Bartlett notches 358 Mod win number two, while Power ends Six year dry spell at Can Am

Column By: TIM BALTZ / CAN AM SPEEDWAY – LA FARGEVILLE, –  Bob Johnson Auto Group was on hand for another great card of racing at the Can
Am Speedway this past Friday night. Hot temperatures meant for some intense
racing as the points races are going down to the wire. With track titles on the line
soon, every point is critical. Plus it was Ladies Night, which meant the popular
Powder Puff was the main event of the evening.
Stephen Bushey invaded the Can Am Speedway Friday night and was the early
pace setter in the 15 lap Donath Motorworx Limited Sportsman feature with
Brianna Murtaugh and Caleb Howard chasing him. Bushey led the opening 4 laps
until a yellow flew for a two car spin in turns 1 and 2. When the green flew
Brianna Murtaugh put the pressure on and by lap 7 would take the lead away but
Caleb Howard and Mason Rogers were on the move. Howard suffered a
mechanical problem late in the race and was forced pitside, which put Rogers into
second as another caution flew for debris. On the final restart Brianna Murtaugh
would jump out front and put a comfortable gap between herself and Rogers to
collect her first Can Am win after 4 runner up finishes this year. Mason Rogers
would cross in second over veteran Mike Durham, Stephen Bushey and Jackson
Welling.
In the 25 lap Whitesboro Plow Shop DIRTcar 358 Modified feature Ryan Bartlett
was able to grab the top spot away from early leader Shaun Shaw with Lance
Willix holding onto third. Bartlett had a fast car on a track that was table top
smooth once again, while Willix, Shaw, Tim Fuller and Billy Dunn were all looking
to move up. Behind the leader, Lance Willix was able to hold second and close the
gap slightly with Tim Fuller taking away the number three spot from Shaun Shaw
as the laps clicked off. With 10 laps remaining Ryan Bartlett’s lead started to
shrink as Lance Willix drew closer while Fuller remained close by in the third spot.
Despite lapped traffic Ryan Bartlett was not to be denied as he scored an
emotional second win of the season. Willix crossed second in the caution free
event, with Tim Fuller Shaun Shaw and points leader Billy Dunn 5th.
It had been since August 2nd of 2019 since Jessica Power last won at the Can Am
Speedway in the Bob Johnson Auto Group DIRTcar Sportsman division. She took
the lead from Brady Howard on lap 3 and drove away in the early laps with
Keegan Nier close by in the number three spot. On lap 8 Haily Brownell slowed to
a stop on the front stretch setting up a restart that everyone needed. When the
green flew Power had no problems pulling away while Nier had to battle with last
Friday night’s winner Tyler Stevenson, who would take over the runner up spot,
but by then Power had driven away from the field. Power would build up well
over a straight away and a half lead over the final laps as Stevenson did
everything he could to run her down. After a long time out of the winner’s circle
Jessica Power finally put it all together scoring her 6th career Can Am win in
dominant fashion. Tyler Stevenson would take second ahead of Keegan Nier,
Owen Nier and Taylor Doxtator, who came from the back to finish 5th.

Andrew Hennessy and George Sanford were the early pace setters in the 20 lap
Panther Frameworx Crate Sprint Cars but the race quickly went under red as
Patrick Nolan took a slow roll over in turn two. Nolan was not hurt but the car was
done for the night. This restart was key as Bruno Richard made his presence
known, charging around both Sanford and Hennessy for the top spot as Josh
Verne Jr. also was on the move grabbing the number three spot. Richard had a
fast car and was driving away from a quality field, but the yellow would fly on lap
11 as James Kiah pulled to the infield with a small fire in his car. Track crews
quickly put out the fire and Kiah was uninjured but the car was done for the
evening. On the final restart Bruno Richard would jump out front and no matter
what Andrew Hennessy and Josh Verne Jr. did, it was not enough as Richard
would go unchallenged to record his third win of the season at Can Am. Hennessy
and Verne would complete the podium, with Nick Webb and George Sanford the
top 5.
Corey Valade had been on a roll the last few nights out in the Sundance Leisure
Thundercars. He won Monday at Can Am, second at Mohawk the next night and
was back in front this past Friday night on home turf looking for another win but
Tony Frezzo was on the charge to second, but had a long way to go to catch the
leader. Valade looked like he was going to lead wire to wire for the win but the
yellow flew for Colby Hibbard, who spun in turn 4. On the final restart Tony Frezzo
and Jared Gilson did all they could to get the lead, but this night belonged to
Corey Valade as he went unchallenged for his 2nd in a row and 6th win of the
season. Tony Frezzo, Jared Gilson, David Rasmussen and Collin Bauter completed
the top 5.
At the end of Ladies Night a special 5 lap Powder Puff took place with 8 drivers
taking part in the special event for the DIRTcar Sportsman. Drivers took the green
and Danielle Nier used the experience from her racing family to take the lead
early. Nier would drive away unchallenged to score the win by nearly a half track
at the finish.
Next week Can Am Speedway honors our great First Responders across our
region. Several fire trucks, police cars and EMS vehicles will be on hand with a
special intermission parade to take place. Gates open at 5pm with the first green
flag flying at 7pm. Be sure to give the track a follow on our Facebook page and
don’t forget to add us to your favorites on My Race Pass to get all the up-to-date
results, alerts and media releases at the speedway. To check out everything that’s
going on all season long check out our website at racecanam.com. Can’t make it
to he track? All the racing action will be broadcast live on Dirt Track Digest TV.