Silvernail Romps To $2,100 Woodhull Modified Prize

WOODHULL, N.Y. — After a pair of late April cancellations due to rain and soft grounds, Woodhull Raceway was finally able to get their first official event of the season into the record books on Saturday.

Even the season lid-lifter was questionable as Mother Nature dumped several inches of precipitation across the region for a week prior to the event, however track owners, Terry and Niki Brewer were determined to swing the gates for their first night of the season. 

Fresh off back surgery over the winter, RUSH Crate Late Model Series pilot John Waters was not going to be denied the $1,200 winners check as he dominated the 30-lap feature event in the Doug Gross Construction sponsored division. 

Starting in the seventh slot, Waters passed race leader Bryce Davis on lap five and cruised to the win. 

Numerous caution flags slowed the pace which kept Davis within striking distance of Waters as the pair of former RUSH Crate Late Model Series champions were the class of the field. 

Defending class track champion Brian Knowles was able to keep the lead duo within sight, but he would settle for third as pole starter Chuck LaFleur would drift form his front row starting position to finish in the fourth spot as Waters teammate, Steve LeBarron rounded the top five finishers.

Modified Feature 

In the Insinger Performance Modified thirty-lap, $2,100-to-win feature event, Cory Costa and Dayton Brewer would lead the twenty-one-car field to the opening green flag. Costa would lead the first four circuits before the seventh-place starting machine Russell Morseman would wrestle the top spot away and hold court until lap twenty-two when Bob Silvernail would take command on a restart. 

From there Silvernail would withstand three more caution flags before taking the win by two car lengths over Morseman.  The son/father duo of Ajay Potrzebowski Jr. and Sr. would come next in third and fourth as Donnie Lawson would recover from an early race incident to complete the top five.

Crate Sportsman 

Kenny Peoples Jr. and Connor Brown would bring the nineteen-car NAPA Crate Sportsman field to the opening green for their twenty-five-lap feature with Peoples leading the first four circuits before Brown would take control.  From there he would withstand numerous yellow flag slowdowns before going on to pick up his first feature win at Woodhull in several seasons as he spends his season working side-by-side with his girlfriend, Isabel Barron, the 2022 NAPA Sportsman Track champion. 

Barron, who lined up in the last starting row due to heat race problems would methodically work her way through traffic and was up to second and challenging her boyfriend shortly after the mid-way mark.

By then, Levi Riley had entered the picture making it a three-car run away. However Brown was able to keep both Barron and Riley at bay to pick-up the win. Barron would finish second as Riley would complete the podium finishers. Cayden Lawson lined up ninth at the start and held off his brother, Blake who began the event inside the eighth starting row as the pair would finish fourth and fifth, respectfully. 

Street Stock 

Glen Whritenour brought out a back-up car after experiencing problems with his primary car in hot laps, however the new ride did not stop the veteran Jasper, N.Y. speedster as he led all twenty laps to win the Southern Tier Customs Street Stock feature. 

No less that a half dozen caution flags would keep the field bunched allowing 2022 track champion Brett Crawford several opportunities to take shots at Whritenour and late in the going fifth row starter, Teddy Morseman joined the party making it a three-car battle for the win.

But, time ran out and that is how they would finish with Whritenour getting the win, Morseman second and Crawford claiming third. 

Mick Seeley kept the leaders within eyesight the entire distance to finish fourth as journeyman racer and former IMCA Modified standout driver, Mark Griffin would complete the top five.

Hobby Stocks

The highly popular KMD Excavating Hobby Stocks were next on the high banked one-third of a mile clay oval, and they did not disappoint. Pole position starter, Brandon Conklin would jump into the early lead bringing Paul Dgien along for the ride. The pair would slug it out with Dgien briefly taking control from laps five to seven, but Conklin was able to wrestle the lead back on lap eight and from there hold off relentless pressure over the closing laps from Kaiden Dgien who had worked his way into second from his inside row six starting spot. 

Kaiden Dgien threw everything at Conklin but came up a car length shy at the finish as his father, Paul and sister, Meadow would make it a Dgien family affair from positions two through four.

Two time and defending Hobby Stock track champion, Jeredd Dennis began the event in eighth, went to the back after a mid-race spin and would proceed to claw his way back to complete the top five finishers.

Mini Stocks

Danielle Thomas along with her companion, Travis Southard would lead the ten-car Wicked Tee’s Mini Stock field to the opening green, but it was Ray Hyer who would blast through the field from his outside row three starting spot. 

Hyer would steal the show and go on to pick up the win.  

Front Wheel Drive

The Wicked Tee’s Front Wheel Drive twenty-lap feature would find Kenneth Evans and Jacob Tubbs lead the field to the green, but it was fifth place starter, Nate Freeland who would go onto the victory after a spirited battle with 2022 track champion Wes Houghtaling who had to settle for second at the double checkers.