By kyohnson 
WOODHULL, NY – On a bone-chilling Saturday night in the Southern Tier, temperatures dipped to the low 40s and upper 30s late at night. Despite the chilly conditions, Woodhull Raceway went ahead with their racing program as scheduled and managed to complete a seven-division show in a precise three hours for the dedicated fans and race teams in attendance.
Ted White and the track prep crew ensured a smooth racing surface, and the on-track action was highly competitive, with three lanes of racing in each division. Dale Welty, John Waters, Dylan Cecce, Chris Woodard, Shawn Gleason, Carter Dennis, and Cole Youse all emerged victorious at ‘New York’s Toughest Bullring.’
Dale Welty started in the third position for the $1,000-to-win 30-lap event sponsored by Lias Tire and Insinger Performance/Sunoco Race Fuels. For the first eight laps of the race, he followed Woodhull Raceway veteran Dave DuBois in the No. 29 as DuBois led from the front. However, on lap nine, Welty took over the lead as they had to navigate through slower traffic in the 25-car field. The NAPA Crate Sportsman division saw the influx of rookie talent, all vying for racing space on the tight, third-mile track.
Chris Daugherty, who was set to return to 370 Modified action next weekend in the season opener, drove his potent Bicknell chassis to secure the second position. Stevie Hartman III also had an impressive race, holding onto the third position for a significant part of the event before experiencing mechanical issues and coming to a stop with just six laps remaining.
With less than ten laps to go, Welty had to endure two late race restarts, with Daugherty hot on his tail, looking to secure back-to-back wins in the Crate Sportsman special event. Welty proved to be up to the challenge, emerging victorious over Daugherty, Tim Guild, Josh Keesey, and Bobby Peoples.
John Waters had ignition problems last week in his return to Woodhull in the SWL Awards & Photos Crate Late Models. However, on Saturday night, it seemed all their ignition issues were resolved as Waters dominated the 20-lap feature race by half a track. He started from the fourth position but quickly made his way to the top three in the opening laps. Last week’s winner Jason “The Jet” Knowles took the early lead from his outside pole starting position.
While Knowles held the lead for the first two laps, a big red machine was charging behind him. The beautifully painted No. 94 of Bryce Davis, making his return to Woodhull that night, made a huge momentum run off turn four and blasted past Knowles on lap three. Davis was quick in his qualifying heat and the feature race, but Waters wasn’t going to be denied. The Whitesville, NY driver slipped past David on lap nine and, despite Davis’s attempts to keep up, it was Waters who powered ahead in the Insinger Performance, Troups Creek Auto Parts No. 11 with afterburners on. At Scott Lyon’s double-checkered flags, Waters had a half track lead over the rest of the field. Davis came in second, Mike Wonderling third, Knowles fourth, and Steve LaBarron fifth.
Speaking of drivers who won with a massive lead over the second-place car, we can’t forget Woodhull’s Dylan Cecce, who claimed the win in the 20-lap Joe Willcox Performance Automatics Street Stocks feature event. Cecce drew the outside pole, but with the speed of his Cummings Trucking No. 7, it didn’t matter much where he started. After a battle for the lead with polesitter Mick Seeley in the opening lap, it quickly became the Dylan Cecce Invitational. The 2015 Street Stock track champion drove his 2017 Potter Chassis smoothly and steadily on the low lane of the track, quickly building a healthy lead over Teddy Morseman. Morseman was strong in his MRC Chassis No. 44 as well, but couldn’t match the seven car on this night.
Defending track champion Kurt Stebbins rode the cushion to a third-place finish ahead of Tracy Dunn and Jeredd Dennis. Seeley raced in the top five until two laps to go, when the engine overheated and he pulled into the pits, ending his race. The Daugherty Auto Sales Mini Stocks saw defending track champion Chris Woodard bounce back strongly from the previous week, winning their first 20-lap points race of 2017. Woodard took a rare heat race victory and carried it into the win after starting from the fourth position. Corning, NY pilot Rick Amidon led the opening lap before Woodard took the top spot entering turn one on lap two. Amidon ultimately finished sixth, but was satisfied with his result as their team discovered a problem with the cam under the hood on Saturday morning at 9AM. Brian Grant Jr. and last week’s winner Ron Dailey Jr. made it a close race for second half of the event, but Woodard kept all challengers at bay. Rookie of the Year contender Dylon Gleason kept pace with the top four cars, finishing fourth, while Williamsport, PA’s Karl Born secured a top five in his No. 06.
The Woodhull Auto Supply Front Wheel Drives also had the same winner in Instant Heat Wood Pellets Victory Lane on Saturday, with Shawn Gleason having to make it happen from the second row. It didn’t take long for Gleason to take advantage of the opening lap as the Red Sea parted ways, creating a three-wide battle for the lead with Nate Freeland and Adam DelGrosso. DelGrosso chased after Gleason for much of the race but eventually gave up the second spot to a hard-charging Matt Prescott. However, for the second week in a row, nobody could match Gleason’s speed exiting the corner, leading to his second victory of 2017. DelGrosso finished third, while Nate Freeland and Carl LaBarron rounded out the top five.
Another driver achieved back-to-back checkered flags on Saturday night as Carter Dennis grabbed the win in the Hobby Stock division. The division doubled in size with Brent Williams debuting his No. 21 machine. Dennis is settling into his primarily black No. 22 with ease, flexing his muscle and getting quicker with each lap in this brand-new division for Woodhull in 2017. Rumor has it more cars are close to being ready to race in the coming weeks, which will make for a competitive Hobby Stock field. Cole Youse bounced back in the best way possible on his return to Woodhull on Saturday night, taking the win in the Daugherty Auto Sales Warriors 10-lap feature race. Youse had experienced bad luck with a broken crank in one motor and broken flywheel bolts after replacing the motor in consecutive days at Outlaw Speedway and Woodhull. After getting rid of the bad luck, Youse was all business on Saturday night as it was the first point race in the 2017 championship chase. He extended his lead to a straightaway over last week’s first-time winner Trevor Hamilton at the checkered flag. Brody Amidon finished in third, Braden Buchanan continued to improve to finish fourth, Ronnie Dailey had a flat tire late in the race to finish fifth, and Noah Talada had a mechanical problem on the No. 7A and couldn’t finish the race in sixth.
This Saturday at Woodhull Raceway will be the season opener for the 370 Modifieds, sponsored by Mountain Dew and Pepsi. The Modifieds will join the Crate Sportsman, Crate Late Models, Street Stocks, Mini Stocks, Front Wheel Drives, Woodhull Warriors, and Hobby Stocks. The race time is set for 6:30PM. Race fans are encouraged to sign up for the fastest alerts from Woodhull Raceway’s Rained Out Alert system by sending the text message “WoodhullAlert” to 84483. Message and data rates may apply. For more information, head to www.woodhullraceway.com, Like Woodhull Raceway on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WoodhullRaceway, or Follow Woodhull on Twitter @WoodhullPR. Woodhull Raceway is located in Woodhull, NY, just 30 minutes West of Corning, NY, and competes weekly on Saturday nights from mid-April through Labor Day Weekend. The track offers several special events, including the Patriot Sprint Tour 360 Sprints and the Short Track Super Series Modifieds in late-August.
Woodhull Raceway Lias Tire/Insinger Performance Night Results April 22nd, 2017
NAPA CRATE SPORTSMAN $1,000, 25 cars (30 Laps): DALE WELTY (1), Chris Daugherty, Tim Guild, Josh Keesey, Bobby Peoples, Dave DuBois, Brandon Butler, AJ Costley, Jeffery Daugherty, Jerry Aldrich, Dayton Brewer, Casey Pavlick, Stacey Jackson, Tim Schram, Mickey Wilbur, Dave Richmond, Adam Taft, Stevie Hartman III, Kirk Reynolds, Donnie Lawson, Mike Jackson, Brandon Clark, Blake Lawson, Bryce Martin DNS: Jake Dgien
H1- Donnie Lawson, Brandon Butler, Bryce Martin
H2- Dale Welty, Jeffery Daugherty, Chris Daugherty
H3- AJ Costley, Josh Keesey, Dave DuBois
SWL AWARDS CRATE LATE MODELS, 11 cars (20 Laps): JOHN WATERS (1), Bryce Davis, Mike Wonderling, Jason Knowles, Steve LaBarron, Brian Knowles, Darin Horton, Kurt Stebbins, Brad Smith, Rich McNeal, Matt Ford
H1- John Waters, Mike Wonderling, Brian Knowles
H2- Bryce Davis, Jason Knowles, Brad Smith
JOE WILLCOX PERFORMANCE AUTOMATICS STREET STOCKS, 14 cars (20 Laps): DYLAN CECCE (1), Teddy Morseman, Kurt Stebbins, Tracy Dunn, Jeredd Dennis, Glenn Whritenour, Brett Marlatt, Kane Stebbins, Dan Gardner, Tom Savercool, Trevor Tompkins, Jim Weatherley, Mick Seeley DNS: Branden Morseman
H1- Brett Marlatt, Glenn Whritenour, Mick Seeley
H2- Dylan Cecce, Dan Gardner, Teddy Morseman
DAUGHERTY’S AUTO SALES & SERVICE MINI STOCKS, 12 cars (20 Laps): CHRIS WOODARD (1), Brian Grant Jr., Ron Dailey Jr., Dylon Gleason, Karl Born, Rick Amidon, Corky Grant, Scott Lehman, John Hand, Alan Crooker, James LaGrange, Derrick Puryear
H1- Chris Woodard, Karl Born, Ron Dailey Jr.
H2- Brian Grant Jr., Rick Amidon, Corky Grant
WOODHULL AUTO SUPPLY FWD, 9 cars (20 Laps): SHAWN GLEASON (2), Matt Prescott, Adam DelGrosso, Nate Freeland, Carl LaBarron, Brendan Schweigart, Roger Taft, Scott Lehman Jr., Codie Baker
H1- Shawn Gleason, Matt Prescott, Nate Freeland
H2- Carl LaBarron, Adam DelGrosso, Scott Lehman Jr.
DAUGHERTY’S AUTO SALES & SERVICE WARRIORS, 6 cars (10 Laps): COLE YOUSE (1), Trevor Hamilton, Brody Amidon, Braden Buchanan, Ronnie Dailey, Noah Talada
HOBBY STOCKS, 2 cars (10 Laps): CARTER DENNIS (2), Brent Williams