Column By: MIKE TRAVERSE / RPW – ACCORD, NY – You hear it all the time when you watch a racing broadcast. Track position is important.
It was especially important at Accord Speedway on Friday night as the top 5 finishers in the Modified feature were not involved with many of the cautions that the race had.
And when the checkers waved at the end of the 30 lap race, it was Jimmy Wells taking a flag-to-flag win in the Jim Winchell #17. It was the first win for Wells in 2022.
After a number of early cautions, the race finally gained a little traction as Wells led Daniel Morgiewicz Jr. and Rich Ricci Jr. Wells was able to hold the lead over the many restarts as Morgiewicz Jr. was able to maintain 2nd. Wells would pull out to a safe lead on the restarts, but he was constantly facing multiple restarts.
With Jimmy safely in front, it was a good race for 2nd in the closing laps as Ricci Jr., in the low groove, was applying pressure to Morgiewicz Jr. But Daniel was up to every challenge thrown his way.
A lap 29 caution set up one final restart that Wells handled flawlessly. At the finish, it was Wells, a bit of a second over Morgiewicz Jr. in a fine run. Ricci Jr. was 3rd with Mike Ricci 4th and Chris Stevens 5th. Brett Graham was 6th, Danny Creeden 7th, Randy Green 8th, Craig Mitchell 9th and Nick Plumstead 10th.
“Yeah, it looked a little crazy out there tonight,” Wells said in Victory Lane. “It was a steady run. We never ran enough consecutive green flag laps to get going, but it was a good race for our team.”
Brian Durbin scored his 2nd win of the season in Friday’s Sportsman action at Accord. Tyler Johnston pressured Durbin during the closing laps, but settled for 2nd. Travis Green recovered from a flat tire finish 3rd with Kevin Stevens 4th and Jimmy Johnson 5th.
John Hechinger grabbed the lead when leaders Jayden Sleight and Joe Narok came together midway through the Pure Stock race. Hechinger led the rest of the way to take his 3rd win of the season. JB Morris was dragging the left side of his front bumper, but still managed to finish 2nd behind Hechinger with Walt Henry 3rd, Wayne Taylor 4th and Sleight 5th. Chet Stanton was 6th with Hank Morin 7th, Phil Goetschius Sr. 8th, Brian Walsh 9th and Tom Canfield 10th.
Tim DeGrote won his 3rd Fireball 4 Cylinder feature of the season over Richard Smith with Chris Dyer 3rd, George Barringer 4th and Brandon Conklin 5th. John North was 6th, Richie Robinson Jr. 7th, Eric Wilhelm 8th, Bruce Illenberg 9th and Ken Barringer 10th.
In the Rookie Sportsman, it was Kyle Smith with his 2nd consecutive victory over John Cole Jr with Andrew Sabo 3rd, Darryl Collins 4th and Tommy Marshall 5th.
Tim Hannen picked up the win in the All Star Slingshots with Kristen Bishop 2nd, Alex McCann 3rd, Sophia Spear 4th and Madison Lewis 5th.
Bodie
The Vintage Coupes and Coaches paid a visit to Accord on Friday with Dan McKiernan picking up the win. Bill Meredith was 2nd, Jim Glass 3rd, Jeff Hager 4th and John Hager 5th.
The very popular Camera and Autograph Night is coming up next Friday, August 5th at Accord Speedway. Come on out, bring a camera and have a great time meeting the drivers.