Lawson and Knowles Win as Champions End Season On High Note at Black Rock
Rich Vleck, DUNDEE, NY (August 27, 2010)- On a night dubbed as “Wreckapalooza” at Black Rock Speedway, the final night of the regular season saw anything but torn up cars in their features.
Plenty of motorhomes would get torn up at the end of the night, but on Goodrich Auto Body, Seneca Beverage, Owasco Beverage and Trout’s Auto Night, five features were run off with minor incidents. In most cases, the winner’s interview and the champion’s interview were one and the same.
Donnie Lawson led a foursome of drivers that not only officially captured the 2010 Track Championship in their respective division, but also went to Victory Lane in the final point’s race of the year for the Hoselton Automall Sprotsman.
Lawson, of Woodhull, won his seventh feature of the season with a series of sound moves on the opening circuits to jump into second and eventually into the lead around Greg Crooker by lap four.
“We hadn’t had things go our way the last few weeks,” noted Lawson. “But after the season we had we kind of expected it. Still, it feels pretty good to get another win.”
Lawson held a steady advantage over the pack over a mainly caution-free event. Only two stoppages occurred over the course of the 20 lap feature.
Rob Richmond Jr. was able to move under Randy McCulloch in the closing laps to pick up second. Katelyn Kane would get by Tyler Siri on the final lap to claim fourth.
Jason Knowles was the only track champion that did not pick up the win in his respective feature, but the win stayed in the family as his father, Larry, led 18 laps for his second win of the year at Black Rock in the Insinger/Sunoco Race Fuels Late Model Feature.
“I love riding the cushion at Black Rock,” declared Knowles in Victory Lane.
J.J. Mazur led the first two laps, but Knowles would get around and hold strong on the top. Mazur would never let the No. 4 get away though, as the Batavia youngster would make a bid for the lead nearly every lap to the finish by diving his NO. 13jr to the bottom of the track.
Off the fourth turn on the final lap, Mazur made a last-ditch effort, but it was not enough as Knowles swung back around to pick up the win.
Jason Knowles had run third for much of the race, but when he hit a concrete “turtle” in turn three, it broke a part in the car and forced him to watch the rest of the race in the infield.
Bruce Miller made his rare start count to finish in third. Dave DuBois and Quinn Sutherland would round out the top-five.
Chris Fisher did not skip a beat with a new engine in his No. 37 as he dominated the American Racer Tire Street Stock Feature to end his second championship season with a bang.
Fisher, of Bluff Point, took the lead from Chris Force on lap six and then held a steady advantage over Nate Peckham after the races only restart on lap 15 to claim his sixth feature victory of the season.
The race had a brisk pace for the first 14 circuits, with a number of spirited battles taking place throughout the top-five. Contenders including Force, Jim McAfee and Nate Daggett would drop out, with Daggett bringing out the only caution after slamming into the wall.
Nate Peckham would close on Fisher in the waning laps, but would settle for second. Bob Buono had a tire go flat under the only caution of the race, but was able to make the change and rally back to steal third away from Scott Sebring at the line. Rich McIntyre would round out the top-five.
Black Rock now takes Labor Day Weekend off in preparation for the return of the Fall Sprint Nationals Septebmer 10th and 11th. For more information, visit www.BlackRockSpeedway.com.
Crate Sportsman Feature (20 Laps)- DONNIE LAWSON, Rob Richmond Jr., Randy McCulloch, Katelyn Kane, Tyler Siri, Loren Lincoln, Fran Hilton, Greg Crooker, Brandon Butler, John Juhl, Serenity Sutherland, Trevor Sutherland, Kreg Crooker, Matt Richmond, Chris Silvers, Brady Fultz, Karl Comfort, Steve Swarthout, Ray Bliss Jr.
Lap Leader- G. Crooker 1-2, Lawson 3-20.
Heat Winners- R. Richmond, Siri, McCulloch.
Late Model Feature (20 Laps)- LARRY KNOWLES, J.J. Mazur, Bruce Miller, Dave DuBois, Quinn Sutherland, Jared Hill, Chris Peacock, Dan Cobb, Carl Cleveland, Wally Wade, Jason Knowles, Craig Cobb, Bob Babbitt.
Lap Leaders- Mazur 1-2, L. Knowles 3-20.
Heat Winners- J. Knowles, L. Knowles.
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TWIN 100'S HIGHLIGHT KING OF THE HILL WEEKEND; LAP SPONSORSHIPS CURRENTLY BEING SOLD
Ransomville, NY - Wednesday, August 18th - Ransomville Speedway along with sponsors Investors Services and PJ Trailer Sales are set to send the season out in style with the annual King of the Hill Weekend. Slated for Friday, September 17th and Saturday, September 18th - the two day event is action packed with something for everyone.
"Bigger and Better than ever!," comments PR Director Tana Robinson. "The twin 100 format for Sportsman and Streetstocks is sure to make this years event one of the most attended by both competitors and fans alike. We encourage those who have a camper to spend the weekend - camping is always FREE at the big R and the King of the Hill Weekend is a great opportunity to send the racing season out in style. A huge bonfire will end both Friday and Saturday's events."
On Friday - PJ Trailer Sales Presents King of the Hill Qualifying - Sportsman 25, Streetstock Twin 15's, Gippsters Collision 4 Bangers, Bobcat of Buffalo Firehall Enduro Series, and Original Pizza Logs Micro Sprints. The top six from the Sportsman feature main will automatically transfer to one of the twelve re-draw positions on Saturday. Additionally the top 6 from each Streetstock feature main will transfer to the fifteen re-draw positions on Saturday. The Gippsters Collision 4 Banger and Bobcat of Buffalo Firehall Enduro Champions will be crowned for 2010. Gates open at 5 in the Pit area and 6 in the Grandstands with racing slated for 7:15 pm.
Saturday's event is being presented by Investors Services and will feature twin 100's! The Sportsman 100 will pay a cool $2,000 to the winner while the Streetstock 100 winners's take will be $1,000. Filling the racing card is a Gippsters Collision 4 Banger / Bobcat of Buffalo Firehall Enduro Challenge and a thirty lap 358 Modified feature event. Gates will open at 4:30 in both the Pit area and Grandstands with racing slated for 6 pm.
In addition to the enhanced purses - laps are being sold for each of the twin 100's. Laps are $15 each with all monies being paid directly to the drivers. Lap money is disbursed randomly amongst the top ten competitors through-out the features. All lap sponsors will appear on the KOH Lap Sponsor page on www.ransomvillespeedway.com, in the weekly Ransomville Laps program thru Sept. 3rd., and will also be read weekly over the Public Address system. To sponsor a lap - call Tana at 716-791-3602 or email raceransomville@aol.com. Laps can also be purchased on race night in the tower from 7 pm to 8 pm.
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Donnie Lawson Declared Sportsman Winner and Champion at Black Rock
Rich Vleck, DUNDEE, NY (August 13, 2010)- It wasn’t the most ordinary race for Donnie Lawson, but somehow he found his way in Black Rock Victory Lane for the sixth time this season and with enough points to lock up the track championship.
Lawson, of Woodhull, was awarded as the winner of the Hoselton Automall Sportsman feature after Ron Cartwright Jr. was black flagged for aggressive driving in the closing laps.
Rookie Tyler Siri had dominated much of the 20-lap event, as he was ahead by over four seconds in just his fourth sportsman race, but the front end broke on his No. 28 on lap 16 and opened up the race to the rest of the pack.
Cartwright and Lawson had been battling hard for second up until lap 16, with Cartwright having an answer for every one of Lawson’s bids for the runner-up spot. When Siri fell out, it would set up a four lap shootout for the win.
On the restart, Lawson put his No. 11 TEO to the top but saw Cartwright begin to drive up the track and backed out. He would attempt the maneuver again, but this time Cartwright would use his car to force Lawson back, which would force the officials to penalize the driver of the No. 2B.
“I wanted to race him hard and I had a good run on the outside, but he started pushing up and I saw dollar signs,” admitted Lawson. “We work real hard on these cars and I would have been happy with a second tonight if that’s how he was going to race me. It’s a shame because he didn’t need to race like that to win. He had a good car tonight.”
By winning, Lawson padded his point lead enough to ensure that he would capture his second consecutive track championship. It was a relief for the Woodhull Resident.
“I hate point racing because you get nervous and you don’t want to think about it, but then again I wouldn’t want anyone else to win the championship,” noted Lawson. “This division has been so tough this season and I’m just fortunate to have the runs we’ve had.”
The race was slow to get going as the third caution of the event occurred with three laps completed when 10 cars piled up in turn two, causing a red flag. The race would run green the rest of the way with the exception of the yellow Siri’s broken front end.
Brady Fultz was part of the lap 3 wreck but would rally and come home in second after inching ahead of Katelyn Kane at the line, who would score her career best at BRS in third. Chris Comstock and Fran Hilton would round out the readjusted top-five as Cartwright was slated to the final spot on the lead leap in eighth.
Mikey Wonderling captured his second Insinger/Sunoco Race Fuels Late Model Feature win of the season in a 20-lap event that featured only one caution period.
Wonderling, of Scio, led all 20 laps in Jim and Sharon Schuyler’s No. 57J, rim-riding around the track in front of last week’s winner Jeff Chesebro and Mikey’s younger brother Jeremy.
The only stoppage of the race occurred on lap 14 when Chesebro’s No. 97 began to slow after showing smoke while in second. On the restart, Jeremy Wonderling began to press hard to pass his older brother, but it was to no avail and Mikey would hang on for the win.
“I saw the 97 on the board and knew he would be strong,” recalled Wonderling in Victory Lane. “Then I saw the 3 up there on the yellow and knew it wasn’t going to get any easier.”
Behind the Wonderling Brothers was Dave DuBois in third, the top-five would by Quinn Sutherland and point leader Jason Knowles, who was using his Father Larry’s No. 4 after problems to his primary ride in his heat race.
Next Friday Night, Home Necessities presents Free Admission night in the grandstands. All are welcomed at no cost, but no outside food or drink is permitted. For more information, visit www.BlackRockSpeedway.com.
Crate Sportsman Feature (20 Laps)- DONNIE LAWSON, Brady Fultz, Katelyn Kane, Chris Comstock, Fran Hilton, Rob Richmond Jr., Steve Swarthout, Ron Cartwright Jr., John Juhl, Tyler Siri, Serenity Sutherland, Damon Walker, Ray Bliss Jr., Randy McCulloch, Trevor Sutherland, Brent Ayers, Nick Guererri, Greg Crooker, Kreg Crooker, Loren Lincoln, Bryan Faulkner, Joe Cook Jr.
Lap Leader- Swarthout 1-2, Siri 3-16, Cartwright 17-19, Lawson 20.
Heat Winners- Kane, Siri, Cartwright.
Late Model Feature (20 Laps)- MIKEY WONDERLING, Jeremy Wonderling, Dave DuBois, Quinn Sutherland, Jason Knowles, J.J. Mazur, Jim Johnson, Bob Babbitt, Chris Peacock, Jeff Chesebro, Mike Wonderling Sr., Larry Knowles (DNS).
Lap Leaders- Mikey Wonderling 1-20.
Heat Winners- J. Wonderling, Mikey Wonderling.
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