5/24/08

RUTHERFORD TOPS OFF THE WEEKLY NASCAR MODIFIED MAIN ON VP FUEL NIGHT

 
WILLIAMSON,NY: "It has taken us a couple of weeks to get going,” stated Kirk Rutherford, from Barker, NY, in victory lane. Well everything worked out well as he claimed the 35-lap Weekly NASCAR Modified victory at Spencer Speedway last Friday on VP Fuels night.

Rutherford took the lead on lap 20 from Terry Cheetham. Cheetham held on to record a second place finish.

In Street Stock action Tommy Carino Jr., from Elbridge, took his first feature win in his young career piloting his new crate powered Chevrolet. “The crate motor is the way to go, it’s great!” stated an elated Carino Jr. in victory lane.

The Super Six division saw Kris Hillegeer, from Williamson, repeated his performance from last week and claimed his second straight Super Six feature win.

The 35-lap Weekly Modified feature saw pole sitter Andy Lewis take the early lead, pulling away to a five car advantage over Don Pringle. Pringle in turn held an eight car lead over Terry Cheetham.

Pringle was closing the gap on Lewis when the first of three yellows came on lap 15. Jeff Polaski looped around exiting the second turn, but was able to not make any contact with the wall or another car.

The restart saw Pringle seem to get loose and spin into the infield in the fourth turn. Officials seem to think contact caused Pringle to lose it and send the third place cart of Buck Catalano to the rear of the field also.

On the restart Lewis seemed to bog down, fading back to fifth. This allowed Cheetham to take the lead. Cheetham was then able to hold off the advances of Kirk Rutherford running a close second. Right on Rutherford’s rear nerf bar was Daryl Lewis Jr.

On lap 20, Rutherford chose to go high in the third turn to make a pass for the lead. Both he and Cheetham cross the line in a near dead heat for the lead, advantage Rutherford. On lap 24 the yellow flew when officials spotted fluid coming from the number 4 of Jeff Polaski. Polaski reported to the pits where the team corrected a broken radiator hose, returning to the race without losing a lap.

The final ten laps were run under green flag conditions with Rutherford winning over Cheetham by a good ten lengths. Daryl Lewis Jr. came home in third followed by Jeff Hamman and Kevin Timmerman to round out the top five finishers.

“I want to thanks everyone for coming out tonight,” stated Rutherford on a fairly cool, windy evening.

The 20-lap Street Stock main went green-to-checker with Tommy Carino Jr. leading the entire distance. Carino Jr. was dogged in the early by Don Stevens. In the latter stages of the race Carino Jr. was able to pull away to nearly a full twenty car advantage over Stevens. Dan Scott came home a close third, followed by Phil Alhart Jr. and Mitchell Wright in fifth.

The Super Sixes went 20-laps in their feature for the first time in the three year history of the division. Kris Hillegeer, who has dominated the class with 17 feature wins, took home number 18 and his second in a row. Keith Butler finished second followed by a distant Jesse Parks in third. Patti Davenport and Joe Bailey rounded out the top five.

When asked about his car, Hillegeer said putting one together is really easy. “This was a Pontiac Grand Am and all we did was add a roll cage to the car. They are simple to put together.”

This Friday, May 30, will be USG Sheet Rock Night featuring another “Three Star” program of NASCAR Weekly Modified, Street Stock and Super Six racing. A special treat has been planned for the kids. “Kids, Koins and Kandy” is the name of the special game. Race time will begin at 7:30 p.m. sharp.

Spencer Speedway is located just fifteen minutes east of Rochester, NY, along Route 104 in the Town of Williamson. Spencer Speedway is the local “NASCAR Place to Race” for upstate New York. Points earned each week at Spencer are counted into the national NASCAR Whelen All-American Series championship.

VP FUELS NIGHT SUMMARY

SUPER SIXES

HEAT: K. Hillegeer, K. Butler, J. Parks, P. Davenport, J. Bailey.

FEATURE (20-laps): KRIS HILLEGEER, Keith Butler, Jesse Parks, Patti Davenport, Joe Bailey, Craig Butler, Tammi Bennett and Bill Malin.

STREET STOCKS

HEAT: T. Carino Jr., D. Scott, D. Stevens, P. Alhart Jr., M. Wright.

FEATURE (20-laps): TOMMY CARINO JR., Don Stevens, Dan Scott, Phil Alhart Jr., Mitchell Wright, Bill Semmler and Willie Strusz.

WEEKLY NASCAR MODIFIEDS

HEAT 1: D. Pringle, J. Hamman, B. Catalano, T. Cheetham, J. Polaski.
HEAT 2: A. Lewis, A. Jankowiak, K. Rutherford, K. Timmerman, R. Brown.

FEATURE (35-laps): KIRK RUTHERFORD, Terry Cheetham, Daryl Lewis Jr., Jeff Hamman Jr., Kevin Timmerman, Andy Lewis, Andy Jankowiak, Buck Catalano, Tony Hanbury, Ryan Beeman, Chris Finocchario, Don Pringle, Steve Malin, Fred Taylor, Mark Cline, Jeff Polaski, Phil Wehrheim, Matt Lees and Russ Brown.

Source: Gary M. Spaid/Spencer PR
Additions: Mark Southcott/NYRaceZone.com
Posted: May 26, 2008