WILLIAMSON, NY - Through a flurry of caution riddled laps including one red flag period on lap 16 for a loss of lighting on the back-stretch, Ransomville’s Chuck Hossfeld bettered all contenders to earn his second victory of 2006 in the 77-lap curfew shortened NASCAR Modified feature event.

“We tried not to show our hand early on in the event. With the way the racing surface is here, it’s like a chess game. With the experienced crew we have, it’s so much fun to race this car here,” an excited Hossfeld explained in victory lane.

With the victory, Hossfeld also earned a qualifying spot in the 56th Annual Race of Champions Weekend on September 14 & 15 at Oswego Speedway.

In the always exciting SST Modified feature event, defending points champion Mike Florio from Webster, NY bested a stellar field of open wheel hot shoes to earn his first win of the season while Chili, NY’s Jim Steffenhagen, Jr. picked up win number two of the season in the Street Stock ranks and Williamson, NY’s Kris Hillegeer continued to dominate in the Super Six division earning his eighth straight victory. With their victories, Florio and Steffenhagen also earned spots in the 56th Annual Race of Champions Weekend on September 14 & 15 at Oswego Speedway.

The loss of lighting due to an electrical malfunction became a major player in the evening’s action as twice throughout the evening, the first coming on lap one of the Street Stock feature and the second during the Modified main, there was a loss of lighting resulting in approximately an hour delay for the two incidents and thus forcing the scheduled 100-lap NASCAR Modified event to be shortened to 77-laps to meet curfew regulations.

At the drop of the green for the Modified finale, Patsy Catalano scurried to the front of the pack from his outside row one starting position, but action was slowed almost immediately as Mark Tychoniewicz and Scott Bleskoski came together spinning between turns three and four. Caution laps counted for the first 75-laps so when the field took the green on lap three, Hossfeld flew around the high-side of Patsy to take over the point and be credited with the lead on lap four. Dave Catalano would follow Hossfeld by Patsy to take over the second position.

Two laps later, the caution flag would again fly over the field as several cars, including Chris Ridsdale, Tony Hanbury and Joey Catalano made hard contact into the back-stretch wall. When the green was again displayed, Hossfeld hustled back to the point with Dave Catalano in tow followed by Patsy Catalano, Bill Hebing, Chris Finocchario and Tim McMullen in a six car breakaway. Another caution on lap 10 would once again bunch the field together and when the racing resumed on lap eleven, Dave Catalano would prove to be the quickest on the restart as he powered by Hossfeld to be credited with the lead on lap 12. Hossfeld continued to hold onto second while Hebing and McMullen moved their mounts by Patsy Catalano to take over third and fourth.

With the field finally starting to race at a steady pace, suddenly the lights down the backstretch went totally dark forcing the field to take the red flag while the situation was corrected.

The green was once again displayed on lap 20 with Dave Catalano and Hossfeld moving back into the first and second spots. This time however, Hossfeld had a rear view mirror full of Bill Hebing and Tim McMullen with both getting by Hossfeld to take over second and third with Buck and Patsy Catalano now challenging Hossfeld for that spot before caution lights came back on at lap 23 for debris on the speedway.

The restart saw the scariest incident of the night take place as exiting turn four, it appeared Buck Catalano’s steering broke catapulting him into the front-stretch wall with his car then ricocheting back in front of oncoming traffic including Todd Smith causing his car to climb over the Chris Finocchario machine and launching Smith’s machine high into the air before it came down on the racing surface with heavy damage as Finocchario’s car came to rest against the front-stretch wall also with extensive damage. Also involved was Tommy Kinsella and Mark Tychoniewicz resulting in red flag conditions once again as the speedway surface was cleared. All drivers were ok, with only Tychoniewicz able to continue.

The restart took place on lap 32 with Dave Catalano easily able to move back to the head of the class with McMullen now riding second and Hebing in third. Hossfeld at this point was now in the fourth position and on lap 37 ducked under Hebing for third. He continued his assault as on lap 39 he raced around McMullen for second on the front-stretch and then raced side by side with Dave Catalano down the back-stretch finally getting his car out front to be credited with the lead on lap 40.

Two separate spins by Patsy Catalano in turn four brought out the caution on lap 40 and on the lap 44 restart slowing the pace of the event. On the ensuing restart on lap 49, Hossfeld easily moved once again out in front of the pack with Hebing getting by Dave Catalano on lap 50 for second. Green flag racing was once again interrupted on lap 51 as Tychoniewicz slowed on top of turns three and four drawing the caution flag.

Hossfeld began to drive away from the pack on the lap 55 restart with Hebing, Dave Catalano, McMullen and Mike Leaty all running nose to tail battling for second through fifth. Not far behind them and closing in to make it a six car battle for position was Tommy Keyes and Eddie Hawkins. Hebing began to close in on Hossfeld over the next ten laps while Dave Catalano, McMullen, Leaty, Keyes and Hawkins began to wage some great side by side battles for position until caution once again waved over the field on lap 74 for a slowing Tychoneiwicz. Under this caution period, both McMullen and Keyes made quick trips to the pit area hoping to make adjustments to race to the front with 25 laps remaining. Unfortunately, due to regulations at the speedway as a result of town ordinances, the final checkered flag of the night has to be thrown by 11:30 PM and at this point it was 11:25 PM so the decision was made to shorten the race allowing for a green, white, checkered finish when the racing resumed.

The field lined up right behind Hossfeld for the restart hoping to get a run on the potent Ryersee owned #99 Troyer, but he was able to pull away and easily take the checkers for his 10th career NASCAR Modified victory at Spencer Speedway. Hebing would hold on for second with Leaty claiming third, McMullen racing back through the field for fourth after his late pit stop and Eddie Hawkins rounding out the top five.

Chris Finocchario raced to the point at the drop of the green for the SST Modified feature event from his outside front row starting position. Bill Hebing and Mike Florio quickly moved in to start challenging Finocchario for the lead in a thrilling three car battle for the lead. Slowing closing the gap in fourth all by himself was Kirk Rutherford while Daryl Lewis, Jr., Jerry Gradl, Jr., Tony Hanbury, Zack Shove and Fred Taylor Battled three wide at times for positions five through nine.

Caution flew for the first time of the event on lap nine for a spinning Tom Wiest. As the green flag flew to resume racing action, Finocchario continued to lead, but Hebing was now right on his rear nerf bar waiting for a mistake on the part of Finocchario. On lap 13 it appeared the handling was going away on the Finocchario machine as the rear end of his car almost came around exiting turn four. Hebing continued to watch and wait and as Finocchario’s car began to lose handling one lap later between turns one and two, Hebing took advantage and raced by Finocchario down the back-stretch. Unfortunately, the two made contact resulting in Hebing hitting the back-stretch wall with a shower of sparks with the car coming to a stop on the speedway and drawing the second caution flag of the event.

Hebing was able to continue, but had to restart at the back of the pack as did Finocchario after making contact with Hebing causing the incident. When the dust settled, Mike Florio was now in the front spot with Hanbury, Shove, Gradl and Fred Taylor in the top five spots.

At the drop of the green for the restart, Florio and Hanbury moved away from the pack waging a torrid battle for the front spot while Shove and Gradl battled for third and fourth behind the two leaders.

Finocchario and Hebing came together with both cars spinning on lap 19 slowing the action once again. As the green flew for the final six laps of the event, the contest was now a four car battle for the victory between Florio, Hanbury, Shove and Gradl. The four cars pulled away in the closing laps with Shove getting a run on lap 23 to get by Hanbury and then on the white flag lap pulled his mount up to challenge Florio for the victory, but came up just short in his bid with Florio able to take his first win of the season behind the wheel of his Tony’s Atlantic #64 Troyer. Following Florio and Shove to round out the top five was Hanbury, Gradl and Kris Meyn.

“Consistency is what it’s all about! We’ve worked so hard this year and it’s paying off allowing us once again to be at the top of the standings! I can’t thank my crew and fans enough,” an elated Florio explained in victory lane.

Paint swapping, metal crunching action took place almost immediately upon the waving of the green flag for the Street Stocks as a multi-car melee took place between turns one and two. Several top contenders were involved including former winners Don Stevens and Bob Minacapelli. Almost as quickly as this incident took place, the lights around the entire speedway went dark resulting in the first half hour delay of the evening as the track crew looked to solve the mystery.

When the power outage was corrected and racing resumed, Jim Steffenhagen, Jr. topped the leader board and began to put some distance between him and the remainder of the field looking for his second victory of 2006.

Meanwhile, all eyes were on the Duke Wolanski machine who started 12th at the initial drop of the green but by lap five had made his way into the third position battling Phil Alhart, Jr. for the second slot. Wolanski, who had sustained major front end damage as a result of an accident in his qualifying heat, seemed to be no worse for the wear as he appeared to have the quickest car on the speedway. Alhart fought valiantly to keep the spot, but on lap seven, Wolanski made the move and got by Alhart to take over the second position. Wolanski then focused on reeling in the high-flying Steffenhagen who had built up a comfortable margin over the field.

A caution for John Giglio, Jr. on lap ten placed Wolanski right on Steffenhagen’s rear bumper on the restart, but one lap later Giglio spun again to slow the action under caution conditions.

When the racing went back clean and green, Steffenhagen and Wolanski began an intense battle and even began to put some distance between themselves and the drivers battling for the next three positions, Alhart, Roger Worden and Will Strusz. As the laps began to tick off the scoreboard, it even appeared that it was to become a five car battle for the victory, but with just two laps remaining, once again Steffenhagen and Wolanski began to pull away. Wolanski was never able to put forth a credible threat over the final two circuits allowing Steffenhagen to coast in for the full-fender victory behind the wheel of his James Gang #13. Alhart, Worden and Strusz would follow Steffenhagen and Wolanski across the stripe to round out the top five in the order of finish.

“It’s great picking up this win tonight! I can’t thank my crew enough for the great job they do getting this car running as smooth and fast as it did tonight. What’s even sweeter is the fact that this was a Race of Champions qualifier and we are so excited about the fact that we will be there representing Spencer Speedway,” Steffenhagen proclaimed in victory lane following the victory.

The man to beat all season in the new Super Six division has been Kris Hillegeer, but tonight looked to be different as upon the drop of the green flag for the eight lap feature event, Frank Parsons hustled into the top spot and immediately moved out to a half of a straight-away advantage.

Unfortunately, Parsons’ frenzied and fast paced attempt to steal the victory would be short lived as entering turns three and four to complete the first lap, his potent machine would slow at the top of the corners and Hillegeer running second would slip under him to take away the point to be scored as the leader. A dejected Parsons made his way to the pit area as a result of mechanical issues including a right front flat tire.

Patti Davenport now assumed the second position and began the tough task of trying to close in on the ultra-fast Hillegeer machine. Hillegeer continued on his torrid pace and never looked back upon assuming the point easily powering his very strong King’s Auto #18 into victory lane for the eighth time of the season.

SPENCER SPOTLIGHTS: Congratulations to defending Street Stock champion Amy Catalano and husband Dave, driver of the NASCAR Modified #54 on the arrival of their fourth son, Trevor Douglas on 8/1/06. When Dave was asked about Amy’s return behind the wheel, he mentioned within the next few weeks…Two bikes were given away sponsored by Willbilly’s Catering with 5-year old Abbie Hardy winning the girl’s bike and 9-year old Ryan McIntosh winning the boy’s bike… Maybe these lucky kids will be on hand next Friday as it will be Joseph Neri Chevrolet-Pontiac night and Kid’s bicycle races will again highlight the pre-race activities…The top four from each of the two qualifying heat events for the NASCAR Modifieds redrew for their starting position for the 100-lap feature event with Hossfeld drawing the pole and Patsy Catalano picking the outside pole…Thanks to the diligent efforts of Sherry Whaley and Rich Mendoza, an additional $1,300 ($1,250 cash and a $50 Gift Certificate) was raised as lap money for the NASCAR Modified main event. Fourteen of the seventeen drivers earned at least $50 in lap monies earned.

This week is Joseph Neri Chevrolet-Pontiac-GM night at Spencer featuring a Four Star show of NASCAR Modifieds, SST Modifieds, Street Stocks and Super Six machines. Neri supplies the new Pontiac pace car used at the speedway in 2006. It will also be the 52nd anniversary night for the speedway. Race time on August 11 will start promptly at 7:30 p.m. Any kids in the bicycle races should be registered by 6:45 p.m. and be ready to go with their helmet.

Spencer Speedway is located just fifteen minutes east of Rochester, NY along Route 104. This flat half mile oval is Rochester's NASCAR "Place to Race" each and every Friday evening throughout the summer. For more information you can visit www.spencer-speedway.com or www.spencerspeedway.org.

CASTLE PRODUCTS NIGHT RACE SUMMARY

SUPER SIX
FEATURE (8-laps): KRIS HILLEGEER, Patti Davenport, Frank Parsons.

STREET STOCKS
HEAT 1: J. Steffenhagen, Jr., B. Minacapelli, D. Stevens, R. Worden, B. Gordon, W. Strusz, J. Giglio.
HEAT 2: P. Alhart, Jr., S. Kelly, J. VanHooydonk, T. Carino, Jr., R. Corso, D. Wolanski.
FEATURE (20-laps): JIM STEFFENHAGEN, Jr., Duke Wolanski, Phil Alhart, Jr., Roger Worden, Will Strusz, Brian Gordon, Shawn Kelly, Thomas Carino, Jr., Don Stevens, John VanHooydonk, John Giglio, Bob Minacapelli, Ryan Corso.

SST MODIFIEDS
HEAT 1: B. Hebing, M. Florio, J. Gradl, Jr., Z. Shove, S. Malin, T. Hanbury, D. Pringle, T. Bradshaw, R. Wildey II, K. Meyn, J. Polaski.
HEAT 2: K. Rutherford, D. Lewis, Jr., C. Finocchario, F. Taylor, A. Lewis, P. Johnson, M. Lees, T. Wiest, D. Reiber, B. Crawford, R. Green.
FEATURE (25-laps): MIKE FLORIO, Zack Shove, Tony Hanbury, Jerry Gradl, Jr., Kris Meyn, Fred Taylor, Andy Lewis, Steve Malin, Phil Johnson, Don Pringle, Toad Bradshaw, Kirk Rutherford, Tom Wiest, Ron Wildey II, Butch Crawford, Dave Reiber, Matt Lees, Bill Hebing, Chris Finocchario, Daryl Lewis, Jr., Jeff Polaski, Rob Green (DNS).

NASCAR MODIFIEDS
HEAT 1: C. Finocchario, B. Catalano, T. Smith, T. Kinsella, E. Hawkins, J. Catalano, S. Bleskoski, T. Hanbury, M. Tychoniewicz.
HEAT 2: B. Hebing, P. Catalano, D. Catalano, C. Hossfeld, T. Keyes, T. McMullen, C. Ridsdale, M. Leaty.
FEATURE (100-laps): CHUCK HOSSFELD, Bill Hebing, Mike Leaty, Tim McMullen, Eddie Hawkins, Dave Catalano, Tommy Keyes, Joey Catalano, Mark Tychoniewicz, Scott Bleskoski, Tony Hanbury, Patsy Catalano, Buck Catalano, Chris Finocchario, Tommy Kinsella, Todd Smith, Chris Ridsdale.