5.1.21 Genesee Speedway Results
Rich Vleck, BATAVIA, NY, (May 1, 2021)- The 2021 season got underway without at Genesee Speedway on Saturday Night, but it was not without interruption.
Rains moved across the Genesee County Fairgrounds during the first feature of the night, causing a delay, and then reappeared again after the second feature, this time lasting too long to allow racing to restart on Gene Dewitt Memorial Night.
Before the rain knocked out race action, the Street Stocks were able to run their 20-lap feature. Damian Long took the early lead and looked like he would contend for the win until he fell out of the race on lap 4, handing the top spot over to Adam Depuy. Depuy was stout on restarts in his No. 57J, but it was defending champion Bill Taylor who had his car dialed in and ran down the leader on two occasions, finally moving his No. 1 in to that spot on lap 13.
“(Depuy) was running well and one lap my car drifted up and when it did I got a lot of bite off the corner and just kept doing that, which allowed me to go around him for the lead,” recalled Taylor after the race.
Despite sharing the title last season, Taylor had not won in Batavia since 2019 so grabbing the checkered flags was a big weight off his shoulders. It was his first race at Genesee in his new car, which was only numbered on the right side door so it could be scored.
Depuy would hold on for second, with Jason Quigley narrowly holding off John Zimmerman for third at the line. Zimmerman, nearly did not start the feature as he was stuck in to the pits until right before the green flag. Veteran Carl Shetler made his return to racing pay off with a top five finish.
In the bandit feature, Alexis Traxler lost the lead briefly but once she regained the top spot she drove away to win her first feature event by over a half-track. Traxler, of Warsaw, saw Seth Johnson take the lead on lap 4 but as the front of the pack got jumbled up, Traxler picked her spots and drove back in to the front. She knew she had a big lead on the final lap and made sure to hit her marks to drive to the win. Jonathan Logsdon made a move on the final lap to finish in second ahead of Seth Johnson.
The Sportsman were just hitting the track when the track got too wet and eventually would lead to the postponement. They will run their feature at a later date to be announced, as will the late models and mini stocks. The Novice Sportsman will run their feature next week.
A total of 92 cars were in competition on Saturday Night, which does not include the 2 sprint cars that were on hand to turn laps in preparation for next weekend’s Empire Super Sprints Season Opener. Chuck Hebing turned heads in his potent No. 45, but it was Nick Fratto who, despite running his first laps in sprint car in 13 years, turned the quickest lap at 15.005 seconds in the Stelter-owned No. 36.
To accommodate the ESS action plus the Novice Sportsman make-up, racing action will start at 5:30 on Saturday. Don’t miss the first full-blown 360 sprint car event at Genesee since 2008! For more information, visit www.Genesee-Speedway.com.
Genesee Speedway Results: 5/1/2021- Gene Dewitt Memorial Night
Yasses Trucking & Construction Street Stock Feature (20 Laps)- BILL TAYLOR, Adam Depuy, Jason Quigley, John Zimmerman, Carl Shetler, Brandon Sherwood, Sherman Gage, Eric Moore, Mike Kelly, Phil Schepis, Shawn Hazlett, Dale Rissinger, Chuck Mogavero, Justin Neff, Jesse Qutermous, Dennis Cummings, Damian Long, Tom Baker, Dan Brumsted, Robby Knapp, Byron Dewitt (DNS), Jacob Vick (DNS).
Lap Leaders- Long 1-4, Depuy 5-12, Taylor 13-20.
Heat Winners- Depuy, Long, Cummings.
DML Sealing Bandits (12 Laps)- ALEXIS TRAXLER, Jonathan Logsdon, Chad Johnson, Grayson Harding, Joey Swick, Morgan Coniber.
Lap Leaders- Traxler 1-3, Johnson 4-5, Traxler 6-12.
Cornerstone Eye Associates RUSH Late Model Feature (25 Laps)- (Postponed to TBD)
Heat Winners- Ricotta, Grigsby.
Stirling Lubricants DIRTcar Sportsman Feature (25 Laps)- (Postponed to TBD)
Heat Winners- Moden, Vigneri, Susice.
Pellegrino Auto Sales Mini Stock Feature (15 Laps)- (Postponed to TBD)
Heat Winners- B. Whiteside, A. Gayton.
Novice Sportsman Feature (12 Laps)- (Postponed to May 8)
Heat Winner- Bansmer.