Season Opener On Horizon At Land Of Legends Raceway For 56th Year

Story By: TOM SKIBINSKI / LAND OF LEGENDS RACEWAY – CANANDAIGUA, NY – Anticipation continues to grow for fans and racers in Ontario County as Land of Legends Raceway readies for its 56th season of Motorsports activity on the fairgrounds.

Popular promoter Paul Cole is back at the helm, in 2019 offering a four-star show of Pepsi/Geneva Club Beverage Big-Block Modified, Sportsman, Mike Emhof Motorsports 305 Sprint Car and Big Dog Country 103.5FM Radio Street Stock action in every Saturday Spectacular staged through Labor Day weekend.

A trio of mid-week specials during the summer and two more mega main events in September swell the total to 25 high-speed happenings, making Canandaigua THE place to be when the green flag flies in the Finger Lakes.

The historic Ontario Co. Fairgrounds oval comes to life this spring for the first of two practice sessions on Sat., April 13. Warm-ups for all divisions take the first green flag at 10 a.m. with both grandstands and pit gates swinging open at 9. A second practice round is scheduled for Wed., April 17, all gates opening at 4 p.m. and track time available from 5-8 p.m. While concessions will be available only on Saturday, grandstand general admission is free both practice days and the daily pit fee is $20.

Marking the track’s 42nd year of operation under the DIRTcar Racing banner, the official ‘season-opener’ finally arrives on Sat., Apr. 20 with Sportsman taking center stage in the ‘Cabin Fever 40.’ The initial Saturday Spectacular includes a lead-off 35-lap feature for the mighty Modifieds along with qualifying and main events for Sprints and Street Stocks.

The adult grandstand ticket price is $15 for Saturday Spectaculars, $13 for Seniors (65 yrs. plus) while 16 and under are FREE with a paid adult. Reserved Grandstand seating for a weekly show is $17 and $2 for all children 16 and under. Seniors 65+ are $15. Grandstand gates open at 5 p.m. and racing begins at 7 p.m.

“I didn’t just wake up one morning and say ‘hey, I want to run a race track,’ ” stated SuperGen Products chief proprietor Cole, now in his second season spearheading operations at the spacious speedplant alongside General Manager Greg Emerson and Race Director Greg Hixson, with a dedicated speedway staff and track grounds crew following their lead. “This whole deal actually started a couple years ago after a call from the (Ontario County) fairboard. Now we’re all moving ahead full steam together. It takes a lot of good people to get the job done, from car owners to employees to the fans, and I’m fortunate to have some of the best and most loyal providing their support every week throughout the race season.”

Cole is also blessed to have in competition some of the best drivers in the racing business, once again boasting weekly Big-Block standouts like reigning points king Erick Rudolph, multi-time Super DIRTcar Series champion Matt Sheppard and all-time Canandaigua feature winner Alan Johnson.

An all-out assault on the Sportsman Modified track title will be made in ’19 as four-time division points champ Dave Marcuccilli has graduated into the Small-Block ranks, leaving the door open for Guererri family front-runners Matt, Paul and Nick, along with returning veterans Steve Gray and Kevin Ridley.

While the DIRTcar Sportsman class has absorbed the entry-level Legends Sportsman division, the recent expansion will now provide more racing, more money and a pair of paying feature events on a weekly basis in 2019. Both races will offer points with the 25-lap A-Main winner earning $750 and 20-lap B-Main winner collecting $100; every starter will take home no less than $50.

Any Sportsman rookie (as designated at pit sign in) will be allowed to start tail end of the “B’ feature without needing to run a qualifying race. All drivers registered for 80% of the scheduled races in 2019 will be eligible for post-season point fund money regardless of position finished.

Four-time and defending MEM 305 track champion Darryl Ruggles leads the winged warriors back to the fairgrounds for an eighth consecutive campaign, joined by his daughter and ’18 points runner-up Alysha Bay in the battle for household supremacy. Full-fender favorites Adam DePuy and Marc Minutolo are also expected back to trade paint as they contend for the coveted crown in Canandaigua’s spirited stock car class.

Following in the tire tracks of the ‘Cabin Fever 40’ springtime speedfest, a number of special events jam the Canandaigua calendar during the upcoming months.

Patriot Sprint Tour shows are slated for April 27 and June 22 while Empire Super Sprints take on the hallowed half-mile July 4 and August 3. CRSA Sprints fill the card on May 18, July 20, Aug. 17 and Sept. 6-7 as part of the inaugural New York Nationals for 360 Sprints. The New York Nationals also culminates the ’19 Land of Legends 360 Championship Series, with winners of the four PST/ESS events locked into the Sept. 7 A-Main.

Showcasing some of the best sprint car drivers in the Northeast, top wheelmen will be sharing over $35,000 in the two-day NY Nationals extravaganza. Friday will be highlighted by Triple 15-lap qualifying races ($1,000-to-win/$125-to-start), with six drivers advancing into Saturday’s A-Main. Round 4 of the Land of Legends 305 CRSA Crown Series will also be contested along with a 75-lap Street Stock feature.

The Saturday championship slate will include heats, consolations and dashes to fill the remainder of the field for the $5,000-to-win, $400-to-start 360 Sprint final penciled in for 35 laps around the fast fairgrounds layout. A 50-lap Sportsman special and Round 5 of the 305 CRSA Crown Series completes the card.

The ‘Liberty 100’ headlines a Big-Block Modified Super DIRTcar Series showdown on July 4, while DIRTcar Modifieds return to close out the season in wine country on Sept. 28. Northeast DIRTcar Sportsman Series travelers are back in town for extra-distance events on June 29 and Sept. 28, with the autumn curtain-closer rewarding the winner a $1,750 share of the lucrative $10,000-plus payout.

The summer season sizzles at the speedway with the addition of Monster Trucks & Quad Wars, Modified Nostalgia Tour appearances, 1-on-1 stock car races, demolition derbies, power wheel races, and the always popular autograph night, along with Legends Inductee nights on May 18, June 22, July 13 and Aug. 24. Ontario County Fair Championship races for Sportsman, 305 Sprint and Street Stock teams will be held Wed., July 24 during the 176th annual celebration, with no racing on tap Sat., July 27.