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HOSSFELD WINS BIG AT DTRP TOMMY DRUAR & TONY JANKOWIAK MEMORIAL AS RUDOLPH WINS SST TO REMAIN UNDEFEATED FOR THE
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Lancaster, NY: On Heroes Homecoming night presented by the FOAR SCORE Club, hometown hero and NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour driver Chuck Hossfeld came back to Dunn Tire Raceway Park and took home the win in the prestigious Tommy Druar & Tony Jankowiak Memorial Modified 50. The Modified field put on a great show in memory of the two legendary drivers who had previously graced the racing surface of Dunn Tire Raceway Park. The night's action began with the Probity Group TQ Midgets as they took to DTRP’s inner oval. TQ veteran Wayne Turnbull started on the pole and at the drop of the green immediately took command of the race. Turnbull managed to build a lead on the rest of the field as Dan Lawrence and Cam Barber battled it out for second and third place. However, by the halfway mark Turnbull’s lead had all but disappeared as Lawrence and Barber were right on his tail. Lawrence had a quick car and took advantage of a small bobble by the leader to take possession of the lead, a position he did not relinquish for the rest of the race. The “demo derby in a circle” Thiel Motorsports 4 Cylinders were next up in the nights action. At the start of the race Tim Durfy ran in the first spot on the track and built a small cushion between himself and the rest of the field. However, John Julicher Jr., who was making his first 4 Cylinder start at DTRP, was soon on the leaders bumper. Just before the halfway point of the race Julicher took the lead and started to build his own cushion on the field. Further back, Tim Haniszewski Sr. Derek Wager, and Matt Druar battled for third on back while Durfy was all by himself in second. No one was able to challenge the leader though and Julicher went on to win his first DTRP 4 Cylinder feature. With the McGard Modifieds slated to run a Race of Champions race the following day, the Tommy Druar & Tony Jankowiak Memorial Modified 50 was moved up in the order of events to allow teams to more easily compete in both events. Twenty-one “Mighty Modifieds” lined up on the front stretch and roared to life as Mickey Druar and Debby Jankowiak gave the command to start the engines. Starting on the pole was Wilbur Hebing and to his outside was Bill Mislin. Sege Fidanza, Chuck Hossfeld, and Tom McGrath comprised the rest of the top five starting order. At the drop of the green, Mislin tagged the frontstretch wall, causing an immediate yellow flag. On the ensuing restart Hebing had a mirror and bumper full of Hossfeld and Fidanza. A number of cautions in the first couple of laps brought about numerous restarts where Hebing held the lead. Finally on lap 3 Hossfeld took possession of the lead. Yellow flags rained down upon the field as the race seemed to not want to get started. A particularly nasty crash involving five competitors – Mark Tychoniewicz, Jimmy Zacharias, Dan Chimera, Karl Hehr, and Dave Wollaber – caused the red flag to be displayed. All but Zacharias were done for the night. A single file restart ensued with Hossfeld, Fidanza, Billy Putney, Erick Rudolph, and Wilbur Hebing bringing the field to green. Finally around lap 18 the field settled into a green flag run. At the halfway mark it was Hossfeld out in front of Fidanza, Putney, Rudolph, and Tom McGrath. While Hossfeld set the pace and built a lead, Fidanza was left to battle Putney and Rudolph. Fidanza’s luck continued to run out as he was involved in some type of contact with Putney on lap 35 that sent Fidanza spinning and to the rear of the field. The single file restart once again saw Hossfeld jump into the lead but this time he had teenage phenom Erick Rudolph on his tail. Rudolph began throwing everything he had at the veteran Hossfeld. The two raced side by side in some of the best Modified racing action all season as both drivers let it all hang out as the laps clicked off. Rudolph tried his best to get by the leader, but Hossfeld held on and took home the checkered flag in one of DTRP’s most prestigious Modified events. After the 600 horsepower Modifieds came the Able Agency Street Stocks for their 25 lap feature event. Ed Nowak and Scott Mutka comprised the first row of competitors on the start and at the start Nowak took to the lead. However Mutka battled back and took the top spot before the first lap was even completed. Mike Nash, who was running in third, soon began to make his move and had worked himself into the second position by the halfway point of the feature. Nash went low on Mutka on lap 17 and took control of the lead. Further back John Hewson, Kevin Mendel, Jim Bryant, and John Julicher Jr. were battling it out for third on back. Hewson soon was on the tail of second place Mutka and passed him on lap 22. Hewson soon began making up ground to the leader Mike Nash and made it up to his bumper but the laps expired before he could make a run at the leader. However, in post race technical inspection Nash was disqualified and John Hewson was awarded the win. The final feature event of the evening was the Lorigo Insurance SST Sportsman race. Sherri Hogan and Frank Batista Jr. sat on the first row and at the start of the race made contact, sending Hogan back and giving Batista the lead. The lead was short lived for the rookie however as Russ Gian took command of the race on the second lap. A number of cautions place Erick Rudolph on the outside pole for a restart on lap 5. It was all the teenager needed as he cruised into the lead on lap 5 by passing Gian on the inside. Rudolph soon built an almost straightaway lead on the field as Gian ran second, Tom McGrath in third, Rick Kluth in fourth, and Billy Putney in fifth. Gian put up a fight for the second spot as McGrath nipped at his heels. Finally Putney had moved his way up on the outside of the racetrack and passed McGrath and Gian to take second place. McGrath followed suit and slotted into third place, relegating Gian to fourth. Moving his way up through the field was SST rookie Todd Hoddick as he eventually posted a fourth place finish. Up front Putney could not close the very large gap Rudolph had built on the field and Putney settled for second while McGrath finished third. Up next on the Dunn Tire Raceway Park stock car schedule is the Super Sunday Showdown on Sunday, August 24th at 2pm. Combining a number of rain dates, the event will feature over 300 laps of features only racing. On the schedule are the Race of Champions Modified Tour 100 lap event, 2 SST Sportsman 50 lap events, a Bobcat of Buffalo Late Model 50 lap feature, the Street Stocks competing in the Linda Tasca Memorial 50, the Super Stocks who will take to the track for 25 laps, and the fan favorite 4 Cylinders who will race around the inner oval for 20 laps. Pit gates will open at 10am, grandstands will open at noon and racing will begin promptly at 2pm. For more information visit www.dunntireracewaypark.com or call the speedway at 716-759-6818. Probity Group TQ Midget Feature Finish: Lap Leaders: Laps 1-14 Turnbull; Laps 15-20
Lawrence Thiel Motorsports 4 Cylinders Feature Finish: Lap Leaders: Laps 1-7 Durfy; Laps 8-20 Julicher McGard Modified Feature Finish: Lap Leaders: Laps 1-3 Hebing; Laps 4-50 Hossfeld Able Agency Street Stock Feature Finish: Lap Leaders: Laps 1-16 Mutka; Laps 17-25 Nash Lorigo Insurance SST Sportsman Feature Finish: Lap Leaders: Lap 1 Batista; Laps 2-4 Gian; Laps
5-35 Rudolph Source:
Lori Overdorf/DTRP PR
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