The odds on favorites for last weekend's Morabito Automotive 150 were Doug Heveron and Greg Sacks, but then the checkered flag was brought down over the holiday doubleheader the fellows residing in victory lane were Dave Shullick and Maynard Troyer.
The supermodified portion of the show provided the fans with the maximum in entertainment with four different leaders. However, in the end it was Shullick nosing out Mike "Magic Shoes" McLaughlin after a see saw battle for the front spot.
When the green was thrown Jamie Moore's Tobin Construction 21 took the lead. Four laps later McLaughlin went low entering turn one and completed the pass as the pair headed down the back straight. During the early stages McLaughlin was first followed by Warren Coniam, Moore and Doug Heveron while a railroad train was vying for fourth with the likes of Brian Herb, Shullick, Ed Bellinger Jr., Steve Gioia Jr., Mike Rizzo and Bentley Warren. Steve Gioia was knocked off the pace on the 18th lap restart as he caught a wheel and performed a wheelie in the front straight. The car, though heavily damaged, returned and Steve drove it back to fifth.
By the 25th lap McLaughlin and Heveron were fighting for the lead while Coniam was attempting to hold off Shullick. Ed Bellinger was running comfortably in fifth while Moore, Herb and Warren were vying bumper to bumper for sixth.
By the 40th circuit Heveron had moved past McLaughlin and appeared to be pulling away, but tell tale smoke was pouring off the left side of the car and on the 44th lap the black flag came out for the leader. He pitted with a leak in his oil pump and never returned. On the 46th circuit: the race was halted as John Toresse took a ride into the wall between turns one and two. He said "the car just seemed to break loose and head into the wall." The front end of the 7 was totaled, but the driver escaped uninjured. At the 50 lap point McLaughlin was trailed by Shullick, Bellinger, Gioia, Warren, Herb, Coniam and Rizzo. The leaders ran into traffic in the next few laps and on the 71st circuit Shullick took the high road as the pair came into traffic while Mclaughlin went low. "Magic Shoes" later said, "There were two lapped cars and I just got behind the wrong one." Shullick grabbed off the lead and held on for his first Oswego main of the year while Bellinger was third and Bentley Warren passed Gioia on the last lap for a fourth place finish.
The final rundown showed Dave Shullick, Mike McLaughlin, Ed Bellinger, Bentley Warren, Steve Gioia, Warren Coniam, Brian Herb, Jamie Moore, Mike Rizzo, Joe Gosek, Dean Hoag, Tom Johnson, Tim Nelson, Gary Kelly, Mike Schoeberlein, Mike Reuter, John Toresse, Doug Heveron, Mark Letcher, Terry Johnson, Don Rammage, Jimmy Brown, Mike Brubacher and Ed Thompson.
Shullick was patient throughout the event and bided his time. He noted, "I feel I was as fast as Heveron. I figured I would be there. I knew I got him (McLaughlin) once in traffic and I knew we were coming up on traffic again. The tires were really hooked up and the car was running well."
He also noted, "It is hard to come in and beat the hometown boys. I don't know the lapped cars and racing is a little harder." However, he did follow Heveron for several laps and like a crafty veteran, learning about the other drivers, he watched how Doug got by and what the "traffic" did.
TROYER COASTS HOME
For Maynard Troyer last Saturday night saw him collect a relatively easy $3000. Though he spun once, due to track conditions, and got a brief threat from runner up Jerry Cook, the race was probably one of the easiest money events for the Rochester driver.
On the first lap Cook had the lead from his pole position while the inside lane followed him through. Some early yellows were brought out for Joe Mammolito hitting the wall and a tangle which saw Jim McGraw damaged, but the race was relatively uneventful.
Troyer grabbed the lead along the front straight on the third lap and pulled away. Cook was in pursuit, but the early battle was for third between Brett Bodine, Bob Shannon, Doug Hewitt, Bobby Vee, Dave Nichols, Tom Baldwin and Rob Spaulding.
On the 18th lap Vee went out. Doug Hewitt was involved and went to the rear. As the race progressed Hewitt had to fight his way through the short field for a respectable finishing berth, but there was no way anyone was going to catch, much less pass, Troyer.
The lone red came out on the 44th lap as Shannon apparently lost an oil filter and covered the backstretch with fluid. He headed for the pits, but Troyer spun while fifth place Spaulding went sailing into the outside wall and was eliminated from the chase.
The top nine positions were relatively unchanged for the final 28 laps with the final standings showing Maynard Troyer, Jerry Cook, Brett Bodine, Doug Hewitt, all completing 75 laps while fifth place S.J. Rotunda was two laps down. Following were Jim McGraw, Randy Hedger, Tony Vecchio Jr., Tom Ulrich, Bob Shannon, Rob Spaulding, Dave Nichols, Bobby Vee, Tom Baldwin, Ed Steffenhagan, Dick Montgomery, Joe Mammolito, Rick Zacharias, John Martin and Jim Jeffers.
Modified prelims were won by Troyer and Bodine while Jim Alborn was eliminated in the first heat when the throttle stuck. In the supers the heats were taken by Mclaughlin, Heveron and Nelson while Ed Thompson won the consi. Jim Shampine and Tom Leeson were eliminated in a tangle in the third heat and both cars sustained damage.
The Morabito Automotive 150 proved the favorites don't always win. In the supers Shullick won while in the modified portion Greg Sacks wrecked his car on Friday night At Stafford and Troyer had an easy payday.