September 3, 1995

Mike Muldoon keeps Classic trophy in Fulton

by Dan Johnson
Oswego, NY - Fulton's Mike Muldoon won the biggest race of his career as he took top honors in Sunday's 39th annual Oswego International Classic. Muldoon led the first 134 laps of the race, pitted for a new right rear tire on lap 144, and stormed back through the pack. He took the lead from Mike Ordway on lap 197 as he held on through the last few circuits for the popular win. The two previous Classics had been won by Eddie Bellinger, also of Fulton, who finished 18th Sunday.

Friday night qualifying was rained out, so time trials were held Sunday. Pelham, New Hampshire's Russ Wood set a new track record of 16.755 in time trials Sunday morning to start in the pole position. Muldoon turned in the second fastest time and joined Wood on the front row.

When the green flag came out to start the Classic, Muldoon took the early lead as the 34-car field came out of the fourth corner. Danny Soule used the outside lane to move into second, as Wood, Dave McKnight, and Doug Didero followed. Drivers took it easy in the early going to settle into a race pace and try to stay out of trouble. On lap 15, Muldoon pulled ahead of Soule by three lengths, while Mike Ordway was six car lengths behind in third. The first time the leaders came into traffic was lap 22, which they cleared using the outside without a problem. Soule closed back in on the leader, but couldn't make a move for the lead as Muldoon was now clocked in at laps of 17.57 and 17.59. By lap 50, still under green-flag conditions, Muldoon led Soule, Wood, Ordway, Didero, Howard Page, McKnight, Steve Gioia, Pat Abold, and Gary Allbritain.

The first yellow flag of the race came out on lap 52 as Tim Gareau laid down some oil in the third turn and two-time Classic winner Joe Gosek got into the oil and spun the 00 into the third-turn foam. Track officials sent second running Soule, as well as other top 15 cars of Dave Simard and Gene Lee Gibson, to the pits for overheating motors. When racing resumed, Didero took the inside line to get by the Auto Palace cars of Ordway and Wood and moved into second place, 3.03 seconds behind Muldoon. Ordway then traded places with Wood and moved into third place.

Lap 74 saw another yellow flag situation as Pat Abold spun the 05 coming out of the second corner, with early front runner Danny Soule coming to a stop to miss the disabled 05. Both top runners went a lap down in the process. The top four of Muldoon, Didero, Ordway, and Wood were now bumper to bumper, while Page, McKnight, Allbritain, Jamie Moore, Gioia, and Jeff West rounded out the top ten. The only car that moved up on the restart was Allbritain as he got by the Mucci 98 of Dave McKnight.

Muldoon turned in laps of 17.50 and 17.53 before the next yellow flag on lap 93. Howie Page's fine fifth-place run came to a halt as his left front tire came off the 18 coming out of the second corner.

The field stayed in line on the restart, as Muldoon kept Didero at bay. At the 100-lap halfway point, Muldoon, the only race leader to this point, turned in a laps of 17.56 to get the Wheels halfway bonus of $1,000. Muldoon and Didero resumed their season-long battle in the Classic as they ran bumper to bumper starting at lap 106. The front duo stopped watches at 17.59 and 17.56 as they circled the 5/8-mile oval. In the next few laps, Mike Ordway began to close in on the front two as the Auto Palace 26 started to show what it had. Traffic came into play in the next few laps as the leaders closed in on slower cars. Once clear of traffic, Muldoon still had Didero on his tail section, with Ordway only three lengths behind in third and wood four lengths back in fourth place.

Things tightened up by lap 120 as one car length each separated the top four cars. Jeff West continued his march forward on lap 124 as he went to the inside of McKnight in the front straightaway to take over sixth place. At lap 125, the top ten were Muldoon, Didero, Ordway, Wood, Allbritain, West, McKnight, Moore, Gioia, and Bellinger.

Heavy traffic again came up for the leaders in the next few laps and played havoc with them. Ordway committed the 26 to the outside groove and came by Didero for second place on lap 132. He stayed in the outside, with Didero staying on the inside. Muldoon looked on the inside past the slower cars, picking his way by. On lap 134, Ordway stayed in the outside lane and Didero went to the inside, putting Muldoon in the middle as they raced three abreast down the front straightaway for the lead. As they entered the first turn, Ordway took the lead away from Muldoon for the first time in the race. Didero followed through for second. Russ Wood went by Muldoon in the next few laps sending the early race leader back from first to fourth place in just two laps.

The yellow flag calmed the action on lap 139 as Davey Hamilton stopped the Gioia 91 in the third turn. During this slowdown, one of the fastest cars on the track, third-place Russ Wood's 29, was sent to the pits as it had developed an overheating problem and was leaking. Still during the caution flag, Mike Muldoon pulled the 50 to the pits and crew chief Jim Izyk and the rest of the 50 team changed the right-rear tire. The Muldoon crew finished the pit stop in 29.38 seconds, which meant they did not go a lap down in the process, coming out in eighth place. Jeff West also went to the pits for a new tire and didn't lose a lap either. With 55 laps left to go, only the top nine cars of Ordway, Didero, Allbritain, McKnight, Moore, Bellinger, Gioia, Muldoon, and West were on the lead lap.

Ordway put two car lengths between himself and Didero on the restart. Jamie Moore moved the 44 past McKnight on the inside of the fourth turn to move into fourth place, while fan attention was also on Muldoon. Just as Bellinger did last year after his pit stop, Muldoon wasted no time working his way back to the front. On lap 153, Muldoon passed Gioia on the outside of the fourth corner for seventh place, and stayed on the outside to pass two-time defending race winner Bellinger for sixth place one lap later. Muldoon was 2/3 of a race track behind the lead duo of Ordway and Didero, and needed a caution flag to close back up.

Jeff West's excellent Classic run came to an end on lap 156 as the 01 was black flagged for the most repetitive problem of the day-overheated motor. The yellow flag Muldoon needed came out on lap 164 as Dave Simard spun the 77 in the third turn.

On the lap 169 restart, Muldoon went to the inside of McKnight on the front straightaway for fifth place. He stayed on the inside and moved into fourth place past Moore on the back straightaway on lap 172. Back up front, with 25 laps left, Ordway and Didero turned in laps of 17.69 and 17.72 as they led third-place Allbritain by a half straightaway.

Two laps later, lap 177, Muldoon continued to use the inside groove as he moved into third place past Allbritain in the third turn. With 23 laps left, Muldoon was in third place 4.34 seconds behind Mike Ordway and Doug Didero. It would be tough for Muldoon to catch the lead pair without another yellow flag.

The caution flag Muldoon needed came out on lap 180 as Bellinger spun the 023 around as it exited the second turn. This closed the gap and the top three of Ordway, Didero, and Muldoon would start bumper to bumper.

When racing resumed with 16 laps left, Ordway went out to a quick three-car length lead. Once up to speed, Ordway stopped watches with consecutive 17.47 laps. Muldoon moved into contention as he disposed of Didero on the inside of the front straightaway on lap 186 and moved the white 50 into second place.

On lap 189, the yellow flag came out again as Gene Lee Gibson spun the 75. On lap 193, the race restarted and Ordway and Muldoon left Didero as it developed into a two-car race with the first lap of racing timed at 17.50. Muldoon went to the inside of the front straightaway on lap 105, but backed out as they entered the first turn. He tried it again on lap 196, with the same result. On laps 197, Muldoon made his move on the inside as they entered the first turn, and this time the pass stuck. Within seconds of the pass, Gibson and Joe Hawksby came together on the front straightaway, bringing out another caution flag. The race would go over the 200-lap mark as the last two laps of the race must be under green-flag conditions.

Muldoon put his right foot to the floor on the restart and Ordway couldn't make a move. He clocked in a final lap of 17.41 as he drove under the checkered flag for his first International Classic win. Ordway held on for second with Didero running another nice Classic in third. Allbritain and Moore rounded out the top five. McKnight and Gioia in sixth and seventh were the only other cars left on the lead lap.

"We've been after this for a long time," Muldoon said after the race. "This is real special for me, my family, and my crew. This is the one that pays the bills during the winter. This is what we work for every night. This car is so good. I knew 20 laps in I had to pit, as it had too much stagger. We had no intentions of pitting until the tire wasn't right. Mike (Ordway) was tough. He had a good car. I didn't want to go to the outside as it was real greasy out there. This car I have is a special car."

News and notes: 56 cars attempted to qualify for the Classic. Qualifying races were won by Davey Hamilton and Tim Gareau. Joe Moriarty won the B-Main. Dave Simard, Scott Martel, and Jim Shirey used their guaranteed spots to make the race. Muldoon won a record purse of $33,405 in the prize money and contingencies. The top six cars in qualifying, Russ Wood, Mike Muldoon, Dave McKnight, Danny Soule, Doug Didero, and Mike Ordway, all broke the old track record and all qualified in the 16-second bracket.