BATAVIA, NY – A perfect weather night for racing was just what was needed for only the third night of racing at Genesee Speedway in the last two months and the result was a fast and efficient show with plenty of action up front.
Perhaps the race of the night was 25-lap Late Model Feature, which saw Paul Grigsby and David Pangrazio battle for the lead for over 10 laps, with Pangrazio finally getting the best of him on lap 19 and running off to his second feature win of the year.
Pangrazio, of Elba, kept hounding Grigsby’s No. 24 for the lead after the race’s only restart on lap 4 and kept peaking to the inside until he finally saw the opportunity to clear for the lead.
“I saw Paul kept slipping up so I need to keep racing like I’m leading the race just keeping it steady and running the bottom,” stated Pangrazio after the race.
Once getting in front, it was Dave DuBois who moved in to second and tried to run down the No. 136, but “Kid Kool” was able to slice through the lapped traffic quicker and pull away to the win in his first appearance at Genesee since May. DuBois would pad his point lead by finishing in second with Chad Homan close-in-tow in third. Jon Rivers drove up from eighth to finish fourth while Bill Holmes rounded out the top five.
Brett Senek’s first time invading Batavia in 2023 worked out just fine as he drew the pole for the feature and led all 25 laps to become the eighth different driver to win a Sportsman Feature at Genesee this season.
Senek, of Ransomville, quickly jumped in to the lead, but with the final 22 laps running caution-free, the race came down to Senek keeping his No. 111 in front of track frontrunners Phil Vigneri III and Adam Hilton. On lap 17, Vingeri pulled his No. 12v to the inside of the leader, which gave Senek the information he needed to stay in front.
“I wasn’t good anywhere so when I saw (Vigneri’s) nose I knew I had to get to the bottom,” stated Senek in Victory Lane. “I wasn’t great there but it was good enough to hold on.”
In the closing laps, lapped traffic factored in but Senek was strong enough to keep Vigneri a couple of car lengths behind him. The last time Senek visited Genesee in 2022 he also was the winner. Vigneri was able to settle for second in front of point leader Ada Hilton who drove up to finish third. Jacob Bansmer logged a quality race in fourth while Kyle Richner drove up to round out the top five.
Byron Dewitt made a major statement in the battle for the Street Stock Championship as he made a power pass on John Zimmerman on lap two for the lead and then ran off to comfortably win his fifth feature event of the season. Dewitt, of LeRoy, had a lead of over five seconds built up when a caution came out on lap 15 to give Zimmerman a chance on the restart but the 34 was too strong, extending his point lead from 4 to 7 points with three races remaining in the championship. Zimmerman was runner-up for the fourth time this season while Damian Long ran up to third in his second start of the season. Mike Kelly was fourth while Pat Powers rounded out the top five subbing for Dale Rissinger.
Eric Weis has had one of the fastest cars in every race he has ran this season, but he finally put a full race together on Saturday Night, leading all 15 laps to win the Mini Stock Feature. Weis, of Batavia, said he could still feel his XXX stumbling in the corners and wasn’t sure he would make it to the finish, but outside of that the lead was never in question as he clearly had the quickest car throughout. It was the first feature win at Genesee since June of 2019. Point leader Cole Susice held off Rocco Conte in a great battle for second with James Gayton and Eric Brumsted rounding out the top five.
Dillon Adamczak won his second Novice Sportsman Feature in a row, making the pass for the lead on lap three from Noah Pangrazio by making his No. 55 stick on the bottom and then driving off to win by over five seconds in the caution-free event. Adamczak had to fight hard to weave through lapped traffic but was wise in his aggression. Nick Ventura had a strong Genesee debut driving up to second while point leader Joe Mickey completed the podium.
Seth Johnson dominated the Bandit Feature for his eighth feature win of the year and seventh in the last eight races as he jumped out from the pole and took off to a commanding victory in the caution-free 12-lap feature. Johnson, of Castile, pulled away from Racelyn Lippa, who scored a runner-up finish for the second-straight race. Brayden Davis rallied from an early-race issue to complete the podium.
Racing action returns next Saturday Night with all six divisions plus the Sharp Mini Late Models. For more information, visit www.Genesee-Speedway.com.
Genesee Speedway Results: 8/19/2023-
East Coast Speed Night
Cummings Trucking RUSH Late Model Feature (25 Laps)- DAVID PANGRAZIO, Dave DuBois, Chad Homan, Jon Rivers, Bill Holmes, TJ Downs, Doug Ricotta, Billy DuBois, Bill Taylor, Dave Stolzenberg, Paul Grigsby, Jimmy Button.
Lap Leaders- Grigsby 1-18, Pangrazio 19-25.
Heat Winners- Pangrazio, Homan.
Stirling Lubricants Sportsman Feature (25 Laps)- BRETT SENEK, Phil Vigneri III, Adam Hilton, Jacob Bansmer, Kyle Richner, Brandon Michaud, Ray Bliss, Matt Smith, Tyler Guzzardi, Gordy Hermanson Jr., John Venuto, Dave Conant, Cliff Gregg, Tony Pangrazio, Chris Hawkins, Dave DiPietro, Greg Mrzywka.
Lap Leader- Senek 1-25.
Heat Winners- Richner, DiPietro.
Yasses Trucking and Construction Street Stock Feature (20 Laps)- BYRON DEWITT, John Zimmerman, Damian Long, Mike Kelly, Pat Powers, Jeff Almekinder, Jon Almekinder, Nate Tabor, Jonathan Logsdon, Chuck Mogavero, Cole Hirsch.
Lap Leaders- Zimmerman 1, Dewitt 2-20.
Heat Winners- Dewitt, Zimmerman.
The Detail Shop Mini Stock Feature (15 Laps)- ERIC WEIS, Cole Susice, Rocco Conte, James Gayton, Eric Brumsted, Dave Smith, Mike Taddonio, Bill Kapelke, John Curkan, Robert Kanpp, Nick Galusha, Mike Dinehardt.
Lap Leaders- Weis 1-15.
Heat Winners- Weis, Gayton.
Vigneri Racing Novice Sportsman Feature (15 Laps)- DILLON ADAMCZAK, Nick Ventura, Joe Mickey, Noah Pangrazio, Jason Rumsey, Steven Gould, Jericho Gurney, Paul Marshall.
Lap Leaders- Pangrazio 1-2, Adamczak 3-15.
Heat Winner- Mickey.
Kolb Family Automotive Bandit Feature (10 Laps)- SETH JOHNSON, Racelyn Lippa, Brayden Davis, Paige Gayton, Nick Lipome.
Lap Leaders- Johnson 1-10.
Heat Winner- Johnson.
