PAT WARD DOMINATES TO TAKE WIN AT UTICA-ROME SPEEDWAY VERNON, NY- After being the fastest car on the track last weekend only to have a flat tire snatch a shot at the win out his hands, Pat Ward finished the job this week as he dominated the late stages of the headline 358-Modified event to take the win this Sunday, May 4, on Canastota Kart Speedway night. It was Ward’s fourth career win at the historic Vernon oval, his first of 2008. Andy Bachetti grabbed the lead at the drop of Matt Burdick’s green flag, a lead he would hold on to for the first third of the 30 lap main. With Bachetti out front, eighth place starter Pat Ward was making his way out to the front of the field, moving into the top five as the lap one was in the books. By lap six, Ward was in the top three and after a lap 10 restart, Ward was out front. A scary moment occurred at the halfway point when Jamie Christian and Mitch Gibbs got together as they exited turn four, sending Gibbs flipping in mid air down the front stretch. As Gibbs was coming down, he landed on the top of Ted Lamb’s mount as Lamb was trying to avoid the incident. The wreck delayed the event as track crews worked to extract Lamb from his mangled racer and clean up the wreckage. Gibbs and Christian were treated and released at the speedway while Lamb was transported to a local hospital for precautionary measures. All three cars probably will never see action again. On the restart, Ward took off from the field, leaving a heated battle for second behind him. AJ Romano and Bobby Varin put on a heated battle for second for the next 14 circuits while defending 358-Modified champion Stewart Friesen stalked the duo, waiting for his chance to get by. Friesen slipped by Varin for third on lap 27 then got by Romano as the white flag flew for second, but by then Ward was on cruise control way out front. Ward would get the win with Friesen, Romano, Varin and Willy Decker rounding out the top five. The top 10 was filled out by Alan Barker, Gus Schmidt, Paul Jensen, Mike Ricci, and Brian Murphy. Outside pole sitter Casey Williams led the entire 20 lap Sportsman feature, but he held off a handful of competitors to take the win. First, Jeremy Vunk was applying the pressure then Jason Rood was the next to push Williams for the lead. Vunk and Rood took turns going for the lead until Rood went off the track on lap 19. On the restart, Brad Alger put himself into the mix as he got by Vunk at the line for the second spot as the top three were three wide for the win when the checkered flag flew. It was Alger’s third runner up finish in three events, with Vunk holding on for third. Matt Janczuk and Mike Button rounded out the top five. Sixth place starter Tom Denton launched himself into the runner up spot after starting sixth, only trailing leader Rob Seavy at the end of lap one of the 20 lap feature event. AJ Digsby put himself contention by passing Denton on lap 13 to claim second, and then he put himself out front by the 15th circuit by getting by Seavy. Digsby’s chances for the win ended when he slipped off the top of turn three as he was coming to lap 17. Denton claimed the top spot from that point and held off a charging Shawn Frost to net his first win of the season. Seavy held on for third despite an ailing power plant with Mark Effner and Jim Normoyle rounding out the top five. Tim Janczuk grabbed the lead from Waylan Wilczek as lap 12 of the 15 lap main went into the books after starting eight on the field, and he would fend off Wilczek to the end for his first win of the young season. Chris Carr, Ron Hawker, and Phil Norman filled out the top five positions. Next week, May 11, the stars of Dirt Modified racing will descend on to the Utica-Rome Speedway as they will compete for the $10,000 top prize in the Dart Machinery Race of Champions Dart Dirt Victoria 200. Paying a huge $1,000 to start, a large field of Big Block and Small Modifieds is expected. The Pro Stocks will also be in competition, chasing a first place prize of $1,200 for 25 laps of competition. Pit gates will open at 10 a.m. with the grandstands opening at 11 a.m. Racing gets underway at 2 p.m. For more information, call the speedway office at (315) 829-4557. CANASTOTA KART SPEEDWAY RACE SUMMARY 358-MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH (30 LAPS)- PAT WARD, Stewart Friesen, AJ Romano, Bobby Varin, Willy Decker, Alan Barker, Gus Schmidt, Paul Jensen, Mike Ricci, Brian Murphy, David Orr, Craig Hanson, Joel Thomas, Paul Kinney, John Ramsey, Jamie Christian, Jeff Kotary, Mitch Gibbs, Andy Bachetti, Ted Lamb, Ken McGuire, and Jim Davis. DNS- Bill Shantel, Jr. SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (20 LAPS)- CASEY WILLIAMS, Brad Alger, Jeremy Vunk, Matt Janczuk, Mike Button, Tim Nye, Jeff Leslie, Jim Rothwell, Michael Teachout, Jack Miller, Aaron Jacobs, Jason Rood, Stewart Garrison, and Steve Way. PRO STOCK FEATURE FINISH (20 LAPS)- TOM DENTON, Shawn Frost, Rob Seavy, Mark Effner, Jim Normoyle, Bill Knapp, Ivan Joslin, Dave Moyer, Bret Belden, Ed Ostrander, Jim Grippin, Dan Peo, AJ Digsby, and Dave Meeks. PURE STOCK FEATURE FINISH (15 LAPS)- TIM JANCZUK, Waylan Wilczek, Chris Carr, Ron Hawker, Phil Norman, Cale Hoffman, Russ Marsden, Frank Hyatt, Chris Cunningham, Andy Potter, Bill Mason, Robert Thiemes, Scott Wheelock, Kelly Pope, Luke Horning Jr., Keith Stevenson, and Dan Pollock.