By Tim Baltz
LAFARGEVILLE, NY –The final points night of the season is a happy night for many as 5 drivers were ready to hoist a track championship trophy. Channel 7 NEWS out of Watertown was on hand for the regular season finale and the racing was intense.
The Donath Motorworx Limited Sportsman division does not crown a track champion as it is all about winning races and gaining track time. Genavieve Bartlett grabbed the lead early but Massena New York’s Devon Guyette was on the move as he took over the top spot on lap 2 of the 12 lap event. Behind them one of the top drivers in this class, Dylan Moore was on the charge has he used the outside lane to run down the leader, creating a great race for the number one spot. On the final lap Devon Guyette was caught in traffic, allowing Moore to get by off turn 2. From there Moore went on for his 2nd win of the season and 8th overall win at 4 race tracks this year. Guyette’s Can-Am debut resulted in a 2nd place run over Brady Howard, Genavieve Bartlett and Joey Wilcox
Just 26 points separated the top three in the Bob Johnson Auto Group DIRTCar Sportsman division with everyone chasing points leader Tyler Corcoran. Ryan Shanahan was looking to get his season back on the right foot as he led the 20 lap feature early over Dustin Hutton, Greg Brinklow, Owen Nier and Brian Hudson. The top drivers in the points were making their way forward, however a tense moment for Tyler Corcoran who slowed off turn two with a problem and the yellow flew. Corcoran would return after repairs but restarted last, with a title on the line. Shanahan continued his strong run at the front but Brennan Moore was on his way forward from 11th while title contenders Mike Fowler and Gavin Eisle had made their way into the top 10 also, as the race approached half way. Over the final laps Tyler Corcoran was passing cars as quickly as he could while Mike Fowler found himself on the back bumper of Brennan Moore for 2nd. Ryan Shanahan however was having a great night after having plenty of mid-season bad luck. With well over a straight away lead Ryan Shanahan went on to score a dominant win, his 2nd of the year, over Brennan Moore, Mike Fowler, Dustin Hutton and Eric Nier. With Fowler finishing a strong 3rd and Gavin Eisle crossing in 6th, it was not enough to stop Tyler Corcoran as he marched to 8th at the checkers, good enough to secure his 4th straight title, the fist since Steve Hall accomplished the feat in 199,1994,1995 and 1996.
The Whitesboro Plow Shop DIRTCar 358 Modifieds had a three car title fight as well with Tim Fuller holding a 26 point lead of Billy Dunn with Jordan McCreadie just 32 points behind in 3rd. Lance Willix flexed his muscle at the start of the 25 lap feature. Willix, with 7 total wins on the year across three tracks, was dominant as he led by well over a straight away in the early laps, with Jordan Kelly and Tim Fuller trying to keep pace. Willix was well in command and looked to be on his way to his 3rd win of the year while Fuller was doing what he could to stay in front of Dunn and McCreadie, who were making their way to the top 5 as well. On lap 13 Lucas Fuller dropped off the pace with a smoking car in turn two setting a restart that Tim Fuller needed to catch Willix. When the green few Willix remained in control but Fuller was ready to make his move. On lap 15 the points leader took over the lead and began to run away. Billy Dunn would make his way to second, knowing that he had to win to have a chance at possibly grabbing his 7th track title, while McCreadie was charging forward as well, battling Lance Willix for 3rd. Dunn closed the gap to 4 car lengths, but it was not enough, as Tim Fuller would claim win number 3 on the year and also his third straight track title. Dunn crossed 2nd with Lance Willix, Jordan McCreadie, and Ryan Bartlett making up the top 5.
Francis White had already locked up his first career Sundance Leisure Thundercar title, as he came into the evening with a 72 point lead on Steve Smith. White would lead the 15 lap event early over Damien Bechler and Justin Burns. Once in front Francis White was in a class of his own as he pulled away to a big lead over the field as Damien Bechler was in a battle with Justin Pope for 2nd. Without help with a caution flag over the final laps, Damien Bechler, Steve Smith and the others had no chance of catching the leader as Francis White would score his 4th win of the year and 2nd win of the week, having won at Mohawk on Thursday night for a 4th time this year. Damien Bechler held on for 2nd over Steve Smith, Lyle Robinson and Jared Gilson.
The Panther Frameworx 602 Crate Sprint Cars took to the speedway next. Josh Verne Jr. was looking to get back on track after his 5 race win streak was snapped by Tiger Chapman two weeks ago. Veteran Bruno Richard was looking to get his season back on the right track as he led the way over Tucker Donath in the opening laps. After many struggles in 2023, Richard was on a mission as he pulled away from the field leaving Donath to battle with now two time track champion Josh Verne Jr. for the runner up spot. In a caution free race Bruno Richard was not about to slow up for anyone on this night, as he put all the bad luck behind him and scored his first career win in a Sprint Car, after well over 25 years in full fendered action. Josh Verne Jr. claimed his second straight runner up finish and the 2023 championship. Tucker Donath, Andrew Hennessy and Michael Cousins rounded out the top 5.
The final feature of the night was the FABCO DIRTCar Pro Stocks and Pete Stefanski was looking to close out his championship season with his first win of the year. Stefanski looked string ion the early laps with Tyler Bushey and Kenny Hartshorn giving chase. Behind them Dakota Sharp was in 4th and had a very busy night already. After flipping his primary car in the heat race. His crew drove all the way to Ogdnesburg, loaded the back up car and made it in time for the feature. Sharp was doing all he could to keep pace with the top three as the laps clicked off. Stefanski was in complete control of the race and on this night had the field covered as he marched to his first win of the year and his first ever Can Am title. Tyler Bushey, Kenny Hartshorn, Dakota Sharp and Conner White completed the top 5.
With the regular season in the record books the attention shifts to the final race night of the year. The DIRTCar 358 Modified Series will be in town plus the DIRTCar Sportsman Series 5th annual John Burr Memorial. The Sundance Leisure Thundercar division will hold the annual Ron White Memorial, honoring former Modified racer Ron White. The Action Sprint Tour East Series will also be there for their first event on American soil on September 8th. For details on start time and ticket prices head to our website at racecanam.com or give the track a follow on Facebook.
WHITESBORO PLOW SHOP DIRTCAR 358 MODIFIED
Feature (25 Laps): 1. 19-Tim Fuller[7]; 2. 49-Billy Dunn[12]; 3. 31-Lance Willix[4]; 4. 28-Jordan McCreadie[11]; 5. 39-Ryan Bartlett[6]; 6. 18W-Scott Webb[8]; 7. 21JR-Larry Welling[9]; 8. 21C-Taylor Caprara[10]; 9. 7S-Shaun Shaw[17]; 10. 66W-Derek Webb[5]; 11. 45R-Preston Forbes[14]; 12. 39T-Tyler Bartlett[3]; 13. 21-Andrew Howard[18]; 14. 7M-Madison Mulder[21]; 15. 27W-Nick Webb[16]; 16. 36B-Dan Beachard[2]; 17. 55-Matt Woodruff[19]; 18. 12W-Keith Weston[20]; 19. 24-Jordan Kelly[1]; 20. 21R-RJ Tresidder[13]; 21. 74-Lucas Fuller[15]; 22. 26-Michael Mandigo[22]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 19-Tim Fuller[5]; 2. 66W-Derek Webb[3]; 3. 39T-Tyler Bartlett[2]; 4. 21C-Taylor Caprara[6]; 5. 21R-RJ Tresidder[4]; 6. 27W-Nick Webb[7]; 7. 55-Matt Woodruff[8]; 8. 26-Michael Mandigo[1]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 31-Lance Willix[2]; 2. 28-Jordan McCreadie[6]; 3. 24-Jordan Kelly[1]; 4. 18W-Scott Webb[5]; 5. 45R-Preston Forbes[4]; 6. 7S-Shaun Shaw[3]; 7. 12W-Keith Weston[7]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 49-Billy Dunn[6]; 2. 39-Ryan Bartlett[3]; 3. 36B-Dan Beachard[1]; 4. 21JR-Larry Welling[5]; 5. 74-Lucas Fuller[4]; 6. 21-Andrew Howard[2]; 7. 7M-Madison Mulder[7]
Hot Laps (3 Laps): 1. 28-Jordan McCreadie, 00:18.796[12]; 2. 39T-Tyler Bartlett, 00:18.877[2]; 3. 21C-Taylor Caprara, 00:18.900[4]; 4. 24-Jordan Kelly, 00:18.997[10]; 5. 7M-Madison Mulder, 00:19.094[13]; 6. 36B-Dan Beachard, 00:19.181[3]; 7. 27W-Nick Webb, 00:19.293[17]; 8. 74-Lucas Fuller, 00:19.318[7]; 9. 66W-Derek Webb, 00:19.409[16]; 10. 18W-Scott Webb, 00:19.557[18]; 11. 55-Matt Woodruff, 00:19.581[21]; 12. 49-Billy Dunn, 00:19.660[5]; 13. 12W-Keith Weston, 00:20.086[22]; 14. (DNS) 39-Ryan Bartlett; 15. (DNS) 45R-Preston Forbes; 16. (DNS) 19-Tim Fuller; 17. (DNS) 21-Andrew Howard; 18. (DNS) 26-Michael Mandigo; 19. (DNS) 7S-Shaun Shaw; 20. (DNS) 21R-RJ Tresidder; 21. (DNS) 21JR-Larry Welling; 22. (DNS) 31-Lance Willix
28 entries
BOB JOHNSON DIRTCAR SPORTSMAN
Feature (20 Laps): 1. 32RS-Ryan Shanahan[1]; 2. 35B-Brennan Moore[11]; 3. 410-Mike Fowler[19]; 4. 7D-Dustin Hutton[2]; 5. 34-Eric Nier[10]; 6. 18-Gavin Eisele[12]; 7. 52-Jessica Power[9]; 8. 64-Tyler Corcoran[18]; 9. 7O7-Greg Brinklow[5]; 10. FOX28-Tyler Stevenson[16]; 11. 91-Josh Reome[26]; 12. 6-Brian Hudson[6]; 13. 2-Taylor Doxtater[8]; 14. 57H-Remington Hamm[15]; 15. 18G-Justin Gadbaw[24]; 16. 34K-Keegan Nier[17]; 17. 99R-Anthony Rasmussen[27]; 18. 63M-Franklin Mackin[3]; 19. 62-Jonathan Murphy[13]; 20. 10B-Jamie Brown[21]; 21. 23-Cole Perry[25]; 22. 12S-Kyle Sharp[22]; 23. 17-Owen Nier[7]; 24. 5R-Steve Roberts[20]; 25. 95-Kearra Backus[23]; 26. 25-George Sanford[28]; 27. 92-Frank Sibley[14]; 28. 621G-Trevor Gibbons[4]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 32RS-Ryan Shanahan[1]; 2. 2-Taylor Doxtater[5]; 3. 6-Brian Hudson[4]; 4. 34-Eric Nier[6]; 5. 62-Jonathan Murphy[7]; 6. FOX28-Tyler Stevenson[9]; 7. 410-Mike Fowler[8]; 8. 12S-Kyle Sharp[2]; 9. 23-Cole Perry[10]; 10. (DNS) 25-George Sanford
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 7D-Dustin Hutton[1]; 2. 35B-Brennan Moore[6]; 3. 18-Gavin Eisele[8]; 4. 621G-Trevor Gibbons[2]; 5. 92-Frank Sibley[4]; 6. 34K-Keegan Nier[9]; 7. 5R-Steve Roberts[7]; 8. 95-Kearra Backus[3]; 9. 91-Josh Reome[5]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 63M-Franklin Mackin[1]; 2. 52-Jessica Power[5]; 3. 17-Owen Nier[4]; 4. 7O7-Greg Brinklow[3]; 5. 57H-Remington Hamm[6]; 6. 64-Tyler Corcoran[8]; 7. 10B-Jamie Brown[7]; 8. 18G-Justin Gadbaw[2]; 9. 99R-Anthony Rasmussen[9]
Hot Laps (3 Laps): 1. 57H-Remington Hamm, 00:19.801[10]; 2. 7D-Dustin Hutton, 00:19.913[12]; 3. 18-Gavin Eisele, 00:19.945[6]; 4. 32RS-Ryan Shanahan, 00:19.952[25]; 5. 410-Mike Fowler, 00:19.954[7]; 6. 34-Eric Nier, 00:19.969[16]; 7. 6-Brian Hudson, 00:19.970[11]; 8. 99R-Anthony Rasmussen, 00:20.012[21]; 9. 10B-Jamie Brown, 00:20.037[3]; 10. 62-Jonathan Murphy, 00:20.057[15]; 11. FOX28-Tyler Stevenson, 00:20.113[28]; 12. 63M-Franklin Mackin, 00:20.136[13]; 13. 25-George Sanford, 00:20.201[24]; 14. 2-Taylor Doxtater, 00:20.250[5]; 15. 17-Owen Nier, 00:20.333[18]; 16. 52-Jessica Power, 00:20.358[20]; 17. 92-Frank Sibley, 00:20.386[27]; 18. 91-Josh Reome, 00:20.488[22]; 19. 621G-Trevor Gibbons, 00:20.570[9]; 20. 5R-Steve Roberts, 00:20.652[23]; 21. 12S-Kyle Sharp, 00:20.681[26]; 22. 64-Tyler Corcoran, 00:20.720[4]; 23. 95-Kearra Backus, 00:21.277[1]; 24. (DNS) 7O7-Greg Brinklow; 25. (DNS) 18G-Justin Gadbaw; 26. (DNS) 35B-Brennan Moore; 27. (DNS) 34K-Keegan Nier; 28. (DNS) 23-Cole Perry
6 entries
FABCO DIRTCAR PROSTOCK
Feature (15 Laps): 1. 2-Pete Stefanski[2]; 2. X15-Tyler Bushey[3]; 3. 75-Kenneth Hartshorn Jr[1]; 4. 12S-Dakota Sharp[6]; 5. 1X-Conner White[4]; 6. 9-Keegan Stowell[5]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 75-Kenneth Hartshorn Jr[1]; 2. 2-Pete Stefanski[2]; 3. X15-Tyler Bushey[3]; 4. 1X-Conner White[5]; 5. 9-Keegan Stowell[6]; 6. 12S-Dakota Sharp[4]
Hot Laps: 1. 12S-Dakota Sharp, 00:21.826[3]; 2. 75-Kenneth Hartshorn Jr, 00:21.886[2]; 3. X15-Tyler Bushey, 00:22.056[1]; 4. (DNS) 2-Pete Stefanski
7 entries
PANTHER FRAMEWORX 602 CRATE SPRINT CARS
Feature (20 Laps): 1. 88-Bruno Richard[1]; 2. 1V-Josh Verne Jr[4]; 3. Z28-Tucker Donath[3]; 4. 87-Andrew Hennessy[5]; 5. 73-Michael Cousins[2]; 6. 271-Tiger Chapman[7]; 7. 30-Ken Klinkowsky[6]
Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 73-Michael Cousins[3]; 2. 88-Bruno Richard[1]; 3. Z28-Tucker Donath[4]; 4. 1V-Josh Verne Jr[7]; 5. 87-Andrew Hennessy[5]; 6. 30-Ken Klinkowsky[2]; 7. 271-Tiger Chapman[6]
Hot Laps: 1. 1V-Josh Verne Jr, 00:17.740[7]; 2. 271-Tiger Chapman, 00:18.418[1]; 3. 30-Ken Klinkowsky, 00:18.419[5]; 4. 87-Andrew Hennessy, 00:18.423[4]; 5. 88-Bruno Richard, 00:18.487[6]; 6. 73-Michael Cousins, 00:18.770[2]; 7. (DNS) Z28-Tucker Donath
13 entries
SUNDANCE LEISURE THUNDERCAR
Feature (15 Laps): 1. 60-Francis White[5]; 2. 26R-Damien Bechler[2]; 3. 16-Steve Smith[9]; 4. 1-Lyle Robinson[10]; 5. 22J-Jared Gilson[1]; 6. 27-Justin Pope[6]; 7. 25-Tyler Collette[8]; 8. 94-OJ White[3]; 9. 5M-Ray Bechler[13]; 10. 73T-Timothy Greenfield[7]; 11. 111J-Anthony St Mary Jr[12]; 12. 11J-Justin Burns[4]; 13. 60R-Ron White[11]
Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 22J-Jared Gilson[1]; 2. 94-OJ White[2]; 3. 11J-Justin Burns[3]; 4. 73T-Timothy Greenfield[6]; 5. 16-Steve Smith[4]; 6. 60R-Ron White[5]
Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 60-Francis White[6]; 2. 27-Justin Pope[7]; 3. 26R-Damien Bechler[1]; 4. 25-Tyler Collette[4]; 5. 1-Lyle Robinson[5]; 6. 111J-Anthony St Mary Jr[3]; 7. 5M-Ray Bechler[2]
Hot Laps (3 Laps): 1. 26R-Damien Bechler, 00:24.077[1]; 2. 16-Steve Smith, 00:24.389[8]; 3. 22J-Jared Gilson, 00:24.481[5]; 4. 11J-Justin Burns, 00:24.767[3]; 5. 73T-Timothy Greenfield, 00:24.906[6]; 6. 25-Tyler Collette, 00:25.143[4]; 7. (DNS) 5M-Ray Bechler; 8. (DNS) 1-Lyle Robinson; 9. (DNS) 111J-Anthony St Mary Jr; 10. (DNS) 94-OJ White; 11. (DNS) 60R-Ron White
7 entries
DONATH MOTOR WORX LIMITED SPORTSMAN
Feature (12 Laps): 1. 35D-Dylan Moore[3]; 2. 11X-Devon Guyette[4]; 3. 54-Brady Howard[2]; 4. 11-Genavieve Bartlett[1]; 5. 93-Joey Wilcox[6]; 6. 33-Alan McDonald[7]; 7. 57H-Averi Cunningham[5]
Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 35D-Dylan Moore[5]; 2. 11-Genavieve Bartlett[2]; 3. 54-Brady Howard[3]; 4. 11X-Devon Guyette[7]; 5. 57H-Averi Cunningham[4]; 6. 93-Joey Wilcox[6]; 7. 33-Alan McDonald[1]
Hot Laps (3 Laps): 1. 54-Brady Howard, 00:20.458[4]; 2. 35D-Dylan Moore, 00:20.701[6]; 3. 11X-Devon Guyette, 00:20.809[3]; 4. 11-Genavieve Bartlett, 00:21.703[1]; 5. 33-Alan McDonald, 00:22.597[5]; 6. (DNS) 57H-Averi Cunningham; 7. (DNS) 93-Joey Wilcox