8/17/2025
The Dirt Track at Genesee
Fan Appreciation Night Delivers Drama and First Wins
Perfect weather for Fan Appreciation Night at The Dirt Track at Genesee brought out the biggest crowd of the year, creating an electric atmosphere that featured plenty of drama and three first-time winners at the Speedway.
In the Conte’s Auto Street Stocks, Mike Fellows and Chuck Mogravo led the field to green, but it was Byron DeWitt who quickly powered from fourth to second down the backstretch and took the lead from Fellows in turn four. The race was slowed early when Damian Long slid up into Josh Pangrazio in turns three and four, causing Jesse Qutermous to make contact with Pangrazio in a chain-reaction incident. On the restart, trouble struck again for Fellows, bringing out another yellow. Just one lap later, John Zimmerman got into the wall exiting turn two and flipped eight times in a spectacular crash that brought out the red flag. Thankfully, Zimmerman walked away unharmed. From there, the race stayed green, and DeWitt dominated the rest of the way, crossing the line 5.015 seconds ahead of the field for the victory.
The Blue Diamond Racing Products Novice Sportsman feature saw Lucas Newton and Johnny Zimmerman on the front row. Newton jumped out to the early advantage, and the race went green-to-checkered without a single caution. Newton picked up the win by 5.319 seconds. After claiming his first career win on July 25th at Ransomville, Newton added his first Dirt Track at Genesee victory on Saturday night.
The Weis Performance Mini Stocks brought more fireworks. Eric Brumstead and Brian Johnson led the field early, but Eric Weis quickly charged from sixth to second. Moments later, Paige Gayton spun in turn one to bring out the caution. At the same time, Brumstead made hard contact with Weis in turn four, ending both of their chances and parking Brumstead for the night. That handed the lead to Johnson, but contact between Johnson and Cody Wise on lap seven slowed the race again. When racing resumed, it was teenagers Racelyn Lippa and Brayden Davis battling at the front. Lippa, who had collected multiple runner-up finishes in 2024, wasn’t to be denied this time. She led the rest of the way and earned her first career Mini Stock victory in cruise control.
In the Callahan Towing RUSH Late Models, Dave Dubois and Chad Homan brought the field to green. Early on, a wild moment in turns three and four saw Doug Ricotta, Paul Grigsby, and Jimmy Johnson tangle, ending Johnson’s night with a broken driveshaft. On the restart, Jon Rivers powered from third into the lead with an impressive two-for-one move down the backstretch. Rivers paced the field until lap 10, when Bill Taylor began applying pressure. A yellow slowed the action, and two laps into the restart, Rivers slipped in turn two, allowing Taylor to get by. On the next lap, Rivers’ machine gave way, ending his run. From there, Taylor—who underwent back surgery just last season—was perfect, leading the final 13 laps to score his first-ever RUSH Late Model victory by 4.7 seconds over Chad Homan. It was a long-awaited and emotional trip to victory lane for the former Street Stock champion from Arcade, NY.
The Radiators Plus 63 Bandits saw Carson Shetler and Dodge Smith on the front row, but it was Bradley Weis of Castile, NY taking the lead on lap two and never looking back, cruising to the win.
The night’s final feature, the Kolb Family Automotive Sportsman, went caution-free. John Venuto of East Bethany jumped to the early lead from the pole and never looked back, scoring his third win of the season by 4.563 seconds over the field.
The Dirt Track at Genesee returns to action next Saturday night with Backpack Giveaway Night for all kids heading back to school, along with $1.00 Sahlen Hot Dog Night. Racing begins at 6:00 pm, with just two point races remaining on the 2024 schedule.
Photo Credit: Evie Fanton (Woah Nellie Productions)
9 entries
RUSH Late Model
A Feature 1: 1. 1-Bill Taylor[6]; 2. 91-Chad Homan[2]; 3. 24-Paul Grigsby[4]; 4. 01-Doug Ricotta[3]; 5. 113-Matt Tracey[8]; 6. 012-Dave DuBois[1]; 7. 85-Jon Rivers[7]; 8. 21B-Billy DuBois[9]; 9. 39J-Jimmy Johnson[5]
16 entries
Sportsman Modified
A Feature 1: 1. 8-John Venuto[1]; 2. 41-Tony Pangrazio[3]; 3. 12V-Phil Vigneri III[5]; 4. 11N-Ricky Newton[7]; 5. 36-Noah Pangrazio[2]; 6. 27Z-Ray Bliss[8]; 7. 132-Brandon Michaud[10]; 8. 00-Sam Hoxie[6]; 9. 55-Dillon Adamczak[4]; 10. 04-Greg Mrzywka[9]; 11. 35-Joe Mickey[15]; 12. 73G-Gordon Hermanson Jr[11]; 13. 25-Chris Hawkins[12]; 14. 518-John Williams[16]; 15. 1H-Rob Richmond[14]; 16. 93-Matt Richmond[13]
14 entries
Street Stocks
A Feature 1: 1. 34-byron dewitt[4]; 2. 717-Rich Conte[6]; 3. 84M-Mike Kelly[3]; 4. 00-Damian Long[11]; 5. 58-Carl Shetler Sr[9]; 6. 2-Dale Rissinger[8]; 7. 17-Chuck Mogavero[1]; 8. 52-Nate Tabor[10]; 9. Z15-Zachary Walsh[14]; 10. 05-Jeff Almekinder[12]; 11. 63-Mike Fellows[2]; 12. 0Z-John Zimmerman[5]; 13. 7-Josh Pangrazio[7]; 14. 2Q-Jesse Qutermous[13]
15 entries
Mini Stocks
A Feature 1: 1. 17-Racelyn Lippa[4]; 2. 757JR-Brayden Davis[3]; 3. 004-Olivia Coniber[8]; 4. 10JR-Paige Gayton[10]; 5. 85-Seth Johnson[7]; 6. 7-Mike Becker[9]; 7. 58-Brian Johnson[2]; 8. 16K-Robert Knapp[13]; 9. 8W-Cody Wise[5]; 10. XXX-Eric Weis[6]; 11. 11-Eric Brumstead[1]; 12. 3W-Chris Walton[14]; 13. (DNS) 217-Dylan Strade; 14. (DNS) 02-Kevin Napier; 15. (DNS) 24D-Raymond Dinehart
10 entries
Novice Sportsman
A Feature 1: 1. 54N-Lucas Newton[1]; 2. 04-Matt Radzio[6]; 3. 198-Cole Susice[5]; 4. 1JL-George Curtis[4]; 5. 82Z-Johnny Zimmerman[2]; 6. 117-Jonathan Almekinder[8]; 7. 518-Michael Williams[9]; 8. 3-Paul Marshall[7]; 9. 2-Ernest Steffen[3]; 10. (DNS) 306-Edward Cook
4 entries
Bandits
A Feature 1: 1. 44-Bradly Weis[4]; 2. 78S-Carson Shetler[1]; 3. 96X-Dodge Smith[2]; 4. XXX-Maddox Weis[3]
Submitted By: Jeremy Perry
