HOGANSBURG, N.Y. – On a night that looked like Mother Nature was going to take over, the staff at Mohawk Int’l Raceway was determined to get the program sponsored by Smokers Warehouse in.
After a brief shower before race time, track crews worked hard and provided one of the fastest racing surfaces of the season.
The 30 lap Twin Leaf Stores 358 Modified feature went green and Demetrios Drellos wasted little time taking the top spot away over Matt Woodruff, Louie Jackson Jr., Lance Willix and Michael Maresca. The caution flew quickly as John Mulder slowed on the speedway.
Under the same yellow, Chris Raabe and Brian McDonald made contact with the front stretch wall. Raabe would be able to continue on, while McDonald would be towed to the pits.
When the green flew again, Drellos pulled away to a 10 car length advantage and showed no signs of slowing down. Behind the leader, Woodruff and Jackson staged a war for the second spot, with Maresca closing quickly from fourth.
By lap 15, Drellos had over a half track lead and was on a mission to potentially lap the field. From second on back, Jackson was able to sneak by and bring Tim Fuller and Chris Raabe with him, leaving Woodruff to battle with Maresca for fifth.
With 10 laps to go, Drellos began to close in on the top five drivers to potentially put them a lap down. Fuller did not want to be a part of that, so he took over second and began to pull away.
No driver on this night had anything for Drellos, who led the final five laps and handily beat some of the best at the speedway for the first 358 Modified victory at Mohawk of his young career.
Fuller crossed in second, extending his run of top-five finishes to start the year. Jackson, Raabe and Woodruff completed the top five.
Thomas Cook (Sportsman), Dale Gonyo (Novice Sportsman), Nick Mallette (Mod Lite) and Matt Zira (Bandit) also won in their respective divisions on Friday night.
The finish:
Demetrios Drellos, Tim Fuller, Louie Jackson Jr., Chris Raabe, Matt Woodruff, Lance Willix, Corbin Millar, Ryan McLean, Michael Maresca, Preston Forbes, Madison Mulder, Brian McDonald, John Mulder.