September 15, 1990

BILLY PAUCH WINS 5TH CONSECUTIVE VICTORIA 200
By Kevin Kovac Reprinted by permission of Area Auto Racing News

FULTON NY...The odds, almost everyone was saying, had to be against Stockton NJ flyer Billy Pauch winning a 5th consecutive "VICTORIA 200" at the Fulton Speedway on Saturday night.

Realistically, the thought was, how could anyone accomplish such a feat? 1000 straight laps without a single stroke of bad luck? No way could it be done; this had to be they year that luck finally caught up with Pauch, the only 200 champ that Fulton had ever known.

Pauch however, didn't agree with the nay-sayers' assessment of his chances. "The odds (of winning again) are no different than any other year," he said pre-race. "I've got the same odds as anyone else goin' into this race."

Billy's logic was right, his doubters' wrong. In fact, after Pauch passed Jack Johnson with just 24 laps remaining to win his 5th $55,000 -plus "VICTORIA 200" in-a-row on Saturday, the skeptics had to be thinking a new thought: forget about odds - Billy Pauch just isn't meant to lose Fulton's small block spectacular.

That must be the case, considering the way he captured the 200, which was worth an all time race record $16,095 to him. To put it simply, this VICTORIA was Pauch's toughest yet - so tough that it appeared at times that he wouldn't be able to win. His Pete Chesson-owned Barker Bus/Bleeker Plumbing Olsen #76 - a car he debuted at Flemington on August 25th - was never the dominate machine.

Said Pauch afterwards: "Every year they get tougher and tougher. They never get any easier. We've had to work for all five wins." "Work" is what he most definitely had to do on Saturday, since he received another mid-pack starting spot - 22nd in the 42 car field. Pauch, who has never started higher than 16th in the Fulton 200, was forced to thread his way through traffic once again. Traffic, Pauch realized, would be a problem in the 200.

"I don't even know who half the guys in the race were," said Pauch who makes but one Fulton appearance a year. "I had to be careful picking them off."

Pauch had to be especially cautious enroute to the front because his outside groove - the lane which he has literally owned in his past Fulton runs - was virtually useless. All of his passing had to be done using the extreme inside of the track or the middle groove. Still, he got the job done, showing in the top 15 by the 19th lap, the top 10 on lap 25. In the successive circuits he steadily worked his was towards the front. He first moved into the top 5 at the lap 50 point, and then disposed of, in order, Kenny Tremont, Pete Bicknell, and Mike Ricci.

On lap 69, Pauch was 2nd, trailing only the Ryan's Roundhouse Troyer of Danny Johnson, who had lead since lap 38 after starting 13th.

"There were a couple of times," Pauch said of his first-half chase of Johnson, "that I thought I might be able to get him near the end of the first 100. The lapped cars always got in the way though."

Pauch was quickly wiping any smile from his face when the green returned to start the race's 2nd portion, however. After changing gears and tires during the 20 minute break, Billy found himself getting progressively slower as the laps clicked off. He found no bite on the top side and, in the process, lost the 2nd spot to Tremont several laps later.

Pauch regained the place position on lap 116 when Tremont got too low in turn 4 and spun, but he demonstrated no power at all when the race went back to green. Jack Johnson, up from the 40th starting position with Jeff Harrison's CVRA circuit Olsen #F30, suddenly flashed by 2 laps after the restart and pulled away from Pauch - easily.

As the lap counter hit the 130th lap tour, Pauch was looking less- and less like a potential defender of the VICTORIA 200 crown. "I don't know what it is about that half-way point that makes us slower for the second half." he said. "We didn't make any major changes but we just could go at the start of the second 100. I guess it just takes a while to get some heat in the tires."

Obviously, that was one key; Pauch did gradually increase his speed after the lap 140 mark, moving back into contention. Another factor, however was luck - that destined-to-win-the VICTORIA good fortune that continues to shine his light on him.

His big - huge, even - stroke of fantastic racer's luck began to be realized on lap 138, when Danny Johnson, who had a small four-or-five car length edge of Jumpin' Jack at the time, showed white smoke from the engine compartment of his brand new Troyer car.

For one lap, Johnson smoked but continued at full speed. On lap 139, though, he left a trail of moisture between turns one and two, and on the next circuit, DJ pulled off the Speedway surface in turn two, handing the lead to Jack for lap 141.

Danny's elimination was caused by this: the water pump broke on his mod, which sent the fan into the radiator.

It was a terrible stroke of bad luck for Johnson, who had finished 3rd in the '87 VICTORIA 200, but a good stroke for Pauch, for DJ would have been tough to beat. He was running especially stout in his first small block event of 1990, something which he painfully knew.

"The Car," Johnson mourned afterwards, "was perfect. We had made the right changes at the half-way point, and were set for the end. I think I could have beat him (Pauch)."

He never got the chance, though.

Pauch, who moved into 3rd with Johnson's departure and then second on lap 143 after slipping by Mike Ricci on the backstretch, began to come alive at the same time that Danny experienced his race-ending woes. Still, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to challenge the black #28J.

"I was starting to get faster." Pauch appraised, "But I don't know if I could have gotten Danny. He was running real good, real fast. He would've been tough to beat.

"But," Billy added with a smile, "We'll never know if I could have gotten him or not."

What is know, though, was that Pauch grew stronger, and faster, after DJ headed to his trailer. After his pass of Ricci for the 2nd spot of the 143rd lap, Billy closed the gap on Jack Johnson's #F30, moving closer with each lap.

On lap 154, Pauch trailed Jack by 3 seconds. On lap 155, Pauch had closed within 2.7 seconds. By lap 158, as Jack entered lapped traffic, Pauch was just a second behind.

Then the race's 12th caution flag flew on lap 159 to tighten the field, but Pauch was still facing a tough challenge, since Bobby Podolak and Jim Mahaney, both laps down, separated him from Jack. It took Billy till lap 166 to clear the 2 slower cars, which left him a good half-straight behind Jack.

However, that's when Pauch caught another break: J.J. Michaels spun between turns one and two, bringing out the 13th caution of the night - and depositing Pauch squarely on Jack's rear bumper.

The restart came on the 171st tour, and this time, Pauch hung right with Johnson. The duo raced nose to tail on the extreme inside of the turns - the fastest part of the track on this night - and, on lap 174, even touched; Pauch tapped Johnson ever so slightly in turn 2.

The deciding moment of the 200 came on lap 175. At that juncture, Johnson made an almost imperceptible slip out of the low groove exiting turn two, which allowed Pauch, who was right on Johnson's rear, to seize the inside lane. And with that, Pauch exploded off the corner, cleanly blowing by Johnson on the backstretch in the blink of an eye. Pauch was the leader as lap 176 was scored.

Pauch, who said he "didn't even know that Jack (Johnson) was driving the 30 (car) until after the race," was waiting for the opportunity to pass that he took. He knew that on this night, only the inside groove would win the race; the outside, he had discovered, wasn't fast enough.

"I tried the outside a couple of times but couldn't hold it," he said," I'd just hit the slick spots and slide right up towards the wall. The inside was faster tonight.

"I was waiting for him (Jack) to slip up like he did," Pauch explained of the pass for the lead. "He just hit the glaze in (turn) two and slid up just a little bit. All I needed was an inch, and I was by him."

Jack mourned his lost opportunity afterwards.

"We were close but just couldn't beat Billy," Jack said, "I just hit a slick spot and got out of shape a little, I gave Billy the bottom, and he took it. I've gotta give him credit: He's got this place down pat."

Pauch didn't run away to an overwhelming lead in the final 24 circuits; rather, he held a short four-to-five car edge at all times and was slowed by 3 caution flags - on lap 178,186, and 189 - and one red (one lap 179, one lap after the yellow was thrown).

Pauch came across the victor by that margin over Johnson and Bicknell, who pressured Jack for 2nd in those final laps. Pauch was feeling sky-high after his incredible fifth 200-lap win in -a-row (with is 3rd different car owner).

"This is just unbelievable," Pauch said, shaking his head, "I can't believe we've done it. The might've been the toughest, everyone was here!"

Will he make it six-straight in 1991? Pauch, standing by his car after the victory lane ceremonies, held up his hand, extended his fingers, and said, "Now I've gotta start working on this hand," in reference to a victory for each digit.

PIT NOTES: A total of 98-Small Block signed into the pits for the VICTORIA 200...A big crowd - "The best ever (for the VICTORIA)," said race director Eric Kingsley - turned out under overcast conditions. It rained earlier in the day, but stopped by noon.. .Unique draw-for- position procedure went like this: 24 Coke cans were put in a Coke machine with a starting spot underneath. Each driver then pushed the machine's button to dispatch their can...Among the DNQ's were Freedom 76 winner Kenny Brightbill, who looped his Strickler #19 in his heat ( while qualified) and broke the driveshaft in the consi; Steve Paine who failed to put the Sherwood Family #HUr. in the field; Billy Schinkel, who was 5th in all time VICTORIA 200 points entering the day; and Roger Laureno...Also a DNQ was PA's Ray Swinehart. His pain - running in a qualified spot in his consi until being jumped on a restart, and then spun by Ted Lamb - was eased by the fact that he won the Area Auto Racing News Hard Luck Award: a pair of Simpson Racing Shoes.. .Richie Tobias, last year's second place finisher, was off the pace all night. He failed to make it in his heat, qualified in the consi, and made only 75 laps in the feature...Gordy Button won the Gater News Best Appearing Car and Crew award.. .Top first-time Fulton runner was Kenny Tremont; also doing respectable jobs in their initial Fulton runs were Doug Hoffman, Fritz Epright, Duane Howard, and Scott Pursell...