Joey Colsten Makes It Two Point Races In-A-Row At Five Mile Point

Story By: ANDREW HARPELL / FIVE MILE POINT SPEEDWAY – KIRKWOOD, NY – Joey Colsten, from Binghamton made it back to back Modified wins at Five Mile Point Speedway on Saturday by capturing the top honors in the 30 lap main event. It was the second point race of the season and Colsten has now won them both.

The starting field for the 30 lap Modified feature was twenty-four strong. Colsten and Rusty Smith led the field to the drop of Raymond Kennerup’s green flag. Much like the May 5th opening night race Colsten and Smith battled hard for the race lead. Also, like the opening race the early stages started off slowly as two cautions slowed the pace during the first seven laps but then things settled down and the racing was phenomenal.

When racing resumed on the lap seven restart Colsten was the race leader with Smith in tow and defending Track Champion Kevin Bates running third. The next twenty-two laps went caution free as the top three fought tooth and nail for position. Colsten maintained his lead over Smith as Bates tried the outer limits of the speedway trying to rally past Smith. In fact, Bates blasted the wall in turns one and three on several occasions as he used every inch of the speedway. As the top three battled Nick Rochinski waited for a mistake in fourth place. Brian Weaver made his charge to fifth after starting twelfth and Brian Malcolm was steadily working forward after starting fifteenth.

Colsten had his coil-over Modified setup dialed in to perfection on the incredibly smooth quarter mile surface and continued to flawlessly lead the way past the halfway mark. Smith was able to stay close but just could not mount a serious challenge as Bates continued to work every route to try and take second. On lap 29 the caution flew for the final time and Colsten just had to hold on for one more quarter mile for the win. When the green flew again Colsten left no doubt as he had a great restart and bolted away from Smith. Bates made one last attempt around the top of Smith but was unable to make it stick.

At the finish it was Colsten, Smith, Bates, Rochinski and Weaver. Malcolm finished sixth after starting in fifteenth. Brian Puckett had a strong run for seventh with Donnie Elliott finishing in eighth. Matt Roberts looked impressive finishing ninth after starting sixteenth and Travis Smith drove from twenty-second to tenth at the finish.

The Crate Sportsman 20 lap feature event started off rough as a number of cautions slowed the early racing action. Four yellows on the first four laps slowed the pace but only one caution flew over the remaining sixteen circuits. The early cautions took Tom Hampton, Bobby Flood, Mark Goodwin and Brad Cicio out of the action for the night. When things settled down Randy Fox found himself the race leader with Alex Yankowski along side for the lap four restart. That side by side battle continued for several laps with Fox leading. On lap ten Yankowski made his way past on the low side of Fox to take over the race lead. The final yellow of the race flew on lap 12 for Leo McGurrin. McGurrin had charged from twelfth to fifth place but contact with another car caused his right rear tire to go flat. The restart was single file and Yankowski left no margin for error as he immediately pulled back ahead of Fox. Tanner Harpell and Matt Cole renewed their rivalry from the IMCA Modified division a few years prior as those two had a great battle for third and fourth. Devon Zona was now up to fifth after starting ninth. The top five remained unchanged for the balance of the feature with the young Yankowski picking up his first Five Mile Point Speedway win of the season. Fox, Harpell, Cole and Zona completed the top five finishers.

The 20 lap Street Stock feature event was a fantastic race. Only one caution slowed the pace with that coming on lap 3 for a spinning Ray Lindquist. Tyler Yeagle was showing off his talent in front of the home town crowd as it was Bradford County (PA) Community Night. Yeagle started on the pole and led all twenty laps but it certainly wasn’t that easy. After spinning on lap 3 Lindquist went to the rear of the field and worked his way through the pack without the benefit of another race yellow. Lindquist worked past Matt Bowman for second place on lap 10 and set his sites on Yeagle. Each lap Lindquist closed the gap on what was a half a straightaway lead. Yeagle kept his strong pace but Lindquist was on a mission. On the final lap Lindquist pulled alongside Yeagle as they exited turn four for the win. At the finish Yeagle just held on by a few inches for his first win of the season. Lindquist finished second with Bowman, Keith Beach and Jim Sykes completing the top five.

Tyler Smith raced out to the early lead in the 20 lap Xcel 600 Modified feature event. They young smith looked strong as he led the first seven circuits. New Jersey driver Korey Inglin took over the point on lap 8 and never looked back. Bailey Boyd, the opening night winner charged to second during the final laps but Inglin was dialed in and was not going to be denied. At the finish it was Inglin, Boyd, Smith, Travis Fichter and Rich Christman.

Defending Track Champion Nick Kennedy made it three in a row with the win in the 15 lap Lightning Cat Expert feature event on Saturday. Kennedy took the lead from Jake Maynard on lap 8 and was never contested for the balance of the feature. Kennedy did begin to show smoke during the late stages but everything stayed together. Maynard, Bob Kress, Tucker Harpell and Kenny Underwood completed the top five.

Another Bradford County resident took the top honors in the 15 lap Factory Stock feature event. Gregg Turner took the lead from Josh Towner on lap 5 on his way to his first victory of the season. Turner utilized the low side of the speedway while Towner ran the cushion the entire race making for a great display throughout. Turner, Josh Towner, Charlie Towner, Charlie Gilbert and Josh Wilber completed the top five.

Randy Lane took the top honors in the Lightning Cat Novice division. Lane took over on lap 7 of the 12 lap feature enroute to the win. Steve Lunn started eighth and finished second in a true “rookie” start in the class. Mike Stark, Jason Colwell Jr. and Edwin King completed the top five.

COUNTER POINTS…The quarter mile oval was once again in outstanding shape on Saturday with multiple grooves of racing, no tire wear and minimal dust throughout the evening…Kids bike races were held on Saturday and over twenty-five youngsters took part in the fun on the inner loop of the speedway…Even when well over 100 race teams in the pit area and the Kids Bike Races all of the action was in the books by 10:40 p.m…This Saturday will see the first night of handicapped starting lineups and things will be interesting…Last year’s Modified runner-up in the points Tyler Siri has been very fast this season but has two DNF’s which should put him in a strong position this Saturday…Brad Szulewski started twenty-fourth and was up to eleventh in the early going in the Modified feature only to have his motor let go…Other “DNF’s” in the Modified feature were Dan Solomon, Glenn Knapp, Shaun Walker and Sam Allen…Rusty Smith earned an extra $400 for a Modified Gamblers Bonus on Saturday…Josh Wilder had the hot seat of the night as his Lightning Cat Expert car went up in flames during the feature event…Fortunately, the Five Mile Point Fire Department was immediately on the scene of the incident…Jessica Michel has a rough night in the Xcel 600 Modified division…In the heat race she slammed the wall on the homestretch and in the feature clipped the turn four wall and flipped on to her side…Fortunately, she emerged uninjured and the car sustained only minor damage…Eric Boyd sustained the hardest impact of the night when he tangled on the backstretch at full speed during the Xcel 600 Modified main…Boyd slammed the backstretch wall on the driver’s side but he too was ok after the speedway safety team immediately checked on his status…

MODIFIED OFFICIAL FEATURE FINISH (30): JOEY COLSTEN, Rusty Smith, Kevin Bates, Nick Rochinski, Brian Weaver, Brian Malcolm, Brian Puckett, Donnie Elliott, Matt Roberts, Travis Smith, Mike Colsten, Brian White, P.J. Goodwin, Barry White, Eric Bonham, Aleia Geisler, Dom Roselli, David Doig Jr., Brad Szulewski, Dan Solomon, Glenn Knapp, Tyler Siri, Shaun Walker, Sam Allen.

CRATE SPORTSMAN OFFICIAL FEATURE FINISH (20): ALEX YANKOWSKI, Randy Fox, Tanner Harpell, Matt Cole, Devon Zona, Blaine Klinger, Tim Howell, Todd Titus, Tommy Collins, Joe Guastella, Pat Jordan, Tyler Peet, Arthur Bray, Kyle Pierce, Leo McGurrin, Brad Cicio, Mark Goodwin, Bobby Flood, Tom Hampton.

STREET STOCK OFFICIAL FEATURE FINISH (20): TYLER YEAGLE, Ray Lindquist, Matt Bowman, Keith Beach, Jim Sykes, Jeff Emanuel, Doug Polhamus, Dave Brown.

XCEL 600 MODIFIED OFFICIAL FEATURE FINISH (20): KOREY INGLIN, Bailey Boyd, Tyler Smith, Travis Fichter, Rich Christman, Kevin VanValkenburg, Geoffrey Sutton, Damon Henry, Shawna Schibilia, Dakota Anderson, Chelsie Beebe, Dominick Amato, Jessica Michel, Adam Mudge, Eric Boyd.

LIGHTNING CAT EXPERT OFFICIAL FEATURE (15): NICK KENNEDY, Jake Maynard, Bob Kress, Tucker Harpell, Kenny Underwood, Brian Salmini, Mat Mather, Casey McPherson, Dave Bainbridge, Frank Smith, Chuck Chrysler, Jimmy DiFulvio, Caleb Lacey, Josh Wilder, Dave Simms. DNS – Adam Gilbert, Jason Colwell Sr.

FACTORY STOCK OFFICIAL FEATURE FINISH (20): GREGG TURNER, Josh Towner, Charlie Towner, Charlie Gilbert, Josh Wilber, Chuck Culbertson, Alan Komar, Andy Brigham, Matt Millard, Cyrus Homer, Justin Slezak., DNS – Dustin Fassett, Sheldon Whitman.

LIGHTNING CAT NOVICE OFFICIAL FEATURE FINISH (12): RANDY LANE, Steve Lunn, Mike Stark, Jason Colwell Jr., Edwin King, Bethany Bertram, John Maynard, Marisol Torrens, Noah Seidel, Cory Brown, Ashley Slater, Brian Beach. DQ – Walter Decker.