Conte Breaks Through, Vigneri Wins Classic Battle at Genesee

COLUMN BY: Jeremy Perry / DIRT TRACK AT GENESEE – BATAVIA, NY  – It was a Chamber of Commerce evening at the Genesee County Fairgrounds as The Dirt Track at Genesee hosted Batavia Downs Gaming Night, the final weekly program before next week’s highly anticipated Stars & Stripes Showdown.

A total of 69 cars filled the pit area across six divisions, along with the May 9 Sportsman make-up feature, setting the stage for another competitive night of racing before the speedway shifts its attention to the biggest event in track history.

Sam Hoxie, of Bliss, NY, and Ray Bliss brought the Sportsman May 9th make up field to the green flag, with Hoxie jumping out to the early lead from the pole.

The race’s first and only caution came on Lap 2 when Phil Vigneri III suffered a broken shock, ending his race early.

On the restart, Hoxie took advantage of the inside groove to maintain the lead, but Dave Conant quickly worked his way around Bliss for second just one lap later. Conant spent the remainder of the race searching for a way around the leader, trying multiple lines by entering both high and low in the corners while also attempting to diamond the turns.

The Bliss driver hit his marks every lap and kept Conant at bay to earn his first feature victory since the Genesee County Fair on July 22 of last season.

“I could hear someone shoving their nose in there at the end,” Hoxie said in Victory Lane. “I couldn’t tell if it was my shadow or someone else’s, so I just kept pushing as hard as I could.”

The Conte’s Auto Street Stocks were next on the speedway, with Damian Long and John Zimmerman leading the field to the green. Zimmerman led the opening lap before the race’s first caution flew on Lap 2 for Kenny Begnouche in Turns 1 and 2.

Before the caution, Jesse Qutermous had made three-wide move to get around Byron DeWitt and Long, but the yellow flag negated the pass, forcing him to restart fourth.

When racing resumed, DeWitt and Qutermous quickly worked their way past Long, and on Lap 6, DeWitt completed the pass on Zimmerman to take over the lead. Qutermous followed him into second, but his stay there was short-lived as Town of Batavia driver Rich Conte charged through the field and took over the runner-up position.

Conte continued to close on DeWitt and made his winning move on Lap 11, diamonding the exit of Turn 2 to pull alongside DeWitt down the backstretch before completing the pass exiting Turn 4.

From there, Conte pulled away to score his first Conte’s Auto Street Stock feature victory since May 1, 2022.

“We were struggling the first couple weeks with mechanical issues,” Conte said in Victory Lane. “I think we figured it out, and it brought us here.”

Aideen Rusnock and Lucas Newton, of Oakfield, brought the Blue Diamond Racing Products Novice Sportsman field to the green flag.

Newton jumped into the lead on the opening lap and was never challenged, leading all 10 laps to remain perfect on the season. The feature was completed in just 4 minutes, 18 seconds, making it the fastest race of the night.

Kevin Napier and Racelyn Lippa led the Weis Performance Mini Stock field to the green, with Lippa leading the opening lap.

Cody Wise, of Nunda, made his move on Lap 2, taking the lead from Lippa down the backstretch. The race’s first caution flew one lap later after Carson Shetler, Amber Lang and Tyler Wick tangled in Turns 3 and 4.

On the restart, Cole Susice quickly charged from fourth to second, setting his sights on Wise. Susice entered the night perfect on the season with five feature victories in five starts, but Wise proved to be untouchable.

Wise steadily pulled away from the field and crossed the finish line 5.723 seconds ahead of Susice to score the feature victory.

“Today is my son’s birthday, and I wanted to do this for him,” Wise said in Victory Lane. “Hopefully we can do it again next week in the big Mackenzie Kulesza Memorial.”

The Kolb Family Automotive Sportsman took to the speedway next with Joe Mickey and Dave Conant leading the field to the green. Mickey led the opening lap before the race’s first caution flew on Lap 3 when Jericho Gurney suffered a flat right rear tire.

Another caution followed on the ensuing restart after Ricky Newton came to a stop at the entrance of Turn 1. During that caution period, misfortune struck the leader as Mickey suffered a flat left rear tire, handing the lead contenders a new opportunity.

The yellow flag flew once more on the next restart after contact involving Andrew Joy, Tony Pangrazio and John Venuto.

Once the race finally settled into a rhythm, the fans were treated to one of the best battles of the season. Phil Vigneri III and Dave Conant raced side-by-side for the lead, swapping the top spot six different times over the closing laps.

Vigneri eventually completed the final pass and held off Conant to score the feature victory.

“That was a lot of fun,” Vigneri said in Victory Lane. “Dave is such a great competitor. When we knew he was coming back this year, we knew we had to step our game up.”

Kayden Kirby and Brayden Bronschidle led the Ron & Newt’s Sales & Service Bandits to the green flag, with Bronschidle taking the lead on the opening lap.

Bronschidle paced the field through the first 10 circuits before Chase Powers, of Dale, began reeling him in. Powers found speed on the outside groove in Turns 1 and 2 and pulled alongside Bronschidle as the pair raced toward the white flag.

Powers completed the winning pass exiting Turn 4 and led the final lap to capture the Bandits feature victory.

“The top was working really good with this car,” Powers said in Victory Lane. “I was able to get alongside him and make the pass going into Turn 3.”

The 585 Auto Repair RUSH Late Models closed out the evening with Bill Holmes, of East Concord, and Jake Wilber, driving the Terry Suppa-owned entry, leading the field to the green flag.

Wilber jumped into the early lead and paced the opening three laps before the race’s first caution flew when Tommy Kemp spun in Turns 3 and 4 while attempting to avoid Dave Dubois.

The deciding moment of the race came on the ensuing restart. Wilber elected to restart on the inside, opening the door for Holmes to build momentum on the cushion. Holmes planted his right rear against the outside groove in both ends of the speedway, and the pair raced side-by-side for three laps before Holmes finally completed the pass for the lead.

Holmes stretched his advantage to nearly 1.7 seconds by Lap 17, but Wilber wasn’t finished. Over the closing laps, Wilber steadily reeled the leader back in, cutting the deficit to just 0.299 seconds at the checkered flag. Holmes never missed his marks over the final circuits, holding on for the feature victory.

“I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to get back around him,” Holmes said in Victory Lane. “But when he chose the bottom on that restart, I just drove as hard as I could around the outside.”

The Dirt Track at Genesee now turns its attention to the biggest event in the speedway’s history with the second annual Stars & Stripes Showdown, scheduled for July 2-4.

The weekend begins Thursday, July 2, with an open practice session for all divisions.

Friday’s program, presented by Flying Head Smoke Shop, features the United Late Model Series competing for $3,000 to win, along with championship points events for the 585 Auto Repair RUSH Late Models and Conte’s Auto Street Stocks. The Weis Performance Mini Stocks will also be in action with time trials and heat races to set the field for Saturday’s Mackenzie Kulesza Memorial. Mini Stock heat race winners will earn $100, with $50 awarded for second and $25 for third.

Saturday’s finale, presented by Scott Adams Trucking, will feature the U.S.M.C. Jason Dunham Memorial for the United Late Model Series, paying $10,004 to win, the Kolb Family Automotive Sportsman in a championship points event, and the $5,000-to-win Mackenzie Kulesza Memorial for the Weis Performance Mini Stocks.

The weekend will conclude with a fireworks display following Saturday night’s racing program. The fireworks are included with admission and will cap off the largest event ever held at The Dirt Track at Genesee.