“THE DOCTOR” DANNY JOHNSON WINS SECOND CAREER VICTORIA 200 IN RAIN SHORTENED 21^st ANNUAL EVENT

 

FULTON, NY – “The Doctor” Danny Johnson of Rochester started sixth and won his second career $20,000 to win Victoria 200 last Saturday night at Fulton Speedway in a rain shortened affair. Johnson, driving the Troyer Race Cars, Dave Thompson owned No. 27j took the lead on lap 120 from defending champion Tim Fuller before rain showers moved in and stopped the race on lap 128 for good. Johnson’s second career Victoria 200 win was one of the more memorable Victoria 200 performances, as he suffered a poor draw and came from the last starting position in his qualifying heat race to win going away.

 

            Kenny Stafford and Gary Tomkins paced the 44-car starting field to the flags of Starter Matt Burdick, with Tomkins claiming the lead on lap 1. Fourth place starter and defending Victoria 200 winner Tim Fuller took the top position on lap 2 and would hold that through lap 100. The usual four and five wide racing, which makes the Victoria 200 well known at the spacious and wide Fulton Speedway, began thrilling fans almost immediately.

 

            At the halfway mark of the first 100 laps, the top five was Tim Fuller, Dale Planck, Danny Johnson, Alan Johnson, Billy Decker, Pat Ward, Mitch Gibbs, Stewart Friesen, Scott Prentice, and Ronnie Johnson.

 

            At lap 100, the yellow and checkered flag flew for the traditional 15-minute break. The top ten running order at this time was Tim Fuller, Danny Johnson, Pat Ward, Billy Decker, Dale Planck, Scott Prentice, Frankie Caprara, Mitch Gibbs, Vic Coffey, Jimmy Phelps.  Fuller was brought to the frontstretch at this time and awarded the Schultzie’s In the Plaza / Bob Case Auto Sales $500 Halfway Challenge leader bonus.

 

            With raindrops misting in the air, the green flag flew to start the second half of the Victoria 200. Danny Johnson went right to work, knowing the race could be shortened due to rain, and stole the lead away on lap 101 from Fuller. At this point, a tremendous battle raged on between the two as Pat Ward tried to enter himself into the equation.

 

            Fuller regained the lead momentarily on lap 102 as the two drivers raced side by side with the grandstands on their feet. Johnson retook the lead on lap 103 and held it until 108 as Fuller used lapped cars to his advantage to be the leader once again. On lap 120 as the precipitation became heavier, Johnson went low out of turn 4 to take the lead for good.

 

            On lap 124, race officials deemed the speedway racing surface unsafe from the light rain showers that were falling. Several more laps went by under yellow, and the red finally came out on lap 128. All cars were brought to the staging area outside of turns three and four, where they sat for nearly a half hour before track officials coming to the decision to call the race complete. With the race track lost from the showers that continued to fall, and the looming heavier precipitation on the radar and forecast, it was the best decision for all involved.

 

            "This is great," said a smiling Danny Johnson about his $20,000 payday. "We made a couple small changes at the break, we just came to the front."  Danny also related that he thought the infield tires being pushed out helped him get by Fuller. The groove that was there in the first 100 laps was taken away.

             "We were really fast.  I just wish it could have gone the whole 200, we were not done yet," said a somewhat dejected Fuller over the rain. "If the rain stopped and the moisture went out of the track back to dry slick my small block would have been the way to go."

 

            With that, Danny Johnson claimed his second career Victoria 200 win, his first win coming in 2000. It was Johnson’s first win at Fulton Speedway since July 25, 2001. Danny made Fulton Speedway his 2006 home and finished fifth in points without a regular season feature win.

 

            10 Cautions slowed the event for 32 laps, and two red flags stopped it including the final red flag on lap 128. On lap 88, the red came out as several cars came together coming out of turn 4, causing a jam up heading into the first turn as cars kept piling into each other. All drivers were ok but sore, with the most damage going to Jeff Isabell and Bob Henry Jr who were both done for the race.

 

            Victoria 200 heat wins were collected by Dale Planck, Tim Fuller, Gary Tomkins, Alan Johnson, Stewart Friesen, Kenny Stafford, Danny Johnson, and Ryan Phelps. Consi races were won by Brett Hearn, Billy Decker, Matt DeLorenzo, and Tim Sears.

 

            With the 2006 race season now complete at Fulton Speedway, focus now turns on the 2006 Fulton Speedway / Brewerton Speedway Awards Banquet to be held on January 5, 2007 at the Syracuse Wyndham. For more information, contact the track office at (315) 593-6531 or visit www.fultonspeedway.com.

 

VICTORIA 200 NOTES…98 cars with 80 different drivers were on the Fulton Speedway grounds to qualify for the Victoria 200. Danny Johnson’s last Victoria 200 win came in 2000. Brett Hearn is going to have to wait again until next season to win his first ever Victoria 200. Hearn made a rare mistake while racing for the lead on the last lap of his heat, spinning and falling out of a qualifying spot. He won his consi and then became involved in the lap 88 red flag incident, but was able to continue and ended up in tenth on the lead lap at the finish. The traditional staging of the cars and driver introductions on the frontstretch was scrapped due to the impending weather.  Speedway officials are seriously considering limiting the amount of cars entered to just one for future Victoria 200s. The draw and driver’s meeting was held behind the starter’s stand in the main grandstand area. John Barker Jr. was added to the field as a promoter’s option. Barker stated before the weekend that it was his last race of his nearly 30-year racing career, nearly all of it spent as a weekly regular at Fulton Speedway. “The Rookie of the Race” award has to go to Kevin Bates. Bates recovered from a spin caused by Jeff Isabell to finish seventeenth, the last car on the lead lap. The Fernandez Auto Mall All-Star race was cancelled because only 4 eligible drivers did not qualify for the Victoria 200. Instead, all 4 drivers were added to the starting field. The Super DIRT Week Eckerd 200 qualifying spot went to Ronnie Johnson, while track regular Dan Vauter claimed the 358-Modified Championship qualifying spot for Super DIRT Week at the Syracuse Mile. Dennis Botindari from Motorsports Performance Health gave the top 3 finishers of the Victoria 200 a $50 off gift certificate to be used towards the purchase of a Hans device. The Raceceiver one way radios, used weekly at Fulton, were used in the Victoria 200 for the first time. Lap money from laps 129-200 will be moved into unsold laps in the first 128 laps of the race.

 

FULTON SPEEDWAY RACE SUMMARY

21^ST ANNUAL VICTORIA 200

RACE DATE: SEPTEMBER 30, 2006

 

21^st ANNUAL VICTORIA 200 (128-Laps, Rain Shortened) – DANNY JOHNSON, Tim Fuller, Pat Ward, Dale Planck, Billy Decker, Mitch Gibbs, Alan Johnson, Ronnie Johnson, Vic Coffey, Brett Hearn, Frankie Caprara Jr., Jimmy Phelps, Stewart Friesen, Scott Prentice, Tom Sears Jr., Matt DeLorenzo, Kevin Bates, Chuck Bower, John Barker Jr., Kenny Stafford, Dan Vauter, Pierre Dagenais, Randy Chrysler, Scott Wood, D.J. Forbes, A.J. Romano, Joe Isabell, Jack Johnson, Brian Sage, Jeff Isabell, Gordy Button Jr., Bob Henry Jr., Brian McDonald, Mike Kolka, Russ Hefti, Matt Sheppard, Joey Grammes, Danny O’Brien, Steve Paine, Bobby Varin, Tim Sears, Bobby Trapper, Ryan Phelps, Gary Tomkins.