RPW Column: Accord Speedway Came To Life With Practice Session Friday Evening
RPW Column By: MIKE TRAVERSE / RPW – ACCORD, NY – For the longest time, many Northeast short track racing fans were wondering if they were going to see any on track action at their favorite tracks in 2020. But as the situation with the pandemic has improved, race tracks in New York were given the green light to begin holding some practice and racing events.
It took the Mid Hudson region a bit longer than other New York State regions to reach phase one opening plan. But after lying quiet since The Gobbler in November of 2019, Accord was back in business with a practice session on Friday.
It was great to hear the roar of the engines once again at the 1/4 oval in Ulster County. It was a different feeling, seeing the participants and crews following the guidelines by wearing masks and doing the social distancing. But everyone was taking these new regulations in stride.
All the track’s divisions were in action during the Friday night sessions. Drivers who took to the track from the headline division of the Modifieds included defending champion Jimmy Wells, Danny Tyler, Joe Judge, Richard Smith, Leo Fotopoulos, Rich Ricci III, Jimmy Maher, Kurt Hundeland, Brandon Daley and others.
Tyler is coming off of a busy week that included 4 consecutive races in three states, two in North Carolina, one in South Carolina and he finished up at the Penn Can Speedway in Pennsylvania. Tyler was able to take a 4th place finish in the 2nd N.C. race during his trip south.
Judge had 2 cars on hand, his regular Accord car along with his brand new Bicknell to get some laps on it for the first time. Judge will be racing the new car at the STSS North races.
The track was in great condition and track owner Gary Palmer is looking to get the season started soon. As the Mid Hudson Region moves through the phases, look for updates to the happenings at Accord on the track’s Facebook page and on Race Pro Weekly.
