VERNON, NY- Mike Mahaney took his third win of the season this past Sunday night, August 23, at Utica-Rome Speedway in a strong performance on a night sponsored by Excell Motorsports and Mirabito Fuel Group, beating out the invading Ryan Phelps to take the victory. The other winners on the night included Corey Barker in the 602 Sportsman, Jack Miller in the Open Sportsman, and Glenn Forward in the Pro Street Stocks.

Jimmy Davis and Ryan Phelps brought the Stampede Steakhouse Modifieds to the green of their feature event, with that duo going into the first turn side by side. Davis took the advantage down the backstretch, maintaining his lead across the stripe on the first lap, but Phelps stayed with him. Going into the first turn, Phelps drove through the middle of the speedway and was able to pull back alongside Davis on the backstretch. As they drove into the west end of the speedway, Phelps once again took his car through the middle and came across the finish line in front.

Behind them, Mike Mahaney was starting to find a fast way around the speedway on the top. He began to pick his way through the top five, passing Chris Mackey, Tim Mayne, and Davis one his way to the runner up spot. From there, he began to try and eat away at the lead that Phelps had built after he dove to the bottom. Mahaney, digging his right rear into the top side, found some moisture and was starting to track down Phelps as the race neared the halfway point. Sticking to his lane, Mahaney got a huge run down the backstretch and powered by Phelps to take the lead with half the race remaining.

A caution on lap 16 stopped Mahaney from running away with the lead immediately, but on the restart, Mahaney once again moved to the top and pulled away from the rest of the pack. Phelps started feeling pressure from Danny Varin for second, and they remained side by side for several laps as Varin tried to dive below Phelps for the runner up spot. He was able to make the pass on lap 27, but Mahaney was too far in front for Varin to catch. With Mahaney the winner and Varin and Phelps filling out the podium, Rob Bellinger and Mike Bowman finished in the top five. Alan Johnson, Marc Johnson, Chris Hile, Vic Coffey, and Matt Hulsizer filled out the top five.

The 602 Sportsman came to the green with Beth Bellinger and Corey Barker at the head of the field. Barker took the lead early on the outside, leading the first lap and began to pull away as the field behind him shuffled. John Christian battled with Bellinger for the first five laps before overtaking her on the outside. Nick Krause, Bellinger, Rocky Warner, A.J. Filbeck, and Matt Janczuk all fought behind them for the remainder of the top five, driving in a small, condensed pack around the raceway. With the top two running away, Warner was the one to come out of that pack in front, but he couldn’t catch up with the front runners. With Barker, Christian, and Warner in the top three, Janczuk and Bellinger trailed.

The Open Sportsman took the green with the duo of Craig Pope and Tom Tophoven taking the flag first. Tophoven took the lead first, but a caution on lap four slowed the field. The restart saw Jack Miller take the lead on the inside of Tophoven. He began to run away from the rest of the field, but Claude Hutchings Jr. was beginning to track him down before another yellow flag flew on the 13^th circuit. Hutchings ad Mike Richmond were involved in another incident on the restart, with the result having both fall in at the tail of the pack. Another yellow on lap 15 slowed everyone for a final time, but Miller couldn’t be caught. Behind him trailed Jeremy Vunk, Steve Way, Tophoven, and Richmond.

Jim Thomas and Bill Trexler led the Pro Street Stocks to their green flag, but a yellow flag flew before two circuits were complete. The restart saw Glenn Forward, who started 10^th, drive all the way to the front and to the lead. Mike Welch followed him on his march to the lead, falling in at second as Forward began to take off in front. Behind them, Chris Carr was navigating to the front, starting just outside of Welch in eighth. He was able to track down Welch in second, but Forward’s lead was too much to overcome. Behind them, Welch, Ed Ostrander, and Mark Effner followed to finish in the top five.

Next Sunday is a regular show of Stampede Steakhouse Modifieds, 602 Sportsman, Open Sportsman, and Pro Street Stocks, plus one on one Spectator Races. For more information, visit www.uticaromespeedway.com or call (315) 829-4557.

EXCELL MOTORSPORTS AND MIRABITO FUEL GROUP NASCAR WHELEN ALL-AMERICAN SERIES RACE SUMMARY 

STAMPEDE STEAKHOUSE MODIFIEDS FEATURE FINISH (30 LAPS)-MIKE MAHANEY, Danny Varin, Ryan Phelps, Rob Bellinger, Mike Bowman, Alan Johnson, Marc Johnson, Chris Hile, Vic Coffey, Matt Hulsizer, Ryan Arbuthnot, Jimmy Davis, Chris Mackey, Tim Mayne, Pete Taylor, Greg Atkins, Joel Thomas, Steve Way, Jack Miller, and Jim Walsh. 

602 SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (20 LAPS)-COREY BARKER, John Christian, Rocky Warner, Matt Janczuk, Beth Bellinger, AJ Filbeck, Nick Krause, Jason Rood, Rocco Leone, Kyle Kiehn, Cody Clark, Alan Fink, Brent Joy, Brad Alger, Casey Williams, Chris Cunningham, Daryl Nutting, Glenn Forward, Stephen Denton, Brandon Kuhn, AJ Digsby, Geoff VanRiper, and Aaron Jacobs. 

OPEN SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (20 LAPS)-JACK MILLER, Jeremy Vunk, Steve Way, Tom Tophoven, Mike Richmond, Lucas Heintz, Billy Shantel, Todd Fey, Claude Hutchings Jr., Craig Pope, Heath Carney, and Aaron Jacobs. DNS- Raymond Carey. 

PRO STREET STOCK FEATURE FINISH (20 LAPS)-GLENN FORWARD, Chris Carr, Mike Welch, Ed Ostrander, Mark Effner, AJ Digsby, Steve Peserek, Travis Welch, Dana Camenga, Bill Mason, Mike Kazlauskas, Jerry Streeter, Bill Trexler III, Ernie Staelens, Frank Hyatt, Gus Hollner, Andy Lashure, and Jim Thomas.