AM Racing announced today their hope to accelerate their presence in the NASCAR Xfinity Series by expanding to two cars next season.

The decision to take this expected step in their "Future Focused" initiative underlines their commitment to building a robust platform within one of NASCAR's premier national series.

"With our focus on becoming a predominant championship-caliber team, adding a second car to our team's program is a crucial step in that process," said team owner Kevin Cywinski.

"We have made great strides in 2023, but the opportunity to add additional resources and expand our footprint for 2024 will strengthen our program for the long term."

AM Racing, having transitioned from a full-time competitor in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN® Truck Series to the Xfinity Series this season, has already showcased its potential with driver Brett Moffitt.

The team's inaugural season has seen impressive achievements, including a career-best qualifying effort of fourth at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway and an exceptional fourth-place finish at the Xfinity Series inaugural Chicago Street Course event in July.

Overall, in 27 races this season, Moffit has delivered one top-five, eight top-10s, 15 top-15s, 19 top-20s and an average finish of 16.6.

Reflecting on their accomplishments and looking ahead to their expected dual-team endeavor, Cywinski emphasized the shared vision of the team members and the strengthening infrastructure.

"Housing two competitive NASCAR Xfinity Series teams allows the opportunity to bring additional qualified team members who share the same family-oriented vision and integrity to building and producing two equally fast race cars with one goal: winning," Cywinski added.

While the first-year Xfinity Series team came up short of making the Playoffs, the team remains focused on leaving its mark in the remaining six races this season.

“We are proud of our successes this season,” sounded AM Racing team president Wade Moore. “Brett has done an outstanding job behind the wheel to try and execute and make the most out of every race weekend. We have not been perfect, but we have worked hard to make consistent strides, and I think our recent performance at Kansas Speedway is an example of what we can produce every week.

“We will continue to work hard over the next six weeks to make sure we not only continue to bring a competitive product to the track but continue to put ourselves in a position for good finishes.”

Additional details regarding AM Racing's expected expansion will be revealed in due course.

For more on AM Racing, please visit AMRacingteam.com, like their Facebook page (AM Racing), or follow them on Instagram and X | Twitter @AMRacingNASCAR.

The Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 (200 laps | 300 miles) is the 27th of 33 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the 2023 schedule. Practice begins on Saturday, September 23, from 9:35 a.m. – 10:05 a.m. Qualifying immediately follows at 10:05 a.m. The 38-car field will take the green flag shortly after 2:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m. ET) with live coverage on the USA Network, the Performance Racing Network (Radio), and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90. All times are local (CT).

AM Racing PR

Braden Chiaramonte would sweep the night to win Rush Race Gear Preliminary Night Two of the Lil’ Texas Micro Mania KKM Challenge with the POWRi Outlaw Micro League presented by Rush Race Gear to claim his first seasonal league victory after leading the final eight laps.

 

The second annual POWRi Micro Mania at the half-mile dirt Lil’ Texas Motor Speedway is part of the 2023 NASCAR Playoffs weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. The NASCAR Playoffs weekend will be highlighted by the NASCAR Xfinity Series Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 on Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT on USA Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90, and PRN), and the NASCAR Cup Series Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 on Sunday (2:30 p.m. CT on USA Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90, PRN, and 95.9 The Ranch-local). Country Music stars LOCASH will perform Sunday’s pre-race concert at 12:30 p.m. CT on the Machinery Auctioneers Pre-Race Stage located at the start/finish line.

 

Entering a stout field of forty-two entries in the POWRi Outlaw Non-Wing Micro split-field division preliminary night two would find Braden Chiaramonte setting the quickest qualifying lap with a time of 12.304-seconds. Heat Race Winners would include Braden Chiaramonte, Justis Sokol, Kaden Weger, Nikko Panella, and Justin Robison. Qualifier Winners would be Braden Chiaramonte, Chase Cabre, Sam Johnson, and Justis Sokol with Robby Brockman and Johnny Boland gaining the hard-fought semi-feature victories.

 

Flying onto the track for Rush Race Gear Preliminary Night Two feature racing for the Micro Mania KKM Challenge would see nightly High Point Qualifier earner Braden Chiaramonte and outside front-row contender Sam Johnson leading the field to green as Sam Johnson would hold the front of the field for the first few fast-paced laps around Lil’ Texas Motor Speedway as Braden Chiaramonte, Austin Saunders, Steven Snyder Jr, and Justis Sokol all battled inside the early contending top five with Chase Cabre, Kaden Weger, Jett Nunley, Justin Robison, and Eric Braundmeier running in the top-ten as a caution would bunch the field back together on the second lap.

 

Solidifying the lead through early race restarts would find Sam Johnson protecting the front of the field through the opening stages of the feature event from Braden Chiaramonte as mechanical issues would take the Sweet Springs event winner and third place contender Steven Snyder Jr. from competition on lap five with Justis Sokol, Austin Saunders, and Jett Nunley moving into the top-five pack.

 

Setting a blistering pace around the finely prepared Lil’ Texas Motor Speedway would find Sam Johnson separating from the field by nearly a two-second advantage over a smooth-running Chiaramonte with Justis Sokol and Austin Saunders wheel-to-wheel for third and fourth as Isaiah Garcia quickly moved into the contending top-five.

 

Using precision and patience on lap seventeen, Braden Chiaramonte would overtake for the lead off turn four after Sam Johnson would misjudged the exit and jumped the cushion with caution waving right as the lap clicked away to set the stages for late-race dramatics.

 

Perfecting the choose-cone restart as well as the preliminary night, Braden Chiaramonte would defend the top spot for the final seven laps to earn his first career POWRi Outlaw Non-Wing Micro victory as Isaiah Garcia would use the late restart to finish in the closely guarded second spot with leader of seventeen laps Sam Johnson finalizing the podium placements.

 

“It was a great night and we should be sitting good in point for Saturday, I knew Sam was better in the beginning but I was there when he made a mistake to capitalize,” said a celebratory Braden Chiaramonte in the Lil’ Texas Motor Speedway victory lane for Rush Race Gear Preliminary Night Two of the Micro Mania KKM Challenge. Adding, “Big win for Hyper they built a great car and I can’t thank everyone on my team enough for this great win”.

 

Keeping a solid showing all night, Austin Saunders would place fourth in the final lock-in spot for Saturday as hard-charger Jadan Bowling advanced sixteen spots to round out the top-five finishers in the POWRi Outlaw Micro League presented by Rush Race Products feature in Rush Race Gear Preliminary Night Two of the Lil’ Texas Motor Speedway Micro Mania KKM Challenge.

 

Next up the POWRi Outlaw Micro League will be returning to action at Lil Texas Motor Speedway for Micro Mania KKM Challenge on Saturday, September 23 for Eibach Championship Night.

 

Winners of each $10K to win finale events at the Sweet Springs’ KKM Challenge Race and the TMS Micro Mania will each receive automatic entry into Saturday’s Dash in the KKM Giveback Classic at Port City Raceway on October 21st. The overall event winner at Port City Raceway will get the decision of the $15,000 lump sum prize or a ride in a Keith Kunz Motorsports entry at the Chili Bowl along with $7,500 cash from KKM and FloRacing.

 

All the action is available LIVE or On-Demand through www.Dirt2Media.TV.

Additional Micro Mania information and further details about Lil’ Texas Motor Speedway can be found online at www.powri.com/micromania.

 

Follow along for more information such as race recaps, updates, full results, and press releases online at www.powri.com, on Twitter & Instagram at @POWRi_Racing, or on Facebook at POWRi.

 

Texas Motor Speedway’s always-busy events schedule is well under way. Upcoming events in 2023 include: Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 NASCAR Playoffs weekend (Sept. 23-24), Goodguys’ Summit Racing Lone Start Nationals (Sept. 29-Oct. 1), Speedway Children’s Charities Smoke Show (Oct. 11) and Gordy’s Hwy 30 Music Fest (Oct. 19-22). The year wraps up with the family-favorite and speedway tradition Gift of Lights holiday light show.

 

TMS PR

Germany is finally back on the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series calendar and the first race in the championship’s history at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben was a blast. The EuroNASCAR PRO Round 9 delivered an amazing battle at the front of the field and in the end it was Team Bleekemolen’s Vittorio Ghirelli who led all 20 laps and scored a fantastic win, the third of the 2023 NWES season. The Fasano native also took the championship lead ahead of the 2023 NWES regular season finale that will take place on Sunday at the challenging track in the Magdeburg region. Piloting the #72 Toyota Camry, Ghirelli bested Paul Jouffreau, who tried everything to overtake the Italian but the RDV Competition driver had to settle for second. 

Ghirelli made a perfect start from second and got past polesetter Tobias Dauenhauer in his #99 Bremotion Chevrolet Camaro in turn 2. The Team Bleekemolen star struggled with his differential in the first ten laps but after the car was warmed up, the problems disappeared. He fended off all attacks from Jouffreau and built a solid margin towards the end to collect his fourth career win. In the points standings, Ghirelli is now two points ahead of Gianmarco Ercoli, who ended up fifth in his #54 CAAL Racing Chevrolet Camaro.

“It was a very hard race because we had a problem with the differential for the first ten laps,” said the 29-year old driver in Victory Lane. “I had so much wheelspin only on one side of the car. Paul caught up and nearly passed me, but then as it warmed up the car performed better and I was able to control the gap. It was a real challenge, I was battling the car like hell in the first ten laps as I had no traction in the right hand turns. It was tough, but I’m glad I kept it on the track and we got the win.”

Jouffreau was not only second overall, but he was also the winner in the Junior Trophy ranks for drivers aged 25 and under. He was followed by Dauenhauer, who didn’t get off to a good start but quickly picked up the pace to bring home the first overall podium for Bremotion, the newest full-time NASCAR team from Germany on the grid. The Heppenheim native also ended up second in the Junior Trophy. A true racing veteran followed in fourth in CAAL Racing’s Marc Goossens. Despite his experience in motorsports all over the world, it was the first race ever for the Belgian at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. Ercoli rounded out the top-5 at the end of an intense race. The Italian is still one of the favorites in the championship battle. 

Ghirelli’s teammate and team boss Sebastiaan Bleekemolen secured sixth place after some exciting battles on track and the Dutchman defended his position against two-time NWES Champion Anthony Kumpen. Following an off-track experience on lap 9, Kumpen made a strong comeback on his #24 PK Carsport Chevrolet Camaro and scored a solid seventh place. Ulysse Delsaux rounded out the Junior Trophy top-3, while NASCAR Xfinity and Truck Series driver Ryan Vargas brought home a strong top-10 result in his first ever international race in Europe. The 3F racing star had a good start and fought for a spot inside the top-10 all 20 laps long. 

Thomas Toffel was eleventh under the checkered flag and therefore he topped the Challenger Trophy ranks for elite amateurs in EuroNASCAR PRO. The Race Art Technology driver from Switzerland was joined on the podium by the Italians Riccardo Romagnoli and Massimiliano Lanza. Drama struck for Speedhouse owner-driver and championship contender Lucas Lasserre on lap 15 while riding in fourth position, when the Frenchman had to park his #64 Ford Mustang due to a puncture but Lasserre “will be back as strong as a lion tomorrow”. Giorgio Maggi also didn’t finish because of a spin on lap 12 and had to retire from the race. 

The EuroNASCAR PRO Round 10 will take place on Sunday at 13:55 CEST, but there will be more Pure Racing action on Saturday with the EuroNASCAR 2 gladiators back in the Arena. Round 9 of the second division will be broadcast live on EuroNASCAR’s YouTube channel, Motorsport.tv and several TV services from all around the world on Saturday at 16:45 CEST.

NWES PR

Due to a forecast of rain throughout the day and evening, the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway has been postponed until Sunday, September 24. The qualifying races will begin at 1:00 p.m. ET, while the main event will start at 5:00 p.m. ET.

 

The autograph session has been canceled.

 

Bobby McCarty, who trails Brendan “Butterbean” Queen in the Virginia Triple Crown standings by only a half position, will lead the first of four qualifying races to green on Sunday following a lap time of 19.704. The time bettered his own Martinsville track record in the process.

 

This year, no drivers are locked into the field for Saturday evening’s prestigious ValleyStar Credit Union 300 through qualifying. Instead, the field will be set by those four 25-lap afternoon qualifying races. The top 10 finishers in each of the qualifying races will comprise the 40-driver field for the main event.

 

Tickets to the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 are available for purchase via phone at 877-RACE-TIX or online at martinsvillespeedway.com.

 

Stay connected to Martinsville Speedway on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the NASCAR Tracks App.

 

Martinsville Speedway PR

The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series is back in Germany and a local hero impressed with a stellar lap time in EuroNASCAR PRO Qualifying: Tobias Dauenhauer from Heppenheim clocked a 1:31.364 to beat championship contender Vittorio Ghirelli. The two-time EuroNASCAR 2 runner-up scored the first ever EuroNASCAR PRO for himself as well as for Bremotion, the popular team from Frankfurt that made its NASCAR debut in 2023. In EuroNASCAR 2, Paul Jouffreau was on fire, taking his second consecutive pole of the season at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben.

EuroNASCAR PRO

Bremotion can already look back on a fantastic first season in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series as the team led by Patrick Brenndorfer has already achieved success despite being one of the newest teams on the grid. Pairing with a young and experienced top driver like Tobias Dauenhauer proved to be the best choice to climb the learning curve. The German reached a milestone at his and the team's home race at Oschersleben by setting the fastest lap in Superpole to earn the organization's first Pole Award. A 1:31.364 lap was quick enough to beat championship contender Vittorio Ghirelli by 0.129 seconds.

“It’s amazing to get pole here in front of my wonderful fans here!” said Dauenhauer after clinching his first EuroNASCAR PRO pole position. “My lap was really on the edge, but everything came together! I think it will be exciting to run into the first corner, which will be difficult because pole position is on the left hand side. It’s not that clear if the pole man is going to be in front after the second corner, but we will see. I think it will be an exciting race with a lot of overtakes so I’m looking forward to it!”

Second may not be the worst position on the grid for Ghirelli in the #72 Team Bleekemolen Toyota Camry. Turn 2 is a right-hander and the Italian from Fasano will start the EuroNASCAR PRO race on the outside line, an advantage if he can keep his V8 beast next to Dauenhauer in the infamous Turn 1. Championship leader Gianmarco Ercoli, in the #54 CAAL Racing Chevrolet, ended up in third position. Ghirelli's compatriot made a late dash into Superpole after a red flag was waved in Q1 for a spin by Thomas Toffel with five minutes to go. Nevertheless, Ercoli managed to put in a good lap and secure a solid starting position.

2023 sensation Paul Jouffreau followed in fourth at the wheel of his #3 RDV Competition Chevrolet Camaro, topping the Junior Trophy standings ahead of Liam Hezemans, who rounded out the top-5 at the wheel of his #50 Hendriks Motorsport Toyota Camry. Speedhouse's Lucas Lasserre followed in sixth. The Frenchman is fighting to take the lead in the championship, as he sits just two points behind Ercoli heading into the regular season finale in Germany. 

Sebastiaan Bleekemolen, Anthony Kumpen and Marc Goossens followed, while Ryan Vargas was impressive in his first ever NWES event and remarkably made it into Superpole to start tenth on the grid at the wheel of the #30 3F Racing Chevrolet. Fabrizio Armetta finished 13th and led the Challenger Trophy standings, ahead of Toffel in 15th and Max Lanza in 16th. The Italian received a post-session penalty for a contact with Hezemans, which dropped him to 16th on the grid promoting Toffel to the top of the special classification.

EuroNASCAR 2

The EuroNASCAR 2 is famous for its unpredictability and the 2023 season is no exception. RDV Competition’s Paul Jouffreau made another step towards the title by scoring his second Pole Award of the season, beating title contender Alberto Naska in his #54 CAAL Racing Chevrolet Camaro. The Frenchman edged the Italian by 0.180 seconds in a frantic qualifying session. Championship leader Vladimiros Tziortzis did not turn a single lap due to technical issues on his #5 Academy / Alex Caffi Motorsport EuroNASCAR FJ and will start the race from the very back of the field.

“I’m happy, but I want to stay calm because my main objective is to win the race. Scoring the pole position is cool, but it will not determine the result of the race,” said the 19-year old driver after grabbing his second career Pole Award. “While pole is good, it’s not what will make me an European champion at the end of the year so I just want to stay focused and we will see what happens in the race.”

Naska bested Hendriks Motorsport’s Martin Doubek in the battle for second while Gil Linster scored another fourth place on the grid. For Linster, fourth place is a blessing and a curse at the same time but the Luxembourgish Hendriks Motorsport driver remains in the hunt for the 2023 EuroNASCAR 2 title. Race Art Technology’s Claudio Cappelli not only completed the top-5 but also topped the standings in the Legend Trophy for drivers aged 40 and over. He edged out the reigning Legend Trophy champion Melvin de Groot, who ended up sixth. Patrick Schober was seventh ahead of Roberto Benedetti. The Italian closed the Legend Trophy top-3. 

Thomas Toffel, the quickest driver in the Rookie Trophy, and Riccardo Romagnoli completed the top-10 while Thomas Dombrowski, the Rookie Trophy points leader, finished eleventh ahead of Nick Schneider and Jack Davidson. NWES debutant Mario Ercoli ended up 14th in his maiden EuroNASCAR 2 qualifying. Mario tied Leonardo Colavita’s record for the youngest driver in the division at 16 years and 4 days. Bremotion’s Dominique Schaak, one of the local heroes alongside Dauenhauer, Schneider and Matthias Hauer finished the session in 17th position, while Arianna Casoli was first in the Lady Trophy. 

The NASCAR GP Germany at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben will continue with round 9 on Saturday. While the EuroNASCAR PRO broadcast will start at 13:20 CEST, the EuroNASCAR 2 drivers will be back in action at 16:45 CEST. All races will be broadcast live on EuroNASCAR’s YouTube channel, Motorsport.tv and several TV services from all around the world.

NWES PR

Death, taxes and Chris Windom/CB Industries winning USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget races at Rossburg, Ohio’s Eldora Speedway.

 

That is the itemized list of life’s seemingly inevitabilities that have been certain in recent years, and nobody has proven it more often of late at the 1/2-mile dirt oval than the Canton, Ill. driver and the Mooresville, N.C. based team.

 

During Friday night’s BeFour The Crowns 25-lap feature event, Windom checked out on the field from his front row starting position and kept himself and his right rear tire firmly planted within inches of the outside wall en route to a wire-to-wire victory in his CB Industries/NOS Energy Drink – PristineAuction.com – K & C Drywall/Spike/Speedway Toyota.

 

It was Windom’s third Eldora midget win in his last four starts at The Big E dating back to 2021. His 15th overall USAC National Midget feature triumph also moved him inside the top-50 all-time alongside USAC Hall of Fame inductees Don Branson and Larry Rice.

 

Furthermore, CB Industries’ prowess on the high banks was once again on full display as the team became the first entrant to earn four consecutive Eldora feature wins – three with Windom in 2021-22-23 and another with Mitchel Moles on the opening night of the 2022 4-Crown Nationals weekend.

 

The outfits who had previously earned three-straight at Eldora are synonymous with the sport: Steve Lewis (2001-02), Keith Kunz Motorsports (2011-13 & 2015-17) and Clauson Marshall Racing (2018-21). However, one team now stands alone in uncharted territory – CB Industries.

 

Windom’s sixth overall 4-Crown Nationals feature win (3 Midget, 2 Silver Crown, 1 Sprint) ranks fourth all-time behind only Jack Hewitt (19), Tyler Courtney (7) and Dave Darland (7). In all those wins, nothing compares to the moment when everything clicks from the track to the car to the individaul behind the wheel. All of it worked in perfect synchronicity for Windom and CBI on this night. Their night.

 

“It’s just such a fun racetrack when it’s like this, up on the fence,” Windom, the 2020 USAC National Midget champion, explained. “You’ve got a lot of room and midgets are so fun to run when it’s like that. I’ve had a decent amount of experience here doing it too. I always enjoy coming back and racing for (team owner) Chad (Boat) every chance I can; we have a lot of fun together. It’s so much fun and it’s one I look forward to doing every season.”

 

Windom’s initial starting spot was slated to be the outside of the front row. However, original pole starter Jade Avedisian was ruled to have jumped the initial start and was subsequently penalized, dropping her back to the second row for a complete restart. That moved Windom to the pole, yet still, the outside line is where he preferred as he immediately slid right up to the high line in turn one right after the 21-car field took the green flag.

 

By halfway, Windom had stretched his lead to more than a full second over Bryant Wiedeman and Avedisian who utilized two distinctly differing approaches in their pursuit of Windom. Wiedeman stuck his CB Industries machine to the bottom wall while Jade stayed true against the outside wall lap after lap.

 

Avedisian raced her way back into the second spot on lap 16 as she dug in on the high line to beat Wiedeman to the stripe, then began to track down Windom little-by-little to within a half second. However, with Windom occupying the same top side path, Avedisian followed his tracks up top, a location Windom had no intention of straying from.

 

“Early on throughout the night, guys were able to run the middle and the bottom, and there’s enough juice on exit to where you can do that,” Windom detailed. “Once it cleans off and the sprint cars run, it’s hard to beat momentum here. If you can get up top and hit your marks and not make a mistake, it’s really tough to beat a guy up there.  I knew that’s where I needed to be, and I wasn’t going to move until I saw anybody else.”

 

Under five laps to go, traffic began to loom for the front runners with Avedisian feeling she just might have a shot to pounce for the win. However, Windom navigated with extreme precision, refusing to cave to the pressurized situation that lay ahead, and instead, never wavered off his line.

 

With that said, Avedisian remained well withing striking distance to the tune of about a half second behind Windom. Nonetheless, with three laps remaining, Avedisian stumbled against the turn three cushion/wall, which cost her another half second along with a shot at stealing one away from Windom late in the going.

 

In the end, Windom was 2.149 seconds ahead of the field when he crossed under the checkered flag in front of Jade Avedisian, Rico Abreu, Bryant Wiedeman and Logan Seavey, the series point leader who recorded his 13th consecutive top-five result.

 

For Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.), it was a fine first-time run as she rode the high line in spectacular fashion to finish as the runner-up in her Eldora Speedway debut aboard her Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – JBL Audio/Lynk/Speedway Toyota. Eldora is a venue she considers a bucket list track, and to her, it lived up to hype, as she equaled her best career series finish once again for the third time this year.

 

“This is awesome,” I’ve always dreamed of coming to Eldora and it lived up to the moment,” Avedisian exclaimed. “I was going hard from the start, and I just really want to win one of these races. If we keep finishing up front, our time will come. From the start, I got put back, which kind of set us back, but during the last 10 laps, we were closing the gap on him, and I made a mistake in three and lost the gap again.”

 

For Rico Abreu (St. Helena, Calif.), it was a solid reemergence in midget racing for the two-time 4-Crown Midget race winner. Abreu made his first series start since 2020 a good one, finishing third in his Tanner Thorson Racing/Maestro’s Classic - Eddie Gilstrap Motors - Smith Titanium/Spike/Stanton SR-11x. After jumping out of the midget, he promptly strapped in for a World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car feature and proceeded to win it about a half-hour later.

 

 

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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 22, 2023 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track – BeFour The Crowns

 

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-16.637; 2. Bryant Wiedeman, 81, CBI-16.743; 3. Rico Abreu, 24, Thorson-16.782; 4. Daison Pursley, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-16.845; 5. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-16.846; 6. Jade Avedisian, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-16.905; 7. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-16.978; 8. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-16.987; 9. Daniel Whitley, 58, Abacus-17.005; 10. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-17.008; 11. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-17.071; 12. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-17.093; 13. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-17.207; 14. Jake Andreotti, 25m, Malloy-17.248; 15. Mitchel Moles, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-17.274; 16. Clinton Boyles, 98x, RMS-17.299; 17. Briggs Danner, 98, Schneider-17.351; 18. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-17.364; 19. Holly Jones, 4, Bundy Built-17.528; 20. Kyle Simon, 23, Simon-17.757; 21. Ian Creager, 36, Creager-17.944.

 

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Ryan Timms, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Thomas Meseraull, 5. Daison Pursley, 6. Clinton Boyles, 7. Holly Jones. 2:18.90

 

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Bryant Wiedeman, 2. Jake Andreotti, 3. Chris Windom, 4. Gavin Miller, 5. Taylor Reimer, 6. Briggs Danner, 7. Kyle Simon. 2:20.94

 

T.J. FORGED/CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Mitchel Moles, 2. Hayden Reinbold, 3. Rico Abreu, 4. Jade Avedisian, 5. Jacob Denney, 6. Daniel Whitley, 7. Ian Creager. 2:20.78

 

FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (2), 2. Jade Avedisian (1), 3. Rico Abreu (4), 4. Bryant Wiedeman (5), 5. Logan Seavey (6), 6. Daison Pursley (3), 7. Justin Grant (9), 8. Gavin Miller (10), 9. Thomas Meseraull (14), 10. Ryan Timms (7), 11. Jacob Denney (13), 12. Mitchel Moles (8), 13. Daniel Whitley (11), 14. Jake Andreotti (15), 15. Hayden Reinbold (18), 16. Taylor Reimer (12), 17. Clinton Boyles (16), 18. Briggs Danner (17), 19. Holly Jones (19), 20. Kyle Simon (20), 21. Ian Creager (21). NT

 

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Chris Windom.

 

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1227, 2-Justin Grant-1031, 3-Bryant Wiedeman-1021, 4-Jade Avedisian-1000, 5-Ryan Timms-992, 6-Daison Pursley-982, 7-Jacob Denney-907, 8-Gavin Miller-884, 9-Cannon McIntosh-868, 10-Thomas Meseraull-785.

 

4-CROWN NATIONALS PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Bryant Wiedeman-6, 2-Logan Seavey-5, 3-Thomas Meseraull-5, 4-Rico Abreu-4, 5-Kyle Steffens-4, 6-Trey Burke-4, 7-Chris Windom-3, 8-Justin Grant-3, 9-Hayden Reinbold-3, 10-Dave Berkheimer-3.

 

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-171, 2-Logan Seavey-125, 3-Emerson Axsom-108, 4-Shane Cottle-106, 5-Justin Grant-103, 6-Matt Westfall-101, 7-Robert Ballou-98, 8-Brady Bacon-92, 9-Chase Stockon-90, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-71.

 

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 23, 2023 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track – 41st 4-Crown Nationals Presented By NKTELCO

 

 

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

 

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Ryan Timms (16.735)

 

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Logan Seavey (16.637)

 

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Ryan Timms

 

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Bryant Wiedeman

 

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Mitchel Moles

 

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Chris Windom

 

Hard Charger: Thomas Meseraull (14th to 9th)

 

USAC PR

The 2018 Perris Auto Speedway Young Gun Sprint Car champion and 2019 USAC/CRA Rookie of the Year,  Eddie Tafoya Jr., will be back on his old stomping grounds, Perris Auto Speedway, for the Glenn Howard Classic this Saturday night.  It will be his first race back in So Cal since April.  He will be staying on the home front to finish out the last five races in the USAC/CRA Series

Last offseason Tafoya, who lives in Chino Hills, California, announced his intention to spend much of the season competing in the toughest traditional sprint car series in the world, the USAC National Sprint Cars.  That is just what he did. Following his original plans, he started the year in Florida and contested 20 races with the national group.  Six other races were rained out and he ran two open shows.  In addition, he contested three USAC/CRA races earlier in the year.

Hitting so many new tracks, Tafoya was on what seemed like foreign soil.  Yet, for the most part, he did not ask a lot of questions.

“I mean, I don’t really ask too many questions too often,” Tafoya said.  “I try to listen to people.   I don’t really go out of my way to ask questions.  We just try to figure it out.  I think that is a good way for me to learn.  Just trying things.  I have to figure out how to do these things and not have someone helping me all of the time and spoon-feeding me.  It feels good when you get in the main and you know that you and your guys did it all by yourselves.”

Tafoya did not cherry-pick the easy races with the National Series for his 2023 schedule.  In fact, it was quite the opposite.  He opted in for races at Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway, Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway, the grueling Indiana Sprint Week, and Kokomo’s Smackdown.  Those tracks accounted for 14 of his 20 starts back there.  They are some of the fastest, most competitive tracks in the country and they draw the toughest drivers.

That level of competition can be very tough in more ways than one.  Bent parts and broken pieces are one of the hazards of the game.  However, the smooth-driving Tafoya managed to steer clear of the mayhem.  That is a huge benefit to any racing program and a team's finances, too.

“Knock on wood, so far, we have hurt one radius rod and one drag link, that was it,” Tafoya said.  “That was on the same night during Sprint Week.  We have been pretty fortunate to keep our wheels clean this year.  Last year or the year before we picked up a lot of speed and had some big crashes and wrecked our stuff.  That kind of set us back for a couple months trying to figure things out and get the ball rolling again.  When you can show up every night and keep driving it (without damage), it definitely benefits you in the long run.”

“I feel pretty good,” Tafoya answered when asked if he was happy with the way things went on the national tour.  “The nights I was good, I had bad luck or adversity.  You know, I pulled a bad pill or we barely missed transfers.  At Texarkana, I qualified 17^th.  Three-tenths would have put me in eighth place I think it was.  Things like that.  When you are competing at that level, things just kind of have to fall in place.”  

In addition to the tracks Tafoya had competed on in the past, he was on some new ones this year.  He thinks going to tracks he had never been to before helps.

“I would say it helps with experience,” he explained.  “You see a lot of different stuff.  When you come back to places you do know and there is something different, you can lean on your notebook and your memory bank.  Maybe you have seen something like that before and can adjust for it.”

Tafoya closed out the USAC National Series portion of his season with races at the Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas, and Texarkana 67 Raceway in Arkansas two weeks ago.  He qualified for both main events through the heat races.  At Devil’s Bowl, he placed second in his heat. He started 22^nd in the main on the big, fast track and drove forward to 18^th.  The first Texarkana race was rained out, but in the finale, he finished fourth in his heat and 20^th in the main.   

For fans who want to see Tafoya and the other USAC/CRA stars in action on Saturday, the spectator gates will open at 5:00 p.m. with racing at 7:00. Adult tickets are $30.00. For fans 65 years of age and older, it is $25.00. For kids six to 12 it is just $5.00 and children five and under are admitted free. The fairgrounds charge $10.00 for parking. Advance tickets are available until 7:00 p.m. on Saturday night. They can be purchased online at tix.com or by calling 1-800-595-4849.  For fans who do not wish to buy advance tickets, there will be plenty of tickets for everyone at the ticket window on Saturday.

Perris Auto Speedway is conveniently located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds (home of the Southern California Fair), one hour east of Los Angeles and one hour North of San Diego. To get to the track, take the 215 freeway, exit on the Ramona Expressway, and go three miles east to the fairgrounds. For directions online, the address to enter is: 18700 Lake Perris Drive and the zip code is 92571.

The Specialty Fasteners #51T team is always exploring corporate partnership opportunities.  If you or your company would like to be a partner with the hard-working sprint car squad, please contact Eddie Tafoya Jr. via phone at (909) 393-3999 or by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. He will be happy to talk to you and lay out the team’s plans.

Tafoya’s great-looking shirts and hoodies are available online at www.specialty-fasteners.com.

Tafoya has a great YouTube channel at the following link https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1hrmC5L80EU.

Fans can follow Tafoya on Instagram @eddietafoya51.

Eddie Tafoya PR

Andrew Buff scored his third DIRTcar Sportsman Series victory Friday night at Albany-Saratoga Speedway after delivering a performance of top-notch driving mixed with stellar decision making.

The Latham, NY driver joined his younger brother, pole sitter Zach Buff, on the outside of row one to start the 35-lap, $1,500-to-win, Feature.

As the green flag waved, Zach shot out in front pacing the field with Andrew behind him and Gavin Eisele following in third place. The brothers quickly distanced themselves from the rest of the field to begin their battle for the lead. After the first caution fell on Lap 5, Andrew began to explore which track groove worked for him, giving the outside groove his first look.

Zach stayed running the inside portion of the track, moving to the middle-outside lane on the straightaways to block his brother from passing through. He held the #92 at bay for over 10 laps with this strategy, but Andrew did not stay complacent for long.

As the two front runners approached lapped traffic, quick decision making became a necessity. Coming off of Turn 4, Zach stayed to the inside down the front straightaway, where he was faced with the challenge of maneuvering around a lapped car. He made the instantaneous decision to stay to the inside, coming right up behind the vehicle.

The road block slowed him down just enough for Andrew to speed around him on the top, then down to the middle around Turn 1 to definitively take the lead on Lap 25.

The younger Buff was quickly handed one last opportunity to take the lead back from his brother when the third race caution dropped the following lap. On the restart, Andrew took off out in front, unwilling to hand off the lead without a fight.

His stamina proved to be too much for Zach and his fellow competitors as he finished the race without error, cruising to his third DIRTcar Sportsman Series victory of the season. Zach finished out the race strong, coming in second place.

"We had a good start," Andrew said. "I could pace with my brother. I just couldn't really figure out a way to get around him. The middle wasn't working. The bottom wasn't working...I started changing up my line and really found the outside and took full advantage of the lapped cars. From there, it was just hold on."

Zach held a similar perspective to the race's climactic moment.

"I just made a driver error when it comes down to it," Zach said. "In Turn 3 and 4, I was a few car lengths behind the lapped car and I didn't think I was going to catch him that quick. But I got right to their bumper, and my brother went blowing around us. It is what it is. We'll take second. We're still happy with it."

Gauvreau finished in third place to round out the podium, delivering a solid showing in only his third career visit to the Malta, NY track.

"It was a great race overall," Gauvreau said. "We come from a long way and it's our third race here in our career. So I think we did good finishing behind the two Buff brothers, because they're champions here...we were missing a bit but we'll come stronger next time."

Gavin Eisele finished in fourth and Travis Witbeck finished in fifth to complete the top five.

UP NEXT: The DIRTcar Sportsman Series will next travel to Brewerton Speedway on Wed., Oct. 4, for a 30-lap, $1,500-to-win, spectacular.

DIRTcar Sportsman Series (35 Laps)

1. 92-Andrew Buff[2]; 2. 01-Zach Buff[1]; 3. 22C-Cedric Gauvreau[5]; 4. 18-Gavin Eisele[4]; 5. 405-Travis Witbeck[8]; 6. 64-Tyler Corcoran[12]; 7. 06-Michael Coffey Jr[7]; 8. 31B-Ryan Dolbear[10]; 9. 89-Dylan Madsen[3]; 10. 410-Mike Fowler[20]; 11. 38-Zach Sobotka[21]; 12. 30-Nick Root[16]; 13. 52P-Jessica Power[28]; 14. FOX28-Tyler Stevenson[29]; 15. 1B-Cody Bleau[19]; 16. 27-Michael Ballestero[25]; 17. 3-Nick Lussier[9]; 18. 10X-Cory Castell[14]; 19. 711-Chris Crane Jr[22]; 20. 711X-Connor Crane[13]; 21. T32-Taylor LaPlante[27]; 22. 66B-Jason Bruno[31]; 23. 81D-Angelo DiCarlo[26]; 24. 98-Kevin Ward[17]; 25. 95-Kearra Backus[30]; 26. (DNF) 22-TIM HARTMAN[11]; 27. (DNF) 667-Andrew Cormie[6]; 28. (DNF) 07W-Taylor Wason[15]; 29. (DNF) 2B-Bryce Breault[24]; 30. (DNF) 28-Martin Kelly[23]; 31. (DNF) 42D-Daniel Grignon[18]

DIRTcar Series PR

Justin Grant scored the pole position for Saturday night’s USAC Silver Crown main event at Rossburg, Ohio’s Eldora Speedway, part of the 41st running of the 4-Crown Nationals Presented By NKTELCO.

 

Grant (Ione, Calif.) made the Honest Abe Qualifying run during Friday night’s preliminary program with a time of 17.076 seconds around the half-mile dirt oval in his Hemelgarn Racing/NOS Energy Drink – Super Fitness – Nick Bohanon LLC/DRC/Foxco Chevy.

 

It’s Grant’s second consecutive pole position with the series after also starting from the number one spot for the Ted Horn 100 at the Du Quoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds on September 2. Grant’s ninth career Silver Crown pole position tied past series champions Chuck Gurney (1989) and Jason Leffler (1998) for ninth all-time.

 

The top-20 qualifiers were locked in through time trials with Dallas Hewitt (Troy, Ohio) making the final cut for Saturday’s event.

 

A subsequent 12-lap Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Qualifying race was held with the top-six transferring their way into Saturday's feature. Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.) captured the victory, thus making the cut for his 20th career Eldora 4-Crown Nationals USAC Silver Crown start. Wayne Johnson (Tuttle, Okla.) secured the final transfer spot by a car length over Joss Moffatt (Columbus, Ind.).

 

USAC Silver Crown National Championship point leader Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) will start sixth in Saturday’s field while Kody Swanson (Sutter, Calif.) will roll off eighth. Seavey leads Swanson in the standings by one single point entering Saturday, which serves as the penultimate race of the series’ season. Seavey has also won the past two Eldora Silver Crown features in 2021 and 2022.

 

Furthermore, Russ Gamester’s fifth place finish in the Qualifying Race secured his spot in Saturday’s feature lineup. It will be a milestone run for the Peru, Ind. native as he gets set to make his 212th career Silver Crown start, which will tie him with Brian Tyler for first place all-time.

 

 

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USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 22, 2023 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 41st 4-Crown Nationals Presented By NKTELCO

 

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: (Top-20 locked into the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-17.076; 2. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-17.145; 3. Brady Bacon, 9, Dyson-17.264; 4. Jake Swanson, 10, DMW-17.336; 5. Chase Dietz, 86, Lee-17.444; 6. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-17.497; 7. Matt Westfall, 54, Westfall-17.516; 8. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-17.534; 9. Mario Clouser, 92, Kazmark-17.696; 10. Carmen Perigo, 52, Stehman-17.735; 11. Chase Stockon, 69, Pink 69-17.764; 12. Kevin Thomas Jr., 24, Haggenbottom-17.813; 13. Emerson Axsom, 20, Nolen-17.926; 14. Trey Osborne, 81, BCR-17.943; 15. Brian Ruhlman, 49, Ruhlman-17.974; 16. Mitchel Moles, 97, Lein-18.023; 17. Kyle Robbins, 7, KR-18.032; 18. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-18.043; 19. Matt Mitchell, 5, DMW-18.045; 20. Dallas Hewitt, 57, Hewitt-18.117; 21. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-18.171; 22. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott-18.227; 23. Sterling Cling, 07, Tosti-18.240; 24. Jerry Coons Jr., 55, Bateman-18.334; 25. Zach Hampton, 99, Armstrong-18.347; 26. Joss Moffatt, 37, Felker-18.361; 27. Wayne Johnson, 12, Two C-18.434; 28. Kyle Steffens, 08, Steffens-18.558; 29. Chris Fetter, 15, Fetter-18.572; 30. Trey Burke, 11, Hamilton/SRG-18.655; 31. Taylor Ferns, 555, Ferns-18.738; 32. Mark Bitner, 4, Yeska-18.803; 33. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-18.854; 34. Danny Long, 44, Long-18.866; 35. Tim Simmons, 3, Simmons-19.590; 36. Gary Dunkle, 34, Dunkle-20.704.

 

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Jerry Coons Jr., 2. Kyle Steffens, 3. Zach Hampton, 4. Trey Burke, 5. Russ Gamester, 6. Wayne Johnson, 7. Joss Moffatt, 8. Chris Fetter, 9. Taylor Ferns, 10. Dave Berkheimer, 11. Danny Long, 12. Tim Simmons, 13. Gary Dunkle, 14. Sterling Cling, 15. Mark Bitner. NT

 

FEATURE STARTING LINEUP: (50 laps)

 

ROW 1: 91 Justin Grant – 6 C.J. Leary

 

ROW 2: 9 Brady Bacon – 10 Jake Swanson

 

ROW 3: 86 Chase Dietz – 22-Logan Seavey

 

ROW 4: 54 Matt Westfall – 77-Kody Swanson

 

ROW 5: 92 Mario Clouser – 52 Carmen Perigo

 

ROW 6: 69 Chase Stockon – 24 Kevin Thomas Jr.

 

ROW 7: 20 Emerson Axsom – 81 Trey Osborne

 

ROW 8: 49 Brian Ruhlman – 97 Mitchel Moles

 

ROW 9: 7 Kyle Robbins – 26 Kaylee Bryson

 

ROW 10: 5 Matt Mitchell – 57 Dallas Hewitt

 

ROW 11: 55 Jerry Coons Jr. – 08 Kyle Steffens

 

ROW 12: 99 Zach Hampton – 11 Trey Burke

 

ROW 13: 51 Russ Gamester – 12 Wayne Johnson

 

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-548, 2-Kody Swanson-547, 3-Justin Grant-439, 4-Mario Clouser-380, 5-Taylor Ferns-366, 6-Kaylee Bryson-364, 7-C.J. Leary-358, 8-Bobby Santos-315, 9-Matt Westfall-315, 10-Trey Burke-278.

 

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-152, 2-Logan Seavey-104, 3-Shane Cottle-102, 4-Robert Ballou-87, 5-Matt Westfall-86, 6-Justin Grant-85, 7-Brady Bacon-85, 8-Emerson Axsom-81, 9-Chase Stockon-69, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-54.

 

NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 23, 2023 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 41st 4-Crown Nationals Presented By NKTELCO

 

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

 

Dirt Draft Practice Fastest Driver: C.J. Leary (16.498)

 

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Justin Grant (17.076)

 

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Qualifying Race Winner: Jerry Coons Jr.

 

USAC PR

Stafford Speedway hosted Maybury Kids Night on September 22 with Stafford’s five weekly divisions in feature action.  Scoring feature wins were Todd Owen in the SK Modified® feature, Andrew Durand in the Late Model feature, Tyler Chapman in the SK Light feature, Damian Palardy in the Limited Late Model feature, and Ryan Waterman in the Street Stock feature.  The two kids big wheel races were won by Callie Midford and Makayla Midford.  Kevin Gambacorta finished second in the Late Model feature which was good enough to clinch the 2023 Late Model championship with one race to go.

In the 40-lap SK Modified® feature, Mikey Flynn led the field to the green and he took the lead going into the first corner but his car briefly dropped off the pace and he slid back to 10^th place as Troy Talman lead the first lap.  The caution came out with 2 laps complete as Woody Pitkat came to a stop against the turn 4 wall.

Talman and Steven Chapman went wheel to wheel for the lead on the restart with Marcello Rufrano in third, Michael Christopher, Jr. in fourth and Anthony Flannery in fifth.  Talman emerged in the lead after his duel with Chapman and he now had Rufrano on his back bumper as they completed lap-5.  Rufrano took the lead on lap-7 but just as he took the lead, the caution came out for Flynn, who spun in turn 4.  This put Talman back in the lead for the next restart with Rufrano in second.

Talman took the lead back under green with Flannery moving into second.  Rufrano settled into third with Keith Rocco fourth and Todd Owen fifth.  Just behind Owen in sixth place was Chapman.  Flannery pulled alongside Talman for the lead on lap-11 and he took the lead by a nose at the line.  Flannery cleared Talman on lap-12 but Rufrano charged by him and took over the race lead.  Rocco followed him by Flannery to take second on lap-14 and now Owen was looking to the inside of Flannery for third place.  Owen took third on lap-15 with Flannery able to hold off Talman to maintain fourth place. 

Talman was finally able to work his way around Flannery on lap-18 to move into fourth place while Rocco was still looking for a way to get around Rufrano and take over the race lead.  Chapman spun in turn 4  right in front of Ryan Morgan with Cory DiMatteo also involved to bring the caution back out with 21 laps complete.

The restart saw Chapman hit the turn 1 wall along with John Sandberg to bring the caution flag right back out.  Rufrano took the lead on the next restart with Rocco hanging tough on his outside and Todd Owen behind him.  Owen took second on lap-24 with Rocco now wheel to wheel with Flannery for third.  Just behind them in fifth place was David Arute while Rufrano continued to lead.  The caution came back out with 24 laps complete for a spin in turn 2 by Curt Brainard.  

Rufrano again took the lead back under green with Owen holding second.  Flannery was third with Arute now on the inside of Rocco in the fight for fourth place.  The caution came back out with 27 laps complete for spins in turn 3 by Jack Baldwin and John Montesanto.

Rufrano and Owen resumed their fight for the lead with Rufrano in front of Owen while Flannery, Rocco, and Arute were lined up behind him.  Coming off turn 4 on to complete lap-29, Arute got out of shape and spun, which collected the cars of Wesley Purkcer and David Flammia, Jr. to bring the caution flag out.

Owen powered his way past Rufrano and into the lead on the restart and one lap was completed before the caution came back out for the cars of Montesanto, Michael Ramos, Dylan Kopec, Jon Puleo, and Sandberg piled into each other coming out of turn 4.

Owen was back in the lead on the restart with Rocco taking second.  Flannery was third in line with Rufrano fourth and Talman and Tyler Barry were wheel to wheel for fifth.  Talman won the fight for fifth while Barry slid back to ninth place.  Owen led Rocco to the checkered flag to pick up his second win of the 2023 season.  Rufrano finished third with Flannery and Talman rounding out the top-5.

In the 30-lap Late Model feature, Alexandra Fearn took the lead at the green flag with Zack Robinson in second.  Chris Meyer went by Darrell Keane to take third on lap-2.  Keane drifted up the track in turn 4 which allowed Andrew Durand to take fourth and then third as Meyer began to slide backwards.  Robinson took the lead from Fearn on lap-4 with Durand moving into second.  Tom Butler backed into the turn 1 wall to bring the caution out with 4 laps complete.

Durand took the lead on the restart but only one lap was completed as Alexandra and Tom Fearn touched in turn 4 with both cars getting into the wall and collecting several others including Keane and Adam Gray to bring the caution flag back out.

Durand again took the lead with Wayne Coury, Jr. and Robinson going side by side for second with Coury emerging in second.  Wayne Coury, Sr. and Chris Buffone got into the turn 4 wall to bring the caution back out with 6 laps complete.

Durand charged back into the lead on the next restart with Coury in second.  Robinson was third with Bobby Stirk, III fourth and Paul Varricchio, Jr. fifth.  Varricchio took fourth from Stirk on lap-10 and that opened the door for Kevin Gambacorta to follow him through and take fifth and drop Stirk back to sixth.  Varricchio took third from Robinson on lap-12 and Gambacorta again followed him by to move into fourth and drop Robinson back to fifth. 

With 10 laps to go it was still Durand in the lead with Coury, Varricchio, Gambacorta, and Meyer behind him.  Tom Butler was sixth with Robinson, Gray, Stirk, and Corey Fanning making up the top-10.  Coury was looking high and low for a way around Durand but Durand was able to shut the door and maintain the lead.  Chris Meyer spun in turn 3 and then came to a stop in turn 4 to bring the caution flag out with 22 laps complete.

Adam Gray spun in turn 2 on the restart to bring the caution out and keep the lap counter at 22 laps complete.

Durand took the lead back under green with Coury and Gambacorta behind him.  Both Dave Wray and Tom Butler came to a stop on the frontstretch grass to bring the caution back out with 23 laps complete.

Durand again powered into the lead back under green with Gambacorta taking second.  Coury was third in line with Robinson fourth and P.J. Zarrella up to fifth.  Gambacorta made a move to the inside of Durand on lap-29 but was unable to make the pass.  Gambacorta couldn’t get close enough to Durand on the final lap to make a move as Durand scored his second win of the 2023 season.  Coury finished third with Robinson and Zarrella rounding out the top-5.  Gambacorta’s second place finish was good enough for him to lock up the 2023 Late Model championship and make Stafford history as the first driver to win a championship in three different divisions. 

In the 20-lap SK Light feature, Chris Matthews streaked into the lead from the fifth starting position at the start of the race with Amanda West in second.  Ron Midford, Jr. was third with Nickolas Hovey fourth and Brian Sullivan fifth.  The caution came out with 6 laps complete for spins in turn 3 by Paul Arcari, Zach Aszklar, and Hailey Deasulniers that collected several other cars.

Matthews took the lead back under green with West in second.  Tyler Chapman and Sullivan were wheel to wheel for third with Midford in fifth place.  Just behind Midford, Bob Charland and Hovey were going wheel to wheel for sixth place.  Tyler Chapman took third on lap-10 and Midford won the duel with Hovey for fifth place as the cars got back into single file.  The caution came out with 10 laps complete for spins coming of turn 4 by Desaulniers and Arcari.

Tyler Chapman pulled alongside Matthews on the restart and he took the lead.  West was third in line with Sullivan fourth and Midford fifth.  Steven Kalogiannis spun on the frontstretch to bring the caution out and in the scramble for cars to avoid hitting Kalogiannis, Todd Clark climbed up and over the car of Desaulniers.

Tyler Chapman took the lead on the restart with Matthews glued to his back bumper in second.  Sullivan was third with George Bessette, Jr. up to fourth and West was fifth.  The caution came back out with 18 laps complete for the cars of Kevin Cormier, Matt Brewer, and Frank L’Etoile, Jr. all hitting the wall coming out of turn4. 

David Webb spun in the middle of turns 1+2 to immediately bring the caution back out and the next restart saw Zach Aszklar spin in turn 1 to bring the caution out before a lap could be completed.  The next restart saw a multicar melee erupt going into turn 3 that brought the red and yellow flags out involving Sami Anderson, Charland, Midford, Paul Arute, Amanda West, and several others.

Tyler Chapman took the lead ahead of Matthews with Sullivan and Bessette wheel to wheel for second.  Chapman led Matthews to the checkered flag to pick up his third win of the 2023 season.  Bessette finished third with Sullivan and Luke Baldwin rounding out the top-5.

In the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, Damian Palardy and Gary Patnode led the field to the green and Palardy took the early lead with Adrien Paradis, III taking second.  Jeremy Lavoie took third with Rich Hammann fourth as Patnode fell from second back to fifth place.  The caution flew with 2 laps complete for a spin in the middle of turns 1+2 by Connor Jencik.

Palardy took the lead on the restart with Hammann moving into second.  Matt Clement and Paradis were side by side for third but only one lap was completed before the caution came back out for a spin in turn 3 by Dana Wray.

Palardy took the lead on the restart with Matt Clement coming up to second.  Kevin Cormier was third with Hammann fourth and Paradis fifth.  The caution came out with 7 laps complete for a spin in turn 1 by Matt Clement.

Palardy took the lead on the lap=-8 restart with Paradis slotting into second.  Hammann was third in line followed by Devon Jencik and Mike Hopkins.  At the halfway point of the race it was still Palardy out front with Paradis, Hammann, Devon Jencik, and Lavoie making up the top-5. 

Palardy was still in front with Paradis and Hammann making a 3-car train for the lead with 5 laps to go.  Lavoie was now up to fourth with Matt Clement back up to fifth with Devon Jencik sixth and Hopkins seventh.  Both Paradis and Hammann couldn’t get close enough to Palardy to make a move as Palardy took down his first win of the 2023 season.  Paradis finished second with Hammann, Lavoie, and Matt Clement rounding out the top-5.

In the 20-lap Street Stock feature, Brandon Warren took the lead at the green flag with Bert Ouellette in hot pursuit from second place.  Jeff Asselin was third with Travis Downey fourth and Ryan Waterman moved from 10^th to 5^th in the first three laps.  Waterman moved from fifth to third on lap-5 while Warren was still in the lead with Ouellette in second.  Downey was fourth in line with Travis Hydar moving into fifth place. 

At the halfway point of the race, Warren was still in the lead with Ouellette in second and Waterman in third.  As the lead trio was starting to lap cars, Warren got on the brakes going into turn 1 and appeared to lock his rear brakes which sent his car sideways and back up the track into the path of Downey to bring the caution flag out.

Ouellette took the lead on the restart with Waterman taking second with Hydar moving up to third.  Hydar gave Waterman the slightest of touches but both cars kept going in their respective positions with Johnny Walker fourth and Asselin in fifth.  Waterman made a move to the inside of Ouellette on lap-15 to move into the lead.  Hydar took second one lap later to drop Ouellette back to third.  Walker and Asselin were still running fourth and fifth behind the three cars out front. 

Waterman led Hydar to the checkered flag to pick up his seventh win of the 2023 season.  Ouellette finished third with Walker and Asselin rounding out the top-5.

The winners of the two Kids Big Wheel Races were Callie Midford and Makayla Midford.

For more information, visit www.staffordspeedway.com, checkout Stafford Speedway on Facebook or Twitter, or contact the track office at 860-684-2783.

Stafford Speedway PR