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Click above picture for order form from the Harmony Historical Society or Click here for the story of "Roll-O-Bowl" Speedway by Randy Anderson

 
Brachmann Takes Mod Win and Title at Ransomville
 
By Dave Sully
 
(Ransomville, NY)  Riding a wave of good finishes, veteran Chad Brachmann swept to victory in the final point race of the season, overcame a fourteen point deficit, and claimed an elusive first modified championship by winning the 50 lap Modified Feature  at Ransomville Speedway on Friday, September 2nd.  Brachmann, from nearby Cambria, who has won a title at Merrittville (2008) and lost a crown at Humberstone by one point, made a statement in the race, taking the lead from Ryan Susice in lapped traffic on lap 32, after starting eleventh, and then driving away.  Then he had to see if that was enough to annex the title, as he trailed Pete Bicknell by those fourteen points and defending champion Todd Burley by six points going into the night.
 
With Burley starting 12th and Bicknell 14th, it came down to their finishing positions.  With only one caution in the fifty lapper, that on lap ten, their jobs became harder as they saw Brachmann streak to the front.  Ultimately, Burley made it as high as fifth and Bicknell, nursing a sore back that will require surgery next week, ended up tenth, which gave the coveted crown to Brachmann.
 
Susice, who has had an up and down rookie season in the modifieds, wrestled the lead from Justin Sharp on lap 13 and held sway, despite being challenged hard by Scott Kerwin, until he entered heavy lapped traffic on lap 31.  Brachmann, who had been on the charge and was clearly the fastest car on the track, claimed second on lap 31 and then snuck by Susice in the heavy going to take the point one lap later.
 
He opened a big lead and cruised to the win over the final eighteen laps.  Susice finished a solid second, followed by Kerwin, Robbie Krull, and Burley to round out the top five.  For Brachmann, it was vindication.  He declared, “This was huge.  This is probably the biggest win of my career, to win on a night like this and to win a championship here.  It’s my home track that I’ve been racing at forever.  We won across the river (Merrittville) and we lost one last year by one point on the last night (Humberstone), and we won it here this year.  It’s a bittersweet victory.  We came out and said, ‘Let’s just go out and win the race and let the cards fall where they may.’  I didn’t think about the result until I was on the scales and my brother came to the car and congratulated me.  All the hard work finally paid off.”  Brachmann paid special homage to his father and brother, who have been with him from the start of his long career.
 
The 30 lap Sportsman Feature saw point leader Don Spatorico, from Ransomville, take the lead on lap 16 and cruise from there.  He only needed to finish 13th, if his nearest rival, Justin Wright, won the race, but he ended with a flourish by taking the win, only his second victory of the season.  It was his second Sportsman title, as well.  Wright finished second.  Jipp Ortiz made a dash from twelfth to finish third, but was DQ’d in tech.
 
Jaren Israel, from Wilson, took his third Street Stock win of the season.  He led every lap, despite losing his brakes on lap fourteen.  Finally, Jamie Woods won the 12 lap Fireball Feature.
 
NOTES:  Burley, who closed the race to eight points going into the final race, but saw his bid for a fourth straight modified crown fall to Brachmann’s heroics, it was a case of not enough cautions.  With the field stringing out in the forty lap run to the finish, passing was at a premium and he never got close enough to make a move on the cars ahead of him………. Bicknell, who led the point chase right from the start, saw track position do him in. For two straight weeks, while trying to protect an eighteen point lead, he found himself on the bottom for virtually every restart, which cost him numerous positions, as the top was much faster, while he was forced to negotiate the notorious bump in turn one that had cars airborne at times…………..He graciously congratulated Brachmann for his well-earned race win and championship.……….. For the many-time champion, Bicknell, the legendary, “Mr. Smallblock,” the season can’t end soon enough.  He merely needed to start the race on Saturday at Merrittville to claim his twenty-first track championship and then eagerly await back surgery next Thursday.  His condition has gotten so bad that he spent most of the week in bed, unable to put any pressure on his legs because of the intense pain caused by a bulging disc.  Even though doctors give him only a 50-50 chance of correcting the problem entirely, he will welcome any relief they can give him.
 
MODIFIED FEATURE: (50 laps) – 1. Chad Brachmann, 2. Ryan Susice, 3. Scott Kerwin, 4. Robbie Krull, 5. Todd Burley, 6. Justin Sharp, 7. Ricky Richner, 8. Randy Chrysler, 9. Jeff McGinnis, 10. Pete Bicknell, 11. Tommy Flannigan, 12. Mat Williamson, 13. Danny Johnson, 14. Brian Sage, 15. Chuck Hossfeld, 16. Rich Vinson, 17. Dave Just, 18. Scott Just, 19. Jon Miller, 20. Jon Smith, 21. Roger Chrysler, 22. Steve Schumacher, and 23. Boyd MacTavish. Heat winners were Miller, Krull, and Vinson.
 
SPORTSMAN FEATURE: (30 laps) – 1. Don Spatorico, 2. Justin Wright, 3. Greg Martin, 4. Mike Williams, 5. Allan Wills, 6. Scott Krull, 7. Sandy Pembleton, 8. Brett Martin, 9. Rich Legace, 10. Steve Miller, 11. Mark Chiddy, 12. James Henry, 13. Kevin Wills, 14. Gordon Hermanson, 15. Dave Conant, and 16. Jipp Ortiz.  Heat winners were Williams and Spatorico.
 
STREET STOCK FEATURE: (25 laps) – 1. Jaren Israel, 2. Gerald Poole, 3. Jake Stefanski, 4. Billy Coleman, 5. Jesse Johnston, 6. Andy Smith, 7. Roger Israel, 8. Derrick Borkenhagen, 9. Mike Short, 10. Pat Dell, 11. Chris Burek, 12. Ken Camidge, 13. Mike Greenawalt, 14. Chad Livermore, 15. Randy Zimmerman, 16. Webb Nashwinter, 17. Jennifer Greenawalt, 18. Charles Harvey, and 19. Don Moulden. Heat winners were Jaren Israel and Smith.
 
FIREBALL FEATURE: (12 laps) –1. Jamie Woods, 2. Dick Wilkinson, 3. Ashley Harbison, 4. Chris Leone, 5. Jon Stoelting, 6. Chad Lederhouse, 7. Jim Harbison, 8. Patrick OKeefe, 9. Steve Matso, 10. Chris Lederhouse, 11. Paul Plante, 12. Jim Stone, 13. David Dussault, 14. Dave Baker, 15. Ryan Stephenson, and 16. Gary Watier. Heat winners were Stephenson and Stoelting.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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