Cam Tuttle Captures DIRTcar Sportsman Tour Race while Bill Holmes Locks Up Late Model Win
Rich Vleck, BATAVIA, NY, (July 31, 2021)- An unseasonably cool race night in July saw some of the fastest drivers all season back up in front. All six feature winners were repeat winners for at least the third time. Of course, the night would not be complete without some light sprinkles, which hit the grounds just before racing. It would not deter the action though, as the Terry Pangrazio Memorial was able to be contested unencumbered.
One week ago, Cameron Tuttle was out in front and had the fast line working at the top of the track when he got tangled up with a lapped car; on Saturday Night, he got another chance to ride the rim in an even bigger race and made sure he wasn’t going to let this one slip away.
Tuttle, of Wilson, led all 40 laps to win the DIRTcar Sportsman Western Region Tour race. The defending track champion ran down current point leader Phil Vigneri III in their heat race to win the qualifier, then drew the pole position for the main event, which was all he needed to get out in front and keep it that way to the finish.
“I put last week (incident with lapped car) in the past, but I was glad to get a caution when I was in lapped traffic,” stated Tuttle after the event. “I think everybody here knows I like the top side and that was the place to be but it was really tight on restarts. Austin (Susice) was really throwing it in on the bottom.”
It was the third win of the season in Batavia for the defending track champion. Being a $1,000-to-win DIRTcar Sportsman Tour race even added to the prestige. When you add on to it his win a night earlier at Ransomville, his victory on Saturday capped off a perfect weekend.
“This was never something I even dreamed about,” admitted Tuttle in Victory Lane, after hoisting a broom in recognition of his “sweep” of the weekend.
As Tuttle rode the top line perfectly to the win, Austin Susice chased the leader’s tire tracks to a solid second-place showing. Susice, last week’s feature winner, had one restart in particular he thought he could get by the No. 35T, but that was called back to retry. Behing Susice was Genesee Point Leader Phil Vigneri III, who used the bottom line more than other frontrunners to round out the podium.
Robert Bublak Jr. by far made the longest tow on the night, and in his first appearance at the Genesee Speedway finished in fourth in a brand-new racecar. Kyle Richner outdueled Dave Conant throughout the race to notch a top five finish.
To round out the night, an intense battle raged for the win in the Late Model Feature. Bill Holmes outdueled Jimmy Johnson for the lead at the start and would never relinquish it as the point leader was able to collect his fourth win of the season. The E. Concord driver used the middle line to lock in his No. 8 to the 1/3-mile and hold a steady distance throughout. Late in the feature, JJ Mazur and Jeremy Wonderling ran down the No. 8 and appeared that one of them would steal the win away. On lap 17 of the 25-lap event, Wonderling took away second from Mazur and set his sights on the top spot as the highside groove he was using appeared to be supreme, but on lap 22, the No. 3J drifted over the banking in turn 3 and would hand the runner-up spot back over to Mazur. As hard as he tried, Mazur would have to settle for second while Wonderling crossed in third. Doug Ricotta and Jon Rivers would complete a fast top five.
John Zimmerman made a “sweetheart move” to drive from third to first on a lap five restart and then never looked back as he captured his third Street Stock Feature win of the season. Zimmerman, of Varysburg, dove underneath Brandon Sherwood and leader Dale Rissinger in a wild three-wide move down the backstretch and completed the slide job entering the next set of corners. Once getting out in front, “The Z-man” went up to the top of the track and rode the cushion to perfection. Brandon Sherwood, who had plenty of cosmetic damage throughout the race, was able to reel in the leader on multiple occasions but was unable to set up a pass for the lead and would have to settle for his fifth runner-up finish of the season. Damian Long was able to drive up to a third place finish while Genesee Promoter Jim Johnson finished in fourth while subbing for Shawn Hazlett. Point leader Bill Taylor rounded out the top five after rallying from a tire issue in his heat race.
Dante Mancuso scored his fifth win of the season in the Mini Stock Feature. Mancuso, of Batavia, drove up from the seventh starting position to second on lap three when point leader Brad Whiteside broke while in the runner-up spot. On the ensuing restart, Mancuso dove underneath Ashley Harbison to take over the lead. In the closing laps, Bill Weller Jr. came charging up to the front from his ninth place starting position but Mancuso made sure to push his No. 1 a little harder to hang on for the winner. Behind the top two was a fierce battle to the line with Ashley Harbison holding off Olivia Coniber by .009 for third place as the two crashed across the finish. The fourth place effort by Coniber was still good enough for her career-best result. Right behind those two ladies was Ryan Allen to complete the top five.
Tyler Guzzardi ran the top line to perfection to capture his third feature win of the season in the Novice Sportsman event. After winning his first heat race of the year, Guzzardi, of Mt. Morris, jumped out in front in the feature and had to stay perfect throughout the 15-lap to withstand the challenges of point leader Jake Bansmer, who kept peaking underneath the No. 7 but would have to settle for second. Allison Dewitt rounded out the podium in third.
Alexis Traxler survived two late-race restarts with strong challenges from hard-chargers to score her seventh Bandit Feature win of the season. Traxler, of Warsaw, took the lead at the drop of the green flag and had a comfortable advantage until the first caution flag of the race occurred on lap 8 for Jonathan Logsdon, who was in second place at the time. Ian Paul inherited the second spot but broke a lap after the ensuing restart, which would give Seth Johnson one chance to steal the win away. Johnson would come up just short and settle for second while Morgan Coniber rounded out the top three.
The Genesee Speedway will take next weekend off before setting up a four-race sprint to the finish which kicks off on August 14 when the RUSH Pro Mods invade Batavia for the first time. For more information, visit www.Genesee-Speedway.com.
Genesee Speedway Results: 7/31/2021-
Terry Pangrazio Memorial Night
DIRTcar Sportsman Western Region Tour Feature (40 Laps)- CAMERON TUTTLE, Austin Susice, Phil Vigneri III, Robert Bublak Jr, Kyle Richner, Dave Conant, Jim Harbison, Jordan Moden, John Venuto, Noah Walker, Michael McCarthy, Brett Martin, Jessica Kriegisch, Byron Dewitt, Gordy Hermanson Jr., Ray Bliss, Larry Vick, Brandon Michaud, Mike Martin.
Lap Leader- Tuttle 1-40.
Heat Winners- Tuttle, Susice.
Cornerstone Eye Associates RUSH Late Model Feature (25 Laps)- BILL HOLMES, JJ Mazur, Jeremy Wonderling, Doug Ricotta, Jon Rivers, Kyle Richner, Brian Kotarski, Paul Grigsby, Billy DuBois, David Stolzenberg, Jimmy Johnson, Austin Hauser, Austyn Fugle (DNS).
Lap Leaders- Holmes 1-25.
Heat Winners- Wonderling, Holmes.
Yasses Trucking & Construction Street Stock Feature (20 Laps)- JOHN ZIMMERMAN, Brandon Sherwood, Damian Long, Jim Johnson, Bill Taylor, Tom Baker, Neil Patterson, Phil Schepis, Pete Stefanski, Chuck Mogavero, Jacob Vick, Dale Rissinger Jr., Mike Kelly, Robbie Knapp, Dave Bansmer, Mike Childrose (DNS).
Lap Leaders- Rissinger 1-4, Zimmerman 5-20.
Heat Winners- Johnson, Baker.
Pellegrino Auto Sales Mini Stock Feature (15 Laps)- DANTE MANCUSO, Bill Weller Jr, Ashley Harbison, Olivia Conbier, Ryan Allen, James Gayton, Brian Johnson, Cole Susice, Andrew Gayton, Andy Schumaker, Curtis Rung Jr., Jessica Schleede, Caleb Wolcott, Gary Hopkins, Eric Weis, Robert Knapp, Rocco Conte, Chuck Hughes, Mike Becker, Brad Whiteside, Eric Brumsted, Cody Griffin, Thomas Lodwick (DNS).
Lap Leaders- Harbison 1-3, Mancuso 4-15.
Heat Winners- Coniber, Mancuso, Harbison.
Champion Racing Oil Novice Sportsman Feature (15 Laps)- TYLER GUZZARDI, Jake Bansmer, Allison Dewitt, Casey Jonathan, Andrew Joy, Nate Rhiner, Robert Henning, Bailey Logsdon.
Lap Leader- Guzzardi 1-15.
Heat Winner- Guzzardi.
DML Sealing Bandits (10 Laps)- ALEXIS TRAXLER, Seth Johnson, Morgan Coniber, Nicholas Lipome, Ian Paul, Joey Swick, Jonathan Logsdon.
Lap Leader- Traxler 1-10.