Dunn Dominates With Double Triumph At Can-Am Motorsports Park
Story By: ADAM CORNELL / CAN-AM MOTORSPORTS PARK – LAFARGEVILLE, NY – It was the final night for points and the points were awarded double the usual at Caprara’s Can-Am Motorsports Park in Lafargeville, NY.
Billy Dunn took home the feature victory as well as the track championship on Saturday night, at the Nasty Track of the North. Dunn had to weave his way through the field, after starting ninth, but managed the feat early. He had some competition from Ryan Bartlett, who owned the lead through several early laps, and was running fast. But Dunn captured the lead in lap eight and never gave it back.
“We’ve been off the last couple of races here, but we got it straightened back out,” Dunn said from victory lane. “We set up for later in the race when the track got a little slicker, and it came to us. The guys on the RLM Motorsports team worked really hard to put the number 9 together. It’s a small team and they worked really hard for this.”
Preston Forbes took the victory in the Sportsman Modified feature, while Taylor Caprara captured the track championship. “It’s been a rough year for us this year,” Forbes said from victory lane. “We’ve been through a lot of parts.”
“I can’t thank Kevin Root enough for bringing his car down and letting us run it,” Caprara said, when asked about the track championship. “I didn’t do anything but drive the car. It’s been a tough year this year. And some bad luck the last couple of weeks. Our main goal was getting the victory tonight and getting down front. That was our focus. We will wait and see what the future holds.”
Shawn Kirby took the feature win and the track championship in the Pro Street Stock class, edging out Sid Harmer Jr. by just two points for the track victory.
Other winners on the night were Joe Orvis in Thunderstocks and Matt Brown in Novice Sportsman. Chuck Monica was crowned track champion in the Thunderstock class, while Matt Brown walked away with the track championship for Novice Sportsman after his feature win.
Racing returns on Friday September 8th and Saturday September 9th when GRIT Sportsman comes to town on Friday and Empire Super Sprints roar onto the track on Saturday.
For more info, visit racecanam.com or canammotorsports on Facebook.
HEAT RACES:
PRO STREET STOCK: The first of two heats had 32 Ryan Shanahan and 83D Dustin Bradley starting in the top two positions. By lap three, 1x Mike White was able to move up to second place, passing up Shanahan. A lap later, White was in the lead. Both Bradley and Shanahan got tangled up through turns three and four of lap five, and ended up at the back of the field after a caution flag unfurled. This left White alone in first place, but 3K Shawn Kirby was challenging. 14R Sid Harmer Jr. pushed for position on the final lap restart, but had to settle for third. At the checkered flag, it was 1x Mike White with the victory, 3k Shawn Kirby in second and 14R Sid Harmer Jr. in third.
The second heat had 62 Johnathan Murphy and 3 Rick Dusckas in the top two starting positions. Dusckas launched to an early lead, while 680 Sid Harmer Sr. 4 Mike Durham and 55 Kenny Clark went three wide through turns one and two on the first lap. Murphy faded back through the pack, while Durham continued to charge up through the pack, taking over second place by lap two. It took three more laps for Durham to take over the lead. Durham took the lead all the way to the checkered flag. At the conclusion of the heat race, it was 4 Mike Durham with the win, 3 Rick Dusckas in second with 680 Sid Harmer Sr. in third.
SPORTSMAN MODIFIED: M1 Rick McCready and 45R Preston Forbes started in the top two positions for the first heat. 24 Jordan Kelly was on the move early, pushing up to third position by lap two. 38 Zach Sabotka was also a man on the move, challenging Kelly for third by lap three, and successfully taking the position by the start of lap four. Meanwhile, McCready was holding the lead by two-car-lengths over Forbes, throughout the first six laps. Forbes made his move in turn four on lap six, taking the lead away from McCready. Sabotka followed suit a lap later, taking over second. At the finish line, it was 45R Preston Forbes with the win, 38 Zach Sabotka in second and M1 Rick McCready in third.
Heat number two for the Sportsman Mods had 18 Justin Gadbaw and 25 George Sanford in the top two positions. Before even crossing the flagstand, 18 Gadbaw got loose and crossed up the field, leaving havoc in his wake. 7s Shaun Shaw came out with the worst of it, tangling up with 57 Anthony Stockman and losing a left front wheel, which launched from the vehicle over the turn one berm heading towards Route 411, and shredding the left rear. Shaw’s frustration was apparent as he climbed from the car to assess the damage. Tough break for Shaw on the final points night at the track. On the restart, Sanford launched to the lead immediately, while Gadbaw was in last place by the close of the lap. Taylor Caprara, in the borrowed number 34 car, climbed up to second, while 621 Brian Hudson settled into third for the first two laps. Caprara, who was battling for the track championship, was competing in the number 34 car, normally piloted by Kevin Root. 44 David Rogers moved into fourth, while 57 Anthony Stockman claimed fifth by lap three. At the checkered flag, it was 25 George Sanford with the win, 34 Caprara in second and 621 Brian Hudson in third.
In heat number three, it was 22 Josh Verne and 29J Joel Hall starting in the top two positions. At the drop of the green, it was 22 Verne who had the lead, but 91 Josh Reome was literally pushing him from behind past the flag stand. Reome slid out to the high line and passed for the lead by turn two. A lap two caution destroyed Reome’s substantial lead, but only for a moment, as he leaped back ahead of the pack by multiple car-lengths by turn two. 1 Jack Meeks took advantage of the caution restart to pass up Hall and take over second place by the close of lap four. 415 Andrew Wren was also looking to improve over his starting position, moving past Hall by lap four to take over third position. With two laps remaining, Meeks was right on Reome’s bumper, challenging for the lead. Reome was riding high, while Meeks rode low around the track. It was a drag race to the finish line out of turn four, Meeks with the advantage. At the finish line, it was Meeks with the victory, by half a car-length, with Reome in second. 415 Andrew Wren finished third.
358 MODIFIEDS: Starting in positions one and two were 18W Scott Webb and 51 Brady Gill. Webb grabbed the lead through lap one, but 9j Jordan McCreadie snatched the lead away by turn two of lap two. Meanwhile, 9 Billy Dunn threaded his way through the field to second position by lap three. He passed up McCreadie for a moment at the flag stand, but lost it again through turns one and two. It took only one more lap for Dunn to wrest control back away from McCreadie, and run away with the lead. At the checkered flag, 9 Billy Dunn took the victory, with 9j Jordan McCreadie in second place and 51 Brady Gill in third.
Heat number two for the 358 Modifieds had 28 Tyler Meeks and 39 Tyler Bartlett starting in the top two starting positions. Meeks launched out ahead of the field by multiple car-lengths through lap one, while 93 Ryan Bartlett moved past his brother Tyler to take over second position. 7 Mike Maresca moved into third position behind Bartlett by lap four. The field stretched out around the track by lap five, with little competition for positions. At the checkered flag it was 28 Tyler Meeks with the green-to-checkered victory. 93 Ryan Bartlett took second, while 7 Mike Maresca finished third.
THUNDERSTOCKS: The four-cylinder racers took the track next. 111J AJ St. Mary and 17B Mike Greenfield started in the top two positions. By lap two, St. Mary faded back to fourth, while 9 Justin Pope moved into the lead. In lap three, 111V Tony St. Mary went over the berm of turn two and slammed into the trees off the turn. He was okay, but needed the assistance of the tow crew to get out of the foliage. At the checkered flag, it was 9 Justin Pope, 7H Joe Orvis and 17B Mike Greenfield in the top three positions.
In heat number two, 94 OJ White and 14K Jesse Bender started in the top two positions. 50 Zach Stone threaded through the field to challenge for the lead by the close of lap one. Stone, White and 32 Chuck Monica rode three wide past the flag stand, all vying for first place. Moments later, a caution came out on the track, as a car came to a stop on the back straightaway and needed a push to the pits. On the restart, 32 Monica took sole possession of the lead, putting half the track between himself and the rest of the field. 50 Zach Stone settled into second, while 14K Bender was in third. And that’s how it would remain at the checkered flag. 32 Monica with the victory, 50 Stone in second and 14K Bender in third.
NOVICE SPORTSMAN: Starting on the pole it was 18 Gavin Eisele, with 76G Skylar Greenfield in second position, on the outside. As the green flag waved, Greenfield launched into the lead. In lap two, 57H Remington Hamm drove into the back of 18 Eisele as they headed towards turn one, sending Eisele up over the turn one berm, backwards. Eisele managed to avoid calamity, like a pro, rather than a novice, and was able to drive the number 18 to the pits after getting a little help out of the grass from the track crew. On the restart, 15 Jamie Brown challenged Greenfield for the lead, but Greenfield slammed the door on the attempt. By lap four, Brown completed the pass of Greenfield, while 57H Hamm had moved into third, after getting sent to the back of the field for the earlier contact with Eisele. At the checkered flag, it was 15 Jamie Brown with the victory, 76G Skylar Greenfield took second, with 57H Remington Hamm in third.
The second heat for Novice Sportsman had 6 Matt Brown and 007 Chad Tessier started in the top two positions. At the drop of the green, Brown moved into sole possession of the lead, while 99R Dalton Rombough moved up into second. The racing was clean and clear, as it was a green-to-checkered race. At the finish line, it was 6 Matt Brown, 99R Dalton Rombough in second with 007 Chad Tessier in third.
FEATURE RACES:
PRO STREET STOCK: The first feature of the night had 3 Rick Dusckas and 7x Justin White starting in the top two positions. Row two had 4 Mike Durham and 1x Mike White in positions three and four, respectively. Points leader, 14R Sid Harmer Jr. started in eighth position. Dusckas shot out ahead at the drop of the green, with Durham right on his tail in second. 680 Sid Harmer Sr. moved up from seventh position to third by the close of lap two. 1x Mike White and 3k Shawn Kirby battled for fourth position all through the first two laps. Kirby and Harmer Sr. battled side by side throughout lap three, with literal sparks flying off the cars as they rubbed through turn one of lap four. Durham moved into the lead on lap six, as Dusckas got loose through turns three and four. Kirby moved into second, just as 55 Kenny Clark spun out in turn three on lap eight, bringing out the first caution on the night. The restart had 4 Mike Durham in first, 3k Shawn Kirby in second and 3 Rick Dusckas in third. 14R Sid Harmer Jr. was biding his time in fifth position, just behind 1x Mike White. On the restart, Kirby faded a bit as White moved up into second briefly. Kirby was able to retain second position, while Durham owned the lead. Durham slowed a bit through laps ten and eleven, giving up ground to Kirby, who was running the low line around the track, while Durham found his fastest lane on the high side. It took until lap fifteen for Kirby to gain the advantage over Durham and take over the lead. Durham next had his hands full with 1x Mike White sparring for second position. At the finish line, it was 3k Shawn Kirby with the victory. 4 Mike Durham took second, just barely edging out 1x Mike White, while 3 Rick Dusckas took fourth place and 14R Sid Harmer Jr. finished fifth. The victory on a double-points night gave Shawn Kirby the track championship by just two points over Sid Harmer Jr.
SPORTSMAN: The Sportsman Mod feature had M1 Rick McCready and 45R Preston Forbes starting in the top two positions. Row two had 25 George Sanford and 29J Joel Hall in third and fourth positions. Points leader, Taylor Caprara, started in tenth position, in the borrowed 34R Kevin Root car. McCready and Forbes were side by side through lap one, with Forbes taking ownership of the lead by lap two. As Forbes created distance from the pack, through lap five, 91 Josh Reome was on the move, taking over fourth position behind Andrew Wren in the 415 car. Forbes’ large lead was reduced to nothing after a caution came out on the track in lap nine when an infield tire was clipped in turn one, and rolled onto the racing surface. On the restart, there was a pile up towards the tail of the field, with five cars ending up askew of the track. On the restart, Forbes retained the lead, and 34 Caprara leaped into sixth position, with 38 Zach Sabotka right on his tail. In lap twelve another caution came out when the 621T of Trevor Gibbons spun out in turn two. The caution restart came with yet another pile up which brought out the red flag, as cars completely blocked turn four. Everyone was okay, but several drivers had their night of racing come to an end in the wreck. On the restart, Forbes took the lead once again, while Reome moved into third. A lap later, there was a hard wreck which claimed 621 Brian Hudson, 57 Anthony Stockman and 1 Jack Meeks. It was a tough break for Meeks, who was running second in points on the season, and was within striking distance of Taylor Caprara with a good finish on the night. On the restart, Forbes took the lead once again, while David Rogers moved up into third, passing up Reome. Another caution came out when 38 Zach Sabotka went around in turn four. It dropped Sabotka from fifth all the way back to the tail of the pack. Sabotka was running third in points at the start of the race, and remained the closest points competitor remaining on the track behind Taylor Caprara. Forbes retained the lead on the restart, with 25 Sanford in second and 91 Reome in third. 44 David Rogers was in fourth, while 34 Taylor Caprara owned fifth position. In lap twenty, Reome moved into second, but had a long way to catch the leader, Forbes. At the checkered flag, it was 45R Preston Forbes with the victory. 91 Josh Reome retained second, while 25 George Sanford took third, 34 Taylor Caprara captured fourth and 44 David Rogers finished fifth. The fourth place finish was enough to give Taylor Caprara the track championship for the season.
358 MODIFIED: The big boys took over the track next, with 28 Tyler Meeks and 51 Brady Gill starting in the top two positions. 39 Tyler Bartlett and 19 Luke Stewart started in positions three and four. 9 Billy Dunn, the track points leader, started in ninth position. At the drop of the green, Meeks took the lead, while 93 Bartlett moved up to second place by lap two. 9 Dunn was in fourth position by lap four, when a caution brought the field together for a restart. Bartlett captured the lead on the restart, with Meeks in second and Dunn in third. One lap later, Dunn was in second right behind Bartlett. In lap eight, Dunn dove low on the track and muscled his way past Bartlett for the lead. By lap eleven, the field was stretched around the track, with plenty of cushion between each car. By lap fifteen, 27W Nick Webb was pressuring 28 Tyler Meeks for third position, when a caution came out. An infield tired was clipped and knocked onto the racing surface in turn two, eliciting the caution. This eliminated Dunn’s sizeable lead, putting Ryan Bartlett right behind him for the restart. 28 Tyler Meeks took advantage of the single file restart to leap frog past Bartlett for second position, while Dunn charged ahead looking to close in on the victory and solidify his track championship. Bartlett retook second place in lap nineteen, while 9J Jordan McCreadie moved into fifth position. Webb attempted to pass up Bartlett for second position in lap twenty-two, after passing Meeks, but Bartlett slammed the door. McCreadie took over fourth position from Meeks in the final lap. At the checkered flag, it was 9 Billy Dunn with the feature win and the track championship. 93 Ryan Bartlett took second, 27W Nick Webb finished third, 9j Jordan McCreadie finished fourth, and 28 Tyler Meeks finished fifth.
THUNDERSTOCKS: The four-cylinders took over the half-mile track, next, with 94 OJ White and 14k Jesse Bender starting in the top two positions. 17B Mike Greenfield and 9A Justin Pope started in row two, in third and fourth positions. They ran three wide, with Pope threading the needle between the leaders at the drop of the green. Pope took over the lead, all by his lonesome out ahead of the pack. 50 Zach Stone moved up from fifth to second by lap two, when the first caution of the race came out. Points leader, 32 Chuck Monica, started in ninth position, but was already in fifth by the time the caution came out on the track. On the restart Pope took the lead, once again, but racing came to a halt with a red flag stoppage. 52 Robert Flint went on a wild ride, flipping through turn three, but landing on his wheels. Flint was okay, but his racing was done for the night. During the same caution, 26B Phil Desormeau, who was running second in points at the start of the race, took his car to the pits after losing power. Pope took the lead, once again after the restart, with Stone in second. By lap four, Chuck Monica took over the second position, with Stone in third. Monica climbed up on Pope by lap six, pressuring for the lead, while 7H Joe Orvis moved into third, after starting tenth. In lap eight, it was practically three wide racing, as Orvis tried to thread the needle between Stone and Monica. OJ White’s number 94 came to a stop on the back straightaway in lap eight, bringing out another caution. Monica led the restart, but Pope and Orvis were right on his doors, when another caution came out as 14k Bender spilled fluid all down the front stretch and came to a stop just entering turn one. At the other end of the front straightaway, 50 Zach Stone came to a stop, unable to continue as well. Monica and Stone battled throughout lap nine, after the restart, racing side-by-side. In lap ten, it was three wide once again for the lead. But just as things got interesting, another caution came out as 17 Pat Sullivan spun out in turn three. Only nine cars remained of a twenty-car field by the time racing resumed once again. With the weak culled from the herd, racing got back under way, with a three-way battle between Monica, Pope and Orvis. By lap twelve, Orvis made his move on the leader, and passed Monica for first place, while Pope faded and came to a stop in turn one on the following lap. At the finish line, it was 7H Joe Orvis with the victory, with 32 Chuck Monica taking second, 9 Justin Pope finished third, 5 Don Woodworth took fourth, and x37 Ryan Rarrick finished fifth. With the second place finish, Chuck Monica completed his track championship run for the 2017 season.
NOVICE SPORTSMAN: The top two starting positions were occupied by 6 Matt Brown and 76G Skylar Greenfield, who were tied for second in points. 007 Chad Tessier and 15 Jamie Brown started in third and fourth positions. The points leader on the night, 57H Remington Hamm, started in seventh position. Brown retained the lead through lap one, while Hamm catapulted up to third position, after threading the needle on the back straightaway. In lap eight, 99R Dalton Rombough got into the back of 57H Hamm, spinning him on the back straight away. Hamm was able to recover and continue racing, but was involved in another wreck with 18 Gavin Eisele, bringing out the caution. Rombough was sent to the back of the field for contact. On the restart, Brown retained the lead, with Greenfield in second. 15 Jamie Brown moved into second position by lap eleven. In lap twelve, Hamm tried to dive low, but had to check up, and it cost him two positions, dropping him into sixth. He was able to climb back into fifth one lap later. At the checkered flag, it was 6 Matt Brown with the win, 76G Skylar Greenfield in second, 99R Dalton Rombough took third, 15 Jamie Brown finished fourth, 57H Remington Hamm took fifth. The victory gave Matt Brown the track championship.
FULL FEATURE RACE RESULTS:
358 MODIFIED: 1) 9 Billy Dunn, 2) 93 Ryan Bartlett, 3) 27W Nick Webb, 4) 9J Jordan McCreadie, 5) 28 Tyler Meeks, 6) 73 Kevin Poitras, 7) 19 Luke Stewart, 8) 18W Scott Webb, 9) 39 Tyler Bartlett, 10) 21(99) Larry Welling Jr, 11) 60 Bill Gill, 12) 51 Brady Gill, 13) 47 Brent Cross, 14) 7MM Mike Maresca, 15) 57 Rylee Gill (DNS).
SPORTSMAN MODIFIED: 1) 45R Preston Forbes, 2) 91 Josh Reome, 3) 25 George Sanford, 4) 34R (21) Taylor Caprara, 5) 44 Dave Rogers, 6) 415 Andrew Wren, 7) 24 Jordan Kelly, 8) 38 Zach Sobotka, 9) 26 Mike Mandigo, 10) 29J Joel Hall, 11) 7W Kevin Willis, 12) 71 Delbert Legrow, 13) 30 Hunter Schwander, 14) 18 Justin Gadbaw, 15) 22 Josh Verne, 16) 9A Aaron Cross, 17) M-1 Rick McCready, 18) 60 Jackson Gill, 19) 621 Brian Hudson, 20) 1 Jack Meeks, 21) 57 Anthony Stockman, 22) 15 Greg Henry, 23) 66W Derek Webb, 24) 54G Greg Snyder, 25) 621T Trevor Gibbons, 26) 2 Chris Thurston, 27) 7S Shaun Shaw.
NOVICE SPORTSMAN: 1) 6 Matt Brown, 2) 76G Skylar Greenfield, 3) 99R Dalton Rombough, 4) 15 Jamie Brown , 5) 57H Remington Hamm, 6) 007 Chad Tessier, 7) 22A Josh Verne Jr, 8) 2 Kevin Warren , 9) 9A Nick Casterline, 10) 92NY Dustin Hutton, 11) 18 Gavin Eisele.
PRO STREET STOCK: 1) 3K Shawn Kirby, 2) 4 Mike Durham, 3) 1X Mike White, 4) 3 Rick Dusckas, 5) 14R Sid Harmer Jr, 6) 690 Sid Harmer Sr, 7) 83D Dustin Bradley, 8) 32 Ryan Shanahan, 9) 7X Justin White, 10) 55 Kenny Clark, 11) 62 Johnathan Murphy, 12) 23 Terry Gardner.
THUNDERSTOCK: 1) 7 Joe Orvis, 2) 32 Chuck Monica, 3) 9A Justin Pope, 4) 5 Don Woodworth, 6) X37 Ryan Rarrick, 7) 58S Brenden Lauzon, 8) 94 OJ White, 9) 17 Pat Sullivan, 10) 17B Mike Greenfield, 11) 111V Tony St.Mary, 12) 14K Jesse Bender, 13) 50 Zach Stone, 14) 61 Jerry Rogers, 15) 4A David Ayen, 16) 111 Joshua Stiles, 17) 26M Phil Desormeau, 18) 52 Robert Flint, 19) 111J AJ St.Mary, 20) 11J Justin Burns (DNS), 21) 69 Sean Berry(DNS)
Racing returns on Friday September 8th and Saturday September 9th when GRIT Sportsman comes to town on Friday and Empire Super Sprints roar onto the track on Saturday.
