THE VALLEY NEWS
Thursday, September 2,1999

Bentley Warren reflects on an unexpected victory

by Dan Johnson

Oswego, NY - With less than 40 laps to go in the International Classic last year, Mike Muldoon had a comfortable lead and was cruising uncontested in the 200. A few laps later, the 50 slowed and went to the pits with a terminal problem. This left veteran driver Bentley Warren on Randy Ritskes' back bumper. Warren made an inside pass on a restart and held off a furious challenge by IRL driver Davey Hamilton in the last laps of the race for the popular victory.

There was an outpouring of emotion from the fans in the grandstands for the long-time track favorite. That win tie dWarren for the most wins ever in the Classic with Nolan Swift at six. It may have been Warren's most dramatic of his six wins. The first of his Classic wins came in 1969 when he wheeled the Howard Purdy "Little Deuce" to victory ahead of Norm Mackereth and Jack Conley.

Warren's second win in the prestigious event came in 1984, fifteen years after his first. He piloted the Bowley "Flyin 5" to the win, giving the longtime Tewksbury, Mass, owner his first win in the Classic. He turned the trick again in 1986 in a race that ended under caution. In that race he had Steve Gioia on his bumper at the end.

Warrens fourth win came in 1989 as he went by Doug Didero and the Rammage 73 with less than 50 laps to go for the win. He backed that win up the following year, winning back to back, holding off Dave Shullick's late-race charge to take win number five. Then last year he earned win number-six, tying him with Nolan Swift for the most all-time wins in the most prestigious supermodified race in the world.

Warren didn't just drop into the supermodified world as an instant success. The first Classic he ran was in 1965 and he finished a rather unspectacular 28th. It was in the F-5 car, Even though rookie Warren qualified sixth, he didn't fare well in the 200.

The next year, he received a major break as he was chosen by Howard Purdy to drive the "Little Deuce." He took over the ride on Aug. 27 and promptly finished seventh. He showed a flash qualifying on the front row in the classic that year, but again had a problem and finished 36th. Warren drove that car for a few years, then went USAC racing. Fans may remember his ride with the Tassi Vatis roadster.

1975 saw Bentley's return to Oswego behind the wheel of the Dave and Cindy Snyder 77, (that was the Nolan Swift car with the roof.) He drove the 77 car, in one form or another, until 1982 when he first drove a Heveron car.

In 1983 his career got rejuvenated. He was in Indianapolis helping Doug Heveron and when Doug got injured at Indy, Tom Heveron put Bentley in the 1 car as a gesture of thanks for helping them. He started the season in June and won the track title that year. Eddie Bellinger won the Classic that year, passing Warren, Heveron, and Coniam in the last lap. That off season, Ed Bowley bought that car from Tom Heveron and put Bentley in it. They teamed up to win two Classics and three track titles.

1988 saw Warren head to the Mike Mazur stables to drive the 61. In 1989 and 90, he captured both the track titles and Classics in the Mazur 61 car. After 1990, Mike Mazur got out of racing, and Paul Dunigan entered the picture. That was a partnership that lasted until the mid-90s. Warren later made cameo appearances in the Muldoon 80 and Matczak team cars, then last year teamed up with Jeff West to drive West's backup car in the Classic. "I didn't decide until a few days before the race that I was going to drive," said Warren."Jeff had been asking me all year to drive for him. I had other offers, but I went with Jeff. He helped out a few times when I was running with Mike Mazur. We were leading points, and we would help each other out. He let me drive his car to keep points, and I could help him with his race car, or Brian Allegresso or Mike (Mazur) would help him. The points were really close, and Jeff really helped me out and win that year by a few points."

It was a pretty unspectacular beginning to the 1998 Classic for the Warren and West combination, as Bentley qualified midpack. "After we qualified, we went out and practiced," he recalled. "They changed a few more things and made it comfortable for me. It was a very good race car, and it was a good-feeling race car. I knew right then, even before the race, that we would be up front with that race car. I even told them that." One thing he had to contend with, starting so deep in the pack, was early race traffic. Always patient, Warren mentioned what his pre-race game plan was. "We were starting pretty far back. I didn't want to wreck early, or have something happen. Fortunately, about 3/4's of the guys that race are top caliber. We weren't going to pit. We just bided our time and worked our way to the front."

He did that, and with other teams' pit stops, wrecks, and his charge to the front, by the halfway point of the race he had the 1 car up to fifth place behind leader Mike Muldoon, Randy Ritskes, Pat Abold, and Davey Hamilton. Abold faded a bit, Hamilton pitted for new rubber, and at lap 162 Muldoon's car broke while leading. On a restart with less than 20 laps to go, the race came down to a dual between Randy Ritskes and Bentley Warren.

Warren recently shared his thought process as the end of the race was approaching:

"There was a lot of oil down on the track. There was a lot of speedy dry down. The safety crew did a good job to clean it up, but they had to hurry and give the fans a good race. They couldn't spend a lot of time doing extra cleaning. Unfortunately for him, and fortunately for me, I had nothing to lose. I could have backed up a couple of spots, but he could have lost the first spot very easily by hitting the oil in turn two. I knew where I wanted to have my wheels at that time when I was gassing it. "I kind of felt I could have been going a little faster than he might be going. He was driving perfect, and he had a perfect restart. I would have probably done the exact same thing, as he was in a position that he had to do that, just where he was and the speedy dry where it was on the track. It was a catch-22 for everybody. I had nothing to lose and could go for broke. I could be a hero, or a zero."

When the race was resumed, Warren put his strategy to work. He slung the 1 car down to the low side in the second turn and came out with the lead as they reached the third turn. His plan worked to perfection. I got by him, but he got me back a couple of times. We ended up with the lead." Ritskes then began to fall off the pace as his fuel tank was running dry. As this happened, Hamilton was making his way back to the front after pitting for tires and fuel. With fresh rubber, Hamilton gave Warren everything he had in the closing laps. Hamilton tried both the inside and outside grooves to get by. Warren used every bit of his 30-plus years of experience to hold him off, as Hamilton had the faster car. "I saw him and I heard him once." Bentley said. I didn't know it was Davey. He drove me real clean.