Jul 19, 2015 12:25 AM EDT
Stacy Jackson Takes Herbie Wright’s ‘Batmobile’ To Black Rock Victory Lane
DUNDEE, NY – For Immediate Release – July 18th, 2015 – Curtis Berleue Photo –
Stacy Jackson has been a faithful Modified competitor all season long driving Herbie Wright’s #88 ‘Batmobile’. Wright has been a Modified car owner for years between Woodhull Raceway, Black Rock Speedway and other tracks in the Southern Tier. The pairing was able to pick up their first victory together in at least a year and for Jackson- his first Black Rock win in many years.
Jackson rolled off the starting grid from the outside pole and pulled away early from pole starting driver Lee Bills. Calamity ensued early on as Joe Dgien had a problem in Turn 4, collecting Dale Welty’s 9x machine. Welty nearly went on his lid, and probably would have had Derrick Podsiadlo not been right there to break his fall in the Penn Yan Express Stop #21.
On the restart it only took a few laps before yellow fever broke out again- this time even drawing the red flag from starter Scott Hixson. Donnie Lawson, Cory Costa, Frank Dunning and Joe Dgien were all involved with Lawson and Costa getting tipped up onto the side of their machines. Dunning and Dgien suffered major damage and had to be pulled apart with the wreckers. All drivers were ok in the melee.
Once the green came back out Ron Cartwright had his ponies charging after Jackson for the lead and began to put immense pressure on the Addison Eagles #88 on lap 12. Jackson was up to the task though as Cartwright would fall into the clutches of Brady Fultz in the Troyer Racecars #70.
Fultz would blow by Cartwright on the outside to take over second and set his sights on Jackson for the win and what could be his second trip to victory lane of 2015. A yellow flag on lap 27 with only three laps to go would see Jackson’s lead evaporate and gave Fultz one last shot at the win.
On the restart Jackson and Fultz put on a battle that won’t be soon forgotten as the pair battled side by side- Fultz down low and Jackson beating the cushion on the top. On the final lap, Jackson hit his marks perfectly and rocketed off the cushion to take his first win at the ‘Fast Four-Tenths-Mile’ in many years. Fultz had to settle for second, Cartwright came home third, Steve Paine fourth and Tyler Siri the top five.
“With our year we have had here, we really needed a good run,” said Jackson in Champion Power Equipment Victory Lane.
“We’ve struggled here, but Herbie spends a lot of time and money on this car. Maybe this is what we needed to change our year around from here on out.”
Jackson spoke to the level of competition every week between both Black Rock and Woodhull.
“You always know you’re running against a top field when 10 guys or more have a shot to win on any given night. You take what you can get when you start up front, but you still have to earn it.”
Brent Ayers has clawed his way through a couple of tumultuous seasons at Black Rock where a bad accident in 2014 put him on the sidelines and a bad accident just a few weeks ago set the team back.
Still though, the team has pushed forward and found themselves in Champion Power Equipment Victory Lane after a dominating performance saw Ayers lead all 25 laps of the Crate Sportsman feature event.
Ayers started on the outside pole, alongside the birthday boy Doug Smith in the Wheeler Motorsports, Crate Motor Connection #01. The driver of the Davison Construction, Knapp & Schlappi Lumber Company #29 powered his way to his first victory of 2015. The excitement was back throughout the field though as Chris Fisher, Steve Gray, Casey Pavlick and Chris Silvers battled for top five positions.
During the feature event the Gray #29g was disqualified for rough driving although the car remained on the racing surface. Confusion ensued which was addressed post-race between drivers and officials resulting in Gray losing points and money earned on the night.
Ayers would go on to win his first race of 2015, ahead of Fisher, Pavlick, Silvers and Smith the top five. During post-race inspection, officials requested and had Ayers’ #29 Crate engine removed from the car to be taken by speedway officials for dyno testing. That test will occur on Monday and will look to confirm that the power generated is within Crate Sportsman specifications.
Keith Lamphere continued his hot streak after having to rebuild the car a few weeks ago, winning his fifth feature event of 2015 in the M&M Auto Sales IMCA Modifieds. The IMCA point leader both at Black Rock and in the regional point standings, proved their dominance after taking the lead from Harry Ely.
Ely is still in search of that elusive first Black Rock win of 2015 and would fall just one spot short this week. Young driver Logan Terry continues to impress by putting in another great finish for third. Brad Smith got his bad luck turned around this week to bring the Pistol Chassis #76 home in fourth. Tony Harris climbed aboard the Ken Buck-owned #30 to bring home yet another top five finish.
The IMCA feature was also notable for seeing a driver black-flagged for over aggressive driving. Speedway management has offered several warnings regarding rough driving over the course of the first half of 2015 to drivers in every division, yet rough driving has become a recurring theme. Contact on the track between Rich Karlnoski and Tony Harris would see the black flag be brought out for Karlnoski for his role in the Harris spin.
The Morseman Racing Chassis Street Stock Feature event was hotly contested as well with defending Street Stock champion Jeremy Potrzebowski pulling off his first victory of 2015. Potrzebowski would have to battle and hold off LaVerne Knickerbocker in his #187 to get the win as Knickerbocker started from the outside pole.
Knickerbocker jumped out to the early lead, leading the first three circuits around the ‘Fast Four-Tenths-Mile’. Potrzebowski made his way through the top half of the top ten and snuck by Knickerbocker to first take the lead on lap 4.
Knickerbocker, from Corning, would not let Potrzebowski walk away and would get back underneath the T1 to regain the lead on lap 13. As the pair continued to battle hard, CJ Guererri and Chuck Winslow began their charge to the front. Guererri, still searching for his first Black Rock win in the Street Stocks, moved into position number three as Knickerbocker took the lead.
Potrzebowski never gave up though, and that persistence paid off as he got back by Knickerbocker on lap 15. But as one man climbed to the top, another was just about to fall from grace.
Knickerbocker would spin in Turn 1 on lap 15 just after Potrzebowski took the lead. Winslow and Guererri were collected as well but both drivers continued through the accident scene and were able to maintain their position for the restart.
On the restart, Guererri set sail for the lead and worked the back bumper nearly off the T1 of Potrzebowski. However bad luck would struck late for Guererri yet again, suffering a right rear flat tire with just two laps to go. The flat allowed Potrzebowski to cruise home for the win over Winslow, point leader Jared Hill, Gene Balmer and Nate Daggett.
Rich Sharpsteen collected wins #99 and 100 in successive weeks Friday night in the NAPA Know How 4 Cylinders. A career that has spanned several racetracks and several classes of cars culminated Friday night with a victory that took the Backyard Motorsports driver to the century mark.
The 20-lap feature saw several twists and turns that made the on-track product exciting. Scott Bradley took the early lead in his #23, trying to make it a Bandit and 4 Cylinder sweep on the night. Bradley was fast, but would only lead the first nine laps enroute to a second place finish behind Sharpsteen.
In his best run of 2015, Chad Ayers took the lead on lap 10 and led all the way to lap 18 before Sharpsteen got by. Ayers has been knocking on the door several times for a win but would not punch his SuperGen Products Victory Lane ticket on this night.
Sharpsteen used patience to get by Bradley and Ayers to lead lap 19 and would hold on for his fifth win of the season and #100 for his career. Bradley and Ayers completed the podium finishers. Joe Povoski and Erica Bell continue their top five finish streaks finishing fourth and fifth respectively.
Billy Bowers has been fighting and clawing all season long trying to pull down his first Creekside Entertainment Bandit victory of 2015. Friday night, Bowers was finally able to hold off point leader and Bandit dominator Jeff Daugherty to do just that.
Bowers would find himself piloting the Scott Bradley-owned #23 car for this week’s feature event and wheeled an unfamiliar ride to Champion Power Equipment Victory Lane. Daugherty came home second, Brandon Kinner third, ShiAnn Labar fourth, Pixie Kinner fifth and Polly Anna Dean completed the field in sixth.
“We were fast tonight, I want to thank Scott Bradley for letting me drive his car tonight,” said Bowers in his first trip to the newly constructed victory lane for 2015.
Next week on the ‘Fast Four-Tenths-Mile’ Black Rock Speedway will be serving wings along with a weekly racing program consisting of Modifieds, Crate Sportsman, IMCA Modifieds, Street Stocks, 4 Cylinders and Bandits. The 305 Sprint Cars will join the card with a $500 to win event with lots of lap money also on the line courtesy of the Ruggles family race team. Pits open at 4PM, Grandstands at 5PM with the first green flag waving promptly at 7PM.
For more information including weekly recaps, driver profiles, results, points and information on the $100,000 Contingency Connection Rewards Program race over to www.blackrockspeedway.com or visit Black Rock Speedway on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BlackRockSpeedway or follow us on Twitter @BlackRockSpeed
Black Rock Speedway is proud to partner with the Contingency Connection in 2015 to offer their race competitors over $100,000 in prizes. Drivers lucky enough to be awarded Contingency Connection books will save thousands of dollars on the parts, pieces and products that they use each week and every winter.
Official Results Friday July 17th, 2015:
Modifieds, 19 cars (30 Laps): STACY JACKSON (1), Brady Fultz, Ron Cartwright, Steve Paine, Tyler Siri, Alan Johnson, Chris Ostrowsky, Derrick Podsiadlo, Brian Swarthout, Fran Hilton, Marcis Dinkins, Lee Bills, Cory Costa, Daryl Hilkert, Donnie Lawson, Frank Dunning, Joe Dgien, Dale Welty DNS: Don Slover
Lap Leaders: Jackson 1-30
Heats: Steve Paine, Tyler Siri
Crate Sportsman, 20 cars (25 Laps): BRENT AYERS (1) **Pending Engine Dyno Monday**, Chris Fisher, Casey Pavlick, Chris Silvers, Doug Smith, Brett Buono, Mike Williams, JJ Kreidler, Jake Dgien, Jason Scales, Zach Ziegenhagen, Loren Lincoln, Tim Guild, David Mayo, Russell Morseman, John Rathburn, Dale Welty, Mike Buchanan, Lance Irwin DQ: Steve Gray
Lap Leaders: Brent Ayers 1-25
Heats: Doug Smith, Russell Morseman, Casey Pavlick
Morseman Racing Chassis Street Stocks, 17 cars (20 Laps): JEREMY POTRZEBOWSKI (1), Chuck Winslow, Jared Hill, Gene Balmer, Nate Daggett, Chris Daugherty, Kurt Stebbins, CJ Guererri, Ralph Champion, John Burritt, Tracy Dunn, Allison Teed, LaVerne Knickerbocker, Dennis Cummings, Jake Karlnoski, Roger Kerrick, Dylan Cecce, Frank Chapman
Lap Leaders: LaVerne Knickerbocker 1-3, Jeremy Potrzebowski 4-12, Knickerbocker 13-14, Potrzebowski 15-20
Heats: Chuck Winslow, Jeremy Potrzebowski
M&M Auto Sales & Service IMCA Modifieds, 12 cars (20 Laps): KEITH LAMPHERE (5), Harry Ely, Logan Terry, Brad Smith, Tony Harris, Rodney Morgan, Nicole Spalding, Jason Benjamin, Sparky Hills, Scott Sebring, Brandon Mathews DQ: Rich Karlnoski
Heats: Rich Karlnoski, Harry Ely
NAPA Know How 4 Cylinders, 17 cars (20 Laps): RICH SHARPSTEEN (5), Scott Bradley, Chad Ayers, Joe Povoski, Erica Bell, Jeremy Trank, Dave Kinner, Jayson Smart, Zach Teed, Dan Smart, David Whetham, Del Cummings, Jeff Moore, Ashley Sutryk, Jarod Brown, Desi Force
Lap Leaders: Bradley 1-9, Ayers 10-18, Sharpsteen 19-20
Heats: Rich Sharpsteen, Scott Bradley
Creekside Entertainment Bandits, 6 cars (10 Laps): BILLY BOWERS (1), Jeff Daugherty, Brandon Kinner, ShiAnn Labar, Pixie Kinner, Polly Anna Dean
