Stewart Friesen Invades Glen Ridge Motorsports Park & Wins DIRTcar 358-Mod Season Opener

Story By: TOBY LAGRANGE / GLEN RIDGE MOTORSPORTS PARK – FULTONVILLE, NY – The Glen Ridge Motorsports Park was able to fend off Mother Nature and successfully open their 21st season of stock car racing on Sunday Night.
When all was said and done a familiar, local face graced victory lane for the first time. The nights action was sponsored by Bernheisel Race Components.
It’s hard to imagine that coming into Sunday nights season opener, future hall of fame driver Stewart Friesen was winless in the DIRTcar 358 Modified ranks at The Ridge. That all changed Sunday night when the Sprakers, New York driver brought home the win in the 35-lap event for the Callanan Industries DIRTcar 358 Modified division.
Friesen took the lead early on after a battle with Tucker O’Connor and started to pull away. Despite early cautions, Friesen pulled away for his overall sixth career win at the track (the remaining wins came in the DIRTcar Modified division).
O’Connor brought home a well earned second place finish with Corey Cormier third, rookie Andrew Buff fourth and Zach Payne fifth. The heat races were won by O’Connor, Friesen and C.J. Castelletti.
Zach Buff picked up career win number 10 in the Ted’s Body Shop/Next Generation Graphix DIRTcar Sportsman division. Brendan Gibbons finished second with Taylor Wason third, Tyler Bobar fourth and Cody Ochs fifth. Heat races were won by Gibbons and Buff.
The debut of the RUSH Late Model Series would see Demetrios Drellos pick up the feature event win. Drellos brought home the win and set a new track record lap time (12.796 seconds). Derrick McGrew, Jr. finished second with Rob Pitcher third and Alan Chapman fourth. Drellos won the heat race.
Shane Playford picked up his first career Yurkewecz Auto Crushers DIRTcar Pro Stock division feature win. Playford battled defending track champion Luke Horning to take the top spot early on and survived a late race restart to bring home the win. Horning finished second with Chuck McSpirit third, Steve Cosselman fourth and Shawn Perez, Jr. fifth. Heat races were won by Playford and Horning.
Other winners during the season opening event were Nick Brundige (Limited Sportsman), Jason Samrov (Street Stocks), Jordan Ryder (Leatherstocking Credit Union DIRTcar Mini Stocks Dual Cam) and Stephen Walters (Leatherstocking Credit Union DIRTcar Mini Stock Single Cam) and A.J. Albreada (All-Star) and Preston Trautschold (Junior) in the Northeast Paving and Sealcoat Slingshot divisions.
The Ridge is back in action this Sunday night with the only appearance of the season by the DIRTcar Sportsman East Region Series. All weekly divisions will be in action with racing set to start at 6pm.
DIRTcar 358 Modifieds
Feature (35 Laps): 1. 44-Stewart Friesen[2]; 2. 42-Tucker O’Connor[1]; 3. 26R-Corey Cormier[10]; 4. 92-Andrew Buff[9]; 5. 7Z-Zach Payne[6]; 6. 31-Lance Willix[13]; 7. 427-Carter Gibbons[7]; 8. 67W-Zack Welch[12]; 9. 20B-Joey Bonetti[16]; 10. 19-Floyd Billington[14]; 11. (DNF) 61-Dale Gray[11]; 12. (DNF) 22L-John Lutes[4]; 13. (DNF) 117JR-CJ Castelletti[3]; 14. (DNF) 28-Jordan McCreadie[8]; 15. (DNF) 24-Brian Pessolano[15]; 16. (DNS) 50-William August
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 42-Tucker O’Connor[2]; 2. 22L-John Lutes[1]; 3. 427-Carter Gibbons[5]; 4. 26R-Corey Cormier[4]; 5. 31-Lance Willix[6]; 6. 20B-Joey Bonetti[3]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 44-Stewart Friesen[2]; 2. 50-William August[3]; 3. 28-Jordan McCreadie[5]; 4. 61-Dale Gray[1]; 5. 19-Floyd Billington[4]
Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 117JR-CJ Castelletti[4]; 2. 7Z-Zach Payne[5]; 3. 92-Andrew Buff[2]; 4. 67W-Zack Welch[3]; 5. (DNS) 24-Brian Pessolano
Hot Laps 1 (3 Laps): 1. 28-Jordan McCreadie, 00:13.224[4]; 2. 44-Stewart Friesen, 00:13.230[8]; 3. 50-William August, 00:13.235[10]; 4. 42-Tucker O’Connor, 00:13.436[9]; 5. 26R-Corey Cormier, 00:13.467[13]; 6. 117JR-CJ Castelletti, 00:13.473[2]; 7. 7Z-Zach Payne, 00:13.484[14]; 8. 92-Andrew Buff, 00:13.500[1]; 9. 31-Lance Willix, 00:13.604[11]; 10. 67W-Zack Welch, 00:13.846[12]; 11. 61-Dale Gray, 00:13.910[5]; 12. 20B-Joey Bonetti, 00:14.090[7]; 13. 22L-John Lutes, 00:14.141[3]; 14. 24-Brian Pessolano, 00:14.195[15]; 15. (DNS) 427-Carter Gibbons; 16. (DNS) 19-Floyd Billington
RUSH Late Models
Feature (15 Laps): 1. 111-Demetrios Drellos[1]; 2. 26-Derrick Mcgrew Jr[3]; 3. 17-Rob Pitcher[2]; 4. 64C-Alan Chapman[4]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 111-Demetrios Drellos[2]; 2. 17-Rob Pitcher[4]; 3. 26-Derrick Mcgrew Jr[3]; 4. 64C-Alan Chapman[1]
Hot Laps (3 Laps): 1. 111-Demetrios Drellos, 00:12.936[3]; 2. 17-Rob Pitcher, 00:13.308[4]; 3. 26-Derrick Mcgrew Jr, 00:13.458[1]; 4. 64C-Alan Chapman, 00:13.904[2]
DIRTcar Sportsmans
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 01-Zack Buff[2]; 2. B24-Brendan Gibbons[1]; 3. 07-Taylor Wason[3]; 4. 12B-Tyler Bobar[5]; 5. 33-Cody Ochs[7]; 6. 25G-Stephen Gray[6]; 7. 18-Tony Farone[8]; 8. 43-Tavien Blowers[4]; 9. (DNS) 28-Dylan Eldred
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. B24-Brendan Gibbons[1]; 2. 07-Taylor Wason[2]; 3. 12B-Tyler Bobar[3]; 4. 33-Cody Ochs[4]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 01-Zack Buff[3]; 2. 43-Tavien Blowers[2]; 3. 25G-Stephen Gray[1]; 4. (DNS) 18-Tony Farone; 5. (DQ) 28-Dylan Eldred[5]
Hot Laps (3 Laps): 1. 07-Taylor Wason, 00:13.576[5]; 2. 33-Cody Ochs, 00:13.583[6]; 3. 12B-Tyler Bobar, 00:13.677[1]; 4. 25G-Stephen Gray, 00:13.699[10]; 5. 01-Zack Buff, 00:13.716[4]; 6. B24-Brendan Gibbons, 00:13.796[7]; 7. 43-Tavien Blowers, 00:13.958[2]; 8. 28-Dylan Eldred, 00:14.772[9]; 9. (DNS) 18-Tony Farone; 10. (DNS) 5EJ-EJ Gallup
DIRTcar Pro Stock
Feature (20 Laps): 1. 6-Shane Playford[1]; 2. 2H-Luke Horning[2]; 3. 57-Charles Mcspirit[3]; 4. 25-Steve Cosselman[4]; 5. 09J-Shawn Perez Jr[9]; 6. 145-Dominick Denue[8]; 7. (DNF) 9B-Slater Baker[6]; 8. (DNF) 49-Ivan Joslin[5]; 9. (DNF) 80-Dan Krajewski[7]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 6-Shane Playford[2]; 2. 57-Charles Mcspirit[1]; 3. 49-Ivan Joslin[3]; 4. 80-Dan Krajewski[5]; 5. 09J-Shawn Perez Jr[4]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 2H-Luke Horning[1]; 2. 25-Steve Cosselman[3]; 3. 9B-Slater Baker[4]; 4. 145-Dominick Denue[2]
Hot Laps (3 Laps): 1. 6-Shane Playford, 00:15.254[8]; 2. 9B-Slater Baker, 00:15.423[2]; 3. 09J-Shawn Perez Jr, 00:15.515[1]; 4. 25-Steve Cosselman, 00:15.737[3]; 5. 49-Ivan Joslin, 00:15.864[6]; 6. 57-Charles Mcspirit, 00:15.977[7]; 7. 80-Dan Krajewski, 00:16.390[5]; 8. (DNS) 2H-Luke Horning
Limited Sportsman
Feature (20 Laps): 1. 916-Nick Brundige[1]; 2. 00X-Josh Coonradt[3]; 3. 14W-Timothy Wilmot[2]; 4. 771F-Adam Fusco[4]; 5. 19-Tim Deffer[13]; 6. 48-Chayton Young[9]; 7. 26-Mason Gray[12]; 8. 9X-Colten Emigh[7]; 9. 11H-Conner Hearn[8]; 10. (DNF) 27M-Brock Mattice[5]; 11. (DNF) 2-Brandon Tyler[6]; 12. (DNF) 4-Zach McSpirit[10]; 13. (DNS) 24-Kirsten Swartz
Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 916-Nick Brundige[1]; 2. 771F-Adam Fusco[4]; 3. 9X-Colten Emigh[2]; 4. 4-Zach McSpirit[3]; 5. 26-Mason Gray[5]
Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 14W-Timothy Wilmot[1]; 2. 27M-Brock Mattice[3]; 3. 11H-Conner Hearn[2]; 4. (DNS) 24-Kirsten Swartz
Heat 3 (6 Laps): 1. 00X-Josh Coonradt[1]; 2. 2-Brandon Tyler[3]; 3. 48-Chayton Young[2]; 4. (DQ) 19-Tim Deffer[4]
Hot Laps 1 (3 Laps): 1. 00X-Josh Coonradt, 00:13.613[10]; 2. 916-Nick Brundige, 00:13.749[5]; 3. 4-Zach McSpirit, 00:14.138[11]; 4. 2-Brandon Tyler, 00:14.170[7]; 5. 14W-Timothy Wilmot, 00:14.248[9]; 6. 26-Mason Gray, 00:14.340[6]; 7. 27M-Brock Mattice, 00:14.556[4]; 8. 771F-Adam Fusco, 00:14.672[8]; 9. 24-Kirsten Swartz, 00:15.758[1]; 10. 11H-Conner Hearn, 00:16.534[13]; 11. 48-Chayton Young, 00:19.317[2]; 12. (DNS) 9X-Colten Emigh; 13. (DNS) 19-Tim Deffer
Dirtcar Mini Stocks
Feature (15 Laps): 1. 11D-Jordan Ryder[1]; 2. 509S-Stephen Walters[6]; 3. 7D-Adam Montville[9]; 4. 39D-Nicholas Bunn[2]; 5. 19D-Brian Blanck[7]; 6. 77S-Jamie Warner[4]; 7. 126D-Nichole Decker[5]; 8. 5D-Shawn Hemstreet[3]; 9. 47S-Bruce Liddle[8]
Hot Laps (3 Laps): 1. 11D-Jordan Ryder, 00:16.947[5]; 2. 39D-Nicholas Bunn, 00:18.456[1]; 3. 19D-Brian Blanck, 00:18.895[4]; 4. 126D-Nichole Decker, 00:20.815[6]; 5. (DNS) 47S-Bruce Liddle; 6. (DNS) 509S-Stephen Walters; 7. (DNS) 5D-Shawn Hemstreet; 8. (DNS) 7D-Adam Montville; 9. (DNS) 77S-Jamie Warner
Street Stocks
Feature (15 Laps): 1. 24V-Jason Samrov[1]; 2. 54S-Shane Wetherington[2]; 3. 24N-Josh Samrov[4]; 4. 39-Matt Wells[3]
Hot Laps (3 Laps): 1. 24V-Jason Samrov, 00:15.941[4]; 2. 54S-Shane Wetherington, 00:16.134[1]; 3. 39-Matt Wells, 00:16.160[3]; 4. 24N-Josh Samrov, 00:16.693[2]
All Star Slingshots
Feature (15 Laps): 1. 22A-AJ Albreada[2]; 2. 17V-Dave Viall[5]; 3. 6B-Brett Putnam[4]; 4. 33Z-Justin House[6]; 5. 57-TJ Hughes[8]; 6. 33M-Bodie Marks[3]; 7. 15-Brayden Ketchum[10]; 8. 21-James Hatch[1]; 9. 10-Scott Sprague[11]; 10. 54-Sullivan Dickey[9]; 11. (DNF) 68-Braxton Dembek[7]; 12. (DNF) 21C-Logan Carter[12]
Heat 1 (5 Laps): 1. 21-James Hatch[2]; 2. 33M-Bodie Marks[4]; 3. 17V-Dave Viall[3]; 4. 68-Braxton Dembek[5]; 5. 54-Sullivan Dickey[6]; 6. 10-Scott Sprague[1]
Heat 2 (5 Laps): 1. 22A-AJ Albreada[2]; 2. 6B-Brett Putnam[3]; 3. 33Z-Justin House[1]; 4. 57-TJ Hughes[5]; 5. 15-Brayden Ketchum[4]; 6. 21C-Logan Carter[6]
Hot Laps (3 Laps): 1. 22A-AJ Albreada, 00:16.292[4]; 2. 33M-Bodie Marks, 00:16.343[7]; 3. 68-Braxton Dembek, 00:16.346[9]; 4. 21-James Hatch, 00:16.370[3]; 5. 15-Brayden Ketchum, 00:16.513[8]; 6. 17V-Dave Viall, 00:16.574[5]; 7. 33Z-Justin House, 00:16.586[2]; 8. 6B-Brett Putnam, 00:16.706[6]; 9. 57-TJ Hughes, 00:16.756[10]; 10. 54-Sullivan Dickey, 00:16.892[11]; 11. 21C-Logan Carter, 00:19.762[12]; 12. (DNS) 10-Scott Sprague
Junior Slingshots
Feature (12 Laps): 1. 33M-Preston Trautschold[2]; 2. 4-Lucas Cole[4]; 3. 50-EJ Hatch[1]; 4. 25-Alex Cosselman[7]; 5. 55-Molly Hatch[3]; 6. 100-Carson Hamlin[9]; 7. 00-Harlan Heroth[8]; 8. 12C-Colton White[6]; 9. 321-Dakota Hart[5]; 10. 99-Ayna Sarpriacone[11]; 11. 17V-Alex Viall[10]
Heat 1 (4 Laps): 1. 50-EJ Hatch[2]; 2. 55-Molly Hatch[3]; 3. 321-Dakota Hart[1]; 4. 25-Alex Cosselman[4]; 5. 100-Carson Hamlin[6]; 6. 99-Ayna Sarpriacone[5]
Heat 2 (4 Laps): 1. 33M-Preston Trautschold[2]; 2. 4-Lucas Cole[4]; 3. 12C-Colton White[3]; 4. 00-Harlan Heroth[5]; 5. 17V-Alex Viall[1]
Hot Laps (3 Laps): 1. 4-Lucas Cole, 00:17.001[11]; 2. 25-Alex Cosselman, 00:17.363[2]; 3. 50-EJ Hatch, 00:17.419[5]; 4. 33M-Preston Trautschold, 00:17.626[9]; 5. 12C-Colton White, 00:17.742[7]; 6. 321-Dakota Hart, 00:17.784[13]; 7. 55-Molly Hatch, 00:17.836[12]; 8. 00-Harlan Heroth, 00:17.849[1]; 9. 100-Carson Hamlin, 00:18.095[10]; 10. 99-Ayna Sarpriacone, 00:18.504[6]; 11. 17V-Alex Viall, 00:20.247[4]; 12. (DNS) 68-Braxton Dembek; 13. (DNS) 54-Sullivan Dickey