Larry Wight Wins Another Saturday At Fulton Speedway
Story By: DAVE MEDLER / FULTON SPEEDWAY – FULTON, NY – Lightning struck again at the Fulton Speedway in the Tracey Road Equipment DIRTcar Car Modifieds as Larry Wight behind the wheel of his FX Caprara Chevy, LJL Kevlar Racing Engines, No. 99L, Bicknell went to victory lane for the third straight week to start the 2019 season.
Wight would start the 35-lap main in the 18th position and around the halfway point would move into second and then set his sights on leader Tom Sears Jr. who had a 15-car length advantage. Wight would move in on Sears’ back bumper on lap 20 and then would need just one more lap to drive by Sears on the exit of turn four to be scored the new leader.
Once out front there was no stopping Wight as his car was working no matter where he drove on the speedway to put cars down a lap and outrun Sears to the checkers by 2.167 seconds at the finish.
Other winners on Scott Jeffery’s Performance Plus night were Dylan Zacharias, Tony Finch II, Dorian Wahdan (Sportsman) Chad Homan (Late Models) Ryan Dolebear (Novice Sportsman).
*Tony Finch II motor was taken for further tech.*
In the 35-lap Modified feature Joe Shields would lead the opening 5 laps until Tom Sears Jr., running the top of the speedway, would drive by Shields into the lead.
Ten laps showing on the scoring tower would see Sears build up a full straightaway lead while behind him Greg Martin, Shields, Jeff McGinnis and Collin DuBois would race for top-five positions.
A quick yellow on lap 13 would erase Sears’ 4.3 seconds lead. When the green came back out Sears took off once again from the field.
At the halfway point Sears still showed the way, but by this point Wight had moved into second and started cutting into the lead. McGinnis, Bobby Herrington and Martin were having a close battle for third through fifth.
On lap 20 Wight ran Sears down and would need just one more lap to dive under Sears in turns three and four and have the lead by the flag stand.
With 10 laps to go Wight was on rails leading by almost two seconds. Sears, McGinnis, Herrington and Pat Ward who started deep were battling for top-five spots.
On lap 28 the caution lights would come on erasing Wight’s three-second lead and giving the field one more shot at Wight for the win.
When the green came back out Wight was on rails as he drove away for feature win number three in three races in 2019. Tom Sears Jr. held on for second with Jeff McGinnis a strong third Bobby Herrington and Pat Ward coming home fourth and fifth.
With 67 DOT Foods DIRTcar Sportsman signed into the pits, it set up three 25-lap features after qualifying heats.
In the first feature Tom Juno would lead the opening 7 laps before Joe Kline would take the top spot by a half-a-car length at the line with Dylan Zacharias within inches of the top-two in a three-car fight for the lead.
On lap 10 Zacharias saw an opening he needed as he shot between Kline and Juno to take over the top-spot.
A yellow on lap 18 would erase Zacharias’s advantage and would put division heavy hitters, Jackson Gill, Matt Janczuk, Alan Fink and Corey Barker right with the leader for a 7-lap dash to the checkers.
When the green came back out and to the checkers, Zacharias ran his fastest laps of the race as he cruised under the checkers for his first Fulton win of the season. Jackson Gill, Alan Fink, Matt Janczuk and Corey Barker finished second through fifth.
In the second 25-lap Sportsman feature, Tony Finch II would take off from the front row setting a quick pace out front with Mike Fowler right in his tire tracks.
With 10 laps complete Finch led by about 10 car lengths as Kyle Perry moved into second with Fowler still right there in contention.
Finch was still in control of the race with 10-laps to go. Perry, Fowler, Chris Mackey and Steve Marshall battled for second through fifth.
In the late going it was a two-car battle for the win with Finch getting the narrow victory over Mackey. Perry, Fowler, Willy Decker Jr. finished third through fifth.
In post-race inspection Tony Finch II engine was taken for further tech.
The third Sportsman feature would see Chris Bonoffski lead the opening 2 laps when Dorian Wahdan would use the top of speedway to drive into the lead.
Wahdan would still hold the lead on lap 10 but now had Jessica Power closing in for a two-car battle for the lead. Bonoffski, Tyler Murray and Mike Phelps raced for third through fifth.
With 10 laps to go Wahdan would only lead Power by a half-a-car-length going under the flag stand. Bonoffski, Phelps and Murray still showed in the top-five.
Over the final laps of the race Power threw everything she had at Wahdan but to no avail as Wahdan cruised under the checkers for the narrow win over Power. Phelps, Bonoffski and Amy Holland finished third through fifth.
In the 20 lap Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux RUSH Late Model feature Max Hill would lead the opening lap before a quick yellow. On the restart Bret Belden would take the top spot.
With 5 laps complete, Belden held a narrow advantage with Jason Parkhurst, Hill, Kyle Sopaz and Dale Caswell racing for top five spots.
When the race reached halfway Belden and Parkhurst were in a tight fight for the lead with Sopaz, Chad Homan and Hill still in contention.
With 5 laps to go Belden, Parkhurst, Sopaz and Homan were slugging it out when the yellow would wave setting up a dash to the checkers.
On lap 18 Homan would drive into second and set his sights on Belden for a fight for the win.
On the final lap going into turns one and two Homan threw a slide job on Belden to narrowly grab the lead. Belden fought back but Homan had enough speed to beat Belden by a narrow 0.392 of a second at the checkers. Parker, Sopaz and Chris Fleming finished third through fifth.
In the 15 lap E&V Energy Novice feature Ryan Dolebear was the class of the field as he raced to his second feature win of the year. Payton Talbot, Brandon Chretien, Riley Rogala and Cody Manitta finished second through fifth.
Over 30 vehicles showed up for two exciting Kings Smash ‘Em Crash ‘Em Demo Derbies. Shawn Amen took top honors in the Small Truck & Mini-Van class with Mike Taylor winning the 4&6 Cylinder.
This Saturday, May 25th is the kickoff to summer with a Memorial Day Weekend racing spectacular presented by A-Verdi Storage Containers and Penn Power Group.
On the race card will be the methanol breathing winged warriors of the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints plus the Tracey Road Equipment DIRTcar Modifieds, DOT Foods DIRTcar Sportsman, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux Rush Late Models and the E&V Energy Novice Sportsman.
Adult grandstand admission is $22 with everyone 18 years old and younger admitted free. Pit admission is $35. Gates will open at 5:00 pm with the first heat race at 7:00 pm.
Any questions you might have and for marketing opportunities contact Cory Reed at (315) 593-6531 or cory@fultonspeedway.com.
For all the latest news go to www.fultonspeedway.com . Don’t forget to like the track Facebook and Twitter pages.
Scott Jeffery’s Performance Plus May 18 Results
(Tracey Road Equipment DIRTcar Modifieds 35 Laps) – LARRY WIGHT, Tom Sears Jr., Jeff McGinnis, Bobby Herrington, Pat Ward, Dale Planck, Billy Whittaker, Rob Bellinger, Tim Sears Jr., Greg Martin, Ron Davis III, Glenn Forward, Tyler Trump, Jeff Sykes, Todd Root, Joe Shields, Tyler Thompson, Jeremy Dygert, Billy Shantel, Colin DuBois, Dave Marcuccilli, Andy Noto, Nick Krause, Ben Bushaw, Jason Occhino, Mike Mandigo, Brent Cross.
(DOT Foods DIRTcar Sportsman #1 25 Laps) – DYLAN ZACHARIAS, Jackson Gill, Alan Fink, Matt Janczuk, Corey Barker, Mark Yorker, Wade Chrisman, Joe Kline, Tom Juno, Jeff Taylor, Jake Davis, Robert Gage, Jimmy Moyer, Quinn Wallis, Jake Holmes, Brett Draper, Greg Henry, Colby Herzog, Rocco Leone, Austin Geminio, Ricky Yelle, Kearra Backus, DNS Tim Abate.
(DOT Foods DIRTcar Sportsman #2 25 Laps Pending Tech) – TONY FINCH II, Chris Mackey, Kyle Perry, Mike Fowler, Willy Decker Jr., Billy Clark Jr., Steve Marshall, Brent Joy, Joey Buonagurio, Josh Livingston, Stephen Denton, Jeff Prentice, Joe Sobotka, Anthony Rasmussen, Rocky Grosso, Mike Button, Earl Rudy, Rachel Zacharias, Billy Sauve, Jake Petit, Rick Rogala, Michelle Courcy.
(DOT Foods DIRTcar Sportsman #3 25 Laps) – DORIAN WAHDAN, Jessica Power, Mike Phelps, Chris Bonoffski, Amy Holland, Tyler Murray, Brandon Carvey, AJ Miller, Zach Sobotka, Charlie Tibbitts, Tyler Corcoran, Brandon Ford, Richie Riggs, John Strickler, Rick Miller, Tim Devendorf, Torrey Stoughtenger, Josh Amodio, Derek Webb, JJ Courcy, DNS – Ryan Gustin, Jim Spano.
(Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux RUSH Late Models 20 Laps) – CHAD HOMAN, Bret Belden, Jason Parkhurst, Kyle Sopaz, Chris Fleming, Dale Caswell, Kevan Cook, Harry Halliday, Max Hill, Tony Finch II, Jordan Bennett, Matt Kitts, Alan Chapman.
(E&V Energy Novice Sportsman 15 Laps) – RYAN DOLEBEAR, Payton Talbot, Brandon Chretien, Riley Rogala, Cody Manitta, DNS – Pat Nolan, Robert Heintz.
Demo Derby
(4&6 Cylinder) – Mike Taylor – Poland, NY
($50 Mad Dog Award) – Mike Taylor – Poland, NY
(Small Truck – Mini-Van) – Shawn Amen – Lodi, NY
($50 Mad Dog Award) – Mike Schroder – Geneva, NY
