Kyle VanDuser Cements Field For First Career Modified Win At Accord

Story By: STEVE PADOS / ACCORD SPEEDWAY – ACCORD, NY – Accord Speedway Promoters Gary and Donna Palmer were very much aware the rain was heading in their direction, but they threw caution to the wind and they and their staff hustled through the evening and completed five of the six divisions before Mother Nature threw her weight around the area.

A nice crowd was on hand to enjoy the evening of speed sponsored by the good folks at Northeast Paving and Sealcoating. www.http://northeastpavingandsealcoating.com

“The Koncrete Kid” Kyle VanDuser rocked the house with an outstanding drive to capture his first ever Modified win at Accord and in doing so besting one of the top names in the history of the speedway “The Chairman of the Board” Rich Ricci Jr in the Insinger Fuels Modified finale. “The Bushkill Bullet” Kyle Rohner captured his third Accord win of the season in a rim-riding battle with “The Tornado” Tyler Johnston in the Arkel Motors Sportsman main. Emerson Cargain Jr made it three wins for the season as he captured the Upstate Auto Pure Stock encounter. “The Captain” Jeremy Quick raced to his second win of the season in the WRWD Radio NEWS Sprint Car feature. Hyde Park, New York rookie Joe Coppola was triumphant in the WRWD Radio Rookie Sportsman feature event to claim his first ever win at the speedway. The Emmanuel’s Marketplace Fireball 4-Cylinder feature will be run at a later date.

VanDuser jumped into the lead from his front row start and pasted his hot rod at the top of the cushion. A spin by Danny Creeden brought the field to a halt on lap six. On the restart, Rich Ricci Jr would make many overtures for the lead but the determined VanDuser had found the zone he wanted and stuck to his guns with Ricci working off of the baseline to find his way into the lead. Just behind the leaders Jimmy Wells, Jerry Higbie, Anthony Perrego and Mike Ricci were working their magic forward.

Ricci would pull out all of the stops and for a few laps the lead duo raced side by side with VanDuser continuing to win the battle off the top of the raceway. VanDuser would not be denied on this evening and steered his VanDuser Concrete Foundation racer into the WRWD Victory Lane. Rich Ricci Jr was the runner-up in a fine drive with Jimmy Wells, Jerry Higbie and Anthony Perrego following. Mike Ricci headed up the second five with Jesse Marks, Michael Storms, Scott Ferrier and Richard Smith completing the top ten.

The Arkel Motors Sportsman event found “The Junior Rock” Matt Shultz grabbing the lead from his front row start. Shultz built up a lead of six car lengths until a caution came out on lap ten for a disabled Jamie Yannone. When racing resumed Tyler Johnston would place plenty of pressure on Shultz and finally slip past him on lap-14. Along with the lead change, Kyle Rohner blasted into the runner-up slot and the the run for the roses took on a whole new meaning.

Johnston was solid as he raced off of the cushion with Rohner testing all of the channels to find a way around him. On lap-21 Rohner found the hot spot of the raceway to make his move and he worked past Johnston. Rohner would lead the final laps and claim his third win of the season. Johnston was tough as nails in second while Cole Hentschel, Nick Plumstead and Chris VanDuser completed the top five. The second five found Corey Cormier, Hunter Lapp, RJ Smith, Chris Stevens and Leo Fotopolous from sixth to tenth.

Joe Coppola raced into the lead at the start of the WRWD Radio Rookie Sportsman feature attraction. Coppola enjoyed a quick breakaway but Charles Loiodice worked his way into the second position and began to reel Coppola in. Around the halfway mark Loiodice would spin between turns three and four causing a caution. On the restart, Coppola separated himself from the field and would go to capture his first ever win at Accord. Travis Green, Cole Stangle Mike Travis and a charge back from Loiodice would complete the top five.

A first lap crash slowed the action in the Upstate Auto Pure Stock event as it put fan favorite Livy Johnson on the sidelines for the remainder of the evening. When racing resumed Emerson Cargain grabbed the lead as he got off to a great start and it would prove to be the winning move as Cargain would wire the field on his way to his third win of the season. John Hechinger kept it close with a fine in the runner-up slot. Steve Williams was third even though he nursed a smoking gun to the finish line. Travis Brockner, John Drake, Ray Tarantino and Chris Kanuk completed the field.

Jeremy Quick would jump into the lead off of turn two in the WRWD Radio NEWS Sprint feature and the power move would take him all of the way in the event as Quick would lead all laps on his way to his second win of the season. Andrew Davis was second with Mick D’Agostino third, newcomer Kyle Puglise fourth and Mark Connoly fifth.

GEMSTONES:

The hotly contested racing action was completed at 9:30PM as the heavy rains pelted the speedway hard as the Rookie event came to a close. Kudos to Gary Palmer and crew for whipping the speedway into excellent shape for the evening of racing action.

Heat wins went to Kyle VanDuser, Eddie Burgess and Jesse Marks in the Modified division while two heats were needed for the Sportsman with wins going to Tyler Johnston and Chris VanDuser. The Rookie Sportsman heats were claimed by Joe Coppola and Travis Green. Anthony Davis captured the sprint car heat win. Pure Stock heats wins were captured by Livy Johnson and Steve Williams. Fireball heat winners included Jesse Torrens and Richard Smith

RESULTS:

Insinger Fuels Modifieds: Kyle VanDuser, Rich Ricci Jr, Jimmy Wells, Jerry Higbie, Anthony Perrego, Mike Ricci, Jesse Marks, Michael Storms, Scott Ferrier, Richard Smith, Joe Judge, Tommy Johnson, Nick Johnson, Rich Ricci III, Kenny Ferrier, Danny Creeden, Eddie Burgess, Danny Tyler

Arkel Motors Sportsman: Kyle Rohner, Tyler Johnston, Cole Hentschel, Nick Plumstead, Chris VanDuser, Corey Cormier, Hunter Lapp, RJ Smith, Chris Stevens, Leo Fotopolous, Mike Senecal, Alex VanPelt, Danny Morgiewicz, Matt Shultz, Jamie Yannone

WRWD Radio NEWS Sprint Cars: Jeremy Quick, Anthony Davis, Mick D’Agostino, Kyle Pugliese, Mark Conolly

WRWD Radio Rookie Sportsman: Joe Coppola, Travis Green, Cole Stangle, Mike Travis, Charles Loiodice, Brian Durbin, Robbie Colburne, John Brown, Billy Fiske, Erin Paulison, Michael Corbin

Emmanuel’s Marketplace Fireball 4-Cylinders: Postponed until a later date

Upstate Auto Pure Stock: Emerson Cargain, John Hechinger, Steve Williams, Travis Brockner, John Drake, Ray Tarantino, Chris Kanuk, James Goetchius, Mike Aririzoni, Livy Johnson