TOMKINS PICKS UP THE ONTARIO COUNTY FAIR CHAMPIONSHIP

CANANDAIGUA, NY...Gary Tomkins, from nearby Clifton Springs, won the 35-lap Ontario County fair Championship, just beating out Bob McCreadie, denying McCreadie his 100th win at Canandaigua. It was Tomkins's second win at the track this season. Paul Guererri, from Geneva, won his fifth feature of the year, however this win was a non-points victory, as the Sunoco Fuels Sportsman DIRT Championship Tour drivers were out of town. James Henry took top honors in the Pro-Stocks, while Leroy Lewis won the Street Stock feature.

The 35-lap feature had to have been one of the most competitive event run at Canandaigua, with eight lead changes.

Ray Bliss took the lead at the start from the outside pole. On lap two, pole sitter Shannon Whaley brought out the first yellow as he spun, in front of the field, in the first turn. He returned for the restart, in which Karl Comfort, took the lead, but slowed to a stop on the front chute for yet a second yellow.

Comfort began to build a substantial lead over Bliss, Bob McCreadie, Chuck Bower and Vince Vitale. Charging on the outside, Bob McCreadie passed Bliss and ran down Comfort, finally passing Comfort for the lead with an outside move down the back stretch on lap 12.

Gary Tomkins drove by Comfort as the yellow flew for Matt Sheppard, who came to a stop on the back stretch. This yellow changed the complete complexion of the race. McCreadie now had the company of Tomkins and Bower at the front of the field. Bower was able to pass Tomkins for second on lap 21. Tomkins fought back and re-took second on lap 24, then slung low beneath McCreadie for the lead one lap later. McCreadie, using the high line, in lapped traffic, was able to retake first on lap 26. Tomkins again took the lead as the pair dueled, side-by-side down the front stretch. McCreadie then inched ahead and the yellow flew as Charlie Donk came to a stop on the back stretch.

All of this action had the large crowd wild with anticipation that McCreadie might win his 100th feature on this night. But it was not to be! On the restart Tomkins was able to take the lead, using the low grove. With just three laps remaining McCreadie seemed to go just a little bit too high in the fourth turn, opening the lower line completely to Tomkins and allowing Tomkins to break the side-by-side action for the lead.

Tomkins sailed home the winner by just .479 seconds over McCreadie. Tim McCreadie worked his way, over the final five laps, into a third place finish. Steve Paine and Vic Coffey rounded out the top five finishers. Ron White, the first 358- modified across the finish line, in 17th, earned a guaranteed starting spot at Syracuse in the 358-Modified race on Saturday of Super DIRT Week. White also received a $100 bonus from Taylor Rentals.

The 20-lap non-point sportsman feature saw a heats up start from the heat races with Rob Bussey and multi-time feature winner Todd Henderson on the front row. Henderson quickly took the lead with Paul Guererri and Dan Wiesner in tow. On lap five the yellow flew when rookie Adam DeLong slide off the first turn.

Henderson remained the leader on the restart. Wiesner's run in third ended on lap 10 when he slowed to a stop in the second turn.. This moved newcomer Brian Sage into third.

Steve Doell saw his front end collapse on the backstretch one lap later to bring out a third yellow flag. On the restart Guererri attempted to pass Henderson on the outside, but Henderson, looking for his fourth win in a row, was able to hold him off.

Two more yellows slow the race for minor spins. With just two laps remaining Guererri again attempted the outside pass off the second turn for the lead. This time the move worked as Henderson had a left rear tire going flat. Sage was also able to get around Henderson.

Guererri took the checkers followed by Sage in second. Henderson barely held on for the third place finish just ahead of John Pfeffer and Dick Park Jr..

The 20-lap Pro-Stock main saw just 12 cars take the green with Frank Guererri Jr. grabbing the lead. Brian Thompson never made the left turn in the third turn and sailed off the track and immediately into the pit area leaving just eleven cars to battle in out.

Daryl Hilkert caught Guererri Jr. on lap five and then one lap later took the lead. Guererri Jr. tried a run at Hilkert to regain the front spot but could not complete his pass. On lap 11 the yellow flew when Derrick Excell stopped on the front straight with a flat tire. Jipp Ortiz also slowed on the track, his right front wheel showing signs of being bent badly in an altercation with the front stretch wall earlier in the race. Ortiz remained on the track to complete the race after officials deemed his car safe.

James Henry passed Hilkert on the restart and sailed out to a five car lead over Chad Homan at the finish of the race. Ortiz held on for third followed by Hilkert and Guererri Jr..

The 15-lap Street Stock race saw dave Marcuccilli lose an engine as he drove at the front of the field on lap five. This turned the lead over to Tim Burnell. Burnell remained the leader through two yellow, laps 7 and 8. Adam Depuy attempted to pass Burnell for the lead on lap nine, but slide high losing some three spots and putting Mike Welch in second as six cars battled in a tight pack at the front of the field.

As the field exited the final turn, Leroy Lewis grabbed the low line and pulled just ahead of Burnell for the win at the wire. Welch finished third followed by Nick Rizzo and Depuy.

This Saturday Honeoye Auto Parts will present the Gert and Ernie Farney memorial, along with the 13th annual salute to the legends. All four classes; modified/358-modified, sportsman, pro- stock and street stock will be in action, along with the return of the Mid-State Vintage Stock Car Club. Race time will be at 7 p.m. sharp.

TAYLOR RENTAL OF CANANDAIGUA presents the 160TH ONTARIO COUNTY FAIR CHAMPIONSHIPS NIGHT SUMMARY

STREET STOCKS

HEAT 1: D. Marcuccilli, T. Burnell, K. Collins, N. Rizzo, M. Welch, F. Burnell.
HEAT 2: J. Quigley, D. Barrett, D. Phippen, A. Depuy, N. Peckham, M. Minutolo.

FEATURE (15-laps): LEROY LEWIS, Tim Burnell, Mike Welch, Nick Rizzo, Adam Depuy, Darren Phippen, Kevin Collins, Nat Peckham, Blane Smith, Jason Quigley, Kyle LaVare, Daryl Barrett, Chris Jacobs, Mike Minutolo, Don Jones, Doug Vohl, Jamie Elbridge, Nick Dandino, Frank Burnell, Doug Smith, Dave Marcuccilli, DNS: Vance Vanderwall.

PRO-STOCK

HEAT 1: D. Excell, F. Guererri Jr., D. Hilkert, C. Kolz, B. Brown, J. Ortiz.
HEAT 2: J. Henry, C. Homan, D. Conant, R. Florack, B. Thompson.

FEATURE (20-laps): JAMES HENRY, Chad Homan, Jipp Ortiz, Daryl Hilkert, Frank Guererri Jr., Billy Brown, Dave Conant, Cory Kolz, Rick Florack, Derrick Excell, Kevin Smith, Brian Thompson, DNS: Scott Fremouw.

SPORTSMAN

HEAT 1: R. Bussey, J. Pfeffer, B. Englert, T. Lovejoy, R. Briggs.
HEAT 2: T. henderson, D. Wiesner, R. VanNeil, P. LaVare, J. Miller.
HEAT 3: P. Guererri, B. Sage, S. Doell, D. Park Jr., G. Hurlburt.

FEATURE (20-laps): PAUL GUERERRI, Brian Sage, Todd Henderson, John Pfeffer, Dick park Jr., Richard Briggs, Ricky VanNeil, Phil LaVare, Scott Joy, Dan Wiesner, Jon Miller, Rob Bussey, Taunya Lovejoy, Rick Miller, Amy Pfeffer, Bill Englert, Dale Kissel, Tom Jansch, Steve Doell, Adam DeLong, DNS: Gus Hurlburt, Wade Czymmek.

MODIFIED

HEAT 1: T. McCreadie, R. Bliss, J. Isabell, C. Brachmann, G. Tomkins, J. Plumb.
HEAT 2: D. Ruggles, B. McCreadie, B. Decker, R. Cartwright Jr., S. Whaley, S. Beardsley.
HEAT 3: V. Vitale, C. Donk, K. Comfort, C. Bower, S. Paine, M. Bliss.

FEATURE (35-laps): GARY TOMKINS, Bob McCreadie, Tim McCreadie, Steve Paine, Vic Coffey, Billy Decker, Chuck Bower, Chad Brachmann, Steve Gray, Matt Sheppard, Darryl Ruggles, Karl Comfort, Shawn Beardsley, Ron Cartwright Jr., Mike Ward, Brian Michaels, Ron White, Randy Miller, Charlie Donk, Vince Vitale, Ray Bliss, Jeff Isabell, John Plumb, Allen Willoughby, Fran Hilton, Shannon Whaley, Mike Bliss.