August 12th PAT WARD EDGES CLOSER TO TITLE WITH SPECIAL MIDWEEK VICTORY VERNON, NY- Every year, Fan Appreciation Night is an event that draws large crowds to the Utica-Rome Speedway as fans have an opportunity to see a complete weekly show for just five dollars. This year’s event, sponsored by the Mirabito Fuel Group, had a bit of a different twist however, as fans that had a canned good donation were admitted for the low five dollar price while fans without the donation paying a seven dollars. All the proceeds were going to the local food pantries, and with nearly 3,000 canned items donated, the event was deemed a huge success. The large crowd was treated to some thrilling side by side racing on a smooth surface, allowing drivers to move all over the spacious half mile oval. The 30 lap Modified main event started with outside pole sitter Alan Barker holding a slight advantage over pole sitter Paul Jensen at the drop of the green flag. Barker, using the outside groove, fought tooth and nail to keep the low riding Jensen at bay with the duo side by side for much of the first third of the race. On lap six, Jensen finally nosed ahead to be scored the leader only to have Barker regain the lead by the following circuit. While Barker and Jensen battled up front, point leader Pat Ward was charging to the front. Starting in the 14th position, Ward used several lanes of the multi grooved surface to make his way into the top five by lap six. A lap later, he was up to fourth and on lap nine Ward cracked the top three. With the field running in a tight formation, when Ward moved into the third spot, he was running just behind Barker and Jensen who were still battling for the top spot. On the 10th circuit, Ward used a power move coming off the bottom of turn two go by Jensen and Barker to go from the third spot to the lead. With the field still under green flag conditions, Ward began to pull away while the rest of the field traded spots behind him. The first caution of the night came out on lap 15 when Jensen caught a marker tire in turn four, damaging his racer and ending his fine run. At that point, it was Ward as the leader followed by Barker, Ted Lamb, Ronnie Johnson, and Bobby Varin. The restart saw Johnson make his move to the front as he grabbed third by lap 16, and after working over an impressive Barker for several laps, he grabbed second on 18. By this time, Ward had a comfortable margin and with the top two running comparable lap times, Johnson was unable to gain on Ward. With 10 to go, it was still Ward over Johnson, Barker, Varin, and Lamb. The next mover of the event was Varin who charged by Barker for third on lap 22 and immediately set off after Johnson. The next five circuits saw Varin and Johnson work each other over for the runner up position with Varin finally getting the upper hand by lap 27. A couple of cautions kept the field close to Ward’s rear bumper on lap 27 and 28, leaving a two lap shootout for the win. With Varin’s car getting stronger with each passing lap, what had seemed to be a sure thing with Ward winning was suddenly becoming doubtful. As the field came to take the checkered flag, it was Ward narrowly winning over Varin, Johnson, Lamb, and Willy Decker. Rounding out the top ten was Barker, Jamie Christian, Brian Weaver, Ryan Odasz, and Brian Murphy. The win was Ward’s fifth of the season at the Utica-Rome Speedway and with second place point man Stewart Friesen finishing in 12th, it opened some breathing room for him in the standings going into this week’s Twin 20’s event. Claude Hutchings Jr. and Craig Pope started the 20 lap Sportsman feature event side by side, and for the first several laps, they remained that way as the duo swapped the lead back and forth in a crowd pleasing battle. With the battle going on up front, Jason Rood and Jeff Leslie were making way through the top five to challenge for the lead and by lap nine; Rood was second and on the heels of leader Hutchings with Leslie up to fourth. At the halfway point, Rood made his move and took the lead with Leslie up to second on lap 13. For the next six circuits, it looked as though Rood had the race won but Leslie had other plans. Charging down the backstretch and around the high side of turns three and four, Leslie swept by Rood coming off turn four to lead the last 50 feet to score the thrilling win. It was Leslie’s second win on four days at the Vernon oval with Rood in second, Hutchings in third for his best Sportsman finish, Jeremy Vunk in fourth, and Steve Way in fifth. Pro Stock action saw pole sitter Chris Mackey as the early leader, as he showed the fast way around for the opening four circuits. Seventh place starter Shawn Frost would be the next driver to lead the 22 car strong field around the big half mile when he slipped by Mackey as lap five went into the record books. Despite repeated attempts by Mackey to regain the lead and a later challenge by Jeff Pastorella, Frost would race off to score his second win of the 2009 season. Chasing Frost in the 20 lap affair to the stripe was Pastorella, Mackey, Bill Knapp, and Tom Denton. Ron Hawker continued his domination of the Pure Stock ranks by winning feature number nine in 2009, this time charging from the 12th starting spot. Slipping by early race leader Chuck Cushman on lap seven of 15, Hawker would then hold off any challenges from defending champion Chris Carr to take the victory. Cushman would have his best finish of the season in third with Frank Hyatt and Chris Cunningham rounding out the top five. It will another quick turnaround for track crews as they have to prepare for racing again this Sunday, August 16, when Schachtler Contracting and Zielinski’s Asphalt LLC presents Twin 20’s for the Modifieds plus a regular show for the Sportsman, Pro Stocks, and Pure Stocks. Race time will be 5:30 p.m. with gates opening at 3 p.m. MIRABITO FUEL GROUP/ FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT RACE SUMMARY MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH (30 LAPS)- PAT WARD, Bobby Varin, Ronnie Johnson, Ted Lamb, Willy Decker, Alan Barker, Jamie Christian, Brian Weaver, Ryan Odasz, Brian Murphy, Paul Kinney, Stewart Friesen, Bill Shantel Jr., Brad Godshalk, Randy Chrysler, David Orr, Jeff Kotary, John Ramsey, Elmo Reckner, Casey Williams, Paul Jensen, Todd Burley, Danny Varin, Terry Knoblock, and Tim Mayne. SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (20 LAPS)-JEFF LESLIE, Jason Rood, Claude Hutchings Jr., Jeremy Vunk, Steve Way, Mike Button, AJ Filbeck, Jack Miller, Bill Trexler Jr., John DeForest, Craig Pope, Aaron Jacobs, Michel Teachout, and Roger West. PRO STOCK FEATURE FINISH (20 LAPS)-SHAWN FROST, Jeff Pastorella, Chris Mackey, Bill Knapp, Tom Denton, Mark Effner, Rocky Warner, Dion Oakes, Ryan Lund, Ed Ostrander, Bret Belden, Eric Vanderhoof, John Roese, Dan Peo, Jim Normoyle, Dave Moyer, Dwight Oldorf, John Pearsell, Dave Meeks, Rich Duanehauer, and Rob Seavy. DNS- AJ Digsby. PURE STOCK FEATURE FINISH (15 LAPS)-RON HAWKER, Chris Carr, Chuck Cushman, Frank Hyatt, Chris Cunningham, Jim Thomas, Rob Thieme, Keith Stevenson, Scott Wheelock, Cale Hoffman, Russ Marsden, Mike Harrison, John Davis Jr., Jim Richmond, Mike Kazlauskas, Phil Norman, and Bill Mason.