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Canandaigua, NY – July 14, 2022 – By Gary M. Spaid, Canandaigua Speedway PR
On Saturday it all came down to just when the rains would get heavy enough to claim the surface of Canandaigua speedway. Under a constant drizzle, all of the scheduled races were completed except for the DIRTcar Modified and Sportsman Modified features.
On lap 11 of the 25-lap Sportsman feature the rains became more persistent causing officials to yellow flag the race for safety purposes. The rain became heavier and the remainder of the feature, 14 laps, was rescheduled to be part of the August 4 program. The Modified feature was canceled and rescheduled for the night of September 1.
As for the full fender classes, Nathan Peckham took home the win in the UMP/DIRTcar Street Stock division, his third feature win of the season at Canandaigua. Eric Chapman increased his total on the year to two feature wins in the PureStox class.
“I like the track a bit more slick and dry,” stated Chapman, referring to the damp and tacky surface.
Peckham added,” The top groove was the preferred line tonight. I tried to stay there as often as I could.”
The 20-lap Street Stock main began with Doug Smith jumping out to a commanding lead from his outside pole starting spot. Smith suddenly slowed with mechanic problems on lap six and caused the yellow to fly. This moved Peckham to the point, yet on the restart he lost the lead to Mike Schultz. One lap later Peckham regained the front spot.
Another lead change and Peckham fought back and on lap 10 to take over the top spot for good. Mike Welch then put an inside pass move on Schultz exiting the second turn with Schultz falling back to third.
The yellow on lap 15 came when Blane Smith lost a rear wheel and axle assembly while sliding around in the third turn. Frank Burnell then ran over the lose wheel causing damage to his radiator.
Late race challenges by Welch fell short and Peckham cruised home the feature winner. Schultz, Andy Fisk and last week’s feature winner Scott Smith rounded out the top-five finishers.
The 10-lap PureStox race proved hard to start, but once it got underway it moved right along. Eric Chapman grabbed the lead at the drop of the green and never looked back. He would lead the entire distance to take the win. Jim Cronin closed in on Chapman in the second half of the race but his efforts fell short and he had to settle to second. George LaVare Jr., Karl Wilkins and Marc Minutolo rounded out the front-five finishers.
The 25-lap Sportsman finale came to the starting line as the weather began to turn wetter and nastier. Nick Guererri blasted out to a commanding 15-car length lead over Scott Schrader. As the field completed lap 11 the rain was coming down harder forcing officials to bring out the yellow in favor of safety.
During this yellow the cars were sent to the pits once the rains became heavier. It was decided to cancel the remainder of the night’s races and reschedule both the rest of the Sportsman feature and the complete 35-lap DIRTcar Modified main.
LEGEND LEDGER: Marc Minutolo and Scott Smith were picked as “Drivers of the Week”. Each will receive two passes to get into the races next week….With weather in the area Gary Tomkin’s crew decided to stay closer to home…Gil Tegg Jr. was out for the first time in 2022 at Canandaigua. He finished fifth in his heat race…Darryl Ruggles returned to the seat of the back-up Fox Auto number 58 usually driven by Scott Schrader. Schrader drove the primary Fox Auto sportsman car…Rain throughout the state caused a number of competitors to arrive late at Canandaigua. Both Vic Coffey and Justin Haers made the trek back from Can-Am Motorsports Park, which cancelled around 6 p.m. Both cars were added to the back of the Modified feature…Canandaigua regular and Modified Rookie candidate Paul Habeck, drove a mini-sprint on Wednesday evening at the Monroe County Fair Speedway. This new track is located behind the dome, to the west. Monroe County’s original track (now torn up to make way for a new Wegman’s Super Store) hosted NASCAR Grand National races in the 1950s.
Saturday, July 21 will be Budweiser presents the Five Star Series for DIRTcar Big-Blocks. Along with this special Modified race that pits cars from Fulton, Can-Am and Canandaigua for series points, a full program of Sportsman Modifieds, UMP Street Stocks and PureStox has been scheduled. Add to that a special Mod Lite show and an “Ugly Truck“ contest. So bring that ugly pick-up truck and enter to see if you have the “ugliest truck in the land”. Race time on July 21 is 7 p.m. sharp.
FOX’S AUTO “BETTY & BARNEY” NIGHT SUMMARY PURESTOX HEAT: J. Cronin, E. Chapman, K. Wilkins, M. Minutolo, R. Lurcock, G. LaVare Jr. FOX AUTO FEATURE (10-laps): ERIC CHAPMAN, Jim Cronin, George LaVare Jr., Karl Wilkins, Marc Minutolo, Ross Lurcock, Brian Faulkner, Corey Hunt, Tom Shoemaker III, Chris Guererri.
UMP FERRIS MOWERS STREET STOCKS HEAT 1: M. Schultz, A. DePuy, C. Fisher, A. Fisk, S. Smith. HEAT 2: N. Peckham, D. Smith, M. Welch, B. Smith, L. Lewis. FOX AUTO FEATURE (20-laps): NATHAN PECKHAM, Mike Welch, Mike Schultz, Andy Fisk, Scott Smith, Leroy Lewis, Dave Marcuccilli, Phil Marsden, Chris Fisher, Chris Jacobs, Adam DePuy, Doug Smith, Blane Smith, Frank Burnell, Steve Faulkner (DNS)
DIRTcar SPORTSMAN MODIFIED HEAT 1: S. Schrader, P. LaVare, D. Hilkert, L. Lincoln, D. Wiesner. HEAT 2: E. Giguere, N. Guererri, M. Chiddy, K. Ridley, P. Guererri. FOX AUTO FEATURE (11 laps completed, line up, to be completed on 8/4/07): Nick Guererri, Scott Schrader, Phil LaVare, Eric Giguere, Mark Chiddy, Anthony Rizzardo, Loren Lincoln, Paul Guererri, Darryl Hilkert, Kevin Ridley, Tim Currier, Dan Wiesner, Rob Bussey, Eric VanSkiver, Darryl Ruggles, Greg Hixson, Greg Mrzywka, Daryl Barrett, Larry Stell (-two laps)
DIRTcar BIG-BLOCK MODIFIED HEAT 1: E. Payne Jr., C. Bower, M. Johnson, C. Donk, S. Whaley. HEAT 2: P. Taylor, C. Homan, P. Vigneri, D. Podsiadlo, G. Tegg Jr. HEAT 3: D. Rauscher, M. Bowman, S. Paine, G. Tomkins, R. Hefti. FOX AUTO FEATURE (35-lap-Line Up to be run 9/1/07): Eldon Payne Jr., Pete Taylor, Mike Johnson, Phil Vigneri, Dave Rauscher, Chad Homan, Russ Hefti, Chuck Bower, Mike Bowman, Shannon Whaley, Derrick Podsiadlo, Steve Paine, Charlie Donk, Gary Tomkins, Gil Tegg Jr., Fran Hilton, Paul Habeck, John Pfeffer, Neal Onderdonk, Don Slover, Justin Haers, Vic Coffey.
The DIRTcar 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, Integra Shocks, MSD Ignitions, Miller Electric Manufacturing Company and Wrisco Industries. |