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CORY COSTA TAKES MODIFIED FINALE FOR 2024 AT THE WOODHULL RACEWAY.
Grant Hilfiger invades and wins $4,000 Crate Sportsman 35 lap feature.
Dillon Philip takes Big Bop/Allison Pierce Dirty 30 Hobby Stocks and Dalton Maynard claims NYPENN IMCA Modified season-ending event.
JT Logging of Addison, NY was onboard as the nightly event sponsor.
Story by Kenny Shupp Jr.
(Woodhull, NY) After two straight weeks of rained-out Saturday events, the ownership of the Woodhull Raceway wanted to get their season-ending specials format into the record books with a Friday/Saturday event which will hopefully put the 2024 season to bed.
On the Friday Night card, the Hometown Excavation 602 Crate Sportsman took center stage with a hefty $4,000 to win, a thirty-five lap feature that drew the attention of most of the Woodhull faithful along with some outsiders who were on hand to try and tame the High Banked One-Third of a Mile Oval.
Isabel Barron, along with Grant Hilfiger would bring the twenty-two-car starting field to the opening green flag with Barron getting the early jump, but it was Hilfiger of Cresco, Pa taking away the top spot and from there cruising to the huge payday.
However, for Hilfiger, it did not come easy at times as a barrage of caution flags, six total would slow the pace and help keep the field bunched up not allowing the lead group to get away from the remainder of the stacked field.
Kenny Peoples Jr., of nearby Addison, had been the dominating force at Woodhull throughout the 2024 season and entered the night with nine regular season feature wins and was the odds-on favorite to walk away with the $4,000 winner’s check, however, an outside row six starting spot found the second-gen pilot having to work his way past a number of heavyweight contenders, but with the large amount of yellow flag slowdowns, Peoples was finally able to work past both Stacy Jackson who was third along with the second place machine of Barron and set his sights on Hilfiger who was continuing to set the pace.
However, Hilfiger was way too strong on this night as he cruised to a 1.7-second victory margin over Peoples Jr. who had to settle for second.
Isabel Barron rounded the podium by finishing third as she was chased across the line by Stacy Jackson who began the thirty-five-lap grind in position eight.
Adam Taft would complete the top five after lining up thirteenth on the opening grid.
Peoples, Barron, Jackson and Taft would all cross the line nose to tail trailing event winner, Hilfiger who had a comfortable winning margin.
Tony Harris of Campbell led the charge of the next group of five across the line as he was chased there by Collin Brown, Greg Crooker, Matt Brewer and Quintin Buchanan.
Cory Costa was once a weekly fixture at the Woodhull Raceway, however over the past three seasons he has raced little if at all at Woodhull, but on this night, he picked up a ride in the Bill Domineck-owned machine usually piloted by Josh Keesey.
Costa was strong in winning his qualifying heat event and by the re-draw, the Corning speedster would bring the field to green along with Woodhull native, Stacy Jackson.
Costa would immediately flex his muscle in taking control of the twenty-five-lap feature and prior to the midway mark, the third-place starting machine of Ajay Potrzebowski had disposed of Jackson and set sail for race leader, Costa.
Potrzebowski would cut into Costa’s margin and with less than ten laps remaining he would be glued to the rear bumper of the race leader as the pair had distanced themselves from the third-place running Jackson machine.
Lap after lap Potrzebowski would keep up relentless pressure on Costa and it was on lap twenty-three that third-generation Elmira young gun would take away the lead, but only briefly as Costa was up to the challenge, re-took the lead and would hold on for the remaining two laps as he crossed under the double checkered flags by just a few car lengths over Potrzebowski with Stacy Jackson in tow.
Fourth went to recently crowned 2024 Woodhull Raceway Modified Track Champion, Brady Fultz of Dundee who began the event right where he finished.
Joe Dgien of Addison had qualifying heat issues which found the former Track Champion buried mid-pack on the opening grid as he had to dig his way to a well-deserved fifth-place finish.
Aiden Grover of Corning, now a Buffalo, NY College student was home on leave as he led the charge of the next group of five across the line as he nailed sixth followed by two-time 2024 Woodhull feature winner, Jake Dgien who claimed seventh.
Eight through tenth went to Woodhull regulars, Donnie Lawson, Josh Nobriga and Brian Doolittle.
Unlike the Sportsman feature which was plagued with caution flags the Insinger Performance Modifieds went off without a hitch as the event went green to checkered.
In the running of the Annual Big Bop/Allison Pierce Memorial Dirty 30 for the Sawyer’s Camper and RV Service Center Hobby Stocks a field of fifteen machines would take the opening green flag for their thirty-lap, $1,088 to win A-Main Event.
A pair of team cars on this night in Jeredd Dennis and Kaiden Dgien would bring the field to green with Dgien getting the jump and leading early on before being overhauled by Dillon Philip who had come into the event with three feature wins to his credit with all victories during the first half of the 2024 campaign.
Once in front, Phillip would go on to claim the thirty-lap victory as he was followed across the line by 2023 Street Stock Track Champion, Clayton McLean who picked up a ride for the night and it paid off.
Event coordinator, Joe Birdsall would come from deep in the fifteen-car field to round the podium in the event named in memory of his late father, Billy Joe and his mother-in law, Allison Pierce.
Campbell’s Brian Austin had one of his better runs in recent memory in claiming fourth with Brandon Birdsall rounding the top five finishers.
Six through ten went to Corning’s Greg Young, Kaiden Dgien recovered nicely from an early event altercation to come home seventh. Eighth was Addison veteran, Mike Carapella, ninth went to Adam Leubner with Cannon Palmer completing the top ten.
The NYPENN IMCA Modifieds made the second and final appearance of the 2024 season at Woodhull and ironically, it was their decisive point event of the season which Rodney Morgan recently claimed.
Both Morgan and Dalton Maynard would bring the fifteen-car field to green with Maynard immediately flexing his muscle and taking away the top spot which he would never relinquish.
One lone caution flag on lap six would slow the pace, but Maynard was able to maintain a sizeable distance between himself and the remainder of the field and as the double checkered flags waved it was Dalton Maynard picking up the win by over a half-track distance between himself and second place finisher, Tyler Belcher.
Brad Dettamater and Tyler Stoddard waged a torrid battle for third with Dettamater finding the podium with Stoddard settling for fourth.
Jakub Ingham would just barely nip Shawn Bruce at the stripe to claim fifth with Bruce taking home sixth place money.
Seventh through tenth went to Bath’s, Brandon Smith, JW Lamphere was next across the line in eighth, Brad Chilson ninth with Ricky Hunsinger completing the top ten.
For a more concise wrap-up of all the IMCA action at Woodhull including the final 2024 point standings go to www.nypennimcamodifieds.com or check them out on Facebook.
Congratulations to all our competitors.
In addition to hefty purses for all classes, plenty of lap money, contingencies and bonuses went out to drivers in the Hometown Excavation Crate Sportsman as well as the Sawyer’s RV and Camper Service Center Hobby Stock Divisions.
Early evening Hot Lap Hero money was also dished out to worthy recipients.
Saturday, October 5, 2024, will be night two of the Season Finale at the Woodhull Raceway which will see the Annual Woodhull 100 Southern Tier Street Stocks in action along with Crate Sportsman, Hobby Stocks, Quad C Mini Stocks as well as the 600 cc Modifieds.
Race time is 5:30 pm on Sat. which pulls the curtain on the 59th year of racing at the facility.
WOODHULL RACEWAY RESULTS. Friday, October 4, 2024.
JT Logging Night.
INSINGER PERFORMANCE MODIFIEDS. (15 cars) 25-lap feature.
CORY COSTA, Ajay Potrzebowski Jr., Stacy Jackson, Brady Fultz, Joe Dgien, Aiden Grover, Jake Dgien, Donnie Lawson, Josh Nobriga, Brian Doolittle, Chris Ostrowsky, Ken Titus, Walt Chyrywaty. DNF, Adam Coots. DNS, Dayton Brewer.
HOMETOWN EXCAVATION CRATE SPORTSMAN. (22 cars) 35 lap features.
GRANT HILFIGER, Kenny Peoples Jr, Isabel Barron, Stacy Jackson, Adam Taft, Tony Harris, Collin Brown, Greg Crooker, Matt Brewer, Quintin Buchanan, Todd Titus, Tim Guild, Donnie Lawson, Dale Welty, Josh Makatura, Ben Feldman, Braylon Lawson, Reese Hackett. DNF, Jerry Roys, Cayden Lawson, Kyle Leach, Josh Nobriga.
NYPENNIMCA MODIFIEDS. (15 cars) 25-lap feature.
DALTON MAYNARD, Tyler Belcher, Brad Dettamater, Tyler Stoddard, Jakub Ingham, Shawn Bruce, Brandon Smith, JW Lamphere. DNF, Brad Chilson, Ricky Hunsinger, Rodney Morgan, Jay McConell, Gary Roberts, Rich McNeal, Keith Jack
SAWYER’S RV AND CAMPER SERVICE CENTER HOBBY STOCKS. (15 cars) 30-lap feature.
Big Bop/Allison Pierce Memorial Dirty 30.
DILLION PHILIP (4), Clayton McClean, Joe Birdsall, Brian Austin, Brandon Birdsall, Greg Young, Kaiden Dgien, Mike Carapella, Adam Leubner, Cannon Palmer. DNF, Brandon Conklin, Meadow Dgien, Teddy Morseman Jr. DNS, Mike Palmer. DQ, Jeredd Dennis.