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Tyler Meeks Bold In Victory At Caprara's Can-Am

Story By: ADAM CORNELL - LAFARGEVILLE, NY - After a week’s hiatus, due to the Monster Truck invasion, Caprara’s Can-Am Motorsports Park was alive with racing, once again, on Saturday night. It was a picture-perfect, late summer night.

Tyler Meeks was the big winner in the 358 Modified class. Meeks had to fend off the likes of Ryan Arbuthnot, Billy Dunn and Ryan Bartlett to take the trip to victory lane.

“I was just trying to get to the end. It started overheating there. Look at it, there’s water pouring out of it now,� Meeks said in victory lane. “I didn’t want to see that last caution, it was heating up even more on the caution laps.�

Referring to Dunn and Arbuthnot, Meeks said, “It’s tough to hold those guys behind us, but we managed to get it done.� The car proved to be just good enough for the win and nothing more, as it required a push to the pits from victory lane.

Jackson Gill was the winner in the caution-plagued Sportsman Modified feature. He managed to maneuver through the field and keep David Rogers and Zach Sabotka at bay long enough to take the checkered flag and the trip to victory lane. It was Gill’s second victory in as many races at Caprara’s Can-Am Motorsports Park.

Remington Hamm won the Novice Sportsman feature. He took the lead when he muscled past the two leaders on a caution restart in early laps, and never gave it back.

“Dad said never run on the bottom, but look where it got me,� Hamm said, from victory lane. It was his fourth victory of the season at Caprara’s Can-Am Motorsports Park.

Other winners on the night included Justin Pope in the Thunderstock make-up feature from August 12th, Shawn Kirby in the Pro Street Stock feature, and Matt Zira in the Annual Ron White Memorial race for Thunderstocks. Zira was behind the wheel of Dakota Bechler’s 26B, and took home the $1000 payout for the race.

Racing returns to Caprara’s Can-Am Motorsports Park in Lafargeville, NY on September 2nd for the final night of track points racing with a double points night.

For more information, please visit racecanam.com or canammotorsports on Facebook.

RACE RECAPS:

THUNDERSTOCK – MAKEUP FEATURE FROM AUG. 12th.
Due to deteriorating track conditions two weeks ago, the Thunderstock feature was postponed until Saturday night. With the track looking spectacular, the four-cylinder fury rolled onto the track. 11J Justin Burns and 94 OJ White started in the top two starting positions. White took the lead out of turn one, but faded by the time the field rounded turn four. Justin Burns was the leader at the close of lap one, but surrendered the position to 60 Justin Pope by the close of lap two. 94 OJ White narrowly avoided disaster, after going sideways in turn two and getting his nose clipped. This brought out the caution flags for the first time on the night. At the drop of the green, Pope reclaimed the lead, with 50 Zach Stone hot on his heels. Stone and Pope had both climbed up from the basement of the field to start, to be in the top two positions by lap three. After a couple of cars stalled out during lap four, Pope took the lead once again on the caution-restart. By lap five, 16 Matt Marcinko moved into third position, while 32 Chuck Monica moved into fifth position, just behind Justin Burns in the 11J. In lap eight, it was Zach Stone with the aggressive move on the low side, to try to take away the lead from Pope. But Pope was able to fend off the attack and retain the lead. By lap nine, Monica moved into third, keeping pace behind the leaders. With one lap remaining, Stone tried to make a move on Pope, but Pope was able to hold it all the way to the checkered flag. At the finish line, it was 60 Justin Pope, 50 Zach Stone, 32 Chuck Monica, 11J Justin Burns and 16 Matt Marcinko in the top five positions.

HEAT RACES:
NOVICE SPORTSMAN: 6 Matt Brown and 76G Skylar Greenfield started the heat in the top two positions, with Brown leaping out to a commanding lead by turn two. 15 Jamie Brown moved up through the field quickly, taking over third position right behind Greenfield by lap three. One lap later, Jamie Brown owned second place, but was a full straight-away behind the leader, Matt Brown. 57H Remington Hamm moved into third with one lap remaining. At the checkered flag, it was 6 Matt Brown, 15 Jamie Brown and 57H Remington Hamm in the top three positions.

358 MODIFIEDS: The big guys took over the track next, with 18w Scott Webb and 51 Brady Gill starting in the top two positions for heat number one. With a roar and a cloud of dust, Brady Gill shot into the lead, while 93 Ryan Bartlett launched into second position by the close of lap one. A lap two caution came out on the track, when 27w Nick Webb went over the berm in turn four and had a little trouble getting it started up again. On the restart, Gill took the outside lane, with Bartlett on the inside. Gill was able to retain the lead, while 9 Billy Dunn shot up to capture second position away from Bartlett. Number 7 Mike Maresca took over third position one lap later, moving Barlett into fourth. By lap five, Dunn was the leader, putting distance between his pink, black and white number 9, and the rest of the pack. At the checkered flag, it was Billy Dunn with the victory with 51 Brady Gill, 7 Mike Maresca , 93 Ryan Bartlett, and 1 Rocky Warner filling out the top five.
In heat number two, it was 28 Tyler Meeks and R70 Ryan Arbuthnot in the top two starting positions. Arbuthnot executed a precision power slide through turn one to launch into the lead. 9J Jordan McCreadie moved into third place by the close of lap two, nipping at the heels of 28 Meeks. 24 Brandon Sweet settled into fourth position by lap four, with 57 Rylee Gill in fifth right behind him. And that’s how it would remain through the checkered flag; R70 Ryan Arbuthnot in first, 28 Tyler Meeks in second, 9j Jordan McCreadie in third, 24 Brandon Sweet in fourth and 57 Rylee Gill in fifth position.

THUNDERSTOCKS: The Thunderstocks returned to the track with four heat races to determine the starting positions for the second feature. The first feature had number 7h Joe Orvis in position one, with 66 Bill Young on his door in second position to start. Orvis charged into the lead, while Young faded a bit, giving 11J Justin Burns the opportunity to grab second position away, by lap two. After a lap five caution, Orvis retook the lead, with Burns in second and Young in third. At the checkered flag, it was 7h Joe Orvis with the victory, 11J Justin Burns in second, and 26B Bechler in third, after nosing past Young at the flag stand.

Heat number two had 27W Quinn Wallace and 17B Mike Greenfield in the top two positions. Greenfield had the hot foot through lap one, owning the lead through the entire first lap. 9 Stone attempted a pass on Greenfield through turn four of lap two, and got stuck on the back fender after he rubbed Greenfield. They rode down part of the front straightaway connected by sheet metal, before they broke free and Stone took the lead. One lap later, 42 Lyle Robinson took the lead, and rode it too victory. At the checkered flag it was 42 Robinson, 9 Stone and 17B Greenfield in the top three positions.

The third heat race had 2s Jason Fetterly and 32 Josh Verne in the top two positions. Monica took the lead almost immediately, while 50 Zach Stone moved into second. Fetterly continued racing in third, despite great plumes of blue smoke billowing from his car. It was an uneventful race, with 32 Verne taking the victory, 50 Stone taking second and 2s Fetterly taking third at the checkered flag.
Heat four had 111v Tony St. Mary and 77 Ian Bursett in the top two starting positions. 60 Justin Pope started in the last row, but climbed up to the lead by lap two. In turn two of lap two, 17 Pat Sullivan spun out and connected with the 40H. He was able to get the car restarted, but had to take it to the pits, trailing blue smoke all the way. On the restart, 60 Pope and 26BZ Ziera were side by side.

Ziera grabbed the lead for three turns before Pope regained the lead. There was a scary moment when 77 Bursett went hard into the wall out of turn four in lap five, and meandered back into traffic, clipping 111v Tony St. Mary, spinning him into the wall right next to the flag stand. Bursett was able to exit his vehicle immediately, seemingly without injury. Both Bursett and St. Mary had to leave on the hook of the Caprara’s tow team trucks. After the carnage was cleared, 60 Justin Pope, 26BZ Matt Ziera and 40H Jerry Herbert were the only cars remaining. On the restart, Pope grabbed the lead, but surrendered it to Ziera after going high through turns one and two. Coming down the straightaway, Pope’s left front tire blew with a pow, and the equipment failure sent him launching off the berm in turn one. The number 60 left on the hook, leaving 26BZ and 40H on the track for one last lap. At the checkered flag, it was 26BZ Ziera with the win, with 40H Herbert in second.

SPORTSMAN MODIFIED: 45r Preston Forbes and 25 George Sanford started in positions one and two. Forbes battled with Sanford through the first lap, but emerged with the lead by the time they passed the flag stand. 38 Zach Sabotka moved into third position by lap two, and challenged Sanford for second position one lap later. It took another lap to complete the pass. With one lap remaining, Sabotka made his move on the lead, but Forbes was too powerful for Sabotka. At the checkered flag it was 45R Preston Forbes with the win, 38 Zach Sabotka in second and 25 George Sanford took third. The 21 Taylor Caprara finished the race smoking heavily and requiring a push to the pits.

Heat number two rolled onto the track next, with 2 Chris Thurston and 22 Josh Verne starting in the top two positions. 621 Brian Hudson charged up from the back of the pack to take over the lead by lap two, with Thurston in second. 57 Anthony Stockman was also hard charging, moving up to third by lap three. 44 David Rogers followed right behind Stockman to move into fourth position, while 60 Jackson Gill moved into fifth by lap five. At the checkered flag, it was 621 Brian Hudson with the victory. 2 Chris Thurston took second by a nose, while 44 David Rogers had to settle for third. 60 Jackson Gill and 57 Anthony Stockman finished in fourth and fifth positions.

Heat number three had 29J Joel Hall and M1 Ricky McCready. McCready took the lead at the drop of the green, while 26 Mike Mandigo and 24 Jordan Kelly battled for third. 29J Hall got clipped going through turn three and spun across the field, narrowly avoiding a disaster. Hall was able to continue racing at the tail of the field, while M1 McCready and 26 Mandigo restarted in the top two positions. Mandigo grabbed the lead away from McCready, while 1 Jack Meeks moved up into second position by lap five. With one lap remaining, Meeks made his move on Mandigo, but Mandigo was too fast, taking the victory by a nose. The top five finishers were 26 Mike Mandigo, 1 Jack Meeks, M1 Ricky McCready, 24 Jordan Kelly and 18 Justin Gadbaw.

PRO STREET STOCKS: Pro Street Stocks took over the track next, with 3 Rick Dusckas and 83D Dustin Bradley starting in the top two positions for the first heat race. Dusckas owned the lead through turn one, with Bradley settling into second. 1x Mike White moved into third, hot on the bumpers of the leaders. 690 Sid Harmer Sr. passed up White in lap two, when racing was paused for a caution, as 55 Kenny Clark spun out through turn three untouched. Harmer and Dusckas battled for the lead on the restart, with Harmer emerging with the advantage and the lead by lap three. At the checkered flag, it was 690 Sid Harmer Sr. with the victory, 3 Rick Dusckas in second, 83D Dustin Bradley in third.

Heat number two for Pro Street Stocks had 32 Ryan Shanahan and 7x Justin White starting in the top two positions. 3k Shawn Kirby threaded the needle between the leaders through turns one and two to take over the lead on the first lap. 14R Sid Harmer Jr. moved up through the field to grab onto second position by lap two, with 4 Mike Durham in third. At the checkered flag, it was 3k Shawn Kirby with the victory, 14R Sid Harmer Jr. in second and 4 Mike Durham taking third.

There was a six lap dash-for-cash for the Novice Sportsman class, with eight cars entering the winner-takes-all bonus race. Remington Hamm in the 57H threaded the needle early to take over the lead, and never gave it back, taking the checkered flag and the cash.

FEATURES:

NOVICE SPORTSMAN: The first regularly-scheduled feature for the night was the Novice Sportsman. 76G Skylar Greenfield and 15 Jamie Brown started in the top two positions. 57H Remington Hamm and 7W Devin Willis were in row two. Jamie Brown captured the lead by the close of lap one, while 7W Willis moved into second with Remington Hamm retaining third, with Greenfield slipping to fourth. By lap six, Jamie Brown had a commanding lead, well ahead of the pack. But a caution destroyed the lead, bringing the field back together for a restart. Brown opted for the outside lane for the restart, and gave up the lead to Willis for a moment, but climbed back up. 57H Remington Hamm took advantage of the restart to leap-frog the leaders and grab first place for himself, relegating Brown to second and Willis to third. With one lap remaining, Willis grabbed onto second place, but was unable to have a shot at the lead. At the checkered flag, it was 57H Remington Hamm with the victory. 7W Devin Willis was second, 15 Jamie Brown third, 76G Skylar Greenfield took fourth, while 34 Eric Nier finished fifth.

358 MODIFIEDS: Tyler Meeks in the number 28 and 51 Brady Gill started in the top two positions for the feature. Row two had 70R Ryan Arbuthnot and 93 Ryan Bartlett in positions three and four, respectively. Gill leaped out to the lead through turn one, while Bartlett moved into second, supplanting Meeks. Bartlett captured the lead by lap two, while Meeks moved into second by lap four. By the time a caution came out for a spin-out in turn four, Bartlett had a substantial lead over the rest of the field. That lead was erased, as the field came back together for a side-by-side restart in lap five. On the restart, Bartlett and Meeks went toe to toe, with Meeks coming out on top. One lap later, Ryan Arbuthnot passed up Bartlett for second position. Meanwhile, 9 Billy Dunn was steadily moving up through the field. Dunn was in fourth position by lap seven, and was reeling in the leaders. At the halfway point, it was 28 Meeks in the lead, with 70R Arbuthnot in second, 93 Bartlett in third, 9 Dunn in fourth and 51 Gill in fifth. Arbuthnot dove low multiple times to attempt to pass, but each time, Meeks fended him off. In lap twenty-one, smoke billowed out of the engine of 93 Ryan Bartlett’s car, and he lost power. Bartlett came to a stop at the entrance of pit row, and needed a push to get the car completely off the track. It was a caution that Meeks did not want to see, as it put Arbuthnot and Dunn within striking distance for the lead with just four laps to go. Meeks was able to retain the lead on the restart. With one lap remaining, Dunn drove past Arbuthnot for second place, but could not make it up to the leader. At the checkered flag, it was 28 Tyler Meeks with the victory, with 9 Billy Dunn in second, 70R Ryan Arbuthnot in third, 9j Jordan McCreadie in fourth and 1 was fifth.

THUNDERSTOCKS: The twenty-five lap Ron White Memorial race, with a $1000 prize for first place, was up next. Twenty-two four-cylinder Thunderstocks took the green flag to start the race. 2s Jason Fetterly and 60 Justin Pope started in the top two positions. Racing ensued for one lap, with Pope and Matt Zira, driving Dakota Bechler’s 26B, battling for first. A red-flag stoppage occurred in lap two when the 2s of Fetterly got loose in turn four and drove across the field, leading to a big pile up. Though the wreck claimed multiple cars, all drivers were okay. Of the twenty-two cars that started, fourteen were able to continue after the red-flag stoppage. 26B Matt Zira and 7h Joe Orvis restarted in the top two positions. Zira owned the lead on the restart, while Orvis battled with 9 Ike Stone for second position, several car-lengths behind. It took Stone until lap five to take over the second position and begin to reel in the leader, Zira. 32 Josh Verne had taken advantage of the restart, several laps previous, to move up through the field, after starting far in the back of the field. By lap seven, Verne was in fourth. By lap nine, Verne was contending for the lead in a four-car-melee with Zira, Stone, and Orvis. Verne managed to pass the top three cars for the lead by lap ten. One lap later, it was Stone who was the leader. As the leaders rolled up against lapped traffic, Verne took the lead once again. Stone slipped back to third as Orvis moved into second. A lap sixteen caution came out on the track when a bumper was dropped on the track in turn one. 7h Joe Orvis had to leave on the back of the tow truck after coming to a stop along the infield during the caution. On the restart, Josh Verne retook the lead, with 26B Matt Zira moving into second. Yet another caution brought racing to a stand still in lap seventeen. Verne and Zira did battle once again on the caution restart, with Zira taking over the lead by the time they reached the flag stand. In lap twenty, 32 Verne lost power through turn two, and took the car to the pits. This left 26B Zira in sole possession of the lead, with 9 Ike Stone in second and 40H in third. In lap twenty-three, the 40H got loose, giving 50 Zach Stone a chance to take over third. At the checkered flag, it was 26B Matt Ziera with the big victory. 9 Ike Stone took second, 50 Zach Stone was third, 40h was fourth, with 16 Matt Marcinko taking fifth.

SPORTSMAN MODIFIED: The next feature on the night was the Sportsman Modified. 45R Preston Forbes and M1 Ricky McCready started in the top two positions. Forbes wasted no time firing out into lead, but it was havoc in lap one, with three cars getting involved in a wreck in turn two. 621 Brian Hudson, had to head to the pits after the wreck, but was able to get back onto the track in time to stay on the lead lap, after several caution-restart-false-starts. When racing finally resumed, Forbes was able to retain the lead, with McCready hot on his heels. Another caution came out in lap two for a stalled vehicle on the back straightaway. Forbes, once again, emerged as the leader, with McCready in second. 60 Jackson Gill and 38 Zach Sabotka had moved up through the field after just a few laps, challenging the leaders for position. Gill took over second by lap five, supplanting McCready. One lap later, Sabotka moved into third, while McCready experienced issues with his car, that forced him to take it to the pits. By lap seven, 60 Jackson Gill was the leader, with 45r Preston Forbes in second. Yet another caution came out in lap eight, totaling five cautions in eight laps. This triggered a single file restart, with Gill the leader. Sabotka took over second position by lap nine, with Forbes left to battle with 44 David Rogers for third position. Rogers took over third by lap eleven, and sparred with Sabotka for second on lap later. By lap thirteen, Rogers was firmly in second, and charging ahead to challenge Jackson Gill for the lead. Meanwhile, 1 Jack Meeks, Preston Forbes and 26 Mike Mandigo were battling three wide, at times for fourth position. Meeks would emerge with the fourth place position by lap seventeen, with Forbes fading to fifth. One lap later, it was 415 Andrew Wren moving into fifth place behind Meeks. After the caution-plagued start of the race, the final laps were wide-open racing, as the field stretched around the entire half-mile track. At the checkered flag, it was Jackson Gill with the victory. 44 David Rogers took second, with 38 Zach Sabotka in third, 1 Jack Meeks in fourth and 415 Andrew Wren finishing fifth.

PRO STREET STOCKS: The final feature race of the night was the Pro Street Stocks. 83D Dustin Bradley and 7x Justin White started in the top two positions. At the conclusion of lap one, it was 3k Shawn Kirby in the lead, after shooting ahead from the back of the field. A lap three caution brought the field back together for a restart, but Kirby pressed ahead undaunted, retaining the lead. 3 Rick Dusckas took advantage of the restart to launch into second position. One lap later, three cars were involved in a wreck in turns three and four. 28 Burton Ward got the worst of it, going airborne and rolling over at least once, eventually coming to rest on his wheels, facing the wrong way through turns three and four. 55 Kenny Clark was also involved, as was 83D who cut a tire during the wreck. After the extended red-flag stoppage, racing resumed with 3K Shawn Kirby and 3 Rick Dusckas in first and second positions. Kirby retained the lead on the restart, with 1x Mike White moving up to challenge for and eventually take second position. By lap six, White was practically painted on the back bumper of Kirby, as he pressed for the lead position. White was given a chance to make a play for the lead when another caution came out in lap nine. White was not able to take advantage, as Kirby vaulted out ahead of the pack. 14R Sid Harmer Jr. fought through the pack to take over second position by lap ten, just as Mike White’s hood ripped off the car and landed on the front stretch. At the halfway point, it was 3k Shawn Kirby, 14R Sid Harmer Jr., 4 Mike Durham, 1x Mike White, and 3 Rick Dusckas in the top five positions. By lap fourteen, Dusckas moved up to fourth position. At the checkered flag, it was 3k Shawn Kirby with the victory. 14R Sid Harmer Jr. was second, 4 Mike Durham was third, 3 Rick Dusckas held onto fourth and 1x Mike White finished fifth.

FULL FEATURE RACE RESULTS:

NOVICE SPORTSMAN: 1) 57H Remington Hamm, 2) 7W Devin Willis, 3) 15 Jamie Brown, 4) 76G Skylar Greenfield, 5) 34 Justin Nier, 6) 007 Chad Tessier, 7) 66W Derek Webb, 8) 2 Kevin Warren, 9) 6 Matt Eisele (DNS)

SPORTSMAN MODIFIED: 1) 60 Jackson Gill, 2) 44 David Rogers, 3) 38 Zach Sobotka, 4) 1 Jack Meeks, 5) 415 Andrew Wren, 6) 45R Preston Forbes, 7) 26 Mike Mandigo, 8) 21 Taylor Caprara, 9) 57 Anthony Stockman, 10) 7S Shaun Shaw, 11) 24 Jordan Kelly, 12) 29J Joel Hall, 13) 22 Josh Verne, 14) 66W Derek Webb, 15) 18 Justin Gadbaw, 16) 15 Greg Henry, 17) 34 Eric Nier, 18) 71 Delbert Legrow, 19) M-1 Rick McCready, 20) 25 George Sanford, 21) 621 Brian Hudson, 22) 4X Mike Gadbaw, 23) 2 Chris Thurston, 24) 91 Josh Reome

358 MODIFIED: 1) 28 Tyler Meeks, 2) 9 Billy Dunn, 3) R70 Ryan Arbuthnot, 4) 9J Jordan McCreadie, 5) 1J Rocky Warner, 6) 51 Brady Gill, 7) 7MM Mike Maresca, 8) 24 Brandon Sweet, 9) 18W Scott Webb, 10) 39 Tyler Bartlett, 11) 99 Larry Welling Jr, 12) 27W Nick Webb, 13) 93 Ryan Bartlett, 14) 19 Luke Stewart, 15) 57L Lee Gill

PRO STREET STOCK: 1) 3K Shawn Kirby, 2) 14R Sid Harmer Jr, 3) 4 Mike Durham, 4) 3 Rick Dusckas, 5) 1X Mike White, 6) 57k Kevin Fetterly, 7) 7X, 8) Justin White, 9) 55 Kenny Clark, 10) 690 Sid Harmer Sr, 11) 83D Dustin Bradley, 12) 23 Terry Gardner, 13) 28 Burton Ward, 14) 32 Ryan Shanahan, 15) 62 Johnathan Murphy

THUNDERSTOCK: 1) 26B Matt Zira, 2) 9 Ike Stone, 3) 50 Zach Stone, 4) 40H Jerry Herbert, 5) 16 Matt Marcinko, 6) 521 George Savage, 7) 21W Quinn Wallis, 8) 5 Don Woodworth, 9) 4 Jesse Bender, 10) 17B Mike Greenfield, 11) 32A Josh Verne, 12) 7H Joe Orvis, 13) 111J AJ St. Mary, 14) 2SA Jason Fetterly, 15) 61 Jerry Rogers, 16) 14K Kyle Schneider, 17) 60 Justin Pope, 18) 69 Sean Berry, 19) 26R Ray Bechler, 20) 11J Justin Burns, 21) 66 Bill Young, 22) 21 J.R. Durham, 23) 42 Lyle Robinson, 24) 17 Pat Sullivan, 25) 26M Phil Desormeau, 26) 111V Tony St. Mary (DNS), 27) 77S Ian Bressett (DNS), 28) 94 OJ White (DNS), 29) 5B David Ayen (DNS)

Racing returns to Caprara’s Can-Am Motorsports Park in Lafargeville, NY on September 2nd for the final night of track points racing with a double points night.

For more information, please visit racecanam.com or canammotorsports on Facebook.

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