Gibbs gets hard fought win at Fulton

FULTON, NY (May 15, 1999) - Mitch Gibbs' new Teo-Pro car proved to be fast out of the box as he claimed the DIRT 358 Modified win on Terrell's Potato Chips night at Fulton Speedway. Howie Albrecht put his Mopar-powered Sportsman into Victory Lane, while Mike Watkins captured the Pro Stock feature and Lou Levea took the checkers in the Pure Stocks.

Steve Hulsizer jumped from the pole into the lead in the 35 lap DIRT 358 Modified feature event, with Doug Fuller and Roger Phelps battling for the second spot. Jimmy Phelps, Jeremy Baye, and John Barker all battled behind them as Hulsizer began to open up an advantage.

At the one third mark, Gibbs moved into contention and soon battled Hulsizer for the lead. Gibbs took over the top spot while Hulszier fell to bad luck and a right front wheel departing his car on lap 15. John Barker moved into the top three and battled for the lead with Gibbs until he spun in between turns three and four. On the ensuing yellow, Roger Phelps pulled up in turn one and fell out of the action. That moved Alan Johnson into the second spot. Todd Burley battled with Jimmy Phelps as the green flew and made a run for "A.J. Slideways", but Phelps would not let go of the spot that easily.

In the final five lap dash to the checkers, Gibbs held on to take the win, followed by Johnson, Phelps, Burley, and Tom Kinsella. DIRT 358 Modified heats went to Hulszier, Jimmy Phelps, and Gibbs. Gil Tegg won the consolation race and Jimmy Phelps won the Dash for Cash.

The 20-lap DIRT Sportsman feature saw Rich Keller move into the lead at the start with Howie Albrecht and Tim Johnson fighting for position behind him. From deep in the field, Tony Buffa and opening night winner Tim Sears were making a charge to the front of the pack.

Jim LaRock made a strong early race charge to grab the lead from Keller on lap 3, but four laps later, Albrecht powered around him and was never headed the rest of the way. Tim Johnson emerged from the hard battle for position for second, but was passed by Sears and Buffa in the closing laps and had to settle for the fourth spot. John Cuningham also had a good run, staying in contention all race long and finishing in the fifth position. Sportsman heats were won by Albrecht, Johnson, and Bill Shantel Sr., with Albrecht taking the Dash for Cash win.

The 20-lap Pro Stock feature was a fantastic battle between John Cooper and Mike Watkins in the early going, with Ricky Breed and TJ Fitzgibbons moving into contention as well. Watkins and Cooper traded the lead back and forth between some mid-race restarts, with Breed and Fitzgibbons taking their turns challenging for the lead as well. As the race neared its conclusion, Fitzgibbons and Watkins ran side by side for the lead until Watkins finally regained the lead with a couple of laps to go. At the checkers, Watkins returned to Victory Lane with Fitzgibbons close behind in the second spot. Cooper finished third, followed by Breed and Dave Moyer. Pro Stock heats were won by Watkins and Breed with Watkins also grabbing the win in the Dash for Cash.

The Pure Stock 15-lapper began with Lou Levea moving into the lead and holding off repeated bids by Frank Hood to grab the top spot. Hood continued all race long to try to pass the speedy Levea car, but could not find the opportunity. Levea, despite losing a trunk lid with three laps to go, held on for the win with Hood in second. Ken Wentworth, Rob Seavy, Charlie Lacey, and Dave Mannise rounded out the top five. Pure Stock heats went to Hood and Mannise, with Hood capturing the Dash for Cash as well.

RESULTS

DIRT 358 MODIFIED FEATURE-MITCH GIBBS, Alan Johnson, Jimmy Phelps, Todd Burley, Tom Kinsella, Jeremy Baye, Dave House, Jim Rothwell, Jason Barney, John Barker, Gus Schmidt, Tim Vincent, Jeff Rudalavage, John Ventura, Doug Fuller, Jeff Kotary, Pete Taylor, Dave Reilly, Roger Phelps, Dale Planck, Tom Sears, Jay Hopkins, Steve Hulszier, Roy Shields, JJ Michaels, Ryan Baye, Gil Tegg.

SPORTSMAN FEATURE-HOWIE ALBRECHT, Tim Sears, Tony Buffa, Tim Johnson, John Cunningham, Greg Doust, Ronie Wadforth, Bill Shantel Sr., Jim LaRock, Greg Carner, Rich Keller, Willy Decker, Ron Richardson, Ron Davis, Mark Yorker, Walt McArdell, Chad Phelps, Russ Hefi, Dan Vail, Dave Bargabus, Paul Turner, Jeremy Pitcher, JJ Courcy, Pau.l Benz, Steve Nasholts.

PRO STOCK FEATURE-MIKE WATKINS, TJ Fitzgibbons, John Cooper, Rick Breed, Dave Moyer, Jason Rood, Jerry Holmes, JB Dockstader, Bill Scirabba, John Pietrowicz, Bruce Hovis, Joe Jackson, Rich Murtaugh, Chuck Thomas, Bill Shantel Jr., Ray Maloney, Paul Stoneburg, Herm Flowers.

PURE STOCK FEATURE-LOU LEVEA, Frank Hood, Ken Wentworth, Rob Seavy, Charlie Lacey, Dave Mannise, Rick DeGroff, Darren Kelso, Dan Butterfield, Herm Staats, Buddy Diehl, Joe Buske, Kevin Raymond, Chad Ray, Tim Loving, Dean Hatch, Joe Buske, Chris Smiedy.