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Autograph Night & Ace Family Giveaway Pack the Stands as 80 Cars Hit The Dirt Track at Genesee

Saturday night, August 2nd, saw 80 cars roll through the pit gates at The Dirt Track at Genesee for a special night of racing featuring both Autograph Night and Nostalgia Night. The grandstands were filled with fans young and old as nearly every car came out on the front stretch during intermission for the autograph session. Adding to the excitement was the annual Ace Family Bike Giveaway, which saw over 15 bikes and scooters handed out to smiling kids across three age groups.

The night began with the Blue Diamond Racing Products Novice Sportsman division, which featured a record-setting 15 cars. Heat race winner Guy Steffen started on the front row alongside Matt Radzio, who had won the previous two features. Steffen led early, but the crowd’s attention quickly turned to John McKenney of Port Colborne, Ontario. After starting 5th, McKenney worked his way up to second by the time the first caution flew on lap 8 for George Curtis. After the restart, McKenney made his move, slipping past Steffen for the lead one lap later and never looking back. It was McKenney’s fourth trip to Genesee since July 13th of 2024. Though typically a dirt bike racer, Saturday night marked his first-ever feature win at the track.

The Conte’s Auto Street Stocks were next with the spotlight shining on the Brian Ace Memorial, which featured a $1,000-to-win. John Zimmerman and Dale Rissinger started up front, but it didn’t take long for Byron DeWitt of LeRoy, NY to come from third. After getting by Rissinger and applying pressure to Zimmerman, DeWitt made his move on a restart following a lap 3 caution. Josh Pangrazio started 7th and was now up to 3rd, eventually chasing down Zimmerman for second before setting his sights on DeWitt. Lapped traffic and a tire issue for Zimmerman on lap 16 bunched the field again, followed by a three-car incident involving Carl Shetler, Jesse Qutermous, and Zach Walsh. DeWitt stayed smooth under pressure, hitting his marks and denying Pangrazio the chance to get by, earning his second win of the season and the coveted Brian Ace Memorial victory.

The Weis Performance Mini Stocks featured an all-Castile, NY front row with Eric Weis and Brian Johnson leading the way. Weis jumped out to the early lead and faced constant pressure from Seth Johnson, who quickly settled into second. The two diced through lap traffic, but it was Weis — who had shown speed all season but struggled with luck, Weis finally put it all together. He led every lap en route to his first win of the year and first at Genesee since opening night of last season in 2024.

The Dan Kolb Family Automotive Sportsman division saw Phil Vigneri III and Tony Pangrazio lead the field to green. Vigneri took command early before a lap 2 caution for Joe Mickey bunched the field. Dave Conant of Lockport, NY quickly settled into second by lap 3 and spent several laps tracking down Vigneri. Conant made his move on lap 12 to take the lead, and while Vigneri stayed close, he was never able to reclaim the top spot. A late restart with three laps to go gave Vigneri one final chance, and on the white flag lap, he went to the extreme high side in turns 3 and 4 — a move that worked for him back on June 28th — but this time he fell just short, with Conant scoring the win by 0.317 seconds.

The Radiators Plus 63 Bandits featured a head-to-head showdown between Carson Shetler of Oakfield, NY and Brayden Bronschidle. Bronschidle led the first two laps, but Shetler got by on lap 3 and never looked back, scoring his second feature win of the season.

Closing out the night were the Callahan Towing Rush Late Models. “The Outlaw” Dave DuBois and Jon Rivers started on the front row, with DuBois showing the way early. But it was “Kid Kool” David Pangrazio of Elba, NY who stole the spotlight. After taking over the lead on lap 5, Pangrazio was never seriously challenged. A caution on lap 9 for Mike Hetzel bunched the field one final time, but Pangrazio drove away on the restart to complete a weekend sweep — having also won the Extreme Budget Predator Go-Kart race on Friday night at Genesee Kartway.

Racing returns to The Dirt Track at Genesee this Thursday, August 7th for the Big Block vs. Small Block Challenge and the Kyle Inman Tribute Race for the Sportsman division. Big names in both divisions have already confirmed their attendance. Fans will also be treated to double features for the Rush Late Models, while the Mini Stocks are also on the card for what promises to be another exciting night at the Fairgrounds.

Photo Credit: Evie Fanton (Woah Nellie Productions)

Novice Sportsman
A Feature 1: 1. 19J-John McKenney[5]; 2. 2-Ernest Steffen[1]; 3. 04-Matt Radzio[2]; 4. 82-Johnny Zimmerman[7]; 5. 14-Brendan Zimmerman[9]; 6. 54N-Lucas Newton[3]; 7. 01-Christian Soladay[6]; 8. 117-Jonathan Almekinder[14]; 9. 518-John Williams[15]; 10. 3-Paul Marshall[10]; 11. 1J-John Livingston Sr[12]; 12. 1JL-George Curtis[11]; 13. 198-Cole Susice[8]; 14. 9JR-Chris Miller[4]; 15. 306-Edward Cook[13]

Street Stocks
A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. 34-byron dewitt[3]; 2. 7-Josh Pangrazio[7]; 3. 00-Damian Long[11]; 4. 717-Rich Conte[4]; 5. 61-Brian Mohawk[5]; 6. 63-Mike Fellows[6]; 7. 15-Bobby Lippa Jr[8]; 8. 17-Chuck Mogavero[12]; 9. 05-Jeff Almekinder[16]; 10. 5-Matt Grigsby[19]; 11. 0Z-John Zimmerman[1]; 12. Z15-Zachary Walsh[17]; 13. 2Q-Jesse Qutermous[9]; 14. 58-Carl Shetler Sr[10]; 15. 28-Trent Chamberlain[14]; 16. 11-Kenny Begnouche[15]; 17. 2-Dale Rissinger[2]; 18. 52-Nate Tabor[13]; 19. 84M-Mike Kelly[18]

Mini Stocks
A Feature 1: 1. XXX-Eric Weis[2]; 2. 85-Seth Johnson[4]; 3. 11-Eric Brumstead[6]; 4. 14-Dave Smith[11]; 5. 17-Racelyn Lippa[7]; 6. 24D-Raymond Dinehart[3]; 7. 7-Mike Becker[5]; 8. 16K-Robert Knapp[9]; 9. 17F-Jacob Flynn[8]; 10. 10JR-Paige Gayton[10]; 11. 58-Brian Johnson[1]

Sportsman Modified
A Feature 1: 1. 44-Dave Conant[4]; 2. 12V-Phil Vigneri III[2]; 3. 27Z-Ray Bliss[7]; 4. 1H-Rob Richmond[3]; 5. 132-Brandon Michaud[8]; 6. 11-Dan Ferguson[16]; 7. 00-Sam Hoxie[12]; 8. 11N-Ricky Newton[10]; 9. 44K-Dan Kolb[17]; 10. 36-Noah Pangrazio[14]; 11. 25-Chris Hawkins[20]; 12. 35-Joe Mickey[13]; 13. 41-Tony Pangrazio[1]; 14. 19J-Andrew Smith[11]; 15. 55-Dillon Adamczak[5]; 16. 3D-James Henry[6]; 17. 04-Greg Mrzywka[9]; 18. (DNS) 1J-John Livingston; 19. (DNS) 73G-Gordon Hermanson Jr; 20. (DNS) 8-John Venuto

Bandits
A Feature 1: 1. 78S-Carson Shetler[1]; 2. 64-Brayden Bronschidle[2]

RUSH Late Model
A Feature 1: 1. 136-David Pangrazio[4]; 2. 012-Dave DuBois[1]; 3. 8-Bill Holmes[7]; 4. 24-Paul Grigsby[5]; 5. 39J-Jimmy Johnson[9]; 6. 03-TJ Downs[8]; 7. 01-Doug Ricotta[6]; 8. 1-Bill Taylor[12]; 9. 78H-Micheal Hetzel[11]; 10. 21B-Billy DuBois[3]; 11. 113-Matt Tracey[10]; 12. 85-Jon Rivers[2]; 13. (DNS) 22-Jimmy Button

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