Greg Belyea Battles to a Pair of Top Ten Finishes During Mohawk Nationals Weekend at Mohawk Raceway; Brighton Speedway Finale up Next

After back to back second place finishes for Greg Belyea and the Excel Tower Racing team at Brighton Speedway, including last week’s Great Crate Race, the team looked forward to a weekend on the road, as they traveled to Mohawk International Raceway in Hogansburg, New York for the Mohawk Nationals Weekend. Friday night consisted of a non-points, 30 lap, $1000 to win event for the Go Nuclear Late Models, while Saturday’s program featured a 40 lap, $1500 to win, Richard Tenace Memorial event, also part of the Go Nuclear Late Model Series.

It was a slow start to the night on Friday, as Belyea finished his qualifier in the seventh position, and would start the 30 lap main event from the 20th starting position. After making steady progress throughout the race, Greg was up to 10th place as the hit lap 20 on the scoreboard. Over the final 10 laps, he gained two more positions to move to 8th place at the finish.

Saturday was a long day at the track for everyone as rain took over for most of the day. Mohawk Raceway track officials were determined to get the program in, and once the rain finally stopped they went to work getting the track back into shape. It was well after 10pm on Saturday night and the cars were finally on the track. Much like the previous night, Belyea had a bad draw at the gate, placing him fifth to start the heat race qualifier and an off track excursion caused Belyea to finish the race in eighth. In the 40 lap main event, Belyea would have to start from 22nd place, Belyea moved forward in the race quickly, and was inside the top 10 before the race reached the halfway point. Just 10 laps later, Belyea succeeded in his challenge for a top five position, and would continue to move forward taking over the third position as the race hit lap 36. Belyea went on to finish the race in third place.

Modified driver Brian “Slim” McDonald also drove an Excel Tower Racing Late Model on both nights of the Mohawk Nationals Weekend. Brian learned quickly about Late Model racing and although he didn’t get the finish he wanted on Friday night, he proved he was fast. On Saturday night, McDonald had a great run, placing 9th in the 40 lap main event.

This coming weekend Greg Belyea will be back at Brighton Speedway as they conclude their 2014 season. Belyea will continue on with the Go Nuclear Late Model Series on October 3rd at Fulton Speedway, October 17th at Brockville Speedway and October 26th at Yates County Speedway.

For more information on Greg Belyea and the Excel Tower Racing Team, please visit our website, www.exceltowerracing.com. You will find updated news, results, schedule and information on Greg Belyea and his Late Model.

Greg Belyea Scores Second Place Finish in Great Crate Race at Brighton Speedway on Saturday Night

Going into this past weekend’s Great Crate Race at Brighton Speedway, Greg Belyea had just come off a second place finish the previous week, and he also finished second in the Great Crate Race the previous year. He was looking to finish one spot higher in 2014 as the biggest Crate Late Model event of the season returned to his home track.

The night started with a second place finish in the qualifier, placing him in the redraw for a top 12 starting spot in the 65 lap Great Crate Race main event. Belyea selected position number seven in the random draw, and fired from inside row four. Patience was the key early in the race, as Belyea held his position amongst the top ten with 25 lap on the board. A few laps later, Belyea found some magic on the top side of the track and after just a couple laps he was inside the top five and looking faster as the race progressed. A lap 48 caution slowed the field once again, and Belyea was riding in fifth place. The Delaware style restarts had Belyea starting on the outside lane, and when the race resumed after a couple quick caution periods, Belyea was now up to second and charging hard for the lead. With under 10 laps remaining he was able to power to the outside lane of the track and briefly grabbed the top spot. Lapped traffic played a role over the final few laps, as Belyea went on to record another second place finish in the Great Crate Race.

“The lapped car did nothing wrong, he was holding his line, and it just happened to be the line that I was running”, says Belyea afterwards. I wanted to win this race real bad, but that is part of racing, sometimes it works out, and other times not so much. We tried hard, came home with a car that wasn’t wrecked, we had fun and we got a second place finish to one of the best teams in our division. It was a good day”.

This coming weekend, Greg Belyea and the Excel Tower Racing team will hit the road to Mohawk International Raceway in Hogansburg, New York. Belyea will race on Friday night in the 30 lap, $1000 to win race, and again on Saturday for the 40 lap, $1500 to win Richard Tenace Memorial. Modified competitor Brian “Slim” McDonald will also be behind the wheel of an Excel Tower Service Late Model for both nights.

For more information on Greg Belyea and the Excel Tower Racing Team, please visit our website, www.exceltowerracing.com. You will find updated news, results, schedule and information on Greg Belyea and his Late Model.

The 2014 season has been a trying one for Greg Belyea and the Excel Tower Racing team. They have had some good finishes, but they have had some frustrating moments along the way. Although one race won’t cure all, Greg Belyea and his team have been working hard, and are anxious for their biggest test of the season with the Great Crate Race IV taking place at Brighton Speedway this weekend.

Belyea came close to winning at Brighton Speedway this past weekend, with an untimely caution on the final lap of the race setting up a change of position once the race restarted. With a little momentum gained, Belyea hopes to carry that over to this weekend’s big event, which will be one of the richest paying Crate Late Model events in North America.

In the past three Great Crate Race events at Brighton Speedway, Belyea has had some taste of success, posting a second place finish in the inaugural event back in 2011. In 2012, it was a bit of struggle, but his 2nd car driven by Chuck Meyers went on to win the race. Last season, Belyea returned with another solid performance, placing second in the 3rd annual event. He will be looking to finish one spot higher in this Saturday’s 65 lap main event.

“This is a great weekend for our little track here in Brighton, and great for the Crate Late Model division”, says Belyea. “Hopefully we can get some great weather, and have a solid turnout of competitors in the pits and fans in the grandstands”.

Once the Great Crate Race is over, Belyea will move on to Mohawk International Raceway the following weekend with a pair of weekend events during the annual Mohawk Nationals. He will return to Brighton Speedway on Saturday, September 20th as they close out their 2014 season during Applefest Weekend.

For more information on Greg Belyea and the Excel Tower Racing Team, please visit our website, www.exceltowerracing.com. You will find updated news, results, schedule and information on Greg Belyea and his Late Model.

Greg Belyea Gets Second Place Finish on Saturday Night at Brighton Speedway; Looking for First Win of the 2014 Season

Things are picking up for Greg Belyea and the Excel Tower Racing team. After a third place finish during their last start at Can Am, and a couple top five finishes over the past few weeks at Brighton Speedway, Belyea appears to be on the right track now after a slow start to the season.

This past Saturday night at Brighton, Belyea started the 30 lap main event on the front row, and jumped out to an early race lead. A lap 16 caution bunched up the field, and he lost the lead briefly after several laps battling side by side for the top spot. Belyea got the lead back on lap 25 and looked poised for his first win of the 2014 campaign, but an untimely caution on lap 28 set up a green-white-checkered finish, and Belyea was unable to maintain the lead and settled for second.

“It was not the end result that we wanted, but I am happy to be back challenging for the win”, says Belyea. “The year has been a little frustrating at times, but we are working hard and hopefully we can get a win soon”.

The previous week, Belyea traveled to Can Am Motorsports Park for their Go Nuclear Late Model Series event. Disaster struck in the opening hot lap session as Belyea was involved in a crash that caused heavy damage to the car. Through determination and hard work, Belyea, with the help of several others got the car back on track for the qualifier and finished third, after starting from seventh. In the main event, Belyea started ninth and faded early in the race to 14th. He avoided a major wreck at one point, and rallied to a third place finish.

“We missed that wreck by nothing more than luck”, admits Belyea. “I really have to thank everyone that helped get the car back together after the crash in hot laps. “It turned out to be a good night for us after that. It was also a good night for BSP regulars, sweeping the top three positions”.

Belyea will be back at Brighton Speedway this coming Saturday night looking for another shot at victory lane.

For more information on Greg Belyea and the Excel Tower Racing Team, please visit our website, www.exceltowerracing.com. You will find updated news, results, schedule and information on Greg Belyea and his Late Model.

Greg Belyea Has Strong Night at Brighton Speedway With Fourth Place Finish

After a rough start to the 2014 season for Greg Belyea and his Excel Racing team, they hope to have turned the page and look forward to a strong second half of the season. This past weekend, Belyea was at Brighton Speedway for the annual Canada Day Championships.

For the first time ever, Belyea set fast time in the Canada Day Championship time trial session and backed that up with a win in his qualifying heat race. Belyea earned a front row starting spot for the 50 lap main event, With three laps remaining, Belyea was running in third place, and lost one position in the closing laps to finish with a solid fourth place finish.

“It feels good to be competitive again”, says Belyea referring to the disappointing start to the season. “Hopefully we can build on this and have a strong second half of the season”.

Greg Belyea will return to action at Brighton Speedway on Saturday, and will race on the pavement at Kawartha Speedway on Sunday as defending race winner.

For more information on Greg Belyea and the Excel Tower Racing Team, please visit our website, www.exceltowerracing.com. You will find updated news, results, schedule and information on Greg Belyea and his Late Model.

Greg Belyea Fights to a Fifth Place Finish on Saturday Night at Brighton

The 2014 season has clearly not gone the way Greg Belyea and the Excel Tower Racing Team had anticipated before the drop of the first green flag of the season a couple months ago. They have had their struggles, but they continue to work hard to get the car figured out. After taking last weekend off, Belyea returned to Brighton Speedway this week, looking for a strong finish.

The night started off well, as Belyea set the pace early, as the fastest car on the track in opening practice. In the qualifying heat race, Belyea started from seventh and moved through the field to finish with a solid third place run. After starting 9th in the 30 lap main event, Belyea had worked his way to seventh before being involved in an incident in turn one on lap nine. He would have to start from the rear of the field, but it only take a few laps and Greg was back up to the position he was in before the incident. By lap 17, Belyea as was inside the top five and remained in fifth over the final 13 laps of the race.

“The last few weeks have been pretty disappointing, so it feels good to come back with a good finish tonight”, says Belyea. “It wasn’t pretty, having to come from the back after the earlier incident, but we will take it and move on to next week, and hopefully we can build on this going forward the rest of the season”.

This coming weekend will be the Canada Day Championship at Brighton Speedway on Saturday night, with time trials scheduled for 5pm.

For more information on Greg Belyea and the Excel Tower Racing Team, please visit our website, www.exceltowerracing.com. You will find updated news, results, schedule and information on Greg Belyea and his Late Model.

Greg Belyea Battles to a 7th Place Finish on Saturday Night at Brighton Speedway; 13th in First Annual Gnome Cup at Utica Rome Speedway

Over the past couple seasons, Greg Belyea has developed a trend that he would really like to put a stop too real fast. The slow start to the 2014 season is eerily similar to 2012 and 2013 and the entire team is left looking for answers. Preparation is certainly not the problem, as no other team comes to the track more prepared than Belyea and his Excel Tower Racing team.

At Brighton Speedway on Saturday night, Greg started his qualifying heat race from the third position, but a fuel pump issue hindered his performance and Belyea would finish in fourth. In the 30 lap main event, he started the race from the sixth position but after getting caught up in a lap six incident he would have to pit for a flat tire. Greg returned to the track to finish the race in 7th place.

On Sunday, Belyea traveled to Utica Rome Speedway in Vernon, New York for the 1st annual Gnome Cup event and first race of 2014 in the Go Nuclear Late Model Series. A strong field of 36 Late Models were on hand, and Belyea locked into the main event with a third place finish in his qualifying heat race and would draw the 12th starting spot for the main event. It was a struggle throughout the race on the very dry slick racing surface and he would cross the line with a 13th place result.

“It has been a struggle early this season but we have a plan to try and get better”, says Belyea after the Utica Rome race. “This is one trend that I would really like to get away from with starting the season off like this”.

This coming weekend Belyea will race at Chapman’s Can Am Motorsports Park on Friday night. They will take Saturday night off from Brighton Speedway and will plan out a schedule for the rest of the season.

For more information on Greg Belyea and the Excel Tower Racing Team, please visit our website, www.exceltowerracing.com. You will find updated news, results, schedule and information on Greg Belyea and his Late Model.

Greg Belyea Gets 5th Place Finish on Opening Night at Brighton Speedway; Earns Brighton Speedway Best Appearing Car Award

Wet and miserable weather has been the story of the year to date for Greg Belyea and his Excel Tower Racing team. They were rained out on consecutive weeks as they attempted to get the Atomic Spring Clash in at Mohawk Raceway, and they were rained out once again on the scheduled opening night at Brighton last week. Finally, this past Saturday, they were able to get the season started at their hometown track.

After a fourth place result in the qualifying heat race, Belyea returned to the track looking for a solid finish to start the year. He fired from the seventh starting position, and made his way into the top five just five laps into the 30 lap main event. Over the remaining distance, Belyea had advanced to fourth and was in the middle of a fantastic three way battle for third place in the late stages of the race. He would cross the finish line with a fifth place finish.

“It was a pretty good night for our team”, says Belyea after the race. “We got off to a bit of a slow start in qualifying, but we made some adjustments and it was quite a bit better in the feature”.

Belyea’s car was voted as Best Appearing Late Model by the fans of Brighton Speedway and he was recognized in front of the grandstand with his sharp looking Excel Tower Service sponsored car.

For more information on Greg Belyea and the Excel Tower Racing Team, please visit our website, www.exceltowerracing.com. You will find updated news, results, schedule and information on Greg Belyea and his Late Model.

Greg Belyea Gets Top Ten Finish at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway; 2014 Opener Coming up This Weekend at Brighton Speedway

Not wanting to wait any further to start the 2014 season, Greg Belyea and his Excel Tower Service team made the haul to Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway (PPMS) to race with RUSH Late Models that compete weekly at the track. Belyea had made the trip just a couple weeks prior and blown a motor while solidly in a qualifying spot for the A-main, and they were looking to return this time around with some better luck.

Belyea started his qualifying heat race from the 8th position and quickly moved forward. By the end of the race he was up to fourth place, locking into the main event. Starting 8th in the feature, Greg dropped back to 12th on the first lap, but recovered to score 10th place finish.

“It was a good night, and we had some fun and brought the car home in one piece”, says Belyea after the race. “It is such a large track here, and very difficult to make up any distance at all. We were off on the setup just a little bit and that is all it takes”.

This week, the Excel Tower Racing team will make their 2014 season debut at Brighton Speedway where Belyea will compete weekly once again this season. On Sunday, Belyea will travel to Mohawk International Raceway in Hogansburg, New York for the Atomic Spring Clash, which will consist of a pair of 25 lap features for the Go Nuclear Late Model Series that has been named the ‘Fission 50’.

For more information on Greg Belyea and the Excel Tower Racing Team, please visit our website, www.exceltowerracing.com. You will find updated news, results, schedule and information on Greg Belyea and his Late Model.