Column By: BOBBY CHALMERS / RPW – RANSOMVILLE, NY – Chad Brachmann has won countless races and is a championship driver.
However, while he may not have as many laps around a race track as veteran Pete Bicknell, Friday night at Ransomville Speedway, that didn’t matter.
During the middle stages of the 30-lap DIRTcar 358-Modified feature, Brachmann looked as if he was setting in for a top five finish. That all changed when the caution came out for Rick Richner who had spun in turn two with just 10 circuits remaining.
That’s when CB3 went to work.
On the restart, Brachmann took to the high side through turns one and two, making a daring three wide maneuver on third place Ryan Susice and second place Jonathan Reid.
The three stayed that way for more than half a lap. As they exited the fourth corner, the Niagara Lawn & Garden Equipment #3 had grabbed the runner-up spot with his sights set squarely on the back bumper of leader Bicknell.
Then, it was on, as the two drivers battled back and forth for a handful of circuits. Bicknell ran the lower line while Brachmann was rim-riding the cushion. Each lap, the yellow machine of Brachmann worked higher and higher on the track, trying to find his way by the veteran from St. Catherines, ONT.
With seven laps remaining, Brachamnn made his move, powering to the outside of Bicknell as the two exited turn four. With both right side tires straddling the moat on the frontstretch, there was a new leader and he wasn’t to be denied.
In the end, Chad Brachmann went on to score his second victory in three starts at the Big R.
“I knew our car was pretty good tonight,” Brachmann said. “I got stuck on the bottom there for the longest time but then I was able to find something up on the outside.”
Did he feel like he had anything for the leader?
“I just had to wait and let Pete run his line,” he said. “Then, it was just a matter of taking advantage of what came to me when I could. A lot of this tonight just came down to patience.”
Last Friday night at the speedway was twin 20’s for the Modifieds. Brachmann captured the checkered flag in the first race but had issues in the second. This week’s result made up for those issues, though.
“You know, in those short-distance type of races, you’ve got to go,” he said. “Then, when you get tied up behind a couple cars, you sometimes push it a little too hard. That’s what happened but, you know what, tonight made up for it.”
Bicknell, who looked like he was on his way to his first victory of the 2022 season at Ransomville, had to settle for second.
After taking the lead from pole sitter Jonathan Reid on lap 13, it looked like Mr. Small Block was on his way to the win, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Susice came home in third with early race leader Reid putting on a masterful performance, leading the early part of the feature before having to settle for fourth on the night.
Fifth place was captured by Mat Williamson, who headed into the evening as the point leader. However, his feature was made a little bit tougher by all sorts of issues.
After starting fourth on the original green, Williamson quickly worked his way to second on the opening lap. As the field thundered into turn three, the Wendt’s Propane & Oil #6 entered in the middle lane of the track, while third-place runner Bicknell went a little lower.
Slight contact was made, and then even more contact as the two exited turn four with Bicknell grabbing the spot with Williamson being forced into the moat. He lost several running positions due to the contact.
One lap later and the 33J of Robbie Johnston slowed on the frontstretch to bring out the caution. However, Williamson was still very hot under the helmet and showed his displeasure to Bicknell on the yellow flag circuits, pounding on the back bumper of the orange #42.
For his part, Williamson was sent to the rear of the field. However, the true racer he is, “Money Mat” wasn’t done on this night.
Even after suffering an exploded right rear on lap six, which resulted in massive body panel damage on his #6, Williamson powered from the rear of the field to race his way to fifth at the finish.
This driving display allowed Williamson to keep any point loss minimal as he chases another track championship at the Ransomville, NY oval.
In the companion Mini Stock feature, Dante Mancuso drove away from the field to record his fourth win of the season while Brad Whiteside and Dave Dussault completed the podium.
Modifieds: CHAD BRACHMANN, Pete Bicknell, Ryan Susice, Jonathan Reid, Mat Williamson, Greg Martin, Rick Richner, Jesse Cotriss, Robbie Johnston, Steve Lewis Jr, Andrew Smith, Luke Carleton, James Sweeting
Qualifying Heats: Mat Williamson, Ryan Susice
Mini Stocks: DANTE MANCUSO, Brad Whiteside, Dave Dussault, Ian Paul, Cole Susice, Brian Melcher, Jeffery Wynes, Kurt Rung, Ryan Plante, Mike Becker, Pete Nigro
Did Not Start: Don Hermanson, Don Whiteside
Qualifying Heats: Ian Paul, Dante Mancuso