SJDR - Skyline Race Results

Skyline
Race Results
www.penncan.com

06/24/07

"MR. WIDE OPEN" JIM HOWARD CAPTURES FIRST SPORTSMAN WIN AT SKYLINE

During his career, Jim Howard has won in pretty much every division he
has raced in at the Skyline Raceway. Howard's resume includes wins in
Late Models, Super Stocks, and pro Stocks through the years, but the one
thing missing was an open wheel victory. That changed on Saturday night
as Howard drove his Ray Taylor owned mount to victory in the 25 lap
Sportsman feature on Saturday night. All of the action was sponsored by
Home Necessities, a local hometown rent to own store.
The 25 lap Sportsman feature was paced to Sam Rogers' green flag by by
rookie Jason Russell and Ben Bushaw. Bushaw got the drop on Russell at
the drop of the green flag as Howard quickly made his move to advance
from the sixth starting position to run second behind Bushaw. Bushaw
would lead the first eight laps of the event before the race's only
caution flag waved when Don Alvord made contact with an infield marker
tire, wiping out his front end and forcing the caution flag.
The restart would prove to be the pivotal point of the event as Howard
was able to make his way past Bushaw on the restart to assume control of
the race. Though Howard would lead the final 16 laps of the event, it was
not an easy victory as Howard was pressured by Bushaw all the way to the
checkered flag. Howard drove his line perfectly, never wavering and never
opening the door for Bushaw. Bushaw chased Howard all the way to the
finish but could not find a way past as Howard took the checkered flag by
a narrow margin over Bushaw. Jim LaRock charged from his tenth starting
position to finish third ahead of Keystone State stars Ryan Olsommer and
Tim Howell.
The 20 lap IMCA Modified feature fell to Westfield, Pa 's Sean Lias, who
drove to his ninth feature win in ten races contested thus far in 2007.
Keith Fleming grabbed the lead at the drop of the green flag and led the
first lap before giving way to Joe Miles. Miles would then lead the next
six laps before Tom Eiklor took over at the head of the field. Eiklor's
lead would last only two laps before Lias was able to make the winning
pass at the halfway point of the event. Once out front, Lias was able to
pull away from Eiklor, claiming the victory by almost a straightaway over
Eiklor, who finished second. Carmen Vona charged from deep in the field
to finish third with Joe Miles and Dwayne Bird rounding out the top five.
In Pure Stock action, Rich Sharpsteen drove to his second consecutive
victory as he topped the field in the 20 lap feature. Jerry Lobdell
grabbed the lead at the drop of the green flag and led the first eleven
laps before mechanical problems knocked him out of the event. Lobdell's
misfortune turned the lead over to Sharpsteen, who held off a determined
challenge from Rick Hand to pick up the win. Hand hung on to finish
second. Clayton Ingrahm recovered from a mid-race incident to finish
third with Bobby Boynton and Harold Humphrey rounding out the top five
finishing order.
Russell Erwin drove to his third feature win of the season in Four
Cylinder Stock action. Erwin had to earn the victory over the second half
of the race. Erwin was repeatedly challenged by Nate DeGraw for the top
spot. DeGraw was able to pull alongside Erwin on several occasions, but
each time Erwin was able to fight off the challenge. Erwin took the win
by a narrow margin over DeGraw. Daron Hurlbert finished third with Mitch
Eaton finishing fourth in his first start of the 2007 season. Veteran Jim
Money rounded out the top five finishing order.
Steve Faatz dominated the twelve lap Junkyard Dogs feature, leading all
twelve laps enroute to victory, his fourth of the season. Jason Bennett
tried to run down Faatz for the lead but could not catch Faatz and
settled for a runner-up finish. Joe Marshall, Chad Howard, and Jeffrey
Leaver rounded out the top five.
The 12 lap Junkyard Pup feature saw a new face in victory lane as 14 year
old rookie driver Keith Potter drove to his first career victory.
Potter's margin of victory was about a foot as he just managed to hold
off a fast closing Ken Keough to score the win. Keough was able to pull
alongside Potter off the final turn, but came up just a foot short of the
victory, settling for a second place finish. Pat Neff, point leader Leon
Brockway, and Jason Scutt rounded out the top five.
Bob Relyea came out on top of the hard hitting demolition derby that was
the final event on the Saturday night racing card.
Racing action continues at Skyline Raceway this Saturday night with a big
six division racing card featuring the Sportsman, IMCA Modifieds, Pure
Stocks, Four Cylinder Stocks, Junkyard Dogs, and Junkyard Pups. Rounding
out the evening's activities will be the annual fireworks display, always
one of the highlights of the racing season. Racing gets underway at 6:30
PM sharp. For all of the latest information, log onto the speedway's
official website at www.skylineracewayny.com.

DAN CLARK SCORES SECOND VICTORY OF 2007 AT SKYLINE

-Apparent winner LaRock disqualified in post race inspection
Richford, NY's Dan Clark came away with an unexpected feature win at the
Skyline Raceway on Saturday night. Clark crossed the finish line second,
but was awarded the victory when apparent winner Jim LaRock's carburetor
failed to pass post race technical inspection. JJ Courcy picked up his
first IMCA Modified victory of the season, snapping Sean Lias' six race
winning streak. Clayton Ingrahm turned in another strong drive to win his
fourth Pure Stock feature of the season while Nate DeGraw picked up the
ride in the Hackett Racing #K5 and drove it to victory, his third of the
season. Jason Bennett won his second Junkyard Dogs feature. Ken Keough
won his first Junkyard Pups feature of the season.
Skip Pickwick grabbed the lead at the start of the 25 lap Sportsman
feature, moving to the head of the 19 car starting field. A series of
early caution flags kept the field bunched up, making for some tight
racing action throughout the field. Once the field got sorted out and ran
some green flag laps, Sportsman division rookie Geoff Powell made his
move into the lead, driving past Pickwick to assume the top spot on the
eighth lap.
As the race crossed the halfway point, Powell continued to hold the top
spot with Dan Clark moving from his eighth starting spot to challenge
Powell for the top spot. A lap fourteen restart would apparently be the
decisive moment of the race as LaRock, who had charged from his 18th
starting position to third made a big move on the restart to sweep around
both Clark and Powell to assume the top spot. Though nobody knew it at
the time, Clark made what would prove to be the winning move of the race
on the 19th lap as he was able to slip past Powell to run second behind
LaRock.
LaRock led the remainder of the event, crossing the line first only to
lose the win during the post race inspection process. Clark was thus
declared the race winner, his second win of 2007. Powell turned in
another impressive drive to finish second with Ryan Olsommer third. Tim
Howell rebounded from an early race incident to finish fourth with Tom
Collins Jr. also overcoming an early race mishap to finish fifth.
In IMCA Modified action, Sean Lias saw his six race winning streak come
to an apparent blown engine while leading just two laps from the finish
ended Lias' race. JJ Courcy capitalized on Lias' misfortune, leading the
final two laps to earn his first victory of the 2007 season. Courcy held
off a late challenge from Pete Neff to pick up the victory as Neff's
furious charge back through the field after an early mishap netted him a
strong runner-up finish. Carmen Vona finished third ahead of Dave
Barrows. Tom Eiklor earned a fifth place finish in his first Skyline
start of 2007.
Clayton Ingrahm turned in a dominating performance to earn his fourth
Pure Stock feature win of the season. Ingrahm was able to capitalize on a
pair of early restarts to drive his way into contention, moving into the
lead on the third lap as he slipped past early leader Jerry Lobdell to
take over the top spot. Lobdell would chase Ingrahm the remainder of the
way, but Ingrahm was too strong and claimed the victory over Lobdell.
Harold Humphrey finished third in his first Skyline feature of the season
with Rich Sharpsteen and Bobby Boynton completing the top five.
Nate DeGraw started the 2007 season with a pair of feature wins in the
Four Cylinder Stock class, but motor problems aboard his car has kept
DeGraw on the sidelines the past few weekends. On Saturday night, DeGraw
teamed up with the Hackett Racing Team to run their second car, and it
turned out quite well as DeGraw drove the Hackett machine to his third
win of the season. Kyle Hackett led the first half of the race, but
mechanical problems just past the halfway point sidelined Kyle.
Fortunately for the Hackett team, DeGraw had worked his way to second
behind Kyle and was in position to take over the top spot when Kyle
broke. DeGraw led the rest of the event to pick up the win over Glen
Erwin. Russ Erwin finished third with Jim Money and Scott Johnson fourth
and fifth respectively.
Jason Bennett led all 15 laps of the Junkyard Dogs feature to pick up his
second win of the season. Bennett was able to outdistance point leader
Steve Faatz, who had to charge from the back of the pack after making a
pit stop to remove a loose deck lid. Jeffrey Leaver, Joe Marshall, and
Glenn Beebe Jr. rounded out the top five.
After having their problems the previous week, the Junkyard pups ran off
their 12 lap feature without a caution flag this week as Ken Keough drove
to his first victory of 2007. Pat Neff chased Keough all the way before
settling for a runner-up finish with Bucky Bates, Leon Brockway, and
Jason Scutt third through fifth.
Racing continues this Saturday night with a big six division racing card
featuring the Sportsman, IMCA Modifieds, Pure Stocks, Four Cylinder
Stocks, Junkyard Dogs, and Junkyard Pups. Racing gets underway at 6:30 PM
sharp. For further information, log onto the speedway's official website
at www.skylineracewayny.com.

TIM HOWELL BAGS FIRST SPORTSMAN WIN OF 2007 AT SKYLINE
-story by Ted Schmidt.

Lake Ariel, Pa.'s Tim Howell drove to victory in the 25 lap Sportsman
feature last Saturday night at the Skyline Raceway to claim his first
victory of the 2007 racing season. Sean Lias remained perfect in IMCA
Modified action as the Westfield, Pa driver earned his sixth win in as
many starts, giving Keystone State drivers a sweep of open wheel
competition on the night. Clayton Ingrahm won his third pure Stock
feature of the season while Glen Erwin bested brother Russ to earn his
second Four Cylinder Stock feature of the season. Steve Faatz won his
third Junkyard Dogs feature of the season and Leon Brockway won his first
ever Junkyard Pups feature. Jason Rhodes took top honors in the mini van
Enduro.
The 25 lap Sportsman feature ran with only one caution flag slowing the
racing action as the Sportsman drivers put on a show for the Skyline
fans. Skip Pickwick grabbed the lead at the drop of the green flag and
set the pace for the first three laps before eventual winner Howell made
what would prove to be the winning pass on the fourth lap. Howell, who
tows in excess of 100 miles one way each week to race on Skyline's
smooth, tacky surface, was able to move away from the field once out
front as Tim was able to open up nearly a straightaway lead over a torrid
battle for the second spot involving Pickwick, Jim Sherman, and Jim
LaRock.
Howell continued to set the pace as the race passed the halfway point.
After many laps of side by side racing for the second spot, defending
track champion LaRock emerged with the runner-up position on lap 19, but
by that point Howell had built up a straightaway lead. In fact, LaRock
later stated that when he passed Pickwick, he thought he was making the
pass for the lead as he could not even see Howell's mount still ahead of
him.
The entire complexion of the race changed on the 22nd lap when the
caution flag waved for Tom Collins Jr., who had lost power on the
speedway. Howell's straightaway lead was erased as LaRock, Skyline's
defending Sportsman division champion, was deployed right on Howell's
rear bumper for a three lap sprint to the finish. Howell was up to the
challenge as he kept his Bicknell machine glued to the inside groove,
forcing LaRock to try the high side. On the final lap, LaRock did try to
make an outside move on Howell, but could not make the move stick and
crossed under the checkered flag just behind Howell. In a show of
Sportsmanship, LaRock was the first person in victory lane to shake
Howell's hand and congratulate the second generation star on a strong
run. Behind Howell and LaRock, veteran Jim Sherman claimed third with Dan
Clark and Ryan Olsommer rounding out the top five finishing order.
In IMCA Modified action, Sean Lias' dream season continued as Lias raced
to his 202nd career IMCA sanctioned victory. Pete Neff took advantage of
an outside pole starting position to grab the lead. Neff led the first
eight laps of the event before running into problems and slowing on the
backstretch to bring out a caution flag. Neff's misfortune turned the top
spot over to Lias, who led the final twelve laps to pick up the win. Dave
Barrows came out on top of a duel with JJ Courcy to earn a career best
second place finish with Courcy third. Carmen Vona and Joe Miles
completed the top five running order.
Clayton Ingrahm drove to his third win of the season in Pure Stock
action. Ingrahm made the winning pass on the seventh lap after a good
side by side battle with Norm Whittemore for the top spot. After some
good side by side racing, Ingrahm was able to secure the top spot and
lead the rest of the way to earn the feature win. Whittemore drove a
strong race to record a season's best runner-up finish. Daryl Ellis
crossed the line third but was docked one position by track officials for
a rules infraction which put Bobby Boynton third in the final finish with
Ellis fourth. Steve Greene earned the final position in the top five.
The Four Cylinder Stock division came down to a battle between the Erwin
brothers for the victory. Glen Erwin took advantage of a front row
starting position to grab the lead at the drop of the green flag, but
over the closing stages he had to hold off a determined challenge from
his brother Russ. Russ was able to get a look to Glen's inside several
times, but was never able to complete the pass as Glen drove to victory
by a narrow margin over Russ as the two brothers in their potent Toyota
powered machines swept the top two spots. Scott Rothwell finished third
with Scott Johnson and Rich Powell fourth and fifth respectively.
Steve Faatz topped the Junkyard Dogs feature for the third time in 2007.
A last lap caution flag put defending track champion Ray Congdon right on
Faatz' ear bumper for the final restart, but Faatz executed a perfect
restart to secure the victory. Congdon settled for a runner-up finish
with Derek Shader third. Joe Marshall claimed the fourth place finish
with Dan Moore fifth.
Leon Brockway came out on top of a rough and tumble Junkyard pups feature
that saw only three cars running at the drop of the checkered flag. The
win was Brockeway's first in a five year racing career that has seen Leon
spend time in several different classes of car before settling into the
Junkyard Pups class. Bucky Bates corssed the finish line second with
Aaron Carmen third. Ed White was scored fourth after wiping out his car
when front end failure entering the third turn sent him hard into the
outside retaining wall. Ken Keough was fifth in the final rundown.
Jason Rhodes led all 30 laps to win the Mini Van Enduro. Modified feature
winner Tim Howell finished second with Ken Keough third. The Mini-Vans
will be back in action on August 18th for a second Enduro event.
Racing continues this Saturday night at Skyline with a big six division
racing card. The Sportsman, IMCA Modifieds, Pure Stocks, Four Cylinder
Stocks, Junkyard Dogs, and Junkyard Pups will all be in action in a big
six division racing show. All of the action gets underway at 6:30 PM
sharp. For all of the latest news and information, log onto the
speedway's official website at www.skylineracewayny.com

BEN BUSHAW CLAIMS SECOND SKYLINE WIN OF 2007, LIAS REMAINS PERFECT IN
IMCA MODIFIED ACTION

Homer, NY's Ben Bushaw drove to victory in the 25 lap Sportsman feature
on Saturday night at the Skyline Raceway to earn his second victory of
the 2007 campaign, collecting the $600 winner's share of the purse. Sean
Lias remained perfect in IMCA Modified action as the Westfield, Pa. star
drove to his fourth win in as many starts in 2007. Jerry Lobdell drove to
his first career pure Stock win while Scott Rothwell bagged his second
Four Cylinder Stock win of 2007. Jason Bennett won his first Junkyard
Dogs feature of the year while Jason Scutt topped Junkyard Pups action
for the second time this season.
Geoff Powell and Jim Sherman paced the field to the green flag to start
the 25 lap feature event. Powell was able to use the outside groove to
power past Sherman to take over the top spot. Bushaw wasted little time
in driving from his fifth starting position to advance to the second
position by the fifth lap. Racing action was halted on the ninth lap when
the red flag flew for a heavy crash by Gene Sharpsteen. Sharpsteen
reports that the throttle on his machine hung wide open, sending him hard
into the first turn wall. Gene was not injured in the crash, but his
mount suffered serious damage in the frightening-looking accident.
When racing resumed, Bushaw made what would prove to be the winning move
as he drove past Powell on the restart to take over the top spot. As the
race crossed the halfway point, previous week's feature winner Dan Clark
was able to slip past Powell for second and set his sights on Bushaw. The
second half of the race features an intense battle between Clark and
Bushaw as the to locked in a tight battle for the top spot. Several
times, Clark took a look to the inside of Bushaw, but each time Ben was
able to fight off the challenge. The battle for the victory raged all the
way to the finish with Bushaw holding off Clark to score the win. Clark
came up just short, settling for a second place finish. Sportsman rookie
Geoff Powell continued to impress with a third place finish with Tim
Howell fourth. Former Late Model star Randy Brokaw made his Sportsman
debut on Saturday night and drove to a solid fifth place finish.
Sean Lias brought a different car to Skyline for Saturday night action,
but the results were the same as the Westfield, Pa. veteran drove to his
fourth consecutive IMCA victory. After his primary car was damaged in a
crash at his Friday night track, Lias was forced to bring his back-up car
to Skyline. Sean started eighth on the filed but quickly drove his way
into contention, taking the top spot from Joe Miles on the eighth lap.
Lias would lead the final twelve laps to earn the victory over Miles.
Newcomer Larry Bezner drove to a third place finish with Ty Hurlbut
fourth, also in his first start of 2007. Dave Barrows completed the top
five running order.
Jerry Lobdell drove to his first career Pure Stock victory as the
Freeville, NY driver came out on top of a furious battle with Daryl Ellis
to claim the victory. Lobdell led the majority of the event, but Ellis
was ale to slip past for the lead on the 15th lap. Lobdell continued to
pressure Ellis and was able to retake the lead a lap later when Ellis
slipped up the track just enough to open the door for Lobdell, who
rocketed to the inside of Ellis to retake the lead. Ellis pressured
Lobdell over the closing laps, but Jerry never wavered from his line and
took the win by about a car length over Ellis, who finished second. Bob
Boynton crossed the line third trailed by Kevin Clark and Bill Leonard.
Scott Rothwell picked up his second victory of the 2007 campaign in the
20 lap Four Cylinder Stock feature. Rothwell made the winning move on a
lap five restart as he was able to work past early race leader Daron
Hurlbert to take over the top spot. Rothwell led the final 15 laps of the
event to score the victory. Hurlbert chased Rothwell the remainder of the
distance but could not find a way past and settled for a solid runner-up
finish. Scott Johnson, Kyle Hackett, and Jim Money completed the top five
finishing order.
Jason Bennett drove to his first win of the season in Junkyard Dog
action, taking the win in dramatic fashion. Bennett was able to grab the
top spot from race leader Joe Marshall with just two laps remaining in
the event. Bennett led the final two laps to pick up the win. Ray
Congdon, the 2006 track champion, made his first start of 2007 and drove
to a runner-up finish while Marshall finished third. Leonard Oralls and
Steve Faatz rounded out the top five finishers.
Jason Scutt came out on top of the Junkyard pups feature. Scutt started
third but moved to the lead on the first lap. He would lead all twelve
laps of the event, fighting off a late challenge from Ken Keough and
Jimmy Neff to score the win. Keough finished second in the final rundown
with Neff third. Leon Brockway and Bucky Bates rounded out the top five
finishers.
Two big days of racing are on tap at Skyline for the Memorial Day
Weekend. On Saturday night, big six division racing card is on the
schedule with the Sportsman, IMCA Modifieds, Pure Stocks, Four Cylinder
Stocks, Junkyard Dogs, and Junkyard Pups all in action. A special Sunday
racing card finds the world Products Empire State Series for the IMCA
Modifieds headlining a very special card. Also on tap is the $1,000 to
win Hoppy Brotherton Memorial event for the Pure Stocks. The Sportsman,
Four Cylinder Stocks, Dogs, and Pups are also on the card for a big
Memorial Day weekend of racing action. Racing begins at 6:30 PM sharp.
For the latest information, log onto the speedway's official website at
www.skylineracewayny.com.

DAN CLARK CLAIMS FIRST CAREER SKYLINE SPORTSMAN VICTORY
-Story by Ted Schmidt

Richford, NY's Dan Clark drove to victory in Saturday night's 25 lap
Sportsman feature at the Skyline Raceway. While Saturday night marked
Clark's first Sportsman win, it was far from his first Skyline win as
Clark was a frequent winner in the Late Model division back in the 90's.
Sean Lias continued his hot streak in the IMCA Modified class as he ran
his feature winning streak to three in as many starts in 2007. Clayton
Ingram scored his first Pure Stock victory after apparent winner Rich
Sharpsteen refused post race inspection and was disqualified. Glenn Erwin
captured his first Four Cylinder Stock win of the season while Joe
Marshall won his second consecutive Junkyard Dogs feature. Jimmy Neff
returned to the Junkyard Pups class for the night and walked off with the
feature win, his first of the season.
The 25 lap Sportsman feature saw outside polesetter Scott Powell jump out
to the early lead trailed by Jim Sherman. Sherman would hold sway the
first ten laps of the event before Clark, who started seventh on the
field, made what would prove to be the winning move as he drove past
Powell with a nice inside move off the second turn. Once out front, Clark
would go on to lead the final 15 laps to pick up the victory, but it was
far from an easy win for the "Richford Rocket" as defending track
champion Jim LaRock gave Clark a big challenge over the final laps.
LaRock was able to close right up on Clark and repeatedly looked to the
low side of Clark, trying to find a way past. Clark was up to the
challenge and drove his line perfectly, never opening the door for
LaRock. Clark flashed underneath the checkered flag to score his first
Sportsman win at Skyline by a narrow margin over LaRock, who was the
first person to congratulate Clark after their hard fought battle. Tim
Howell charged from deep in the field to finish third with opening night
winner Ben Bushaw fourth. Early race leader Scott Powell drove to a
strong fifth place finish in the final rundown.
In IMCA Modified action, Westfield, Pa.'s Sean Lias continued his winning
ways as he took his third consecutive feature win in as many starts in
2007. Lias wasted little time in making his way to the front of the
field, advancing from his fifth starting position to the lead by the
second lap. Two early caution flags for minor incidents slowed the
action, but with the final 15 laps being run without a caution, Lias was
able to open up a straightaway lead over second running Pete Neff. Neff
could never get close enough to challenge Lias for the top spot with Lias
grabbing the win by about a straightaway over Neff at the finish. Carmen
Vona recovered from an early spin to charge back through the field to
finish third with JJ Coursey and Joe Miles completing the top five
finishing order.
In the Pure Stock division, Clayton Ingram was declared the race winner
after apparent winner Rich Sharpsteen and his team chose not to
participate in a required post race inspection. As per Skyline rules,
this results in an automatic disqualification and second place finisher
Ingram was declared the race winner, his first victory of the 2007
season. Ingram led the first three laps of the event before Sharpsteen
went by to take over the top spot on the fourth lap. Sharpsteen led the
remainder of the event with Ingram trailing, but his strong run went for
naught with Ingram scored as the race winner. Scott Alexander finished a
strong second in his first start of 2007 with longtime veteran Bill
Leonard scoring a strong third place finish. Norm Whittemore and Steve
Greene rounded out the top five finishers in the Pure Stock field.
In Four Cylinder Stock action, Glenn Irwin drove to his first feature win
of 2007 aboard his Toyota powered #50. Erwin came out on top of a wild
three car scramble for the top spot as he had to hold off Kyle Hackett
and Daron Hurlbert, both of whom were running right with Erwin. The three
put on a show for the Skyline fans as they battled for the top spot all
the way to the finish. As the checkered flag waved, it was Erwin claiming
the win by a narrow margin over Hackett with Hurlbert finishing third.
Two time winner already this season Nate DeGraw finished fourth with
Russell Irwin putting another Erwin prepared Toyota in the top five.
Joe Marshall won his second consecutive Junkyard Dogs feature. Marshall
held off a late charge from opening night feature winner Steve Faatz to
pick up the win with Faatz finishing a strong second. Chad Howard turned
in his best run of 2007 thus far to finish third with Jason Bennett
overcoming a mid-race collision with an infield marker tire to finish
fourth. Leonard Oralls Jr. rounded out the top five.
In Junkyard Pups action, Jimmy Neff returned to the division for the
night as his Four Cylinder Stock machine was on the shelf after suffering
extensive damage in a crash the previous week. Wanting to go racing, Neff
brought the family owned #329 Pup out of mothballs for the evening and
wound up driving the car to his first feature win of 2007. Neff outraces
Ken Keough for the win with Keough settling for a string runner-up
finish. Leon Brockway, Larry Orlowske, and Dawn Jiluto completed the top
five running order.
Racing continues this Saturday night at the Skyline Raceway. A big six
division racing card is on the schedule with the Sportsman, IMCA
Modifieds, Pure Stocks, Four Cylinder Stocks, Junkyard Dogs, and Junkyard
Pups all in action. Racing begains at 6:30 PM sharp. For the latest
information, log onto the speedway's official website at
www.skylineracewayny.com.

BEN BUSHAW BEATS FIELD AND MOTHER NATURE FOR OPENING NIGHT VICTORY AT SKYLINE
Story by Ted Schmidt

The Skyline Raceway opened their 2007 season, the 20th anniversary season
under the direction of Frank and Audrey Payne, last Saturday night.
Despite a cool, damp day and an intermittent mist coming down at times,
the racing program went on as scheduled. With the entire show completed
in less than three hours, Skyline was able to get the entire show in the
books before heavier rains moved in within 15 minutes of the final
checkered flag.
Homer, NY's Ben Bushaw drove to victory in the opening night Sportsman
division feature while Sean Lias started off the IMCA Modified season
with a feature win. Veteran Daryl Ellis won the opening night Pure Stock
feature with Nate DeGraw topping the Four Cylinder Stock feature. Steve
Faatz earned his first career victory in the Junkyard Dogs feature while
Jason Scutt topped the Junkyard Pups division.
The 25 lap Sportsman feature went to the green flag with Dan Clark and
Ben Bushaw pacing the field to the green flag. At the drop of the green,
Bushaw would take advantage of his preferred outside groove to take the
top spot from Clark. While Bushaw would go on to lead all 25 laps of the
feature event, there was plenty of close racing as Clark was able to stay
right with Bushaw over the opening laps. As the race neared the halfway
point, Bushaw had begun to open up a bit of a lead on Clark, but that
advantage was erased just past the halfway point when contact between
defending champion Jim LaRock and Jim Rothwell saw Rothwell spinning to
bring out the caution flag. The contact would prove costly for both
drivers as Rothwell retired from the event. Two lap later, LaRock would
also retire with front end damage likely stemming from the earlier
incident.
With the remainder of the event running under green flag conditions,
Bushaw was able to once again open up a bit of a lead on Clark over the
closing laps. Bushaw took the checkered flag with about a five car length
margin over Clark. Tom Collins Jr. drove to a third place finish with Tim
Howell recovering from an early race spin to finish fourth. Former Super
Stock pilot Jeff Powell returned to action at Skyline in the Sportsman
division and earned a fifth place finish in his maiden voyage.
Sean Lias opened the 2007 IMCA Modified season with a feature win as the
Westfield, Pa. Based driver drove to the opening night victory. Lias
jumped out to the lead from his outside pole starting spot and led the
first six laps before surrendering the lead to JJ Coursey. Coursey would
lead for three laps before the car apparently jumped out of gear on the
backstretch which allowed Joe Miles to drive past into the lead with Lias
slipping past for second. Lias would make the winning pass on the 13th
lap as he was able to slip back past Miles into the top spot. Carmen Vona
slipped past Miles late to finish second with Coursey coming back to
finish third. Miles hunp on to finish fourth with Rob Barker rounding out
the top five finishing order.
In Pure Stock action, Daryl Ellis drove to the opening night victory with
an impressive run, leading all 20 laps of the feature event. Though he
led all the way, it was not an easy win for Ellis as he was pressured all
the way to the finish by Bob Boynton. The two spent the later stages of
the event battling for the top spot in heavy lapped traffic. Boynton
tried to make a move on Ellis on the final lap, but Ellis was able to
used lapped traffic to his advantage, pinning Boynton behind the slower
traffic to prevent Boynton from making a last ditch effort to secure the
win. Boynton settled for the runner-up finish ahead of Jerry Lobdell Jr.,
Steve Greene, and Jim Howard.
Nate DeGraw topped the Four Cylinder Stock feature to get his season off
to a good start. DeGraw worked past early race leader Scott Rothwell on
the sixth circuit, then held off a late challenge from Scott Johnson to
pick up the win. Johnson finished a strong second with Rothwell third.
Alan Barker and Kyle Hackett completed the top five finishing order.
Steve Faatz came out on top of a side by side battle with Jason Burnett
to pick up his first career victory in Junkyard Dog action. The two
crossed the finish line side by side with Faatz picking up the win over
Burnett by a narrow margin. Derrick Schader, Lenny oralls, and defending
champion Jason Russell completed the top five.
Jason Scutt drove to victory in the Junkyard pups feature. Scutt had to
hold off a determined challenge from Brandon Neilson, who pressured Scutt
the entire distance before settling for a runner-up finish at the line.
Newcomer Ken Keough finished third with Katie Smith and Zack Tracy fourth
and fifth respectively.
Racing continues this Saturday night with a six division show featuring
the Sportsman, IMCA Modifieds, Pure Stocks, Four Cylinder Stocks,
Junkyard Dogs, and Junkyard Pups. Racing action gets underway at 6:30 PM.
For the latest information, log onto the speedway;s official website at
www.skylineracewayny.com.