Fulton, NY…Saturday night’s Fulton features were sponsored by Auto Recycling of Brewerton, and winners included Tim Sears in the DIRT Sportsman division, Jason Rood in the DIRT Pro Stocks, Chad Ray and John Pietrowicz in the two Pure Stock features, and Mark Warner won the 4-Cylinder feature.

Sears started on the pole in the DIRT Sportsman feature in the Auto Recycling of Brewerton car.  Willie Decker started next to Sears, but Sears got the jump at the drop of the green.

Caution flew on the opening lap when Mike Lavrenway spun his 55 in turn three and was collected by the 10 of Ryan Richardson.  On the ensuing restart, Decker’s car pushed up the track in turn one and he lost second to the 55c of Jamie Christian.

Sears had Christian right on his bumper, with Decker in third.  Behind the lead trio, the battle for fourth was being hotly contested between Jim Kite, Tim Mayne, and the P38 of Ron Pratt.  These three swapped fourth, fifth, and sixth several times before Jimmy Kite hit the implement tire in turn four and brought out a yellow.

After the restart Sears actually opened up some ground out front, and left Christian to battle with Decker for second and third.  Russ Hefti, Tim Mayne, and Pratt wound up the contestants for fourth through sixth as the race wound down.

Terry Knoblauch spun to bring out a yellow on lap 18.  The final two laps saw Christian try his best to pass Sears on the bottom, but to no avail as the 2000 track champion held on and took the checkered flag.  Christian finished second with Decker, Hefti, and Mayne rounding out the top five.  Sears was the NGK Spark Plugs Halfway Leader.

John Pietrowicz had the lead by lap five of the held over Pure Stock feature from September 9th.  Fulton Speedway track champion Chad Ray was pressuring the leader when Billy “The Kid” Allen spun his 20 in turn three bringing out a yellow.

On the restart, Ray went right after Pietrowicz using the inside groove, and one lap later he took over the top spot as 11 went up on the lapboard.  Two laps later, the 17 of Pietrowicz suffered a right rear flat tire, and he pulled out of the event.

Ray held on for the win, with Jeff Pastorella finishing a close second.  Bruce Stanton was third; Bobby Newman finished fourth, and fifth went to the K9 of Todd Koegel.  The NGK Spark Plugs halfway leader was the 17 of Pietrowicz.

The 4-Cylinder Feature saw teammates Mike Warner and Chuck Powelczyk start in the front row together.  Warner jumped out front at the green, but a quick yellow for the 63 of Roger Olschewske necessitated a first lap restart.

When the green flew again, the 9jr. of Harvey Calkins Jr. hooked together with the 007 of Russ Cusson, and the yellow lights were on for the second time.  Both cars were able to continue.

Powelczyk surprised his teammate Warner and took control on the restart, and this set up a thrilling battle between the teammates with Calkins and Cusson coming back through the field quickly, running third and fourth by lap 9.

Chris Bargabos and Roy French spun on lap 10, bringing out the yellow again on lap 10.  Cusson and the 9 of Calkins both passed Powelczyk after the restart, as Powelczyk was developing a problem with the right rear of his 17.  He would eventually go to the pits.

Warner held off the 007 of Cusson through the final laps of the event to take the victory.  Cusson finished second with Roger West, Calkins, and the 3 of Kevan Cook rounding out the top five.

The second Pure Stock feature had trouble getting started as the Bruce Stanton 9, now being driven by Rick Miller, lost a wheel and came together with the 21j of the luckless Joe Buske.  Both cars went to the pits and the race was restarted.

John Pietrowicz, driving the Hood 17, was the early leader.  Jeff Pastorella and Todd Koegel followed closely, with Chad Ray and Bobby Newman battling for fifth.  Ray Fancher developed a flat tire on lap 4 and he spun, causing a yellow and closing the field up once again.

Chad Ray had worked his way to third, and on the restart Pietrowicz not only had Pastorella to worry about, he also had the 73D of Ray.  This trio put on a great show for the fans, and were running in the same order when rookie Billy “The Kid” Allen had a problem on his 20 in turn one resulting in a yellow.

Two laps later, a serious crash took place on the front straightaway involving the 42 of Jeremy Bargabos and the 87 of “Downtown” Dennis Brown, as both of them found the outside wall to be unforgiving.  Both drivers were uninjured, but their cars were not as lucky.

Ray went into the pits under the yellow, ending his quest to win his second feature of the night.  This now left Pietrowicz in the lead, with Pastorella, Bobby Newman, Waylon Wilczek, and Ken Connor behind him. Wilczek and Newman would swap positions in the race’s final three laps, but Pietrowicz had enough to hang on out front and take the victory.

At the stripe it was Pietrowicz over Pastorella, Wilczek, Newman, and Connor.  The NGK Spark Plugs Halfway Leader was the 17 of Pietrowicz.

The 12-lap Pro Stock nightcap feature saw Jerry Holmes outmuscle Paul Streiff to take control at the outset.  Behind this duo, Dave Moyer, Ray Maloney, and Joe Jackson were battling for third.

A series of chain reaction incidents led to the 00 of Streiff spinning on lap six and being tagged by the B52 of Keith Butler, who had nowhere to go.  Both had to go pitside with damage to their machines.

When the race was restarted, the top five began dicing back and forth in a race that had the fans cheering throughout.  Holmes held on until the final lap, when he drifted high in turn four with the white flag waving, allowing Jackson and Maloney to go underneath.

Coming out of turn two on the last lap, Jackson and Maloney made contact and the 18 of Rood found himself passing both of them and speeding off to the checkered flag and a win that left announcer Shane Andrews saying it was “Merry Christmas in September.”

Rood grabbed top honors, with Maloney, Holmes, Jackson, and Dave Moyer rounding out the top five.  The NGK Spark Plugs Halfway Leader was Holmes. Tim Hettis of King Ferry, NY was the winner of the Enduro that closed out the night’s activities.

Fulton Speedway’s final race of the 2000 season is also the biggest one.  The 15th annual Victoria 200 weekend takes place September 29th through October 1st.  Throughout the three-day weekend, six divisions will see racing action on the high banks.

Friday, September 29th will feature Mr. DIRT Series races for the Sportsman and the Pro-Stocks, plus Pure Stocks and hot laps for the 358-Modifieds.  Saturday, September 30th is exclusively devoted to the 358-Modifieds, as the entire Victoria 200 program will be run.

On Sunday, October 1st, the IMCA Modifieds and 4-Cylinders will take center stage, along with a non-qualifier’s program for the 358-Modifieds if 50 or more cars do not qualify for Saturday’s Victoria 200.  Sunday is also a rain date for either of the first two days in case of inclement weather.

For ticket or schedule information, contact the speedway office at (315) 593-6531.  Information can also be found on the Internet at www.fultonspeedway.com.

PURE STOCKS (From Sept. 9):  CHAD RAY, Jeff Pastorella, Bruce Stanton, Bobby Newman, Ken Connor, Dennis Brown, Jeremy Bargabos, Joe Buske, Ray Fancher, Billy Allen, Marty Collmer, Zig Kellum, Todd Koegel, John Pietrowicz, Chris Smiedy, Phil Trimm, Bill Gibson, Nathan Peckham, Dave Mannise, Dave Arbus, and Rob Whipple.

DIRT SPORTSMAN:  TIM SEARS, Jamie Christian, Willie Decker, Russ Hefti, Tim Mayne, Rob Pratt, Dave Bargabos, Chad Phelps, Dan Vail, Steve Kotary, Gregg Carner, Jimmy Kite, Jason Potter, Mike Lavrenway, Terry Knoblauch, Ryan Richardson, Paul Kinney, Darryl Hagen, Jeremy Pitcher, Greg Doust.

DIRT PRO STOCKS:  JASON ROOD, Ray Maloney, Jerry Holmes, Joe Jackson, Dave Moyer, Eric Vanderhoof, Dave Fox, Herm Flowers, Jack Terrell, Paul Streiff, Keith Butler, and Russ Marsden.

PURE STOCKS (Regular feature):  JOHN PIETROWICZ, Jeff Pastorella, Waylon Wilczek, Bobby Newman, Ken Connor, Chris Cunningham, Tony Finch, Zig Kellum, Chad Ray, Marty Collmer, Todd Koegel, Dennis Brown, Jeremy Bargabos, Billy Allen, Chris Smiedy, Phil Trimm, Ray Fancher, Rick Miller, Joe Buske.

4-CYLINDERS:  MARK WARNER, Russ Carlson, Roger West, Harvey Calkins Jr., Kevan Cook, Roger West Jr., Roy French, Dave Myrto, Rob Whipple, Ken Hixenbaugh, Chris Bargabos, Jim LaLone, Norm Pimm Jr., Steve Coit, Chuck Powelczyk, Todd Williamson, Mike Lewis, Jon Amidon, Joe Briere, Ken Pittsley, Roger Olschewske.