NEW EGYPT — Billy Pauch is back in a big way, and the crowd knows it.
The Frenchtown flyer took his new car, new motor and new team to victory lane for the second week in a row at New Egypt Speedway on Saturday night, taking the $2,500 Modified win on Ackerson Contracting Night.
“Like I said last week — this car is awesome, this motor is awesome,” Pauch said of his new Bicknell chassis and Tony Feil big-block engine, owned by Kevin Bifulco. “It’s fun to be in something that’s this fast and going forward. This year, too, I’ve got a hell of a crew helping out — and that makes everything easier.”
Starting fifth on the grid by luck of the draw, Pauch daringly split the cars ahead of him, got on leader Bucky Kell’s tail, and made the most of a lap-six restart to assume control. While Pauch powered his mount way out front, a heated five-way battle for second was sizzling behind him. Rick Grosso, Keith Hoffman, Frank Cozze, Ryan Godown and Kell swapped spots, careening in and around lapped traffic, with any one of the five capable of claiming the runner-up berth. Pauch, in the meantime, was in another area code. And even though lapped cars boxed in the leader to make for more than one tense moment in the waning laps, Pauch was the dominant force, easily sliding in for win No. 2. Cozze bested a rapid-running Rick Grosso for second, with Godown in fourth and Hoffman finishing fifth.
Last week’s fast-timer Scott Singley, of Upper Black Eddy, Pa., made it count in the money race this week, grabbing the lead from Chuck Flesch on lap 13, and sailing in for his first win of the season in the Sportsman feature event. Flesch, Mike Lyons, Glenn Hisko and Gary Butler followed Singley across the line.
After a brief foray in the SS Sprint division, Allentown’s Pat Freiberger returned to his roots in the Super Stock class and got the job done in the 20-lap main event, making his first trip to the winner’s circle since April 2001. Opening-night winner Jake Roveda flew from 15th to finish second, after breaking the division track record earlier in the night. Ralph Gargiulo, Bryan Reed and George Quinlan trailed the top two.
Can anyone beat Art Liedl, Flemington, in the DIRT-sanctioned Haldeman Ford SS Sprints? It seems not. Just like last week — and most of last year — Liedl annihilated the field, even after pitting early on and racing sans a right-front shock. Liedl teammate Larry McVay finished second, with Rick Cozze third, John Snook fourth and Steve Wilson fifth. Courtesy of an anonymous fan, Liedl’s winning crew chief collected a $50 cash bonus.
A violent backstretch accident caused a 25-minute red flag delay in the SS Sprint race. Driver George Idell Jr. was alert but transported to the hospital for a check-up. Weldon Collier walked away from the wreck.
In the caution-riddled second event in the Advantage Financial/Cradle Rock Developers Rookie Sportsman series, 18-year-old Dan Woolston, of Florence, was the winner over Clay Butler, Pat Wall, Jason Dunn and Robbie Nixon.
This Saturday at New Egypt Speedway, it’s C&S Equipment Grand Slam Little League Night, with all Little Leaguers in uniform, ages 7-12, admitted free. On the race card: big-block Modifieds, Sportsman,Super Stocks the Haldeman Ford SS Sprints and the Advantage Financial/Cradle Rock Developers Rookies. Gates open at 3:30 p.m. with first green at 6 p.m. Adult admission is $16, children 7-12 are $5, and kids 6 and under are free. For more information, call the speedway office at (609) 758-1900 or log on towww.newegyptspeedway.net.