BULL
BLASTS TO THIRD VICTORY AS ARDC INVADES ORANGE COUNTY
Middletown, NY - Five-time and defending ARDC Midget Series Champion Ray
Bull picked up his third win of the 2005 season on Saturday night,
as the Ray’s Yamaha/Polaris/Victory Tour presented wingless, open-cockpit
action at the Orange County Fair Speedway.
Using every inch of the super smooth, ultra fast 5/8-mile clay surface,
Bull blasted from his 12th starting position,
climbing to fourth as the first lap was recorded. The Bloomsburg, PA,
veteran followed rookie Andy Martin, who started 10th, to the front of
the field on that opening circuit. Martin blazed a trail from the outside
of the fifth row all the way up to third spot as the opening lap was scored.
The pair then began their assault on early race leader Steve Lenig. Martin
pounced on his opportunity to drive under Lenig as they exited turn two
on the fourth trip around the oval. Bull
followed the Gordonville (PA) Flash by Lenig, then dove to the inside
of Martin entering turn three. While the pilot of the Stauffer’s
Brochure Service/ Overhead Door of Lancaster no. 21 tried to put up a
fight, he was no match for the Raging Bull,
as the Mega Motorsports no. 22m out-gassed Martin to grab the lead off
of turn four.
Bull went on to win by a comfortable margin
over Martin, but the competition from third on back was fierce throughout
the remainder of the 20-lap main event.
Donnie Trent, a winner at New Egypt on June 11, found the high groove
to his liking, as he disposed of Mike Miller to claim the fourth spot.
Just as Trent was about to sink his teeth into Lenig, however, the magneto
broke on his Equipment Service Co. no. 18, ending his night’s work.
A terrific three-car battle then developed between Miller, Lenig, and
Ed Stimely. Stimely, who had engine trouble in warm-ups and could not
start his heat race, began the feature in the 15th spot. The 1997 ARDC
champion weaved his way through the pack to challenge, and eventually
pass both Miller and Lenig just past the halfway point.
As the laps wound down, Miller executed a couple of exciting maneuvers,
using slide jobs to get by Lenig and Stimely. Driving the All Seasons
Motorsports/Scott Performance Wire no. 3 normally campaigned by daughter
Tracy, Miller caught Martin on the final lap, but fell a few feet short
of the runner-up spot as they crossed the stripe.
Afterwards, Miller felt that he should have gone to the top much earlier.
“I kept trying the bottom, but couldn’t pass Lenig and Stimely.
Then I found the cushion, and I wish I would have tried to use it sooner.”
Martin, admitting that he didn’t have anything for Bull,
still had fun. “I love these big tracks, and this one was real smooth
and fast tonight. It’s just a blast to run these cars without wings.”
Asked how he came from 12th at the drop of the green to sit in fourth
place in just one lap, Bull remarked, “There
were some holes there, I guess. You know, they gave us a real good track
to race on; we are really grateful to the management and track prep crew
for that. And the credit for this win goes to my crew; they give me a
great racecar every night.”
Martin and Miller were victorious in the eight-lap heat races for the
midgets.
NOTES FROM OCFS:
Frank Polimeda, the versatile chauffeur from Fort Lee, NJ, had to sit
out due to a broken collarbone. Polimeda fractured the joint in a crash
at Lima, Ohio, on June 17, then broke it when he competed in the Twin
20’s at Grandview on June 26. He expects to be back in the driver’s
seat in two weeks, when the ARDC series rolls into Mercer Speedway on
July 23. His ride, the Lou Zrinski no. 25, was parked due to its driver’s
injury.
Steve Buckwalter, a two-time winner on the tour this year, finished sixth
at Orange County after experimenting with a different set-up for the feature.
“The car just never hooked up,” explained Steve’s dad,
Brian. Buckwalter did finish a close second to Martin in the first heat,
but his sixth-place effort in the feature was his first finish outside
the top five in 2005.
After a hard crash at Eldora on June 18, Carey Becker was a flip victim
in his heat race at OCFS. Becker and the Mega Motorsports team were able
to make repairs and run the feature, where he finished 11th. “We
keep patching it up with bungie cords and tape,” smiled Becker after
the event. “But this has to stop. My back is killing me from all
these wrecks. The car actually ran pretty good in the feature, which is
amazing after all it’s been through.”
GOING INTO THE SHOP FOR REPAIRS…Jeff
Schell suffered a broken rear in his heat race, sidelining the Spina &
Adams Collision Service no. 75 for the evening. Lew Blair had the same
thing happen to him as he was being pushed out for the feature. Blair
ran extremely well in his heat race, leading the first half of the eight-lap
event.
Mark Lawshe lost a freeze-out plug in the motor of his no. 95 after one
lap of the feature had been completed. Lawshe borrowed a magneto from
Fred Schell, and reported that the car was running much better until the
plug blew out, dumping coolant in turns one and two.
There was no word as to why Chris Rupp could not start the feature, although
the engine in his After Dark Designs/RDH Design Group no. 7C sounded a
bit rough during his heat race.
NEXT EVENT: The ARDC teams travel to western Pennsylvania for their next
two races on July 23 and 24. On Saturday, the 23rd, the tour rolls into
the Mercer Speedway for Twin 25-lap features. One race will be run wingless,
while the other main event will be contested with wings. On Sunday, July
24, the midgets will invade the Latrobe Speedway. Competing without wings,
the drivers will do battle in heat races and a 20-lap feature.
RESULTS:
ARDC MIDGET 20-LAP FEATURE (WINGLESS):
1.Ray Bull 2.Andy Martin 3.Mike Miller 4.Ed
Stimely, Jr. 5.Steve Lenig 6.Steve Buckwalter 7.Michele Miller 8.Dave
Shirk 9.Jeff Stelter 10.Scott Zipp 11.Carey Becker 12.Billy Courtwright
DNF: 13.Donnie Trent 14.Mark Lawshe DNS: Lew Blair.
SCRATCHED BEFORE THE FEATURE: Jeff Schell, Chris Rupp.
