From Rich Vleck
ROCHESTER, NY, (May 13, 2012)- For a long time, sprint cars and Woodhull did not appear to go together, but since 2007 there has been no question that not only does it work, but it is one of the most thrilling venues on the Patriot Sprint Tour.
This Saturday, for the fifth consecutive May, the Patriot Sprint Tour will take to the High Banks of the Woodhull Raceway in New York’s Southern Tier. This early season event has always been highly regarded by many teams, especially for those that know they are a perennial frontrunner at the 1/3-mile oval.
Chuck Hebing, of Ontario, NY, have won four of the seven PST races competed at Woodhull. “Cobra” won this spring sprint spectacular last year, plus won the 2010 May event that saw the feature run in July. Without question he will be a factor Saturday.
Bobby Breen, of Savannah, NY, fresh off a win at Black Rock two weeks ago enters as the point leader of the Patriot Sprint Tour as he goes after the $10,000 American Championship. The last time Breen won at Black Rock in May, he won at Woodhull two weeks later.
Bryan Howland, of Auburn, NY, is the most recent sprint winner at Woodhull, as he scored the $2,500 top prize last July in the 410/360 Challenge. Howland, a four-time PST Champion, is second in the standings, hot on the heels of Breen.
Defending Patriot Champion Jared Zimbardi, of Little Valley, NY, has never considered Woodhull as one of his strongest tracks, but a pair of fifth place finishes there last year are the types of runs he will need this Saturday to get back into the 2012 Championship discussion.
George Suprick, of Clarks Summit, PA, will look for redemption after his right front wheel spindle broke while leading at Black Rock. Suprick is a two-time winner at Woodhull and was the runner-up to Howland last July.
Tim Kelly, from Rock Stream, NY, was a Woodhull winner in 1999 and six top 10 finishes in as many PST starts. Kelly, along with Don Adamczyk of Williamsville, NY, who was a runner-up there in 2007, could definitely factor into the mix, as they always run well at Woodhull. The list of contenders does not stop there with Scott Kreutter, who has finished fourth twice there and Steve Collins, who won the Original Pizza Logs Four Laps of Fame Dash there in May also expected.
Tommy Wickham enters the third race of the year third in points, while Charlie Donk is sixth. Sammy Reakes IV leads the Insinger Rookie of the Year battle over Steve Hutchinson Jr. while Clint Ide holds command of the Outstanding Newcomer Race.
Also expected to be in attendance Saturday Night are Todd Hoddick, Paul Habeck, Dave Wickham, Brandan Warner, Tracy Potter, Mitch Brown, Derek Jonathan, Bruce DeWick and Gary Edwards.
As an added bonus, Tom Grenga will have his vintage sprint car that was in competition during the 1960’s on display near the Patriot Merchandise Trailer. So not only will fans see a great modern day sprint race, they will have a chance to see what a traditional sprint car looked like.
For more information on the PST, Like the Patriot Sprint Tour on Facebook, follow on Twitter @PatriotSprints or visit www.PatriotSprintTour.com.
Patriot History at Woodhull
Races: 7
9/1/2007 Chuck Hebing
5/24/2008 Chuck Hebing
5/30/2009 Bobby Breen
7/31/2010 Chuck Hebing
7/31/2010 Dan Shetler
5/21/2011 Chuck Hebing
7/30/2011 Bryan Howland