Rich Vleck, BATAVIA, NY, (May 15, 2021)- When John Zimmerman pulled the No. 12 starting position for the $1300-to-win Brian Ace Sr. Memorial Street Stock Feature, he did not think he would end up in Victory Lane, but a strong car, along with some luck on his side, would help him pull out the win.
Zimmerman, of Varysburg, took over the top spot on lap 22 when Glenn Whritenour broke while leading and then drove off to claim the win in the special 30-lap event held in honor of a beloved former racer and track worker who passed away this past year.
Despite starting on the outside of the sixth row, “The Z-Man” wasted no time moving forward, driving to fourth by the fourth lap. He took over the second spot from Brandon Sherwood on lap 11 but was having trouble reeling in the leader, 11 laps later he would get the break he needed.”
“That was a tough break for Glenn (Whritenour) but this track really came in to us in this long race, being able to run the bottom like we did,” reflected Zimmerman after the event.
In the closing eight laps, Kurt Stebbins, who started 14th, would apply pressure on the No. 0 for the top spot, but would fade after the final restart but hold on to second, with Bill Taylor in third. Pat Powers and Tommy Kemp rounded out the top five.
Bill Holmes made a change back to No. 8 for 2021 in hopes to turn his luck around, in his second race in his old number, he found just the results he was looking for, capturing a thrilling win in the Late Model Feature.
Holmes, of East Concord, withstood late-race advances by defending champion Jimmy Johnson to capture his first feature win in 2019. Things got interesting over the second half of the race when the lead two reeled in the back of the pack, Holmes knew there was no time to waste.
“I saw Jimmy on the board in second and figured he was right there,” Holmes said in Victory Lane. “Those lapped cars were definitely slowing me down so I tried to get through them as quick as possible.”
Holmes’ signature move came on lap 19 when he split a pair of lapped cars in a three-wide maneuver down the front stretch. Once Johnson also cleared the lapped traffic, he tried to reel in the No. 8, but Holmes was too strong off of turn two, neutralizing the ground gained by Johnson in turns three and four.
Between the top two was Steve Dixon, who passed early leader Kurt Stebbins late in the event, placing Stebbins in fourth. Paul Grigsby completed top five.
The Sportsman ran a make-up feature held over from two weeks ago early in the program with the event running without caution in under eight minutes; when the checkered flag came out, it was Phil Vigneri III scoring the win. Vigneri, of Elba, started fifth on the grid and waited for the top line to wear out and starting to charge to the front snug on the bottom. “PV3” took the second position from polesitter and early leader Jordan Moden on lap eight but had over two seconds to reel in Adam Hilton. Hilton was riding the rim around the speedway but as the duo moved through lapped traffic, Vigneri was able to close the gap significantly on the inside line. On lap 22, as a lapped car was directly ahead of Hilton, Vigneri dove to the inside of the No. 1R and cleared him in turn four and never looked back.
“I was just waiting for the top to wear out,” noted Vigneri after the event. “I picked my spot and sailed it in, I didn’t feel any contact and from there we were good.”
As Vigneri drove to the win, defending champion Cam Tuttle was able to move by Hilton on the final lap to claim second. As Hilton settled for third, Dave Conant drove up to fourth while Jordan Moden held on for a strong top five finish.
As good as Vigneri was in the first feature, he was even more dominant in the second feature, as he took his No. 12v from 7th to the lead in just three laps. Once taking the top spot, Vigneri stayed glued on the bottom and drove away to a comfortable sweep on the night.
“The track actually seemed to have the moisture come back up through,” said Vigneri after his second win. “We got a good start when the top line got slowed up and we got to third on the opening lap. There is not much to say, our car is just really good right now.”
The race was slowed on lap six for a multi-car incident in turn one, which included the No. 2v of Larry Vick flipping over. Despite having to wait on the track for a few moments, nothing was going to deter Vigneri who was locked in on the bottom, not even getting hot sitting his car. A great battle for second raged on with Jim Harbison coming out in front of Cam Tuttle after many laps side-by-side. Ray Bliss ran in fourth while Brandon Michaud scored a fine top five.
The Mini Stocks also ran two features on the night, with the first feature going to Andy Gayton, who led wire-to-wire to score his first career feature victory. Gayton, of Batavia, was solid on the top line and did not let anyone get close to him in the 15-lap event. Cole Susice held off Andy Schumaker in a fierce battle for second, with Dante Mancuso close behind in fourth. Cody Wise rounded out the top five.
In feature two, Andy Schumaker was three laps away from his first career win, but Dante Mancuso used a lap 13 restart to steal the glory with a slidejob entering turn one to jump in front and hang on for the victory. The Batavia driver started in eighth after drawing the worst redraw position but used the slick surface to his advance to slice his way up through the pack. Schumaker would hang on for second with Brad Whiteside placing in third. Ashley Harbison and Brian Johnson completed the top five.
Jake Bansmer put on a flawless performance in the Novice Sportsman feature, leading all 15 laps for his second win of the season. Bansmer, of East Aurora, pulled away from Tyler Guzzardi steadily throughout as Guzzardi would settle for second. John Livingston Jr. completed the podium.
Alexis Traxler scored her third win in as many starts in the Bandit Feature, leading all 10 laps to continue her stranglehold of the division. Traxler ended up lapping all the cars before the finish, including Jonathan Logsdon, who placed in second. Morgan Coniber crossed in third.
A beautiful night for racing was not just a treat for the racers, but the fans as well, after cold conditions in the first two events. The kids also had a big night, with the family of Brian Ace giving out 13 bikes and helmets to some young race fans. Racing action will be fierce again next Saturday with the Late Models running double features. For more information, visit www.Genesee-Speedway.com.
Genesee Speedway Results: 5/15/2021-
Brian Ace Memorial Night
Cornerstone Eye Associates RUSH Late Model Feature (25 Laps)- BILL HOLMES, Jimmy Johnson, Steve Dixon, Kurt Stebbins, Paul Grigsby, Dave DuBois, Jon Rivers, Austyn Fugle, Billy DuBois, Austin Hauser, Bill Button, Doug Ricotta (DNS).
Lap Leaders- Stebbins 1-2, Holmes 3-25.
Heat Winners- Holmes, Grigsby.
Stirling Lubricants DIRTcar Sportsman Make-up Feature from 5/1 (25 Laps)- PHIL VIGNERI III, Cam Tuttle, Adam Hilton, Dave Conant, Jordan Moden, Tom Richau Jr, Noah Walker, Jim Harbison, Emmett Waldron, Tony Muscato, Ray Bliss, Kyle Richer, Ryan Barrett, Tim Nies, Larry Vick, Dan Kolb, Zack Sam, Byron Dewitt, TJ Newton, Brandon Michaud (DNS), Sam Hoxie (DNS), Clayton Cain (DNS), Austin Susice (DNS), Ricky Newton (DNS).
Lap Leaders- Moden 1, Hilton 2-21, Vigneri 22-25.
Stirling Lubricants DIRTcar Sportsman Feature (25 Laps)- PHIL VIGNERI III, Jim Harbison, Cam Tuttle, Ray Bliss, Brandon Michaud, Dave Conant, Noah Walker, Byron Dewitt, Emmett Waldron, Tom Richau Jr., TJ Newton, Tony Muscato, Tim Nies, Dan Kolb, Adam Hilton, Michael McCarthy, Ryan Barrett, Kyle Richner, Larry Vick, Jessica Kriegisch, Jordan Moden, Zack Sam.
Lap Leaders- Richner 1-2, Vigneri 3-25.
Heat Winners- Vigneri, Richner, Moden.
Yasses Trucking & Construction Brian Ace Memorial Street Stock Feature (30 Laps)- JOHN ZIMMERMAN, Kurt Stebbins, Bill Taylor, Pat Powers, Tommy Kemp, Damian Long, Brandon Sherwood, Eric Stone, Mike Kelly, Dale Rissinger, Ted Mascho, Dan Schulz, Glenn Whritenour, Shawn Hazlett, Phil Schepis, Tom Baker, Sherman Gage, Justin Neff, Carl Shetler, Dan Brumsted, Dennis Cummings, Matt Tracey (DNS), Jacob Vick (DNS), Jesse Qutermous (DNS).
Lap Leaders- Hazlett 1-2, Whritenour 3-21, Zimmerman 22-30.
Heat Winners- Hazlett, Zimmerman, Powers.
Pellegrino Auto Sales Mini Stock Make-up Feature from 5/1 (15 Laps)- ANDY GAYTON, Cole Susice, Andy Schumaker, Dante Mancuso, Cody Wise, Rocco Conte, Brian Johnson, Olivia Coniber, Brad Whiteside, Eric Brumsted, Curtis Rung Jr., Robby Knapp, James Gayton, Gary Hopkins, Tom Knapp, Ashley Harbison, Don Whiteside (DNS), Chris Leone (DNS).
Lap Leader- A. Gayton 1-15.
Pellegrino Auto Sales Mini Stock Feature (15 Laps)- DANTE MANCUSO, Andy Schumaker, Brad Whiteside, Ashley Harbison, Brian Johnson, Rocco Conte, Andy Gayton, Curtis Rung Jr., James Gayton, Robbie Knapp, Eric Brumsted, Gary Hopkins, Tom Knapp, Rich Conte, Olivia Coniber, Cole Susice, Jessica Schleede (DNS).
Lap Leaders- Harbison 1-4, Schumaker 5-12, Mancuso 13-15.
Heat Winners- Johnson, Whiteside.
Novice Sportsman Feature (15 Laps)- JAKE BANSMER, Tyler Guzzardi, John Livingston Jr., Greenley George, Brandon Close, Bailey Logsdon.
Lap Leader- Bansmer 1-15.
Heat Winner- Bansmer.
DML Sealing Bandits (10 Laps)- ALEXIS TRAXLER, Jonathan Logsdon, Morgan Coniber, Chad Johnson, Nicholas Lipome, Grayson Harding.
Lap Leader- Traxler 1-10.