PLATTSBURGH, NY – Airborne Park Speedway played before a huge grandstand crowd to open its 62nd annual season of stock car racing on FedEx Ground Night on Saturday, May 2, and the hometown fans cheered their champion, Nick Heywood, to the biggest victory of his career. The three-time defending champ in the J&S Steel Modified division of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series presented by Yandow Sales & Service and John Deere led every circuit of the 100-lap race, but his win was never guaranteed.
Heywood started on the pole position for the 21-car main event by virtue of a random draw of the top 12 qualifiers. He and Greg Atkins stretched their legs in the first half of the race as the balance of the top 10 dazzled the crowd with constant passing. Bucko Branham, Jason Durgan, and Codie Aubin each put on a show coming from the back of the field as veterans Leon Gonyo, Mike Wells, and Vince Quenneville Jr. mixed it up with rookies Danny Sullivan and Timex Morgan in a clean but physical battle. Bids for Gonyo and Wells ended in mechanical failures and a flat tire eventually put an end to Sullivan’s notable debut.
Atkins was consistent, but Branham was Heywood’s biggest threat. Branham gave up his ninth starting spot and nearly missed the start of the FedEx Ground 100 after changing a water pump at the last minute, and was forced to start last and thread his way through traffic. Branham was running in second place and was virtually dead even with Heywood with a handful of laps remaining, but was bitten his own pre-race prophesy that fuel mileage would be a factor as his tank ran dry.
A green-white-checker restart on lap 98 gave Clintonville, NY driver Atkins one final chance and made the leader sweat it out, but Heywood pulled into victory lane. His win earned him the $150 Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel “Hot Shoe Challenge” bonus, a tool kit from Ingersoll Rand Power Tools, and the early lead in the seven-race Yandow Sales & Service/John Deere “Spring Championship Series” which moves to Devil’s Bowl Speedway in West Haven, VT on Saturday, May 9.
Atkins took the runner-up spot, while Morrisonville, NY’s Durgan – who made a pit stop during a caution period near the halfway point – came out on top of hot battle for third with Brandon, VT driver Quenneville. Aubin overcame fuel pressure issues and a 14th-place starting position to take fifth. Morgan was a solid sixth ahead of Jayson Criss and Chris Frennier. Branham was penalized to ninth place as the final car on the lead lap after jumping the final restart. Quebec’s Eric Lauziere finished rounded out the top 10.
Bobby Therrien of Hinesburg, VT picked up where he left off last year in the Ground Round Late Models, winning that division’s 25-lap feature race. A short field still produced good racing as Therrien, Jamie Fisher, Josh Masterson, and Todd Stone diced for the lead. Therrien eventually cleared Masterson after a side-by-side fight to take the win. Masterson, Stone, Fisher, and Kevin Boutin Jr. were the top five.
Richie Turner of Fairfax, VT buried the field to win the 25-lap opener for the Key R-D Trailer Sales Renegade division in his first start for Randy Howard’s Premier Paving team. Defending champion Robert Gordon, also a Premier Paving-sponsored driver was forced to settle for second. Shawn Duquette came from 11th starting position to take third, followed by Jim McKiernan and Jimmy Bushey.
Tyler Irwin of Peru, NY started his sophomore season with a popular career-first victory in the 15-lap Busch Beer Mini Modified feature. Irwin saw his sizeable lead erased by a late caution flag, and then was forced to hold off the field at the finish. Pete Blaney, Dale O’Neil, and Tim LaFountain grabbed positions 2-4, while Eddie Bresette was a career-best fifth.