Britten & Guererri Score 2nd Open-Wheel Wins At LOLR

Column By: Tom Skibinski / LAND OF LEGENDS RACEWAY –CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. –

The stretch run for 2025 Land Of Legends Raceway point titles hit the midway mark of August with a host of familiar faces leading the way in the latest ‘Saturday Spectacular’ presented by Geneva Club Beverage and Seneca Meadows Landfill.

Returning to victory lane on his sponsor’s night, Peter Britten captured his second Pepsi Big-Block Modified feature of the season while Stirling Lubricants Sportsman standout Matt Guererri matched ‘Batman’s’ success with his own return to the winner’s circle over the weekend.

Moving on from Modified and Sportsman competition at the Ontario Co. Fairgrounds oval this year, division rookie Dalton Martin etched his name in the Canandaigua record book with his first career triumph in the MighTea Boba 305 Sprint Car A-Main. On the flip side, taking checkered flags has been a hard habit to break for this trio of drivers as Jimmy Grant (Auto Value Parts Stores Street Stock) added his third win of the ‘25 campaign while Frank ‘Bubba’ Burnell Jr. (Lloyd’s Contracting Hobby Stock) and Kyle Ridley (Hutchinson Property Preservation New Legends Sportsman) each climbed highest on the podium for the fourth time this season.

It was also Kids Day with youngsters having fun in bounce houses, taking part in face painting, enjoying ice cream and mingling with drivers during a car show in the fairgrounds’ general admission parking area before racers hit the track. Sportsman drivers braving the heat to greet kids were Guererri, Sydney Wetherbee and Angel Sperring —back from a combination bout with pneumonia and kidney infection— with 305 Sprinters Martin and Cameron Moss and Stock Car wheelmen Burnell, C.J. Guererri and Marc Minutolo joining in; participation ultimately proving a good omen for Matt Guererri, Martin and Burnell on this special night.

Back trackside, the 50/50 beneficiary on this night was the Yates County Humane Society.

Helping to highlight a short-track racing career spanning five decades, the LOLR Wall of Fame welcomed multi-time Modified and Sprint Car winner Chuck Hebing as the newest addition on Saturday night. Hebing joined former Mr. DIRT Sportsman Champion and current Land of Legends Race Director Greg Hixson and inaugural Mr. DIRT Sportsman titlist Mike Button as the third member in Canandaigua’s Class of ’25 during pre-race induction ceremonies.

Launching his oval track career close to home on the pavement of Spencer Speedway following time spent first in microds then on area drag strips, Hebing scored four feature wins in Williamson behind the wheel of the former Danny Willmes-owned Late Model ride from 1989 to 1992. A valued crewman with long-time Spencer contender Buck Catalano and his no. 54 team, the Ontario NY ace swapped digits to provide scorers with the trademark #45 that has remained intact throughout much of his career.

In search of a driver to fill the seat vacated by Chris Burley, car owner Al Stevens lured Hebing to join the Big-Block ranks for a Saturday stint in Canandaigua. Hebing finished 11th in his season-opening Modified debut at the Ontario Co. Fairgrounds on April 17, 1993, eventually finding victory lane five times from 1995-2002. His dramatic over-the-top driving style attracted ‘This Week On DIRT’ television coverage right from the start with DIRT Motorsports founder Glenn Donnelly’s son Patrick dumping the ‘Mr. Excitement’ handle and coining on air the nickname ‘Cobra’ in 1994 when TWOD cameras showed off the now famous snake tattoo still inked on Hebing’s forearm today.

Hebing’s career took the biggest turn in 2003 after he climbed into a 360 Sprint Car for the first time, taking a test drive around Utica-Rome Speedway buckled into R.C. Faigle’s winged machine. Success followed that same summer, coming full circle on familiar soil as he took his first checkered flag in the fledgling Patriot Sprint Group A-Main on Aug. 23 at Canandaigua.

‘Cobra’ posted five more Patriot wins and added three in Empire Super Sprint competition at LOLR, ultimately registering an all-time Patriot tour-best 55 wins, seven triumphs chronicled in the United Racing Club (URC) recordbook, while notching his 40th ESS victory at Woodhull Raceway just four weeks ago. Informally declaring his career complete after the Woodhull win, Hebing has amassed over 100 feature race wins at 30 tracks in the United States and Canada while capturing three overall Patriot point titles (2006, ‘07, ‘18) and two ESS season crowns (2011 & ‘12) during his reign.

Now 61, Chuck took center stage behind the main grandstands on Saturday accompanied by his wife of 35 years, Michelle, and daughter Kelly, herself a former winged warrior with 305 wins at both Canandaigua (5/21/16) and Fulton (5/31/14), who is expecting the Hebing’s first granddaughter in late November.

Accompanying this year’s talented trio, previous selections are 2018 LOLR WoF charter members Donald ‘Dutch’ Hoag, Alan Johnson, ‘Barefoot’ Bob McCreadie and DIRT Motorsports founder Glenn Donnelly, Class of ’19 inductees Steve Pesarek, Milt Johnson, Gary Montgomery and Gary & Donna Spaid, ’21 honorees Steve Paine, Paul Guererri, Mike Welch and Fred Taney, ‘22 winners Danny Johnson, Gary Tomkins, Tom & Kim Ewing and Brad Ovens, ‘23 drivers Charlie Rudolph, Vic Coffey, Joe Plazek and Darryl Ruggles and last year’s group including Adam DePuy, full-fender drivers Jipp Ortiz and Mike Minutolo Sr., as well as the Haers Family, with current Big-Block stalwart Justin Haers a three-time season points king.

Australian ace Britten first found victory lane earlier this season steering teammate Rich Scagliotta’s no. 8 JBR Motorsport/Bicknell entry back on June 14. Midway through this month the Brisbane, Queensland transplant was just as comfortable winning in his own no. 21A Pepsi-Agway of Ballston Spa-Tommy Faxon Excavation/Bicknell Big-Block entry.

“Pretty cool to win on Pepsi night with Mike (Wilczewski, Geneva Club Beverage Sales Manager) here,” beamed Britten, following his 16th career victory on the hallowed half-miler. “Feels good to be here. Had a few moments when we’ve been quick, hopefully we can find some consistency and keep being quick.”

Britten started fifth in the 30-lap Modified main, keeping a close eye on early race leader Zach Payne from the outset. Rolling past young Kasey Coffey for third on lap eight, ‘Batman’ disposed of pole-sitter Justin Wright with a dozen laps down to secure second. Lap after lap the distance between leader Payne grew shorter, with Britten getting the needed bite rocketing low off turn two to forge the lone lead change on lap 23.

Points leader Mat Williamson authored a three-wide maneuver through traffic on lap 28, dropping Payne to third when the final checkered flag waved in the caution-free affair. Ninth starting Alex Payne advanced to fourth at the stripe as Coffey held on for his second top-five finish of the season over a stacked field of fairgrounds favorites.

“I’ve done that same trick that Zach did plenty of times before when you kinda run the top (lane) for too long,” added Britten, who ranks fifth in the track standings with just three point events left. “He drove a great race so full credit to him. Took me awhile, had to be patient. Felt like in my mind if I just stayed doing what I was doing and look out for my tires it would pay off in the end. And here we are in victory lane, it’s pretty awesome.”

Williamson (680) tops the current points chart in quest of a second straight crown, followed by Alex Payne (597), Matt Sheppard (594), three-time track champ Justin Haers (586) and Britten (574). Show-up points are on the line Tuesday in the Super DIRTcar Series showdown while regular points will be awarded next weekend and on Championship Night scheduled for Aug. 30.

Needing to mirror Britten’s patience in his own march to the front, only one yellow flag slowed opening night winner Guererri in his charge to the front, reeling in race-long leader Kevin Ridley with just a half-dozen circuits to go to garner first-place in the 25-lap Sportsman feature.

“Don’t know what to think, Kevin is so good wherever he goes,” remarked Guererri, now with 20 career wins in Canandaigua to tie recent Wall of Fame inductee Mike Button among LOLR’s all-time Top-10. “I knew him starting up front he was gonna be tough to beat. He’s a great friend of mine, it’s great to be able to race side-by-side with him. He runs me clean.”

Guererri filed in eighth on the 21-car starting grid yet needed just one lap to crack the front-five behind the wheel of his potent no. 12G Tradition Automotive-Young Agency-Mojo’s Tavern-Sunset Bowl/Bicknell entry. While Ridley pulled out to a big lead in the early stages, Guererri appeared just as fast working his way forward dicing through the pack.

Tim Baker and Timmy Borden Jr. fell victim to the eventual winner’s power surge around the speedway, with Guererri taking over second after seven laps and looking for more. Brief contact between Ridley and the lapped car of Tony Velez slowed the leader’s pace on lap 17 and when 12th running Tyler Corcoran looped his mount in turn four to incur the only caution on lap 19, Guererri suddenly found himself in prime position to take the top spot.

And right on cue, Guererri stormed ahead on the ensuing restart, blasting high around Ridley rounding turns three and four as the Waterloo warriors battled for bragging rights. From there Guererri cruised home for a 1.2-second victory over Ridley with Justin Liechti scoring a solid third-place finish ahead of open-wheel veterans Karl Comfort and Nick Cooper.

“Hell of a turn around with the track, night and day from what it was (2 weeks ago),” noted Guererri, the 2020 & ‘21 division points king. A little dusty but they’re headed in the right direction.”

“Blew the motor in the beginning of the year and that pretty much put us out of it (so he thought) but these guys just don’t give up. They believe in me. When I get down on myself these guys always pick me up. They just never give up and it’s starting to show.”

With just a pair of point shows remaining, Guererri (547) now trails only Corcoran (551), with Comfort (545) and Richard Murtaugh III (530) the closest challengers in pursuit. Guererri stood fourth in points heading into Saturday, taking advantage of mechanical woes by both Corcoran (finished 9th) and Murtaugh (18th) to move up.

Pole-position was the place to be for second-generation chauffeur Martin as he led all 20 laps to register his first-ever winged win at the fairgrounds. Yet staving off every bid by runner-up Dan Bennett and points leader Bobby Parrow kept any victory celebration on hold until chief starter Scott Hixson’s checkered flag finally fell.

“Thanks to 4 Dyers Fab, put a whole new assembly in the car this week so it would fire (on restarts),” stated Martin, who dedicated the memorable win to his father Rick, who passed away in January at the age of 58. Competing in both full-fender and open-wheel classes at LOLR, Rick scored his lone win in a 1993 Expert Street Stock main. “We gotta fine tune a little bit but I was just trying to time them (restarts), jump them a little bit, hope they wouldn’t get called back and just keep it going.”

Bennett ducked under pole-sitter Cameron Moss for second on lap seven before Moss slid too high exiting turn one to force out the first of three yellow flags. Martin was up to the task on each restart, with the Scottsville sprinter never flinching aboard his No. 81k DeGeorge Properties-Broccolo Automotive-Batzel’s Automotive/JR1 ride.

After Dan Craun drifted far off the track rounding turns one and two, top-three runners Martin, Bennett and Parrow lined up bumper-to-bumper for a final five-lap dash to the finish. Only .275-sec. separated Martin and Bennett when the final bell rang with Parrow less than a half-second behind at the wire. Randy Years placed fourth while Lance Dusett rebounded after a lap nine backstretch tangle with Ethan Gray.

“On one restart there I kinda drove up into the brown a little more,” divulged Martin, whose wife missed out on the landmark win as she was home tending to their son who was dealing with pneumonia. “I wasn’t all the way up there and thankfully Dan ran really hard to the inside so it forced me to drive up where I found that (line) and that’s what saved me to win it.”

With three point shows remaining on the docket including Tuesday, Parrow (638) holds a comfortable lead over Dusett (532) with Ethan Gray (497) the next closest in line.

Making the most in just his fifth start of the season at LOLR, Street Stock star Grant once more showed that he hasn’t forgotten the fastest around Canandaigua’s clay oval after another lights out performance in wine country.

“Got a good race car with a lot of laps here,” understated Grant, with the two-time LOLR points king now owning 32 first-place trophies at the fairgrounds. “My car wasn’t good early but I knew if I stuck with this thing and searched around, usually (car) is pretty good on top and I think everybody was pretty much running the bottom.”

Division points leader C.J. Guererri moved ahead of Pat Hobbs early from his front row perch with Grant needing nine laps to pull his #36 Geneva Glass-Fratto Curbing-Washburn Excavating-J.E. Marine Maintenance Chevrolet Camaro into the runner-up position after starting sixth. Hobbs spun low entering turn two and on the ensuing lap 10 restart it was Grant swinging high around Guererri to take the top spot. Aug. 2 winner Rick Crego followed Grant through the same hole before his night came to an unexpected end pitside with 16 laps complete.

Crego’s misfortune deflated Grant’s big lead that had ballooned to over six seconds, yet the Penn Yan pilot remained unfazed as he put his mount back on cruise control to out-distance Marc Minutolo by eight car-lengths at the line. Mike Welch, Guererri and Hobbs rounded out the top-five.

“I drove it in there and drove around them,” said Grant, who kicked off the weekend with another Friday night win at Outlaw Speedway in Dundee. “Don’t know how close Marc was at the end there but I thought I could hear his motor so I was just trying to not step on it.”

Only eight markers stand between Guererri (616) and Crego (608) with long-shot Mike Welch (588) holding down third going into the final two point shows.

Even more successful than Grant in 2025 at the fairgrounds, full-fender veteran Burnell has been among the quickest Hobby Stock qualifiers every week, yet feature race wins have come less often than expected.

“We’ve been struggling, I’m the heat race king this year but I never thought I’d get another feature win,” downplayed Burnell, a winner of 10 heat race qualifiers after upping his feature victory total to four. “We did some work this week … new shocks, new set-up.”

Work in the Waterloo shop for the no. 57B Eric Sanders Home Improvement-Youngs Auctions-Mullen Southern Truck Parts/BRD team resulted in big dividends on Saturday as he reached DAV Victory Lane for the 39th time in his Canandaigua career. Taking the lead from son Tyler Burnell from the outset, ‘Bubba’ never looked back despite the lone yellow flag flying with just two to go in the 15-lap finale.

Back under green Burnell was back on the gas, opening up a commanding eight car-length advantage at the stripe over weekly rival Marc Minutolo, followed by Nate Peckham, Blane Smith and Justin Eldredge.

“Me and Marc are like the best enemies out there, (next couple weeks) gotta take everything, go for broke and leave it on the table,” exclaimed Burnell, after cutting the gap to eight points behind division leader and two-time defending track champion Minutolo.

Just as in the Street Stock standings, only eight points separate the top-two Hobby combatants as Minutolo (618) and Burnell (610) are the front-runners to grab high-point honors by season’s end. Peckham (565) and Tyler Burnell (546) follow.

While no points are officially kept for New Legends Sportsman campaigners, Ridley has proven to be among the best in Canandaigua’s entry-level open-wheel class. Four wins in 10 starts are second only to the five victories posted by talented teen Chris Darling, who has since moved up into the regular Sportsman division; unfortunately suffering terminal engine issues in Saturday warm-ups.

“Really had to work for it tonight, starting from seventh deep in the pack.” remarked Ridley, after cracking the winner’s circle once again in his no. 20K Howie’s Auto-Fratto Curbing-Safety Awareness Solutions/Bicknell entry. “Just tried to pick our way through and finally got it.”

Pole winner Ethan Olmstead led his first laps of the year pacing the 12-car novice field before Ridley wrestled away the lead on the eighth trip around. A seemingly comfortable advantage was suddenly put to the test with just two to go in the 12-lap race when Ridley was forced to split lapped cars en route to the win.

Ridley was the meat in a Mangiarelli sandwich heading into turn three, Tate running low in his #51 car debut while the ‘X’ machine of Chris ran high as the Geneva gasman stuck to the middle lane in a dramatic three-wide maneuver on lap 11.

“Worried if the lapped cars were going to hold their line,” Ridley admitted. “Just see if I can get through there, the quicker the faster, and hold my own line.”

No harm, no foul as Ridley continued on to score a safe straightaway victory with Sydney Wetherbee edging Olmstead by a bumper across the line on the final lap. A.J. Mitchell and Shaun Toland rounded out the front-five.