Brian White Races To First Ever Five Mile Point Modified Victory Saturday

Story By: ANDREW HARPELL / FIVE MILE POINT SPEEDWAY – KIRKWOOD, NY – Brian White raced to his first ever Modified feature win at Five Mile Point Speedway on Saturday night. White, a former Sportsman Track Champion was making only his fourth start in the Modified division entering Saturday.

The start of the 30 lap Modified feature event found Brian White and Tyler Siri on the front row. At the start White immediately jumped out to the advantage over Siri. Second year driver Dan Solomon looked strong during the early going as he ran in the third slot with Dom Roselli, Mike Colsten and Glenn Knapp all contending during the early stages. White looked strong from the beginning of the night as he won his heat race and kept Siri in check during the early going.

The first caution of the race flew on lap 13 when Jamie Bedford got in to the turn one wall and foam blocks. That caution led to three consecutive cautions. On the second lap 14 restart White still had to contend with Siri who was beginning to get dialed in prior to the first yellow flag period. On the restart White held the lead while Siri now began to stay within striking distance of the leader. While the battle for the lead was heating up it was hard not to watch “The Doctor” Danny Johnson making his way forward from his twentieth starting slot. By the halfway mark Johnson was up to eleventh but continued to work the outside of the speedway and appeared to be getting quicker each lap.

On lap 19 the caution flew again this time for David Doig, Jr. who had a motor expire. Again, on the restart White continued his mastery of the quarter mile as Siri could only hope for a mistake as he still ran in second. Shaun Walker had now moved up to third place after starting eleventh and did not let the leaders out of his site. The final caution of the feature flew on lap 27 as Solomon saw his strong run derailed heading pit side. The complexity of the race changed on the final restart. Siri had enough of waiting on a mistake from the race leader as he made a hard charge under the leader in one. He quickly realized he ran out of room to make the pass and to his credit braked to miss the race leader. This allowed White to pull ahead but also caused Siri to lose several spots in the process as he pushed up the track in turn 1.

Walker pounced on second place and Mike Colsten followed his lead. White was able to pull ahead of the field after the scramble for second occurred. Meanwhile Danny Johnson had sliced his way through the field making a late race charge. At the finish White collected his first set of Modified checkers. Walker took second place with Colsten in third at the stripe. Siri finished in fourth with Johnson advancing all the way to fifth at the wire. Knapp, Donnie Elliott, Rusty Smith, P.J. Goodwin and Brian Malcolm completed the top ten.

Tom Hampton and Brad Cicio led the twenty-six car Crate Sportsman field to the green on Saturday for the 20 lap main event. Hampton took command at the drop of the green as Cicio fought a tight handling race car. Rookie Tyler Peet quickly moved in to the second spot. Last year’s “Rookie of the Year” Leo McGurrin was making his move early from the sixth starting slot as he charged to the front. McGurrin took over the lead on lap 5 as another young talent and last weeks feature winner Alex Yankowski charged forward from his twelfth stating slot. The early stages of the race were slowed by numerous yellows but would go caution free from lap 7 on. The final caution on lap 7 found McGurrin leading and Yankowski in the runner-up slot. McGurrin maintained the top spot on the restart and Yankowski was able to stay close but could not seriously challenge through the balance of the feature. The front two remained unchanged as great battles took shape throughout the field. At the finish McGurrin collected win number on the season with Yankowski taking second. Pat Jordan finished third with Kyle Pierce taking fourth. Matt Cole rallied from tenth place to finish fifth at the wire.

Doug Polhamus led wire to wire in the 20 lap Street Stock feature event to claim the win. For the second week in a row Ray Lindquist finished in the runner-up slot. Lindquist is looking for his first ever Five Mile Point Speedway win. Last weeks winner Tyler Yeagle finished third with Eric Beach and Steve Polhamus completing the top five. The race was slowed by only two cautions.

Eric Boyd took the early race lead in the 20 lap Xcel 600 Modified feature event. Boyd was back in action after a hard driver side impact on the backstretch the week prior. Adam Mudge ran in the second slot during the early stages as great battles ensued throughout the pack. A caution on lap 8 bunched up the field with Boyd leading and Mudge in second. Bailey Boyd was up to third at this point after starting eighth and Josh Pepe was fourth after starting tenth and last weeks feature winner Korey Inglin was fifth after starting ninth. The restart certainly had the heavy hitters of the class up front and Bailey Boyd wasted no time working past Mudge and his dad Eric and in to the lead. Pepe was following his lead as he too tried to work around the front duo as Inglin waited for any error. Bailey Boyd would go on for the victory, his second of the season. Pepe wound up second with Eric Boyd in third. Inglin captured fourth at the finish with Mudge holding on for fifth.

First year driver Caleb Lacy led the first eight circuits of the Lightning Cat Expert feature event. Jimmy DiFulvio took over on lap 9 and was never challenged. DiFulvio went on for the victory. Bob Kress battled his way for second at the finish with Kenny Underwood, Lacy and Nick Kennedy completing the top five. One caution slowed the event.

Josh Wilbur raced to his first ever Five Mile Point Speedway win in the Factory Stock 15 lap feature event. The race was caution plagued but still provided multi grooved action on the quarter mile. Wilbur was followed by last weeks winner Gregg Turner, Charlie Gilbert, Charlie Towner and Andrew Brigham.

Walter Decker rebounded from two early season hard crashes to take the top honors in the Lightning Cat Novice feature event. The victory in the 12 lap feature was the first of the year for Decker. Randy Lane finished second with John Maynard, Steve Lunn and Mike Stark rounding out the top five.

COUNTER POINTS…The quarter mile oval was again in outstanding condition on Saturday as the multi grooved speedway allowed for several teams to come from deep in the field in all of the feature events…Danny Johnson brought the Shakelton NAPA Auto & Truck Parts big block Modified on Saturday and advanced 15 positions in the main event…Again, teams were raving about the track conditions and no tire wear again this past Saturday as the quarter mile was smoother than most area roadways…110 race teams jammed the backstretch pit area again…A number of young drivers not only finished up front in their main events but several also had very good runs derailed late in their feature races as a youth movement is certainly take place at the 68 year old oval…

This Saturday, June 9th will be Kiddie Rides night at the speedway…Kids will have an opportunity to take a ride in their favorite race car prior to the racing action…This Saturday is also Kirkwood/Binghamton Community Night…All residents from those town/cities showing photo i.d. at the main ticket booth will receive free grandstand admission…A full program of Modifieds, Crate Sportsman, Street Stocks, Xcel Modifieds, Lightning Cats and Factory Stocks will get underway at 6:30 p.m.

MODIFIED OFFICIAL FEATURE FINISH (30): BRIAN WHITE, Shaun Walker, Mike Colsten, Tyler Siri, Danny Johnson, Glenn Knapp, Donnie Elliott, Rusty Smith, P.J. Goodwin, Brian Malcolm, Brian Puckett, Joey Colsten, Alan Kellogg, Kevin Smith, Nick Rochinski, Dan Solomon, Jamie Bedford, Dave Doig Jr., Barry White, Kevin Bates, Dom Roselli, Travis Smith, Aleia Geisler.

CRATE SPORTSMAN OFFICIAL FEATURE FINISH (20): LEO MCGURRIN, Alex Yankowski, Pat Jordan, Kyle Pierce, Matt Cole, Todd Titus, Tanner Harpell, Blaine Klinger, Tom Collins, Randy Fox, Joe Guastella, Aaron Bowes, Tyler Peet, Ray Leonard, Tom Hampton, Brad Cicio, Jeremy Williams, Brandon Fritsch, Nate Brinker, Russell Benke, Matt Brewer, Devon Zona, Kinser Hill, Arthur Bray, Matthew Addona, Tim Howell.

STREET STOCK OFFICIAL FEATURE FINISH (20): DOUG POLHAMUS, Ray Lindquist, Tyler Yeagle, Eric Beach, Steve Polhamus, Keith Beach, Cody Kuishaer.

XCEL 600 MODIFIED OFFICIAL FEATURE FINISH (20): BAILEY BOYD, Josh Pepe, Eric Boyd, Korey Inglin, Adam Mudge, Rich Christman, Mike Wilcha, Damon Henry, Hunter Diehl, Shawna Schibilia, Keith Inglin, Dakota Anderson, Dominick Amato, Chelsie Beebe, Kyle Fallis.

LIGHTNING CAT EXPERT OFFICIAL FEATURE (15): JIMMY DIFULVIO, Bob Kress, Kenny Underwood, Caleb Lacy, Nick Kennedy, Dave Simms, Jake Maynard, Mat Mather, Adam Gilbert, Dave Bainbridge, Brian Salmini, Jason Colwell Sr., Casey McPherson, Ivan Cuerra, Tucker Harpell, Josh Wilder. DNS – Andy Bolles, Frank Smith.

FACTORY STOCK OFFICIAL FEATURE FINISH (20): JOSH WILBUR, Gregg Turner, Charlie Gilbert, Charlie Towner, Andy Brigham, Kevin McDonald, Steve Welch, Tom Hoover, Josh Towner, Alan Komar.

LIGHTNING CAT NOVICE OFFICIAL FEATURE FINISH (12): WALTER DECKER, Randy Lane, John Maynard, Steve Lunn, Mike Stark, Lynda Lawrence, Bethany Bertram, Cory Brown, Edwin King Jr., Jason Colwell Jr., Ashley Slater.