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Raabe sweeps opening day twin bill at Mohawk International Raceway

Posted 5/14/16

AKWESASNE -- Heavy morning rain threatened to ruin the 2016 season opener at the Mohawk International Raceway, but staff and management moved standing water around the speedway prepared a fast race …

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Raabe sweeps opening day twin bill at Mohawk International Raceway

Posted

AKWESASNE -- Heavy morning rain threatened to ruin the 2016 season opener at the Mohawk International Raceway, but staff and management moved standing water around the speedway prepared a fast race track and give the great race fans, including the Akwesasne Boys and Girls club, a great show.

The first 20 lap affair for the Bailey Motor Company 358 Modified Series saw heat winners Patrick Dupree and Jordan McCreadie start on the front row with Dupree getting the advantage into turn 1 with Chris Raabe, McCreadie, David Papineau and Brian McDonald. The first red flag flew immediately on the following lap as Ryan Taylor flipped on the back stretch. Taylor was able to climb out of his car unhurt but the car suffered heavy damage and was unable to start the 2nd twin 20. When the green flew 2011 track champion Chris Raabe showed how fast his car was as he charged to the lead on lap 4 over Dupree and McCreadie. On lap 5 the 2nd red flag of the race came out for Chris Cayea who flipped violently in turn 4 after contact with an implement tire. Cayea was quickly out of the car and walked to the ambulance under his own power, however the car was done for the night. On the restart Raabe took off and drove away from the field but the man on the move was Brian McDonald. After starting 5th he quickly got by David Papineau for 4th and then made a big charge getting by Jordan McCreadie and Patrick Dupree to move to 2nd and the chase was on. With 5 to go McDonald had narrowed the gap to 2 car lengths with teammate Larry Welling Jr. charging to 3rd. On the final the caution flew as McDonald slowed with a problem in turn 4 ending his shot at victory. When the green came back out Raabe was able to pull away and score the first 20 lap victory of the night and his 3rd career series win over Welling, Dupree, McCreadie and Billy Dunn.

The 2nd 20 lap feature saw the top 12 from race 1 inverted putting George Foley and veteran John Mulder on the front row with Foley getting the advantage over Corey Wheeler, Mulder, Pat O'Brien and Gage Morin. The yellow came out right away for Lance Willix who slowed with a problem in turn 2. On the restart Wheeler, a rookie in the 358 ranks this season, wasted no time getting by Foley for the lead and started to pull away from a quality field. Behind him Carey Terrance was on the charge from his 7th starting spot along with Raabe who made some big moves to get to 4th and defending series and track champion Billy Dunn also charged into the top 5 by lap 8. At the halfway point Wheeler still held the advantage but Terrance and Raabe were right there to challenge the Cornwall native. Terrance tried the outside lane with 7 to go in turn 4 but Raabe was able to slip by for 2nd and went to work on Wheeler. On lap 14 Raabe and Wheeler ran side by side heading into turn 3 with Raabe getting the top spot away for good bringing Carey Terrance to 2nd Billy Dunn and John Mulder rounded out the top 5. Over the final 6 laps nobody was catch Raabe as he drove away to his 2nd win of the night and 4th career Bailey Motor Company 358 Modified Series win over Terrance, Wheeler, Dunn and Brian McDonald who came from 18th starting spot to complete the top 5.

The opening round of the Number 1 Speed Equipment Sportsman Series was set to go for a 35 lap affair with Andy Howard and Louie Jackson Jr. on the front row. Howard would get the jump at the drop of the green flag over Jackson, Shane Pecore, Moise Page, and Mike Stacey. Howard had a stout race car in the opening laps as Jackson tried several times to get by but the veteran held off Jackson with Pecore, Joel Hargrave and 4 time series champion Dylan Evoy moving to 5th on lap 5. The first caution flag flew for Gilles Godard who slowed with a problem in turn 2. On the restart Howard continued his pursuit of his first ever Mohawk win but Jackson and Pecore were right there with him looking to get by. Andy Howard looked to have things going his way he slowly entered into lapped traffic by lap 17. At the halfway point things went from great to completely bad for Andy Howard as he made contact with an infield tire breaking the left front off his car and ending his shot at victory. When the green flew Jackson took over the top spot With Pecore moving to 2nd, Joel Hargrave, Moise Page and Adam Rozon who charged from 16th starting spot to round out the top 5. As the laps wound down Louie Jackson Jr. start to enter heavy lapped traffic which allowed both Pecore and Hargrave to close in and make it a fantastic 3 car battle for the win. Jackson did everything he could to hold off Pecore and in the same process try to navigate the traffic. On lap 31 Pecore would use a lapped car as a pick taking the lead away on the high side off turn 2 with Jackson falling to 2nd as Hargrave, Page and Rozon watched from spots 3, 4 and 5. The caution flew on the same lap bunching the field up for the final restart. When the green flew Pecore was able to jump out in front as Jackson tried several times to get by but he wasn't able to do so as Shane Pecore took the opening round of the Number 1 Speed Equipment Sportsman Series over Moise Page who charged to 2nd at the checkered flag, Louie Jackson Jr., Joel Hargrave and Adam Rozon.

The 20 lap Mod Lite International Showdown was set to roll with Deric Ellsworth and Scott Waldrif on the front row. Waldrif would get the early lead but Jeff May had a fast race car and charged from his 5th starting spot to take over the lead over Ellsworth, Waldrif, Benjamin Cartier and Harley Brown. May began to pull away and despite only making a few starts every year at MIR, he's always a threat to win and showed his muscle as he drove away from a quality field on this night. Behind the leader Scott Waldrif was doing all he could to hold off Ellsworth, Martin Flaurent and Benjamin Cartier. On lap 8 John Foster slowed with a problem in turn 2. When the green flew Jeff May didn't get going like he wanted to which allowed Waldrif to take over the lead and pull away with Cartier now 2nd, May, Paul Klager who came from 18th to 4th after problems in the heat race and Martin Flaurent completed the top 5. As the laps wound down Waldrif looked to be in good shape but Jeff May was back on the charge as he ran down Waldrif and took over the lead for good. From there Jeff May put it on cruise control and drove away to score his first win of 2016 but Allyson Prince flipped hard down the front stretch for the 2nd time of the night. Prince was also involved in a heat race flip earlier in the night along with Kevin Foster. Following Jeff May across the line in the top 5 was Waldrif, Klager, Cartier and Flaurent.

The Novice Sportsman division was ready to go and Greg Snyder who was a former champion in the Semi Pro ranks many seasons ago, took the lead at the drop of the green over Jamie Begor and Anthony Rassmusen. Snyder had the strongest car on the track by far on this night as he would go unchallenged leading all 15 laps to score the big win over Begor and Rassmusen.

In a battle of attrition the Bandit division saw Richard Thorton and veteran Gary Sharlow go at it for the win as defending track champion Shane Ray experienced motor problems just past the halfway point. Richard Thorton had a great car on this night and would march on to his first career win in the division over Sharlow and Ray.

Next week Cedarview Golf Course will be on hand for a full card of racing in all 5 classes along with the Ironman Slick Track Enduro qualifier. Racing starts at 7:30pm.

• Bailey Motor Company 358 Modified Series Twin 20 #1

CHRIS RAABE, Larry Welling Jr., Patrick Dupree, Jordan McCreadie, Billy Dunn, Carey Terrance, Pat O'Brien, David Papineau, Gage Morin, Corey Wheeler, John Mulder, George Foley, Tim Fuller, Lance Willix, Joey Ladouceur, Madison Mulder, Matt Woodruff, Brian McDonald, Chris Cayea, Ryan Taylor

• Bailey Motor Company 358 Modified Series Twin #2

CHRIS RAABE, Carey Terrance, Corey Wheeler, Billy Dunn, Brian McDonald, John Mulder, Jordan McCreadie, Joey Ladouceur, George Foley, Lance willix, Larry Welling Jr., Matt Woodruff, Madison Mulder, Pat O'Brien, Tim Fuller, David Papineau, Gage Morin, (DNS) Patrick Dupree, Chris Cayea and Ryan Taylor

• Number 1 Speed Equipment Sportsman Series Round 1

SHANE PECORE, Moise Page, Louie Jackson Jr., Joel Hargrave, Adam Rozon, Ricky Thompson, Sid Harmer Jr., Mike Stacey, Delbert Legrow Sr., Bruce Makinson, Jessica Power, Thomas Cook, Robert Delormier, Billy Cook, Kyle Sharp, Delbert Legrow Jr., Joel Herne, Gabriel Cyr, Chris Frennier, Tim Smythe, Jesse Hudson, Justin White, Andy Howard, Dylan Evoy, Gilles Godard, (DNS) Brad Winters and Zack Arquiett

• Mod Lite

JEFF MAY, Scott Waldrif, Paul Klager, Benjamin Cartier, Martin Flaurent, Michael Forcier, Kevin Parenteau, Deric Ellsworth, Nick Mallette, Harley Brown, Karine Thibault, Pascal Ouellet, Allyson Prince, John Foster, Jason Premo, Brad Reif, (DNS) Kevin Foster and Jason Paige

• Novice Sportsman

GREG SNYDER, Jamie Begor, Anthony Rassmusen, Styles Arquiett, JP Herne, Dana Francis

• Bandit

RICHARD THORTON, Gary Sharlow, Shane Ray, (DNS) Jason Herne