By JAY SHIMEL – EVANS MILLS, NY – Another beautiful night welcomed fans at the Evans Mills Raceway Park. The racing action was intense from the start of the heat races to the final feature event. Many races went green to the checker flag, which led to the final feature concluding before 9:30, to the pleasure of fans, drivers and race teams.
The Excess Storage Pro Late Models opened the evening of features, which proved to be one of the most exciting races. Cole Perry started on the pole and pulled away from the rest of the field in the opening laps. Rylee Gill started fourth and by lap 2 had worked his way to the second position. Perry had a 10-car length lead as Gill started to close in. By lap 5, Gill was on the bumper of Perry. The two would battle the final 10 laps side by side with Perry on his preferred low lane and Gill in his preferred high lane. In the white flag lap, coming out of turn 4, Gill would dirt track it around the exit of turn 4. This would allow Perry to get the lead on the home stretch, winning his 3rd feature of the season. Gill finished second and Tyler Papin finished third.
Next onto the speedway were the Sport Compact and Next Level Excavation Thunderstocks for their 20-lap feature. The feature would run the first 14 laps green, which saw last week’s feature winner Joe Pettinelli, find the top spot by lap 4 and Justin Coachman in second. Three consecutive cautions flew on laps 14, 15, 16. On the restart, Coachman would try to get around Pettinelli on the outside, but did not have enough speed to get by. Pettinelli would go on to win his 3rd feature in a row, Coachman settled for second and Jock Symonds rounded out the top 3. Joe Orvis continued his hot streak in the Thunderstocks winning his fourth feature in a row and fifth on the season.
The Caskinette Ford Modifieds rolled out next for their feature lead to the green flag by Scott Dinzler and John Ramsey for the second week in a row. Just like last week, an early caution for Ramsey would send the veteran driver to the rear of the field. Bryan Sherwood found his way to the front quickly and was the leader by lap 7. Jeff Pringle, making his third start of the season followed Sherwood to the front, securing the second position. Two cautions slowed the field on laps 11 and 29 as Sherwood and Pringle continued to set the pace. On the restart, Sherwood would get the advantage over Pringle as the exited turn 2. Sherwood held off Pringle in the closing laps and took home his second win in a row. Pringle finished second, Kreig Heroth continued his streak of top 5’s finishing third, followed by Matt Caprara and Dylan Bancroft.
The final feature of the evening was the Christman Fuel Service INEX Legends, which saw a pass for the lead in the final 3 laps. Chris Malbeuf would take over the top spot on lap 2 and Breanne Gilligan would quickly move up to second. Malbeuf would keep a healthy 8-10 car length lead on Gilligan for the majority of the race. The leaders encountered lap traffic on lap 11. Malbeuf would have trouble getting by the slower cars and Gilligan would take advantage. On the next lap, Gilligan made it 3-wide on the front stretch and passed Malbeuf to take the lead. Gilligan would extend her lead and take home her first checkered flag of the season. Malbeuf would have to settle for second and Bryton Malbeuf finished in the third position.
Next weekend, Evans Mills Raceway Park celebrates Father Day weekend in grand fashion. The Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints will invade the raceway for the annual Kevin Ward Jr. Memorial Asphalt Spectacular, which pays $4000 to the winner. The Caskinette Ford Modifieds, Excess Storage Pro Late Models, Christman Fuel Service INEX Legends, Sport Compact/Next Level Excavation Thunderstocks will also be back in action. Pit gates open at 3pm, General Admission at 5pm and racing starts at 6:30pm. Pit pass $35, Adults $20, Military $18, Children 10-17 $12 and under 9 free with paid Adult.