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Dunn Destroys Competition At Caprara's Can-Am Saturday

Story By: ADAM CORNELL - LAFARGEVILLE, NY - Billy Dunn picked his way through the field and was in the lead of the feature race for 358 Modifieds by lap six, after starting ninth. Dunn was never in jeopardy of losing the lead once gaining it, during a relatively caution-free race on the half-mile clay surface at Caprara’s Can-Am Motorsports Park.

“That one was really good,� Dunn said of the race, while standing in victory lane with track announcer, Jim Olin. “We got a jump on it early. We ran a little better than last week. The car was really good, and I’m looking forward to closing out the season over the next month.�

Taylor Caprara was able to take advantage of multiple cautions and restarts to take home his first victory on the season at Can-Am for the Sportsman Modified class, after climbing up from a fourteenth starting position.

Other winners on the night included Sid Harmer Jr. in the Pro Street Stocks, Jamie Brown in the Novice Sportsman and Phil Desormeau III in Thunderstocks.

Racing resumes at the Nasty Track of the North, Caprara’s Can-Am Motorsports Park, on August 5th.

HEAT RACES:

NOVICE SPORTSMAN: Remington Hamm shot up to the lead almost immediately, pushing past 621 Trevor Gibbons moments into the heat race. 76G Skyler Greenfield came to a stop in turn four of lap two, triggering the night’s first caution. Greenfield had to ride the hook to the pits. Hamm took the lead once again on the restart, and proceeded to put half the track between himself and the rest of the pack. At the green flag, it was 57H Remington Hamm with the win, 15 Jamie Brown in second and 621 Trevor Gibbons in third.

PRO STREET STOCK: 62 Johnathan Murphy and 3k Shawn Kirby started in the top two positions. Kirby shot to the lead at the drop of the green, but 14R Sid Harmer Jr. moved up from the second row to challenge Kirby for the lead almost immediately. 690 Sid Harmer Sr. was right behind, moving into third position by lap two. The Junior Harmer was side-by-side with Kirby for several laps, but Kirby managed to power away and take the victory in heat number one. The top three finishers were 3k Shawn Kirby, 14R Sid Harmer Jr. and 690 Sid Harmer Sr.

Heat number two had 32 Ryan Shanahan and 4 Mike Durham in the top two starting positions. Durham nosed into the lead out of turn two in lap one, with 3 Rick Dusckas right on his rear bumper. Shanahan drifted up to block Dusckas and momentarily retained second position. One lap later, Dusckas tried the low side and was able to pass. 1x Mike White was not satisfied sitting in fourth position. With two laps remaining, White attempted a pass on the high side, but Shanahan shut him down. With a single lap remaining, White attempted another pass, but to no avail. At the checkered flag, it was 4 Mike Durham with the win, 3 Rick Dusckas in second and 32 Ryan Shanahan with the hard-fought third position.

SPORTSMAN MODIFIED: It was a packed class for Sportsman Mods, with three heats. 34 Eric Nier and 71 Delbert Legrow started in the first two positions. Legrow plowed his way into the lead at the drop of the green, with 22 Josh Verne following behind into second. 1 Jack Meeks moved past Verne by lap two, but gave up the position just one lap later. Meeks and Verne swapped positions again in lap four, this time for good. 38 Zach Sabotka sped past Verne to take over third with just three laps remaining. Meeks and Legrow spent the final two laps battling for the lead, with Meeks attempting to overtake Legrow. He had to wait almost until the last moment to successfully complete the pass. At the checkered flag, it was 1 Jack Meeks by a front bumper, 71 Delbert Legrow and 38
Zach Sabotka in the top three positions.
In heat number two, it was 45r Preston Forbes and 29J Joel Hall started in the top two positions. Hall took the lead out of turn two, but had his hands full as a hard-charging 621 Brian Hudson was hot on his heels by lap two. Hudson and Hall raced side-by-side through laps three and four, Hall running high, Hudson running low. By lap five, Hudson had completed the pass and took over sole possession of the lead. Once he was in the clear, Hudson extended his lead, cruising to a heat race victory. 29J Joel Hall finished second, with 45R Preston Forbes finishing third, but just barely, ad 415 Andrew Wren made a play for third but finished half a car-length short.

The third and final heat race had 2 Chris Thurston and 66w Derek Webb starting in the top two positions. Thurston leaped out ahead for the lead at the drop of the green. 25 George Sanford moved into second when Webb got a little high through turn two in lap two. Sanford moved into the lead when Thurston got out of his groove half a lap later. 24 Jordan Kelly took advantage of Sanford’s move and followed suit, taking over second positions from Thurston. Kelly pressed Sandford for the lead, but the 25 car was able to keep Kelly behind. At the checkered flag, it was 25 George Sanford with the victory, with 24 Jordan Kelly in second. 66w Derek Webb made a move to pass 2 Chris Thurston on the final lap, snatching away third place in the heat race.

358 MODIFIED: The top two starters for the first of two heat races was 24 Brandon Sweet and 51 Brady Gill. Sweet took the lead all the way through the first lap, with Gill settling into third. A lap two caution destroyed Sweets lead, putting Gill right back on his door for a restart. Sweet opted to restart on the high side, and Gill took advantage and control of the lead for a brief moment, but Sweet dove low and challenged for the position through lap two. Gill owned the lead for another lap, but got a little loose through turn four and Sweet darted low to take over the lead once again. Meanwhile, 28 Tyler Meeks moved up into third, passing up 19 Luke Stewart by lap four. At the finish line, it was 24 Brandon Sweet with the victory, 51 Brady Gill in second and 28 Tyler Meeks in third.

Heat number two had 39 Tyler Bartlett and 18W Scott Webb started in the top two positions. Bartlett shot into the lead through lap one, but was edged out by 57 Rylee Gill right at the flag stand. 9 Billy Dunn moved up from last position to the lead by lap three. R70 Ryan Arbuthnot passed up Bartlett for third position by lap four, and gained hard on Gill, while Dunn ran half a track out ahead in the lead. At the checkered flag, it was 9 Billy Dunn with the win, 57 Rylee Gill in second and R70 Ryan Arbuthnot in third.

THUNDERSTOCKS: The top two positions in the four-cylinder Thunderstock class were 4 Jesse Bender and 5 Don Woodworth. Bender grabbed the lead out of turn one, but was passed up before the close of the first lap, as 50 Kurt Stone came up on the outside to pass everyone for the lead. 7 Orvis took over second position by lap three. On the final lap 69 Sean Berry passed a fading Bender for third. At the checkered flag, it was 50 Kurt Stone, 7 Orvis and 69 Sean Berry in the top three positions.

In the second heat of the thunderstocks had 111J AJ St. Mary and 32 Chuck Monica in starting in the top two positions. Monica moved into the lead almost immediately, with 94 OJ White following him into second. White didn’t last long in the positions, as 11J Justin Burns took over second by lap one. But Burns car shut down half a lap later, relinquishing the position back to White. Burns limped back out onto the track, somehow finding a solution to his mechanical issues. 28B Bechler moved into second by lap four, pushing White back into third. At the checkered flag it was 32 Chuck Monica with the win, 28B Bechler in second and 94 OJ White in third.

The third and final heat race had 21 Tyler Bates and 26M Phil Desormeau III starting in the top two positions. Desormeau wasted no time jumping out ahead of the field, but 60 Justin Pope was hot on his bumper looking to pass. Pope went up onto the berm of the back straightaway in lap one, and gave up position to 42 Lyle Robinson. At the checkered flag, it was 26M Phil Desormeau III with the win, 42 Lyle Robinson in second and 60 Justin Pope coming in third.

Pro Street Stocks ran a Dash-For-Cash between heats and feature racing. 14R Sid Harmer Jr. took the win and the cash, with 3k Shawn Kirby coming in second.

FEATURE RACES:
NOVICE SPORTSMAN: 15 Jamie Brown and 621 Trevor Gibbons started in the top two positions. Brown leaped to the lead immediately and owned the lead until 57H Remington Hamm spun him through turn one of lap two. Hamm was sent to the back of the field for contact. On the restart 76G Skylar Greenfield took over the lead, with 621 Gibbons in second. In lap three, it was Hamm’s turn to spin out, after 18 Gavin Eisele got together with him in turn four. On the next restart Gibbons took over the lead, with Greenfield in second. 57H Hamm was moving up through the pack, bumping and weaving through traffic. Hamm got as far up as third in lap four, before fading back to fifth a lap later. 15 Jamie Brown, meanwhile, was moving up again, taking the lead back from Gibbons by lap five. 18 Gavin Eisele moved up to second position two laps later, with a quarter of a track in front of him to catch the leader. With two laps remaining, the top three cars were stretched around half the track, with 15 Jamie Brown in the lead, 18 Gavin Eisele in second and 621 Trevor Gibbons in third. And that’s how it would remain at the checkered flag: 15 Brown, 18 Eisele and 621 Gibbons in the top three positions.

PRO STREET STOCKS: The top two starters for the feature were 32 Ryan Shanahan and 3k Shawn Kirby. In row two, it was 4 Mike Durham and 83D Dustin Bradley started in row two, positions three and four. As the green flag unfurled, it was three wide racing in a battle for third position behind the leaders. When it all shook out, Kirby had the lead, with Bradley in second, but a caution came out over lap two when 62 Johnathan Murphy and 55 Kenny Clark got together in turn three, spinning both cars around. On the restart, Kirby jumped out to the lead, once again, with Bradley close behind in second. 14R Sid Harmer Jr. was nipping at the heels of the leaders through lap two, while the rest of the field was jostling for position, going three wide several times. By lap five, Harmer Jr. passed Bradley for second and set his sites on Kirby and the lead. In lap nine, 7x Justin White went up over the berm of turn one, bringing out the caution and setting the stage for a restart with Sid Harmer Jr. and Shawn Kirby side-by-side. On the restart, Kirby claimed the lead, while 3 Rick Dusckas leap-frogged from back in the field to grab second position for a moment. But he faded back to fifth by the time another caution came out when 690 Sid Harmer Sr. spun a complete 360 degrees on the back straightaway. Harmer Sr. was able to rescue the car from disaster and continue the race at the tail of the field. On a single file restart, Kirby retained the lead, with Sid Harmer Jr. in second. Dusckas moved up to fourth, battling Bradley for third. By lap eleven, Harmer Jr. moved past Kirby for the lead. Another caution gave Kirby an opportunity to take the lead, but Harmer Jr. fended off the assault and retained the lead, while Kirby ran second and Dusckas settled into third. At the checkered flag, it was 14R Sid Harmer Jr. with the win, 3k Shawn Kirby in second, 3 Rick Dusckas in third, 4 Mike Durham in fourth and 18 Remington Marquette came in fifth.

“Kirby was pretty fast, and we did rub a little there,� Harmer Jr. said from victory lane. “But that’s racing. It was good running side by side there for a bit.�

SPORTSMAN MODIFIED: Starting in the top two positions it was 29J Joel Hall and 2 Chris Thurston, with 71 Delbert Legrow and 45R Preston Forbes starting in row two. At the drop of the green, Thurston shot into the lead, with Legrow settling into second. 91 Josh Reome came to a stop off the berm of the back straightaway, triggering a caution. On the restart it was Legrow who got the jump for the lead, with Thurston battling mightily for the position. 15 Greg Henry, 38 Zach Sabotka 7s Shaun Shaw, 1 Jack Meeks and 71X Tim Falter got caught up in the back straightaway, resulting in Sabotka having a front wheel torn off the vehicle and the other cars every which way but straight on the track. Meeks left on the hook to the pits, as did Shaw and Sabotka. Fortunately all drivers were uninjured. On the restart, Thurston drove to the lead, with Legrow retaking the lead by the close of lap two. 621 Brian Hudson cuddled up to the leaders in third, but in an attempt to move past the leaders in turn four, he got caught up in the wet edge of the track, spinning out. This sent Hudson to the back of the field. After two laps and two cautions, racing resumed, with Legrow in the lead and Thurston in second. 21 Taylor Caprara was on the move, claiming fifth position by the close of lap four, chasing 45R Preston Forbes and 25 George Sanford in the third and fourth positions. Forbes took contact in the left rear, leaving it damaged and sending him to the infield in front of the grandstands. The 45R had to leave on the hook, racing over for the night. On the restart, Legrow and Thurston still were battling for the lead, with Thurston thrusting ahead. 21 Taylor Caprara moved up into second by lap eight, and challenged for the lead a lap later. Caprara tried the low line, but Thurston was finding the high line faster, and was able to fend off each of the attacks by Carpara. Another caution came out in lap eleven, putting Caprara up on Thurston’s door for the restart. Caprara got the advantage at the drop of the green and took over sole possession of the lead by the close of lap twelve. 415 Andrew Wren had quietly moved up through the pack and into third position by lap thirteen. In lap thirteen 66W Derek Webb got into the back of 26 Mike Mandigo, spinning him out off the back berm of the track. Webb was sent to the tail for the contact. The single file restart had Caprara in the lead, with Thurston in second and Wren in third. Wren took over second by the close of lap fourteen, but gave it back to Thurston by lap seventeen. Meanwhile, 1 Jack Meeks was moving up through the pack, able to stay on the lead lap after the extended caution that saw him go to the pits. By lap nineteen, Meeks was into fourth, passing up 71 Legrow. Caprara’s extensive lead over the rest of the field was destroyed when a caution came out in lap twenty-one. Moments after the green flag waved once again, Caprara was out ahead of the field, distancing himself from the 415 and 2 in second and third place. At the checkered flag, it was Taylor Caprara with the victory. 415 Andrew Wren finished second, 2 Chris Thurston was in third, 1 Jack Meeks finished fourth and 71 Delbert Legrow finished fifth.

It was Caprara’s first trip to victory lane on the season, and a hard fought victory, after starting fourteenth position on the night.

358 MODIFIED: 24 Brandon Sweet and 39 Tyler Bartlett led the field onto the track for the feature, in starting positions one and two. In row two 51 Brady Gill and 19 Luke Stewart filled positions three and four. Sweet owned the lead out of turns one and two, with Bartlett settling into second. 9 Billy Dunn moved through the field to third position by lap two. Dunn took over second position by lap three, moving in on the leader, Sweet. 28 Tyler Meeks was also hard-charging, moving up to third position by lap six. Dunn overtook Sweet for the lead in that same lap, and shot out ahead of the field by multiple car-lengths by the close of lap nine. R70 Ryan Arbuthnot was steadily moving through the field by lap thirteen, climbing past 39 Tyler Bartlett for fourth position. At the half-way point, it was 9 Billy Dunn in the lead, 24 Brandon Sweet in second, 28 Tyler Meeks in third, R70 Ryan Arbuthnot in fourth and 39 Tyler Bartlett in fifth. The race continued under green for the remaining laps, the top contenders stretching out around the entire track, with Dunn and Sweet navigating through lapped traffic before finding the checkered flag. In the end, Dunn wrapped up yet another victory at Can-Am, wit 24 Brandon Sweet in second, 28 Tyler Meeks in third, R70 Ryan Arbuthnot in fourth and 57 Rylee Gill moving up to snag fifth position.

THUNDERSTOCKS: The four cylinders hit the track next with 32 Chuck Monica and 17B Mike Greenfield started in the top two positions. Monica ran with the lead through lap one, but 26M Phil Desormeau III moved up through the field to challenge Monica from second position. After a lap two caution, the restart saw 26M Desormeau take over the lead. 42 Lyle Robinson moved through the field to take over third position, following a lap five caution. Justin Pope in the number 60, was moving back up from the rear of the field when he found himself facing backwards against the turn three wall just a few laps later. Pope was a little shaken up, but was able to walk away from the wreck. At the finish line, it was 26M Phil Desormeau III with the win, 32 Chuck Monica was second with 42 Lyle Robinson coming in third.

FULL FEATURE RESULTS:

NOVICE SPORTSMAN: 1) 15 Jamie Brown, 2) 18 Gavin Eisele, 3) 621 Trevor Gibbons, 4) 76G Skylar Greenfield, 5) 57H Remington Hamm, 6) 6 Matt Brown

SPORTSMAN MOD: 1) 21 Taylor Caprara, 2) 415 Andrew Wren, 3) 2 Chris Thurston, 4) 1 Jack Meeks, 5) 71 Delbert Legrow, 6) 24 Jordan Kelly, 7) 60 Jackson Gill, 8) 34 Eric Nier, 9) 91 Josh Reome, 10) M-1 Rick McCready, 11) 29NY Joel Hardgrave, 12) 7S Shaun Shaw, 13) 26 Mike Mandigo, 14) 66W Derek Webb, 15) 29J Joel Hall, 16) 71X Tim Falter, 17) 621 Brian Hudson, 18) 22 Josh Verne, 19) 25 George Sanford, 20) 45R Preston Forbes, 21) 15 Greg Henry, 22) 57 Anthony Stockman, 23) 38 Zach Sobotka, 24) 18X Billy Eisele.

358 MODIFIED: 1) 9 Billy Dunn, 2) 24 Brandon Sweet, 3) 28 Tyler Meeks, 4) R70 Ryan Arbuthnot, 5) 57 Rylee Gill, 6) 39 Tyler Bartlett, 7) 51 Brady Gill, 8) 19 Luke Stewart, 9) 27W Nick Webb, 10) 10 Josh VanBrocklin, 11) 18W Scott Webb, 12) 111 Allan Wills, 13) 93 Ryan Bartlett

PRO STREET STOCK: 1) 14R Sid Harmer Jr., 2) 3K Shawn Kirby, 3) 3 Rick Dusckas, 4) 4 Mike Durham, 5) 18 Remington Marquette, 6) 690 Sid Harmer Sr., 7) 28 Burton Ward, 8) 7X Justin White, 9) 55 Kenny Clark, 10) 32 Ryan Shanahan, 11) 1X Mike White. 12) 83D Dustin Bradley, 13) 62 Johnathan Murphy.

THUNDERSTOCK: 1) 26M Phil Desormeau, 2) 32 Chuck Monica, 3) 42 Lyle Robinson, 4) 7H Joe Oruis, 5) 50 Zach Stone, 6) 26R Ray Bechler, 7) 17B Mike Greenfield, 8) 20 Taylor Doxtator, 9) 94 OJ White, 10) 21 Tyler Bates, 11) 11J Justin Burns, 12) 521 Kyle Savage, 13) 4 Jesse Bender, 14) 61 Jerry Rogers, 15) 60 Justin Pope, 16) 69 Sean Berry, 17) 5 Don Woodworth, 18) 111J AJ St.Mary.

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