TMAC nets 25k in Mods at Orangge County with 1st and 2nd.

MIDDLETOWN — Tim McCreadie isn't about to apologize for winning Sunday afternoon's controversial Eastern States Modified 200-lap championship race at the Orange County Fair Speedway.

But McCreadie admits that he was fortunate to be sitting in victory lane following the 49th running of this prestigious dirt-track event that concluded OCFS's annual Eastern States Weekend Racing Festival.

McCreadie, after being placed first over apparent leader Stewart Friesen with 184 laps completed, held off the late-race upset bid provided by Middletown's Clinton Mills to earn his first Eastern States crown and the winning payoff of $20,000. The second-generation driver from Watertown joins his father "Barefoot'' Bob McCreadie as the only father-son duo to ever capture this event.

"This is pretty amazing,'' said Tim McCreadie, whose father Bob won his only Eastern States championship in 1994. "I watched my father race here over the years and have raced here myself. But I haven't had much luck in the past. To join him as an Eastern States champion is pretty incredible.''

McCreadie inherited second place behind Friesen on the 170th lap. Mills was able to sneak by McCreadie for second while driving the outside groove 10 laps later and set his sights on Friesen.

But the caution flag flew again on lap 181 for Mike Ruggiero in the second turn. McCreadie snuck past Mills on the restart a lap later — just in time for what would become perhaps the most controversial event in Eastern States history.

Craig Mitchell got into the inside jersey barrier following a restart on the 184th lap and McCreadie was declared the leader by nine one hundredths of a second. Each driver has a device in their cars that is picked up by the track's computerized scoring system when crossing the finish line.

That set off a wild series of events as track officials tried to get the cars in their proper racing order, but Friesen refused to drop into second place. The talented Canadian driver first passed the pace car under caution and was eventually black-flagged when refusing to yield first place. The laps, meanwhile, continued to tick off under caution and a chorus of boos was heard throughout the speedway.

Friesen, who was unavailable for comment, hit the pace car with his modified racer and was ordered to the pits by track starter Jerry Enright. But Friesen stopped his car in the first turn, exited his racer and headed toward the starter's stand to force a red flag with 192 laps in the records books.

Friesen tried to reach the starter's stand, but was intercepted by track security. He then went back to his car and refused to move off the racing surface. A tow truck was summoned, but Friesen eventually moved his car.

A fight broke out in the pits moments later as tempers flared throughout the speedway. When the smoke finally cleared, track scorers reviewed the transponder report on lap 184 and McCreadie was shown as the leader. Track officials decided to let Friesen fall in the rear of the field and the race finally continued after a lengthy delay.

McCreadie, meanwhile, was just as confused as everyone else when he assumed first place. He thought track officials might have penalized Friesen for jumping the start.

"I was surprised I was declared the leader because I didn't pass Stewart,'' said McCreadie. "I thought he might have jumped the start. We were told not to take off too early on the restarts and I thought they might have penalized him for that.

"It was unfortunate for Stewart and I feel sorry for him. But I know just exactly how he must feel. I've had this happen to me in the past at Syracuse when I felt I should have won. It's unfortunate, but I'm not about to apologize for winning this race. We've run into some had luck ourselves lately, and it's about time that something finally broke our way.''

Still, McCreadie didn't think he had a winning car as the race entered its latter stages.

Jay Casey was awarded a victory in the Pro Stock 30-lap championship race as Rob Yetman was disqualified after taking the checkered flag first during the post-race inspection. Yetman was racing with an illegal carburetor.

Jeff Richardson was victorious in the Northeast Vintage Modified 20-lap championship race.

The winners of Saturday night's late races were Sammy Piazza (sportsman), Jeff VanSteenburg (Capital Region Sprintr Agency Sprinters) and Emerson Cargain Sr. (pure stocks



MIDDLETOWN — Brett Hearn's visits to the Orange County Fair Speedway have dwindled during the past two seasons.

But that hasn't curtailed Hearn's ability to navigate the fast way around the five-eighths mile, hard-clay oval.
Hearn, the biggest winner in the track's history, continued his dominance of Eastern States events Saturday afternoon by posting a record-setting fourth straight victory in the 358 modified championship race.

Hearn, who has reached victory lane 297 times since his OCFS racing career began in 1976, has won this race 13 times during its 34-year history. The 52-year-old driver from Sussex, N.J., pushed his career mark to 788 victories behind his 17th win during the 2010 campaign.

“I can't really put a finger on it,'' said Hearn, referring to his success in the 358 modified race. “This race has really been good to me through the years. It doesn't matter if I start up front or in the back. I've just been extremely fortunate in this particular race.''

Hearn qualified for the 100-lap race by posting the third quickest time in Friday afternoon's time trials with a run of 20.922 seconds (107.542 mph). That gave him the fourth starting position for the 40-car field as Tommy Meier was already guaranteed the outside pole by virtue of his OCFS small block victory in August.

Hearn wasted no time taking control as he blasted ahead of both Jerry Higbie and Tim McCreadie at the drop of starter Jerry Enright's initial green flag to stand second behind Meier.

Meier would lead the field for only two laps as Hearn found an opening to the inside between the first and second turns on lap three and sailed out in front.

“I was going to take whatever was presented to me,'' Hearn said. “I was pretty aggressive early on in the race. I think Jerry (Higbie) was surprised I went right after it early on. But I wanted to get out in front as early as possible.''

Hearn, who never trailed again, encountered some stiff competition from both McCreadie and Pat Ward during the race. He also had some close calls with lapped traffic. There were also several restarts to deal with as 15 cautions marred the race.

But Hearn never wavered. He knew he had a strong car and felt confident about his chances of winning.
“This car has been just so good to me,'' Hearn said. “This was our race all the way.''

Hearn's march to another checkered flag was slowed five times during the first 23 laps for minor accidents. Higbie was forced to the pits twice during that span with a flats on both right side tires. Higbie eventually dropped out after completing 52 laps.

“Luckily, I was able to stay free of trouble,'' Hearn said.

McCreadie and Ward shared second place behind Hearn during most of the race, but didn't find enough power or space to take over the lead. McCreadie claimed second for good on the 43rd lap after the race was red-flagged for a second-turn pile-up.

“It is what it is,'' McCreadie said. “The track was pretty much down to just one lane and there just wasn't enough space to pass him. I had a good run at him for some 15 to 20 laps, but I just couldn't get close enough to make a pass.

“But I'm not going to complain about it. We had a good run and this is the best finish I've ever had at this place. Hopefully, we can go a step further in (Sunday's) 200-lapper.''


Eastern States 358 modified championship (100 laps)
1. Brett Hearn, 2. Tim McCreadie, 3. Danny Johnson, 4. Jeff Heotzler Sr., 5. Tommy Meier, 6. Stewart Friesen, 7. Billy Decker, 8. Tim Fuller, 9. Wayne Jelley, 10. Danny Creeden, 11. Pat Ward, 12. Brian Krummel, 13. Kirk Horton, 14. John McGill, 15. Gary Wagner Jr., 16. Roger Chrysler, 17. Everett Haubrich, 18. Frank Cozze, 19. C.V. Elms, 20. Mike Ruggiero, 21. Jackie Brown Jr., 22. Larry Wight, 23. Corey Ziegler, 24. Bobby Hentschel, 25. Steve Walsh, 26. Dave Hinsch, 27. Jeremy Markle, 28. Frank Doty, 29. Rich Laubach, 30. Tim Hindley, 31. Jerry Higbie, 32. Randy Chrysler, 33. Bobby Varin, 34. Ken Tremont Jr., 35. Chris Shultz, 36. Matt Janiak, 37. Andy Bachetti, 38. Richard Smith, 39. Erik Holmgren, 40. Joe Barbagallo Jr.