BRETT HEARN JETSTREAMS HIS WAY TO 7G's IN ACCORD SPEEDWAYS KING OF THE CATSKILLS TRIUMPH

ACCORD SPEEDWAY NEWS

Accord, NY- Brett Hearn Jetstreams His Way To 7 G's In Accord Speedway's King Of The Catskills Triumph

By: Steve Pados, Accord Speedway Media

Much like a season ago, the weather pattern above the Ulster County skies threatened the start of the spectacular King of the Catskills weekend at the Accord Speedway as heavy thunderstorms early in the week left the speedway incapacitated for Promoter Gary Palmer to work his trackside magic with the racing surface. The weather cleared and Palmer went to work and put in countless hours night and day to give the racers a great track to work with and the end result was a phenomenal three division show to kick-off the initial night of the King of the Catskills weekend at the speedway. Working right up until race time, Gary Palmer had the pristine quarter mile clay speedplant in impeccable condition that enabled the stout field of Modified competitors to click-off some of the fastest laps of the season. The weekend of speed is headlined by sponsor Bill Rumsey and the WLR Construction Team. The second day of racing continues on Saturday at the speedway with seven divisions of speed lined up to give the fans as much bang for the buck as they possibly can. When all was said and done, Modified legend Brett Hearn made his first Accord appearance of the season and dominated the racing action from lap-22 when he grabbed the lead from Doug Manmiller and led the remaining laps to conquer a talent laden Modified field to earn the King of the Catskills laurels triumph in the Lucas Oil Products Victory Lane. The win for Hearn was his first in the prestigious King of the Catskills classic. Anthony Perrego grabbed the lead on lap-19 and then held off a determined Darrell Ford to capture the $1,000.00 to win prize in the Escape RV Sportsman 50-lap headliner and Justin Phillips withstood a heated battle with fellow statesman Doug Norrie to go and win the exciting WRWD Radio Lightning Sprint feature

Twenty-six of the finest Modifieds on the East Coast today took off in a run for the roses with Pennsylvania hotshoe Doug Manmiller grabbing the upper hand from pole sitting Bobby Varin to lead the first twelve laps of the event. Varin hustled his Big Block powered Pedrick-Romano owned racer around Manmiller to lead laps thirteen and fourteen and then shut his car down with terminal engine woes that led to the track using a series of caution laps before resuming the event. On the restart, Manmiller was back upfront with Brett Hearn now moving into challenge with a series of deft maneuvers as he tried to figure out the way around "The Handler". Hearn, who was the 2011 track champion at the speedway, tried the bottom, went to the top and settled on the fact his racer was working well from the topside of the speedway. Hearn found the needed speed off of turn four on lap-22 to take over the point and would lead to the 50-lap fuel stop with Manmiller, Danny Johnson, Duane Howard, Mel Schrufer and Jerry Higbie following closely.

On the restart it would be Hearn continuing to run to daylight as he dominated the action on the track and on lap-55 Manmiller saw his great ride come to an end as his hot rod slowed when Manmiller jumped the fourth turn cushion and broke. On the following restart, Hearn found Danny Johnson knocking on his door as the Rochester, New York surgeon had sliced his way through the field after starting from 24th spot. The ebb and flow of the event took on new meaning as the fans in the stands began to envision the many great battles the pair of combatants had in past racing seasons and the excitement boiled from the grandstands as the drivers went to work. As lapped traffic came into play, Johnson closed quickly but Hearn darted through the traffic a tad quicker to maintain a narrow margin of daylight over Johnson. A restart for the disabled Danny Creeden on lap-82 found Hearn and Johnson nose to tail as the green came out again. The pair battled to the end with Hearn claiming the win and the $7,000.00 prize that went along with it. Johnson was the runner-up and the hard charger in the event as he started in 24th position. Duane Howard gave the Atlas Paving chariot a great ride with a third place finish and Jerry Higbie finished fourth in the New York Truck Parts entry. Rounding out the top five was Pat Ward, who may have had the fastest racer on the speedway in the last ten laps as he rallied hear to complete the top five. Kevin Duryea enjoyed a great run as he headed up the second five after starting 15th. Mel Schrufer, Jimmy Phelps, Ryan Godown and Jeff Heotzler were the next four in line with Heotzler coming back from a late spin to nail down a top ten finish. The event proved to be a great one as each lap provided a different dual between the talent laden field of superstar driving talents.

Kyle Smith took the lead at the drop of the green flag for the WRWD Lightning Sprint headliner and the youngster remained at the front of the front of the field through the first five laps of the event until a caution was brought out for the disabled Mike Cokely mount. On the restart, Justin Phillips took the high road and found the needed speed to drop Smith in behind him as took over the point in a great move. Out of nowhere came hard riding Doug Norrie and Phillips and Norrie traded the lead back and forth for four laps until Phillips moved out to the front on his own. A couple of laps later Norrie found himself facing traffic in a spin off of turn three. Phillips was in command on the restart but Kyle Smith had regrouped and was matching Phillips move for move as they hustled away from the field. Christian Wright became a player in the latter stages but Phillips would prove to be too strong on this night as he drove to a narrow victory over Smith with Christian Wright in third place, Rich Wood in fourth and newly named track champion Joe Szczapa completing the top five. Zack Bennett continued to shine as he earned a sixth place run while Peter Dance worked his way to seventh place at the end with Norrie recovering from the spin to hustle back to eighth while Ralph Utter and Shilo Boyce completed the top ten.

Vinny DeCicco used a front row start and a borrowed race car to jump away from the field in a hurry as the Escape RV Sportsman kicked off. First time appearance of the season campaigner Ken Moulton filled into the runner-up slot with Chris Stevens and Anthony Perrego following. DeCicco appeared to have a fast rod rod and on his way to victory but a Tyler Dippel wreck brought out the caution on lap 18. When the racing resumed, Perrego found some good bite on the topside and he hustled his racer around DeCicco to take control of the event. Darrell Ford began his climb in the ranks after the midway point as the eleventh place starter found the baseline of the speedway much to his liking and he reeled in and slipped past driver after driver on his way to the front. Ford got into the runner-up slot and made a serious run to derail the high flying Perrego but time and energy ran out and it was 2012 track champion Anthony Perrego claiming the win, his ninth sportsman win of the season. Ford was simply great in the runner-up role with Kevin Ward high side hustling his mount from 15th to finish third. Vinny DeCicco was fourth with Chris Stevens earning fifth place honors. The second five included Jesse Marks, Dave Werber, New Jersey's Steve Davis, Charlie Hendrickson and Randy Green.

MUDPLUGS:

The showcased event of the season at Accord for the Palmer Family was another spectacular event for the successful promotional team now in their twelfth season at operating their Ulster County facility. The racing was superb as every Modified and Sportsman heat resembled a mini feature event. The standing room only crowd came from far and wide with as many as twelve states representing the statewide support of the tremendous weekend of racing activity. Parking was at a premium and the grounds were abuzz with excitement for the long awaited weekend of racing at the "Gem in the Catskills". The turnstiles of fans filled the concession areas all night long as the great cuisine at the speedway was highlighted by the pulled pork sandwiches, corn dogs and homemade chicken noodle soup as well as the regular fare of all of the favorite hand crafted sandwiches at the speedway.

Forty Modifieds made their way to the pit area along with thirty sportsman and eighteen Lightning Sprints for the opening night of the spectacular weekend of speed. Former speedway announcer Joel Murns joined regular announcer Steve Pados for the evening and the duo went trackside to introduce the great field of driving stars who were then given the task to throw a tennis ball into the crowd with their number on it for one lucky fan to win $100.00. The energy immediately started to reach a fever pitch as each driver was introduced and major leagued their throws into the grandstands. Kevin Oxford caught the winning ball from Brett Hearn to earn the great prize. Floyd Rose was the lucky recipient of $632.00 in the winning 50/50 drawing. Some lucky fans also won some Dig811 T-Shirts that Miss Accord Speedway Erika Decker tossed into the grandstands.

The ROC title chase is still waiting to play out with one race remaining at the Five Mile Point Speedway but with some drivers opting not to attend the Accord event, the point standings took a dramatic change that found Danny Johnson taking the lead in the series over Jimmy Phelps. The racing was hard and fast and the quality field of racers put on a whale of a show throughout the evening. The heat action alone was well worth the price of an admission ticket and the consolation events were much the same. Four cars transferred out of each Modified heat and Mike Mahaney, Pat Ward, Jerry Higbie, Doug Manmiller and Stewart Friesen captured the exciting heat action wins. Two consolation events were needed and won by another first time Accord performer Jim Davis and Jeff Heotzler. Sportsman heats went to Charlie Hendrickson, Steve Davis, Mike Barrett and Anthony Perrego. . The Sportsman consolation was claimed by Joe Giachinta. Lightning Sprint heat winners were Justin Phillips, Zack Bennett and Kyle Smith.

New faces emerged in the pit area with Jimmy Phelps, Ryan Godown and Jim Davis all making their first stops to the Accord speedplant. Jackie Brown Jr returned to the speedway for the first time in a couple of seasons while sportsman campaigners Will Dietz, Joe Judge and Vinny DeCicco all tried their hand at racing with the Modifieds.

The racing continues today as seven divisions will rock the Catskills for the second day of competition. Spec Sportsman, Pure Stocks, Pro Stocks, All Star Slingshots, Junior Slingshots, CRSA Sprint Cars and X-Cel Modifieds will all take part in the Saturday racing card.

RESULTS:

All American Ford Modifieds: (ROC Dirt Tour 100 laps $7,000.00) Brett Hearn, Danny Johnson, Duane Howard, Jerry Higbie, Pat Ward, Kevin Duryea, Mel Schrufer, Jimmy Phelps, Ryan Godown, Jeff Heotzler, Jackie Brown Jr, Justin Holland, Butch Tittle, Stewart Friesen, Mike Mahaney, Danny Creeden, Jim Davis, Chuck McKee, Mike Ruggiero, Danny Tyler, Doug Manmiller, Andy Bachetti, Chris Schultz, Mike Ricci, Bobby Varin, David Hunt

Escape RV Sportsman: (50 Laps $1,000.00) Anthony Perrego, Darrell Ford, Kevin Ward, Vinny DeCicco, Chris Stevens, Jesse Marks, Dave Werber, Steve Davis, Charlie Hendrickson, Randy Green, Joe Giachinta, Ken Moulton, Ray See Jr, Brad Szulewski, Jeff Hulseapple, Greg McCloskey, John Sundlof, Tyler Dippel, Mike Barrett, David Coene

WRWD Lightning Sprints: Justin Phillips, Kyle Smith, Christian Wright, Rich Wood, Joe Szczapa, Zack Bennett, Peter Dance, Doug Norrie, Ralph Utter, Shilo Boyce, Jerry Sehn, Jason Roe, Joey Bonetti, Kurt Conklin, Rick Stone, Adam White, Nick DeNyse, Mike Cokely

Racing every Friday night from April through September. Saturday, September 22nd finds day two of the "King of the Catskills" weekend of great racing in the house and WLR Construction serving as the headline sponsor for the event. Pit Gates open at 3:30; Spectator Gates open at 5:00; Hot Laps are at 6:00 and the racing begins when hot laps are completed. The Saturday program will begin one hour earlier. Admission for this special weekend is as follows: Adults $22.00; Children $4.00; Indoor Seating $28.00; Reserved $25.00; Family four pack special $62.00.

For more information regarding the great racing action found at the Accord Speedway, call the speedway hotline at: 845 626 3478 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting FREE 845 626 3478 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or log-on to their newly designed and well documented website at: http://www.accordspeedway.com For videos of all of the exciting racing action at Accord, contact Danny Ody at: www.oldspeedways.com For photos of all of the great racing found at Accord contact Kevin of KB's Racing Photos at: www.kbsracingphotos.com

We are easy to find at 299 Whitfield Road, two miles off Route 209. At the Accord Speedway..................................

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