Canandaigua Speedway Hosts Last Saturday Night Show In April

Canandaigua, NY – April 25, 2006 – By Tom Skibinski, DIRT NorthEast PR Director

The second round of weekend wars in wine country is set for Saturday as Canandaigua Speedway closes out the month on April 29. A star-studded show of DIRT Modified, DIRT Sportsman and DIRT Street Stock competition headlines the WACK Radio program, with the Ontario County Fairgrounds spectator and pit gates swinging open at 3 p.m. and the first qualifying heat rolling off the line at 5 p.m. Adult general admission tickets are $10 each, Senior Citizens $9, Students (11-18 yrs) $5 and Children (10 yrs. + under) Free.

Defending big-block points champion and opening night feature winner Steve Paine will have his mirror full as he leads the mighty DIRT Modifieds in their 35-lap main event paying $2,000 to the victor. Among Paine’s leading chasers will be 2005 top point earners Gary Tomkins, Justin Haers, Chad Brachmann, Vic Coffey, Charlie Donk and Chuck Bower.

Also contending at the 'Land of Legends' are former Canandaigua Sportsman standouts and Mr. DIRT Sportsman champions Matt Sheppard (2000) and Todd Burley (1992), who are now formidable foes in the headline DIRT Modified division. Sheppard, DIRT NorthEast’s only rookie of the year in all three open-wheel divisions ---Modified (2003), 358-Modified (2001), Sportsman (1999)--- scored his first career big-block victory at Canandaigua in ’03. In Sportsman competition, ‘Super Matt’ cracked victory lane 10 times at the popular Ontario County oval while Burley ranks fourth all-time with 14 feature race triumphs. Sheppard finished third behind Tomkins on opening night while Burley settled for fourth-place ahead of 2001 Canandaigua Sportsman points champion Justin Haers.

A full field of cars is expected to be on hand vying for a spot in the 25-lap Paine Motorsports Sportsman main awarding $400 to the winner. Scott Schrader is the reigning Canandaigua Speedway Sportsman points king although Todd Henderson captured the ’06 lid-lifter and hopes to be the newest successor to the throne. Schrader was scored 19th in the April 15th opener.

The Street Stock championship trophy currently rests in the hands of 2005 titlist Mike Welch. This year Canandaigua’s only full-fender class has been broken down between Expert and Novice divisions with separate points awarded and two champions crowned at season’s end. Parts Plus Auto Stores Expert entry Blane Smith copped the initial Street Stock finale while Charles Vohs (11th) was the best among JSB Graphics Novice drivers.

Find out which drivers will receive the second “Team of the Week” awards in Canandaigua’s companion divisions. Feature winners in the DIRT Sportsman and DIRT Street Stock classes get to pull a name from a hat consisting of everyone racing in the respective division on that given night and the team of the driver whose name is drawn is awarded three (3) pit passes for the track’s next regular scheduled event. The inaugural awards were handed out in victory lane during Canandaigua’s season-opener on April 15. In the Sportsman division the #54 Mark Chiddy team won and in the Street Stocks the #90 Nathan Peckham team name was drawn.

Canandaigua Speedway is located on County Road10 at the Ontario County Fairgrounds, just 1-1/2-miles north of Routes 5&20, and is easily accessible from the NYS Thruway (I-90), taking Exit 43 from the west or Exit 44 from the east. Additional information can be obtained by calling 585/394-0961 on raceday or during the week by dialing General Manager Jeff Farney at the track office 315/730-4345. Log into canandaiguaspeedway.com on the internet any time for the most updated rosters, results, point standings and race reports as the season swings into high gear.

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, Hoosier Racing Tire and Sunoco Race Fuels. Promotional partners include AMB i.t., F.X. Caprara Car Companies and the University of Northwestern Ohio and the contingency sponsors are Bert Transmission, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix Cylinder Heads, DART Machinery, Holley HP Carburetors, Integra Shocks, MSD Ignitions, Miller Electric Manufacturing Company, Penske Shocks and Wrisco Industries.