Story By: JEREMY PERRY / GENESEE SPEEDWAY – BATAVIA, NY – Jon Rivers of Alabama, NY, hasn’t visited Victory Lane since May 6th of 2023, and that all changed on Saturday night. Rivers best run before Saturday night came back on June 1st when he finished fourth.
The night wouldn’t be easy for Rivers; after picking up his heat race win earlier in the night, he would draw the worst starting spot possible for the feature, putting him sixth against some stiff competition. Caution flew on lap one for Mike Hetzell, and just after a lap, Rivers had his Rocket chassis into the 4th spot. Rivers restarted on the outside and went to work on Ed Carley and David Pangrazio, and by the lap seven caution for TJ Downs, he found himself in 2nd place right behind Doug Ricotta with eighteen laps left. Rivers took multiple chances on getting by Ricotta but stayed extremely patient. That all changed on lap sixteen when Rivers got a run down the backstretch and got to the inside of Ricotta; the two went side by side down the front stretch before Rivers pulled away in turns one and two. Rivers then cruised to victory lane in the final 9 laps. Ricotta, Carley, Pangrazio, and Dave Dubois rounded out the top five.
Damian Long has shown speed all season long, and, even at times, this season, has been the fastest car at the speedway in the Star Graphics & Apparel Street Stock division. Long from Pavilion, NY, started the night third in points with two other top-three finishes on the young season. Long wasn’t handed anything as he started 6th on the fifteen-car field. Long moved early in the race, passing Byron DeWitt, Dale Rissinger, Rich Conte, and Mike Kelly. Caution flew early again, this time for Caleb Wolcott and Mike Childrose, putting Long right behind the race leader Trent Chamberlain. Long made his move outside of Trent Chamberlain to take the lead for good. Chamberlain had his best run of the 2024 campaign so far until he went around by himself in turns one and two, pulling the car to the infield and out of trouble, not bringing out the yellow flag, costing him his best finish of the season. Carl Shetler got into the front stretch wall, bringing out a caution on lap seventeen, setting up for a three-lap shootout between Long and DeWitt. Under the caution, DeWitt pulled his CRS chassis up next to Long to show him he was right behind him in hopes of getting into Long’s head. Long wouldn’t be phased by any of it as he hit his marks and picked up his first feature win since June 17th, 2021. “It means a ton; we’ve had good speed all year, and it’s finally showing off,” Long said in Victory Lane. DeWitt, Rissinger, Conte, and Jesse Qutermous capped off the top five.
Robert Knapp II has been dominant so far at the fairgrounds. Knapp, already with a commanding points lead in the Detail Shop Mini Stocks division, padded that point lead even further on Saturday night. Knapp was scheduled to take off from the 11th position, but with a driver unable to make the call and a wreck in turn one early, Knapp saw himself in the lead by lap three. Knapp from Avon, NY, pulled away from the strong field of 25 cars that started the main event. The battle was heated one for second place as Brad Whiteside and Seth Johnson would pass each other multiple times, with Johnson finally coming out on top. Caution flew on lap seventeen for Tom Knapp, which would set up for a three-lap dash. Knapp again proved he was too much and lit up the night for Mackenzie in his Acura RSX, picking up his 5th straight victory. Johnson, Whiteside, D.J Williams, and Cole Susice finished in the top five.
So far this season, Phil Vigneri III and Adam Hilton have dominated the Stirling Lubricants Sportsman. Saturday night was no different, but this time, Vigneri of Elba drew the worst pill possible, landing him 6th on the starting grid. Starting on the front row of the feature event were John Venuto and Adam Hilton. Vigneri wasted no time, and after a lap and one caution, he found himself in 3rd place. The battle ensued between Venuto and Hilton as the two competitors would race for three laps for the race lead. While those two were racing side by side, Vigneri was lurking, looking to pounce. By lap eight, Hilton cleared Venuto and tried to run away from the field. Just two laps after Hilton got by Venuto, Vigneri would do the same thing setting up the Hilton Vs Vigneri showdown. The caution came out on lap twelve for Tony Pangrazio, who spun and came to a stop. Vigneri, before the caution, was trying everything on the bottom but knew if he had any chance to win this race, he had to go up top. On Lap sixteen, Vigneri started testing out the high side, seeing if he could make it work, and finally, on lap seventeen, Vigneri was on the top, powered by Hilton to take control and go on to win his 4th feature of the season. Hilton, Brandon Michaud, Pangrazio, and Ray Bliss Jr were finished in the top five.
Next week, the Fairgrounds will be quiet for summer break. Racing will return on Saturday, June 29th, with a Super 6 show and the second visit of the season from the Sharp Mini Late Models.
Star Graphics & Apparel Street Stocks feature (20 laps) – DAMIAN LONG, Byron DeWitt, Dale Rissinger, Rich Conte, Jesse Qutermous, Mike Kelly, Chuck Mogavero, Jeff Almekinder, Ron Richter, Sherman Gage, Carl Shetler, Trent Chamberlain, Mike Childrose, Caleb Wolcott, Ashley Mackey
Heat race winners – Byron DeWitt & Rich Conte
BDK Construction Rush Late Models feature (25 laps) – JON RIVERS, Doug Ricotta, Ed Carley, David Pangrazio, Dave Dubois, Bill Holmes, Austin Hauser, Alan Chapman, Billy Dubois, TJ Downs, David Stolzenberg, Mike Hetzell
Heat race winners – Jon Rivers & David Pangrazio
The Detail Shop Mini Stocks (20 laps) – ROBERT KNAPP II, Seth Johnson, Brad Whiteside, D.J Williams, Cole Susice, Jessica Petry, Cody Griffin, Dave Smith, Ian Paul, James Gayton, Tom Knapp, Eric Brumsted, Mike Dinehart, Bill Kaplke, Aiden McCollister, Racelyn Lippa, Matt VanDorn, Mike Becker, CJ Smith, Jeff Wynes, Dante Mancuso, Curt Rung, Kevin Napier, Corey Valede, Eric Weis, Gary Hopkins–DNS
Heat winners – Robert Knapp II, D.J Williams, and Eric Weis
Stirling Lubricants Sportsman feature (20 laps) – PHIL VIGNERI III, Adam Hilton, Brandon Michaud, Tony Pangrazio, Ray Bliss, Chris Hawkins, Gordy Hermanson, Jocelyn Just, Abby Castile, Dan Kolb, John Venuto, John Livingston, Johnny Zimmerman, Greg Mrzywka
Heat race winners – Phil Vigneri III & John Venuto