By JAY SHIMEL – EVANS MILLS, NY – Independence Day weekend brought another beautiful night for racing at the Evans Mills Raceway Park. The racing was intense from the start as drivers continued to put on a great show for the fans.
The first feature of the evening was the Excess Storage Pro Late Models. Cole Perry and Chuck Meyer made up the front row. Perry would get the early lead and set the pace in the beginning laps. Joe Papin worked his way to the second position by lap 2 and started to go to work on the leader. Papin tried several times on the outside to get by Perry, but each time Perry would pull away. On lap 8, Perry would get high on the exit of turn 4, Papin would get a run on the inside and take the lead. Two laps later, Rylee Gill found the fast lane around Perry on the outside to take over the second position. Papin was on cruise control until lap 14. He would lose grip in turn 4 allowing Gill to close in on his bumper. Papin stuck to the low side of the track to edge out Gill at the line. Papin claimed his second win of the season and Gill settled for second followed by Meyer.
Caiden Cook and Brayton Malbeuf were the pole sitters for the Christman Fuel Service INEX Legends. Cook lead lap one but Malbeuf would take over on lap 2. A caution flew on lap 4 for a contact between Chris Malbeuf and Kyle Hart. Unfortunately, Hart sustained too much damage, ending his night. On the restart Brayton Malbeuf missed a shift allowing Cook to reclaim the lead. However, the restart would not count as Evan Thomas spun. On the ensuing restart, Brayton regroup and controlled the race entering turn 1. Cook was putting the heat on Brayton trying to take the top spot back. Lap 9, Cook got loose in turn 4, saved it, but on lap 10 wasn’t as lucky and spun in the same spot. On the restart, Brayton would again miss a shift allowing newcomer Dustin VanTassel to take the lead. One lap later, VanTassel and Chris Malbeuf would make contact, sending VanTassel around. Chris Malbeuf would be the leader until a caution flew on lap 12. This set up a 3-lap shootout for the checkered flag. Brayton Malbeuf would get the best of Uncle Chris on the restart. Brayton would lead the final 3 laps to win his first career feature. Chris Malbeuf finished second and Cook rebounded to take home the third spot.
The Napa Auto Parts Sport Compacts and Next Level Excavation Thunderstocks took to the track next. David Liscum led the field to the green flag, but Joe Pettinelli took that spot by lap 4. Pettinelli would set sail and start to check out on the rest of the drivers. Chuck Powelczyk and Justin Coachman began their climb to the front. Pettinelli appeared to have the checkered flag in hand until he found heavy lap traffic on lap 17. As Pettinelli exited turn 4, a lap car made contact with his left rear, sending Pettinelli around down the front stretch. Chuck Powelczyk would inherit the lead but would have problems of his own. Powelczyk’s right front tire was going soft on the caution laps. Powelczyk tried the restart and hold off Justin Coachman but couldn’t keep the speed in the corner and would have to pit for a new right front. Coachman took over the top spot and held off Mike Durham on the final restart on lap 18. Coachman won his second feature Napa Auto Parts Sport Compacts of the year, followed by Durham and Jock Symonds. Joe Orvis went to victory lane in the Next Level Excavation Thunderstocks for the seventh time, followed by David Liscum and Justin Burns.
The Caskinette Ford Sportsman Modified concluded the evening. Matt Sharkey would lead the first two laps, until a caution flew. Anthony Pettinelli got into the back of his dad, Tony, as the two cars became hooked together. On the restart, Joel Hargrave passed Sharkey for the led. A series of cautions flew during mid race. Each time Hargrave would hold off charges from Kreig Heroth and Dylan Bancroft on the outside. Bryan Sherwood was yet again, making his slow and patient climb to the front. By lap 24, Sherwood would be sitting in the fourth spot from his 13th starting position. Another caution flew on lap 29. Hargrave would choose to start from the low lane and Sherwood would pick the high side and move up to spot number 2. On the restart Sherwood would challenge for the lead, but Hargrave was too strong on the bottom. Another restart came on lap 32, which produced the same results. Hargrave would hold off Sherwood on the bottom and go on to win his second feature of the year. Sherwood finished second followed by Bancroft, Heroth and Taylor Caprara.
The 2Xtreme Monster Trucks return to the Evans Mills Raceway Park for an epic 2 Day Show! Bounty Hunter, Scarlet Bandit and more return on July 30 and 31 at 3pm each day. You can pre order tickets at evansmillsracewaypark.com or 2xtremeracingseries.com. Tickets start at just $15.
Next weekend, Evans Mills Raceway Park host it Summer Sizzler event as the racing action continues to heat up. The Caskinette Ford Modifieds, Excess Storage Pro Late Models, Christman Fuel Service INEX Legends, Napa Auto Parts Sport Compact/Next Level Excavation Thunderstocks will be back in action. Also on the card will be the second and final edition of Spectator Racing. Pit gates open at 3pm, General Admission at 5pm and racing starts at 6:30pm. Pit pass $35, Adults $15, Military $13, Children 10-17 $10 and under 9 free with paid Adult.