Hamlin Speedway 2007 - Weeks 1,2, & 3 revisited!
Draft and review by Denise L Smith
Weeks 1 and 2 allowed the #357 of Marc .Iceman. Daniels to bag 2 quick victories against the best slingshot competition in the Northeast! Daniels came out of the box lean and mean! Beginning to materialize was the top point runners, the crème rising to the top, of the #23b of Billy VanInwegen Jr. - the 2006-track champion, the #42 of 'Nitro' Nick Pecko - the 2006 National slingshot champion who wins week #3 and eventually becomes one of the top 3 contenders for the season title! Nowhere in site of the top 5 is
the #23 of Shannon Smith who eventually climbs her way up in points by seasons end. Early season top runner of the #1 Billy Weaver shows savvy with 3 top 5s in 3 weeks but falls absent mid-season. Also take notice of the part time competitors of Ryan Smith and Steven Intravaia who are national champions and visiting Hamlin for limited events. Also . another driver missing from the top ten, 2 of 3 weeks, is the #555 of Dale Kober but 2 rookies in the Regular slingshot division make the top 10 - #55r Ryan Wood, the 2006 . Junior track champion and #23c of Billy Clark, coming out of the go-kart ranks! Note the consistency of #14t Jeff Cosgrove . finishing 7th each week. And finally . a major kudos to Mr. V for the outstanding sportsmanship and camaraderie demonstrated (Mr. V comments in week #3) when your feature win was snatched away by the 2006 National Champion on the white flag lap!
And it's just the beginning of a fantastic season! Enjoy!
As each chapter comes together . I am asking for input from the top 5 feature finishers. I received input from the 'Iceman' and from 'Broadway' Bill! Please provide input if possible!
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Week#1 - April 21st: Bringing back the 270cc Micro Sprints in conjunction with the always-exciting Slingshots made the Hamlin Speedway season opener a brilliant success!
The Regular Slingshots brought a field of 29 cars to battle for the first checkered of 2007! It was a chilly spring day that allowed the .Iceman. to prove his ways! The #357 of Marc Daniels piloted his slingshot to
win the 25-lap feature and the first checkers of 2007! Marc started 5th and worked his way to the lead by
lap 10, never to be challenged. Coming from the 8th starting spot to bring home second was the defending
2006 Hamlin Speedway champion #23b Billy VanInwegen Jr., the #42 of .Nitro. Nick Pecko weathered
the challenge of the #551 of Ryan Smith to finish 3rd and Smith 4th. Recovering from an early spin the #1
of Billy Weaver came home in 5th. The heat winners were #14t Jeff Cosgrove, #10 Mark Gilmore, & #42
Nick Pecko. The B-Main winner was the #40 Rich Curtis.
Week #1 . Feature Finish:
1st: #357 Marc Daniels, 2nd: #23b Billy VanInwegen Jr., 3rd: #42 Nick Pecko, 4th: #551 Ryan Smith, 5th-#1 Bill Weaver, 6th-#1r Kyle Rohner, 7th-#14t Jeff Cosgrove, 8th-#555 Dale Kober, 9th-#55r Ryan Wood, 10th-#23c Billy Clark, 11th-#23 Shannon Smith, 12th-#14 Joey Funk III, 13th-#10 Mark Gilmore, 14th-#40 Rich Curtis, 15th-#04 Bill VanInwegen, 16th: #33y Steve Yankowski, 17th: #36 Kenny Schnatter, 18th: #64x Paul Lotier, 19th: #38 Mike Dougherty, 20th: #41 John Critelli, 21st: #12 Adam Brown, 22nd: #89 Peter Patchoski, 23rd: #51j Jake Smith, 24th: #54 Joe Malson
Victory circle interview - #357 Daniels: It was awesome to win the season opener against the best drivers
in this division! To start the season with 2 wins . Linda.s & Hamlin . WOW! If anyone had told me going
into the season that I was going to win the first 2 races I would compete in, against full fields I would have
told you, your nuts! Track was tacky and perfect. To get a win at Hamlin means a lot to me. Hopefully
we can do it again next week.
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Jim Young Photo #1: Regular Slingshot Feature
Winner Weeks 1 & 2 - #357 Marc Daniels!
Jim Young Photo #2: #14t of Jeff Cosgrove leading the #55 of Ryan Smith & #1R of Kyle Rohner! #14t Cosgrove was .Mr. Consistency. with 3- 7th place finishes in all 3 weeks!
Week #2: April 28, 2007 . As much as the weather was threatening the racing was even better! The hit and miss raindrops made the track conditions a perfect night for dirt track racing!
A strong field of 26 Regular slingshots came to battle on a rainy, chilly night in April! But again . the 'Iceman' Marc Daniels dominated from the outside pole to the lead by lap 10 with a rain-shortened feature of 16 laps. The #357 of Daniels went to Victory Circle winning his 3rd in a row! Bringing home a well-earned 2nd place was the #1 Billy .the Dream. Weaver, with the 3rd spot going to the #23 of Billy V Jr, 4th to the #41 John Critelli, and 5th to #42 Nick Pecko. .Nitro. Nick Pecko earned the Hard-Charger award coming from the 17th starting position! The heat winners were the #1R of Kyle Rohner, #357 of Marc Daniels, and #555 of Dale Kober.
Week #2 . Feature Finish:
1st: #357 Marc Daniels, 2nd: #1 Billy Weaver, 3rd: #23b Billy VanInwegen, 4th: #41 John Critelli, 5th: #42 Nick Pecko, 6th: #18a Jake Smith, 7th: #14t Jeff Cosgrove, 8th: #36 Kenny Schnatter, 9th: #551 Simon Egan, 10th: #97 Gary Berkenstock, 11th: #14 Joey Funk III, 12th: #33Y Steve Yankowski, 13th: #1R Kyle Rohner, 14th: #38 Mike Dougherty, 15th: #23 Shannon Smith, 16th: #23c Bill Clark, 17th: #55r Ryan Wood, 18th: #555 Dale Kober, 19th: #20 Kevin VanValkenburg, 20th: #89 Peter Patchoski, 21st: #40 Rich Curtis, 22nd: #920 Chad Winowich, 23rd: #10 Mark Gilmore, 24th: #04 Bill VanInwegen Sr., 25th: #32 Steven VanValkenburg, 26th: #88d Darryl Deemer
Victory circle interview - #357 Daniels: Wow! This is awesome. Would have never believed that I was going to win 4 races in a row, in 2 weeks, Linda.s and Hamlin! Unbelievable! Which track should I go for the championship title at? It.s still early, and it.s going to be a lot of work, but as long as I keep running like this and winning maybe I.ll be running both tracks for the titles.
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Week #3: May 5, 2007 . A chilly spring night produces some hot racing at Hamlin Speedway! With a total slingshot count of 63 cars . the night was bound to be a blast!
With a total of 31 Regular slingshots in competition . the 2006 National Slingshot Champion and Hamlin
regular . the #42 of .Nitro. Nick Pecko took advantage of a yellow flag, a caution thrown for a disabled
car . to capture the win!
With a solid lead - the #04 of Bill VanInwegen Sr. was forced to slow for a caution for the #57 of Luke Schostkewitz as he slowed on the speedway. In the meantime, coming from the 14th starting position . the
#42 of 'Nitro' Nick Pecko lined up in the 2nd position, with only a green-white-checkered flag to finish,
poised to challenge the #04 of Bill V Sr, the race leader for the win! On the restart . Pecko closed the gap, made a perfect pass, and took the lead on the white flag lap over .Broadway. Bill V Sr! .Nitro. took the checkered to victory circle and earned the Hard Charger Award for the second straight week! The #04 .Broadway. Bill VanInwegen Sr. brought home 2nd, with the #1 of Billy .the Dream. Weaver in 3rd,
the #21 of Steven Intravaia 4th, and the #357 the .Iceman. Marc Daniels in 5th. The heat winners were the
#33y of Steve Yankowski, #04 Bill V Sr., and the #1 of Billy Weaver. The B-Main event was won by the
#14 of Joey Funk III.
Week #3 - Feature Finish:
1st: #42 Nick Pecko, 2nd: #04 Bill VanInwegen, 3rd: #1 Bill Weaver, 4th: #21 Steve Intravaia, 5th: #357 Marc Daniels, 6th: #23b Billy VanInwegen, 7th: #14t Jeff Cosgrove, 8th: #14 Joey Funk III , 9/10th: #551 Simon Egan, 9/10th: #1r Kyle Rohner, 11th: #38 Mike Dougherty, 12th: #21a Anthony Perrego, 13th: #555 Dale Kober, 14th: #55r Ryan Wood, 15th: #40 Rich Curtis, 16th: #33y Steve Yankowski, 17th: #20 Kevin VanValkenburg, 18th: #57 Luke Schostkewitz, 19th: #54 Joe Malson, 20th: #780 Rich Sanford, 21st: #23 Shannon Smith, 22nd: #12 Adam Brown, 23rd: #23c Billy Clark, 24th: #18a Jake Smith
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From #04 .Broadway. Bill V Sr - 2nd place finisher:
I remember leading the race and seeing the #57 of "Leadfoot Luke" heading slowly toward the pit gate. I
was hoping he would get off the track but he didn’t. The caution flew " Oh Crap!! " I thought. Then on
the restart with two to go... I felt the 2nd place car pushing me down the backstretch. I knew this was NOT
GOOD! I pushed up in turn 3 and saw the blue #42 slide by me to the inside. I was on the wrong side of a
perfect pass by Nitro Nick.
2nd place was good ... Its always fun to run up front. Plus... I finished ahead of #23b so that gave me
bragging rights for the week at home. Bill V sr.
From #357 Marc Daniels . 5th place finisher:
Well its not a win, but a top 5 is nothing to hang our heads low about. We.ll get them next week.
Congrats to Nick on a great performance. Time for a water celebration!
Jim Young Photo #3: Regular Slingshot Feature Winner - Week #3 - #42 'Nitro' Nick Pecko!
Great Show by all! Mr. V was on the wrong side of a perfect pass (Mr. V quote)! 
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