[b Dan Kaszubinski Flips to ASCS Patriot Win at Fulton]
[b Bobby Breen Takes A-Verdi King of CNY]
[i Rich Vleck, FULTON, NY (August 8, 2009)]
Dan Kaszubinski suffered damage to his No. 20 entering the final corner of the feature at Fulton on Saturday, by the time he had reached the finish line, a whole new incident had him flipping in to the infield and left everyone in attendance with a memory that will not soon forget.
Kaszubinski, from Syracuse, NY, scored the Lucas Oil ASCS Patriot A-Main win on Saturday Night in dramatic fashion when he flipped across the line in the final 25-lap A-Verdi Storage Containers King of Central New York A-Main of the season.
“All I wanted to know when the safety crew got over was if I won,” said Kaszubinski in Victory Lane before his car could be towed there. “I guess if you are going to win, do it in style.”
The win was the first for Kaszubinski with the Lucas Oil ASCS Patriots. He became the 11th different winner through 16 events in 2009. It was the third win at Fulton for the veteran from just South of the Speedway. His last win at the high-banked 3/8-mile oval came in 2000.
“Kaz” took the lead from Bobby Breen in the final corner when Breen entered the corner behind a lapped car and hit the cushion wrong. At the same time the No. 9 was having problems on the top, the No. 20 made contact with an implement tire on the inside of the track, breaking his front end. As they came back to the line, inadvertent contact would find both ending up in the infield, with one upside down.
As Kaszubinski came off the final corner, his hobbled sprinter began to come down the track slightly. Breen, who even though he had bobbled entering the final set of corners, got a massive run down the steep banking and had already committed to the bottom. When Kaz drifted down, Breen ran over the leaders left rear with a force hard enough to get the No. 20 sideways and eventually flip him over.
The two were stuck together as they crossed the line, with the margin of separation at the line of just .052 seconds. Kaszubinski apologized after the race to Bobby for coming down. Breen would quickly reciprocate the sentiment, as he felt sorry for the contact as well.
The finish was no question dramatic, but the first 24 laps were thrilling in and of itself. Bubba Broderick led the field to green and was in command until lap four when the caution flag was displayed for Chris Muhleisen. At the same time, Bobby Breen, who was flawless on his heat, was falling back and looked like he had missed the setup for the feature.
On the restart, Breen blasted the cushion on ran back in to second. As he battled with Broderick for the lead, Jason Barney snuck under those two and got out front. Breen continued his mission though and would have the lead on lap 8.
As Breen ran the top, the rest of the field had planned on running the inside. Barney and Broderick experimented with the top of the track, but as a result would find Kaszubinski scooting underneath them and getting to second with four laps left.
Kaz began to pick off .4 seconds a lap on Breen and as the two hit lapped traffic, the bottom became more effective, allowing Kaszubinski to make it side-by-side coming to the white flag.
As they worked down the backstretch for the final time, Joe August Jr. was on the top right in front of Breen; remembering the way he lost the race at Canandaigua back in June when he switched lines in the final corner, the 20-year-old from Savannah, NY stayed on the top but would get sideways. It was all Kaszubinski needed to win if he could just do his job.
“I saw the lapped car up there in his lane and I just focused on the point on the track that I HAD to hit,” noted Kaszubinski afterwards. “When I hit the tire I lost the front end and figured I had lost it.”
The two shook hands in Victory Lane and shared smiles in front of a multitude of flashbulbs. Even though Breen could not capture the thrill of victory on Saturday, he still had plenty to celebrate as he captured the prestigious A-Verdi King of Central New York Crown.
After Bryan Howland broke his front end half way through the race when he hit an implement tire, Breen locked up the crown. A-Verdi and Breen are both based out of Savannah, NY, so it was easy for the A-Verdi Team to gather around Breen in Victory Lane with Bobby adorning a King’s Crown.
“I wish I could have won the race too,” noted Breen after losing the lead on the final lap for second time this season. “(Kaszubinski) came down the track and I had no where to go.”
Jason Barney would end up third for his best career run at Fulton. Barney, like Kaszubinski, runs a selective schedule and made the most of their minimal starts.
George Suprick was the second No. 87 across the line as he brought it home in fourth. The 2004 Patriot Champ was very steady on the inside and able to keep it pointed in the right direction for his best Patriot run of the season.
Shawn Donath was the hard charger of the night as the driver with plenty of modified experience at Fulton rallied from a tough night Friday to go from 15th up to fifth.
Bubba Broderick slipped back to sixth and led two other youngsters, Tommy Wickham and Cory Sparks, back to the stripe. Chuck Hebing, who won at Fulton in 2007, was ninth with Tim Kelly rounding out the top-10.
Jared Zimbardi struggled for the second night in a row, but his 12th place finish, coupled with a DNF for Bryan Howland edges Zimbardi back ahead by two points in the standings with just six races left.
A total of 30 cars were in the pits on Saturday. Unfortunately for Scott Bonnell, he never even got on to the track as a case of food allergies would require medical attention and force the team to load up before hot laps. Mike Stelter’s night was also short as he blew his engine in hot laps. Blake Breen also had motor problems, with his coming in the heats.
For more information, visit www.ASCSpatriotsprints.com or www.ASCSracing.com.
Lucas Oil ASCS Patriots Results: 8/8/09, Fulton Speedway, Fulton, NY.
A-Verdi A-Main (25 Laps)- 1. Dan Kaszubinski (20), 2. Bobby Breen (9), 3. Jason Barney (87*), 4. George Suprick (87), 5. Shawn Donath (33), 6. Bubba Broderick (5), 7. Tommy Wickham (75), 8. Cory Sparks (7), 9. Chuck Hebing (45), 10. Tim Kelly (12), 11. Steve Poirier (28fm), 12. Jared Zimbardi (35), 13. Don Adamczyk (21), 14. Joe August Jr. (47), 15. Gordy Button (714), 16. Scott Kreutter (52), 17. Dave Wickham (80), 18. Bryan Howland (51), 19. Jared Fink (21F), 20. Alain Bergeron (8B), 21. Chris Muhleisen (10M), 22. Jeff Cook (10).
Lap Leaders- Broderick 1-5, Barney 6-7, Bo. Breen 9-24, Kaszubinski 25.
B-Mains (Top 6 ransfer to A-Main)-
Race 1: 1. Steve Poirier (28fm), 2. Jared Zimbardi (35), 3. Jeff Cook (10), 4. Jared Fink (21F), 5. Scott Kreutter (52), 6. Joe August Jr. (47), 7. Ray Preston (22), 8. Doug Bowman (57), 9. Bruce DeWick (22d), 10. Derek Jonathan (81), 11. Devin Caron (24k), 12. Blake Breen (8), DNS: Mike Stelter (36), Scott Bonnell (3B).
Four Laps of Fame Dash (4 Laps)- 1. Alain Bergeron (8B), 2. Chris Muhleisen (10M), 3. Don Adamczyk (21), 4. Tommy Wickham (75), 5. Tim Kelly (12), 6. Dave Wickham (80).
National Parts Peddler Heats (8 Laps Each)-
Race 1: 1. Dan Kaszubinski (20), 2. Gordy Button (714), 3. Cory Sparks (7), 4. Tommy Wickham (75), 5. Tim Kelly (12), 6. Don Adamczyk (21), 7. Jeff Cook (10), 8. Jared Fink (21F), 9. Bruce DeWick (22D), DNS: Mike Stelter (36).
Race 2: 1. Bobby Breen (9), 2. George Suprick (87), 3. Bubba Broderick (5), 4. Alain Bergeron (8B), 5. Chuck Hebing (45), 6. Shawn Donath (33), 7. Steve Poirier (28fm), 8. Jared Zimbardi (35), 9. Scott Kreutter (52) 10. Joe August Jr. (47).
Race 3: 1. Bryan Howland (51), 2. Jason Barney (87*), 3. Dave Wickham (80), 4. Chris Muhleisen (10M), 5. Doug Bowman (57), 6. Ray Preston (22), 7. Devin Caron (24k), 8. Derek Jonathan (81), 9. Blake Breen (8), DNS: Scott Bonnell (3B).
Contingency Awards-
Ohsweken Speedway/Canadian Sprint Car Nationals Award- Kaszubinski
Keizer Aluminum Wheels Passing Points Award- Howland
M&W Aluminum Products Top-5 Award- Barney
Ultra-Shield Race Products Top-10 Award- Sparks
Rod End Supply 20th Anniversary Award- Bergeron
Final A-Verdi King of Central New York Standings (Top-10)- 1. Bobby Breen 852, 2. Bryan Howland 814, 3. Jared Zimbardi 804, 4. Chuck Hebing 776, 5. Don Adamczyk 772, 6. Dan Kaszubinski 729, 7. Scott Kreutter 715, 8. Bubba Broderick 711, 9. Gordy Button 630, 10. Tim Kelly 624.
Lucas Oil ASCS Patriot Points (Top Ten): 1. Jared Zimbardi 2,212, 2. Bryan Howland 2,210, 3. Don Adamczyk 2,108, 4. Bubba Broderick 2,047, 5. Bobby Breen 1,888, 6. Blake Breen 1,567, 7. Gordy Button 1,412, 8. Chris Muhleisen 1,316, 9. Scott Kreutter 1,298, 10. Derek Jonathan 1,259.
- Lonnie Wheatley on Aug 09, 2009
- Article Date: 8/9/2009