EVANS MILLS, NY – After an untimely rain out on Sept. 7, sunny skies greeted fans on a Saturday night, Sept. 14 at Evans Mills Raceway Park sponsored by Caskinette Ford. A number of kids prizes were given away during intermission and the sidewalk chalk drawings on the new blacktop behind the grandstands featured some very creative artwork. The newly remodeled “Checkers Bar” was also open for business for the first time.
The draw during intermission for the feature inversions showed all four classes drawing the #1, meaning a heads up start in all features. It was the first time this has ever happened at Evans Mills Raceway Park this season. Josh Verne won the first feature of the night in the Sport Compact class in the “X” car despite heavy pressure from Trevor Halliday in the #61s.
Second up was the debut of a new division, a six cylinder “Stinger” class with cars completely stock except for some safety modifications in the seat and harness system. Megan Golden in the #07 took the lead in the early laps but the field tightened up considerably as the end of the race approached. Golden held on for the win with Adam Flieler in the #5 and Mike Freeman in the #14 completing the podium. All the competitors stopped in victory lane for an introductory photo, with one competitor commenting that it was standard for the races in this division to get closer in the final laps. The Stinger class is slated to be a regular division in the 2020 season.
The third feature out was the big Fidelis Care INEX Legends National Qualifier race where several drivers from Canada crossed the border to make it a full field of cars. Andre Fiorini in the #7 held the early lead till a multi-car crash took out the #57 of Kevin Foisy. Despite several cars involved, all cars except Foisy were able to return. Daniel Carter in the #83 was able to get by Fiorini on a restart and later started to receive heavy pressure from the #14 of Coleby Felber. After surviving a few more restarts, it was Carter with the big win, followed by Felber, Canadian Matt Haufe in the #19, and Chris Malbeuf in the #10 with a fine 4th place finish after starting in the back and getting caught in one of the cautions.
The Caskinette Ford Modified feature went green for 29 of the 30 laps. Randy Brunelle in the #007 and Geoff Sharkey in #66 were the class of the field as the two drivers pulled away from everyone else. Unfortunately entering the final lap, the two came together and both would go to the back of the pack after a yellow flag. This gave the #4 of Steve Fuchs a chance to get around the #006 of Corey Trombley who had inherited the lead. There would be one more restart and chance for Fuchs, but it was Trombley who would win the race and get a guaranteed starting spot in next weeks John Burr Memorial Classic. Brad Winters was third in the #92, Jason Dinzler 4th in #37, and Chad Blair 5th in the #6.
Next week, Saturday Sept. 21, The FIRST ANNUAL JOHN BURR CLASSIC presented by Excel Tower Services and Dick Meyer Trucking, will feature four fast divisions of racing with the Sport Compacts, Super Stocks, Oswego Small Block Super Modifieds, and Caskinette Ford Modifieds capping off the evening with a $2000 to win 75 lap feature. The entire night will be dedicated to the memory of John Burr who was an original announcer at Evans Mills in 1967 and returned to start the 2019 season announcing from the booth in the TJ Toyota tower. Lap sponsorship’s are being offered for this final race and will be shared throughout the entire field. Gates open a little earlier than usual to accommodate the extra racing and the cooler nights. Pit gates open at 3 pm, General Admission opens at 4 pm and racing begins at 5:30 pm Go to the Evans Mills Raceway Park Facebook page for details. It’s going to be a BIG night!