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August 13, 2010 - Lee USA Speedway, NH - (Friday - Silva
Memorial 75)
Chris Perley (center) returns to a familiar spot in
Victory Lane for the Ollie Silva Memorial 75 at Lee USA Speedway in
New Hampshire. He is joined by 2nd place finisher Russ Wood (left)
and 3rd place Dave Shullick, Jr, (right). Photo By Jim Feeney
CHRIS PERLEY IS BACK AND IN
VICTORY LANE TO BOOT
Lee, NH – Four-time
ISMA champion Chris Perley had decided to take some time off this
year due to a growing business and family. But, at Lee USA Speedway
on Friday night in front of a packed house, he showed he hadn’t lost
his edge at all. Starting tenth on the field he stealthfully moved
through the pack to third on lap 25 of the Ollie Silva Memorial 75.
He tracked down second place finisher Dave Shullick Jr. and then
headed for second-year ISMA driver Jeff Locke who held the lead
after a lap 6 pass of Dan Lane. On lap 32 Chris put the Vic Miller11
by Locke and was not challenged after that. It was his third win at
the three-eighth mile oval, since 2004. And his 61st
overall in ISMA competition.
Perley described
his race. “The car was great. The crew made a bunch of changes like
changing the shocks after the heat. I didn’t know if it was the
right move. But Vic knows a lot more than I do and that’s why I like
to race for him. It really worked out good. I thought I was too
loose – even during the race. But it stayed that way. I made sure I
didn’t spin the tires. Toward the end the car came right out from
under me - that’s what the tires do at Lee so I went ‘ah I blew it.
I have ten laps left and I’m not going to make it!’ That’s when I
moved up on that caution immediately after that. I scuffed my tires
up top and it was good so I said OK let’s stay up there. I kind of
hung around up there for the rest of the race. I just prayed that I
didn’t screw up, and that we didn’t have any more cautions.
“The crew does a
good job. We have good motors. The fans came out. It was a good
night – not too hot. The weather was perfect. Unfortunately for Mike
he had got in the heat tangle and that kind of bit. I don’t think
we’ll have that car done for tomorrow.”
Perley, who had not
raced since the July 6th Stafford race commented, “I
don’t think I lost a lot the past couple of weeks not racing. I
missed not going to Sandusky. It’s tough but I’m staying busy at
work and at home. It’s nice to be back though.”
Russ Wood, whose
three career ISMA Lee wins goes back to 1988, was able to pick off
Dave Shullick Jr. late in the race for second. He said afterward,
“Not a bad night for the Holbrook team – a second and a fifth. We
saved our tires the first 30 laps because last year we wore them out
and it killed us. It’s just Chris was really hooked up and he took
off and Shullick took off and we had to start picking the pace up.
Halfway through it started getting really slick. Luckily at the end
there Locke kind of slipped up, as did the 61. I was able to get
them for second. It’s a decent finish. We’ll move on to tomorrow.
Dave Shullick Jr.,
who had won the Silva Memorial in 2008, came in a tight third.
“It was a good
race. It seemed like we had a good car early. We came from out sixth
starting position and got to second pretty quickly. The car was a
little tight early which was what we wanted. Then it started going
to a push-loose situation and I started to lose the back end. The
push finally did go away and then it was wicked loose. I was just
hanging on at the end. It was a good run. Chris had a good car at
the end. He and everybody else looked a little loose toward the
end.”
The Ollie Silva
Memorial 75 got off to a shaky start with a yellow flying before a
lap was in when a jingle sent cars flying around and Dave Duggan out
of the race. Also removed from the fray was Eric Lewis and Jon
Gambuti.
Danny Lane took up
the lead when the race restarted trailed by Ben Seitz and Jeff
Locke. Locke charged up to Lane and took the point away by lap 7.
The 37 of Locke
looked strong out front and by lap 19 he was putting a lap car
between him and the 61 of Shullick. But moving in on the front duo
was Chris Perley who characteristically making smooth progress
through the pack.
On lap 25, Locke
had just gotten by a lap car Jamie Timmons when Timmons spun
bringing out the yellow. Timmons restarted only to have another
altercation on the next attempt at the lap. This time the 27 brushed
with the 88 of Scanlon, and Timmons exited the race.
Back underway,
Locke had three powerhouses, Shullick Jr., Perley, and Wood right on
his tail. The Raymond, NH driver was able to hold back the tide, but
Shullick wasn’t able to hold back Perley who moved into second on
lap 30. Locke was the next victim of the 11 two laps later.
The Rowley Rocket
lived up to the name as he shot out front, in and out of traffic and
on his way to what looked to be a certain victory. At the lap 50
mark he had two lap cars sandwiched between the 11 and the 37 of
Locke. Shoe II and Russ Wood were still trying to get by the 37 as
the laps wore on.
Things slowed on
lap 53 when Rich Reid spun and collected the recent Delaware winner
Robbie Summers. Both restarted at the rear.
Perley was off
again on the restart only to have things slow his progress on lap 56
when Justin Belfiore spun in 3 and 4. Belfiore was done, as was Ben
Seitz.
That was the last
stop for Perley and he easily went across the line well ahead of
Dave Shullick Jr., Wood, Locke and Summers, who had worked his way
back up to fifth.
Locke was in awe of
finishing fourth behind such an illustrious trio. It was a good run,
coming in fourth was a dream come true for me coming in back behind
Chris Perley, Russ Wood, and Dave Shullick. Just to be behind them
is unbelievable. One of these days we might be able to pass them and
stay in front of them but all in all I have to thank Rich Witkum, my
dad and mom for letting me do this and my wife and kids who are home
because my little boy is sick. I wish they were here. All in all
we’ll take it. The car was really good at the beginning. It just got
looser and looser. Somebody laid some oil down and it just
exaggerated the problem. Some people who have a lot more experience
than me handled it better than me. We learned a lot today and I’m
looking forward to Waterford.”
Summers was a
little disappointed with fifth, having thought his car was capable
of more until the mishap. “I had a plan and just tried to stick with
it. I tried to pace myself for the first 50 laps and not push it.
That’s what I did. Unfortunate on lap 52 the 92 just lost it and
kind of got me into the wall and made a mess of the car. We have
some damage but we’ll try and get it fixed for tomorrow. We had an
awesome car again today. I really can’t thank the guys enough. I
think we really had a shot at winning the thing but we’ll never
know.”
Bob Bond, Dan Lane,
Lou Cicconi, Mike Lichty and Joey Scanlon finished up the top ten.
Notes: Mike Ordway
Sr. was involved in a damaging accident in heat two which put the
Vic Miller 1 out of the action… Lee USA management announced the
addition of a Sept. 11 ISMA date to replace the All-Star Classic for
this season. The event will have Twin 50s for the big blocks with
two separate payouts. An overall Classic winner will be determined
by points garnered from the two 50 lappers. A tiebreak of best heat
race finish is in place in case of a tie in the points… The 350
supers and three other divisions will join the event.
SUMMARY
Heat 1: Dave
Duggan, Lou Cicconi, Dave Shullick Jr., Justin Belfiore, Joey
Scanlon, Jamie Timmons, Bobby Haynes Jr
Heat 2: Jeff Locke,
Rob Summers, Dan Lane, Jon Gambuti, Rich Reid, Vern Romanoski, Mike
Ordway Sr
Heat 3: Russ Wood,
Ben Seitz, Chris Perley, Bob Bond, Mike Lichty, Eric Lewis, Mike
Murphy
Ollie Silva
Memorial 75: 1. Chris Perley (11), 2. Russ Wood (29), 3. Dave
Shullick Jr. (61), 4. Jeff Locke (37), 5, Robbie Summers (35), 6.
Bob Bond (25), 7, Dan Lane (97), 8. Lou Cicconi Jr. (10), 9. Mike
Lichty (84), 10. Joey Scanlon (88), 11. Bobby Haynes Jr. (44), 12.
Justin Belfiore (98), 13. Ben Seitz (17), 14. Rich Reid (55), 15.
Vern Romanoski (5), 16. Jamie Timmons (27), 17. Dave Duggan (51),
18. Jon Gambuti (14), 19. Eric Lewis (28), 20. Mike Murphy (01)
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ISMA Lee USA
Speedway Racing Action Photos 8/13/10 - By Jim Feeney:
The battle here
early has Dave Shullick Jr making a low move out of the fourth turn
to pass Russ Wood 29. Wood came back later in the feature to return
the favor and take second place away from Shullick. - Photo By Jim
Feeney
Mike Lichty 84
was not having his usual night at the track, in the 2010 season.
Here he battles for several laps with Joey Scanlon 88 to stay in the
top ten. Lichty would go on to get ninth and Scanlon was tenth.
- Photo By Jim Feeney
Early in the
feature Chris Perley 11 tries going low, out of the fourth turn, to
pass Russ Wood 29. He eventually made the pass stick and went on to
the win. Wood followed him up through the field to finish second. -
Photo By Jim Feeney
Chris Perley 11
moves in to pass a strong running Jeff Locke 37 for the lead on lap
33. - Photo By Jim Feeney
About two-thirds
of the way through the feature Dave Shullick Jr closes in on then
second place runner Jeff Locke 37. Shullick would make the pass and
try to chase down leader Perley. Shullick would end up third and
Locke had a fine fourth place finish. - Photo By Jim Feeney
Close to the 30
lap mark, Chris Perley 11 battles, for several laps, with Dave
Shullick Jr 61 for second place. Here Perley moves by Shullick and
heads for the leader. - Photo By Jim Feeney
Rob Summers 35
fights for a top five finish with Bob Bond 25. Summers would get the
fifth place after coming back from an earlier race incident. Bond
would stay right behind in sixth. - Photo By Jim Feeney
Chris Perley
stands on the back of his Vic Miller owned #11 supermodified and
salutes the crowd with the checkered flag wave and big smile after
winning the Ollie Silva Memorial 75 lap event at Lee Speedway Friday
night. - Photo By Jim Feeney
Chris Perley
enjoys the accolades of being back in victory lane at Lee. - Photo
By Jim Feeney
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ISMA Lee USA
Speedway Candid Photos 8/13/10 - By Jim Feeney:
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More 2010 Race Results and
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