By RICH VLECK
BATAVIA, NY – A beautiful weather forecast was just what was needed to run off a race card with nine features that had three rain-delayed features held over from April. The result would be five drivers pulling off their first wins of 2023.
In the first sportsman feature, Dave Conant got just the breaks he needed to get back in front of the pack and get a win when he was down. Conant, of Pendleton, took the lead from young Jacob Bansmer on lap 14 and then held a one-second advantage over the second half of the race to claim the victory.
“It’s huge, after the last two features I was just ready to give up,” admitted Conant in Victory Lane after results of 8th and 10th in the first two features of 2023. “But nobody gave up, we aren’t there, but were getting better.”
Bansmer had taken the early lead from the outside pole, with Conant moving up to seond on lap six. Over the next 6 laps, Bansmer would build his distance, but as he reached the tail of the field, the caution flag would wave on lap 12, setting up a double-file restart. Conant would pressure the No. 71 but Bansmer would initially have enough moment to stay in front. As the duo worked in to turn one on lap 14 though, Bansmer slipped up and opened the door for “Cadillac” to pounce and get in front for good.
“(Bansmer) was running away from me at the start there and I was actually getting tired, but that caution rejuvenated me and gave me and go get him,” said Conant afterwards.
Bansmer would hold on for his second career runner-up finish, while Dave DiPietro drove up from sixth to finish in third. Tyler Guzzardi crossed a career-best fourth, while Ray Bliss rounded out the top five.
In the nightcap, Adam Hilton would break through for his first feature win at Genesee after being close on so many occasions, particularly at this start of this season. Hilton, of Newfane, took the lead on lap six with a power move around veteran Ray Bliss and checked out to win by over 1.5 seconds.
“It’s about time,” exclaimed the driver of the No. 3A. “We’ve had good cars and now got some luck on our side.”
Two late cautions would force Hilton to be strong on restarts, but he was up to the challenge and would finally grace Victory Lane. Ray Bliss would hold for a solid second while Dave DiPietro came from 9th to finish third. Dave Conant completed a strong night in fourth while Phil Vigneri III, who did not start the first feature, had to use a backup car for the second 25-lap race and would suffer a flat tire, but would rally to round out the top five.
David Pangrazio picked up the win in the Late Model Feature for his first trip to Genesee Victory Lane since June of 2018. Pangrazio, of Elba, fended off Dave DuBois through the midpoint of the race when the lead interval had shrunk to a half-second and then put some distance over the No. 012 down the stretch to over a second to claim the victory.
“I know how good (DuBois) is at the bottom at this place and I had to move down there to take his line away,” noted “Kid Kool” in Victory Lane. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”
The final restart of the race would occur on lap 19 and Pangrazio would pull away in the No. 136, while DuBois would fall back in to the clutches of last week’s winner Chad Homan, who would challenge for second but DuBois would hold him off for the spot. As Homan was third, Doug Ricotta would place in fourth, with JJ Mazur completing the top five.
The Street Stocks also ran two features on the night and Byron Dewitt pounced on the held-over event, using a lap seven restart to get in front of Dale Rissinger and run off to win by a half-track for his second win of the season. Dewitt, of LeRoy, started in third and quickly moved to second while chasing Dale Rissinger for the opening six laps when what would be the only caution of the race occurred. On the ensuing restart, Rissinger chose the bottom line, which was just what Dewitt wanted as he used momentum to ring around the top to get in front and run off for the victory. Rissinger would run solid throughout the remainder of the race to score a career-best second place finish. Last week’s feature winner Jesse Qutermous crossed in third while Rich Conte ran up to fourth. Dennis Cummings completed the top five.
In the second feature, John Zimmerman led all 20 laps and cruised to his first win of the season; behind him, just about every driver had issues throughout the event. Zimmerman, of Varysburg, had to pull off in the opening feature with overheating issues but got things straightened out in his No. 0. Dennis Cummings would finish second for the third time this year, but not before having to pit with a flat tire with four laps remaining. Eric Stone made his 2023 debut pay off finishing in third. Tommy Kemp would finish fourth while Mike Kelly would finish fifth despite spinning off the final corner.
For the second week in-a-row, DJ Williams found his way to the front to score a win in the Mini Stock Feature, this time in a different race car. After winning in the XXX last week, he jumped in his No. 28 this week and ran down Rocco Conte, passing him on a lap 9 restart and then running off to the victory. Conte would hold on for second in his first start of the year while Robert Knapp had a career-best third place run. Aric Schosek and Eric Brumsted rallied from late incidents to round out the top five.
Ely Mangairelli made his first appearance to Genesee pay off in a big way, leading all 15 laps en route to the win in the Novice Sportsman. The Canandaigua resident took the lead on the original start when the top three starters came together with a mechanical issue then drove off to win by a half-track. Joe Mickey, one of the drivers involved in the opening incident, held off Noah Pangrazio for second.
Raiddan Wilson looked like he was going to run off to an easy win in the Bandit Make-Up Feature, but on a lap 6 restart he would hand over the lead to Joey Swick, who rim-rode around the outside, but that got Wilson fired up as he ran him back down and passed him a lap later for good for his second win of the season. As Wilson ran clear to the win, Seth Johnson would take second on the final lap as Swick slipped back to third after a fine run.
The second feature was perhaps the race of the year as Raiddan Wilson and Seth Johnson duked it out over the final 3 laps. The duo would drag race off the final corner with Johnson’s No. 85 prevailing by no more than 2 feet. It was Johnson’s second win of the season while it was the first time Wilson did not win in 2023. Joey Swick was close-in-tow in third.
Racing returns quickly to Batavia with a Thursday Night Thunder program in store for this week. On Thursday, May 18, the first race of the Empire State Street Stock Series kicks off along with all five adult classes running for bonus pay as part of the Dave Shuknecht Memorial. Race time is posted for 7:00 P.M. For more information, visit www.Genesee-Speedway.com.
Genesee Speedway Results: 5/13/2023-
Batavia Downs Gaming and Casino Night
Stirling Lubricants Sportsman Make-Up Feature from 4/29 (25 Laps)- DAVE CONANT, Jacob Bansmer, Dave DiPietro, Tyler Guzzardi, Ray Bliss, Kyle Richner, Adam Hilton, Greg Mrzywka, Colby Adamczak, Tony Pangrazio, Chris Hawkins, Ryan Barrett, Phil Vigneri III (DNS), Billy Bleich (DNS), Nathan Pette (DNS), Terry Smith (DNS), Kyle Leach (DNS), Evan Nugent (DNS), Jordan Moden (DNS), Noah Mamo (DNS), Dan Kolb (DNS).
Lap Leader- Bansmer 1-13, Conant 14-25.
Stirling Lubricants Sportsman Feature (25 Laps)- ADAM HILTON, Ray Bliss, Dave DiPietro, Dave Conant, Phil Vigneri III, Kyle Richner, Jacob Bansmer, Greg Mrzywka, Tony Pangrazio, Tyler Guzzardi, Ryan Barrett, Colby Adamczyk, Sam Hoxie, Chris Hawkins, Daryl Barrett.
Lap Leader- Bliss 1-5, Hilton 6-25.
Heat Winners- Conant, Barrett.
Cummings Trucking RUSH Late Model Feature (25 Laps)- DAVID PANGRAZIO, Dave DuBois, Chad Homan, Doug Ricotta, JJ Mazur, Paul Grigsby, Billy DuBois, Bill Taylor, Jon Rivers, Dave Stolzenburg, Bill Holmes (DNS).
Lap Leaders- Pangrazio 1-25.
Heat Winners- Homan, Pangrazio.
Yasses Trucking and Construction Street Stock Make-Up Feature from 4/29 (20 Laps)- BYRON DEWITT, Dale Rissinger, Jesse Qutermous, Rich Conte, Dennis Cummins, Tommy Kemp, Dan Brumsted, Mike Kelly, Jeff Almekinder, Jonathan Logsdon, John Zimmerman, Sherman Gage, Ken Camidge (DNS), CJ Guererri (DNS), Willy Easling (DNS), Jimmy Grant (DNS), Ted Morseman (DNS), Brett Crawford (DNS), Jon Almekinder (DNS), Chris Dziomba (DNS).
Lap Leaders- Rissinger 1-5, Dewitt 6-20.
Yasses Trucking and Construction Street Stock Feature (20 Laps)- JOHN ZIMMERMAN, Dennis Cummings, Eric Stone, Tommy Kemp, Mike Kelly, Sherman Gage, Jeff Almenkinder, Jonathan Logsdon, Byron Dewitt, Dale Rissinger, Rich Conte, Jesse Qutermous, Dan Brumsted, Kenny Begnouche, Scott DeRock (DNS), Nate Tabor (DNS).
Lap Leaders- Zimmerman 1-20.
Heat Winners- Kelly, Cummings.
The Detail Shop Mini Stock Feature (15 Laps)- DJ WILLIAMS, Rocco Conte, Robert Knapp, Aric Schosek, Eric Brumsted, Mike Dinehardt, CJ Smith, Bill Kapelke, Cole Susice, Rich Conte, Chris McGuire, Mike Becker, James Gayton, Eric Weis, Ian Paul (DNS), Kevin Napier (DNS), Donald Newton Jr (DNS).
Lap Leaders- Ro. Conte 1-8, Williams 9-15.
Heat Winners- Ro. Conte, Williams.
Vigneri Racing Novice Sportsman Feature (15 Laps)- ELY MANGIARELLI, Joe Mickey, Noah Pangrazio, Paul Marshall, John Livingston Jr., Jericho Gurney.
Lap Leader- Mangiarelli 1-15.
Heat Winner- Livingston.
Kolb Family Automotive Bandit Make-Up Feature from 4/29 (12 Laps)- RAIDDAN WILSON, Seth Johnson, Joey Swick, Paige Gayton, Racelyn Lippa, Christian Soladay, 44m (DNS)
Lap Leaders- Wilson 1-5, Swick 6, Wilson 7-12.
Kolb Family Automotive Bandit Feature (12 Laps)- SETH JOHNSON, Raiddan Wilson, Joey Swick, Nick Lipome, Paige Gayton, Racelyn Lippa, Christian Soladay (DNS).
Lap Leaders- Wilson 1-9, Johnson 10-12.
Heat Winner- Johnson.
