IMPRESSIVE SHOWING BY LI
LEGENDS AT BETHEL
By Tracy Chirico
For the second week in a row, several Long Island Legends
teams made their way to Bethel Motor Speedway to take part in
some fall competition at the ¼-mile oval in White Lake . Five
teams made the trip, and all five walked away with top ten
finishes. For Chris Young, it was well worth the trip, as he
walked away with the win after leading the entire race.
Due to impending weather in the area, the decision was made to
run features only. All drivers started the feature based on a
draw. Young drew the pole. Justin Strumpf started sixth, while
Mike Malone took off from tenth. JD Abrahams had the 13th
starting spot, and Paul Dodorico started in 15th.
At the drop of the green, Young quickly got out front. Joe
DeGracia, a Bethel regular who currently sits second in season
points, came to second and Johnny Demarmels settled into third.
The caution waved on lap four. Chris Young once again got out
front on the restart. At that point, Strumpf, Malone, and
Dodorico all sat within the top ten. Demarmels worked his way
into second on the restart.
Young continued to pace the field, as the other competitors
battled for position behind him. Just past the halfway point,
Malone sat in fifth, with Dodorico in seventh and Abrahams
inside the top ten. Strumpf was in 11th. The field was given the
signal that five laps remained in the 20-lap event, and Young
had a comfortable lead. The rest of the Long Islanders ran in a
group together, led by Dodorico, who had taken over the sixth
spot. He was tailed by Malone, Abrahams, and Strumpf, who ran in
positions seven through nine, respectively.
One lap later, caution waved again after Demarmels suffered a
broken driveshaft and spun from the second spot. Young was out
front for the single-file restart, and led the field to the
four-lap shootout for the win. Dodorico had moved into the top
five, with Malone, Abrahams, and Strumpf still directly behind
him. With one lap remaining in the event, Dodorico picked off
yet another car, and he grabbed fourth. Abrahams worked his way
past Malone for sixth.
Young grabbed the checkered flag, leading Joe DeGracia and Raven
Schrantz to the line. Dodorico finished fourth. Abrahams came
across the line in sixth, with Malone seventh and Strumpf
eighth.
In other Bethel action, regular Riverhead Blunderbust competitor
Tom Pickerell, a former regular at Bethel , made his 2009 debut
in the BMS Modified division. Pickerell started the event from
eighth, and walked away with a sixth place finish. Johnny
Demarmels started the event on the pole, and led every lap en
route to his win over Norm Barnes and John Cote.
Chris Chirico was set to start the Street Stock feature from the
outside pole, but a rain downpour just prior to the race forced
the cancellation of the rest of the night’s events.
Legends Feature Finish (20 laps): 1. Chris Young, 2. Joe
DeGracia, 3. Raven Schrantz, 4. Paul Dodorico, 5. Joe Fresco, 6.
JD Abrahams, 7. Mike Malone, 8. Justin Strumpf, 9. John Hugate,
10. Rich Sennett, 11. Robert Weymouth, 12. Evan Beaulieu, 13.
John Lotti, 14. John Hugate, 15. Joe Graf, 16. Barry Schrantz.
BMS Modified Feature Finish (20 laps): 1. Johnny Demarmels, 2.
Norm Barnes, 3. John Cote, 4. Jim Fugel, 5. Dan Wood, 6. Tom
Pickerell, 7. Dick Shaddock, 8. Skip LaPolt.
Source: Tracy Chirico /
Bethel Motor Speedway
Posted: September
27, 2009
