HOT LAPS HOSTED AT CANANDAIGUA

CANANDAIGUA, NY...Forty-six cars turned out on open practice night, Tuesday, April 15. these cars represented seven different divisions of race cars; modified/358-modified, sportsman, pro stocks, street stocks, sprint cars, late models and pro-trucks.

"Track conditions are just great!", gleamed an elated general manager, Jeff Farney. Farney's year 2002 started off with extremely wet conditions that made for rough track conditions.

"We're off to a much better start, I can tell already," stated Farney. "Our track crew deserves a lot of credit for their tireless efforts."

Modifieds were able to turn the track in the mid-18 second bracket, near to Steve Paine's record speed on 18.054 set in 2000. The Sprint cars handled the track in the 16 second range. One mishap saw sprinter Mike Young slide off the track and into a fourth turn barrier in front of the DIRT Safety Truck. Both Young and the Safety Truck were uninjured.

The pro-stock of Brian Thompson caught fire under the hood
during the first of three practice sessions and was unable to
return to later sessions.

In the Sportsman division Eldon Payne Jr. set fast time with a lap in the 19 second bracket. Paul Guererri also proved fast. Returning to the track in a sportsman car was former Street Stock pilot Taunya (Hance) Lovejoy. Hance's new 48Tee is a look alike to Darryl Ruggles's JoshComp 48 Jr. in the modified division.

New looks and machinery were the name of the game during this "open house" session.