ACCORD, N.Y. -- Questionable weather in the Catskill Mountains kept the entry list down a bit but a nice crowd was on had to witness some great Slingshot and small car division racing last evening at the Accord Speedway as the Palmer Family hosted it's ninth edition of the Mid Week Madness program that will complete the 2012 portion of the quick hitting Wednesday night shows on August 29th. Once again Promoter Gary Palmer had the racetrack in superb racing trim and the racing surface remained moist and tacky throughout the evening of competition. The show was hustled along as the impending threat of rain was on the horizon and the racing was completed by 9 PM and allowed for some of the drivers to prepare for the upcoming Friday night racing on August 17th with a test and tune session. Drivers earning trips to the Lucas Oil Products Victory Lane included Bullville, New York racing talent Wyatt Clark in the All Star Slingshots and "The 38 Special" Jared LaBagh in the Junior Slingshot division as they dominated the action to earn the victories.

A series of hard fought qualifying events saw some great action from all of the racers and the outcome once again determined the starting lineups for the feature headliners. Empire State hot shoes Tyler Dippel and Demetrios Drellos won their respective heats and made up the front row for the feature. Dippel, "The Wallkill Wizard", wasted no time at all in grabbing the lead at the start of the event as he found the baseline of the speedway on traget and he blazed his way into the lead off of the second turn with "Kid Ice" Cole Hentschel getting a great run as well to claim the runner-up spot. Clark raced his Maroney Cycles/1-800 Fast Hog.com sponsored Slinger from fifth place car by car until he was able to slip past Hentschel into the runner-up slot just past the midway point of the race. With three laps remaining it was Clark mounting an aggressive attack on Dippel from the upper reaches of the speedway and was able to pull even only to see Dippel reclaim the lead by a nose as they raced for the win. Clark was relentless from the top shelf as he stood on the gas down the backstretch and pulled even with Dippel in turn three. Dippel nosed back in front but Clark had momentum going in his direction as they raced off of turn four. Clark stuck his nose in front and the pair of stars raced into turn one with Clark on top and Dippel remaining on the baseline. Clark won the battle off of turn two and together they raced for the win with Clark just nipping Dippel in one of the best side by side duals at the speedway this season. Hentschel hung tough at the end to claim third place with Chris VanDuser hustling his VanDuser Concrete sponsored hot rod into fourth place and "The Gunslinger" Jesse Leiby rallying back to claim a top five finish after being bumped hard at the start of the event and causing him to lose at least five positions. Trevor LaBagh headed up the second five with Demetrios Drellos, "The Big Unit" Randy Johnston, Joe Melius and Robbie Albreada completing the top ten. Newcomer Jim Stevenson escaped injury when he lost the handle of his mount and made contact with the unforgiving boiler plate and went for a wild ride down the backstretch.

Ryan Auchmoody captured the regular 50cc feature and Preston Demorest was back in victory lane in the Kid Kart main event. Spencer Villeau returned to action and captured the Junior Sportsman 1 Kart event with Damion Paul adding another win in the Junior Sportsman 2 event. Tim Paul made his first appearance of the season and made it a great start with a win the Kart Heavy class over Kurt Burns and Racheal Raffa. Chrs Raffa captured the Kart Lite feature.

Junior Slingshot action found Jared LaBagh and Tommy Zwart earning front row starting spots for the feature event. Zwart, "The Bullville Bandit", was quick from the topside and grabbed the lead with LaBagh taking up the chase. The racing proved to be a chess match quickly as Zwart was faster at the top of the raceway and LaBagh went fishing from the bottom. The pair remained close until LaBagh drafted Zwart down the backstretch and then swung low in turn three to pull even. The pair of young stars made contact halfway through the turns and raced toward turn four with LaBagh gaining a slight advantage at the start/finish line and taking over command of the event into turn one. LaBagh had the hot hand and kept his LaBagh Motorsports owned racer out front for the duration of the race to claim yet another win at the speedway and made it two wins in two nights as he was victorious on Tuesday night at the Kutztown Fair Qualifier. Michelle Campbell used a late race charge from seventh place to overtake Leo Fotopolous for third place honors with Fotopolous finishing fourth, Matthew Shultz in fifth, Jimmy Leiby in sixth and Chad Cooper in seventh.

Johnny Kahnick was on the money as he outraced newcomer Scott Quick to claim his third Fireball Four Cylinder win of the season. Quick kept it close as the finish was less than two car lengths in Kahnick's favor.

Midweek Madness returns next Wednesday, August 22nd and will continue until August 29th, the final Wednesday evening show for the season. Gates open at the speedway at 5 PM with Hot Laps scheduled for 6:45. Racing is to start at 7:15 PM. Admission for the Wednesday shows is just $5.00 and the great concession stand is open throughout the racing card.

Friday night racing at Accord runs from April through September with six great divisions going to war on the Accord high banks. This week long time track sponsor Mid Hudson Concrete/Redi Rock International will serve as the headline sponsor for the evening's events and will feature six regular divisions at the speedway with the return of the WRWD Radio Lightning Sprints. Regular Admission for the great racing action remains the same from a season ago as Adults (12+) will be $12.00; Children (11 and under) will be $3.00 and there is an adjustment in pricing for special shows at the speedway. The Family Value Pack that was met with much success last season is once again offered and is: 2 Adults, 2 Children, and $20.00 in food vouchers for $40.00, a savings of $10.00 to the consumer. Pit Gates open at the speedway at 4:30 and Spectator Gates open at 5. Hot laps kick off at 6:30 and the racing is slated to start at 7 PM.

The August 17th show brings Mid Hudson Concrete Night to the speedway with a special evening added for the St Jude Children's Research Hospital Fund Raiser by the Dippel Racing Team with their driver Tyler Dippel and his friend Jake Marshall. A $5.00 donation is requested and fans can win valuable gifts put up by numerous sponsors for the event that include Hudson Valley Renegade tickets, Lottery Tickets, Numerous Gift Baskets, a seating for six at Leo's Table at Dutchess Stadium where the Renegades home games are played ($250.00 value), and an All Terrain Bike. Tyler Dippel will be in competition in two divisions during the course of the evening. The first 100 spectators passing through the gates will receive free ice cream courtesy of the Accord Speedway

For further updates and information regarding all of the news and additions to the Accord Speedway, log-on to their well documented website at: http://www.accordspeedway.com or call the speedway hotline at: 845 626 3478. For video work or questions regarding the purchase of videos from the exciting on-track action at the Accord Speedway, contact Danny Ody at: http://www.oldspeedways.com For the purchase of action or victory lane track photos, contact Kevin at: http://kbsracingphotos.com