CANANDAIGUA, NY- It was a fight to the end before “The Doctor” Danny Johnson won for the second week in a row during the action-packed 50-lap DIRTcar big block Modified feature last night at Canandaigua Speedway.The four-time track champion took hold of the lead on lap-20 and never relinquished it. Johnson finished 5.22 seconds ahead of second place finisher Rob Bellinger who was just in front of third place finisher Charlie Donk, but the night belonged to Steve Paine who, with a fourth place finish took home his eleventh track championship at the “Land of Legends.” Paine had won nine straight years before Matt Sheppard broke his streak and won in 2009.Victory Lane was “electric” as fans made their way to the fence to witness “The Doctor” and “The Hurricane” sharing common ground after a spirited battle in the last couple of weeks to finish the season.
With the track in arguably the best shape of the year, the DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds put on another great show for the fans as Karl Comfort took the victory over second place and new Sportsman track champion Eric Giguere. Paul Guererri was third while Loren Lincoln and Justin Henderson rounded of the top five. Steve Gray, who began the night with a 24 point lead in the championship, never seemed to get the car “hooked up” as he finished sixth in his heat and eighth in the feature.Steve led the championship standings for a majority of the season, but series regulars Eric Giguere, Dan Wiesner and Paul Geurreri all stayed in striking distance as the championship neared its end.
Frank Burnell Jr. battled it out to the end to take the 2010 DIRTcar Stock Car track championship. It started as the closest battle of the night as Chris Fisher and Frank “Bubba” Burnell entered the evening tied in points, but after Fisher beat Burnell by just under a foot in their heat, Chris went into the feature with a slim points lead.When the green dropped, Bubba jumped out to the lead as Fisher seemed to get stuck in traffic battling for the sixth position. By lap 15 the championship seemed to shape up as Chris encountered engine trouble and had to take his car to the pits and Burnell would just need to keep his car out of trouble. Rasbeck, one of the hottest drivers in the division, took over Burnell on lap 24 of the 30-lap Parts Plus Tri-Track Series feature but Burnell kept the heat on Rasbeck for the last six laps hoping to be the lone ranger in victory lane only to see Rasbeck record his third win in the last five feature events. Mike Welch was third with John Zimmerman and Andy Fisk rounding out the top five.
In the Factory Pure Stock division all Alex Morris had to do is start the race to wrap up the 2010 Track Championship at the ‘Land of Legends’, and that he did as he won by a margin of over 300 points to his next closest competitor. Morris took second in the Pure Stock feature to fellow driver Marc Minutolo. Rounding out your top five were Brian Lyon, Ross Lurcock and George LaVare Sr.
The 2010 season at Canandaigua Speedway has came to a close this weekend as track officials have made the hard decision to cancel the events originally scheduled for September 17-18th. “Due to scheduling conflicts, the events for September 17th and 18th have been cancelled” stated General Manger Cory Reed. “We apologize to everyone for the inconvenience, but it is in the best interest of the speedway and drivers to cap our season this weekend. We would like to thank everyone for their support and an outstanding 2010 season” continues Reed.
For more information, please call our DIRTcar Northeast office at 315-834-6606 or go online at CanandiaguaSpeedway.com, CayugaCountyFairSpeedway.com or RollingWheelsRaceway.com. Don’t forget to join all the tracks on Facebook and follow DIRTcar Racing on Twitter (@DIRTcarNE).
Get your Super DIRT Week tickets now as good seats are going fast. Fans will enjoy Super DIRTcar Series action, driver autographs, fireworks and non-stop entertainment. Super DIRT Week gets underway October 6-10 at the New York State Fair Grounds. For tickets, log into www.dirtcar.com/tickets or call 315-834-6606.
DIRTCAR MODIFIEDS (50 Laps) 1. DANNY JOHNSON 2. Rob Bellinger 3. Charlie Donk 4. Steve Paine 5. Tim Currier 6. Justin Haers 7. Derrick Podsiadlo 8. Randy Chrysler 9. Dave Rauscher 10. Chad Homan 11. Mike O’Brien 12. Vince Vitale 13. Dave Allen 14. Roger Chrysler 15. Eldon Payne 16. Henry Maier 17. Ron Cartwright Jr. 18. Shannon Whaley 19. Adam Roberts 20. Don Slover
DIRTCAR SPORTSMAN (25 Laps) 1. KARL COMFORT 2. Eric Giguere 3. Paul Guererri 4. Loren Lincoln 5. Justin Henderson 6. Dan Wiesner 7. Daryl Hilkert 8. Steve Gray 9. Rob Bussey 10. Greg Cool 11. Kevin Ridley 12. Kane Bristol 13. Jimmy Maier 14. Joe Cook 15. Casey Wagner 16. Chris Mangarelli 17. Steve Pasarek 18. Randy McCulloch 19. Gary Donnelly 20. Tom Keyes 21. Darrell Barrett
DIRTCAR STOCK CARS (30 Laps) 1. MIKE RASBECK 2. Frank Burnell Jr.3. Mike Welch 4. John Zimmerman 5. Andy Fisk 6. Nate Deggett 7. Ron Haker 8. Billy Coleman 9. Chris Fisher 10. Nate Peckham 11. Doug Jones 12. Bill Weller 13. Keith Kener 14. Bryan DeWitt 15. Joel Terrell
DIRTCAR PURE STOCKS (15 Laps) 1.MARC MINUTOLO 2. Alex Morris 3. Brian Lyon 4. Ross Lurcock 5. George LaVare Sr. 6. Dave Bush 7. Dale Bush 8. Chris Gingrich 9. Dave Buscere 10. Roger Bush
