Story By: JEREMY PERRY / GENESEE SPEEDWAY – BATAVIA, NY – Robert Knapp II’s triumph in the 15-lap Mini Stock race marked one of the night’s greatest tales, as it was his first-ever feature win of his career. Brian Johnson and Mike Dinehart would lead the strong field of 23 Mini Stocks to the green. Cole Susice would take the lead on lap two and control the point for the time being. During Lap four, the caution would fly for debris, restacking the field with the top five of Susice, Weis, B. Johnson, Brumsted, and Knapp. Knapp of Avon would make his move and pass the former track champion Susice on lap seven and would never look back. The caution would fly on laps 7, 8, 10, and 14 but Knapp would be able to hold off all the challenges that Susice threw his way, scoring his first career win.
Joe Mickey of Elba would get his season turned around as he would score his first heat race win of the season and his first feature win. Mickey would start on the pole alongside fellow competitor Noah Pangrazio. Mickey would pull away early and would dominate the 15-lap Novice feature.
Damian Long and Jesse Qutermous would have the front row in the street stock feature. Qutermous would power on the high side leading lap 1 with Long right behind. On lap 2 Trent Chamberlain would spin out in the middle of turns three and four making hard contact with Mike Kelly and Jeff Almekinder. After a caution on lap six the cars would be lined up single file. Both Qutermous and Sherwood would push up high allowing Byron DeWitt of Pavilion to make a power move to the inside passing both cars taking the lead down the back stretch. DeWitt would pull away securing his second straight feature win.
Phil Vigneri III of Elba has been perfect during his 2024 campaign at Genesee Speedway. After picking up the heat and feature wins for the Sportsman on opening night he would replicate that again in week two. Bliss and Vigneri would lead the field to green. After a lap five caution, the top three cars would be Vigneri, Bliss, and Hilton. Hilton would make his move on Bliss on the restart and would set his sights on the back of the 12v of Vigneri. Hilton seemed to have the better car, but Vigneri was able to block his line. Vigneri would pick up the Sportsman feature win.
The NY6A Micro Sprints would make their appearance of five this season to the speedway. Pete Coffey and Karsten Petti would start on the front row. The caution would fly on lap one for Kyle Morrow, restacking the field for another restart. The next restart saw Groff lose control heading into turn one bringing out yet another yellow forcing officials to do a single file restart. The drivers on the next restart would get some laps in and allow Eric Wise to start picking them off. E. Wise would start fifth in the main event and would work his way up taking the lead on lap seven. He finished strong claiming the first NY6A Micro feature win of the 2024 season.
The Rush Late Model division would not disappoint. Dave Dubois and Jeremy Wonderling of would start the race on the front row with Wonderling Leading lap one. Wonderling of Scio would pull out to a sizable lead early before Dubois would start to reel him back in. On Lap ten David Stolenzburg would spin out in turn four bringing out the caution. Dubois would take the lead on lap eleven after a slight slip up by Wonderling. Lap sixteen would see Wonderling would return the favor. Dubois bobbled just a little bit in turns three and four which allowed Wonderling to throw a slider on Dubois taking the lead for good winning his first feature of the season.
The night would be completed by the Bandit Division. Brayden Davis of Castile would have a perfect night in his 1995 Eclipse winning his heat and leading all 12 laps to capture his first feature win of the season.
Next up on the schedule will be a complete show on May 11th along with the Classics on Dirt starting at 6:00pm. For the latest news, results, championship standings and more, please visit Genesee-Speedway.com or our Facebook page at Genesee Speedway LLC
Vigneri Racing Novice Sportsman feature (15 laps) – JOE MICKEY, Tyler Foster, Matt Radzio, Guy Steffen, Noah Pangrazio, Kory Wright, Paul Marshall
Heat winner – Joe Mickey
Star Graphics & Apparel Street Stocks (20 laps) – BYRON DEWITT, Brandon Sherwood, Damian Long, Jesse Qutermous, Rich Conte, Mike Fellows, Ashley Mackey, Dale Rissinger, Nate Tabor, Trent Chamberlain, Mike Kelly, Jeff Almekinder, Jonathan Almekinder
Heat winners – Byron DeWitt & Damian Long
Stirling Lubricants Sportsman (25 laps) – PHIL VIGNERI III, Adam Hilton, Ray Bliss, Ricky Newton, John Venuto, Tony Pangrazio, Dan Kolb, Greg Mrzywka, Cliff Gregg
Heat winners – Ray Bliss & Phil Vigneri III
NY6A Feature (20 laps) – ERIC WISE, Pete Coffey, Zack Bobbet, Karsten Petti, Jeff Tinkham, Kyle Morrow, Jerry Gurney, Cameron Wise, Nick Groff, Matt Fostor
Heat winners – Pete Coffey & Karsten Petti
The Detail Shop Mini Stocks (15 laps) – ROBERT KNAPP II, Cole Susice, Seth Johnson, James Gayton, Jeff Wynes, Mike Becker, Racelyn Lippa, Wesley Hughes, Jessica Petry, Eric Brumsted, Eric Weis, Mike Dinehart, Andrew Kreamer, Chris Skobjak, Amber Lang, Bill Kapleke, Chuck Hughes, Duane Gowdy, Kevin Napier, Mathew VanDorn, Brian Johnson, Dave Smith, Craig Smith
Heat winners – Eric Brumsted, Cole Susice, Jeff Wynes, and Robert Knapp II
BDK Construction Rush Late Models (25 laps) – JEREMY WONDERLING, Dave Dubois, Austin Hauser, Bill Holmes, Doug Ricotta, Billy Dubois, David Stolzenburg, Jon Rivers, Bill Taylor, Mike Hetzel, Bill Button
Heat winners – Bill Holmes & Jeremy Wonderling
Kolb Family Automotive Bandits (12 laps) – BRAYDEN DAVIS, Paige Gayton, Carson Shetler
Heat winner – Brayden Davis