Third Straight Go Nuclear Series Win For Trenton, Ont. Native
By Clayton Johns
FULTON, NY – September 30, 2016 – Charlie Sandercock took the lead from Chris Fleming with a slide job in turn two with five laps to go and led the final five laps of the race to claim the Pit Stop Convenience Stores 50 presented by Gillee’s NAPA Auto Parts at Fulton Speedway on Friday night.
The win was the first of Sandercock’s career at Fulton and his fifth on the tour this season.
“This is awesome. We’ve definitely wanted one here for a long time. We’ve been coming here since 2007 off and on and I’m really happy to get it tonight,” Sandercock said in victory lane.
Phil Potts (No.29 Vanderlaan Building Products) led the opening lap of the race while Mike Maresca (No.7m St.Lawrence Radiology), making his third career start with the tour, battled to take the lead on lap two. Potts retook the lead for the third circuit while Fulton weekly track champion Chris Fleming (No.10 Hottenstein Bus Service) quickly raced in to the third spot. Fleming took second from Maresca on lap four and caught Potts for the lead on lap seven before the first caution of the race eliminated Fleming’s momentum.
The yellow with six laps complete saw five cars spin in turns one and two to reset the field. On the ensuing restart, Fleming picked up where he left off and charged from the outside lane to the lead as he relegated Potts to second.
On lap 12, Dale Caswell (No.R19 Ameritool) made an inside move to create three-wide battle for second. Caswell emerged with the runner-up spot as Potts and Maresca were pushed back to the third and fourth positions, respectively.
Sandercock (No.57 Bellevue Fabricating) raced past Maresca for third on lap 19 and began to reel in Fleming and Caswell who had caught lapped traffic on lap 20. As Caswell began to size up Fleming and calculate a pass for the lead, the caution waved for a spun Jason Occhino (No.33 Bad Boy Buggies) in turn two.
“I was just going to go where they weren’t,” Fleming said of his strategy in traffic before the caution waved. “I felt like I was better on the outside, but I could run the bottom. That first yellow I felt Caswell was catching me.”
Fleming regrouped well on the restart to maintain the lead while Sandercock drove past Caswell for second. The new top duo broke away from the rest of the field while Chad Homan (No.91 DigTrack.com) raced in to the third position.
Sandercock stuck his nose to the inside of Fleming on lap 31, but had his pass for the lead cancelled by the third caution of the night for a spun Norm Mayhew (No.60 Mayhew Graphics) in turn two.
The following restart saw 15th starting John Waters (No.11 Troup’s Creek Auto Parts) in the top-five while Fleming maintained the lead with another strong restart. The final caution of the night came two laps later on lap 33 when Mayhew spun again in turn three after the field checked up and slowed in front of him.
Fleming once again led on the restart, but Homan made his move to the inside and created a three-wide battle for the lead. Stuck in the middle, Sandercock backed out of the battle. Homan appeared to have the best run, but a bit of contact with an implement tire appeared to cause damage to the front end of his No.91 and hurt the handling.
Sandercock took advantage of Homan’s misfortune on lap 39 as he jumped back to second. Fleming and Sandercock again broke away from the field again with three laps to go as Maresca took third back while Homan dropped outside of the top-five.
Sandercock began to setup a pass for the lead as he challenged Fleming to the inside. Entering corner one on the 45th lap, Sandercock drove to the bottom and floated the No.57 up to the top lane with a perfectly executed slide job to take the lead for the first time and for good.
“Off of every corner I was lining up my right front nose to the back of his car to make sure I wasn’t going to make contact or take him out,” Sandercock said of setting up the winning pass. “I knew when I went into the bottom of one and two I had to take that opportunity because the laps were winding down.”
Lapped traffic couldn’t slow Sandercock in the least as he pulled away from Fleming by three seconds by the time of the checkered flag. Maresca claimed his first career podium finish while Waters and Potts rounded out the top-five.
“We had good starts, I felt like, and we could roll pretty well on the outside. Charlie was just a little bit better than us. Still, it’s our best series finish on the tour,” Fleming said of his second-place run. “We came close, but we’ll still take it as a good points night.”
Fleming, Maresca, Sandercock and Will Thomas (No.9 Colonial Metal Products) picked-up qualifying heat race wins and a $100 bonus each courtesy of Tom Juno Power Seal Asphalt Sealer. Brandon Mowat set fast time is time trials with a lap time of 16.345 seconds.
The Go Nuclear late Model Series returns to action for its final event of the season on Friday, October 14 at Brockville Ontario Speedway’s 1000 Islands RV Centre Fall Nationals. Sandercock will clinch his second career championship by starting the final race of the season. Event information can be found at www.brockvillespeedway.com.
Complete Results – Go Nuclear Late Model Series at Fulton Speedway
Pit Stop Convenience Stores 50 presented by Gillee’s NAPA Auto Parts
Friday, September 30, 2016
ENTRY LIST
Number Name – Hometown – Sponsor
1TJ Downs – Albion, NY – M&D Investments
3x Kevan Cook – Constantia, NY – Tracy Road Equipment
4 Jason Knowles – Addison, NY – Doug Gross Construction
7 Steve Coit – Hastings, NY – Gary’s Auto
7k Brian Knowles – Corning, NY – Clark Oil Company
7m Mike Maresca – Potsdam, NY – St. Lawrence Radiology
9 Will Thomas – Sharpsville, PA – Hallman / Colonial Metal Products
9k AJ Kingsley – Fulton, NY – Pit Stop Convenience Stores
9z Laslow Holleyfeld – Fulton, NY – Pit Stop Convenience Stores
10 Chris Fleming – Auburn, NY – Hottenstein Bus Services
11w John Waters – Whitesville, NY – Troup’s Creek Auto Parts
12 Kyle Sopaz – Trenton, ON – Lots and Lines
16 Aaron Jacobs – Frankford, NY – Performance Signs
18 Brandon Ford – Cato, NY – Sterling Lubricants
R19 Dale Caswell – West Monroe, NY – Ameritool
25 Greg Belyea – Stirling, ON – Excel Tower Service
28* Russ Marsden – Mexico, NY – CFR Racing
29 Phil Potts – Brighton, ON – Brighton Recycling
33 Jason Occhino – Fulton, NY – Bad Boy Buggies
38 Jason Parkhurst – Fulton, NY – Hotling Motorsports
46 Brandon Mowat – Brighton, ON – Target Fabrication
57 Charlie Sandercock – Trenton, ON – Bellevue Fabrication
60 Norm Mayhew – Lakeport, ON – Mayhew Graphics
64b Bob Buono – Dundee, NY – Doug Gross Construction
64c Alan Chapman – Syracuse, NY – Chapman Racing
81 Bret Belden – West Edmeston, NY – Enchanted Forest Water Safari
85 Austin Reid – Brighton, ON – Excel Tower Service
91 Chad Homan – Macedon, NY – DigTrack.com
92 Adam Turner – Picton, ON – Village Variety and Gas Bar
93 Matthew Parkhurst – Fulton, NY – TCM Construction
118 Mike Kazmierczak – North Syracuse, NY – Predator Racecars
311 Sam Pennacchio – Niagara Falls, ON – Duguay Haulage
Pit Stop Convenience Stores 50 presented by Gillee’s NAPA Auto Parts A-Main (50 Laps – Starting Position in Parentheses): 1. 57 Charlie Sandercock, 2. 10 Chris Fleming, 3. 7m Mike Maresca, 4. 11w John Waters, 5. 29 Phil Potts, 6. R19 Dale Caswell, 7. 46 Brandon Mowat, 8. 91 Chad Homan, 9. 12 Klye Sopaz, 10. 9K AJ Kingsley, 11. 311 Sam Pennacchio, 12. 92 Adam Turner, 13. 7k Brian Knowles, 14. 85 Austin Reid, 15. 33 Jason Occhino, 16.18 Brandon Ford, 17. 38 Jason Parkhurst, 18. 7 Steve Coit, 19. 64c Alan Chapman, 20. 60 Norm Mayhew, 21. 3x Kevan Cook, 22. 28* Russ Marsden, 23. 81 Bret Belden, 24. 1 TJ Downs, 25. 9 Will Thomas. No Time. Margin of victory: 3.161 seconds.
Scott Jeffrey’s Performance Hard Charger: John Waters (+11 – 15th to 4th)
Dynamic Diversified Halfway Leader: Chris Fleming
Heat 1 (8 Laps – Top 2 Redraw, Top 5 Qualify): 1. 10 Chris Fleming, 2. 38 Jason Parkhurst, 3. 46 Brandon Mowat, 4. 81 Bret Belden, 5. 7k Brian Knowles, 6. 60 Norm Mayhew, 7. 64b Bob Buono, 8. 4 Jason Knowles (DNF). Time: 2:22.200.
Heat 2 (8 Laps – Top 2 Redraw, Top 5 Qualify): 1. 7m Mike Maresca, 2. 29 Phil Potts, 3. 311 Sam Pennacchio, 4. 3x Kevan Cook, 5. 7 Steve Coit, 6. 92 Adam Turner, 7. 93 Matthew Parkhurst, 8. 64c Alan Chapman. Time: 2:19.005.
Heat 3 (8 Laps – Top 2 Redraw, Top 5 Qualify): 1. 57 Charlie Sandercock, 2. 91 Chad Homan, 3. 12 Kyle Sopaz, 4. 11w John Waters, 5. 18 Brandon Ford, 6. 16 Aaron Jacobs, 7. 25 Greg Belyea, 8. 118 Mike Kazmierczak. No Time.
Heat 4 (8 Laps – Top 2 Redraw, Top 5 Qualify): 1. 9 Will Thomas, 2. 33 Jason Occhino, 3. R19 Dale Caswell, 4. 28* Russ Marsden, 5. 1 TJ Downs, 6. 9k AJ Kingsley, 7. 85 Austin Reid, 8. 9z Laslow Holleyfeld. No Time.
B-Main (10 Laps – Top 4 Qualify): 1. 9k AJ Kingsley, 2. 92 Adam Turner, 3. 60 Norm Mayhew, 4. 64c Alan Chapman, 5. 16 Aaron Jacobs, 6. 85 Austin Reid, 7. 93 Matthew Parkhurst, 8. 118 Mike Kazmierczak, 9. 25 Greg Belyea, 10. 64b Bob Buono (DNS), 11. 4 Jason Knowles (DNS), 12. 9z Laslow Holleyfeld (DNS). No Time.
Time Trial Group 1 (Invert 4): 1. 46 Brandon Mowat 16.345 seconds, 2. 10 Chris Fleming 16.692, 3. 4 Jason Knowles 16.692, 4. 81 Bret Belden 16.820, 5. 7k Brian Knowles 16.901, 6. 38 Jason Parkhurst, 7. 64b Bob Buono, 8. 60 Norm Mayhew. (Tie Broken by faster of second lap).
Time Trial Group 2 (Invert 4): 1. 29 Phil Potts 16.620 seconds, 2. 3x Kevan Cook 17.042, 3. 7m Mike Maresca 17.259, 4. 311 Sam Pennacchio 17.279, 5. 7 Steve Coit 17.280, 6. 92 Adam Turner 17.372, 7. 64c Alan Chapman 17.498, 8. 93 Matt Parkhurst 18.196.
Time Trial Group 3 (Invert 4): 1. 57 Charlie Sandercock 16.626 seconds, 2. 91 Chad Homan 16.900, 3. 118 Mike Kazmierczak 17.136, 4. 12 Kyle Sopaz 17.160, 5. 18 Brandon Ford 17.258, 6. 16 Aaron Jacobs 17.322, 7. 25 Greg Belyea 17.533, 8. 11w John Waters No Time.
Time Trial Group 4 (Invert 4): 1. 9 Will Thomas 16.497 seconds, 2. R19 Dale Caswell 16.516, 3. 9k AJ Kingsley 16.826, 4. 33 Jason Occhino 16,972, 5. 1 TJ Downs 17.027, 6. 85 Austin Reid 17.235, 7. 9z Laslow Holleyfeld 17.302, 8. 28* Russ Marsden 17.572.
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SEASON WINNERS: Charlie Sandercock – 5 (Brighton Speedway on June 25, Cornwall Motor Speedway on July 3, Mohawk International Raceway on September 17, Brighton Speedway on September 24, Fulton Speedway on September 30); John Waters – 2 (Utica-Rome Speedway on April 24, Ohsweken Speedway on July 25); Brandon Mowat – 2 (Humberstone Speedway on July 24, Mohawk International Raceway on September 16)
MEDIA LINKS
Website: www.gonuclearlatemodelseries.com
Facebook: facebook.com/gonuclearlatemodelseries
Twitter: @GoNuclearSeries
About Pit Stop Convenience Stores: The first Pit Stop Convenience Store opened in Weedsport, New York in 1984. Since then, 15 more stores have sprung up throughout Central New York. Pit Stop strives to be the hometown convenience store in the communities they serve. As the name implies, they offer quick efficient service for on-the-go customers. Visit www.pitstopc-stores.com to find the location nearest you.
About Gillee’s NAPA Auto Parts & Marine: At Gillee’s, they pride themselves on providing customers with the best quality parts and personal service. With fast access to an inventory of over 400,000 parts and ASE-Certified Parts Specialists always ready to help, it’s no wonder so many do-it-yourselfers count on NAPA AUTO PARTS to keep them running. Visit one of their 12 New York locations or www.gilleesnapa.com to find out more.
The Go Nuclear! Late Model Series is supported by several dedicated corporate sponsors including Excel Tower Service, Humber Nurseries, Gillee’s Heavy Truck Parts, Adam Nayler Plumbing, Dibbits Excavating, B Tech Concrete & Construction, Tenace Diversifeid, Tenacious Sound, C. Smith Machine Shop, Deerhaven Farm and Garden, Victory Motorcycles, Valley Automation and Control, Laguna Ponds, Guillevin International, Superior Crane, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants Canada, Beyea Headers, and Scott Jeffrey’s Performance.
About the Go Nuclear! Late Model Series: The Go Nuclear! Late Model Series is touring Crate Late Model series based in the state of New York. The tour typically runs 12-15 races each season from April to October to allow drivers the opportunity to travel with a competitive group of racers while maintaining their home track loyalty. For more information about the Go Nuclear! Late Model Series, visit www.gonuclearlatemodelseries.com.
Media Contact: Clayton Johns Media
claytonjohns@hotmail.com
Photo Attachment 1: Charlie Sandercock in victory lane following his win in the Pit Stop Convenience Stores 50 presented by Gillee’s NAPA Auto Parts at Fulton Speedway on Friday, September 30. (Joe Johnson photo).
