Usual suspects, new blood ready to race

NEW EGYPT - When the first green flag of the season unfurls at New Egypt Speedway (NES) on April 8, all the heavy hitters in the headlining big-block Modified division will be on hand to defend their honor.

Former track champions Billy Pauch, Frank Cozze, Jimmy Horton, Keith Hoffman and Ryan Godown - an elite group of blood-and-nails competitors with more than 1,300 career feature wins and 54 track-point titles to their credit - are more than ready to take on each other and every other bonafide contender looking to step into their shoes. The champs can always expect a tussle from feature winners Tim Tanner Jr., Tom Carberry, Rick Grosso, Bucky Kell, Ron John Koczon, Sam Martz and Fred Dmuchowski. And a large-looming figure in the Mod ranks will be the legendary Kenny Brightbill, a 29-time winner at NES, making his return in '06.

But this season, a new bunch of youngbloods will be stepping into the scene to challenge the veterans for on-track respect. Last season's Sportsman champion Rich Rutski, 29, is moving up to the Modified ranks in some stout equipment, hoping to follow in the footsteps of former NES Sportsman champs Bob Worthington, Ryan Godown and G.R. Smith, who all recorded feature wins as Modified rookies.

Other eager young lions entering the Mod ranks this season include 18-year-old Billy Pauch Jr., an exciting third-generation talent driving for Paul Lenoir; Dominick Buffalino, 24, a former Star of Tomorrow in the Sportsman class; and Morganville resident John Dixon, 25.

The same can be said of the Sportsman division, as both young and old jockey for championship position. Rich Scagliotta of Bound Brook, the division's all-time winningest driver who settled for second place in the final point standings the past two years, is the odds-on favorite to finally clinch the elusive NES Sportsman title. But, rest assured, Scagliotta will have such fierce opponents as four-time 2005 winner Willie Osmun, former division champ Gary Butler and last year's Sportsman Challenge winner Mike Lyons hot on his heels all season long.

Those are the well-seasoned veterans in the Sportsman ranks. But there are plenty of young guns looking to make their mark on the sport. Among them: Jeff Geiges, 27, who had a break-out season in 2005, scoring three victories at NES and top finishes on the regional Race of Champions tour; Mike Howardson, 23, who was knocking on the door all of last year; Pittstown pilot E.J. Harrington, 21; 18-year-old Robbie Nixon, a two-time National Dirt Quarter-Midget champion from nearby Cream Ridge; third-generation challenger Clay Butler, 19; and John Salvatore Jr., 20, a two-time winner in the Rookie Sportsman series.

New Egypt's 2006 season officially gets underway on Saturday, April 8, with Pleasant View Landscaping's "Go Green!" lidlifter, featuring a five-division card of Modifieds, Sportsman, Super Stocks, Haldeman Ford SS Sprints and the Advantage Financial/Cradle Rock Developers Rookies.