The start of Super Dirt Week marked the end of a successful first season at Weedsport Speedway. The grandstands were once again filled with fans anxious for the kick-off of Super Dirt Week.
A new red clay racing surface, ticketing system, and vendor setup were some of the additions to the facility that fans were able to enjoy on the final night of the Weedsport racing season.
The 358-modified feature started off with Ryan Godown jumping out to an early lead over the field. Behind him the field began to shift and take form, as Sheppard made an early pass on Tim McCreadie going into turn 4. By lap 10 the 25 car of Erick Rudolph would crack the top-10 after starting 13th, and Ryan Godown would extend his lead to 1.664 seconds over second place Sheppard.Chad Brachmann, Tim McCreadie and Anthony Perrego rounded out the top 5.
On lap 13 Godown began to deal with lapped traffic allowing Sheppard and Brachmann to gain ground. Brachmann appeared to have the strongest car early on, moving up from his 8th starting position to 3rd. He wasn’t satisfied with 3rd, passing both Godown and Sheppard by lap 18 to take over the lead.
Brachmann had no trouble weaving his way through lapped traffic, extending his lead to 1.502 seconds over Sheppard and Godown. The lead continued to grow to almost 3 seconds until the first caution of the race on lap 27 would come out due to a spin in turn 2 involving Erick Rudolph. During the caution there was be a second accident as Jeff Brownell Jr. and Ryan Susice would get tangled up causing the 99L of Larry Wight to run into the back on them. Brownell would head the pits as a result of the accident.
Just 1 lap after the first yellow, the second caution came out as Tim Currier and Pete Britten got into one another in turn 4, collecting a number of other competitors. Tim Currier would bring his car to the pits, while the other cars involved sustained minimal damage.
The green flag was dropped, and Brachmann once again began to open up his lead. The top 5 remained the same, with Rich Laubach running in 6th, Mike Mahaney 7th, Pat Ward 8th, Brett Hearn 9th and Stewart Friesen 10th.
Lap 37 and 38 would see a pair of cautions. Mat Williamson came to a stop on the backstretch for the first caution, and then the 93 machine of Ryan Barlett and the 25 of Erick Rudolph would get tangled up in turn 2 for the second caution. Danny Johnson would make his way to the pits during the second caution to change a left rear flat.
On the restart Godown was making a charge at Sheppard for the number 2 position. Sheppard was able to hold him off, but in doing so Brachmann would open up a favorable lead once again. On lap 40 Brachmann would set the fast lap for the race at 17.695 seconds – looking as if he was going to be untouchable.
Stewart Friesen continued his charge to the front of the field, running in the 7th position after starting in position 12. By lap 50 the race began to take shape as drivers began to settle in single file.
The lapped car factor would once again come into play for Brachmann, allowing Sheppard to slowly shave down the 2.115 second lead Brachmann possesed. By lap 52 the lead was down to 3/10 of a second, making it seem as if Brachmann could be caught.
Just 1 lap later Sheppard would take the high line and Pass Brachmann for the lead. Sheppard navigated his way through lapped traffic extending his lead to almost a second. He would not look back, cruising his way to his first victory of the season at The Port. Brachmann would finish 2nd, Godown 3rd, Tim McCreadie 4th and Anthony Perrego would sum up the top 5 spots.
The racing action was not over, as the 30-lap sportsman would take the green led by 41 of Boyd MacTavish. Dave Marcuccilli was in hot pursuit of MacTavish looking for his 2nd victory at Weedsport in three attempts.
On lap 3 the first caution came out as Greg Martin would spin in turn 4. MacTavish was still clinging on to his lead followed by Marcuccilli, Steve Grey, Rocky Warner, and Gary Lindberg.
Taylor Caprara proved to be the hard charger of the race. By lap 7 he had already advanced to the 11th position after starting 21st. Up front Marcuccilli was finally able to make a pass on MacTavish to claim the lead.
The field would settle in single file until lap 27. The 98h of Justin Lalancette would bring out the second caution of the race, followed shortly after by the third caution involving the 30 of Brad Rouse and the 80 of Matt Smith. Tempers would flare as Smith would spin Rouse under yellow resulting in his removal from the race.
Dave Marcuccilli would cruise to his second victory of the year at Weedsport, following by the g29 of Steve Grey, the 41 of MacTavish, the 97 of Rocky Warner and the c19 of Gary Lindberg.
As Super Dirt Week begins, the Weedsport season comes to a close. A successfull final race was made possible by the tremendous competitors, fans and staff at The Port. Weedsport Speedway looks forward to continue improving the facility for the racers and fans for next season. Be sure to stay tuned into Weedsport by following us on facebook and twitter and checking the webpage at www.weedsportspeedway.com for scheduling updates and online ticket purchasing.
Results
358-Modified Feature Results:
1-Matt Sheppard 2-Chad Brachmann 3-Ryan Godown 4-Tim McCreadie 5-Anthony Perrego 6-Rick Laubach 7-Stewart Friesen 8-Larry Wight 9-Mike Mahaney 10-Jimmy Phelps 11-Pat Ward 12-Brett Hearn 13-Ryan Bartlett 14-Ryan Susice 15-Alan Johnson 16-Peter Britten 17-Roy Bresnahan 18-Mario Clair 19-Lance Willix II 20-Erick Rudolph 21-Danny Johnson 22-Mat Williamson 23-Neal Williams 24-Carey Terrance 25-Ryan Arbuthnot 26-Danny Creeden 27-Brady Fultz 28-Jeff Brownell Jr. 29-Tim Currier 30-Brian Sage
Sportsman Feature Results:
1-Dave Marcuccilli 2-Steve Gray 3-Boyd MacTavish 4-Rocky Warner 5-Gary Lindberg 6-Taylor Caprara 7-Shane Pecore 8-Mathieu Dejardins 9-Adam Hilton 10-Cody McPherson 11-Mike Maresca 12-Alan Fink 13-Ron Davis III 14-Louie Jackson Jr. 15-Corey Wheeler 16-Greg Martin 17-Brad Rouse 18-Justin Lalancette 19-Jeremy Pitcher 20-Martin Pelletier 21-David Rodgers 22-Joey Ladouceur 23-Ryan Stabler 24-Mike Stacey 25-Earl Rudy 26-Jessica Power 27-Kane Bristol 28-Matt Smith 29-Kevin Ridley 30-Don Spatorico
358-Modified Heat Results:
Heat1: Pat Ward, Brady Fultz, Mat Williamson, Brett Hearn, Tim Currier, Carey Terrance, Mike Bowman, Mario Clair, Tyler Dippel, Bill Mullin
Heat 2: Ryan Godown, Rick Laubach, Stewart Friesen, Jimmy Phelps, Dany Creeden, Danny O’Brien, Ryan Arbuthnot, Bobby Herrington, Lance Willix II, John Smith
Heat 3: Chad Brachmann, Neal Williams, Erick Rudolph, Jeff Brownell Jr., Brian Sage, Danny Johnson, Alan Therrien, Zach Aubertine, Yan Bussiere, Roger Chrysler
Heat 4: Matt Sheppard, Mike Mahaney, Peter Britten, Larry Wight, Ryan Susice, Jeff McGinnis, Randy Chrysler, Jordan McCreadie, Kyle Weiss, John McKenney Jr.
Heat 5: Tim McCreadie, Anthony Perrego, Roy Bresnahan, Alan Johnson, Ryan Bartlett, Clement Therrien, Kevin Bates, Kyle Dingwall, Brian Gleason, Roy Shields, Sammy Reakes IV
Sportsman Heat Results:
Heat 1: Adam Hilton, Gary Lindberg, Steve Gray, Cody McPherson, Martin Pelletier, Jeremy Pitcher, David Rodgers, Tristan Draper, Tim Murphy
Heat 2: Dave Marcuccilli, Shane Pecore, Brad Rouse, Mathieu Dejardins, Jessica Power, Ryan Stabler, Taylor Caprara, Ron Davis III, Aaron Pugh
Heat 3: Don Spatorico, Boyd MacTavish, Matt Smith, Kane Bristol, Alan Fink, Joey Ladouceur, Derrick Borkenhagen, Mike Maresca, Darryl Nutting, Jason Simmons
Heat 4: Rocky Warner, Greg Martin, Kevin Ridley, Corey Wheeler, Justin Lalancette, Earl Rudy, Louie Jackson Jr., Brianna Ladouceur, Mike Stacey, Jimmy Morton