

8/31/2025
The Dirt Track at Genesee
Grant Turns Genesee Upside Down: First Win at the Track, First DeWitt Memorial, Career No. 50
Season Championship Night at The Dirt Track at Genesee brought the curtain down on the 2025 season in front of a good crowd as 65 cars in pits to battle it out one final time, highlighted by the Gene DeWitt Memorial for the Street Stocks which drew 19 cars for the season’s final points race. The night began with the Blue Diamond Racing Products Novice Sportsman where Matt Radzio and Lucas Newton led the field to green. Newton wasted no time taking the lead on the outside and pulled away from Guy Steffen, who had moved into second. Trouble struck Steffen on lap nine when he spun from the runner-up spot, bringing out the yellow. On the restart Newton again set the pace, hitting his marks over the final six laps to score his second win of the year. In victory lane Newton credited adjustments after his heat race, saying, “Car was really fast, in the heat race I had too much gear and had to change them. This was a better season than I thought it would be.”
The spotlight then turned to the Street Stocks for the prestigious Gene DeWitt Memorial, where Josh Pangrazio and Byron DeWitt led the field to green. Pangrazio jumped to the early lead until the first yellow flew for Chuck Mogavero, allowing DeWitt to capitalize on the restart and put his Richie Evans throwback ride, honoring his grandfather Gene, out front. Meanwhile, Jimmy Grant of Penn Yan, NY, who had redrawn the eighth starting spot, was steadily working his way through the field. By lap eight Grant had climbed to fourth and soon after on a restart made a two-for-one move to pass both Damian Long and Pangrazio, setting his sights on DeWitt. With just four laps remaining Grant made the winning pass and never looked back, surviving a late yellow for Pangrazio’s flat tire to seal the deal. The win was not only his first ever at The Dirt Track at Genesee, but also his first Gene DeWitt Memorial victory and the 50th Street Stock win of his career. An emotional Grant praised both the track and the moment, saying, “Track turned out awesome, plenty of bite, it took me a few laps to figure it out. When I passed the 7 and started catching the 34 I couldn’t believe it. I finally got this win, it’s #50. Winning the Gene DeWitt Memorial is awesome. Just knowing Byron, I could only imagine what his family is like, and I’m very grateful to be here.”
Next up was the Radiators Plus Bandits as Carson Shetler and Bradley Weis started on the front row ahead of Dodge Smith and Brayden Bronschidle. Weis jumped to the early lead but trouble as his right front axle broke on the front stretch, handing the lead to Smith. From there Smith never faltered, hitting his marks and bringing home his first win of the season at The Dirt Track at Genesee. In victory lane he summed it up simply: “This feels really good.”
The Kolb Family Automotive Sportsman feature rolled off with Phil Vigneri III and Ricky Newton leading the charge. Newton shot out to the early advantage and set a strong pace while Vigneri stalked him lap after lap, showing patience and refusing to let the leader get away. That patience paid off on lap nine as Vigneri slipped underneath Newton to take control. From there Vigneri pulled away to win his sixth feature of the year, capping a dominant season. “I was trying to be patient, it was a little damp to start,” Vigneri said. “We went back to some old notes from earlier this year and this is the best the car has probably been the second half of the season.”
The Weis Performance Mini Stocks followed with the championship battle wide open as Robert Knapp II, Seth Johnson, Eric Weis, Racelyn Lippa, and Brian Johnson all entered the night with a mathematical shot at the title. Seth Johnson started alongside Knapp II and grabbed the early lead, knowing a win would secure him the championship. Weis went from third to first on lap two but his Cinderella late-season run ended with mechanical failure just three laps later. On the restart Johnson maintained the lead but Knapp II fought back, diving inside and taking control with eight laps to go. Johnson applied heavy pressure the rest of the way but Knapp held strong, winning by just 0.412 seconds to clinch his second straight track championship. In victory lane Knapp praised his rival: “Seth is a good competitor, we battled just like last year too. We ran the same motor we ran last year, and unfortunately it went up in a fireball four weeks ago. We built another one, and that melted a piston down. Then Joey Swick actually let me use his motor to finish the season.”
The final feature of the night belonged to the Callahan Towing Rush Late Models where Jimmy Johnson and Paul Grigsby started up front after Dave Dubois elected to tag the tail, moving the inside row forward. Johnson jumped to the early lead before a lap-one yellow slowed the field. He held point on the restart but soon came under heavy pressure from Jon Rivers of Basom, NY. Rivers, hungry for his first win in over a year, took over the top spot on lap five and never wavered despite multiple cautions in the closing laps. Hitting his marks on each restart, Rivers broke through to snap a long drought and score his first win since June 15 of last season. In victory lane an emotional Rivers reflected, saying, “This motor has been sitting in the back of my shop for at least four years, put it in this week. I haven’t given up yet and I’m not going to start now. This means a lot to us.”
With the checkered flags waving on Season Championship Night, the 2025 campaign at The Dirt Track at Genesee officially came to a close. The facility now turns its attention to a brand-new racing surface for 2026, though one final special remains on the calendar as an enduro and demolition derby will take place on Saturday, October 18. Champions from each division will be honored in a press release later this week.
Photo Credit: Evie Fanton (Woah Nellie Productions)
6 entries
Novice Sportsman
A Feature 1: 1. 54N-Lucas Newton[2]; 2. 04-Matt Radzio[1]; 3. 198-Cole Susice[4]; 4. 117-Jonathan Almekinder[5]; 5. 2-Ernest Steffen[3]; 6. 18-Paul Marshall[6]
19 entries
Street Stocks - Gene DeWitt Memorial
A Feature 1: 1. 36-Jimmy Grant[8]; 2. 34-byron dewitt[2]; 3. 00-Damian Long[5]; 4. 717-Rich Conte[6]; 5. 2-Dale Rissinger[4]; 6. 15-Bobby Lippa Jr[7]; 7. 63-Mike Fellows[11]; 8. Z15-Zachary Walsh[9]; 9. 58-Carl Shetler Sr[14]; 10. 17-Chuck Mogavero[12]; 11. 84M-Mike Kelly[10]; 12. 2Q-Jesse Qutermous[3]; 13. 05-Jeff Almekinder[17]; 14. 7-Josh Pangrazio[1]; 15. 11-Kenny Begnouche[16]; 16. 52-Nate Tabor[18]; 17. 0K-Kenneth Zimmerman[15]; 18. 2Z-John Zimmerman[13]; 19. (DNS) 10-Russell Nash
4 entries
Bandits
A Feature 1: 1. 96X-Dodge Smith[3]; 2. 78S-Carson Shetler[1]; 3. 64-Brayden Bronschidle[4]; 4. 44-Bradly Weis[2]
12 entries
Sportsman Modified
A Feature 1: 1. 12V-Phil Vigneri III[1]; 2. 11N-Ricky Newton[2]; 3. 00-Sam Hoxie[4]; 4. 27Z-Ray Bliss[3]; 5. 41-Tony Pangrazio[6]; 6. 8-John Venuto[5]; 7. 36-Noah Pangrazio[7]; 8. 132-Brandon Michaud[11]; 9. 1H-Rob Richmond[10]; 10. 35-Joe Mickey[9]; 11. 55-Dillon Adamczak[12]; 12. 04-Greg Mrzywka[8]
15 entries
Mini Stocks
A Feature 1: 1. 16K-Robert Knapp[1]; 2. 85-Seth Johnson[2]; 3. 17-Racelyn Lippa[4]; 4. 37-Cody Griffin[13]; 5. 24D-Raymond Dinehart[10]; 6. 7-Mike Becker[7]; 7. 10-James Gayton[15]; 8. 02-Kevin Napier[8]; 9. 55S-Joey Swick[12]; 10. XXX-Eric Weis[3]; 11. 18K-Nathan Vaillancourt[14]; 12. 004-Olivia Coniber[11]; 13. (DNS) 10JR-Paige Gayton; 14. (DNS) 58-Brian Johnson; 15. (DNS) 217-Dylan Strade
9 entries
RUSH Late Model
A Feature 1: 1. 85-Jon Rivers[5]; 2. 39J-Jimmy Johnson[3]; 3. 24-Paul Grigsby[2]; 4. 1-Bill Taylor[6]; 5. 113-Matt Tracey[8]; 6. 78H-Micheal Hetzel[7]; 7. 22-Jimmy Button[9]; 8. 21B-Billy DuBois[4]; 9. 012-Dave DuBois[1]
Article Credit: Jeremy Perry
Submitted By: Jeremy Perry