WEEDSPORT, N.Y. — For the second time in three years, Jimmy Phelps didn’t let a chance to deliver a victory at Weedsport Speedway go to waste.
The Baldwinsville, N.Y., driver outdueled Darren Smith and Jordan McCreadie for the lead on Lap 25 and never looked back to win Tuesday’s DIRTcar 358 Modified Series Speedweek Kickoff.
“I knew we had a really good race car,” Phelps said. “Even in the Heat Races, as the track slicked up, it kind of played into our driving style a little. And we were really good.”
Peter Britten, the pole-sitter, and Smith led the field to the green in the 50-lap feature, with Smith edging out the Australian driver for the lead on Lap 1. Behind Smith, McCreadie and Phelps started moving forward, each gaining a spot on Britten by Lap 3.
Smith kept his pace out front, but McCreadie started reeling him in once the Binghamton, N.Y., driver reached lap traffic on Lap 14. It wasn’t long before McCreadie got an opportunity to sneak by the No. 12, trying to move around him through traffic on multiple occasions. Smith held the No. 28 off for six laps until he had three cars in front of him and had to decide which lane to run.
McCreadie watched Smith choose the outside and immediately dove to the bottom in Turn 1. That’s when McCreadie’s momentum took over as he pulled even with Smith down the backstretch and nosed ahead of him as they exited Turn 4 on Lap 21.
But as McCreadie took the lead, Phelps followed behind him, trading second with Smith over the next three laps. The top three drivers continued their battle through traffic, with McCreadie holding on until both Smith and Phelps got a run on him down the backstretch on Lap 25.
They entered Turn 3 three wide with McCreadie on the top, Smith in the middle, and Phelps on the bottom. As they battled toward the corner’s apex, Smith slid up the track, making contact with McCreadie, which slowed the leader’s momentum. That allowed Phelps to storm past them both on the inside to take the lead.
From there, even with traffic, Phelps went untouched to take home the $5,000 prize and his eighth career DIRTcar 358 Modified Series victory.
The veteran driver said the win was needed because it finally showed how hard his team had worked all season.
“This is just a good momentum builder,” Phelps said. “We’ve been really fast and just haven’t had anything to show for it with the Big Block. Hopefully, this gets us kick-started as we get ready for this busy stretch.”
Behind Phelps, both defending series champion Mat Williamson and Tim Sears Jr. climbed to the podium in the race’s closing laps.
The runner-up finish is Williamson’s third-straight podium after not finishing the series opener at Lebanon Valley.
Williamson, who started 11th, said his car was good but would’ve needed a caution to catch the No. 98H.
“It was a good car, we just kind of ran out of laps,” Williamson said. “Jimmy was good. Coming from 11th there with no cautions makes it pretty tough. The track was unbelievable. You could move all over.”
Smith crossed the line fourth, and Amy Holland-Buff rounded out the top five.
The finish:
Feature (50 Laps): 1. 98H-Jimmy Phelps[4]; 2. 6-Mat Williamson[11]; 3. 83X-Tim Sears Jr[6]; 4. 12-Darren Smith[2]; 5. 5B-Amy Holland-Buff[7]; 6. 32R-Ronnie Davis III[15]; 7. 28-Jordan McCreadie[3]; 8. 21A-Peter Britten[1]; 9. 31-Lance Willix[12]; 10. 01-Chris Raabe[9]; 11. M1-Dave Marcuccilli[8]; 12. 19-Tim Fuller[19]; 13. 70A-Alex Payne[24]; 14. 22-Brandon Walters[10]; 15. 35-Mike Mahaney[17]; 16. 92-Andrew Buff[16]; 17. 30-Nicholas Root[5]; 18. 99L-Larry Wight[26]; 19. 45R-Preston Forbes[13]; 20. 5D-Kyle Devendorf[20]; 21. 35C-Chris Curtis[21]; 22. 18R-Brad Rouse[27]; 23. 22C-Cedric Gauvreau[30]; 24. 35M-Nelson Mason[22]; 25. 0M-Jay Mallory[14]; 26. 11S-Steve Lewis Jr[18]; 27. 5-Jack Butler[29]; 28. B24-Brendan Gibbons[28]; 29. 14-CG Morey[23]; 30. 47-Kreg Crooker[25]
