5.8.21 Genesee Speedway Results
Rich Vleck, BATAVIA, NY, (May 8, 2021)- It’s not every day a sprint car race is held in Batavia, in fact Saturday Night was the first time in 13 years a touring sprint show invaded Genesee Speedway. When all was said and done, those in attendance had plenty to remember from an eventful night.
Davie Franek, of Wantage, NJ, made a late-race move around Matt Farnham in lapped traffic to capture the $2,000 top prize as A-Verdi Storage Containers helped to kick off the 2021 Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints Season. When Franek woke up on Saturday morning, he wasn’t even planning on travelling to Western New York, but he is sure glad he did.
“Early season races are always tricky and the weather did not look good in Pennsylvania,” noted Franek. “I figured we could do well here considering nobody had been here in a long time and it worked out.”
Franek started in 10th in the 25-lap feature but showed from the start of the event that he was going to be a force to be reckoned with. By the time the first caution appeared after 4 laps, Franek’s No. 28F was already up to 6th. On the ensuing start, he was able to move up to 4th. Lap 10 was when the race got turned on its head. Just after completing lap 10, leader Chuck Hebing made a rare error in turn two and spun around his potent No. 45. On the ensuing restart, Scott Kreutter and Dylan Swiernik came together coming back to the green flag, sending Kreutter’s No. 49 in to the frontstretch wall and turning him in front of the field, creating a massive pileup. With a host of frontrunners knocked out, the second half of the race would come down to Franek being the most technical.
Matt Farnham, who had inherited the lead when Hebing spun around, pulled away from Franek, but as the duo reach the back of the field, Farnham began to struggle trying to find a lane around the lapped cars. After getting lose in turn two on lap 20, Franek set sail around the outside of the No. 7NY a lap later and from that point drove away for his 7th career ESS win.
“I could tell (when reaching lapped traffic) that (Farnham’s) car was not as versatile as mine was,” noted Franek in Victory Lane. “I could put the car anywhere I wanted to and that was the difference.”
“No Panic” recorded the quickest lap of the night, turning a 14.763 second lap during timed hot laps, smashing the Genesee Speedway track record. During heat race action, despite starting sixth, Franek had the fans on the edge of their seats as he rim-rode around the outside of the track just inches off the wall, even though he was safely in a redraw spot. It all would all pay off when the final checkered flag capped off an impressive night for Franek.
Matt Farnham would settle for second in his first ESS start. Farnham had also won his heat race earlier in the night. Paulie Colagiovanni had a quality 3rd place finish as he started his defense of his 2019 ESS title. Colagiovanni started in 14th and was able to move by Danny Varin on the last lap to reach the podium. Varin would settle for fourth, while Denny Peebles rounded out the top five despite having to come deep in the pack after winning the B-Main.
As for the weekly action on the night, Jason Knowles rarely gets a chance to come to Genesee Speedway, but with his hometown track not running on Saturday Night, Knowles made the most of the trip up to Batavia. Knowles, of Addison, scored his first career win at Genesee Speedway, leading all 25 laps of the Late Model event.
“This car was a rocket ship tonight,” declared Knowles in Victory Lane. “It always mean something to win at a track we don’t win much at and beat the local heros. That makes this even more special.”
Knowles started on the outside pole but quickly moved around Jimmy Johnson to grab the lead. Two laps later, Johnson would break while running second, which piled up much of the field behind him. With Knowles holding a steady distance out front over the final 22 laps, Austin Hauser and JJ Mazur were immersed in a razor-tight battle for the runner-up spot. Hauser would hold off Mazur at the stripe by just a few feet, while Doug Ricotta and Bud Watson rounded out the top five.
Jim Harbison, like most people, had a year to forget in 2020. After having his No. 18w Sportsman destroyed in a wreck in August, he was sidelined for the year. In his first feature of 2021, he made sure this year got off to a better start with a wire-to-wire win. Harbison, of Ransomville, fended off late advances by Phil Vigneri III for his first win since 2019. The race was called one lap shy of the advertised distance, with Harbison claiming the checkered flag on lap 24. Vigneri would cross in second with TJ Newton winning his heat and placing in third. Scott George ran up to fourth in his son’s No. 126, while defending champion Cam Tuttle ran back up to fifth after being the first caution on the opening lap.
Tommy Kemp led all 20 laps of the Street Stock Feature to win his first race of the season. Kemp, of Castile, was not in competition last week, and while Byron Dewitt was supposed to pilot his No. 28, the car was a DNS for the feature. After working out those gremlins during the week, Kemp and crew were able to make all of the right changes for the feature where he held a steady lead throughout. In the closing laps, last week’s winner Bill Taylor reeled in Kemp for the lead, but came up just a car length short at the checkered flag. Pat Powers would steal third at the line, with Jimmy Grant falling to fourth in his debut. Brandon Sherwood rounded out the top five.
The Mini Stock division reeled off a snappy feature with Brandon Shepard outdueling Chris Leone to win the 15-lap event. Leone pressured the No. 8s throughout but came up less than a car-length short at the finish. Rocco Conte fended off a wild pack of challengers to cross in third. An illegal driver swa would result in Andy Schumaker being credited with a fourth place finish while defending champion Brad Whiteside rounded out the top five.
The Novice Sportsman ran two features on the night, with the first going off to start the night. Four lead changes took place during the event, with Jake Bansmer making the final move on Allison Dewitt on lap 7 to run away and win the 15-lap event. Bansmer, the defending champion making his first feature start in a sportsman. Tyler Guzzardi would race him hard to a second place finish with Allison Dewitt rounding out the podium in third.
When the Novice Sportsman took to the track again, it was Tyler Guzzardi dominating from the front of the pack, leading all 15 laps to win in convincing fashion. Guzzardi, of Mount Morris, was last a winner at Genesee in 2019 with the Bandit division. On the final lap, spots behind Guzzardi got scrambled, with Allison Dewitt driving up to finish in second. Andrew Joy rounded out the top five.
Alexis Traxler won her second straight Bandit Feature, leading wire-to-wire in her No. 61 over Jonathan Logsdon and Morgan Coniber.
A total of 129 cars packed in to the pit area on a cold and windy spring night. As tough as the physical conditions were, the race surface was impressively tacky and smooth despite the rains that hit the fairgrounds during the past week. Next Saturday, the 30-lap Brian Ace Memorial Street Stock Feature is sure to ramp up the energy, as will double features for the Sportsman as well as the Mini Stocks. For more information, visit www.Genesee-Speedway.com.
Genesee Speedway Results: 5/8/2021-
A-Verdi Storage Containers Night
Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints Feature (25 Laps)- DAVIE FRANEK, Matt Farnham, Paulie Colagiovanni, Danny Varin, Denny Peebles, Dylan Swiernik, Joe Trenca, Kelly Hebing, Chad Miller, Jeff Cook, Dan Craun, Keith Granholm, Tyler Cartier, Jason Barney, Matt Tanner, Chuck Hebing, Scott Kreutter, Shawn Donath, Jake Karklin, Darryl Ruggles, Dan Bennett, Nick Fratto, Sammy Reakes IV, Billy VanInwegen (DNS).
Lap Leaders- C. Hebing 1-10, Farnham 11-20, Franek 21-25.
DNQ- Scott Just, Jeremy Barnard, Parker Evans.
Heat Winners- Swiernik, C. Hebing, Farnham.
Dash Winner- Tanner
B-Main Winner- Peebles
IndyKart Raceway Hard Charger- Peebles (+14)
Fast Time- Davie Franek- 14.763 Seconds
Cornerstone Eye Associates RUSH Late Model Feature (25 Laps)- JASON KNOWLES, Austin Hauser, JJ Mazur, Doug Ricotta, Bud Watson, TJ Downs, Dave Parker, Chad Homan, Austin Allen, Alan Chapman, Austin Kotarski, Mark Sundt, Jon Rivers, Austyn Fugle, Jimmy Johnson, Billy DuBois, Dave DuBois, Bill Holmes, Brian Kotarski, Kurt Stebbins, Bill Button, Paul Grigsby (DNS).
Lap Leader- Knowles 1-25.
Heat Winners- Knowles, Holmes, Ricotta.
IndyKart Raceway Hard Charger- Chapman (+11)
Stirling Lubricants DIRTcar Sportsman Feature (Race Stopped at 24 Laps)- JIM HARBISON, Phil Vigneri III, TJ Newton, Scott George, Cam Tuttle, Brandon Michaud, Noah Walker, Tim Nies, Ryan Barrett, Ray Bliss, Emmett Waldron, Kyle Richner, Jordan Moden, Dave Conant, Adam Hilton, Dan Kolb, Larry Vick, Michael McCarthy, Zack Sam, Tony Muscato, Clayton Cain, Ricky Newton, Jessica Kriegisch, Alex Payne, Tom Richau Jr, Byron Dewitt (DNS), Austin Susice (DNS).
Lap Leader- Harbsion 1-24
Heat Winners- Harbison, T.J. Newton,
IndyKart Raceway Hard Charger- Walker (+18)
Yasses Trucking & Construction Street Stock Feature (20 Laps)- TOMMY KEMP, Bill Taylor, Pat Powers, Jimmy Grant, Brandon Sherwood, Kyle Richner, Carl Shetler, Shawn Hazlett, Phil Schepis, Ted Mascho, Tom Baker, John Zimmerman, Dan Brumsted, Damian Long, Blaze Harrison, Dale Rissinger, Mike Kelly, Jesse Qutermous, Justin Neff, Robby Knapp, Dan Schulz, Tyler Oakes.
Lap Leader- Kemp 1-20.
Heat Winners- Kemp, Zimmerman, Hazlett.
IndyKart Raceway Hard Charger- Schepis (+11)
Pellegrino Auto Sales Mini Stock Feature (15 Laps)- BRANDON SHEPARD, Chris Leone, Rocco Leone, Andy Schumaker, Cole Susice, Don Whiteside, James Gayton, Jessica Schleede, Gary Hopkins, Jay VanSkiver, Andy Gayton, Robert Knapp, Olivia Coniber, Curtis Rung Jr., Ashley Harbison, Rich Conte, Eric Brumsted (DNS), Thomas Knapp (DNS).
Lap Leader- Shepard 1-15.
Heat Winners- Schmaker, J. Gayton.
IndyKart Raceway Hard Charger- Susice (+10)
Novice Sportsman Make-Up Feature From 5/1 (15 Laps)- JAKE BANSMER, Tyler Guzzardi, Allison Dewitt, Brandon Close, Andrew Joy, Bailey Logsdon, Greenley George, John Livingston Jr.
Lap Leaders- Dewitt 1-5, Bansmer 6, Dewitt 7, Bansmer 8-15.
Novice Sportsman Feature (15 Laps)- TYLER GUZZARDI, Allison Dewitt, Andrew Joy, Jake Bansmer, Bailey Logsdon, Brandon Close, John Livingston Jr., Greenley George.
Lap Leader- Guzzardi 1-15.
IndyKart Raceway Hard Charger- Bansmer (+4)
DML Sealing Bandits (8 Laps)- ALEXIS TRAXLER, Jonathan Logsdon, Morgan Coniber.
Lap Leader- Traxler 1-8.