Cody McPherson Wins DIRTcar Sportsman Series Race; Gary Lindberg Grabs Modified Win at Ransomville
COLUMN BY: Steve Petty / RANSOMVILLE SPEEDWAY – RANSOMVILLE, NY – Cody McPherson from St. Catharines, Ontario won the West Region opener for the DIRTcar Sportsman Series on Mark Cerrone Inc. night at the Ransomville Speedway Friday night. The win for McPherson was his sixth DIRTcar Series win and 24th career Big R victory, tying Chad Brachmann for fifth all-time in the division.
Gary Lindberg from Ridgeway, Ontario drove from ninth place to pick up his second Krown Undercoating 358 Modified win of the season. John Zimmerman from Varysburg, NY won the KiPo Chevrolet Street Stock feature.
Jeffrey Wynes from Wilson, NY won his second Sunflowers of Sanborn Mini Stock feature of the season. Austin Seburn from Wainfleet, Ontario won the J&D Tires and Service Novice Sportsman. Rob Pietz from Gasline, Ontario won the Niagara Regional Vintage Race Series event.
Round one in the West Region for the DIRTcar Sportsman Series was brought to the green flag by Tyler Foster and Steve Miller, with Foster in the lead ahead of Miller, Cody McPherson, Brett Senek, and Jake Bansmer. Miller would battle with Foster for the lead and would take the top spot on lap four, as Foster and McPherson battled for second. McPherson would take over second on lap nine, and on lap 11, would pass Miller for the lead. Cam Tuttle emerged into the top five on lap 10 and then would challenge Tyler Foster for third place on lap 14.
After passing Foster, Tuttle went right to work on Brett Senek for second place. Once out front, McPherson would pull away from Senek and Tuttle to score the feature win. In Cody’s career, the win was his 25th career DIRTcar Sportsman Series victory, and 6th Series victory at Ransomville. Senek would finish in second and was followed to the line by Tuttle, pole sitter Foster, and defending track champion Jake Bansmer.
Jessica Kriegisch and Scott Just brought the Krown Undercoating 358 Modifieds to the green flag for their 30-lap feature, with Kriegisch showing the way. Brad Rouse would drive by Jesse Cotriss to take over third place, with Ryan Susice racing in fifth. Rouse would then reel in Just for second place, ahead of Susice and Gary Lindberg.
Lindberg would take over fourth on lap seven, with Chad Brachmann and Mat Williamson starting to make their presence felt towards the top five. Rouse would take over second on lap 10, with Lindberg passing Just to take over third place on the same lap.
After starting ninth on the grid, Lindberg would take over the lead on lap 15, with Rouse taking over second on lap 16. Williamson would take over fourth place on lap 16, then would move into third on lap 18. The Lenco Supply caution would come out as Brad Rouse slowed in turn one. The restart green would see Lindberg and Williamson on the front row, with Lindberg continuing to show the way ahead of Williamson, Susice, Brachmann, and Kriegisch. Lindberg would drive away to his second win of the season.
Kenny Zimmerman and Phil Schepis led the KiPo Chevrolet Street Stocks to the green with Schepis in the lead ahead of Kenny and Butch Zimmerman. Mike Welch would pass Mike Kelly to take over fourth place on the opening lap. Welch would then pass Kenny Zimmerman on lap five to take over third place and would start to chase down race leader Phil Schepis and Butch Zimmerman. Zimmerman would take the lead on lap 10, with Welch, John Zimmerman, and Schepis all battling for second place.
Following a Lenco Supply caution on lap 10, Welch would clear Zimmerman to take over the lead on lap 11, with John Zimmerman moving into second place. John Zimmerman would pass Welch for the lead on lap 15, with Brandon Sherwood reeling in the lead duo. Sherwood passed Welch on lap 16 for second and set his sights on the leader with three to go. Zimmerman would hold off Sherwood to score the feature win.
Cody Griffin and Brandon Close brought the Sunflowers of Sanborn Mini Stocks to the green flag for their 15-lap main event, with Close in the early race lead. The field would go four-wide for the lead, with Ben Hornquist capitalizing and taking the top spot away. Jeffrey Wynes would take over the lead on lap four. Tyler Moden came to a stop in turn two to bring out the Lenco Supply caution on lap eight. The restart would see Wynes continuing to show the way ahead of Ben Hornquist, Matt Hornquist, Chris Leone, and Ian Paul. Wynes would go on to score his second straight win.
Austin Seburn and Chris Miller shared the front row for the J&D Tires and Service Novice Sportsman feature, with Seburn quickly taking the lead ahead of feature winners Christian Soliday, Miller, and Lucas Newton. Jayme Just would challenge Newton for third place, but Newton would hold him off. A multi-car pileup in turn four would bring out the Lenco Supply caution on lap eight. Seburn would go on to pick up his first career Ransomville victory.
Jipp Ortiz led the Niagara Regional Vintage Car Series to the green flag for their main event over Billy Montreuil and Rob Pietz. While battling for the lead, Montreuil spun in turn two to bring out the Lenco Supply caution on lap eight. Pietz would challenge and battle with Ortiz, and the driver from Ontario would take the lead on lap 12 and would go on to score the feature win.
Next Friday night, June 5, iFreeze will present the CRSA Sprints plus the Stirling Lubricants DIRTcar Sportsman, KiPo Chevrolet Street Stocks, Sunflowers of Sanborn Mini Stocks, and the J&D Tires and Service Novice Sportsman. Pit gates will open at 5pm, grandstands open at 6pm, and racing will get underway at 7:15pm. For more information, visit our website at www.ransomvillespeedway.com and follow along on social media.
RACE RESULTS – May 29, 2026 – Mark Cerrone Inc. Night
Krown Undercoating 358 Modifieds: GARY LINDBERG, Mat Williamson, Ryan Susice, Chad Brachmann, Jessica Kriegisch, Noah Walker, Kyle Richner, Steve Lewis Jr, Scott Just, Jesse Cotriss, James Sweeting, Brad Rouse, John Smith, Andrew Smith, Ryan Barrett
Qualifying Heats: Jesse Cotriss, Mat Williamson
Stirling Lubricants DIRTcar Sportsman: CODY MCPHERSON, Brett Senek, Cameron Tuttle, Tyler Foster, Jacob Bansmer, Karl Comfort, Matteo Panunte, Derek Wagner, Abby Castile, Tyler Puchalski, Brad Overbeeke, Sam Hoxie, Steve Miller, Brendan Zimmerman, Madyson Rouse, Kyle Teeter, Nigel Pendykoski, Daryl Barrett, Tyler Moore, Martin Polhill, Matthew Jessome, Tyler Guzzardi, Jessie Truax, Curtis Friesen (DNS)
Qualifying Heats: Cody McPherson, Karl Comfort, Brett Senek
KiPo Chevrolet Street Stocks: JOHN ZIMMERMAN, Brandon Sherwood, Mike Welch, Josh Pangrazio, Butch Zimmerman, Phil Schepis, Kenny Zimmerman, Dave Stolzenberg Jr, Doug Webster, Mike Kelly, Nate Tabor, Ron Richter, Chase Kish, Joey Zimmerman
Qualifying Heats: Brandon Sherwood, Butch Zimmerman
Sunflowers of Sanborn Mini Stocks: JEFFREY WYNES, Matt Hornquist, Ben Hornquist, Chris Leone, Ian Paul, Brandon Close, Cody Griffin, Tyler Moden, Ryan Plante, Sierra Antonucci (DNS)
Qualifying Heat: Brandon Close
J&D Tires and Service Novice Sportsman: AUSTIN SEBURN, Russell Friesen, Lucas Newton, Christian Soladay, Jayme Just, Brandon Guyette, Vincent Lewis, Chris Miller, Jacklyn Nettleton, Jacob Flynn
Qualifying Heats: Jayme Just, Lucas Newton
Niagara Regional Vintage Car Series: ROB PIETZ, Jipp Ortiz, Kenny Washburn, Scott McPhail, Billy Montreuil, John Hagerman, Tim Natolino, Jeff Larmet, Mike Jacobs, Ron Wiltsie, Ryan Ferri
Qualifying Heat: Jipp Ortiz
