Warner Dominates Sportsman Feature; Third Winner in Three Races
WEEDSPORT, NY (July 12, 2017) – The ‘Flying Squirrel’, Rocky Warner, flew to victory in the second green to checkered Beyea Custom Headers Sportsman Shootout Series event of the season at Weedsport Speedway on Tuesday evening, becoming the third Sportsman winner in three races this year at The Port.
Warner’s victory, which saw him take the lead on lap 9 from Nick Guererri, was worth a cool $1,000 as he topped Sportsman Classic champion Dave Marcuccilli, Taylor Caprara, opening night winner Kevin Ridley, and Kevin Root in the top five positions.
The night’s 25-lap main event would see Guererri and Root start from the front row via a 12-car redraw, with Guererri gaining the early advantage in the No. 25G.
It did not take long for Warner to pounce into striking position from his third starting spot, stealing second from Root on lap two. From there it was all Guererri and Warner in the early stages as the duo raced away from the field.
With Guererri and Warner distancing themselves from the pack, Classic champion Marcuccilli began to make moves in the No. M1 from his sixth starting position. As Caprara and Root battled for third, Marcuccilli broke into the top five and began looking for racing room on the battling No. 21T and No. 34.
Caprara looked stout all night long, finally snagging the third position from Root on lap 7 as Warner mounted his charge on Guererri out front.
It took only nine circuits for Warner to hunt out the lead as he moved to the outside in turn four to top Guererri coming to complete lap 10. As soon as Warner edged to the front, he began to pull away.
At the halfway point Warner held a full straight away advantage on Guererri, Caprara, Root, and Marcuccilli, but lapped traffic would soon become key.
At lap 15 Caprara continued his great night, working underneath Guererri for second in turn four. Guererri would now have to hold off the advances of Marcuccilli, Root, Ridley, and Tyler Trump.
With just five laps remaining, Warner was playing traffic perfectly, as he held a sizeable lead in the No. 1J. Caprara still rode second with Marcuccilli having worked by Guererri for third. Root held on in the top five at lap 20 with Ridley, Trump, Willy Decker Jr., Ronnie Davis III, and Todd Root holding the top ten.
In the late stages, it was clear that nobody had anything for Warner on this day as Marcuccilli was able to streak by Capara late for the runner-up position.
Weedsport point leader Ridley made a great charge in the waning laps to come home in the fourth position with Kevin Root, Guererri, Trump, Decker, Todd Root, and Davis III the front ten runners.
A total of 33 Sportsman were in the pit area with Todd Root, Ridley, Caprara, and Ben Wheeler winning qualifying heats. Tom Collins won the 14 car consolation.
Weedsport Speedway returns to action on Sunday, August 13 with the WACK 1420AM ESS Sprint Car Legends Reunion fueled by Pit Stop Convenience Stores along with the Beyea Custom Headers Sportsman Shootout Series.
For a full 2017 Weedsport Speedway schedule and detailed information on the August 13 ESS Legends Reunion, be sure to visit online at www.weedsportspeedway.com. Fans can also FOLLOW on Twitter @WeedsportSpdwy and LIKE on Facebook at www.facebook.com/weedsportspeedway.
Beyea Custom Headers Sportsman Shootout Series
Feature (25-laps): 1. 1J – Rocky Warner, 2. M1 – Dave Marcuccilli, 3. 21T – Taylor Caprara, 4. 20X – Kevin Ridley, 5. 34 – Kevin Root, 6. 25G – Nick Guererri, 7. 9X – Tyler Trump, 8. 1X – Willy Decker, 9. 15 – Todd Root, 10. 32R – Ron Davis III, 11. 99 – Ben Wheeler, 12. 18P – Casey Pavlick, 13. 12G – Matt Guererri, 14. 60 – Jackson Gill, 15. 38 – Zach Sobotka, 16. 111 – Brett Senek, 17. 82 – Will Shields, 18. 27Z – Dylan Zacharias, 19. 24K – Nick Krause, 20. 98T – Tyler Thompson, 21. 713 – Tom Collins, 22. 16 – Earl Rudy, 23. 20 – Dave Schilling, 24. 31B – Corey Barker, 25. 52 – Jessica Power, 26. 72 – Mike Prentice
Heat #1 (8-laps, 5-Qualify) 1. 15 – Todd Root, 2. 27Z – Dylan Zacharias, 3. 1X – Willy Decker, 4. 18P – Casey Pavlick, 5. 98T – Tyler Thompson, 6. 20 – Dave Schilling, 7. 52 – Jessica Power, 8. 21X – Eric Williams, 9. 22 – Geoffrey Daugherty
Heat #2 (8-laps, 5-Qualify): 1. 20X – Kevin Ridley, 2. 32R – Ron Davis III, 3. 1J – Rocky Warner, 4. 24K – Nick Krause, 5. 60 – Jackson Gill, 6. 82 – Will Shields, 7. 22J – Jeremy Dygert, 8. 21X – Jeff Devolli, 9. 21XX – Marty Kelly
Heat #3 (8-laps, 5-Qualify): 1. 21T – Taylor Caprara, 2. M1 – Dave Marcuccilli, 3. 9X – Tyler Trump, 4. 72 – Mike Prentice, 5. 111 – Brett Senek, 6. 713 – Tom Collings, 7. 21C – Brian Calabresse, 8. 1T – Charlie Tibbits
Heat #4 (8-laps, 5-Qualify): 1. 99 – Ben Wheeler, 2. 34 – Kevin Root, 3. 25G – Nick Guererri, 4. 12G – Matt Guererri, 5. 31 – Corey Barker, 6. 3 – Jacob Dijen, 7. 16 – Earl Rudy, 8. 38 – Zach Sobotka
Consi (8-laps, 4-Qualify): 1. 713 – Tom Collins, 2. 20 – Dave Schilling, 3. 38 – Zach Sobotka, 4. 82 – Will Shields, 5. 52 – Jessica Power, 6. 16 – Earl Rudy, 7. 21C – Brian Calabresse, 8. 22J – Jeremy Dygert, 9. 3 – Jacob Dijen, 10. 21C – Jeff Devoli, 11. 22 – Geoff Daugherty, 12. 21X – Eric Williams, 13. 1T – Charlie Tibbits, 14. 21XX – Marty Kelly
About Weedsport Speedway: Purchased in 2013 by Al Heinke, Weedsport Speedway has returned to a real racers track, providing a complete venue for racers, their families and friends, and for the fans looking for motorsports entertainment. Officially opened for the first time on July 24, 1955 – the Weedsport Speedway 3/8 mile dirt oval has produced a legendary list of drivers and champions including Will Cagle, Danny Johnson, Bob McCreadie, Alan Johnson, Jack Johnson, and Dave Lape to name a few. Today the facility welcomes the best of the best in dirt short track racing from the Craftsman World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series to the Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds along with the DIRTcar 358-Modifieds, Sportsman, Pro Stocks, and more. While racing entertainment is the focal point, Weedsport Speedway has gone the extra mile in welcoming Weedsport Productions, which brings the facility full circle with a dedicated digital entertainment team for web, television, and on site screen usage.