Justin Pope
Justin Pope

Justin Pope
Rome, NY

Willix Owns Can-Am Victory Lane With Second 358 Modified Win
2064
7/8/2023

7/8/2023

Can-Am Speedway


Willix Owns Can-Am Victory Lane With Second 358 Modified Win

After many weeks of rain outs and weeks off, plus a mid-week show, the drivers at the Can Am Speedway in Lafargeville New York, were ready to get back to a normal night of racing. They got all that, along with a great crowd to take in all the action on a hot night. Victims Assistance Center of Jefferson County was on hand with the annual bike giveaway and free helmets for young fans as well.

The evening began with a 12 lap Donath Motorworx Limited Sportsman feature. Keegan Nier had struggled the last couple of times out but was able to take the lead from Dylan Moore at the drop of the green flag with Joey Wilcox running third. Nier had a fast ride on this night and would go unmatched during the event, to pick up his second win of the season. Nier would dedicate the win to his grandfather, who passed away earlier this year. Dylan Moore scored his best Can Am finish coming across in second over Joey Wilcox, Brady Howard and Genevieve Bartlett.

The FABCO DIRTCar Pro Stocks were next up for a 20 lap and Dakota Sharp, who grabbed his 1st career win on opening day, took the lead early over Tyler Bushey and Pete Stefanski. Sharp had a great car on this night and was looking to run away from the field while Bushey and Stefanski, stagged a war for the runner up spot. On lap 11 Jason Gilmore slowed to a stop on the front stretch bringing out the yellow. When the green flew it was Sharp in control but behind them Bushey and Stefanski were going at it once again, with Eli Gilbert now getting involved. The three drivers staged a great battle for position, which Bushey would take control of towards the end of the event. At the finish, Sharp proved to be too much as he grabbed his 2nd win in three events. Tyler Bushey, Pete Stefanski, Eli Gilbert and Kenny Hartshorn rounded out the top 5

Lance Willix had not won in the Whitesboro Plow Shop DIRTCar 358 Modified division since April 28th. On this night he took the lead from early pace setter Preston Forbes on lap 3 with Billy Dun, the Pabst Shootout winner running third. Once in front Willix showed no mercy as he drove away from a quality field, putting over a straight away on second place Billy Dunn by lap 11. Behind the leader Tim Fuller was on the move as he got by Shaun Shaw and Preston Forbes to move into the top 3 as Willix and Dunn continued their run in the first two spots. Willix was on cruise control but lapped traffic provided a tense moment for the Theresa native with 6 to go. Dan Bechard nearly spun in turn 4 as Willix came up to put him a lap down. Willix did a masterful job of avoiding Bechard and carried on without losing time to second place Fuller. In the end Lance Willix authored a dominant run claiming his 3rd career Can Am modified win and second of the season. Tim Fuller, Billy Dunn, Shaun Shaw and Preston Forbes completed the top 5.

A feel-good story in the 20 lap Bob Johnson Auto Group DIRTCar Sportsman was about to take place. After few quick yellow flags to start the event, Ryan Shanahan jumped in front and was in search of his second win this season, with Jamie Brown and Mike Fowler completing the top 3. Fowler was running strong and wasn’t about to stay in third too much longer, as he took second on lap 8, then ran down Shanahan for the lead. On lap 9 Fowler made the pass that counted as he took over the top spot and began to pull away. Behind him Shanahan continued to run 2nd but Tyler Corcoran was on the charge in the closing laps. The three-time and defending champion, moved his way into the top 3 after a great battle with Eric Nier. Corcoran then ran down and passed Shanahan for second with 6 to go, but still had over a straight away to catch the leader. On this night Mike Fowler paced himself perfectly and for the first time since August 27th of 2021, would grab a victory at Can Am. Tyler Corcoran claimed his best finish of the season in the runner up spot, with Eric Nier Gavin Eisle and Jessica Power crossing in 5th.

Tiger Chapman was the early pace setter in the Panther Frameworx 602 Crate Sprint Cars with Bruno Richard and Tucker Donath giving chase. Chapman was looking fast on this night but Richard was right there to challenge in the opening laps, but the question was, could Josh Verne Jr. be stopped. With a three-race winning streak on the line, Verne was caught back in traffic and started to make his way to the front. By lap 10 of the 15-lap event, Verne had made his way to 2nd getting around Richard, then set sail after the leader. With two laps left Verne made the pass on the high side heading down the back stretch, to take the lead from Tiger Chapman. From there Verne would continue his undefeated run, with his 4th win in 4 races. Chapman crossed in second with Bruno Richard Tucker Donath and Andrew Hennessy 5th.

The Sundance Leisure Thundercars finished the night with a 15 lap contest, one that everyone will be talking about for a long time. Steve Smith was the early leader with Jared Gilson and points leader Francis White running third. On lap 8 White took over the lead but behind him Justin Pope was on the charge in a borrowed ride, as he took over 2nd and ran down the race leader. Over the final 5 laps White and Pope put on a great side by side battle for the top spot, which turned into one of the closest finished in the history of the class. Coming off turn 4 on the final lap, white was on the inside with Pope on the top side. As they raced to the checkered flag both drivers crossed the line nearly even. Accord to electronic timing and scoring, by 0.023 seconds, Justin Pope was the winner in his second start of the year. Francis White claimed his third runner up finish of the season, over Steve Smith Jared Gilson and Anthony St. Mary Jr. NOTE: After review, the Official Finish will be: Francis White, 1st and Justin Pope, 2nd. The ThunderCar vehicles are not universal in size, placing the transponder of Pope ahead of the transponder of White.

WHITESBORO PLOW SHOP DIRTCAR 358 MODIFIED
Feature (25 Laps): 1. 31-Lance Willix[3]; 2. 19-Tim Fuller[8]; 3. 49-Billy Dunn[2]; 4. 7S-Shaun Shaw[5]; 5. 45R-Preston Forbes[1]; 6. 28-Jordan McCreadie[12]; 7. R70-Ryan Arbuthnot[9]; 8. 66W-Derek Webb[10]; 9. 74-Lucas Fuller[7]; 10. 93-Ryan Bartlett[6]; 11. 18W-Scott Webb[17]; 12. 24-Jordan Kelly[11]; 13. 9-Tyler Meeks[4]; 14. 21R-RJ Tresidder[14]; 15. 36B-Dan Beachard[15]; 16. 39-Tyler Bartlett[18]; 17. (DNF) 23-Cameron Black[13]; 18. (DNF) 26-Michael Mandigo[16]; 19. (DNF) 21-Andrew Howard[19]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 31-Lance Willix[3]; 2. 45R-Preston Forbes[2]; 3. 7S-Shaun Shaw[5]; 4. R70-Ryan Arbuthnot[9]; 5. 74-Lucas Fuller[7]; 6. 66W-Derek Webb[4]; 7. 28-Jordan McCreadie[6]; 8. 21R-RJ Tresidder[8]; 9. 26-Michael Mandigo[1]; 10. (DNS) 39-Tyler Bartlett

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 49-Billy Dunn[2]; 2. 19-Tim Fuller[8]; 3. 21-Andrew Howard[1]; 4. 9-Tyler Meeks[3]; 5. 93-Ryan Bartlett[5]; 6. 24-Jordan Kelly[6]; 7. 23-Cameron Black[7]; 8. 36B-Dan Beachard[9]; 9. 18W-Scott Webb[4]

Hot Laps (3 Laps): 1. 21R-RJ Tresidder, 00:19.702[16]; 2. 49-Billy Dunn, 00:19.716[6]; 3. 28-Jordan McCreadie, 00:19.780[13]; 4. R70-Ryan Arbuthnot, 00:19.806[1]; 5. 45R-Preston Forbes, 00:19.965[7]; 6. 7S-Shaun Shaw, 00:19.966[15]; 7. 24-Jordan Kelly, 00:20.032[11]; 8. 9-Tyler Meeks, 00:20.036[14]; 9. 18W-Scott Webb, 00:20.167[18]; 10. 21-Andrew Howard, 00:20.169[10]; 11. 93-Ryan Bartlett, 00:20.172[2]; 12. 74-Lucas Fuller, 00:20.179[8]; 13. 39-Tyler Bartlett, 00:20.182[3]; 14. 26-Michael Mandigo, 00:20.438[12]; 15. 36B-Dan Beachard, 00:20.481[4]; 16. 66W-Derek Webb, 00:20.499[17]; 17. (DNS) 23-Cameron Black; 18. (DNS) 19-Tim Fuller; 19. (DNS) 31-Lance Willix

BOB JOHNSON DIRTCAR SPORTSMAN
Feature (20 Laps): 1. 410-Mike Fowler[8]; 2. 64-Tyler Corcoran[10]; 3. 34-Eric Nier[3]; 4. 18-Gavin Eisele[11]; 5. 52-Jessica Power[9]; 6. 44-David Rogers[12]; 7. 2-Taylor Doxtater[14]; 8. 32RS-Ryan Shanahan[2]; 9. 35B-Brennan Moore[17]; 10. 10B-Jamie Brown[5]; 11. 92-Frank Sibley[1]; 12. 7O7-Greg Brinklow[7]; 13. 17-Owen Nier[20]; 14. 7D-Dustin Hutton[13]; 15. 57H-Remington Hamm[4]; 16. 63M-Franklin Mackin[15]; 17. 25-George Sanford[19]; 18. 621G-Trevor Gibbons[21]; 19. 32-Joe Trichilo[22]; 20. 62-Jonathan Murphy[16]; 21. 12S-Kyle Sharp[24]; 22. 91-Josh Reome[6]; 23. 95-Kearra Backus[23]; 24. 18G-Justin Gadbaw[25]; 25. 6-Brian Hudson[18]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 32RS-Ryan Shanahan[2]; 2. 91-Josh Reome[4]; 3. 57H-Remington Hamm[3]; 4. 64-Tyler Corcoran[6]; 5. 7D-Dustin Hutton[5]; 6. 62-Jonathan Murphy[1]; 7. 25-George Sanford[7]; 8. 32-Joe Trichilo[9]; 9. 18G-Justin Gadbaw[8]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 410-Mike Fowler[5]; 2. 10B-Jamie Brown[3]; 3. 18-Gavin Eisele[7]; 4. 44-David Rogers[8]; 5. 2-Taylor Doxtater[2]; 6. 35B-Brennan Moore[6]; 7. 17-Owen Nier[4]; 8. 95-Kearra Backus[1]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 34-Eric Nier[2]; 2. 92-Frank Sibley[1]; 3. 7O7-Greg Brinklow[4]; 4. 52-Jessica Power[5]; 5. 63M-Franklin Mackin[8]; 6. 6-Brian Hudson[3]; 7. 621G-Trevor Gibbons[7]; 8. 12S-Kyle Sharp[6]

Hot Laps (3 Laps): 1. 44-David Rogers, 00:20.038[20]; 2. 57H-Remington Hamm, 00:20.062[10]; 3. 63M-Franklin Mackin, 00:20.163[13]; 4. 17-Owen Nier, 00:20.364[17]; 5. 34-Eric Nier, 00:20.413[16]; 6. 6-Brian Hudson, 00:20.420[11]; 7. 91-Josh Reome, 00:20.507[19]; 8. 621G-Trevor Gibbons, 00:21.020[9]; 9. 32-Joe Trichilo, 00:21.163[25]; 10. (DNS) 95-Kearra Backus; 11. (DNS) 7O7-Greg Brinklow; 12. (DNS) 10B-Jamie Brown; 13. (DNS) 64-Tyler Corcoran; 14. (DNS) 2-Taylor Doxtater; 15. (DNS) 18-Gavin Eisele; 16. (DNS) 410-Mike Fowler; 17. (DNS) 18G-Justin Gadbaw; 18. (DNS) 7D-Dustin Hutton; 19. (DNS) 35B-Brennan Moore; 20. (DNS) 62-Jonathan Murphy; 21. (DNS) 52-Jessica Power; 22. (DNS) 25-George Sanford; 23. (DNS) 32RS-Ryan Shanahan; 24. (DNS) 12S-Kyle Sharp; 25. (DNS) 92-Frank Sibley

FABCO DIRTCAR PROSTOCK
Feature (20 Laps): 1. 12S-Dakota Sharp[3]; 2. X15-Tyler Bushey[4]; 3. 2-Pete Stefanski[2]; 4. 75-Eli Gilbert[1]; 5. 75K-Kenneth Hartshorn Jr[5]; 6. 00C-Michael Clark[8]; 7. 3-Rick Dusckas[6]; 8. (DNF) 6-Jason Gilmore[7]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 2-Pete Stefanski[2]; 2. 12S-Dakota Sharp[5]; 3. 75-Eli Gilbert[1]; 4. X15-Tyler Bushey[4]; 5. 75K-Kenneth Hartshorn Jr[6]; 6. 3-Rick Dusckas[8]; 7. 6-Jason Gilmore[7]; 8. 00C-Michael Clark[3]

Hot Laps: 1. 75K-Kenneth Hartshorn Jr, 00:22.805[4]; 2. 75-Eli Gilbert, 00:22.934[3]; 3. 00C-Michael Clark, 00:23.399[2]; 4. (DNS) X15-Tyler Bushey; 5. (DNS) 12S-Dakota Sharp; 6. (DNS) 2-Pete Stefanski

PANTHER FRAMEWORX 602 CRATE SPRINT CARS
Feature (20 Laps): 1. 1V-Josh Verne Jr[5]; 2. 271-Tiger Chapman[1]; 3. 88-Bruno Richard[2]; 4. Z28-Tucker Donath[4]; 5. 87-Andrew Hennessy[3]; 6. 00-Ryan Poole[9]; 7. 73-Michael Cousins[6]; 8. 30-Ken Klinkowsky[7]; 9. 13-Evan Reynolds[8]

Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 87-Andrew Hennessy[4]; 2. 1V-Josh Verne Jr[8]; 3. 88-Bruno Richard[3]; 4. 271-Tiger Chapman[2]; 5. Z28-Tucker Donath[5]; 6. 73-Michael Cousins[1]; 7. 30-Ken Klinkowsky[9]; 8. 13-Evan Reynolds[7]; 9. 00-Ryan Poole[6]

Hot Laps: 1. 1V-Josh Verne Jr, 00:18.986[9]; 2. 73-Michael Cousins, 00:19.762[2]; 3. 87-Andrew Hennessy, 00:19.803[4]; 4. 271-Tiger Chapman, 00:19.857[1]; 5. 30-Ken Klinkowsky, 00:19.863[5]; 6. 88-Bruno Richard, 00:19.936[8]; 7. 13-Evan Reynolds, 00:20.926[7]; 8. (DNS) Z28-Tucker Donath; 9. (DNS) 00-Ryan Poole

SUNDANCE LEISURE THUNDERCAR
Feature (15 Laps): 1. 13-Justin Pope[15]; 2. 60-Francis White[6]; 3. 16-Steve Smith[5]; 4. 22J-Jared Gilson[2]; 5. 111J-Anthony St Mary Jr[4]; 6. 52-Robert Flint[11]; 7. 111-Pat Sullivan[9]; 8. 3R-David Rasmussen[8]; 9. 94-OJ White[3]; 10. 26B-Damien Bechler[12]; 11. 26R-Ray Bechler[1]; 12. 100-Taylor Doxtater[13]; 13. (DNS) 25-Tyler Collette; 14. (DNS) 11J-Justin Burns; 15. (DQ) 61-Lyle Robinson[14]

Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 16-Steve Smith[3]; 2. 26R-Ray Bechler[1]; 3. 94-OJ White[2]; 4. 3R-David Rasmussen[7]; 5. 111-Pat Sullivan[4]; 6. 52-Robert Flint[6]; 7. (DNS) 100-Taylor Doxtater

Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 60-Francis White[4]; 2. 111J-Anthony St Mary Jr[2]; 3. 22J-Jared Gilson[1]; 4. 11J-Justin Burns[5]; 5. 25-Tyler Collette[7]; 6. 26B-Damien Bechler[3]; 7. 61-Lyle Robinson[6]

Hot Laps (3 Laps): 1. 26B-Damien Bechler, 00:24.204[1]; 2. 26R-Ray Bechler, 00:24.413[2]; 3. 22J-Jared Gilson, 00:24.498[5]; 4. 11J-Justin Burns, 00:24.691[3]; 5. 52-Robert Flint, 00:25.103[4]; 6. (DNS) 61-Lyle Robinson; 7. (DNS) 16-Steve Smith; 8. (DNS) 111J-Anthony St Mary Jr; 9. (DNS) 111-Pat Sullivan; 10. (DNS) 60-Francis White; 11. (DNS) 94-OJ White; 12. (DNS) 100-Taylor Doxtater

DONATH MOTOR WORX LIMITED SPORTSMAN
Feature (12 Laps): 1. 34-Keegan Nier[2]; 2. 35D-Dylan Moore[1]; 3. 93-Joey Wilcox[3]; 4. 54-Brady Howard[5]; 5. 11-Genavieve Bartlett[4]; 6. 33-Alan McDonald[6]

Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 34-Keegan Nier[3]; 2. 35D-Dylan Moore[2]; 3. 93-Joey Wilcox[5]; 4. 11-Genavieve Bartlett[4]; 5. 54-Brady Howard[6]; 6. 33-Alan McDonald[1]

Hot Laps (3 Laps): 1. 34-Keegan Nier, 00:21.323[5]; 2. 35D-Dylan Moore, 00:21.415[4]; 3. 54-Brady Howard, 00:21.591[2]; 4. 11-Genavieve Bartlett, 00:22.315[1]; 5. 33-Alan McDonald, 00:24.179[3]; 6. (DNS) 93-Joey Wilcox


Article Credit: Tim Baltz

Submitted By: Tyler & Michelle Bartlett

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