8/9/2025
The Dirt Track at Genesee
Williamson Slides to $4,000 Victory in Big Block/Small Block Challenge
On one of the most anticipated nights of the season, The Dirt Track at Genesee welcomed the Big Block Modifieds for the Big Block/Small Block Challenge and the highly anticipated return of the Kyle Inman Tribute. With perfect weather and a stellar crowd in attendance, 18 Modifieds and 29 Sportsman cars filled the pits. In the 40-lap Big Block/Small Block Challenge, Mat Williamson of St. Catharines, ON, Canada, and Justin Wright led the field to green, with Wright seizing the early advantage. The red flag flew on lap four after contact between Ron Cartwright and Andrew Smith down the backstretch triggered a chain-reaction crash, sending Billy Bleich upside down in the Glenn Styres-owned car. Shannon Whaley also sustained heavy contact. On the restart, Wright again pulled away, but on lap six Erick Rudolph clipped the yuke tire and spun. Wright continued to dominate on restarts, holding a 1.905-second lead over Williamson on lap 20 when Gary Lindberg brought out a yellow. This time, Wright couldn’t escape the pressure, and on lap 25, Williamson made a perfectly executed slide job in turns three and four to take the lead. The final caution fell on lap 27 for Cartwright, but Williamson drove away on the restart, leading the rest of the way to claim the $4,000 payday. “I was trying to save it for the end, and we got to the halfway mark and I knew I had to go,” Williamson said. “I went to the top of 1 & 2, got a run down the back straightaway, and was able to slide him in 3 & 4.”
The Kyle Inman Tribute race, organized by Matt Steffenhagen and sponsored by New York Pool Guru, was one of the most anticipated Sportsman events of the season, honoring the four-time track champion. Nigel Pendykoski and Brett Senek of Ransomville, NY, started on the front row, with Senek taking command early. The first caution came for Andrew Smith. On the restart, Cam Tuttle had issues and dropped deep in the field, but luck was on his side when Ray Bliss and Rob Richmond tangled, bringing out the yellow before the lap was completed. Several more cautions followed, but Senek held strong. On lap 18, a pair of incidents slowed the field—first involving Guzzardi and Venuto on the backstretch, then Dave Conant and Even Nugent with hard contact on the frontstretch. Despite the constant restarts, Senek never faltered, taking his first Kyle Inman Tribute win ahead of Cody McPherson in second and Tuttle in third. In Victory Lane, Senek reflected, “I raced against Kyle a lot. He was one of those guys that would help you with anything you needed—one of the best Sportsman guys to ever do it. We miss him.”
The night began with the RUSH Makeup Feature, held before the heat races. David Pangrazio of Elba, NY, started from the pole with Kevin Smith alongside. Pangrazio controlled the race from the drop of the green, with the first yellow on lap nine for TJ Downs. He was perfect on the restart, but lap 13 brought another yellow for Mike Hetzel, during which Jimmy Johnson went to the pits. The final caution came on lap 15 for Smith, but Pangrazio handled every restart flawlessly to take the win.
The second RUSH feature closed the evening, with Doug Ricotta and Paul Grigsby on the front row. Ricotta grabbed the early lead, but the fans were watching Jimmy Johnson of Newfane, NY, as he picked off a spot about every three laps after starting 6th. Johnson ran the low line in turns one and two but was one of the few daring the extreme high side in turns three and four. On lap 11, he passed Grigsby and began reeling in Ricotta. The veteran Ricotta adjusted to Johnson’s preferred line, forcing him to search for another route. Johnson’s opportunity came on lap 15 when Ricotta got hung up behind the lapped car of Michael Hetzel. Johnson seized the moment in turns one and two, completing the pass and leading the final five laps to secure his second win of the season. “Three weeks ago nobody runs the top,” Johnson said in Victory Lane. “They all like to follow on the bottom. I’ll lose 10 spots if that means trying something different. It ain’t no fun following each other around the bottom.”
The Mini Stocks also ran a feature Thursday night, with Seth Johnson and Robert Knapp II starting on the front row. Knapp took the early lead, but Eric Weis of Castile, NY, moved past Johnson on lap two and set his sights on Knapp. Trouble struck for Knapp down the backstretch when his motor expired, erupting in a fireball from underneath the car. Knapp escaped quickly, but the red flag came out. Weis inherited the lead and went on to score his second straight win. “I had a tough beginning of the year,” Weis said. “But going from a wreck to an ambulance to Victory Lane back-to-back, this feels great.”
Next up at The Dirt Track at Genesee is a special night unlike anything since prices went up, $5 admission for everyone ages eight and older, with children seven and under still free. All six divisions will be on hand, with just three weekly events remaining. Racing starts at 6:00 p.m.
Photo Credit: Evie Fanton (Woah Nellie Productions)
18 entries
Big Block Modified
A Feature 1: 1. 6-Mat Williamson[1]; 2. 19W-Justin Wright[2]; 3. 47V-Phil Vigneri III[3]; 4. 22-Noah Walker[7]; 5. 19-Danny Johnson[6]; 6. 74-David Flannigan[12]; 7. 2B-Ron Cartwright Jr[15]; 8. 26-Kyle Richner[8]; 9. 37S-Gary Lindberg[4]; 10. 1-Stacy Jackson[17]; 11. 11J-James Sweeting[9]; 12. 25-Erick Rudolph[5]; 13. 27Z-Ray Bliss[16]; 14. 1S-Andrew Smith[11]; 15. 44-Shannon Whaley[13]; 16. 0-Glenn Styres[14]; 17. 20-Jay Mallory[10]; 18. 11N-Ricky Newton[18]
29 entries
Sportsman Modified
A Feature 1: 1. 111-Brett Senek[2]; 2. 7-Cody McPherson[5]; 3. 35T-Cameron Tuttle[7]; 4. 12V-Phil Vigneri III[10]; 5. 81-Austin Susice[8]; 6. 78JR-Nigel Pendykoski[1]; 7. 44K-Dan Kolb[22]; 8. 04-Greg Mrzywka[18]; 9. 41-Tony Pangrazio[16]; 10. 42-Colby Adamczak[27]; 11. 73G-Gordon Hermanson Jr[29]; 12. 132-Brandon Michaud[28]; 13. 36-Noah Pangrazio[20]; 14. 7G-Tyler Guzzardi[4]; 15. 26-Evan Nugent[11]; 16. 117-Jonathan Almekinder[25]; 17. 35-Joe Mickey[24]; 18. 00-Sam Hoxie[6]; 19. 11N-Ricky Newton[3]; 20. 25-Chris Hawkins[21]; 21. 44-Dave Conant[9]; 22. 8-John Venuto[12]; 23. 28-Jordan Moden[14]; 24. 714-Chris Darling[17]; 25. 18-Doug Rohr[23]; 26. 1H-Rob Richmond[19]; 27. 3N-Noah Mamo[15]; 28. 27Z-Ray Bliss[26]; 29. 19J-Andrew Smith[13]
12 entries
RUSH Late Model
A Feature 2: 1. 39J-Jimmy Johnson[6]; 2. 01-Doug Ricotta[1]; 3. 012-Dave DuBois[4]; 4. 24-Paul Grigsby[2]; 5. 4S-Jake Wilber[8]; 6. 21B-Billy DuBois[5]; 7. 97-Kevin Smith[7]; 8. 78H-Micheal Hetzel[9]; 9. 1-Bill Taylor[10]; 10. 03-TJ Downs[11]; 11. 136-David Pangrazio[3]; 12. (DNS) 85-Jon Rivers
A Feature 1 (June 19th make up): 1. 136-David Pangrazio[1]; 2. 4S-Jake Wilber[3]; 3. 01-Doug Ricotta[5]; 4. 24-Paul Grigsby[7]; 5. 012-Dave DuBois[9]; 6. 97-Kevin Smith[2]; 7. 78H-Micheal Hetzel[8]; 8. 21B-Billy DuBois[11]; 9. 39J-Jimmy Johnson[4]; 10. 85-Jon Rivers[6]; 11. 03-TJ Downs[10]
13 entries
Mini Stocks
A Feature 1: 1. XXX-Eric Weis[3]; 2. 17-Racelyn Lippa[6]; 3. 85-Seth Johnson[1]; 4. 757JR-Brayden Davis[5]; 5. 58-Brian Johnson[13]; 6. 11-Eric Brumstead[12]; 7. 6-Wesley Hughes[10]; 8. 7-Mike Becker[7]; 9. 10JR-Paige Gayton[9]; 10. 16K-Robert Knapp[2]; 11. 14-Dave Smith[8]; 12. 217-Dylan Strade[4]; 13. (DNS) 02-Kevin Napier
Article Credit: Jeremy Perry
Submitted By: Jeremy Perry
