LA FARGEVILLE, N.Y. — It was a perfect night for racing on Friday night at the Can Am Speedway as Mother Nature gave the speedway perfect weather and perfect track conditions for all five divisions.
The night kicked off with the Donath Motorworx Limited Sportsman and Brady Howard led early in the 12-lap feature go. Howard had a fast car but Logan Brown was on the charge and looking to remain perfect in his Limited Sportsman career.
Brown took the lead on lap six and began to drive away as Howard held off Genavieve Bartlett for the second spot. On lap seven Howard would drop out with mechanical problems. On the final restart Logan Brown was able to pull away with ease to score his second win in is second ever start. Kyle Reif crossed the line in second ahead of Bartlett, Gage Howard and Anthony Brownell.
Former track champion Tony Frezzo led the 15-lap Sundance Leisure Thundercar feature with Damien Bechler and OJ White right there to challenge. On lap 4 Bechler would take over the top spot and had a fast car to stay in front. Meanwhile Francis White, who was celebrating his birthday on this night, was on the charge and got to the number two spot getting by Frezzo, then tried to run down Bechler for the lead. It appeared Bechler was going to hold Francis White at bay but the caution flew on lap 13.
On the restart Bechler did what was needed to score the win, his first of the year. White crossed in second over Tony Frezzo, Michael Greenfield and Jared Gilson.
Andy Howard was the early pace setter at the start of the Whitesboro Plowshop DIRTCar 358 Modified feature with Ryan Arbuthnot, Chris Raabe, Larry Welling Jr. and Preston Forbes chasing him. Howard led until lap six when 2019 track champion Arbuthnot took over the lead and began to put on a driving clinic, as he pulled away from the field.
Raabe was strong on this night as he put the pressure on Howard for the runner up spot, eventually getting the position on lap 10, but another driver was also on his way to the front and would a factor in the outcome of the race. Three time and defending track champion Tim Fuller started 12th and was in the top five at the halfway point, but his charge never stopped.
He took third from Andy Howard on lap 12 then took second from Raabe, but still had a big gap to make up as the laps clicked off. Arbuthnot was in total control and looking for his first win since August 23rd of 2019 at Can Am, when the yellow flew on lap 21 as Andy Howard spun in turn two while running in fifth position.
On the final restart Arbuthnot did all he could to fend off Fuller, however on lap 22 Fuller made the winning pass in turn three as he get by for the top spot. From there it was on to victory lane as Fuller scored his 43rd career Can Am Modified win. Arbuthnot crossed in second ahead of Raabe, Forbes and Welling.
The start of the 20-lap Bob Johnson Auto Group DIRTCar Sportsman feature saw three yellow flags in the opening laps slow the race. Once that was over with, Ryan Shanahan was the story of the night.
The Carthage native took the lead on lap five as Brennan Moore, Tyler Corcoran, Mike Fowler and Eric Nier were battling in the top five early on. Shanahan was on cruise control through the first half of the race as he opened up nearly a straightaway advantage over the rest of the field. Tyler Corcoran and Brennan Moore were putting on a show trading second and third for a number of laps, before Corcoran was able to make the pass on lap 16, but still had a long way to go to catch Shanahan, who was working through the lapped cars without trouble.
Even with a fast car and no caution flags, Corcoran, Brennan Moore and the rest of the field had no chance of catching Shanahan on this night as he dominated to grab win number one of the Golden Jubilee Season. Corcoran settled for second with Mike Fowler third. Gavin Eisele charged from 11th grab a fourth-place finish, his second top-five finish in a row, while Moore held on for fifth.
The battle for the 20-lap Panther Frameworx Crate Sprint Car feature came down to a pair of drivers. Andrew Hennessey led the way early, but two time and defending track champion Josh Verne Jr. was on the charge and looking for a win after a runner up finish the previous week.
On lap six Verne took the lead away and was able to go unchallenged the remainder of the race to score his first win of the year and 12th Crate Sprint Car win in three seasons at Can Am. Ken Klinkowski scored a career best second with Andrew Hennessey, George Sanford and Tucker Donath completing the top five.