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Coffey Wins First Canandaigua DIRT Mod Main, Guererri Top Sportsman Canandaigua, NY – May 20, 2006 – By Gary M. Spaid, Canandaigua PR Canandaigua Speedway seemed to be the “place to race” last Saturday following a number of tracks losing their shows to wet weather. Some 33 DIRT Modifieds made their way to the famed “Land of Legends” to do battle. Local favorite Vic Coffey, from Leicester, NY, topped all of the invaders and held off Steve Paine to take his first 35-lap DIRT Modified feature win of the year at Canandaigua. “I knew he (Steve Paine) was coming, but I just remained calm and kept my line,” stated a jubilant Coffey from victory lane. “When you don’t remain calm you make mistakes and mistakes here cost you in passes made against you.” The DIRT Sportsman finale lasted 31 minutes with Paul Guererri from Geneva, N.Y. surviving seven yellow flags to the 25-lapper. In Street Stock action it was Mike Dandino claiming the 10-lap Novice feature win and Blane Smith continued to dominate the 15-lap Expert division. A special 20-lap A-Main for the ASCS Patriot Sprint Cars was won by local star Chuck Hebing, from Ontario. More sprint coverage can be found in a separate release. The start of the DIRT Modified main saw Waterloo’s Dave Rauscher grab the early lead and set fast lap of the race in doing so. Chad Brachmann hung onto Rauscher’s rear nerf bar, finally passing for the lead on lap four. Brachmann then proceeded to establish his lead and pull away from the rest of the field. Following a battle with Charlie Donk and Rauscher, Vic Coffey was able to take second on lap 13. He then took off after Brachmann but a yellow flag on lap 16 would help Coffey catch the leader as Gary Tomkins spun in the third turn. The restart saw yet another yellow when Jeff Isabell looped his car in the third turn. The restart saw Coffey take the lead as Brachmann faded back to third behind Steve Paine. Coffey also began the process of building his advantage over Paine. Things looked good for Coffey until lapped traffic became a factor and Paine closed in dramatically. The final lap saw Paine duck to the low side and drag race Coffey to the finish line. Billy Decker, Donk and Todd Burley chased them across the stripe. “We’ve not been real good this year,” commented Coffey. “But now things may have turned around for us and start going in the right direction.” Twenty-six Sportsman cars raced under the initial green and Loren Lincoln took the lead from his pole starting spot. But after just two circuits the yellow flag flew when rookie Danielle Culverwall spun to the outside of the fourth turn. The restart saw only one more circuit with Mark Chiddy in the lead before the yellow was out for a second time. This time, new-comer Brandon Sweet looped his number 24 mount in the third turn. Two more yellow laps followed, mainly due to minor spin outs. A four-car melee between the third and fourth turns prevented one restart from even happening. With just a handful of laps in the books the restarts were changed to single file. Todd Henderson grabbed the point on the lap seven restart. Henderson would make it through two more yellows on laps 12 and 13, each time remaining in command of the race. Guererri was now running second and closing the gap. A final yellow on lap 22 eventually proved to be the difference. The restart saw Guererri pull to the high groove and set up his pass. On the final lap Guererri made the move stick to take the victory while Scott Schrader ducked between the leaders and took second from Henderson in the final turn of the event. The 10-lap Novice feature ran green-to-checkers. Rob Ingraham was the early leader. On lap five, Mike Dandino took the lead and never looked back. Dandino took his first win of the year followed by Ingraham, Charles Vohs, Dave Buscemi and Casey Wagner. The 15-lap Expert main was full of action. Three different drivers led the event at one time or another. First Mike Welch led until a lap four restart when Nathan Peckham took command for two laps. Blane Smith then slipped into the lead and took the feature win. He was followed across the line by Peckham, Frank Burnell Jr., Leroy Lewis and Welch. LEGEND LINES: Chris Gingrich rolled his Street Stock three times in the fourth turn during his heat race. He was able exited the car on his own….Roy Shields had no place to go after Randy Chrysler spun on the front straight during the Modified consolation race. Shield slammed into the side of the Chrysler machine sending the Chrysler car high into the air. Randy was winded some from the impact and had to be helped out. Shields, a veteran of many years behind the wheel, remained in his car as it was towed back to the pits… Both Can-Am and Fulton rained out bringing many drivers back to their roots at Canandaigua including past track champions Alan and Danny Johnson, Billy Decker plus reigning Mr. DIRT points king Tim Fuller and Pat Ward while Decker had the best finish of the invaders, coming home third in the feature. This Saturday will be the Taney Memorial honoring the Taney family, especially Denis, Fred and Kelly, all former workers or competitors at Canandaigua. Race time is at 7 p.m. sharp. Scheduled on the race card will be a 50-lapper for the headline DIRT Modifieds. The Sportsman and two divisions of Street Stocks will also be in action. FINGER LAKES GAMING, F/A PRODUCTS-COBRA MOTORHOMES NIGHT SUMMARY DIRT STREET STOCK DIRT SPORTSMAN DIRT MODIFIED |