By: Tim Baltz
Photo Credit: Brody Plotz
The month of August kicked off in exciting fashion Friday night at the Can Am Speedway in Lafargeville New York, as the Empire Super Sprints made their return to Can Am for the Summer Sizzler and what a thrilling finish it was, plus some great finishes took place in all four regular divisions, making for a memorable night.
Sundance Leisure and a packed grandstand watched the first feature of the night hit the track, the Donath Motorworx Limited Sportsman. Hayden Howard led early but putting the pressure on was Mike Durham and Genavieve Bartlett. Durham tried several times to get by but Howard remained up front in the opening laps. On lap 6 the top two made contact in turn 4 for a second time, which allowed Bartlett and Mason Rogers to close in. Rogers would get by both Bartlett and Durham, then chase down Hayden Howard. On lap 8 Rogers made the winning move, taking the lead for good down the front stretch. From there Mason Rogers went unchallenged for his third win in the last five weeks ahead of Bartlett, Howard, Durham and Brianna Murtaugh.
Jordan Poirier was the dominant driver at the start of the 25 lap Empire Super Sprint feature with Davie Franek giving chase in the early laps. Poirier was looking to add his 5th win of the season and second ESS win at Can Am, but several other drivers were on the charge, including Alex Therrien. The former Quebec Lightning Sprint champion used the bottom lane on the smooth track to patiently work his way from 5th to eventually grab 2nd away from Franek as the leaders approached heavy lapped traffic. On lap 12 Therrien was able to get by Poirier as his car started to fade with Shawn Donath coming up to join the battle. As the laps clicked off, it appeared Alex Therrien was on his way to his first ever win. On lap 21 Shawn Donath found some speed and was able to power by Therrien to take over the top spot, bringing Davie Franek with him. On the final lap Davie Franek closed in on the veteran Donath in turn three, however, Shawn Donath had just enough to hold on for his first win of the season and first at Can Am since April of 2014. Franek crossed in 2nd over Alex Therrien, Joe Trenca and July winner Dylan Swernik.
Lance Willix was the dominant driver at the start of the 25 lap Whitesboro Plowshop DIRTcar 358 Modified feature with Tim Fuller and Ryan Bartlett making up the top three. The track had become very wide after the Sprint Car race, providing multiple lanes, which allowed Tim Fuller to use the top lane to close in on Willix. On lap 10 Fuller took over the top spot and began to pull away, but Billy Dunn was on the move to third. Fuller started to drive away and held a big lead as Dunn battle side by side all over the speedway with Willix. On lap 19, Dunn got by but still had a long way to go to catch the leader. As the laps clicked off the lead gap started to shrink as Fuller started to enter traffic. With three laps to go the top two drivers were nose to tail, which gave Dunn an opportunity to get by. Off turn turn two, one lap later, Dunn used the inside lane to pull even with Fuller, as the top two came by for the final lap. Heading into turn one Billy Dunn was able to take over the lead for good in traffic and from there it was no contest, as the six time champion ran to his second win in a row, 4th of the season and 70th of his Can Am career. Fuller crossed in second with Lance Willix, Ryan Bartlett and Shaun Shaw 5th.
Frank Sibley jumped into the lead at the start of the 20 lap Bob Johnson Auto Group DIRTcar Sportsman feature, over Greg Henry and Tyler Stevenson. Sibley had a fast race car but the first yellow of the evening flew on lap 4 as Josh Reome spun off turn two, with Jack Meeks making contact. Meeks was able to continue on but Reome drove to the pits and was not able to return. On the restart Tyler Stevenson took over the lead with Sibley back to second. Once in front Tyler Stevenson pulled away to a commanding lead with Sibley in a battle for second with Eric Nier, Justin Gadbaw and Gavin Eisele. As the laps clicked off Tyler Stevenson held over a straight away lead but behind him Gavin Eisele was on the move using the extreme outside lane to charge from 5th to 2nd. With 5 laps to go Tyler Stevenson was showing everyone that nobody was going to catch him and would march on to a dominant second win of 2025. Eisele crossed in 2nd with Frank Sibley, Eric Nier and Justin Gadbaw the top 5.
The night was complete with a caution free 15 lap Sundance Leisure Thundercar feature and three of the top drivers in the class, Jared Gilson, Francis White and Tony Frezzo battled for the top spot in the early laps. Gilson was looking to grab three in a row, but dropped off the pace down the back stretch on lap 4, ending his night early. This left Francis White in control but Tony Frezzo was right there to challenge. The two former track champions battled the entire race as they pulled away from third place running David Rasmussen. Despite several tries by Tony Frezzo, Francis White finally got it going his way, as he scored his 11th career Can Am win and first since June 14th of 2024. Frezzo extended his points lead with a second-place finish, with David Rasmussen, Collin Bauter and OJ White, the top 5.
Can Am Speedway gets back in action with the debut appearance for the Short Track Super Series North Regional Series, “The Gloves Are Off 51”, which will also feature a special portable boxing ring to add to the excitement. Also on the card is the Short Track Super Series North Regional event for the Sportsman division and the Sundance Leisure Thundercars. All this takes place on Monday August 4th, with gates opening at 5pm and the first green flag flying at 7pm.
Be sure to give the track a follow on our Facebook page and don’t forget to add us to your favorites on My Race Pass to get all the up-to-date results, alerts and media releases at the speedway. To check out everything that’s going on all season long check out our website at racecanam.com.
Whitesboro Plow Shop DIRTcar 358 Modified
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Feature (25 Laps): 1. 49-Billy Dunn[8]; 2. 19-Tim Fuller[6]; 3. 31-Lance Willix[3]; 4. 39-Ryan Bartlett[5]; 5. 7S-Shaun Shaw[4]; 6. 39A-Alan Therrien[10]; 7. 45R-Preston Forbes[7]; 8. 38J-Jarrett Herbison[9]; 9. 66W-Derek Webb[2]; 10. 3M-Franklin Mackin[11]; 11. 63-Adam Roberts[13]; 12. 18W-Scott Webb[14]; 13. 21-Andrew Howard[1]; 14. 24-Jordan Kelly[12]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 7S-Shaun Shaw[3]; 2. 49-Billy Dunn[6]; 3. 19-Tim Fuller[4]; 4. 66W-Derek Webb[2]; 5. 38J-Jarrett Herbison[7]; 6. 3M-Franklin Mackin[5]; 7. 63-Adam Roberts[1]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 31-Lance Willix[2]; 2. 39-Ryan Bartlett[3]; 3. 45R-Preston Forbes[5]; 4. 21-Andrew Howard[1]; 5. 39A-Alan Therrien[6]; 6. 24-Jordan Kelly[7]; 7. 18W-Scott Webb[4]
Hot Laps (3 Laps): 1. 49-Billy Dunn, 00:19.788[2]; 2. 7S-Shaun Shaw, 00:19.891[10]; 3. 38J-Jarrett Herbison, 00:19.912[5]; 4. 45R-Preston Forbes, 00:20.312[3]; 5. 3M-Franklin Mackin, 00:20.314[8]; 6. 24-Jordan Kelly, 00:20.338[7]; 7. 39A-Alan Therrien, 00:20.459[11]; 8. 18W-Scott Webb, 00:20.474[13]; 9. 63-Adam Roberts, 00:20.481[9]; 10. 21-Andrew Howard, 00:20.776[6]; 11. 31-Lance Willix, 00:25.814[14]; 12. (DNS) 39-Ryan Bartlett; 13. (DNS) 19-Tim Fuller; 14. (DNS) 66W-Derek Webb
23 entries
Bob Johnson DIRTcar Sportsman
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Feature (20 Laps): 1. FOX28-Tyler Stevenson[3]; 2. 18-Gavin Eisele[9]; 3. 92-Frank Sibley[2]; 4. 34-Eric Nier[7]; 5. 18G-Justin Gadbaw[4]; 6. 52-Jessica Power[8]; 7. 44-Taylor Doxtater[10]; 8. 33-Richard Murtaugh[11]; 9. 17-Owen Nier[6]; 10. 34K-Keegan Nier[14]; 11. 54-Brady Howard[15]; 12. 621G-Trevor Gibbons[5]; 13. 9-Logan Brown[18]; 14. 2-Greg Henry[1]; 15. 37-Marco Mccarthy[19]; 16. 62-Jonathan Murphy[21]; 17. 79-Chris Hale[23]; 18. 1-Jack Meeks[13]; 19. (DNF) 5R-Steve Roberts[16]; 20. (DNF) 21-Gage Howard[22]; 21. (DNF) 7D-Dustin Hutton[20]; 22. (DNF) 1D-Paul DeRuyter[17]; 23. (DNF) 91-Josh Reome[12]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 18-Gavin Eisele[5]; 2. 92-Frank Sibley[2]; 3. 621G-Trevor Gibbons[3]; 4. 34-Eric Nier[4]; 5. 1-Jack Meeks[7]; 6. 5R-Steve Roberts[6]; 7. 37-Marco Mccarthy[8]; 8. 21-Gage Howard[1]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. FOX28-Tyler Stevenson[2]; 2. 2-Greg Henry[1]; 3. 52-Jessica Power[4]; 4. 44-Taylor Doxtater[6]; 5. 34K-Keegan Nier[5]; 6. 1D-Paul DeRuyter[3]; 7. 7D-Dustin Hutton[7]; 8. 79-Chris Hale[8]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 17-Owen Nier[3]; 2. 91-Josh Reome[7]; 3. 18G-Justin Gadbaw[2]; 4. 33-Richard Murtaugh[6]; 5. 54-Brady Howard[1]; 6. 9-Logan Brown[4]; 7. 62-Jonathan Murphy[5]
Hot Laps (3 Laps): 1. 34-Eric Nier, 00:20.902[16]; 2. 44-Taylor Doxtater, 00:20.909[3]; 3. FOX28-Tyler Stevenson, 00:20.930[23]; 4. 33-Richard Murtaugh, 00:20.958[15]; 5. 18-Gavin Eisele, 00:21.018[4]; 6. 34K-Keegan Nier, 00:21.097[17]; 7. 1-Jack Meeks, 00:21.131[13]; 8. 621G-Trevor Gibbons, 00:21.174[6]; 9. 52-Jessica Power, 00:21.187[19]; 10. 91-Josh Reome, 00:21.211[20]; 11. 1D-Paul DeRuyter, 00:21.241[2]; 12. 17-Owen Nier, 00:21.247[18]; 13. 7D-Dustin Hutton, 00:21.278[11]; 14. 54-Brady Howard, 00:21.326[9]; 15. 62-Jonathan Murphy, 00:21.462[14]; 16. 9-Logan Brown, 00:21.476[1]; 17. 79-Chris Hale, 00:21.477[7]; 18. 5R-Steve Roberts, 00:21.710[21]; 19. 37-Marco Mccarthy, 00:21.711[12]; 20. 2-Greg Henry, 00:21.814[8]; 21. 21-Gage Howard, 00:22.069[10]; 22. (DNS) 18G-Justin Gadbaw; 23. (DNS) 92-Frank Sibley
7 entries
Sundance Leisure ThunderCar
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Feature (15 Laps): 1. 60-Francis White[4]; 2. 22-Tony Frezzo[2]; 3. 3R-David Rasmussen[6]; 4. 19-Collin Bauter[1]; 5. 94-OJ White[5]; 6. 28-Colby Hibbard[7]; 7. (DNF) 22J-Jared Gilson[3]
Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 22-Tony Frezzo[5]; 2. 60-Francis White[7]; 3. 22J-Jared Gilson[6]; 4. 19-Collin Bauter[2]; 5. 94-OJ White[3]; 6. 3R-David Rasmussen[4]; 7. 28-Colby Hibbard[1]
Hot Laps (3 Laps): 1. 19-Collin Bauter, 00:25.232[1]; 2. 28-Colby Hibbard, 00:25.822[4]; 3. (DNS) 22-Tony Frezzo; 4. (DNS) 22J-Jared Gilson; 5. (DNS) 3R-David Rasmussen; 6. (DNS) 60-Francis White; 7. (DNS) 94-OJ White
14 entries
Donath Motor Worx Limited Sportsman
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Feature (12 Laps): 1. 44-Mason Rogers[6]; 2. 11-Genavieve Bartlett[3]; 3. 21-Hayden Howard[1]; 4. 33B-Brianna Murtaugh[4]; 5. 6-Mike Durham[2]; 6. 21J-Jackson Welling[7]; 7. 90-Caleb Howard[5]; 8. 7D-Bryan Tarbell[9]; 9. 5MJ-Matt Jordan[8]; 10. 29K-Kingston Sprague[11]; 11. 8-Stephen Bushey[14]; 12. 34-Cole Hanna[12]; 13. 4-Jason Rarick[10]; 14. 401K-Joseph Fargo[13]
Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 21-Hayden Howard[1]; 2. 11-Genavieve Bartlett[3]; 3. 90-Caleb Howard[5]; 4. 21J-Jackson Welling[6]; 5. 7D-Bryan Tarbell[7]; 6. 29K-Kingston Sprague[2]; 7. 401K-Joseph Fargo[4]
Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 33B-Brianna Murtaugh[4]; 2. 6-Mike Durham[2]; 3. 44-Mason Rogers[5]; 4. 5MJ-Matt Jordan[7]; 5. 4-Jason Rarick[1]; 6. 34-Cole Hanna[6]; 7. (DQ) 8-Stephen Bushey[3]
Hot Laps (3 Laps): 1. 33B-Brianna Murtaugh, 00:20.452[9]; 2. 21J-Jackson Welling, 00:20.692[14]; 3. 7D-Bryan Tarbell, 00:20.754[13]; 4. 44-Mason Rogers, 00:20.771[11]; 5. 29K-Kingston Sprague, 00:20.858[12]; 6. 8-Stephen Bushey, 00:20.991[2]; 7. 11-Genavieve Bartlett, 00:21.237[1]; 8. 21-Hayden Howard, 00:21.337[7]; 9. 90-Caleb Howard, 00:21.409[6]; 10. 401K-Joseph Fargo, 00:21.523[4]; 11. 34-Cole Hanna, 00:21.532[5]; 12. 4-Jason Rarick, 00:21.635[10]; 13. 5MJ-Matt Jordan, 00:22.095[8]; 14. (DNS) 6-Mike Durham
22 entries
Empire Super Sprints
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A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 53-Shawn Donath[5]; 2. 28F-Davie Franek[4]; 3. 21-Alex Therrien[6]; 4. 98-Joe Trenca[3]; 5. 7C-Dylan Swiernik[7]; 6. 28-Jordan Poirier[2]; 7. 38-Zach Sobotka[12]; 8. 87-Jason Barney[8]; 9. 3-Paulie Colagiovanni[9]; 10. 90-Matt Tanner[13]; 11. 01-Danny Varin[19]; 12. 41-Dalton Rombough[11]; 13. 17-Sammy Reakes IV[20]; 14. Z28-Tucker Donath[18]; 15. 93-Bryan Cloutier[14]; 16. 13T-Trevor Years[21]; 17. 24-Jeremy Lafleur[16]; 18. 13E-Evan Reynolds[22]; 19. 84-Tyler Rand[1]; 20. 33-Lacey Hanson[10]; 21. 36-Logan Crisafulli[15]; 22. 93L-Guy Gosselin[17]
JZ Snowdrifters Dash 1 (4 Laps): 1. 90-Matt Tanner[2]; 2. 93-Bryan Cloutier[6]; 3. 36-Logan Crisafulli[5]; 4. 24-Jeremy Lafleur[1]; 5. (DNF) Z28-Tucker Donath[3]; 6. (DNF) 93L-Guy Gosselin[4]
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 28F-Davie Franek[4]; 2. 38-Zach Sobotka[2]; 3. 84-Tyler Rand[1]; 4. 33-Lacey Hanson[5]; 5. 24-Jeremy Lafleur[7]; 6. 93L-Guy Gosselin[6]; 7. 01-Danny Varin[3]; 8. 13E-Evan Reynolds[8]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 41-Dalton Rombough[1]; 2. 53-Shawn Donath[3]; 3. 98-Joe Trenca[6]; 4. 21-Alex Therrien[2]; 5. 90-Matt Tanner[7]; 6. 36-Logan Crisafulli[4]; 7. (DNF) 17-Sammy Reakes IV[5]
Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 28-Jordan Poirier[1]; 2. 7C-Dylan Swiernik[3]; 3. 3-Paulie Colagiovanni[4]; 4. 87-Jason Barney[2]; 5. Z28-Tucker Donath[5]; 6. 93-Bryan Cloutier[7]; 7. (DNF) 13T-Trevor Years[6]
Qualifying 1 (2 Laps): 1. 28F-Davie Franek, 00:17.203[8]; 2. 01-Danny Varin, 00:17.388[7]; 3. 38-Zach Sobotka, 00:17.686[3]; 4. 84-Tyler Rand, 00:17.756[2]; 5. 33-Lacey Hanson, 00:18.053[1]; 6. 93L-Guy Gosselin, 00:19.077[4]; 7. 24-Jeremy Lafleur[6]; 8. 13E-Evan Reynolds[5]
Qualifying 2 (2 Laps): 1. 36-Logan Crisafulli, 00:17.709[5]; 2. 53-Shawn Donath, 00:17.796[6]; 3. 21-Alex Therrien, 00:17.797[2]; 4. 41-Dalton Rombough, 00:17.970[4]; 5. 17-Sammy Reakes IV, 00:18.134[7]; 6. 98-Joe Trenca, 00:18.179[3]; 7. 90-Matt Tanner, 00:18.408[1]
Qualifying 3 (2 Laps): 1. 3-Paulie Colagiovanni, 00:17.889[5]; 2. 7C-Dylan Swiernik, 00:17.975[1]; 3. 87-Jason Barney, 00:17.989[2]; 4. 28-Jordan Poirier, 00:18.071[7]; 5. Z28-Tucker Donath, 00:18.989[6]; 6. 13T-Trevor Years, 00:19.117[3]; 7. 93-Bryan Cloutier, 00:19.497[4]