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July 17, 2010 - Airborne Speedway, NY
ISMA Top 3 pose in Airborne Speedway's
Victory Lane. From left, Second place finisher Justin Belfiore, Russ
Wood, winner and Bob Magner third. - Photo By Jim Feeney
RUSS WOOD STEALS AIRBORNE WIN
WITH SPECTACULAR LAST LAP PASS
Plattsburgh, NY – The
large, enthusiastic crowd that filled Airborne Speedway
Saturday night to see the ISMA winged supers race for the
first time, certainly got their money’s worth. From the speeds, the
qualifying heats, to the wave lap and down to the checkered flag,
the fans were into it. The northern New York four-tenth’s mile oval
seemed to be made for the powerful supermodifieds and it showed in
the racing. “Awesome” was the by word from the drivers and fans
alike at the end of the Airborne 50-lapper. It was a race to
remember for sure – especially for winner Russ Wood and runner-up
Justin Belfiore.
Ipswich, Mass.
driver Justin Belfiore jumped to the initial lead and looked to be
headed for his first win of the season until ninth-place starter
Russ Wood closed in on the Belfiore 98. For the last ten laps of the
race, the duo swapped the lead dicing in and out of traffic. A
yellow with five to go set up a shootout, that had the crowd going
wild. Lap after lap Wood tried the low side of Belfiore and was
repelled. On the last lap, Wood chose the outside in one last
attempt to wrest the lead from Belfiore and was able to pull
alongside and by as the pair came down for the checkered much to the
delight of the fans on hand. Thunderous applause greeted the veteran
driver in victory lane.
Said the man who
holds second place on the All-Time ISMA win list, “This is the most
fun I’ve had in a long time. This was an excellent race. I loved
running with Justin. My car was working really well in the
beginning. In the long run it got a little tight but those couple of
yellows helped me. I was cranking the brakes and got Justin there
for a little while. He was covering the bottom. In the last lap I
said to myself I have to try something different. I just put it on
the outside. It was a little skatey but I went for it and it stuck.
It was a ball out there. I love this place. I hope we come back for
sure. It’s a nice facility. They run the show off quick. We’re going
to be out of here at a decent time. I have no complaints about the
place. It’s awesome.”
Belfiore, who had
spent much of June running 350 supers at Lee and experiencing some
damaging crashing, echoed Wood’s excitement.
“It was fun for the
first 49 laps,” said Justin. “Actually it was an awesome race for
the whole time. I didn’t want to second-guess my decision in the
ending laps. I decided to go low. I knew Russell was going to do
something spectacular. He always does. He was under me a couple
times but I was getting a little bit loose. I wasn’t going to be
able to stay up there on the outside one more time. I played the
cards I had. I made a decision on that last restart of what I was
going to do and stuck by it. It wasn’t the right decision. It might
have been with someone else behind me but you are not going to hold
Russ Wood back if he’s better than you and this time he was just a
little better than us. We were like a sitting duck out front.
“I’d like to also
thank a couple people who have been helping me through my recent
wrecks and all. One is Northeast Metals Technology. They have been a
big part of this. They stick by me 100 percent as well as Vinnie
Greco of Serve Pro in East Boston. Also Thomas Tombarello Jr.
Electric and Rusty Raymond, he’s the crew chief. He’s been really
awesome. He’s been working every night until 2 in the morning. This
was a great race and I’m happy to finish second. This place is
awesome. You know when you run good, you’re going to say it’s
awesome, but this is an awesome racetrack. It seemed like a real fun
race from where I was sitting and I’m sure the crowd enjoyed it.”
Third place runner
Bob Magner had the catbird’s seat, just far enough behind the
leaders to watch the action but to grab a spot if either faltered.
He’d experienced a little bad luck himself in the first couple ISMA
shows and was more than pleased to take a third.
“Hey, we finished a
race again. This is pretty cool. What an awesome race. I was pretty
happy to see my teammate make that move on the outside at the end.
It’s absolutely awesome. I’m pumped. I hope this is a step in the
right direction as a team going into Sandusky next week. These guys
on the crew do an awesome job banging their heads repeatedly to make
this car go fast. I think we’re on the right track! My day didn’t
really start out that well, but this really is an awesome place to
race. The place was packed and I don’t think the fans were
disappointed. Thank you Jeff Holbrook, Seabird Environmental, JWJ
Container, New England Motor Racing Supply, Red Devil Brakes,
Woody’s, and Sweet Manufacturing, our tour sponsors Corr/Pak,
Hoosier Tire,
Ed Shea Concrete, RaceDepot, Simpson, Seymour Enterprises, Doyle’s
Bikes, Race Threads, New England Motor Racing Supply, Slice n Go
Deli, BS&B Radiators – just everyone who helps out with our team
and with ISMA.”
Belfiore had the
pole for the show and immediately claimed the lead after an early
yellow for Rob Summers in the Holbrook 35. Bob Magner moved quickly
up to second gluing his 41 to the 98’s tail. But the computer
showed the fast man on the track to be Wood who didn’t waste any
time getting into third as the race moved along quickly.
On lap 13 things
slowed for Dave Shullick Jr. who had the Booth 61 slow and stop. The
car was pushed in into the pits and was able to return to the rear.
Jamie Timmons and Bobby Haynes joined Shullick in the pits with only
Haynes returning.
The lap 13 restart
saw Wood bear down on Magner who tried in vain to hold off the
storming 29.
On lap 17 the 61 of
Shullick moved back into the pits for good as the battle raged out
front between Belfiore, Wood, Magner, Oswego’s “King of Wings”
winner Bob Bond, Ben Seitz and Mike Ordway Sr.
By the halfway
mark, it was evident that a classic battle was setting up between
Belfiore and Wood, as Magner,
Ordway and Bond
were a couple car lengths behind. Traffic also had started to make
things even more exciting. While Belfiore and Wood moved easily by a
couple slower cars playing cat and mouse, a couple more blocked
Wood’s progress giving the 98 a bit of a cushion but not for long as
the lap counter clicked to 30.
Suddenly on lap 35
things came to a screeching halt as just out of turn four the 51 of
Dave Duggan got out of shape causing some major braking. Red dropped
with the track blocked. Most cars sitting in 4 had just stopped but
Ben Seitz ended on the hook with pitting by
Jeff Locke,
Vern Romanoski and Craig Rayvals. Of the trio, only Rayvals failed
to reappear.
With 15 to go, the
green dropped again and for a few laps, Belfiore had not only Wood,
but Magner, Mike Lichty, Ordway and Bond bearing down to try to
steal his thunder.
At the lap 40-mark,
Wood was applying all the tricks he’d learned in his career, which
has earned him 48 ISMA wins and multiple championships, but Belfiore
was up to the pressure. On lap 42, the 29 was alongside the 98 and
the two rode the wide Airborne oval circuit by circuit with at times
Wood leading but the 98 wresting back his hard-earned lead.
The lap 45 yellow
for Mike Ordway allowed everyone to breath. Ordway’s Vic Miller 1
had experienced a flat while running fourth. “Had a right front
flat. Went off the track and mowed some grass, Ordway said later.
His crew made quick work of the flat and Ordway returned at the tail
The green flew for
the final time after the incident. Wood made an attempt at Justin as
they came off four for the flag, but once again Belfiore repelled
the move and for the next three laps he continued to do so as Wood
tried the underside in vain. But, on the final lap Wood only had one
last try. He sized up the 98 out back, pulled outside and put his
foot into it. As the pair moved off turn 4 for the checkered, Wood
nosed ahead to take the win. Belfiore came over in second, Magner
third, Lichty fourth and Bond fifth.
Lichty, the current
ISMA point leader, while a little disappointed in his run, still
finished on the positive side. “We started 12th and had a
lot of race cars to pass. I guess it was an all right night. We just
set it up way too loose to run with the leaders. It was a good race
and I’m happy that Airborne had the ISMA tour come here. It looked
like the fans had a great show to watch! Congratulations to Woody. I
was actually watching it from my spot as Russell took the win. We’ll
take a 4th. We’re struggling a bit with the tires. We’ll
go on to Sandusky where we run well. I know the 11’s not coming so
hopefully we can pull out a win there. This track is beautiful. It’s
got two lanes. It is a bit tricky to pass but that makes for good
racing. I’m extremely impressed with this place and the people who
run it. Hopefully we’ll be back here.”
Bond, coming off
the biggest win of his supermodified career on July 10, said, “We’re
happy with fifth. It’s not what we really wanted, but we’ll take it.
The car was really tight again and we were expecting it to loosen up
a little bit, but it didn’t. I’m happy to have hung on to fifth. I
love this track. I think it’s a good size. It has lots of banking
and lots of room. It’s a nice track.”
Mark Sammut, Joey
Scanlon, Rob Summers, Ordway and Ben Seitz rounded out the top ten.
The ISMA contingent
heads for the big two-day Hy-Miler Nationals for their next outing
on July 23 and 24.
Summary ISMA event
#4, July 17, 2010
Heat 1: Just
Belfiore, Bob Magner, Russ Wood, Ben Seitz, Eddie Witkum Jr., Craig
Rayvals, Bobby Haynes Jr.
Heat 2: Jeff Locke,
Bob Bond, Dave Shullick Jr., Mike Ordway, Joey Scanlon, Dave Duggan,
Jamie Timmons
Heat 3: Rob
Summers, Mike Lichty, Brandon Bellinger, Mark Sammut, Vern Romanoski,
Dan Lane (Wentworth 10 – blown motor)
Airborne 50: 1.Russ
Wood (29), 2. Justin Belfiore (98), 3. Bobby Magner (41), 4. Mike
Lichty (84), 5. Bobby Bond (25), 6. Mark Sammut (78), 7. Joey
Scanlon (88), 8. Rob Summers (35), 9. Mike Ordway (1), 10. Ben Seitz
(17), 11. Vern Romanoski (5), 12. Jeff Locke (37), 13. Bobby Haynes
Jr. (44), 14. Eddie Witkum Jr. (97), 15. Dave Duggan (51), 16.
Brandon Bellinger (02), 17. Craig Rayvals (04), 18. Dave Shullick
Jr. (61), 19. Jamie Timmons (27).
Scroll Down For Photos and Racing Highlights From ISMA at
Airborne Speedway
Early in the feature Mike Lichty 84
battles fellow Canadian Mark Sammut 78. They both had fine top ten
finishes, with Lichty fourth and Sammut sixth. - Photo By Jim Feeney
On lap 15 Russ Wood 29 dives
underneath Bob Magner 41 to take over second place in the 50 lapper.
- Photo By Jim Feeney
Mike Ordway Sr 1 races to pass Ben
Seitz 17. Ordway would have a tire go down late in the feature and
have to start in the back. He was able to make it back up and pass
Seitz for a
ninth place finish. Seitz was tenth. - Photo By Jim Feeney
Mike Lichty 84 moves high on Bob
Bond 25, coming out of two. They both ran up near the front all race
with Lichty getting fourth and Bond a fifth place finish. - Photo By
Jim Feeney
Russ Wood 29 and Justin Belfiore
98 battled hard for the last ten laps of the feature, many times
side by side. Wood was able to take the win away from Belfiore with
an outside move coming out of four on the last lap. - Photo By Jim
Feeney
Russ Wood is all smiles in Airborne
Speedway ISMA Victory Lane. - Photo By Jim Feeney
Scroll Down For More Photos From ISMA at
Airborne Speedway - Photos By Jim Feeney
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