September 29, 2001

ALAN JOHNSON WINS SECOND DYNOMAX VICTORIA 200 AT FULTON SPEEDWAY

FULTON, NY – Alan Johnson of Phelps took the lead from Tim McCreadie on lap 129 and rode to his second career Dynomax Victoria 200 victory last Saturday night at Fulton Speedway in front of a possible record crowd.  Johnson started eighth in the 47-car starting field steadily worked his way to the front to claim his sixth straight victory of the 2001 season at Fulton.  The popular victory for the driver of the Maroney Motorsports No. 14J Bicknell 2002x machine was worth a total $21,550.

            Bill Gill and Jimmy Phelps paced the 16th annual Dynomax Victoria 200 down to the flags of Starter Dick Sweet, with Gill jumping out to the early race lead as the entire field raced three and sometimes four wide in the early laps of the event.  Jimmy Phelps and Steve Hulsizer settled into second and third places respectively, with Jack Johnson taking over fourth.  Alan Johnson began his early race move, and was in sixth by lap 14.  Brett Hearn was on the charge, making a high lane move to take fourth on lap 20.  Several laps later he took over third from Jimmy Phelps, and seemed to have the most forward moving car on the speedway. 

Gill, meanwhile had opened a sizable lead by this time, with Alan racing Jack Johnson for fifth.  Phelps took command for three laps on lap 36, with Gill falling back to third and Hearn on the move.  Hearn was running the infamous “Pauch Groove” along the outside wall in the turns, and making it work to his advantage as he took over second on lap 38 and began reeling in Phelps.  Hearn worked around the topside of Phelps in turn four to take the race lead on lap 40. 

As Hearn worked his way through heavy lapped traffic, he began pulling away from second place Jimmy Phelps as the laps ticked by.  Halfway through the first segment, Hearn was the leader with Phelps, Gill, Steve Hulsizer, and Tim Fuller in the top five.  Hearn held a half-track lead on lap 80 as he lapped early leader Gill on lap later.  Tim McCreadie worked his way into the top five, and was in third by lap 82.  On a late first half restart, McCreadie took over second from Phelps and seemed to have a car that could beat Hearn if he could catch him.

            As starter Dick Sweet displayed the checkered flag to end the first 100-lap session, the top five was Hearn, Tim McCreadie, Phelps, Fuller, Burley, Hulsizer, Bob McCreadie, and Alan Johnson.  Hearn claimed the $500 Victoria 200 Halfway Leader award from National Parts Peddler Newspaper.

            When the green flag flew to start the second 100-lap segment, Hearn continued his lead as he surprisingly switched lanes from the outside near the wall to the extreme inside.  Then, on lap 107, as Hearn exited turn four, his sheer domination of the event ended as he clipped a marker tire on the inside of the speedway, ripping the left front tire off his No. 20.  A heartbroken Hearn was done for the race, with Tim McCreadie who started eighteenth taking the race lead.

            Alan Johnson began his move towards the front once again as he raced well into the top five over the next few laps of the second half.  Alan passed brother Danny in lapped traffic, which put him in second position, not too far away from leader McCreadie.  On a lap 125 restart, Johnson went right alongside McCreadie as he made the mid-groove of the speedway work to his advantage.  Johnson clearly had the faster car, but needed to find a way around McCreadie as the two top drivers ran the inside of the speedway bumper to bumper.

            Johnson again went wide by side with McCreadie and raced out to the lead on lap 139 as McCreadie slid back to second.  Alan began pulling away as the laps clicked by, with the real battle for position on track being between Phelps and Burley.  Burley seemed really strong in the late stages, as he moved from fourth to third.  Steve Hulsizer was also fast, as he pressured Tim Fuller for the fifth position.

            With 20 laps to go, Johnson had a several car lengths lead over McCreadie with Burley, Fuller, and Hulsizer following through in the top five.  Johnson continued his fast pace, and even pulled away from McCreadie somewhat.  Then, on lap 191, Mitch Gibbs running in the latter part of the top ten, made contact with the lapped car of Paul Parker on the frontstretch, sending Gibbs into the outside wall and facing traffic.  Ryan Baye came through and t-boned Gibbs, causing a red flag due to a blocked track.  Fortunately, no one was injured in the jarring wreck in front of the capacity crowd.

            When the final restart went green, Johnson continued his lead and went on to his second career Dynomax Victoria 200 feature win.  McCreadie had to settle for second with Todd Burley (started 16th) in third.  Tim Fuller was fourth with Jimmy Phelps in fifth.  Completing the top ten, it was Don Scarborough who made a late race charge followed by Hulsizer, Bob McCreadie, Jason Barney, and Mike Ricci.

            “We were fortunate to get the halfway break,” said Johnson of his 20th career win at Fulton and second career Victoria 200 win.  “We were really loose in the first 100, we made some changes and the car was fantastic.  We worked hard for this one, and as you get older, these victories mean a little more.”  Some of the changes Johnson made to his No. 14J during the break were new tires and a stagger change.  The difference between the first half, Johnson said was that, “We cut the tires more than we did in the first half to get better grip.”

            Second place finisher Tim McCreadie was happy to have finished second.  “We needed another break to get the car better,” he said.  “In the first 100 we had a better car, and I think some changes could have made the difference.”  

            A total of 12 cautions and one red flag slowed the event, mostly for minor incidents and spins.

Victoria 200 Notes – The Victoria 200 was the 16th annual edition, run each fall season in memory of Victoria M. Benway -The First Lady of Fulton Speedway.  Heat wins were claimed by Bill Gill, Jimmy Phelps, Jack Johnson, Jeremy Smith, Tom Sears Jr., Steve Hulsizer, Bob McCreadie, Tim Fuller, Alan Johnson, Billy Wilcox, Brett Hearn, Bobby Varin, and Don Scarborough.  Chuck Bower, Rick Richner, Pete Bicknell, Vic Coffey, Danny Johnson, and Jerry Higbie Jr won last chance consolation races.  Todd Burley was lucky to have made it out in the second 100-laps, as a brief fire broke out caused by a spark from the battery.  Tim McCreadie will represent Fulton Speedway next weekend at Super DIRT Week during the 358-Modified Championship, as he was the highest finishing driver that does not yet have a guaranteed starting spot.  Brett Hearn claimed the $500 halfway leader award presented by National Parts Peddler Newspaper.  Total posted lap money – Gill $900, Phelps $75, Hearn $2,150, McCreadie $800, Johnson $1,550.  The Bert Hard Charger award went to Jason Barney who started 46th and finished 9th.  133 cars (125) drivers were registered for the event, a record.  Flagger Dick Sweet brought his famous tuxedo out for the first time in many years.  The top 12-drivers finished on the lead lap.  The Super DIRT Series heads next to Brewerton Speedway this Thursday for the 100-lap 358-Modified Super DIRT Week Championship.  Unofficially, Alan Johnson holds an eight-point lead in the Super DIRT Series point standings over brother Danny heading into the Brewerton event and Super DIRT Week.

FULTON SPEEDWAY RACE SUMMARY
DYNOMAX VICTORIA 200
SEPTEMBER 29, 2001

16th Annual Dynomax Victoria 200 – ALAN JOHNSON, Tim McCreadie, Todd Burley, Tim Fuller, Jimmy Phelps, Don Scarborough, Steve Hulsizer, Bob McCreadie, Jason Barney, Mike Ricci, Bobby Varin, Chuck Bower, Danny Johnson, Tom Kinsella, Jeff Rudalavage, Pat Ward, Pierre Dagenais, Frankie Caprara, Tim Burnett, Alex Hoag, Bill Gill, Jim Mahaney, Rich Ricci Jr., Matt Sheppard, Jeremy Smith, J.R. Heffner, Paul Parker, Brian Davis, Bill Trexler Jr., Rick Richner, Mitch Gibbs, Ryan Baye, Vince Quenneville Jr., Steve Paine, Jack Johnson, Tom Sears Jr., Brett Hearn, Billy Wilcox, Billy Decker, Mario Moreau, Vic Coffey, Danny O’Brien, Frank Cozze, Ron Holmes, Curt VanPelt, Jerry Higbie Jr., Pete Bicknell.

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