Schmidt wins first of year at Fulton; Rains claim Pro, Pure Stock mains

FULTON, NY (July 24, 1999) - Gus Schmidt survived a thrilling battle with John Barker to net his first win of the year in DIRT 358 Modified competition at Fulton Speedway Saturday night. Bill Shantel scored his first win of the year in the Sportsman ranks, and Gordy Button made the winning pass on Rich Wood to take the checker in the 20-lap ELS feature. Following that, the skies opened as a thunderstorm swept through the area, postponing the Pro Stock and Pure Stock features to next week.

Pete Taylor and Roy Shields battled for the lead intensely at the start of the 35-lap DIRT 358 Modified feature event, while Rick Miller hooked up in a fight for position with Tim Burnett behind them. As the lead quartet swapped positions and the lead changed hands several times, Todd Burley broke free of a fierce fight in mid-pack and set sail after the front of the field.

In the middle stages of the race, several caution flags flew, and there were wholesale position changes. Miller spun in front of the field, with Burley and an onrushing pack barely avoiding him. Tom Kinsella and a speedy Dale Planck stormed into the top five, mixing it up with Burley, while two time winner Alan Johnson finally broke free from an intense mid pack battle to crack the top ten.

Up front, Gus Schmidt and John Barker made a tandem pass of Taylor and Shields to take the top two spots. In the final twelve laps, the duo ran side by side for the top spot, swapping the lead back and forth. Schmidt, sticking with the indside lane, finally made a pass for the lead stick on lap 32, but the yellow flew one lap later for Doug Fuller's stalled racer. Schmidt held off Barker in the final two lap dash to record the feature win, with Tom Kinsella stealing the runnerup spot from Barker on the final lap. Planck, Burley, and Burnett rounded out the top five. 358 Modified heats were won by Roger Phelps, Roy Shields, and J.J. Michaels.

The 20-lap Sportsman feature was a barnburner with Ron Davis holding off repeated challenges from Jim LaRock and Walt McArdell in the early going. An early race tangle on the backstretch sent Ron Richardson spinning into the infield, but he continued and mounted a charge from the rear of the pack. Up front, Bill Shantel joined the lead battle with Willy Decker.

On lap 11, Shantel slipped underneath Davis as McArdell moved into the second position. Decker mxed it up with Timmy Sears and Tony Buffa as Shantel held a slight advantage. In the closing laps, McArdell moved in on Shantel and made an attempt to steal the win from the outside on the final lap, but he slid high in turn four. Shantel crossed the line with Tony Buffa slipping past McArdell for second. Sears and Davis followed McArdell to complete the top five. Sportsman heats were won by Tim Johnson, Decker, and Richardson, with Russ Hefti grabbing the consi win.

In the 20-lap ELS feature, Wayne Patterson held the early lead until Rich Wood moved by on lap 8. Wood distanced himself from the pack while Gordy Button moved into third. Button then drove around Patterson and with six laps to go caught Wood and made the winning pass to score the feature victory.

Following the ELS feature, a thunderstorm moved in and dumped heavy rain, which forced track officials to postpone the Pro Stock and Pure Stock features to this Saturday night. The DIRT 358 Modifieds and Sportsman will have a full regular program. Earlier in the evening, Mike Watkins and T.J. Fitzgibbons earned Pro Stock heat wins, while Darren Kelso and Chad Ray took the Pure Stock heats.

This Saturday night it's double features for Pro Stocks and Pure Stocks plus a regular show for DIRT 358 Modifieds and Pro Stocks. Gates open at 5pm and racing starts at 7pm.

RESULTS

DIRT 358 MODIFIED FEATURE: Gus Schmidt, Tom Kinsella, John Barker, Dale Planck, Todd Burley, Tim Burnett, Alan Johnson, Gil Tegg, Mitch Gibbs, Roger Phelps, Jim Phelps, John Ventura, Roy Shields, Eric VanSciver, Pete Taylor, Jay Hopkins, Doug Fuller, JJ Michaels, Jeff Rudalavage, Rick Miller, Jason Barney, Ryan Baye, Tim Vincent, Ty Hunt, John Knapp, Tom Sears.

SPORTSMAN FEATURE: Bill Shantel, Tony Buffa, Walt McArdell, Tim Sears, Ron Davis, Ron Richardson, Jim LaRock, Willy Decker, Dan Vail, John Cunningham, Jim Bowman, Paul Benz, John Phelps, Rich Keller, Butch Reiter, Paul Streiff, Jeremy Pitcher, Terry Knoblauch, Mark Yorker, Russ Hefti, Dave Bagabus, Greg Doust, Dean Bower, Tim Johnson.