jordan, Jim Witko Jr., Tim Murphy.

(SUNY Canton DIRTcar Sportsman # 1 25 Laps) – JEREMY DYGERT, Nate Higgins, Chris Cunningham, Alan Fink, Jeremy Pitcher, Corey Barker, Matt Janczuk, Mike Button, Chris Mackey, Kyle DeMetro, Mike Stanton Jr., Willy Decker Jr., Jason Amidon, Brett Draper, Jim Spano, Kyle Fink, Joe Sobotka, Tyler Thompson, Chris Hulsizer, Mike Phelps, DNS-Ryan Hatherill.

(SUNY Canton DIRTcar Sportsman #2 25 Laps) – TODD ROOT, Will Shields, Wade Chrisman, Billy Clark Jr., Tyler Trump, Ron Davis III, Kyle Kiehn, AJ Miller, Jessica Power, Ben Bushaw, Garett Rushlow, Joey Buonagurio, Brandon Carvey, Glenn Forward, Dorian Wahdan, Torrey Stoughtenger, Nick Krause, JJ Courcy, Patrick LaPage, Aron Backus.

(Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux RUSH Late Models 20 Laps) – CHAD HOMAN, Kevan Cook, Bret Belden, Jason Parkhurst, Jason Occhino, Sean Beardsley, Kyle Sopaz, Brandon Carvey, AJ Kingsley, Ron Davis III, Mike Kazmierczak, Dale Caswell, Alan Chapman, Steven Coit, Chris Fleming.

(E&V Energy Novice Sportsman #1 15 Laps) – KYLE PERRY, Kearra Backus, Ryan Gustin, Bill Sauve, Charlie Tibbitts, John Strickler, Robert Gage, Dan Dupra, DNS – Tom Mackey, Matthew Becker, Colby Herzog.

(E&V Energy Novice Sportsman #2 15 Laps) – STEVE MARSHALL, Tyler Rogers, Jimmy Moyer, Wesley Hayes, John Stowell, Jake Davis, Bill Megnin, Casey Cunningham, Matt Nolan, Tom Juno.

(JB Logging & Firewood 4-Cylinders 15 Laps) – RAY BECHLER, Quinn Wallis, Chris Bonoffski, Dakota Bechler, Joe Buske Jr., Jamie Radley, Skip DeGroff, Nate Powers, Tom Mackey, Stephanie Seeley, Ken Pitsley, Dylan Curcie, Cody Thompson, Mark Wallace.

(Demolition Derbies) – Alyssa Ingraham (Youth) Paul Owen (4-6 Cylinder).