WHAT TO WATCH FOR: DIRTcar Sportsman Series North Region Begins 2026 Season at Can-Am
Column By: Mike Warren – DIRTCAR NORTHEAST – LAFARGEVILLE, NY – Less than a week after the East Region started its season at Lebanon Valley, the DIRTcar Sportsman Series North Region gets its turn at Can-Am Speedway on Friday, April 24.
Drivers will battle in a 30-lap Feature, paying $1,000-to-win, in the first of two North Region visits of the season.
Joining the DIRTcar Sportsman Series at Can-Am on opening night are the track’s DIRTcar 358 Modified, 602 Crate Sprint Car, ThunderCar, and Limited Sportsman divisions.
For more on the DIRTcar Northeast, follow the DIRTcar Northeast Facebook page.
Here’s a look at what to watch for at Can-Am:
Agent Zero: With the North Region beginning its five-race campaign this weekend, it means reigning DIRTcar Sportsman Series champion Shane Pecore begins his title defense of both the overall title and the North Region championship. The Cornwall, ON driver swept the final two North Region races in 2025 to win the regional title and carried that momentum through the rest of the year.
However, despite finishing second in three of the last four Series events at Can-Am, he’s yet to reach Victory Lane there in a Series Feature. Pecore is searching for his 14th career Series win this weekend.
Battle of Can-Am’s Best: While Pecore’s consistency drove him toward a title, no one scored more DIRTcar Sportsman Series victories last season than Richard Murtaugh. The Fulton, NY driver won four Championship Season Features in 2025, including one at Can-Am last September, and the Great Lakes 75 during Super DIRT Week at Oswego Speedway.
In three Series starts at Can-Am, Murtaugh has never finished off the podium. He also finished second in the track’s points standings a year ago, earning three wins along the way.
The driver who beat him for the track championship last year was Gavin Eisele, from LaFargeville, NY. Eisele had two wins and never finished outside the top 10 in 16 Features. He also added a Central Region win last season at Weedsport Speedway, leading him to a Central Region title.
Eisele is searching for his fifth career Series victory, his last coming at Glen Ridge Motorsports Park last August.
Powered Up: One driver who took momentum from 2025 to 2026 is Sportsman veteran Jessica Power.
The Kingston, ON driver finished off last year with a win at the World Short Track Championships at The Dirt Track at Charlotte and opened this year with a win at All-Tech Raceway.
Power scored a Feature win at Can-Am last season and finished third in the track’s final standings. A win this weekend would be her third career Series triumph.
DIRTcar Sportsman North Region Schedule
Saturday, April 24/Can-Am Speedway/LaFargeville, NY
Saturday, June 20/Brockville Ontario Speedway/Brockville, ON
Saturday, June 27/Autodrome Drummond/Drummondville, QC
Sunday, June 28/Cornwall Motor Speedway/Long Sault, ON
Wednesday, July 1/Can-Am Speedway/LaFargeville, NY
