Story By: FIVE MILE POINT SPEEDWAY – KIRKWOOD, NY – Dan Creeden raced to the Modified victory at Five Mile Point Speedway on Sunday. It was race number two of the Sunday Summer Series at the quarter mile oval. Mike Nagel, Jr. won his second Crate Sportsman feature of the season at the speedway.
The 35 lap Modified feature found Jimmy Zacharias and Joey Colsten on the front row for the start. When the green flag flew Colsten utilized the outside line to power into the race lead over Zacharias. The yellow quickly flew as a chain reaction collision occurred in turn 1. Nick Rochinski and Will Dietz wound up spun in the incident, but both were able to drive away from the melee.
Take number saw Zacharias win the drag race into turn 1 with Colsten diving back underneath and back-to back Track Champion Brett Tonkin looking to make it three wide. Zacharias held on to the point leaving Colsten and Tonkin to battle for second place during the early going. Sixth place starter Dan Creeden quickly charged up to the fourth position and was looking to join the battle for second.
The caution flew on lap 5 as Bryce Bailey slowed on the homestretch while running in the sixth slot. On the restart Zacharias opted to restart from the inside row. Colsten made another strong run on the outside for the race lead but Zacharias was up to the challenge. Tonkin again made a bid to the inside of Colsten for second as Creeden wasted no time in making it a three wide battle for second. On lap 7 Tonkin was now holding the second slot with Creeden third and Colsten in fourth and Seth Zacharias in fifth. Tonkin and Creeden had a great battle for second place allowing Jimmy Zacharias to open up his race lead. On lap 13 Creeden took over the second slot and set his sites on Zacharias out front. Creeden wasted little time chasing down Zacharias as he utilized the outside of the quarter mile oval. On lap 19 Creeden made his way into the race lead and he never looked back. On lap 21 Colsten slowed while running in fifth as the powerplant looked to give up. This was the third and final caution of the event.
On the final restart Creeden immediately pulled away from the field and was never seriously challenged over the final fourteen laps. Jimmy Zacharias wound up second with Tonkin in third. Daniel Morgiewicz dropped several spots early in the race and made a late race charge to finish fourth. Bobby Hackel raced from eleventh to fifth at the wire. Seth Zacharias was sixth, Justin Holland raced from thirteenth to seventh. Brian Malcolm was eighth with Kenny Titus ninth. Danny Tyler advanced from nineteenth to tenth at the finish.
Mike Nagel, Jr. led wire to wire in the 25 lap Crate Sportsman feature to claim feature win number two on the season. Matt Richardson started second and had a great battle with Ray Leonard during the first eleven laps of the feature event. Leonard worked past Richardson on lap 11 and looked to chase down Nagel. On lap 15 the first caution of the race flew and Leonard had his opportunity to make a bid for the race lead. Nagel maintained his race lead on the restart but the second and final caution of the event flew on lap 17. This provided Leonard one more chance to make his bid for the win. Nagel was up to the challenge as ran a flawless race over the final eight laps. Nagel went on for win number two on the season. Leonard, who also entered the day with one feature win settled for second. Richardson finished third in his first start of the season. Brad Weaver and Travis Green rounded out the top five finishers.
Tommy Groover won his second consecutive Factory Stock feature event on Sunday. Groover took the lead on lap 6 from eventual runner-up Dominik Albanese and led the duration of the 25 lapper. Albanese finished second with Rich Sharpsteen having another solid third place finish. Jason Rhodes and Chris Woodard completed the top five.
Justin LaDue has been strong all season in the 600 Modified division. On Sunday he returned to victory lane for win number three of 2023. LaDue led the entire 20 lap event. P.J. Goodwin, the race winner on May 21st finished second. Ali Scutt, Nick Johnson and Chelsea Beebe made up the top five finishers.
The 20 lap Four Cylinder Expert main event saw Brian Salmini record his first victory of the season. Salmini took the lead from Dave Simms on lap 2 and led the distance. Kenny Underwood challenged late and made a last lap bid for the win but just came up short. Josh Wilder, Simms and Chris Yob completed the top five.
Avery Decker led the first 9 laps of the Futures Sportsman 20 lap feature only to be sidelined by mechanical trouble. On lap 10 Lance Hill took over the race lead when Decker went pit side. Fifth place starter Charlie Towner had made his way up to second by this point as the two battled throughout the balance of the feature. On lap 18 Towner made an inside pass as Hill was running the extreme high side of the speedway. Towner went on to win his second straight feature. Hill finished second with heat winner Buck Brown finishing third. Mike Zuk finished fourth with Decker completing the top five.
SUNDAY SUMMER SERIES MODIFIED OFFICIAL FEATURE FINISH (35 LAPS): DAN CREEDAN, Jimmy Zacharias, Brett Tonkin, Daniel Morgiewicz, Bobby Hackel, Seth Zacharias, Justin Holland, Brian Malcolm, Kenny Titus, Danny Tyler, John Aumick, Chris Ostrowsky, Will Dietz, Nick Rochinski, P.J. Goodwin, Joey Colsten, Alan Komar, Doug Smith, Bryce Bailey.
CRATE SPORTSMAN OFFICIAL FEATURE FINISH (25 LAPS): MIKE NAGEL JR., Ray Leonard, Matt Richardson, Brad Weaver, Travis Green, Tighe Sherlock, Dale Welty, Seth Zacharias, Tim Howell, Dave Zona, Theresa Aumick, Josh Fedo, Marty Goodwin, Kolyn Schane.
FACTORY STOCK OFFICIAL FEATURE FINISH (25 LAPS): TOMMY GROOVER, Dominik Albanese, Rich Sharpsteen, Jason Rhodes, Chris Woddard, Josh Towner, Blake Furman, Michele Romanik, Adam Gilbert, Justin Lovejoy, Mahlon Shoemaker, Billy Shoemaker, Justin Slezak, Curtis Stickle.
FRONT WHEEL DRIVE FOUR CYLINDER EXPERT OFFICIAL FEATURE FINISH (20 LAPS): BRIAN SALMINI, Kenny Underwood, Josh Wilder, Dave Simms, Chris Yob, Andy Bolles, Jesse Lovejoy, Bruce Illenberg, John Maynard.
FUTURE SPORTSMAN OFFICIAL FEATURE FINISH (20 LAPS): CHARLIE TOWNER, Lance Hill, Buck Brown, Mike Zuk, Avery Decker.
600 MODIFIED OFFICIAL FEATURE FINISH (20 LAPS): JUSTIN LADUE, P.J. GOODWIN, P.J. Goodwin, Ali Scutt, Nick Johnson, Chelsea Beebe, Geige Higley, Alan Dibalo, Logan LaDue, A.J. Tuttle, Larry Furman, Brenton Payne. DQ – David Brown, James Randall.