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Five Features Produce Five Different Winners at 'Land Of Legends' CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. (June 4) - Double Advance Auto Parts DIRT Modified features were on tap at Canandaigua Speedway on Saturday as the management tried to catch up on rain-delayed races. Gary Tomkins powered his own number 84 Honeoye Auto Parts sponsored big-block Modified to victory in the lead-off feature delayed from May 21 while Vic Coffey, aboard his Sweeteners Plus number 32c Modified, won a tight battle to secure victory in the regularly scheduled 35-lapper. In Paine Motorsports Sportsman racing, Russ Hefti maintained his stronghold on victory lane taking the 25-lap win. In full-fender action, Chad Homan claimed the 15-lap Pro Stock main and Blane Smith returned to victory lane in the 15-lap Street Stock finale. The rain-delayed Modified race from May 21 was the first up on the race card for the evening. Scott Boudinot took the early lead with Shannon Whaley and Derrick Podsiadlo in tow. Whaley charged to the point, passing Boudinot down the back stretch on lap three and three circuits later Podsiadlo followed suit and began to chase down Whaley. While this was happening Gary Tomkins moved into fourth behind Boudinot. Podsiadlo made a stab at Whaley, using the low lane on lap 12, but fell just short at the line as these two held a full straightaway lead over Boudinot. Podsiadlo finally made his move stick, taking the lead on lap 15. With Podsiadlo in front, he suddenly slowed on the front stretch with mechanical woes causing Whaley to tap him on the rear bumper. Whaley regained control and maintained the lead in the race yet this miscue still caused the yellow to fly for the first time in the race. Tomkins had moved into second, and along side of Whaley on the restart, used this situation to blast into the lead and pull away from the field. In just five laps he held a half straightaway advantage over Whaley, with Chad Brachmann moving in quickly to challenge. Brachmann took over the runner-up position on lap 24 and tried to close the gap but settled for second behind Tomkins at the finish line. Whaley held on for his best-ever finish while Justin Haers and Vic Coffey rounded out the top-five. Tomkins averaged 77.064 mph in gaining his victory. In the second DIRT Modified main, Jeff Brownell Jr. passed Mike Bliss to take the lead on the second lap. The initial yellow flag flew on lap five when Stewart Friesen slowed to a stop in the second turn. Two laps later the last yellow flew when Darryl Ruggles lost a wheel in the first turn following on track contact. Brownell was flanked by Chuck Bower on the restart and as they accelerated down the backstretch when the green flag reappeared Bower seemed to bog down. The entire field shot around Bower, who later reported it was a broken axle that caused him to drop into the pits. Brownell maintained his lead with Coffey now on his tail. These two battled back-and-forth side-by-side across the line on lap 19. Brownell held on for one more circuit before Coffey finally steamed by for good on lap 22 and then pulled out a seven car lead. Brachmann was on his game again, using an outside move exiting the second turn to take second away from Brownell on lap 26. Coffey took the win followed by Brachmann with his second straight runner-up finish for the evening. Tomkins, Charlie Donk and Steve Paine rounded out the top-five. Brownell, who drifted high through the third and fourth turns with just three laps to go, finished sixth. The 25-lap Sportsman main began with the yellow lights flashing on right at the start when Josh Hefti spun from his third-place starting spot exiting the second turn in front of the field. He escaped damage but retaliated and was black-flagged from the race. Rob Bussey lost the lead to Russ Hefti on lap four when Hefti used an outside pass down the back stretch to take over first. The elder Hefti then proceeded to stretch out his advantage with Dan Wiesner moving into second. In just ten laps Wiesner had closed the gap and was racing on Hefti’s rear bumper. Wiesner tried to make a pass for the lead a number of times with no success. With these two in an intense battle they had pulled out to a full five second, full straightaway lead over third-place runner Paul Guererri. At the checkers it was Hefti helding on for the win followed closely by Wiesner with Scott Schrader coming home third ahead of Guererri and Loren Lincoln. Homan led from start to finish in the 15-lap Big Mike's Auto Repair Pro Stock main. James Henry challenged the leader numerous times but could never complete the pass and lead a lap. Only two yellows slowed the race, with both coming out when Matt Grubbe first slowed then spun out. Defending track champion Jipp Ortiz made a late race run at Henry but settled for third at the finish line. Frank Guererri Jr. and Daryl Hilkert rounded out the top-five. “When I got back from school this week my dad had been shifting weight around inside the car,” commented Homan. “He got it right as the car ran great tonight.” This week the Pro Trucks from Black Rock Speedway have been invited to start competing with the Pro Stocks at Canandaigua. “We're hoping to make a race within a race with the addition of the trucks,” stated track general manager Jeff Farney. The Parts Plus Auto Stores Street Stock feature began with 23 cars answering the call to take the green. This 15-lap main was filled with caution as the first yellow flag flew as the field took the initial green when Frank Burnell’s car misfired and dropped to the inside of the speedway. The opening lap delay proved to be just an early indication of things to come. Back under green Adam DePuy took the lead with Mike Schultz in second. The yellow fell on lap two when Steve Faulkner slammed into the inside wall in the fourth turn and climbed over it. One lap later it was George LaVare spinning in the second turn while on lap four the yellow came out again for Schultz who looped in the fourth turn. It seemed to be one lap at a time. The green flag finally stayed out for more then one lap as Mike Minutolo and Blane Smith challenged DePuy for the lead. DePuy was shot out of the mix soon after and filled in sixth following contact on the track. This incident placed Smith in the lead as he battled Minutolo side-by-side down the front stretch. The yellow flew once more on lap seven when Schultz spun again and he left the race on the next circuit. Up front Smith was pulling away from Minutolo with Nat Peckham, Mike Welch, DePuy and last week’s winner Nick Dandino in pursuit. Dandino caused the next yellow when he made contact with the second turn wall on lap 12. During this slowdown Leroy Lewis, who was running sixth, pitted for a flat tire. The last yellow flag flew on lap 14 when Jason Whipple spun in the second turn forcing a one lap dash to the checkers. Smith finally took the win followed by Minutolo, Peckham, Welch and Scott Smith. The show this Saturday, June 11, will feature the return of the “Ladies Race,” along with a complete program of Modified/358-Modified, Sportsman, Pro Stock/Pro Truck and Street Stock activity. Race time is 7 p.m. sharp. The DIRT MotorSports™ Advance Auto Parts Modified Series is brought to fans across the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Advance Auto Parts, Dynomax Performance Exhaust, Hoosier Racing Tire and Sunoco Race Fuels. Promotional Partners include Stacker 2®, AMB i.t., RACEceiver and Zippo Lighters and the contingency sponsors are DART Machinery, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, MSD Ignitions and Wrisco Industries. DIG SAFELY NIGHT SUMMARY PARTS PLUS AUTO STORES STREET STOCK BIG MIKE’S AUTO REPAIR PRO STOCK PAINE MOTORSPORTS SPORTSMAN ADVANCE AUTO PARTS STORES DIRT MODIFIED FEATURE (35-laps): VIC COFFEY, Chad Brachmann, Gary Tomkins, Charlie Donk, Steve Paine, Jeff Brownell Jr., Justin Haers, Scott George, Shannon Whaley, Karl Comfort, Eldon Payne Jr., Ron Cartwright Jr., Jim Hull, Scott Boudinot, Ray Bliss, Mike Bliss, Don Slover, Chuck Bower, Darryl Ruggles, Stewart Friesen, Steve Pesarek, Mike Ward, Todd Henderson, Allan Willoughby, DNS: Derrick Podsiadlo. |