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TREICHLER CLAIMS TWO AMALIE PRO 300 QUALIFIERS

EVANS SCORES TWICE AT FULTON

By John Bisci

(September 11-12, 1970) – The weekend began on Friday night at Fulton (N.Y.) Raceway with races for Modifieds, Limited Sportsman and Late Models.  Fulton had planned to run on Friday night and Sunday afternoon, but the second part of the two-day weekend was washed out by rain.  Although nearby Spencer Speedway (Williamson, N.Y.) already was closed for the year, Fulton's Friday night show conflicted with Cayuga Speedway's 50-lap Amalie Pro Qualifier.  Many of Lancaster's stars crossed the Peace Bridge into Canada and headed up Highway 3 to Nelles Corners instead of towing east to Fulton.

Richie Evans of Rome, N.Y., took Friday's Modified feature, followed by Lee Osborne and Sonny Seamon.  Bob Merz – who had won a Modified heat earlier in the night – stopped the show when he flipped end over end on the back chute.  The orange Turner Bros. Corvair was critically wrinkled, but Merz walked away unhurt.  Osborne won the second Modified heat.

Evans, driving Jack Griffiths' coach, powered to a steamy victory in the Limited Sportsman feature.  The car overheated in victory lane and let loose a geyser of water vapor as Evans posed with the checkered flag.  Maynard Troyer (another Modified veteran) hopped aboard Al Clark's Limited and finished second to Evans.

Dave Hafner of Greece tried but couldn't pass Dale Merz for the Late Model victory.  Bob Merz Jr. and Hafner won Late Model heats. 

Lancaster Speedway planned a whale of a show as a lead-in to their season-ending Amalie Pro 300 on Sept. 19.  The Buffalo-area track planned to present motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel as an added bonus, but the man who made headlines by jumping the fountains at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas was injured while doing a publicity stunt at a local TV station and was forced to cancel.

Despite Knievel's last-minute cancellation, 7,132 fans jammed Lancaster's grandstands to watch Western New York's finest do battle on the paved half-mile oval.

Roger Treichler – the Flyin' Florist from Sanborn, N.Y. – won the 50-lap Modified feature, but had earned a berth in the Amalie Pro 300 the night before by winning at Cayuga Speedway.  Cousin Merv Treichler finished second and collected the guaranteed starting spot.

Dave Hafner won the 20-lap Late Model feature and Ron MacDonald nipped Fred Rounds at the finish line to claim the 15-lap Mini-Stock finale.  Hafner's yellow No. 16x '64 Chevrolet would find its way into victory lane many times in the next two years at the hands of Sege Fidanza after Dave graduated to the Modified ranks in '71.

Modified heats were won by veteran Bill Torrisi (who won the final stock car race at Buffalo's old Civic Stadium in 1959 and is in his 50^th year of racing in 2002), Neil Truesdell and Merv Treichler.

Late Model heats were won by John Adams, Hafner and Phil Edwards.  Edwards, driving the former Leo Lewandowski '63 Chevy, went on to win the $500-to-win, 100-lap Late Model Open at Perry (N.Y.) Raceway on Oct. 4.  As Edwards posed in Perry's victory lane, a car owner made Phil a cash offer on the spot and the 2 Cents became the No. 66, driven by Bill Bitterman in 1971.  The winning car, re-skinned as a '64 Impala in '71, knew its way to victory lane and earned its third consecutive driver his first feature win.