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Dolbear Delivers First Tracey Road Modified Win; Tim Sears Jr., Cody Manitta and John Pietrowicz Crowned 2024 Track Champions

FULTON, NY (September 1, 2024) – In just his fourth career DIRTcar Modified start, Ryan Dolbear is a feature winner. The Dot Foods Sportsman graduate became the fifth different first-time winner in fourteen feature events run on the Fulton Highbanks this season, joining Brandon Carvey, Andrew Buff, Alan Fink and Matt Caprara as new winners. Interestingly, it was Carvey who almost spoiled Dolbear’s moment Saturday.

In companion action on Dot Foods/STOP-DWI NY night, Joe Trenca was best in the ESS A-Main, Zach Buff shook off a rough season with a win in the 25-lap Dot Foods DIRTcar Sportsman feature, Adam Hunt secured his third Billy Whittaker Cars and Trux Hobby Stock win of 2024, while Sammy Groom took top honors in the E & V Energy Novice Sportsman feature. Tim Sears Jr. captured the Tracy Road Modified Championship, while Cody Manitta was crowned the Dot Foods DIRTcar Sportsman Track Champion. John Pietrowicz captured his second straight Hobby Stock title.

The win was an emotional one for Dolbear, who, less than a year ago, figured his racing days were over. After closing out his Sportsman career in 2023, Dolbear was admittedly burned out. But he made the decision over the off-season to make the jump to the Modified class and charted a plan for a part-time schedule in 2024. He made his debut on July 27 and found speed right away, qualifying for his first feature. He has shown speed ever since while cutting his teeth. Saturday, he put it all together.

Dolbear started the 35-lap main from the pole and was clearly fast from the start. He took the lead from the start and built up a half-straightaway lead over Willy Decker Jr. during the early portions of the green-to-checkered feature. By lap 15 Dolbear was 4 seconds ahead of Decker but it was obvious, by then, that Carvey would have something to say before the race was over.

Carvey, who started 8th, sliced through the field and reached the third spot by lap 12. Beating the cushion in his Cummins Racing, 13th Hour Rising sponsored mount, Carvey ran down Decker and passed him for second on lap 15 and then set out after Dolbear. With no cautions to aid him, Carvey steadily closed the gap on Dolbear closing from over 4 seconds back on lap 16 to within 2 second as the field reached the ten-to-go mark.

Slower cars aided Carvey even more as Dolbear cautiously tried to navigate the back of the field as the laps wound down. With five to go, Carvey was within a second of Dolbear as they both cleared lapped traffic. With no slower traffic Dolbear seemed to pick his pace up, and needed to, as Carvey reached his rear bumper with two to go. The two raced in lockstep over the final two laps, with Dolbear working the middle of the track and Carvey banging the top side for all he was worth. Ultimately Dolbear was up to the task and took the checkered flag just ahead of Carvey.

Lance Willix drove a consistent race to finish third ahead of fellow North country hot shoe, Billy Dunn. Ronnie Davis III passed 15 cars to place 5th at the drop of the checkered. Dave Marcuccilli crossed sixth with Decker, Jr., Chris Hulsizer, Bob Henry Jr. and Sean Beardsley rounding out the top-10.

Tim Sears Jr. was unable to attend the event as he was at Lebanon Valley Speedway with the Super DIRTcar Series but earned the 2024 Tracey Road DIRTcar Modified Track Championship. Sears’ mastery of Fulton has been steady of the last several years and it continued in 2024 as he captured five wins in 13 starts enroute to the title.

Zach Buff’s Dot Foods DIRTcar Sportsman season at Fulton Speedway hasn’t been one to remember for the Latham, NY driver. Prior to Saturday, Buff’s best finish had been 2nd on July 6. He suffered through the rest of July and much of August with mechanical issues and bad luck before finally challenging for a win again with a third place finish on August 24. Buff, however, turned the tide on Saturday, taking the win in the 25-lap Sportsman feature and built some momentum heading into the Industrial Tire of Sportsman Shootout at Outlaw Weekend.

Buff started the 25-lap feature from the fifth starting position and quickly asserted himself as a car to beat. He wrestled the lead away from Dorian Wahdan on lap 5 then fended off a determined Jimmy Moyer over the remaining 20 laps to take his first Fulton win of the season. Moyer tallied a satisfying runner up finish on Dot Foods night at the track, his primary sponsor.

Cody Manitta had one task going into the feature, finish one spot ahead of Jason Parkhurst Jr and win the track championship. Task accomplished. Manitta started 10th in the 25-lap feature and raced to a third-place finish at the checkered flag to earn the championship. Clayton Brewer III came home fourth with Brett Sears fifth at the line.

Parkhurst started way back in fourteenth by virtue of handicapping and charged hard to try and stay ahead of Manitta, but he ran out of time and finished sixth earning the runner-up spot in the final points tally.

Scranton, PA’s John Smith IV led the bulk of the 25-lap A-Main for the Empire Super Sprints but a late race restart allowed local favorite Joe Trenca to restart along-side of him. Trenca didn’t miss his opportunity and took over the lead and went on to take the win. Smith finished second with Jason Barney claiming 3rd after starting 14th. Billy VanInwegen Jr. and Matt Tanner rounded out the top-5 finishers. The Empire Super Sprints return to Fulton Speedway on Friday, October 4 as part of the 38th Neivel Precision Plumbing Outlaw 200 Weekend.

Adam Hunt won the battle but John Pietrowicz won the war in Billy Whittaker Cars and Trux Hobby Stock action. Hunt raced to his third win of 2024 keeping his #13 ahead of Pietrowicz to take the win. Pietrowicz, crossed the line second and was crowned track champion for the second year in a row. Brandon Barron, Ron Hawker and Aidan Galvin rounded out the top-5.

Elbridge’s Sam Groom claimed his third E & V Energy Novice Sportsman win of the season in the evening’s nightcap. Groom cruised to the win from his pole starting spot ahead of Cale Gareau, Belle Hogan, Austin Harmer and Phil Loosen.

Coming Up at Fulton Speedway:

Tuesday, September 24
Outlaw 200 Weekend Test and Tune
Pits Open at 5pm/On track at 6pm
Pit Passes - $25
Free to watch from the Grandstands

Thursday, October 3 – Saturday, October 5
38th Neivel Precision Plumbing Outlaw 200 Weekend
August 31 Dot Foods/STOP-DWI NY Event Results:

Tracey Road DIRTcar Modifieds (35-laps): 1. 31B-Ryan Dolbear[1]; 2. 19C-Brandon Carvey[8]; 3. 31W-Lance Willix[7]; 4. 49-Billy Dunn[11]; 5. 32R-Ronald Davis III[20]; 6. M1-David Marcuccilli[15]; 7. 94X-Willy Decker Jr[3]; 8. 24K-Chris Hulsizer[2]; 9. B2-Bob Henry Jr[4]; 10. 18$-Sean Beardsley[10]; 11. 28-Alan Fink[5]; 12. 5H-Amy Holland[12]; 13. 31-Corey Barker[9]; 14. 11C-Matt Caprara[14]; 15. 58M-Marshall Hurd[22]; 16. 38-Jason Parkhurst[16]; 17. 92-Andrew Buff[13]; 18. 06J-Jordan Bennett[24]; 19. 27Z-Dylan Zacharias[17]; 20. 17J-Brent Joy[6]; 21. 00W-Wade Chrisman[23]; 22. 38H-Tim Harris[19]; 23. (DNF) 00-Connor Sellars[21]; 24. (DNF) 01R-Robert Gage[18]

Heat Winners: Chris Hulsizer, Willy Decker Jr., Bob Henry Jr.
2024 Track Champion: Tim Sears Jr.

Empire Super Sprints (25-laps): 1. 98-Joe Trenca[2]; 2. #3Z-John Smith IV[1]; 3. 87-Jason Barney[14]; 4. 10V-Billy VanInwegen Jr[8]; 5. 90-Matt Tanner[7]; 6. #79-Jordan Thomas[9]; 7. 10-Kelly Hebing[15]; 8. 28-Jordan Poirier[3]; 9. 01-Danny Varin[5]; 10. 13E-Evan Reynolds[23]; 11. 13T-Trevor Years[6]; 12. 53-Shawn Donath[13]; 13. #29-Dalton Herrick[21]; 14. (DNF) 28F-Davie Franek[4]; 15. (DNF) 63-Josh Weller[11]; 16. (DNF) 46-Ryan Coniam[10]; 17. (DNF) 33-Lacey Hanson[19]; 18. (DNF) 66-Jordan Hutton[20]; 19. (DNF) 63D-Tucker Donath[16]; 20. (DNF) #17-Sammy Reakes IV[12]; 21. (DNF) 19EM-Emily VanInwegen[22]; 22. (DNF) #7NY-Matt Farnham[17]; 23. (DNS) 36-Logan Crisafulli

Heat Winners: Jordan Poirier, Sam Reakes IV, Jordan Thomas

Dot Foods DIRTcar Sportsman (25-laps): 1. 01-Zachary Buff[5]; 2. 51-Jimmy Moyer[8]; 3. 6-Cody Manitta[10]; 4. 33JR-Clayton Brewer III[6]; 5. 83X-Brett Sears[9]; 6. 38JR-Jason Parkhurst Jr[14]; 7. 72-Hunter Hollenbeck[13]; 8. 51X-David Moyer[4]; 9. 19J-Joe Kline[11]; 10. 63-Teddy Clayton Jr[12]; 11. 44C-Gregg Carner[18]; 12. 06W-Dorian Wahdan[2]; 13. 48-Kearra Backus[1]; 14. 16X-Savannah Laflair[3]; 15. 57HG-Rocky Grosso[19]; 16. 9D-Brett Draper[17]; 17. 4-Emmett Waldron[7]; 18. B2-Kelly Smith[16]; 19. (DNF) 5D-Kyle Devendorf[15]

Heat Winners ($100 from Dot Foods): Clayton Brewer III, Brett Sears, Zach Buff
2024 Track Champion: Cody Manitta

Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux Hobby Stocks (15-laps): 1. 13-Adam Hunt[2]; 2. 17-John Pietrowicz[5]; 3. 28-Brandon Barron[8]; 4. 14JR-Ronald Hawker[4]; 5. 13G-Aidan Galvin[1]; 6. 14-Brennan Fitzgibbons[3]; 7. 4-Brian Burkle Jr[6]; 8. 87-Jeremie Hale Jr[7]

2024 Track Champion: John Pietrowicz

E & V Energy Novice Sportsman (15-laps): 1. 14-Samuel Groom[1]; 2. 5G-Cale Gareau[4]; 3. 89-Belle Hogan[2]; 4. 55H-Austin Harmer[5]; 5. 21A-Phillip Loosen[9]; 6. 14F-Coleby Felber[10]; 7. 40X-Tim Halsey[3]; 8. 36-Matt Bukovan[8]; 9. 5S-Keith Simpson[11]; 10. (DNF) 29K-Kingston Sprague[6]; 11. (DNF) 18-Brian Harber[7]; 12. (DNS) 73-Doug Shattell

Heat Winners: Sam Groom, Cale Gareau

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