Practice Day Finally Launches 2026 Season At Land Of Legends Raceway
COLUMN BY: Tom Skibinski – LAND OF LEGENDS RACEWAY – CANANDAIGUA, NY – On the brink of launching its 63rd season of auto racing, pit gates swung open under sunny skies Thursday afternoon as the first laps of 2026 were finally turned on the fast Land Of Legends Raceway historic half-mile clay oval.
After recent rain and ensuing wet grounds forced multiple postponements over the past month, more than 50 cars and drivers representing Land of Legends’ six weekly divisions pulled pitside for the late-May affair and were greeted by some truly hearty fans, all gearing up for the long-awaited LOLR lid-lifter in wine country.
The ’26 DIRTcar season-opener is now just a couple days away as Regional Truck & Trailer is set to headline the first ‘Saturday Spectacular’ on May 23 showcasing a big six-star card of Pepsi Big-Block Modified, Stirling Lubricants Sportsman, Disbatch Brewing Company 305 Sprint Car, Proctor Enterprises Street Stock, Smith Brothers Drywall Hobby Stock and MighTea Boba New Legends Sportsman action. Pit access is gained at 3:30pm, spectator gates open at 5 o’clock, hot laps start at 5:30 and the lead-off qualifier goes green at 6:30.
Led by returning 305 chauffeur and ‘25 rookie of the year Dalton Martin, the first trackside activity of ‘26 began at 5:45pm in the annual ‘test & tune’ session while the final checkered flag flew near 8:30 to put the wraps on early season warm-ups as temperatures dropped and darkness closed in on the Ontario County Fairgrounds.
“This track has produced plenty of records over the years but this is one we never wanted to set,” remarked LOLR promoter Paul Cole, referring to Saturday’s highly anticipated opener that marks the latest ground-breaking date during the DIRTcar era in Canandaigua. “We can’t wait to finally get some racing under our belts and our loyal racers and fans feel the same way.”
While the inaugural dates for stock car racing at the fairgrounds go back to 1953, Saturday’s show marks the latest opening race day since DIRTcar founder Glenn Donnelly promoted his first full-season at the legendary Ontario County speedplant in 1978. Donnelly initially formed the DIRT organization in 1976 then gained control of Canandaigua in ‘77, staging just four events with Hall of Famer Will Cagle taking the initial Big-Block Modified checkered flag on July 14.
As Cole is on the verge of launching his ninth season spearheading motorsports activity at the legendary Routes 5 & 20 speedplant, 2026 kicks off the 50th consecutive season of DIRTcar competition in Canandaigua with arguably the best field of Big-Block racers in the entire Northeast ready to trade paint. Led by two-time reigning LOLR points king Mat Williamson and fellow Super DIRTcar Series stars Alex Payne, Matt Sheppard, Peter Britten, Erick Rudolph and Jimmy Phelps, along with three-time track champion Justin Haers, first-time regular Mike Trautschold and a host of Saturday standouts in their own quest for glory, summer shows are sure to create many more memorable moments to look back on for years to come.
Among those pilots taking advantage of the mid-week warm-up sessions were Gil Tegg Jr., Kasey Coffey and Derrick Podisaldo in the Big-Block ranks, defending Sportsman points champion Karl Comfort, the father/daughter 305 Sprint tandem of Darryl Ruggles and Alysha Bay, full-fender favorites Blane Smith and Justin Eldredge, and a host of fresh faces in the New Legends Sportsman class. Jon Preston was in attendance shaking down his 410 sprinter and Matt Rotz was buckled into his own 360 winged machine on Thursday evening.
The off-season has once again been a tough time for the Ruggles family as an electrical fire destroyed the Ruggles race shop in Hopewell in early March, losing their cars, parts, tools, trophies and numerous pieces of family history that had been collected over generations. In November of ‘24 the all-time LOLR sprint car winner lost the use of his right eye after a sand-blasting gun exploded while working at the same Ruggles World of Auto Body building.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Beyond the season-opening race date that marks the fairgrounds’ 62nd year featuring the premier Big-Block Modified class, special shows for support divisions dot the 20-event Canandaigua calendar over the ensuing five months.
The ‘Stars & Stripes 76’ brings to a climax the Big-Block Modified Super DIRTcar Series showdown on July 2 with the touring BB SDS returning for the “SummerFast 60” on Aug. 18. Expanded to a two-day finale in ‘26, the 8th Annual Gerald Haers Memorial arrives on Sept. 19 boasting a $10,000 winner’s share with thousands more in contingency prizes shared after the 100-lap Modified main. Full-fender teams help close out their own ’26 Canandaigua campaign in a big ‘Full Fender Frenzy’ as part of GHM Weekend with Street Stockers contending in the 15th Les Whyte Top Gun Shootout while Hobby Stocks complete the Sept. 18 tripleheader that includes the final CRSA appearance.
Extra-distance Northeast DIRTcar Sportsman Series stops are slated for Wed. July 22 (regional event) with a $2,000 first-place check awaiting the 40-lap Haers Memorial titlist on Sept. 18. New Legends Sportsman accompany the tour stars in their own mid-week special during the 183rd Ontario Co. Fair in July.
While the DisBatch Brewing Company MighTea Boba 305 Sprints remain a weekly fixture at the fairgrounds, Stirling Lubricants joins DBC on center stage backing the CRSA Series invasion of LOLR on June 6, July 2 and Sept. 18.
The “Scoppo Special” track tribute adds to the holiday happenings on July 4 while Family Autograph Night (July 11) and Power Wheels Racing (Aug 1) remain annual speedway attractions during the summer months. Stay tuned to the track website as four more additions to the ever-growing Land of Legends “Wall of Fame” will be revealed as this year’s selections and induction dates are confirmed.
