Story By: DAVE BUCHANAN / LANCASTER SPEEDWAY – LANCASTER, NY – Shawn Nye of Lancaster captured his first VP Racing Fuels Sportsman feature win of the season at Lancaster National Speedway. The 2017 Sportsman held off a late-race challenge from current division point leader Owen Bednasz to secure the victory.
In additional X-Press Signs Stock Car Series action, Andy Cryan of Buffalo won his ninth Advance Auto Parts Street Stock feature of the year. Charles Palmer of Cheektowaga, N.Y. claimed his third Roaming Buffalo 4-Cylinder feature in a race that was interrupted by a 30-minute rain delay. Kyle Hutchinson of East Aurora, N.Y. scored his second win of the season at Lancaster in NYPA TQ Midgets.
Shawn Nye started his day competing at the Track at Hillside, but made to Lancaster just in time to run his heat race. Nye’s good timing allowed him to secure a qualifying position in the heat, and put him on the outside pole for the 35-lap feature.
Jayme Thompson lined up on the pole after winning her second heat race of the season with Nye to her outside on the initial start. Nye quickly jumped out to the early lead with Andy Jankowiak and Owen Bednasz behind him.
The first 23 laps of the feature went caution-free as Nye stormed out a big lead while Bednasz made his way to second place and Mike Fiebelkorn, Jr. moved up to third after starting in fifth. The trio tightened up as the race passed the halfway point with Bednasz and Fiebelkorn closed in on the leader.
The yellow flag flew for the first time on lap 23 when Sherri Hogan and Dave Kozlowski tangled on the backstretch. This set off a series of caution periods, mainly for simple spin outs, that slowed the pace of the race down. Nye held his own on the multiple restarts, while Bednasz and Fiebelkorn dueled for second.
Bednasz eventually won the battle with Fiebelkorn as he set his sights on Nye for the lead. A caution for a spin by Scott Hossfeld set up a green-white-checkered finish between the reigning Sportsman track champion in Nye and the driver currently leading the points in Bednasz.
Nye got a great jump on the final restart, but Bednasz reeled him back in. Bednasz gave Nye a shot in the back bumper in turn 3, and then pulled to the inside of Nye as they raced to the checkered flag. Nye held on to score the win for his first checkered flag at Lancaster in 2018.
Bednasz settled for second place for the second race in a row, but he is now in the driver’s seat to clinch his first track title heading to Season Championship Night on September 8. Fiebelkorn finished third with Amy Catalano and Bobby Weber rounding out the top five.
Andy Cryan made it nine wins for the #09 car in 2018 in the Advance Auto Parts Street Stocks. Cyran battled hard with Mark Hoch for the win throughout the second half of the 25-lap feature. Hoch had command of the inside line, which forced Cryan to run the high line as he challenged for the lead.
A late caution on lap 23 may have made the difference for Cryan. He was scored as the leader when the yellow flag was displayed, which allowed him to line up on the inside row for the final restart. With the roles reversed, Cryan was able to drive away from Hoch on the green-white-checkered finish to pick up another win.
Cryan has unofficially put a lock on the 2018 Street Stock championship as no other driver has a mathematical shot to win the title. His closest competitor in the standings, Dave Vona, finished third in the race behind Cryan and Hoch. Tommy Wentland and Mike Dalfonoso completed the top five.
The 25-lap Roaming Buffalo 4-Cylinder feature was interrupted by rain just past the halfway point of the race. A brief shower delayed the program by about 30 minutes.
Joe Brunka was the leader of the race going into the weather delay followed by his brother, Dave, and Charles Palmer. The Brunkas made contact in turn 2 when the race resumed, which set off a mad scramble down the backstretch. Chris Pennell managed to take the lead followed by Dave Brunka, Josh Schosek and Palmer.
Pennell attempted to hold off Brunka as he tried for his third win of the season. The pair tangled coming to the checkered flag with Pennell getting turned around off of turn 4. The victory was awarded to Palmer for his third win of the season.
Dan Dressel finished second to pad his points lead in the division going into the final race of the regular season. Andy Danielwicz finished third followed by Briar Dils and Josh Schosek.
Kyle Hutchinson passed Ted Jones, Jr. for the lead on lap nine of the NYPA TQ Midget and never looked back as he cruised to his second win of the year at Lancaster. Hutchinson was able to pass on the outside despite green track conditions following the rain delay. Dave Wollaber finished in second place. AJ Hessler, Jones and Chad Haywood filled out the top five.
Lancaster National Speedway is back in action on Saturday, September 8 for Season Championship Night as the track champs will be crowned in the Sportsman, Street Stocks and 4-Cylinders. The NYPA TQ Midgets will be on hand as well for a final tune up before the U.S. Open. Racing starts at 6:30 p.m.
About Lancaster National Speedway & Dragway: Founded in 1959, Lancaster National Speedway and Dragway, WNY’s Premier Motorsports and Event Facility, is a multi-use facility located on 77 acres just outside of metropolitan Buffalo, N.Y. The facility features a 1/8-mile drag strip, a 1/2-mile oval track and hosts several non-motorsports events such as car shows and concerts. For the latest information on Lancaster National Speedway & Dragway check out our website www.lancasternationalspeedway.com. Additional information for racers and fans can be found on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/LancasterSpeedway) and on Twitter (@LancasterSpdwy).
RESULTS
VP RACING FUELS SPORTSMAN
Heat Winners: Jayme Thompson, Mike Fiebelkorn, Jr.
Feature: SHAWN NYE, Owen Bednasz, Mike Fiebelkorn, Jr., Amy Catalano, Bobby Weber, Tony Carbone, George Skora III, Tommy Catalano, Timmy Catalano, Scott Wylie, Jayme Thompson, Andy Jankowiak, John Barber, Dave Kozlowski, Jake Vernon, Leo Becker, Scott Hossfeld, Sherri Hogan, Russ Gian, Mike Rogers DNS: Mark Pennell
ADVANCE AUTO PARTS STREET STOCKS
Heat Winners: Mark Hoch, Rich Sharpe
Feature: ANDY CRYAN, Mark Hoch, Dave Vona, Tommy Wentland, Mike Dalfonso, Tim Garlock, Garrett Cleversley, Alex Morris, Jeff Szafraneic, Rick Meyers, Scott Soos, Jay Cannonico, Rich Sharpe
ROAMING BUFFALO 4-CYLINDERS
Heat Winners: Joe Brunka, Dave Brunka
Feature: CHARLES PALMER, Dan Dressel, Andy Danielwicz, Briar Dils, Josh Schosek, Dave Evans, Mark Annis, Jr., Chris Pennell, Dave Brunka, Joe Brunka, Rob Sapienza, Kevin Bainbridge, Jamie Pew
NYPA TQ MIDGETS
Heat Winners: Kyle Hutchinson, Chad Haywood
Feature: KYLE HUTCHINSON, Dave Wollaber, AJ Hessler, Ted Jones, Jr., Chad Haywood, Vinny Christiano, Jr., Ryan Fraser, Erik Musto, Mark Schulz, Vinny Christiano III, Tony Patrea, Jamie Pew, Arik McGruder, Pat Smith, Chet Haywood, Andy Nye, Cameron Ruggiero, Kevin Wilson, Andy Jankowiak DNS: Jeremy Haudricourt
