Shangri La II Post Race Story by J.R. Kennerup...photos by D and J Fotos and Reed Miller... HIRSCHMAN OVER HOSSFELD IN A GREAT RoC MODIFIED RACE AT SHANGRI - LA 2 BY JR KENNERUP Tioga Center, NY... On Sunday afternoon in the Race of Champions Asphalt Modified Tour 75 at the Shangri - La 2 Speedway a new chapter in the rivarly of Matt Hirschman and Chuck Hossfeld was entered into the books. This time there was just good hard racing that left the race fans asking for more of the same at the completion of the race. Hirschman who started eighth took the lead from outside pole sitter Hossfeld on lap 21. Over the exciting final 54 laps Hossfeld tried every move he knew in an attempt to get by Hirschman. Hossfeld was actually underneath Hirschman entering turn one with 14 laps to go to grab the lead only to have the yellow flag come out to nullify the winning pass. Hirschman then led the final 14 laps still holding off the relentless pressure by Hossfeld to grab his second consecutive RoC Modified win of the year by .12 seconds. Austin Kochenash drove his brand new car from 16th to end up a fast closing third with 14th place starter Patrick Emerling finishing fourth, and fourth place starter Jimmy Zacharias recovering from a lap 22 flat tire to end up in fifth. They made me work for this one today and Im glad I got the lead when I did,” said Matt Hirschman in the post race tech area. He ( Hossfeld ) was real strong as he had his strong corner down here in three and four and my strong corner was up there in one and two. I couldnt make any slipups today as he was real strong, he gave me some shots on the straights as it gave me a boost going down the straights.” Tommy Cloce and Chuck Hossfeld brought the 22 car field to the green flag of starter Steve Kellogg. Hossfeld led the opening lap over Jimmy Zacharias, Cloce, Andy Lewis, and Jim Storace. During a yellow flag period on lap three Cloce pitted with right front damage ending his day. On the lap four restart Hossfeld jumped out to the lead over Zacharias, Storace, Mike Leaty, and Lewis. One lap later Zacharias drove around Hossfeld for the lead with Andy Seuss moving past Lewis for fifth at the same time. My spotter and I had some miscommunication on when I was clear of him ( Zacharias ). We talked it over during the next caution and we had no trouble after that ,” said Hossfeld. Hossfeld powered back into the lead on a lap eight restart but behind him the sudden charge of Matt Hirschman started. Hirschman who was sixth on the restart passed Seuss for fifth on the outside. One lap later he ducked under Leaty for fourth and on the next lap drove around Storace for third. Then three laps later he drove under Zacharias in turn four to take second. Following a lap 20 restart where Hossfeld got the jump on the start to remain in the lead Hirschman got past Hossfeld for the lead. No sand bagging for sure,” said Matt. It was go time at that point and Im glad we got through with some quick moves and it appeared at that point of the race was our strongest part of the race and definitely not as much later in the race as he ( Hossfeld ) had.” Once in the lead Hirschman and Hossfeld pulled away from the remainder of the field as they were determined to decide between each other who was going to win the feature. In addition to offering exciting racing the duo were also setting record fast laps at the half mile concrete oval. Meanwhile behind them there was great racing taking place with some impressive passing displays being produced by Patrick Emerling and Austin Kochenash, who started 14th and 16th respectively. Emerling entered third on lap 23 while Kochenash entered the top five on lap 42. Then add into the passing fancy were Daren Scherer, Seuss, Andy Jankowiak, and Leaty which made it interesting on which racing battle to watch between laps 23 and 50. With 25 laps to go it appeared that the Hirschman car lost some speed as now Hossfeld was chewing all over the back bumper of Hirschman. Hossfeld for the next 15 consecutive laps got underneath Hirschman entering turn one but just didnt have enough to get past him. Then with 14 laps to go the key point of the race took place as Hossfeld after 15 laps of trying had enough power to get under Hirschman exiting turn four and going into turn one had the inside groove to grab the lead. The joy of making the pass by Hossfled was shortlived as the yellow lights flashed on for a multi car turn four wreck and with this taking place the lineup reverted back to the last green flag completed lap, which placed Hirschman back in the lead. Matt who would like his car to be the fastest at the end of the race and in the last two races at Shangri - La 2 that hasnt been the case and that concerns him. I got to think about it a little bit because we have been good early. Rudolph got me near the end of that race back here in the fall and he ( Hossfeld ) was basically strong in the same area today. Im just glad that it worked out for me, it could have easily just have gone the other way. “ Hirschman then withstood the pressure packed final 14 laps to record the win, his third consecutive Sunday feature win. I really feel good,” said Matt after winning his third in a row. Even if we came away with a second today I just feel that everyone is starting to click and things are starting to go the way they should.” He stated that he was positive after a second two weeks ago at Chemung and Chuck Hossfeld is even more positive after another second place effort on this day. Ive been racing a long time and I know the steps that we have made to improve this team since last year,” said Chuck. I started this business Jerry Gradl Motors all over again with my partner Jerry and that took alot of effort over the past few years. Now Im comfortable with how much Ive got going on, Mike Parks takes care of the car and he is more comfortable with me and I can concentrate better on just driving. I think today we showed that we can run with Matty and if it wasnt for that caution coming out we had him, we had a really good car today.” Creeping up like this I know were going to get our share of wins and that is what is exciting ,” said Chuck. Today we ran wheel to wheel with Matty, we had great restarts, we have everything in place and Matty has had a hell of a run but i think were showing that were bringing our game to his level.” Teenager Austin Kochenash brought a completely brand new car home in third. First time out we struggled with everything being new and once we got everything figured out this car is a lot better than our old one,” said Austin. At this place track position means a lot and starting 16th it takes a lot to get to the front clean as you need to know when to charge and when to ride.” Qualifying for the 23 car field had American Racer Tires heat race wins go to Hossfeld, Jim Storace, and Bryan Sherwood. Race Notes…A cold and rainy morning had teams scrambling to cover their equipment as hail fell at one point prior to the practice sessions for the RoC Modifieds…A very talented field was once again assembled for race number 2 of the 2014 tour…Modified lap times got faster as the feature event got past lap 50 for teams that had not taken any new tires…The American Racer Tire seems to get even quicker as the races go deeper into the grind…The ageless Ken Canestrari completed the entire event on Sunday after battling power steering issues earlier in the day…On the flipside Andy Lewis made his first ever start in a RoC Modified and had a strong day making his way in to the top 12 qualifiers after heat racing…The next RoC Asphalt Modified Tour event is this Saturday at the Oswego Speedway… OFFICIAL FEATURE FINISH FINISH (60): Matt Hirschman, Chuck Hossfeld, Austin Kochenash, Patrick Emerling, Jimmy Zacharias, Andy Seuss, Daren Scherer, Andy Jankowiak, Brandon Oltra, Doug Reaume, Bryan Sherwood, Jim Storace, Tony Hanbury, Ken Canestrari, Sam Fullone, Tyler Rypkema, Nick Pecko, Dean Rypkema, Mike Leaty, Andy Lewis, Brian DeFebo, Tommy Cloce. DNS; Michael Lebreche.
Posted on: Mon, 19 May 2014 23:54:37 +0000
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