Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Goetz Upsets, MacDonald Surprises

In a stunning turn of events, Brandon Goetz won Saturday night's 600 Open Feature at Limerock Speedway.

Danny Knoll III held the lead for much of the second half of the 30-lap race until the lapped car of Alex Trautman had a mechanical failure in Turn 4. Knoll, who had already been given the white flag. elected to take the high line around Trautman. Unfortuantely, the loose clay at the top of the track slowed Knoll down and allowed Goetz to pass and claim the victory. After and unfortunate incident involving Knoll and Wayland's Eric Wise, Danny Knoll III finished second, with his father, Dan Knoll, Jr. finishing 3rd. Wise would finish 10th out of 14 entries in the feature.

In the 125 class, Canadian Cole MacDonald drove the wheels off of his Microsprint to win both the Heat and the Feature for the class. MacDonald was able to pass 2011 class champ Kennedy White early in the feature to get his first ever Microsprint victory. His father, Robert MacDonald, made a bold statement after the race. "He's only going to get faster."

In the JR2 Clone class, Austin Shaw continued his dominance. Shaw padded his points lead by sweeping both the Heat and Feature. Dansville's Hunter Patterson held off Anthony Natrigo in the Heat but couldn't hang on and finished 4th in the Feature.

The 450 class saw Jeff Clauss and Jim Austin have a titanic battle for supremacy as the two ran away from the field in the Feature event. Austin was able to hold off Clauss for the Feature victory, but Clauss was victorious in the Heat. Both drivers are now tied for the lead in the Class Championship.

The 600 Wingless stardom belonged to John Colaprete Jr on Saturday night. He swept his Heat as well as the Feature, taking the victory over the other 600 Wingless Heat winner, Pete Resch. Resch holds a 3 point lead over Colaprete Jr in the Championship.

In the 600 Sportsman class, the night belonged to Josh Farnsworth as the "Tampa Terror" romped his way to sweep the night over John Farmer and Jerry Moon.

Gary Smith swept the night in the Senior Clone kart division over Guy Ellinwood. Jacob Callan was the only entry for the Quad division as he used the night as a test session. The 270 class also had one entry for the night.

The next event at Limerock Speedway will be this coming Saturday. Gates will open at Four in the afternoon. Practice starts at Six O'Clock and Heats begin at Seven. The highlight this weekend is the Schneider Memorial 40-lap race for the 600 Open class. Tickets are just $3 for General Admission and $12 for Pit Entry. See you at the Rock!

Monday, May 14, 2012

Let The Dirt Fly!

Opening night at Limerock Speedway saw the dirt fly Saturday Night. 50 Microsprints, Karts and Quads showed up ready to get the 2012 season underway.

In the JR2 Kart division, Anthony Natrigo dominated the Heat race until Austin Shaw made an incredible last-corner-last-lap pass for to grab the victory. Shaw also took the victory in the Feature leading Natrigo and Dansville's Hunter Patterson coming home in 3rd. Senior Clone Kart competion saw Gary Smith dominate both the Heat and Feature over Caledonia's Guy Ellinwood.

Jordan Noody grabbed the victory in the Sportsman 125 Microsprint Heat over Byron's Kennedy White. The Defending Champ would then dominate the Feature to beat Batavia's Johann Hausfelder and Nick Reff. Hausfelder was substituting for Wyoming, New York's Missy Clauss as she attended her High School's Senior Prom. An Honorable Mention is in the works for Cole McDonald. The young Canadian drove fantastically in his first ever race at the Rock, and hopes that after taking a few weeks to learn the track, he can turn up the heat and take it to the class' leading ladies.

Perhaps the most exciting class of the night belonged to the 450 Super Sportsman division. Both the Heat and the Feature presented the side by side action that is ever present at the Mighty Eighth. South Byron's Jim Austin took home top honors in the Heat, but Defending Champ Jeff Clauss showed he was still a force to be reckoned with as he took home the victory in the Feature.

The newest class at the Limerock Speedway is the 600 Sportsman Division. With a wing angle restriction and a stictly stock motor, the class was designed for the closest competition at the track. Chad Richey took home top honors in the Heat over Josh Farnsworth. However, it was the Tampa Terror claiming the win in the Feature Event.

The 600 Wingless class is always fun to watch at Limerock. Lots of passing paired with the difficulty of driving a Microsprint with a 110-plus Horsepower engine without the Aerodynamic assistance of a wing on top of the car makes the class quite challenging. Pete Resch and Jim Lafler grabbed victories in their respective Heats. Both Resch and Lafler ran away in the Feature as Resch took home the Victory and came away with Optimum Points on Opening night.

The 600 Open class was the biggest class of the night with an impressive 17 car line-up for Opening night. Brandon Goetz, last year's runner-up in the 600 Open Class, got the win in Heat One. In Heat Two, Diane "G-Ma" Hausfelder took the top spot over Canandaigua's Mat Smith. And Wayland, New York's Eric Wise took his Wiser Racing machine to top honors in Heat number Three. Wise would later cruise his 41w to the Feature Win after a late race pass over Lockport's Pete Lute.

"Overall, it was a very successful night," stated Tri-County Racing Club President, James Mitchell. "Everyone raced cleanly and we all had fun, which is what Limerock is all about."

This Saturday is Armed Forces Night at the Rock. Grandstands are Free for all Past and Present Military personel. Don't forget to bring your Child's Bicycle to the track as there will be a Bicycle race on track during Intermission.