6/8/2025
The Dirt Track at Genesee
Streak Snapped: DeWitt Ends Pangrazio’s Perfect Run
June 7th brought the kind of evening race fans in the Northeast have been waiting for: perfect temperatures and clear skies at the Genesee County Fairgrounds. The last time the region saw a Saturday race night this good was May 10th, and fans showed up in force to enjoy the long-awaited weather and action-packed show.
All eyes were on Josh Pangrazio, who entered the night an incredible 9-for-9 on the season, with feature wins at Genesee, Ransomville Speedway, and Land of Legends. Facing top-tier competition each week, Pangrazio’s streak had already been etched in history as one of the most dominant starts to a season ever in the division. But the night would test him like no other.
Starting 5th in the Conte’s Auto Street Stocks feature, Pangrazio had to battle his way forward with Jesse Qutermous, Byron DeWitt of LeRoy, NY, Dennis Cummings, and Dale Rissinger starting ahead. On lap one, DeWitt slipped under Cummings entering turn one. Cummings attempted a crossover but entered too hot and spun, collecting Chuck Mogavero in the process.
By lap two, DeWitt had taken the lead from Qutermous. Pangrazio, charging hard, found himself in 3rd with 18 laps to go. A lap five restart followed a caution for Damian Long’s flat tire, which dropped him to 15th on the restart. Then came a pile-up: Rissinger, running fourth, spun in turn one, collecting multiple cars including Trent Chamberlain, Bobby Lippa Jr, Kenny Begnouche, Anthony Muscato, Dennis Cummings, Mike Kelly, and Donald Alminkinder. Long, despite his earlier misfortune, benefitted from the wreck and restarted 7th. He ultimately salvaged a 5th-place finish—a strong recovery to what could’ve been a rough night.
That caution proved to be the last of the Street Stock feature. Over the final 15 laps, Pangrazio went to work on Qutermous, who held the preferred line. DeWitt, meanwhile, steadily pulled away. Pangrazio finally cleared Qutermous on lap 19, but by then, DeWitt had checked out—ending the 9-race winning streak with a convincing victory.
In Victory Lane, DeWitt said, “To be honest, I didn’t think I was going to win another race the way things were rolling. We battled this car all year. We’re in a backup motor. My team never gave up on me.”
The Blue Diamond Racing Products Novice Sportsman were the first feature of the night. Lucas Newton and Matt Radzio of Holley, NY started on the front row. Opening night winner Cole Susice brought out the only yellow flag of the race with a flat tire on lap eight, ending his night. From there, it was all Radzio, who led every lap for his first-ever feature win.
Next up were the Weis Performance Mini Stocks. Zach Walsh and Brian Johnson led the field to green. A caution flew on the opening lap after contact between Cody Wise and Eric Weis. Following a complete restart, Robert Knapp II made a bold three-wide move heading into turn three but wisely backed out, tucking in behind Walsh. On the next lap, Andrew Gayton brought out a caution after stopping in turn one. After the restart, Knapp made his move, passing both Walsh and Johnson to take the lead on lap two. One final caution flew on lap three for a tangle between Eric Weis and Mike Dinehart. From there, the final 12 laps ran green, and Knapp of Avon, NY pulled away to win by over five seconds—his second victory in a row.
The Kolb Family Automotive Sportsman brought out a competitive field with John Venuto and Phil Vigneri III of Elba, NY on the front row. Venuto led out of turn two, but Vigneri had the lead by turn four and never gave it back. A lap four caution for contact between Joe Mickey and Dan Kolb slowed things briefly, but Vigneri stayed in control. On lap 13, a yuke tire was pushed onto the racing surface in turn four, which was hit by Sam Hoxie. Hoxie, who was running fifth, suffered a bent axle and had to pit, restarting 12th. He eventually clawed his way back to an eighth-place finish. Last week’s winner, Ricky Newton, started fifth and passed Ray Bliss for third on lap 18 but couldn’t advance further. Vigneri took the checkered flag and returned to Victory Lane.
In Victory Lane, Vigneri said, “The week off gave us time to think about stuff and go over everything thoroughly. Last week I took a little damage in the heat race and didn’t end up detecting it until midweek. When we get this thing back to standard—it’s my favorite car.”
The Radiators Plus 63 Bandits saw another chapter in the budding rivalry between Carson Shetler and Bradley Weis. Weis had won the first two events, but Shetler, from Oakfield, NY, flipped the script this time. He led every lap and showed significant improvement, running three laps in the 22-second bracket—including a 22.630—and several more in the low 23s.
“I was really comfortable out there tonight. The track was great. I don’t really know what happened—I found the gas pedal, I guess,” Shetler joked in Victory Lane.
The night wrapped up with the Callahan Towing RUSH Late Models. Paul Grigsby of Springville, NY and Doug Ricotta led the field to green. Grigsby jumped out to a big lead, but Ricotta slowly reeled him in. A lap nine caution for Jimmy Button slowed the action and changed the race. After the cool-down period, Ricotta’s tires didn’t fire off the same, and Grigsby pulled away again. Behind them, Jimmy Johnson worked the bottom while Ricotta took the middle groove. The battle for second ended abruptly when something broke in the right front of Johnson’s car, sending him hard into the turn four wall. The impact was severe—breaking the J-bar and the driveshaft—but he somehow missed Ricotta on the way in. The crash brought out the final caution, and Grigsby went on to collect the 25-lap feature win, a long-awaited breakthrough after multiple second-place finishes this year at the McKean County Raceway.
Next Saturday, June 14th, the Dirt Track at Genesee presents a special event: the Mackenzie Kulesza Sweet 16 Memorial Race, featuring a 25-lap Mini Stock Main Event paying at least $750 to win, with bonus money throughout the field. The event is presented by Batavia Downs.
Event Schedule – Saturday, June 14th:
Pit Gate Opens: 4:30 PM
Grandstands Open: 5:30 PM
Draw Closes: 6:15 PM
Hot Laps: 6:30 PM
National Anthem: 7:00 PM
Green Flag Racing to Follow
Stay connected on Facebook at The Dirt Track at Genesee or visit TheDirtTrackatGenesee.com for updates and full race day details.
Conte’s Auto Street Stocks feature (20 laps) – 1. 34-byron dewitt[4]; 2. 7-Josh Pangrazio[5]; 3. 2Q-Jesse Qutermous[1]; 4. 28-Trent Chamberlain[8]; 5. 00-Damian Long[6]; 6. 717-Rich Conte[9]; 7. 74D-Dennis Cummings[2]; 8. 94M-Anthony Muscato[11]; 9. 17-Chuck Mogavero[7]; 10. 05-Jeff Almekinder[15]; 11. 71-Donald Almekinder[13]; 12. 84M-Mike Kelly[14]; 13. 2-Dale Rissinger[3]; 14. 15-Bobby Lippa Jr[10]; 15. 11-Kenny Begnouche[12]; 16. (DNS) 63-Mike Fellows
Heat race winners – Josh Pangrazio & Dennis Cummings
Blue Diamond Racing Products Novice Sportsman (12 laps) 1. 04-Matt Radzio[2]; 2. 54N-Lucas Newton[1]; 3. 1-Edward Cook[5]; 4. 3-Paul Marshall[6]; 5. 198-Cole Susice[4]; 6. (DNS) 2-Ernest Steffen
Heat race winner – Guy Steffen
Weis Performance Mini Stocks feature (15 laps) - 1. 16K-Robert Knapp[4]; 2. 17-Racelyn Lippa[1]; 3. 85-Seth Johnson[5]; 4. 11-Eric Brumstead[6]; 5. 8W-Cody Wise[7]; 6. 10JR-Paige Gayton[12]; 7. XXX-Eric Weis[8]; 8. 6-Wesley Hughes[9]; 9. 02-Kevin Napier[11]; 10. 23Z-Zachary Petry[14]; 11. 58-Brian Johnson[2]; 12. 24D-Raymond Dinehart[10]; 13. 27-Kenneth Evans[15]; 14. 217-Dylan Strade[3]; 15. (DNS) 50-Zachery Virgilio
Heat race winners – Dylan Strade & Eric Brumstead
Kolb Family Automotive Sportsman feature (25 laps) - 1. 12V-Phil Vigneri III[2]; 2. 8-John Venuto[1]; 3. 11N-Ricky Newton[4]; 4. 27Z-Ray Bliss[5]; 5. 20-Andrew Clark[3]; 6. 04-Greg Mrzywka[8]; 7. 36-Noah Pangrazio[9]; 8. 00-Sam Hoxie[6]; 9. 41-Tony Pangrazio[11]; 10. 44K-Dan Kolb[12]; 11. 35-Joe Mickey[10]; 12. 73G-Gordon Hermanson Jr[7]; 13. 1H-Rob Richmond[13]
Heat race winners – Ricky Newton & Phil Vigneri III
Radiators Plus 63 Bandits feature (10 laps) - 1. 78S-Carson Shetler[2]; 2. 44-Bradley Weis[1]
Heat race winner – Bradley Weis
Callahan Towing Rush Late Models feature (25 laps) - 1. 24-Paul Grigsby[1]; 2. 01-Doug Ricotta[2]; 3. 012-Dave DuBois[7]; 4. 8-Bill Holmes[5]; 5. 1-Bill Taylor[4]; 6. 85-Jon Rivers[6]; 7. 78H-Micheal Hetzel[10]; 8. 39J-Jimmy Johnson[3]; 9. 21B-Billy DuBois[9]; 10. 22-Jimmy Button[8]
Heat race winners Bill Taylor & Doug Ricotta
Submitted By: Jeremy Perry
