Story By: TIM BALTZ / CAN-AM SPEEDWAY – LAFARGEVILLE, NY – Mother Nature has been the talk of the season for 2023 at the Can Am Speedway and once again the rain decided to make an appearance. Light showers covered the region for the majority of the afternoon but clear spots allowed the track crews to work in a fast facility. Persistence paid off as the drivers and fans were greeted to a great surface and thrilling racing in all the 3 divisions.
Up first was the 30-lap feature for the DIRTCar Sportsman Series with points for the North and Central Regions. 44 cars attempted to qualify for the event and when it all settled down, 30 drivers were ready for green. Brewerton New York’s Kyle Devendorf led the way early over Tyler Stevenson, Dave Rogers, Fire Swamp and Ryan Dolbear. The track was really quick due to the amount of rain that had fallen which also made for some quick speeds as the top 5 drivers set a torrid pace early. The race went green until lap 14 when Emmett Waldron slowed to a crawling pace in turn 4. This was what Tyler Stevenson wanted, as he drove by Devendorf to grab the lead off turn 2 on the high side and appeared like he was going to be the one to drive off from the field. On lap 20 the field slowed again as Dustin Bradley spun in turn 4. The restart again saw Devendorf go back to the top spot over Stevenson and Rogers. The top 3 were putting on a great battle until the red flew for Jason Bruno who flipped his car in turn 3, collecting Owen Nier. Both drivers would get out without injury. On the final restart Tyler Stevenson timed it perfectly and shot by Devendorf for the to spot. Both drivers all night were battling for their biggest win and in the end, Tyler Stevenson would march to his first career series win and first of the season in the Bob Johnson Auto Group DIRTCar Sportsman. Devendorf scored 2nd over Dave Rogers Nick Heywood and Tyler Corcoran.
The 28th edition of the Pabst Shootout for the Whitesboro Plow Shop DIRTCar 358 Modifieds was set for green and defending race winner Erick Rudolph jumped to the lead right away in the 30 lap contest. Behind him Can Am regulars Shaun Shaw, Taylor Caprara, Billy Dunn and Jordan Kelly were all charging hard to catch him. Dunn would be the first to break free and make his way to the number 2 spot on lap 4, as he set sail after the leader. On lap 8 Dunn flew past Rudolph as his ride began to experience handling issues causing him to lose several spots. With Rudolph out of the running Billy Dunn was putting on a clinic as he drove away from a quality field on this night, but behind him a long time veteran was on the charge, still seeking his first ever Pabst Shootout checkered flag. Tim Fuller charged from just inside of the top 10, to take over 2nd at the half way point from Jordan McCreadie, who was also having a solid run, but at that point Dunn had nearly straight away lead. As the laps clicked off Fuller kept chipping away at the lead and had it down to less than 4 car lengths on lap 25. On the final lap Dunn ran into some lapped cars giving Fuller his only shot at a possible win. Dunn would work the traffic perfectly and hold off the veteran to score his 58th Can Am Modified win, his 2nd Pabst Shootout and 1st win in over a year. Fuller notched his 3rd runner up finish in the last 5 Pabst Shootout events. Jordan McCreadie, Shaun Shaw and 2019 track champion Ryan Arbuthnot finished 5th.
The start of Central New York Speedweek for the Empire Super Sprints concluded the night with a 25 lap A main and after a slow tip over in turn 2 by Tyler Cartier on the initial green flag, Shawn Donath proceeded to put on a dominant performance in the early laps, as he led the way over Jordan Poirier and Matt Tanner. Donath was literally on cruise control and setting a very quick pace on this night leaving Poirier and the rest of the field, to figure out how to keep pace with him. Not even lapped cars were slowing Donath’s pace it was Poirier, Tanner, Paulie Colagiovanni and Jason Barney completing the top 5. On lap 20 the yellow flew for Dalton Rombough, who slowed in turn 2. On the restart Donath continued his dominance and it appeared he was well on his way to the win. On the final lap something broke on Donath’s car allowing Poirier to catch him and take the lead in turn 1. From there the defending series champion would march on to a surprise victory, his 2nd of the season on the ESS Tour. Paulie Colagiovanni finished second with Donath holding on to third despite a broken race car. Jason Barney and Cornwall winner Dylan Swernik came home 5th.
Can Am Speedway returns to regular Friday night action on July 7th with a 6 division card on family carload night. So load up the car and bring the family to Can Am as the 2023 season marches on.
Gates open at 5pm with opening ceremonies and national anthems starting at 7pm with Miss Adirondak and Miss Thousand Islands.
Pabst Shootout Feature (30 Laps): 1. 49-Billy Dunn[4]; 2. 19-Tim Fuller[8]; 3. 28-Jordan McCreadie[6]; 4. 7S-Shaun Shaw[2]; 5. R70-Ryan Arbuthnot[19]; 6. 21C-Taylor Caprara[3]; 7. 31-Lance Willix[11]; 8. 12-Darren Smith[12]; 9. 29-Matt Caprara[17]; 10. 25-Erick Rudolph[1]; 11. 24-Jordan Kelly[5]; 12. 18W-Scott Webb[9]; 13. 74-Lucas Fuller[10]; 14. 21R-RJ Tresidder[16]; 15. 9-Tyler Meeks[15]; 16. 18-Kalen Draper[22]; 17. 34-George Foley[21]; 18. 66W-Derek Webb[14]; 19. 17-Tristan Draper[20]; 20. 93-Ryan Bartlett[7]; 21. 45R-Preston Forbes[18]; 22. 27W-Nick Webb[13]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 25-Erick Rudolph[2]; 2. 49-Billy Dunn[1]; 3. 93-Ryan Bartlett[4]; 4. 74-Lucas Fuller[3]; 5. 27W-Nick Webb[5]; 6. 21R-RJ Tresidder[8]; 7. R70-Ryan Arbuthnot[7]; 8. 18-Kalen Draper[6]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 7S-Shaun Shaw[1]; 2. 24-Jordan Kelly[2]; 3. 19-Tim Fuller[3]; 4. 31-Lance Willix[6]; 5. 66W-Derek Webb[4]; 6. 29-Matt Caprara[7]; 7. 17-Tristan Draper[5]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 21C-Taylor Caprara[1]; 2. 28-Jordan McCreadie[5]; 3. 18W-Scott Webb[3]; 4. 12-Darren Smith[7]; 5. 9-Tyler Meeks[4]; 6. 45R-Preston Forbes[6]; 7. 34-George Foley[2]
Hot Laps 1: 1. 45R-Preston Forbes, 00:18.186[9]; 2. 7S-Shaun Shaw, 00:18.225[16]; 3. R70-Ryan Arbuthnot, 00:18.351[1]; 4. 66W-Derek Webb, 00:18.386[19]; 5. 28-Jordan McCreadie, 00:18.466[13]; 6. 27W-Nick Webb, 00:18.473[20]; 7. 21R-RJ Tresidder, 00:18.524[18]; 8. 12-Darren Smith, 00:18.564[17]; 9. 18-Kalen Draper, 00:18.606[5]; 10. 93-Ryan Bartlett, 00:18.608[2]; 11. 25-Erick Rudolph, 00:18.623[15]; 12. 74-Lucas Fuller, 00:18.631[10]; 13. 9-Tyler Meeks, 00:18.767[14]; 14. 18W-Scott Webb, 00:18.780[21]; 15. 24-Jordan Kelly, 00:18.783[12]; 16. 21C-Taylor Caprara, 00:18.797[4]; 17. 49-Billy Dunn, 00:18.860[7]; 18. 17-Tristan Draper, 00:19.071[6]; 19. 34-George Foley, 00:19.195[8]; 20. 29-Matt Caprara, 00:19.350[3]