Column By: BROOKE JOHNPIER / RPW – RANSOMVILLE, NY – I’m sorry I haven’t done an article for the past two weeks! I’ve been out of town on vacation, and wasn’t able to see the races at Ransomville. I did go to East Alabama Motor Speedway though, and let me tell you, that was awesome! But, I’m pleased to report that I’m back home, and I have the weekly Ransomville article for y’all!
The night started off with my parents, my boyfriend, and I all heading over to the track at about 4:45. We got in the parking lot and tailgated, and took pictures. It was my boyfriend’s first night at a dirt track, and his first ever race, so it was a pretty big deal. We sat there for about thirty minutes, and then our friends showed up and we talked to them for a while. After that, we all got our tickets and headed in.
We went to the concession stands, got some amazing Ransomville food, and went back up to our seats. As we enjoyed our food, the cars came out for Hot Laps. After that, the National Anthems were played, and the racing action began.
The Heats started out with the Streetstocks. There was some amazing racing within the races, including Mr. Pat Dell tagging the wall in turn four and ending up facing the opposite way, but the final winners of the races were John Zimmerman and Josh Pangrazio. Next up were the Mini Stocks. They had three Heats as it was the Mackenzie Kulezsa Memorial race. There was some insane three-wide battles in the Heats, but the winners were Matt Hornquist, Eric Weis, and Ian Paul. Next up was the Sportsman class, and just like the Mini Stocks, they also had three Heats. Again, there was some pretty good three-wide racing action, but the final results were Dave DiPietro II, Cody McPherson, and Billy Bleich Jr as the winners. After that was the all-powerful Modifieds. They only had two Heats, but they sure made an impact in their eight lap races. Scott Kerwin and Gary Lindberg were victorious for that class. Finally, the Novice Sportsman came out. They also had two Heats. DJ Rosinski and Cameron Rowlands were the winners of those races.
After the Heats, there was intermission. At this point in time the lady that sits next to us weekly came over to me and told me that it was good to see us back (meaning my dad and I). She told me that she and her family missed us, and that they were actually concerned that something might’ve happened to us, as the week before we left to go to Alabama my dad was coughing pretty bad at the track. I told her that my dad was fine and that we had just gone on vacation, and that it was good to be back. And it was. I missed my home track. I love Ransomville Speedway with all my heart, and I will defend it until the day I die. During that time, the Power Wheel races were going on. Seeing the little kids drive their battery powered vehicles around the dirt track was really cute. I loved it. Once that was done, the races began.
In the same order as the Heats, the cars rolled out. This meant that the Streetstock race was first. This race had some great racing action in it, and there was some serious competition. But at the end, the victor was Dan Schulz. It was also his first start of the year at Ransomville. After that, the Mini Stocks came out. There was twenty-one of them, and in honor of Mackenzie they went four-wide. I have to admit that I got teary-eyed when they mentioned Mackenzie as the four-wide rolled around. But I know that she was looking down and smiling. Unfortunately, there were a lot of wrecks in the race, but there was also some serious action. After the twenty-five lap main event though, Cole Susice was the victor.
Victory Lane happened for Mr. Schulz and Mr. Susice, and then the Sportsman class came out. During the entire race, there was more three-wides than I can count. During the first half of the race, Billy Bleich and Cody McPherson got into it on turn three. They were playfully slamming each other, and McPherson ended up getting by. But in the second half of the twenty-five lap feature, Billy passed McPherson, and would end up getting third place. The winner of the race was none other than Nelson Mason.
After that, the Modifieds came out. Mat Williamson started out on the pole, and he would hold that position until the end. During the race though, there were some pretty good battles. Erick Rudolph would end up passing Chad Brachmann for second, and both Erick and Mat had to pass lap traffic by the middle of the race. In the first quarter of the race though, Noah Walker would end up in the turn four wall facing the opposite direction; almost in the same position as Pat Dell was in during the Streetstock Heat. At the end though, Williamson was the victor.
In normal fashion, another Victory Lane was held for Mason and Williamson. But after that the final feature of the night, Novice Sportsman, came out. There was some good three-wide racing during this race as well. Unfortunately, there were a few wrecks, but besides that the race went smoothly, and Mike Kramarz ended up winning.
After that, my dad and I left and headed over to the pits. My boyfriend and mom had headed home after the Modified feature, so it was just my dad and I. We went out to the truck, grabbed some beverages, and walked over in search of Billy Bleich of whom we haven’t seen in person in about four years. Unfortunately, we didn’t find or see Billy. But we did see and congratulate Mat Williamson on his win, and then we went over and talked to Chad Brachmann and his father for a while. After that, we headed out of the pits and to the truck, where we headed out to go home.
All in all, it was a great night of racing. Ransomville is a really great track. I encourage you, the reader, to come on out and see the excitement for yourself. The only thing I recommend is that you bring safety glasses/goggles since it is insanely dusty as the track is being watered properly. But besides that, please come. I promise you that you’ll enjoy it, and that you’ll want to come back.
Until next week!