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2010 Race Recaps
Johnson remains on top in the caution free feature Running for the 5th consecutive rain-free week LAMOT hit the track for the 2nd last time of the 2010 season. 25 laps would be the distance once again as #43 Josh Hathaway and #57 Sean Dolan led the field to green. Dolan would face an early challenge on the low side by fellow rookie #21 Brandon Glover who snuck by from the 4th position to grab the early lead (0:39). As the field exchanged positions behind the leaders #99 T.J. Johnson moved his way to be begin challenging Glover while #07 Nick Crassi settled into the 3rd position (1:38). #12 Dave Catalano, who started tail, weaved his way up to the 5th spot in no time as Johnson began looking low on Glover for the lead (1:46). Crassi, trying to hang on to 3rd place, had #0 Eldon King, III all over his bumper as they came off of turn 2 and went down the back stretch (2:26). King in hot pursuit to stay in the points race set his sights on Glover for 2nd two laps later and took over the runner-up position just past the halfway point. As the laps trickled down Crassi looked to regain the third position over Glover (4:57) as they exited turn 4. Glover settled into 4th and would hold off a hard charging Catalano in the remaining laps. Meanwhile a couple spots back #65 Bill Mislin broke away from Dolan after several laps of hard racing to claim the 6th position. As the field came to the checkers Johnson would pick up his 4th win in a row. Notes: The race concluded LAMOT's 3rd caution free feature of the year. Bill Mislin returned to racing after taking a couple of years off from his Modified/Sportsman to pilot Mike Ticco's ride for the evening. Much like Dave Catalano, Mislin last drove a Late Model over a decade ago at Holland Speedway. September 4th will conclude the season for LAMOT as they will race for double-points.
Feature Race
Source:
LAMOT /
Race videos by
Stephen
Kantor *TV quality race recordings made by the track, with multiple camera angles of the entire night's events can be purchased from Holland Speedway*
August 21st The 25 lap Late Models of Tomorrow main proved to be a rugged affair, as rivals T.J. Johnson and Eldon King III traded paint on numerous occasions. After Sean Dolan and Mike Ticco diced for the lead early, Johnson worked his Trank Real Estate and Insurance Monte Carlo under Ticco for the top slot on lap 5, with King following to second a lap later. A lap 12 restart gave King a chance, and he muscled by Johnson on the high side, commencing six laps of side-by-side, “take no prisoners” racing. A lap 18 yellow for a J.D. Roberts wall banger interrupted the duel, and on the ensuing restart, heavy contact between the two put Johnson way out of shape, which resulted in a domino effect back through the field, knocking the Vince Sands ride out of action. King maintained the top spot until a he briefly bobbled exiting turn four on the 23rd lap giving Johnson one final opportunity - Johnson powered to the inside and was able to outdrag King into turn one to take the lead and drive on to his sixth win of the 2010 campaign. King had to settle for second, while Nick Crassi, who was about five car lengths behind the lead duo, placed third. By Rick Mooney / Holland PR Notes: #43 Josh Hathaway suffered from a stuck throttle and then a broken brake line making his car a handful before retiring for the night. Roberts was taken pit-side with significant front-end damage after #21 Brandon Glover turned him on the backstretch.
Feature Race
Source:
Race videos by
Stephen
Kantor *TV quality race recordings made by the track, with multiple camera angles of the entire night's events can be purchased from Holland Speedway*
Back-to-back wins for the #99 team
Fans were treated to a quick
and spirited battle during the 25 lap LAMOT feature. Once again
rookies #57
Sean Dolan and #43
Josh Hathaway
shared the starting front row of the late model field. It was Dolan
taking the early lead (0:17) while the field jostled behind him for the
runner-up spot until the feature's only caution came out on lap 2 (0:31). On the
restart rookie #21 Brandon Glover took the lead away from Dolan on the low side
(0:52) and not looking back. #65
Mike Ticco
worked by Dolan two laps later down low exiting turn 2 with last week's
winner #99 T.J. Johnson
right behind (1:16). As positions 2-6 fought for position Glover enjoyed
a 3 car length lead. Johnson would bobble exiting turn 2 a lap later (1:33)
causing Dolan to check up on the backstretch opening the door for #0 Eldon
King to take over the 4th position entering turn 3. A few spots back Hathaway
was hanging on to 7th place over #70
J.D. Roberts and #30
Jason Gwin. Approaching the
halfway point of the race Johnson successfully dove underneath Ticco entering
turn 3 to take away 2nd place (3:33) and began to chase down Glover in the lead.
Two laps later Johnson grabbed the lead away exiting turn 4 (4:22) and did not
look back. Last year's champion Eldon King was sitting in 4th looking for an
opening as Glover maintained a consistent line with Ticco in 3rd. Roberts would
eventually get by Hathaway for 7th while #07
Nick Crassi would
get into the top five moving past Dolan.
Feature Race
Source:
LAMOT / Race videos by
Stephen
Kantor *TV quality race recordings made by the track, with multiple camera angles of the entire night's events can be purchased from Holland Speedway*
Johnson returns to victory lane in the caution free event Rookies #43 Josh Hathaway led the field to green with #57 Sean Dolan to his outside. Dolan powered by on the outside exiting turn 4 (0:26) to take over the top spot and go on to lead the first 3 circuits. The following lap saw #21 Brandon Glover get into the back of Hathaway in the middle of turns 3&4. Hathaway would get turned around which sent the field behind him scrambling to the high lanes of the track (0:41). Hathaway would re-fire his machine and resume the race. After the contact Glover was trying to hunt down Dolan for the lead and made the pass down low (1:22) exiting turn 2 but the black flag was waving, signifying a stop&go penalty for the contact with Hathaway. Before Glover served the penalty #99 T.J. Johnson got under him exiting turn 4 to grab the lead (1:31). #07 Nick Crassi, in 4th place, had his hands full as a hard charging #0 Eldon King, III put a nose to his left rear exiting turn 2 (1:40). The following lap saw King try the high side on Crassi as they exited turn 2 (1:58), King would eventually take the spot entering turn 1 (2:07). Early race leader Dolan had slipped back a few spots and had #65 Mike Ticco looking low on the rookie before taking over the fourth spot. Dolan would eventually finish 5th. More trouble for Hathaway later on in the race as he and #30 Jason Gwin made just enough contact entering turn 1 to see him take a slide through the grass (3:25). As the race remained green King was keeping pace with Johnson but couldn't reel him in. Johnson went on to win his fourth race of the year. Notes: For the second time this year the division goes caution free. #70 J.D. Roberts was tabbed to start in the front row but elected to start in the rear. Based on track rules each car in his row ONLY moves up. Tech officials kept the top 5 finishers especially long this week, utilizing new testing equipment to check engine cams along with other specs.
Feature Race
Source:
LAMOT / Race videos by
Stephen
Kantor *TV quality race recordings made by the track, with multiple camera angles of the entire night's events can be purchased from Holland Speedway*
King grabs his first victory of the year Back under the lights to close out a steamy July the feature LAMOT was the finale of the night. A pair of rookies brought the field to green with outside pole sitter #43 Josh Hathaway taking the lead over #70 J.D. Roberts. Hathaway and his red Lar's Auto Shop machine led the first two circuits of the race until #65 Mike Ticco got under him entering turn 1 (1:00) to take over the lead. Pole-sitters Hathaway and Roberts had a good battle going for 2nd place until #99 T.J. Johnson made contact with the rear bumper of #21 Brandon Glover (1:40) to bring out the night's first caution. Glover would need to go pit-side briefly for repairs but returned to restart tail with Johnson. When the field went green again #0 Eldon King, III was up to the fourth position. Ticco maintained the lead over Roberts on the restart heading through turns 3&4 but the yellow would come out immediately as veteran #07 Nick Crassi dumped Hathaway exiting turn 4 (1:58). Past LAMOT champs King and Johnson restarted in the second row behind Ticco and Roberts. As they went green again Ticco had King all over his bumper with Johnson in tow. After a few laps Roberts would spin exiting turn 2 bringing out the yellow. He was forced to retire with carburetor problems. The final restart of the night saw King work by Ticco for the lead on the high side (3:13). King would not look back to earn his first win of the year as Johnson kept the pressure on for the remainder of the race. Rookies Glover and #57 Sean Dolan had a good battle going throughout the second half of the race with Glover prevailing to finish in the 5th spot while #30 Jason Gwin was keeping pace with Hathaway trying to take 7th place away. Notes: LAMOT will be in action for the next 5 weeks straight to finish out the year.
Feature Race
Source:
LAMOT / Race videos by
Stephen
Kantor *TV quality race recordings made by the track, with multiple camera angles of the entire night's events can be purchased from Holland Speedway*
Johnson makes it 3 in a row Back in action under the lights at Holland Speedway LAMOT's youngest driver, rookie #21 Brandon Glover started on the inside pole with veteran #65 Mike Ticco to his outside. Going green out of turn 2 and drag racing down the backstretch Ticco assumed the lead exiting turn 4 (0:23). Starting from the sixth position #0 Eldon King, III spent little time trying to go after his first win of the year working up to third in 2 laps with #99 T.J. Johnson not far behind. #70 J.D. Roberts got a touch loose on the apron in turn 3 allowing Johnson to get by. Roberts would hold steady in the 5th spot in front of #07 Nick Crassi. King looked to the highside entering turn 1 to get around Glover on lap 7. Glover would get loose as King passed but recovered well to exit turn 2 (2:21). By lap 10 King was underneath Ticco entering turn 3 (3:01) to take over the lead. Further back #12 Dave Catalano had worked his way to the 6th spot behind Crassi just before the yellow came out. King restarting on the pole with Johnson to his outside changed lanes exiting turn 4 heading into turn 1 (4:11) as Glover worked by Ticco. Another yellow would come out bunching up the field and seeing #30 Jason Gwin exit the track after a spin (4:26). Once again King would hold the top spot on the following lap as Glover, Ticco, Catalano, and #57 Sean Dolan were nose to tail (5:12). A Crassi spin off of turn 2 would bring out the caution for the 3rd and final time. The third time was a charm for Johnson who forced King to stay low as they came around to the frontstretch. Meanwhile Crassi would make contact with #43 Josh Hathaway entering turn 3 on the restart, damaging his right front and ending Hathaway's night early. Johnson took over the lead at this point and did not look back to take the win. Catalano, came up to 5th in the later going and was in tow of Ticco who was trying to take 3rd from Glover (7:01). Neither would prevail in advancing. Catalano would slow with just a few laps left with car problems but finished the race in 6th. Crassi would take advantage to round out the top 5. Notes: #21 Brandon Glover had a career best 3rd place finish. He now leads the rookie point standings. After the race Ticco commented that Glover was young enough to be his grandson and said, "he ran a strong race." Feature Race
Source:
LAMOT / Race videos by
Stephen
Kantor *TV quality race recordings made by the track, with multiple camera angles of the entire night's events can be purchased from Holland Speedway*
Johnson repeats as winner in the carnage filled feature After a few weeks off due to rain and a holiday break LAMOT returned to action with a 35-lap double point feature. #65 Mike Ticco started on the pole with #0 Eldon King, III to his outside. King jumped out to lead the first half of the race, but not uncontested as #2 Dave Whittaker provided heavy pressure coming from the 4th place starting spot (0:40) before #99 T.J. Johnson joined the pursuit from 5th place. #70 J.D. Roberts would spin in the middle of turns 3&4 forcing #43 Josh Hathaway to lock-up the brakes in evasive action to bring out the night's first caution (1:02). When the field went green again out of turn 2 King changed lanes on the ensuing lap from low to high forcing Whittaker to use the low line to challenge for the lead (1:22). As they headed through turn 1 #12 Dave Catalano caught the apron as his Ford Taurus relic came around but the race stayed green (1:27). Whittaker would pull along side King (2:36) exiting turn 4 10 laps in as Johnson sat behind waiting for his chance to move while Ticco was in pursuit of #07 Nick Crassi who held the 4th spot. A second yellow came out for a spin on lap 17 bunching up the field and putting Whittaker to King's outside once more. King feeling the pressure used the front-stretch wall to relieve the situation (4:41). This ended up being Whittaker's demise forcing him out of the race with right-front damage. During that same lap Ticco moved into the 4th spot but slowed in turn 3 stacking up the field behind him due to a temporary yellow light which became permanent once Whittaker's damage was apparent (4:56). End of part one video* King was sent tail for the contact with Johnson inheriting the lead on the lap 18 restart. Catalano was to Johnson's outside on the restart. The action stayed green all the way until 3 to go with Ticco and Crassi running down Catalano to challenge for the 2nd spot while Hathaway was working hard to get by fellow rookie and LAMOT newcomer #57 Sean Dolan (3:32). Ticco would get a nose exiting turn 2 under Catalano heading into turn 3 (4:12) before Catalano clipped his right-rear sending him to the turn 4 wall for another yellow (4:22) . King worked his way up and ultimately capitalized from the late wreck to get back to 3rd place. A mishap on the late race restart saw 6 cars involved in a chain reaction bringing out the yellow again (4:43). Minimal damage was done to all involved but there were plenty of battle scars. A final restart saw some pressure from King on Johnson but the #99 cruised to his 2nd victory of the year. Notes: A couple of drivers new and old to late model racing made their LAMOT debuts. #12 Dave Catalano returned to racing at Holland for the first time in over a decade. He previously ran late models in the early 90s. This season he was already making the weekly trip to crew for his wife Amy who competes in the Sportsman division. #57 Sean Dolan made his rookie debut starting 11th and finishing 4th in former driver Joe Carbone's old late model. #21 Brandon Glover crossed the line 3rd but was several laps down due to pitting. Catalano would eventually be disqualified for carburetor issues. A few heated exchanges took place in the pits after the race but fortunately no one involved in on-track incidents were injured and all cars appear repairable. Part One Part Two
Source:
LAMOT / Race videos by
Stephen
Kantor *TV quality race recordings made by the track, with multiple camera angles of the entire night's events can be purchased from Holland Speedway*
Johnson gets the victory LAMOT returned after a one week break in action for its first of three races scheduled in June. As rain plagued several areas in WNY Mother Nature was kind to Holland keeping things dry. After a close opening night contest which resulted in the runner-up spot for #99 T.J. Johnson he showed why his Trank Real Estate & Insurance machine is a contender in the championship points race after picking up the victory this evening. Auto Wrench Connection owner and operator #07 Nick Crassi started on the pole for the 25 lap feature with #0 Eldon King, III to his outside. Last week's winner #2 Dave Whittaker would start in the fourth position. When the green flag dropped Crassi jumped out to the lead as King tried to get a nose down low in the middle of turns 3&4 (0:15) but Johnson was there to prevent him from doing so. King appeared to be fighting a tight race car throughout the evening. While King and Johnson ran door-to-door in the early going Whittaker patiently looked on from the 4th position. Meanwhile a few spots back LAMOT rookie #70 J.D. Roberts, making his first full race debut began trying to reel in fellow rookie #21 Brandon Glover who was sitting comfortably in the 5th spot. Johnson worked by King on the bottom with 19 to go and began chasing down Crassi (2:03). Exiting turn 2 Johnson got a nose under Crassi (3:01) to take over the top spot and never look back. Two laps later as King looked underneath Crassi in the middle of turns 3&4 Whittaker got a nose under King and the two made contact exiting turn 4 (3:40) taking King out of contention for a top 3 finish. Whittaker would take over the 2nd position and start to close the gap on Johnson but it was too little too late as Johnson took the checkers. Roberts eventually got around Glover in the closing laps to round out the top 5. Full Results Notes: #43 Josh Hathaway was forced to the infield for leaking fuel and did not finish while #65 Mike Ticco who was set to start pole could not get his car re-fired during the pace lap. Feature Race
Source:
LAMOT
/ Race videos by
Stephen
Kantor *TV quality race recordings made by the track, with multiple camera angles of the entire night's events can be purchased from Holland Speedway*
Whittaker holds on to win the season opener LAMOT's third season at the high banks of Holland Speedway got under way in great fashion this Memorial Day weekend. Two heats would set the feature line-up with re-draws. The first heat saw #07 Nick Crassi take his black Chevy Monte Carlo to victory in the 10 lap contest of heat #1. Crassi held off challenges from former LAMOT Champions #0 Eldon King, III and #99 T.J. Johnson. The second heat saw #65 Mike Ticco lead a couple of LAMOT teenage rookies in #21 Brandon Glover and #43 Josh Hathaway across the line as they rounded out the top 3 finishers in heat #2. After the heats concluded drivers re-drew for their starting positions. 2-time winner and last year's rookie of the year #2 Dave Whittaker would start on the pole with #99 T.J. Johnson to his outside. Whittaker had his work cut out for him during 25 lap distance with Johnson and King (who started 3rd) challenging throughout (1:55). Whittaker's only reprieve came when Johnson and King battled back and forth for the runner-up spot (2:23) as Crassi sat in the 4th position waiting for a chance to capitalize. After the second caution of the night late in the race King challenged for the lead out of turn four (6:19). A couple of laps later it was Johnson's turn to try to wrestle the lead from Whittaker, this time exiting turn two (6:43). While King was working hard down low Johnson tucked behing Whittaker and waited for his shot at the top spot. Johnson would get a nose up to door of the #2 (7:06) but had to settle for 2nd place as the checkered flag waved. This was Whittaker's third career LAMOT victory coming just one day after his birthday. With the front pack running close together there were some bumps and rubs but the drivers kept it clean and green putting on a good show under the lights kicking off what promises to be LAMOT's best season yet. Full Results As the feature got underway LAMOT rookie #70 J.D. Roberts had to pull his black and gold Monte Carlo to the infield and retire due to clutch problems. Roberts had been wrestling with the problem all night long, missing his heat race. After the evening concluded he was disappointed with not getting a full race in his Late Model debut but vowed to get the issue resolved for the next scheduled race. More bad luck would plague rookies Glover and Hathaway as the race progressed. Glover who had a good heat race showing earlier in the night made slight contact with the frontstretch wall bringing out the yellow and damaging the right front of his car ending his night while Hathaway suffered from a flat right rear tire. Notes: LAMOT's 2010 Opening Night car count doubles the count from 2008's Opening Night. Feature Race
Heat #1 Heat #2
Source:
LAMOT
/ Race videos by
Stephen
Kantor *TV quality race recordings made by the track, with multiple camera angles of the entire night's events can be purchased from Holland Speedway*
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