August Ends Saturday At Canandaigua Speedway With Back To School Battles

 

Canandaigua, NY – August 21, 2022 – Tom Skibinski, Canandaigua Speedway PR Director

 

The month of racing comes to a close Saturday at Canandaigua Speedway with all four weekly divisions battling for valuable points on August 25. Current leaders Steve Paine (Modified), Dan Wiesner (Sportsman), Mike Welch (Street Stock) and Marc Minutolo (PureStox) have just two more weekends to settle the score in their 2022 title bids.

 

The ground-pounding DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds return to action Saturday at the ‘Land of Legends’ joining a full program of Sportsman Modifieds, UMP/DIRTcar Street Stocks and PureStox, with the final edition of the WNYR 98.5 Crazy Chicks-n-Cars Catfight highlighting Back To School Night at the Ontario County Fairgrounds. Qualifying races begin at 7 p.m. sharp, pit gates unlock at 4 o’clock and grandstand gates swing open at 5 p.m.

 

Waterloo, N.Y. veteran Steve Paine is Canandaigua’s all-time points champion and is on the brink of becoming DIRTcar NorthEast’s all-time record-holder if he can hold on for an unprecedented eighth straight Big-Block Championship at the fairgrounds. A division-high total of five feature wins have kept runner-up Chuck Bower (1 win) in the shadow of Paine’s no. 7x Tallmadge Tire/Troyer machine throughout the ’07 campaign, while Charlie Donk (2) and Derrick Podsiadlo (1) remain long-shots coming down the stretch.

 

Following in Paine’s tire tracks, Wiesner tops the Sportsman win list with a class-best four victories and currently clings to a 20-point advantage over Paul Guererri (3 wins), as Loren Lincoln (1), Tim Currier (2) and Eric Giguere remain the closest pursuers. Despite reaching double-digits with 10 career feature wins at the legendary oval, Wiesner is yet to take home a championship trophy from his Saturday night hangout in the Finger Lakes.

 

Three-time UMP/DIRTcar Street Stock track champion Mike Welch has been the most dominant figure at Canandaigua this season, posting more feature wins (7) than any driver in any weekly division. Welch can clinch yet another season points crown just but showing up, leaving Blane Smith (3 wins) and Andy Fisk (2) to contend for runner-up laurels at the popular Routes 5& 20 speedplant.

 

First-year full-fender pilot Marc Minutolo (2 wins) is on course to quickly solidify veteran status as he continues to top the PureStox division points chart with just a pair of track point races remaining. Second-generation driver Minutolo holds a healthy advantage over Corey Hunt (1) while Eric Chapman (5) has the most victories in this entry-level class.

 

All the track champions will be declared when Canandaigua’s point season concludes on Saturday, September 1. Mark your calendar now for the 2022 season-finale on Sept. 15 when Mr. DIRTcar Championship events take center stage for Sportsman Mods and Street Stocks, with a special Mod Lites Can-Am Challenge making up the big tripleheader.

 

Canandaigua Speedway on the Ontario County Fairgrounds is located just east of the city, with the track being easily accessible by using either Exit 44 (traveling east) or Exit 43 (traveling west) of the New York State Thruway. Additional information can be obtained by calling 585/394-0691 on raceday, during the week by dialing the DIRTcar Racing NorthEast office at 315/834-6606 and logging in anytime to canandaiguaspeedway.com.

 

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.