7/23/2025
The Dirt Track at Genesee
Wonderling Goes Top Shelf to Snag $4,000 RUSH Victory at Genesee
BATAVIA, NY – On a near-perfect summer evening during the Genesee County Fair, it was The Dirt Track at Genesee’s turn to shine in front of a packed grandstand for Kids Giveaway Night. Over 50 bikes were handed out to smiling boys and girls, adding to the energy and excitement that buzzed through the crowd. As the sun settled behind the grandstands and the midway glowed over turns 3 and 4, the scene was nothing short of postcard-perfect — the ideal setting for a night filled with intense, side-by-side racing action.
The headliner of the night was the Flynn’s Tire & Gunter’s Honey RUSH Late Model Tour, with $4,000 on the line. Chad Homan and David Pangrazio brought the field to green, and Homan claimed the early advantage. While most of the leaders hugged the bottom early, Jeremy Wonderling of Wellsville, NY had other plans. He used the high line to sneak past Pangrazio on lap 4, then surprised Homan in similar fashion four laps later to take command of the race.
A yellow on lap 10 for Jon Rivers bunched up the field, and shortly after, a multi-car pileup in turns 3 and 4 involving Dave DuBois, Brad Mesler, and Zack Carley ended several drivers' nights. Wonderling, however, remained unbothered. By lap 14, he clocked the only 17-second lap of the feature.
Just as it looked like he would coast to victory, a caution with two laps to go for Paul Grigsby added late drama. Contact on the restart between Homan and Wonderling lifted Wonderling’s car slightly, but he regrouped and battled back, edging Homan in a side-by-side thriller to take the win by just 0.428 seconds.
“This means a lot,” Wonderling said in Victory Lane. “Any time you can win these RUSH races, it means something. Our car was really good tonight.”
In the Conte’s Auto Street Stocks, it was John Zimmerman of Varysburg, NY starting up front with Dale Rissinger. Zimmerman jumped out early and managed several restarts, but the field behind him shuffled constantly. On lap 9, contact between Rissinger and Byron DeWitt opened the door for Josh Pangrazio, who got into second.
Pangrazio caught a timely caution on lap 11 that erased Zimmerman’s 2.36-second lead and set the stage for a classic showdown. For the next nine laps, it was high vs. low — Zimmerman on the top, Pangrazio down low. The pair stayed side-by-side with a margin never greater than 0.468 seconds. On the final lap, Zimmerman slipped slightly in turn 4, but not enough for Pangrazio to capitalize, and Zimmerman held on for the win by just 0.180 seconds.
“My son drew me the outside pole — that’s what I needed to get out front,” Zimmerman said. “We’ve had six second-place finishes at Ransomville this year. Everything finally went our way tonight.”
The Weis Performance Mini Stocks kicked off with Seth Johnson of Castile, NY leading lap 1 from the front row. Point leader Robert Knapp II was surging until mechanical trouble ended his race on lap 4 — his first DNF since July of last year.
A red flag on lap 9 for Eric Weis, following a violent collision with Rocco Conte, halted the action as Weis was taken for further evaluation. On the restart, it was a family battle between father and son — Seth Johnson vs. Brian Johnson. Brian, who already had a feature win this year, pushed hard to take it away from his son, but Seth was flawless over the final six laps, never slipping or missing a mark.
“We were just trying to finish,” Seth said. “We’ve got wiring problems, the left front is stuffed in, and the car doesn’t handle well… but we kept it pointed in the right direction and got it done.”
Seth beat Brian by 2.295 seconds, adding some playful bragging rights to his first win of the season.
The final feature of the night was the Dan Kolb Family Automotive Sportsman main event, led to green by Rob Richmond and Boyd MacTavish. MacTavish was fast early, but a big wreck on lap 3 involving six cars — including Andrew Smith, Phil Vigneri III, and Ray Bliss — changed the race.
During the red flag, officials noticed fluid leaking from MacTavish’s car, but he continued on. Eventually, on lap 11, mechanical issues forced MacTavish to retire, giving the lead to Sam Hoxie.
Hoxie still had to hold off a charging Ricky Newton, who stayed close until a lap 17 caution reset the field. From there, Hoxie hit his marks and didn’t flinch, holding off Newton to grab his first career Sportsman feature win by 0.893 seconds.
“I was hoping for a caution when he got away — and we got one,” Hoxie said. “We’ve been so close so many times. This is a huge motivation boost and we finally found something that worked.”
Three of the night’s four features were decided by less than a second — and two of them by under 0.428 seconds. Once again, The Dirt Track at Genesee delivered side-by-side action and multi-groove racing once the sun dipped below the horizon.
Next on the schedule is the Brian Ace Memorial and Autograph Night on Saturday, August 2nd — mark your calendars for another big night at Genesee!
Article Credit: Jeremy Perry
Submitted By: Jeremy Perry