Race Results: June 10th, 2006

KIRKWOOD, NY - Brad Grammes entered two Modifieds into competition last Saturday night at Five Mile Point Speedway.

He left with two plaques and two grand.

The intense Kunkletown, Pa., team owner watched as younger brother Joey Grammes topped the heldover Modified 30-lapper from May 13, while hired gun Mitch Gibbs overpowered the competition in the nightcap 30-lap event.

For Joey Grammes, it was his first-career win at FMP. It was Gibbs's second checkered of the '06 season.

Opting to leave his self-owned No. 2G at home, Gibbs started the regularly-scheduled feature 11th in the car he drives for the Grammes team on Friday evenings at Penn-Can (Pa.) Speedway.

"Brad offered for me to run this car here tonight," Gibbs, 43, said. "With me racing at Utica-Rome (N.Y.) on Sundays with my own stuff again, it made sense for me to take him up on the offer.

"This is a good car."

By lap three, Gibbs sat third. He drove to the outside of Bobby Puckett for second on lap seven and began his pursuit of leader Barry White, who makes the three-hour haul from Mertztown, Pa., to compete at FMP.

North Norwich, N.Y.'s Gibbs hugged the inside hub, while White kept his No. 131 wound up around the outside groove.

Finding some moisture down low, Gibbs surged into the lead through turns three and four on lap 13.

"This car works everywhere," said Gibbs, who won with the RPM small-block powered car already this season at Penn-Can. "I was getting off the inside groove good, but I could run high, low, wherever I wanted."

Joel Batzel found the high line to his liking in the event's mid portions. He took third on lap 13, then swept around White for second with 10 circuits remaining.

Whipping his Doug's Speed Shop-powered No. 27 Teo-Pro car dramatically on the cushion, Batzel chopped away over half of Gibbs's lead. However, he ran out of laps, settling for second.

"I had something for him," Batzel, 31, of Kirkwood, N.Y., affirmed. "The first five laps, the car felt like junk. I was going backwards.

"Then I found the high side and I started going forward. When I came up to lap the 111 (Gordie Isham in the final 10 laps), he was running the top and that cost me. I had to go to the bottom and I wasn't as fast down there.

"I wanted that one bad."

White placed third, ahead of J.R. Crouse in Dale and Sue Smith's No. 8JR and Mike Doty.

Heat winners for the 32 Modifieds in attendance were Bobby Puckett, Gibbs, Gary Griffin and Batzel. Brian Malcolm topped the consolation.

Grammes blasted off from the pole in the heldover event aboard the No. 5J Bicknell, equipped with a 430 cubic inch RPM-built engine.

The Penn-Can Speedway regular's only challenge came in the opening laps from fellow front-row starter Mike Doty, who attempted a series of inside bids in turn one through the caution-marred early circuits. Hooking up in the middle of the quarter-mile oval's groove, Grammes was undeterred.

"Last year we came here and ran terrible," said Grammes, 29. "I've got to give credit to my brother Brad.

"He puts a lot of his life and his money into doing this."

By the halfway point, Grammes lengthened his lead while Dana Wagner closed on Doty for second.

Doty became momentarily trapped behind the lapped car of Darin Schuler, allowing Wagner to slide past on the inside with five laps remaining.

A lap-25 caution - seconds after Wagner had taken second - erased Grammes's advantage but had little effect on the outcome. Grammes motored away for the $1,000 payday.

Trout Creek, N.Y.'s Wagner finished a season-high second aboard his No. 25W Troyer four-link.

"I didn't have anything for Grammes," Wagner bottom-lined. "It worked out with the lapped car (Schuler).

"He (Doty) ended up getting bottled up with him and I had been running the bottom. It worked out for me."

Otisville, N.Y.'s Doty was third, ahead of Mitch Gibbs and Gary Griffin.

Butch Klinger of Walton, N.Y., got back on track in the 20-lap Sportsman feature, recording his first victory of the '06 campaign.

Klinger wheeled his No. 9 Bicknell from sixth position to overtake Justin Holland on the third lap. Defending champion Eric Palmer emerged in second on the 13th lap and applied heavy pressure, but Klinger's outside momentum prevailed for the $500 payday.

Klinger's last FMP Sportsman win occurred on July 3, 2004.

"Mitch Gibbs has been helping us," Klinger said. "He put me in the right direction. At least now we're in the ballpark, not the parking lot."

Rookie Chris Wood finished a career-high third, ahead of Brian Puckett and Jesse Kline.

A last-lap spin by Joe Cole handed the IMCA-Modified 20-lapper to Mike Stolarcyk III. For the Whitney Point, N.Y., driver it marked his second consecutive triumph in the growing division.

When Cole, who had taken the lead on the fourth circuit, spun entering turn three on the final lap, Stolarcyk zipped to the inside, receiving the combined yellow and checkered flags first.

Rich Talada, Scott Bennett, Kevin Cole and Walt McClenon rounded out the top five.

Dave Luff of Kingston, Pa., utilized a lap-19 pass to win the Trackside Products Super/Pro Stock Series 20-lap main. Luff stalked Clayton Ingrahm, who led from the outset, for the entire main as the leaders sliced through lapped traffic. Ingrahm placed second, with Denny Decker, Darren Stout and Joe Krisovich in tow.

Johnson City, N.Y.'s Mahlon Shoemaker won the 20-lap Pure Stock main, stopping Charlie Gilbert's streak at four consecutive wins. Shoemaker powered his No. 7 to the outside of Jeremy Shaw on the 17th lap, collecting an extra $200 from Don's Automotive Mall and the speedway for a bounty that had been placed on Gilbert.

Shaw, who led from lap four, settled for second. Joe Rafferty Jr., Doug Stack and Gilbert trailed.

Racing resumes at Five Mile Point Speedway on Tues., June 13 with the Modifieds running an Open event (sail panels, and 92 x 13 inch tire), Sportsman (offering 25 show-up points), sanctioned IMCA-Modifieds in a points-paying show and Pure Stocks in an Open event. The Modified event will offer six guaranteed starting positions to upcoming high profile Modified events. Windsor residents will be admitted free with proper identification. Race time is 7 p.m.

For further information, contact the track office at: (607) 775-5555 or visit the website: www.fivemilepointspeedway.net.

COUNTER POINTS: The pits were packed with 30 Modifieds, 21 Sportsman, 18 Street Stocks, 20 Pure Stocks and seven Vintage Modifieds....

Three pit areas were put into use to accommodate a large turnout of cars that included 32 Modifieds, 22 Sportsman, 17 IMCA-Modifieds, 28 Street Stocks and 29 Pure Stocks....

Grammes left the speedway following the heldover Modified event to join his wife at a cancer walk in Palmerton, Pa. Butch Getz took the wheel of the No. 5J for the nightcap....

Bobby Trapper of Scranton, Pa., made his first FMP start of the season. Trapper drove Jim Wagner's No. 77V Teo-Pro car, finishing 10th....

Two Modifieds flipped during the program. On the opening lap of the heldover Modified main, New Jersey's Jack Amundsen launched over the right-front wheel of the J.R. Crouse No. 8JR, smacking the turn two wall. Chris Ostrowsky clipped Amundsen's stopped car and his No. 29 landed on its side, sans right-side sheet metal.

In the consolation, Mike Trautschold tangled with Dan Hineline at the exit of turn two, landing upside down on Hineline's car.

Neither Ostrowsky nor Trautschold were injured; in fact, both continued in their respective events....

Kiddie Rides provided a thrill for the youngsters in attendance prior to the start of the program....

RACE SUMMARY

Modified Feature Finish:
MITCH GIBBS, Joel Batzel, Barry White, J.R. Crouse, Mike Doty, Bobby Puckett, Brian Malcolm, Glenn Knapp, James Cornell, Bobby Trapper, Jim Crawn, Mike Colsten, Dana Wagner, Rich Keehle Jr., Chris Ostrowsky, Gordie Isham, Doug Hendricks, Mike McCollum, Darin Schuler, Robbie Fairweather, Stan Frankenfield Jr., Gary Griffin, Dave Rumsey, Butch Getz.
Did Not Qualify: George Hildebrant, Dan Hineline, Tom Oleski, Ken Hildebrant, Serenity Sutherland, Mike Trautschold, Tim Votra, Joel Batzel (second car).

Modified Heldover Feature Finish From May 13:
JOEY GRAMMES, Dana Wagner, Mike Doty, Mitch Gibbs, Gary Griffin, Brian Malcolm, Dan Hineline, Glenn Knapp, Robbie Fairweather, J.R. Crouse, Rich Keehle Jr., Tom Oleski, Gordie Isham, Joel Batzel, Darin Schuler, Chris Ostrowsky, Doug Hendricks, Stan Frankenfield Jr., Barry White, James Cornell, Bobby Puckett, George Hildebrant, Jack Amundsen.
Did Not Start: Ryan Grim, Darwin Greene.

Sportsman Feature Finish:
BUTCH KLINGER, Eric Palmer, Chris Wood, Brian Puckett, Jesse Kline, Shaun Walker, Brad Grim, Eric Stephens, Joey Colsten, Jamie Yankowski, Jamie Cortazar, Justin Holland, Bubba Folk, Jay Horton, Rich Wallace, Jason Griffiths, Steve Yankowski, Willard Knecht, Jim Kleedorfer, Bill Deckelman, Dan Caldwell.
Did not start: Dan Pompey.

IMCA-Modified Feature Finish:
MIKE STOLARCYK III, Rich Talada, Scott Bennett, Kevin Cole, Walt McClenon, Tom Eiklor, Tyler Stoddard, Joe Cole, Ray Menard, John Rohacevich, Brad Weaver, Mike Stoddard, Brian Rhodes, Ty Hurlbut, Larry Robbins.
Did Not Start: Gary Dence, Steve Hartford.

Trackside Products Super/Pro Stock Series Feature Finish:
DAVE LUFF, Clayton Ingrahm, Denny Decker, Darren Stout, Joe Krisovich, Bill Rampe, Jerry Tonti, Les Gillette, Paul Harrington, Paul Strohl, Oliver Gage, Rich Post, Carl Heater, Randy Tyler, John Williams, Jim Hughes, Jim Howard, James Millard, Harry Marvin III, Wade Decker, Fred Christ, Harry Marvin Jr., Harry Cook Jr., Jim Hewitt, Keith Villano, Doug Polhamus, Jason Bartsch.
Did Not Start: Dwayne Jackson.

Pure Stock Feature Finish:
MAHLON SHOEMAKER, Jeremy Shaw, Joe Rafferty Jr., Doug Stack, Charlie Gilbert, Matt Spencer, Scott Smith, Don Russell Jr., Kurt Decker, Chris Wood, Mike Wilbur, Larry Fenton Jr., Bimmer Gully, Brad Butcher, Tom Harrington, Mike Codington, Ernie Martin, Tom Eiklor, Bob Melovitz, Darl Ellis Jr., Joe Zatur, Dune Head, Lew Ross, Matt Ruby, Duane Codington, Scott Edwards, Jess Snell, Glen Robinson.