July 1, 2000

GREG FURLONG SNAPS GAREAU STREAK

Oswego, NY - Greg Furlong snapped Tim Gareau's three race winning streak as he picked up the checkered flag in the 50 lap Empire Sports Super Series race for supermodifieds at Oswego Speedway Saturday night. Furlong inherited the lead on Clark Concrete night, when Gareau tangled with a slower car with less than 10 laps to go. Furlong then drove away from Bobby Bond in the closing stages of the lengthy feature race for the .82 second victory.

Bob Bond and Gary Syrell started the race from the front row, with Bond getting the start when the race started. Greg Furlong and Tim Gareau brought their cars to the inside lane to get by early race traffic,while Bob Goutermout, Todd Stowell and Jeff West used the outside groove. Furlong quickly went to second place as he passed Syrell on the inside of the front straightaway on lap 2. The race was stopped on lap five as the 93 of Bob Goutermout slammed the outside wall hard, and came to a rest on the inside of the fourth turn. Bob stood in the cockpit of the car, but was taken out of the car on the backboard and placed on a stretcher. We was taken to the Oswego Hospital to be checked over. Bob was conscious, and had a pretty bad headache after the grinding wreck.

Once racing, Bond continued to lead Furlong, while fans attention shifted to a car cars back. Jeff West put the 01 in the outside, and was up coming up to the front, while Tim Gareau and Otto Sitterly were working their way up to the top five as well.

A couple of quick yellows in the next few laps slowed the action again, one for Tim Proud spin, and another for the Howard Page 18 as he encountered the third turn in side wall and was hooked off the race surface.

Bond stopped watches at a 17.87 clip just after the restart, and had Furlong chasing. Furlong made his move for the lead on lap 11 as he put the red and white #72 alongside Bond's 25 in the first turn, and came away with the lead. His first lap up front was clocked at 17.54, and he built a five car length advantage his first lap up front. Gareau was on his way though, as he went by both Sitterly and Jamie Moore in the meantime, moving up to third place. Gareau kept the momentum going as he shot by Bond on lap 13 for second place on the back stretch, and was now only eight lengths behind the leader.

Fourth running Sitterly brought out the next yellow, as he looped the #79 in the third turn. The car was hooked off with right front damage. He would return, but went a lap down in the process. The Furlong and Gareau cars pulled away on the restarts, and a new player was coming to the front as Jeff West had the 01 hooked up in the outside lane. Lap 17, he was up to third place, and closing in on the lead duo.

As West was making his move, Gareau pulled his way by the Furlong car on the back straightaway for the lead. The yellow then came out for a back stretch wreck. It was a chain reaction deal, with Gary Syrell needing a tow truck, and Mike Brubaker spinning to avoid hitting him. Gareau shot out in the lead, while West took over second from Furlong on the outside of the front straightaway, and was now .97 second behind the leader. Gareau opened the lead with laps at 17.36, while West stopped clocks at 17.43. West gave up second place just before the halfway point as he spun in the first turn.

As Gareau pulled away on the restart to a 2.02 second lead ahead of Furlong, the best racing on the track was the five car battle for third place between Bond, Jamie Moore, Ray Graham, Jamie Letcher and Jerry Curran. Graham went to the inside of Moore on lap 36 for fourth, and Letcher followed him through. Gareau was now in the lapped cars, and had built his lead up to 4.22 seconds. He clearly had the dominant car on this race night.

The complexion of the race changed on lap 42 however. As he was coming into some lapped traffic, Gareau got in trouble and banged the wall. His big lead was now gone, and he had to come to the pits for some needed repair. The crew went to work on the right rear of the car, and got him back on the track, but he was now deep in the field with few laps remaining.

Furlong inherited the lead, and was not about to give it up. He kept it up front, and clocked in laps at 17.73 and 17.77 in the closing stages of the race. He built a 1.60 second lead, but that was erased as Gareau's 5 spun in the fourth turn with four laps to go. Bond could not take advantage of the late race yellow, and Furlong went on for the .82 second win. Jamie Letcher got by Ray Graham in the closing stages for third, with Jerry Curran rounding out the top five.

"We had the third best car tonight, " said Furlong. "The car wasn't that good. I don't know why, but we started out the beginning of the night pushing, and by the end of the feature I was so loose I could barely keep the car straight. The same thing happened to me last year, reversed roles. Timmy had a great race going tonight. Way too many cautions tonight. Early in the year we had a fast car, we just haven't been able to hit the right set up. we're fast, but we're either pushing or loose. We just can't quite dial it in like I had last year."

Second runner Bobby Bond was happy with his best career Oswego finish. "The car was pretty good. It was better on restarts. The longer we ran, the looser it got. I'd like to thank the crew, they did alot of work on the car. With out them, I wouldn't be here. The car has been pretty good all year, we've just had bad luck. Then we had a couple of accidents here and there. It was definitely a little better tonight."

EMPIRE SUPER SERIES SUPERMODIFIEDS
SUPERMODIFIED HEAT #1: 1. Otto Sitterly (79) 2. Tim Gareau Jr (5) 3. Jamie Moore (88) 4. Bob Bond (25) 5. Jerry Curran (24) 6. Tim Snyder (0) 7. Vern LaFave (97) 8. Dave Halstead (38) 9. Tim Proud (22)

SUPERMODIFIED HEAT #2: 1. Todd Stowell (89) 2. Howard Page (18) 3. Jeff West (01) 4. Shannon Groves (07) 5. Jamie Letcher (58) 6. Bob Goutermout (93) 7. Jennifer Chesbro (33) 8. Hal LaTulip (56) 9. Bill Sharkey (7)

SUPERMODIFIED HEAT #3: 1. Greg Furlong (72) 2. Ray Graham Jr (90) 3. Dave Trytek (70) 4. Gary Syrell (08) 5. Tim Devendorf (76) 6. Dave Mazzoni (04) 7. Pat Lavery (99) 8. Mike Brubaker (36) 9. Brian Sweeney (3)

SUPERMODIFIED CONSI: 1. Vern LaFave (97) 2. Jennifer Chesbro (33) 3. Mike Brubaker (36) 4. Jennifer Chesbro (33) 5. Hal LaTulip (56) 6. Pat Lavery (99) 7. Brian Sweeney (3) 8. Dave Halstead (38)

CLARK CONCRETE SUPERMODIFIED FEATURE (50): 1. Greg Furlong (72) 2. Bob Bond (25) 3. Jamie Letcher (58) 4. Ray Graham Jr (90) 5. Jerry Curran (24) 6. Jamie Moore (88) 7. Tim Snyder (0) 8. Vern LaFave (97) 9. Dave Trytek (70) 10. Mike Brubaker (36) 11. Tim Devendorf (76) 12. Tim Gareau Jr (5) 13. Hal LaTulip (56) 14. Dave Mazzoni (04) 15. Otto Sitterly (79) 16. Tim Proud (22) 17. Jennifer Chesbro (33) 18. Pat Lavery (99) 19. Jeff West (01) 20. Todd Stowell (89) 21. Shannon Groves (07) 22. Gary Syrell (08) 23. Howard Page (18) 24. Bob Goutermout