Joe Achzet Collects Bounty on Rob Warren Then Lets Warren Slip Away with Mid-Season Crown
January 24, 2016 – Oswego, NY…Joe Achzet may have collected the SUPRS Bounty on Rob Warren, but Warren still made out like a bandit at the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), Mid-Season Championship Twin 35s, finishing second in the first Twin 35 and looting the second feature as he easily stole the overall Mid-Season Championship crown Tuesday night at Oswego Speedway.
Rob Warren won the 2016-17 Gold Crest Wing Mid-Season Championship. (Victory Lane artwork by BreezeGraphics)
“That was crazy,” Warren stated. “I started eighth and finished second in the first one, then started eighth in the second one and won it.”
Coming into the race, the SUPRS Bounty weighed heavily on his mind and Warren knew that the field would be gunning for him. As it turned out, it didn’t take long for the first bounty hunter to take a shot.
After an altercation with Chad Phelps in his heat race, Warren had little time to run for cover as Phelps put Warren square in his sights and shot right into the side of Warren while the field ran under caution down the backstretch.
Phelps was immediately black flagged and banned from competition for the rest of the night for unsportsmanlike conduct. The incident remains under review with further sanctions against Phelps possible.
Warren was wounded but able to shake off the incident and said, “Second and first we’ll take it and that bounty is gone-THANK GOODNESS!”
Joe “The Rabbit” Achzet once again lived up to his nickname all night long. He began the evening by scorching the Oswego Speedway pavement in Time Trials and setting a SUPRS rFactor track record of 15.881.
Then he won the Fast Car Dash which put him on the pole of the first 35 lap feature. He led every lap of that race and set the fastest lap of the race as well, clicking off a blazing 15.682 lap. With his win, he also collected the SUPRS Bounty of 10 bonus points for stopping Rob Warren at five wins in a row.
“I’m real excited, that was a good race,” Achzet said. ” I came in with the goal to start on the pole and to try to win the dash and try to get an up front starting spot and I did that.”
Not Enough for Achzet
Try as he might to keep the momentum going in the second feature, Achzet struggled throughout the race and ended up getting the black flag for too many spins. And even though he moved past Keith Powell to retake second place in the SUPRS Gold Crest Wing Championship XIII standings, he could only wince as Warren racked up the valuable bonuses and capitalized on double points night to increase his point lead substantially.
Solid Runs for Three to the Top Three
Kyle Clark, Domenic Gioia, and Steve Callahan all had very good nights with each driver finishing on the podium at least once and none of them finishing out of the top five in the two features.
After missing the last several races, Gioia, especially had a good night and came home second in the final Mid-Season Championship standings for the second year in a row.
Keith Powell won the 10 lap heat race.
The Best and The Worst of It
With just 35 laps to get the job done, the racers were on the hammer from the drop of the green flag and there was never a dull moment with drivers racing wheel to wheel and jockeying for position throughout the night.
As is generally the case with the Twin 35 format, there was also a good deal of attrition in the second feature, with just half of the field left running at the end of the 18 minute race.
Kevin Timmins and Carl Becker got the worst of it with each losing a wheel in separate incidents.
Even so, both races had long stints of green flag racing and in 70 total racing laps the caution flag flew seven times, most for simple spins.
Only Phil’s Shadow Knows
The SUPRS racers will wait until Thursday February 2, 2017 to see if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow to learn what the format will be for the 13th Annual Groundhog Day Derby. This rFactor supermodified sim racing event begins with Practice at 8p. The race is scheduled to be run at Myrtle Beach Speedway.
Fans can learn more about the original and oldest online supermodified sim sanction, the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, when they visit www.SUPRS.net.
Join SUPRS active and vibrant Social Media channels by “Liking” SUPRS on Facebook, Circling SUPRS on Google+, Following @SUPRSOnline on Twitter, and viewing SUPRS videos on YouTube.
RACE RESULTS
- Mid-Season Championship
- Empire State Super Series 2016-17 Race 2-3
- Race 18-19 of 42
- January 24, 2017
- SUPRS rFactor W v7.1 mod
- Oswego Speedway
- Twin 35 lap features
Time Trials (showing car number, driver name, hometown, sponsors, lap 1, lap 2-best lap underlined)
- 14-Joe Achzet; Yorkville, NY; Cottontail Designs, GraphX: 16.085, 15.881
- 61-Derrick Backus; Mexico, NY; Disturbed Motorsports: 15.917, 15.889
- 38-Kyle Clark; Mexico, NY; Coors’ Light, Disturbed Motorsports: 16.201, 15.901
- 25-Bob Gangwer; Goshen, IN; RW Woodworking, Wing Side Up Enterprises: 16.126, 15.943
- 35-Rob Warren; Pulaski, NY; 1st to Finish Race Servers, Designs of Elegance: 16.130, 16.026
- 41-Keith Powell; Carrollton, OH; Icings on Top, CPR Motorsports: 16.145, 16.050
- 9-Domenic Gioia; Oswego, NY; Pabst Blue Ribbon, Team Domination Motorsports: 16.122, 16.215
- 55-Steve Callahan; Cuyahoga Falls, OH; Exide Battery, CPR Motorsports: 16.234, 16.288
- 77-Kevin Timmins; Baldwinsville, NY; BreezeGraphics.com, Wesley Motorsports: 16.315, 16.390
- X-Chad Phelps; Fair Haven, NY; Haun Welding Supply, Disturbed Motorsports: 17.026, 16.833
- 42-Carl Becker; Lansing, MI; Wholesale Diamond Exchange, Michigan Hill Gang: 17.645, 17.250
- 7-Nelson Rodrigues; Stoneham, MA; Star Speedway: NT
Fast Car Dash-6 Laps (showing finish, car number, driver name)
- 14-Joe Achzet
- 61-Derrick Backus
- 38-Kyle Clark
- 25-Bob Gangwer
Heat Race 2-10 Laps (showing finish, car number, driver name)
- 41-Keith Powell
- 9-Domenic Gioia
- 55-Steve Callahan
- 35-Rob Warren
- 42-Carl Becker
- 77-Kevin Timmins
- X-Chad Phelps-DQ (Unsportsmanlike Conduct)
- 7-Nelson Rodrigues-DNS
Feature 1-35 Laps (showing car number, driver, name, bonus, starting position, fastest lap, distance behind winner)
- 14-Joe Achzet; ! | * | ** | P1 | 15.682
- 35-Rob Warren; ^ | P8 | 1.235
- 38-Kyle Clark; P3 | 15.774 | +1.573
- 9-Domenic Gioia; P6 | 15.950 | +6.046
- 55-Steve Callahan; P7 | 15.991 | +8.040
- 25-Bob Gangwer; P4 | 15.894 | +8.040
- 61-Derrick Backus; P2 | 16.010 | +9.916
- 41-Keith Powell; P5 | 15.898 | +10.360
- 7-Nelson Rodrigues; P11 | 16.224 | +1 Lap
- 42-Carl Becker; P9 | 16.691 | +2 Laps
- 77-Kevin Timmins; P10 | 16.680 | DNF | Accident
Time of Race: 13:18.427
Feature 2-35 Laps (showing car number, driver, name, bonus, starting position, fastest lap, distance behind winner)
- 35-Rob Warren; * | ^ | P8 | 15.850
- 9-Domenic Gioia; P6 | 16.157 | +1.029
- 55-Steve Callahan; P5 | 16.046 | +1.193
- 38-Kyle Clark; P7 | 15.969 | +2.009
- 61-Derrick Backus; ! | P3 | 15.797| +DNF (spun to pits on last lap)
- 41-Keith Powell; * | * | P2 | 11.263 | +2 Laps
- 14-Joe Achzet; P9 | 11.202 | DNF (Black Flag-Spin Rule)
- 25-Bob Gangwer; P4 | 11.211 | DNF (Accident)
- 42-Carl Becker; P1 | 16.691 | DNF (Accident)
- 77-Kevin Timmins; P10 | 16.680 | DNF (Accident)
- 7-Nelson Rodrigues; DNS
Time of Race: 18:48.670
- * Denotes Lap Led
- ** Denotes Most Laps Led
- ! Denotes Fastest Lap of Race
- ^ Denotes SUPRSCharger
SUPRS Gold Crest Wing Mid-Season Championship Points
- Rob Warren-163
- Domenic Gioia-149
- Kyle Clark-145
- Joe Achzet-137
- Steve Callahan-135
- Derrick Backus-116
- Bob Gangwer-97
- Keith Powell-97
- Carl Becker-67
- Kevin Timmins-52
- Nelson Rodrigues-25
- Chad Phelps-0
