Godown back on winning track at New Egypt

NEW EGYPT - Ryan Godown of Ringoes turned things around on Saturday night at New Egypt Speedway, winning the 35-lap DIRTcar Modified feature.

Godown started the race in 14th starting spot and finally ran down early-race-leader Keith Hoffman on lap 23. Once in the lead, Godown was flawless over the final 12 laps as he took the checkered flag by more than three seconds over Hoffman, taking home the $3,000 top prize.

"We had this car totally apart on Wednesday," said Godown. "I want to thank Billy Colton of Troyer for his help with the setup. It looks like we have finally gotten the car back to where it was at the beginning of the season."

Rich Rutski and Tom Carberry brought the field to the start and shared the lead over the first five laps before Keith Hoffman charged by. Hoffman appeared to be the man to beat as he set a torrid pace, seemingly pulling away at will. By halfway, Godown had taken second and had his sights set on the lead. Hoffman, who is still looking for his first win of 2007 at NES, held on to the lead valiantly, but Godown was just too much. Once Godown was out in front, he pulled away to his second win of the season, the 12th of his career. Hoffman came home a strong second, with Rutski completing a nice effort in third. Brian Godown was fourth, followed by point leader Matt Sheppard in fifth.

Mike Krachun, of Neshanic, won his second feature of the year in the Sportsman feature. Rich Scagliotta applied pressure to Krachun but settled for second. Dave Hunt drove home third, trailed by John McClelland and Tommy Carberry Jr.

George Quinlan, of Brick, padded his point lead with his second feature win of the season in the 20-lap Super Stock feature event. Last week's winner, Kory Fleming, finished second, Al Cheney was third, Tony Bozowski finished fourth and Steve Davis was fifth.

In the Crate 1 Sportsman event, E.J. Harrington won his second race of the season. Dave Gorbatuk took second, with Scott Cranstoun third, Mike Fattori fourth and Pat Hires in fifth. The Outlaw Stock feature saw Gary Klimeczak win his fourth in a row by a large margin. Pat Hires raced to a second-place finish, followed by Rob Longo, Rick Latza and Spider Ensinger Sr.

This Saturday night it will be Hall of Fame Night at New Egypt Speedway as the track honors many legendary drivers from New Jersey racing history. There will be interviews and autograph sessions with many great drivers from the past, such as recent Hall of Fame inductee Billy Osmun, Sammy Beavers, Ken Brenn Jr. and Frankie Schneider, just to name a few. The night will be filled with nostalgia along with a few surprises. The DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds will headline a card featuring the crowd-favorite Super Late Models running a 25-lap race for $2,500 to win, Sportsman and SS Sprints. All senior citizens 62 years old and over will be admitted for $6. Adult admission will be $16, children 7-12 will be $5.50, and kids 6 and under are always free. Gates will open at 4 p.m. with the first race at 5:30 p.m. For more information, call the speedway office at (609) 758-1900 or log on to www.newegyptspeedway.net.

Strunk strikes to win New Egypt 358 Mod Syracuse Qualifier

Jeff Strunk of Bechtelsville, Pa., took rim riding to a new level on June 27, as he rode the top groove to a $5,000 payday at New Egypt Speedway in the 40-lap 358 Modified Summer Dash For Cash. Strunk used a lap-six restart to fly from sixth position to the lead and would never look back as he went on to earn a guaranteed spot in the DIRTcar 358 Modified race at Syracuse, N.Y., in October.

"I have always wanted to win here at New Egypt, and we finally got one," exclaimed Strunk in the victory lane. "We have been close in the past, getting second and third before, but tonight my crew had the car right on. This is a first-class facility, and I am proud to add my name to the winners list. Hopefully this will get our season back on track."

By virtue of winning the Dash for the Pole, David Van Horn led the 24-car field to Warren Alston's green flag and quickly took command over Craig Von Dohren and Andy Bachetti. These three ran in tight quarters, with Van Horn holding sway till the yellow appeared on lap six for Bryant Brown, who had stopped in turn four. On the restart, Strunk, who started eighth and was already up to sixth, jumped up onto the cushion entering turn one and rocketed around the outside to second position. With his momentum built up, Strunk pulled up alongside Van Horn and completed a five-car sweep in just one lap. From this point, Strunk would set the pace, but not without pressure. First, Bachetti would give Strunk a battle but was unable to stay with his torrid pace. Then Rick Laubach and defending Modified champion Jimmy Horton would apply pressure, but Strunk was up to that challenge as well. The final assault would come from longtime rival Duane Howard, who passed Horton for second with six laps to go, just before the final yellow would appear for Brett Hearn, who had stopped in turn two. Howard would prove to be tough on the restart, as he chased Strunk over the final circuits, but Strunk proved to be tougher as he raced to the victory by just three car lengths. Howard would speed across the finish line in second. Horton would cross the line in third, but would be disqualified after the race when his car failed to make minimum weight. Laubach raced to a solid third place and New York invader Pat Ward finished fourth, with Van Horn rounding out the top five. Completing the Top 10 were Billy Pauch, Von Dohren, Jimmy Chester, Keith Hoffman and Rich Scagliotta.

Heats went to Van Horn, Von Dohren, Bachetti and Jason Hamilton. Rick Holsten took the consolation and Van Horn won the Dash for the Pole.

In the 15-lap Outlaw Stock feature, Gary Klimeczak took home $600 with his third win of the season, winning a race-long battle with second-place finisher Pat Conaway. Brian Ludwig finished third, followed by Jeff Dirkes and Pat Hires.

Nextel Cup stars coming to Wall Township Speedway

WTS Operations Manager Jim Morton announced that NASCAR stars Bill Elliott, Elliott Sadler, Kasey Kahne and Erin Crocker are to visit the speedway on Evernham Motorsports Racing for a Reason Night Aug. 4. Racing for a Reason is former Hazlet native and Wall WAAS winner Ray Evernham's charity.

Contact wallspeedway.com or call (732) 681-6400 for details.