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Paine Powers Mods, Guererris Top Sportsman, 3 Straight For Full Fenders
Canandaigua, NY – August 4, 2022 – By Gary M. Spaid, Canandaigua Speedway PR
It was Kids Night at Canandaigua Speedway and there is a Kid in all of us. Steve Paine powered to his fifth feature win in ten starts this season at Canandaigua Speedway. “This new car is really, really good,” stated Paine. “It can get around the track high or low.”
In DIRTcar Sportsman Modified action, Nick Guererri started off the night by winning the rain-delayed feature from July 14. Guererri took the lead at the drop of the green flag and led the entire 14 laps left over. Guererri has had a tough year, especially after being burned at Canandaigua. “I was sitting around the hospital and Dan had told me he had gone and got a new car, and here we are,” commented an elated Guererri about his first Sportsman feature win.
In the regular DIRTcar Sportsman program it was Lake-to-Lake night, a special mini-series run between tracks in the Finger Lakes Region. Paul Guererri, Nick’s cousin, took the 25-lap feature win, making for a Guererri/Guererri victory night. “We put the Rolling Wheels set-up in the car and my crew said to run up high and everything would work out,” Paul stated. “We could go high or low, the car just worked!”
The full-fender features boasted repeat drivers. In PureStox action, Eric Chapman made it three in a row after claiming first-place honors in the 12-lap finale. Mike Welch matched that feat, taking his third start feature win in the UMP Ferris Mowers Street Stock division.
The 35-lap DIRTcar Modified feature opened with Mike Bowman setting up a fine lead, pulling away to a full eight-car advantage over Paine, who had already taken second from Pete Taylor on lap seven. On lap eight the yellow flew for three straight circuits.
On lap eight Eldon Payne Jr. first slowed on the track with a flat tire. The next lap the largest crash of the season took place. Gary Tomkins was exiting the fourth turn when he made contact with the outside cement wall. This contact, along with contact from the other cars, ended with Tomkins having the left front wheel torn off the car. This disabled the steering on Tomkin’s car as he drifted back across the track and number of cars made contact. Eight cars were involved in this wild melee including: Mike Ward, Fran Hilton, Ron Cartwright Jr., Mike Johnson, Paul Habeck, Brian Michaels and Tomkins.
Finally on lap 10 the yellow flew just as Tomkins returned to the track. His repairs were not to last long as on lap 15 he again spun across the front stretch, this time without a pack of cars around him.
Up front it was all Paine and by race end he held nearly a half-lap lead on Chuck Bower. Charlie Donk finished a close third followed by Dave Rauscher and Chad Homan to round out the top-five. “We have a lot of races ahead of us now,” referred Paine to the upcoming weeks and his commitment to the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series. “I hope we can stay ahead of the demands.”
The rain-delayed Sportsman race from July 14 started the night off. Surprisingly, 16 of the 19 starters were present and on the line to begin this event. With 11 laps already in the books, the field only needed 14 laps to complete the distance.
Nick Guererri started on the pole and parlayed that spot into the lead. Guererri would lead all of the remaining 14 laps as the race stayed green the entire make-up distance. Following Guererri across the line were Scott Schrader, Phil LaVare, Paul Guererri and Loren Lincoln.
The regularly scheduled Sportsman 25-lapper was the Lake-to-Lake Challenge. Paul Guererri started on the pole and led all 25 laps of this event. Second-place runner Anthony Rizzardo was able to hold off the rest of the pack as they tried to go by him. Finally on lap 13, Schrader took second yet could not catch the high flying Guererri. The lone yellow in the event flew on lap 18 when John Robinson and Greg Hixson came together exiting the second turn.
In the closing laps Guererri was able to pull out to a 1.4-second lead across the finish line ahead of Schrader, Dan Wiesner, Rizzardo and Tim Currier.
The 12-lap PureStox race included a number of yellow flags beginning on the first aborted start when half the field spun in the second turn as moisture came up through the track during intermission. On the restart Corey Hunt grabbed the lead before Chapman passed him and assumed the point on lap two. Chapman held on to lead the remainder of the race and take his third straight checkered flag. “The track was wet up high,” Chapman stated. “We made a few mistakes tonight but so did everyone else.”
The 15-lap Street Stock race proved to be one of the best run this season. Thirteen cars took the green with Steve Faulkner out front but after two and three wide racing for the lead it was Andy Fisk in command of the race. On lap 12 the yellow flew when Phil Marsden pulled his number 03 high in the third turn and flames appeared under his car.
Fisk lost the lead on the last two laps when Welch, using an outside pass exiting the second turn, took his first lead. Welch remained in front for the final two circuits. Fisk fell back to second and was followed by Adam DePuy, Steve Faulkner and Blane Smith at the line. “I think starting near the back each week helps you to become a better race car driver,” echoed Welch in victory lane.
LEGENDS LEDGER: The Ice Cream Toss was a real crowd pleaser as drivers and officials paired off with kids from the grandstands to toss a bar of ice cream back and forth. Eleven teams started the competition with Dave Rauscher and his partner Stone McLeka taking the winning toss. For Stone, the prize was a new bicycle…..Twenty-six Sportsman were on hand at a chance to earn points in the Lake-to-Lake Challenge crate series. A draw resulted in the heat line-ups, which in turn came down to the winner of the third heat picking a number to be inverted for the feature start. Loren Lincoln took that win in heat three and proceeded to draw number 10, making for 10 cars to be inverted…..Driver of the Week honors went to Chris Guererri in the PureStox, Brian Lyon in the Street Stocks and Nick Guererri in the Sportsman division.
This Saturday the Modified teams will be at Lebanon Valley running an Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series race. In place of the Modifieds, Canandaigua Speedway will be featuring the BRP Late Models along with a special Twin 20 program for Sportsman cars. Also on the race card will be PureStox and Street Stocks. Race time is 7 p.m. sharp.
Canandaigua Speedway canandaiguaspeedway.com is located at the Ontario County Fairgrounds just east of the Village of Canandaigua and just 25 minutes southeast of Rochester.
KIDS RULE! NIGHT presented by STAR HEADLIGHT & LANTERN NIGHT SUMMARY PURESTOX HEAT 1: M. Minutolo, C. Guererri, J. Cronin, E. Chapman. HEAT 2: V. Vanderwall, C. Hunt, R. Lurcock, G. LaVare Jr. STAR HEADLIGHT 12: ERIC CHAPMAN, Vance Vanderwall, Marc Minutolo, Corey Hunt, Chris Guererri, Brian Faulkner, George LaVare Jr., Ross Lurcock, Roger Bush, Jim Cronin (DNS).
UMP/DIRTcar FERRIS MOWERS STREET STOCK HEAT 1: A. DePuy, S. Faulkner, M. Welch, N. Peckham, M. Schultz. HEAT 2: P. Marsden, B. Smith, A. Fisk, M. Dandino, C. Fisher. FERRIS MOWERS 15: MIKE WELCH, Andy Fisk, Adam DePuy, Steve Faulkner, Blane Smith, Nathan Peckham, Mike Schultz, Chris Fisher, Kevin Collins, Mike Dandino, Brian Lyon, Phil Marsden, Chris Jacobs.
LAKE-TO-LAKE DIRTcar SPORTSMAN MODIFIED HEAT 1: D. Wiesner, J. Henderson, P. Guererri, K. Ridley, J. Pontello. HEAT 2: E. Giguere, T. Currier, A. Rizzardo, T. Henderson, P. LaVare. HEAT 3: L. Lincoln, S. Schrader, R. Bussey, B. Fultz, J. Robinson. MONROE WHEELCHAIR 25: PAUL GUERERRI, Scott Schrader, Dan Wiesner, Anthony Rizzardo, Tim Currier, Loren Lincoln, Nick Guererri, Eric Giguere, Justin Henderson, Todd Henderson, Jim Hull, Phil LaVare, Jesse Pontello, Greg Mrzywka, Brady Fultz, Bruce DeWick, Marcus Dinkins, Darryl Hilkert, John Robertson, Joe Cook Jr., Steve Gray, Greg Hixson, Damon Walker, Rob Bussey, Kevin Ridley. HELD OVER - FOX AUTO 25: NICK GUERERRI, Scott Schrader, Phil LaVare, Paul Guererri, Loren Lincoln, Dan Wiesner, Eric Giguere, Anthony Rizzardo, Rob Bussey, Darryl Hilkert, Tim Currier, Greg Mrzywka, Greg Hixson, Daryl Barrett, Kevin Ridley, Eric VanSkiver, Darryl Ruggles, Larry Stell.
DIRTcar BIG-BLOCK MODIFIED HEAT 1: S. Paine, S. Whaley, G. Tomkins, J. Pfeffer, M. Johnson. HEAT 2: C. Donk, C. Homan, D. Podsiadlo, P. Taylor, G. Tegg Jr. HEAT 3: C. Bower, M. Bowman, D. Rauscher, R. Cartwright Jr., P. Habeck. STAR HEADLIGHT 35: STEVE PAINE, Chuck Bower, Charlie Donk, Dave Rauscher, Chad Homan, Gil Tegg Jr., Mike Bowman, Shannon Whaley, John Pfeffer, Eldon Payne Jr., Pete Taylor, Ron Cartwright Jr., Brian Michaels, Ed Monroe, Fran Hilton, Gary Tomkins, Paul Habeck, Derrick Podsiadlo, Mike Ward, Mike Johnson, Neil Onderdonk, Dan McDonald.
The Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series for Big-Block Modifieds 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, Rite Aid Corporation 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. |