Story By: AIRBORNE PARK SPEEDWAY – PLATTSBURGH, NY – St. Hyacinthe, Quebec’s Steve Bernier dominated Thursday’s Be Cool Heating and Air Conditioning 358 Modified Feature at Airborne Park, leading all 30 laps and winning by more than three seconds over Felix Roy. Mike Phinney survived a series of late yellows to win his first J&S Steel Sportsman feature of the year. Other winners on the night included Shawn Duquette (Renegade), Kris Clark (Mini Stock A) and Jamie Whitney, Jr. (Mini Stock B). All winners from Thursday were celebrating their first win of the season.
Bernier started on the pole of his heat race by virtue of a pill draw. The modifieds ran for no points due to other races in the region. Bernier was clearly fast in his qualifier, winning by four seconds over George Foley. A six-car redraw gave Bernier the pole for the feature, and he drove away with the win in the caution-free affair, lapping up to 8th position and closing in on 7th at the end. Flex Roy followed him across the line in 2nd with Justin Stone 3rd. Chris Raabe and Foley rounded out the top-five.
In the sportsman ranks it was Willsboro, NY’s Mike Phinney picking up the win. Caleb Durgan started on point and led until lap 21 when Phinney passed him on a restart. Durgan then suffered a flat tire a few laps later and retired to the pits. Phinney held off Joey Scarborough, who started 13th, for two restarts in the final four laps to score the win. Scarborough was 2nd with Travis Bruno 3rd, Evan Roberts 4th and points leader Nick Heywood 5th.
Morrisonville, NY’s Shawn Duquette won the 9th State Cannabis Renegade Feature, extending his points lead. Duquette has been a model of consistency in 2024, topping the point standings by finishing every race inside the top-five. He and Highgate, V.T.’s Richie Turner battled side-by-side for virtually the entire 20-lap distance with Turner way up top on the cushion and Duquette down low. Eventually, Turner’s ride appeared to fade in the final three laps, allowing Duquette to scoot by on the bottom. Turner buried his car into the final corner on the outside, but could not pass Duquette, settling for 2nd. Josh Terry was 3rd. Nate Guay and Billy Thwaits completed the top-five. Tylor Terry was 6th, driving Tyler Irwin’s truck after a mechanical failure in hot laps. The Precision HVAC $50 Hard-Charger Bonus was awarded to Duquette. He went from 6th to 1st, passing five cars.
The Moore Recycling Mini Stock A-Main was won by Keeseville, NY’s Kris Clark. Clark started 13th while Jason Bradley and Kyle Botala enjoyed the front row. Bradley led initially with Botala in tow, but eventually broke and headed pit-side. From there, Glenn Engstrom took over the top spot, holding it until lap seven when Clark assumed control of the pack. Josh Blake, Cale Manor and Josh LaPorte, Sr., all tried to track down Clark, but their efforts were not fruitful, and Clark cruised to his first win of the year. Blake was 2nd with Manor 3rd for his best run of the year. LaPorte was 4th and Engstrom finished 5th. Jamie Whitney Jr. won the B-Feature. Rick Doner surrendered the points lead after a flip in his heat race, but issues in the A-Main for other contenders like Ryan Senecal, Ken Tourville and the Bresette cousins made Doner’s loss minimal, he trails Senecal now by four points.
Airborne Park Speedway returns to racing with ‘Thursday Night Thunder’ on July 25. The American Racer North series makes its way to Plattsburgh with a 60-lap, $3,000USD-to-win feature for the 358 modifieds. Hoosier Tires are permitted for this event, which will pit Airborne Park’s best regulars like Mike Mahaney and Tim Fuller against some of Canada’s best 358 drivers like Ryan Arbuthnot and David Hebert. Pit gates open at 4PM with racing at 7!