News Director 
Column By: MIKE TRAVERSE / RPW – ACCORD, NY – Accord Speedway’s annual fireworks show is scheduled for July 1st.
However, fans that were in attendance at Accord on Friday night saw some on-track fireworks.
Danny Tyler overcame a penalty to win Friday’s Modified feature over Rich Ricci Jr. and Danny Creeden. It was Tyler’s 2nd win in 3 weeks and his second of the season.
Brett Graham and Richard Smith were on the front row for the feature start with Smith getting out front. Richard looked very strong in front and held onto the lead for the first 14 green flag laps until the first caution flew. Tyler had worked his way up to 3rd, and shortly after the restart, he found himself battling Smith for the lead.
Smith held off Tyler’s press for the lead, running well in the high groove. Tyler was finally able to draw even on lap 20 and almost had cleared Smith at the start of lap 22. Tyler made contact on the frontstretch and Smith rolled to a stop in turn 2. Smith rammed Tyler on the backstretch to show his displeasure. Tyler was assessed a 2 position penalty for the contact which put Ricci Jr. into the lead followed by Jimmy Wells.
But Tyler was not to be denied, first passing Wells and then Ricci Jr on the last lap to take the win by 2/10ths of a second. Creeden got by Wells for 3rd as Jimmy finished 4th and Ken Ferrier 5th.
“The car was very, very good. The track was very racey. The bottom was fast, which it usually isn’t here. It made it a little harder to have to pass the same cars twice. But I’m very happy with our recent finishes,” Tyler said in Victory Lane.
And about the contact with Smith.
“I just about had him cleared. And we made contact. We both were going for the same piece of track. I’ve been taken out and I know what it feels like.”
Steve Williams led wire-to-wire in a non-stop Sportsman feature. Tyler Johnston was 2nd, Travis Green 3rd, Darrell Quackenbush 4th and Ryan Stortini 5th. Kevin Smith was challenging early for the lead, but suffered a left front flat. Stevens pressed on and finished 6th. Jimmy Johnson was 7th, Jared LaBagh 8th, Aidan Elliott 9th and Scott Zehnacker 10th.
The Pure Stock feature was another non-stop race with Jayden Sleight picking up the win. He held off repeated challenges from Joe Narok who finished 2nd. Walt Henry was 3rd, Gary Ronk 4th and JB Morris 5th.
Dillon Gannon made his Rookie Sportsman debut at Accord on Friday and in his first outing, he was victorious when the apparent winner was disqualified. It was a big week for Gannon, who had just picked up his first career Street Stock win at Orange County this past Saturday. Nick Giardini was 2nd with Thor Holmgren 3rd, Kyle Smith 4th and Leif Holmgren 5th.
Dan Malley was Friday’s winner in the North East Wingless Sprints with Charles Weslowski 2nd and Steve Kyser 3rd.
Ashley Rogosich continued her hot streak as she raced her way into Victory Lane in the All Star Slingshots. Rob Charmello was 2nd with Sophia Spear 3rd, Alex McCann 4th and Derick Brown 5th.
Brayden Traver picked up his 2nd win in 3 weeks in the Junior Slingshots. Christofer Tittle was 2nd, Bodie Marks 3rd, EJ Hatch 4th and Calleigh Stritmater 5th.
And wrapping up Friday’s racing action at the Big A were the Fireball 4 Cylinders. Cameron Reichenbaugh was the winner over Brandon Conklin, Tim DeGrote, Jeff DeGroat and Jesse Norman.
Next Friday, July 1st, is a big night at Accord as it will be the annual fireworks display along with a full racing card.
