Ridley Leads Green to Checkered to Open Beyea Custom Headers Sportsman Shootout Series at Weedsport
Kevin Ridley Leads Green to Checkered to Open Beyea Custom Headers Sportsman Shootout Series at Weedsport
Story By: Dan Kapucinski/Weedsport Speedway
Photos By: Jay Fish/RacersGuide.com
WEEDSPORT, NY (June 26, 2017) – The Beyea Custom Headers Sportsman Shootout Series has been waiting over a month to take the green flag at Weedsport Speedway, and they finally did Sunday night with Kevin Ridley leading the green to checkered 25-lap main worth $1,000 presented by Big Dog Country 103.5 FM.
Driving the No. 20X, Ridley set quick time in his qualifying group, won his heat race, redrew the pole position and then dominated the Beyea Custom Headers Sportsman Shootout Series opener as he ran masterfully through lapped traffic ahead of Tyler Trump, Will Shields, Glenn Forward, and Dave Marcuccilli in the top five positions.
Nick Nye, Corey Barker, Kevin Root, Nick Krause, and Nick Guererri would finish the top ten runners in the main event which saw 28 cars take the green flag in a field of 39 racers.
Ridley and Trump would lead the field to the green flag with Ridley gaining the early advantage in the main event.
The show early on was Nye in the No. 6N as he and the Shields No. 82 battled, swapping the fourth and fifth positions back and forth in the first several laps.
Shields, a heat race winner earlier in the night, would eventually secure the fourth position over Nye and looked to chase down front runners Ridley, Trump, and Kyle Inman.
Unfortunately for Inman, the No. 20K would slow on the back-stretch at lap 5 while running third, ending a great night for another heat race winner.
With Inman in the pit area Shields, Nye, and Forward would move to third through fifth in the rundown as Ridley continued to pull away out front over Trump.
Just prior to halfway Ridley would find heavy lapped traffic, and it appeared as though Trump may be able to make a run in the No. 9X. With Trump chasing Ridley, Forward was able to work by Nye for fourth as Marcuccilli began to slip his way to the front after starting ninth.
Eventually Marcuccilli was able to find his way by both Barker and Nye to find the top five positions as he tried to reel in Ridley, Trump, Shields, and Forward.
However, with no cautions in the event and a strong running leader, nobody had anything for Ridley as he ran away for the opening win in the Beyea Custom Headers Sportsman Shootout Series.
Forward, Kyle Inman, Ridley, and Shields would collect heat race wins in the Sportsman division with Taylor Caprara and Casey Pavlick winning consolations.
Weedsport Speedway returns to action on Monday, July 3 with the Sportsman Classic presented by Industrial Tire of CNY with the TUSA Modlites and the NY6A Micro Sprints joining the card.
The Sportsman Classic will now see green flag racing at 7 p.m. as opposed to 6 p.m., giving fans extra time to get to the Speedway on a Monday evening.
Admission for the Sportsman Classic will be $20 a carload with a huge firework display to cap the evening.
For a full 2017 Weedsport Speedway schedule and detailed information on the July 3 Sportsman Classic, be sure to visit online at www.weedsportspeedway.com. Fans can also FOLLOW on Twitter @WeedsportSpdwy and LIKE on Facebook at www.facebook.com/weedsportspeedway.
Ultimate Wingless Shootout presented by Big Dog Country 103.5FM
Weedsport Speedway – Weedsport, NY
Sunday, June 25
Beyea Custom Headers Sportsman Shootout Series
Feature (25-laps): 1. 20X – KEVIN RIDLEY, 2. 9X – Tyler Trump, 3. 82 – Will Shields, 4. 7C – Glenn Forward, 5. M1 – Dave Marcuccilli, 6. 6N – Nick Nye, 7. 31 – Corey Barker, 8. 34R – Kevin Root, 9. 24K – Nick Krause, 10. 25G – Nick Guererri, 11. 99 – Ben Wheeler, 12. 1X – Willy Decker Jr., 13. 16 – Earl Rudy, 14. 21 – Tyler Caprara, 15. 713 – Tom Collins, 16. 38 – Zach Sobotka, 17. 52 – Jessica Power, 18. 12G – Matt Guererri, 19. 18 – Tyler Singleton, 20. 32 – Ron Davis III, 21. 33J – Robbie Johnston, 22. 38X – Chris Fleming, 23. 27Z – Dylan Zacharias, 24. 15 – Todd Root, 25. 1 – Jim Spano, 26. 18P – Casey Pavlick, 27. 72 – Mike Prentice, 28. 20K – Kyle Inman
Heat #1 (8-laps, 5 Qualify): 1. 7C – Glenn Forward, 2. M1 – Dave Marcuccilli, 3. 99 – Ben Wheeler, 4. 1X – Willy Decker Jr., 5. 18 – Tyler Singleton, 6. 21 – Tyler Caprara, 7. 15 – Todd Root, 8. 98T – Tyler Thompson, 9. 7W – Tom Mackay, 10. 8 – Alan Fink
Heat #2 (8-laps, 5-Qualify): 1. 20 – Kyle Inman, 2. 6N – Nick Nye, 3. 9X – Tyler Trump, 4. 25G – Nick Guererri, 5. 27Z – Dylan Zacharias, 6. 38 – Zach Sobotka, 7. 12G – Matt Guererri, 8. 60 – Jackson Gill, 9. 67G – Eric Giguere, 10. 3C – Colby Herzog
Heat #3 (8-laps, 5-Qualify): 1. 20X – Kevin Ridley, 2. 34R – Kevin Root, 3. 24K – Nick Krause, 4. 713 – Tom Collins, 5. 32 – Ronnie Davis III, 6. 18P – Casey Pavlick, 7. 1 – Jim Spano, 8. 38X – Chris Fleming, 9. 36 – Ben Rushaw, 10. 7S – Tim Schneider
Heat #4 (8-laps, 5-Qualify): 1. 82 – Will Shields, 2. 31 – Corey Barker, 3. 16 – Earl Rudy, 4. 52 – Jessica Power, 5. 72 – Mike Prentice, 6. 90 – Nate Peckham, 7. 28X – Steve Marshall, 8. 49C – Carl Warren, 9. 33J – Robbie Johnston
Consolation #1 (10-laps, 2-Qualify): 1. 21 – Taylor Caprara, 2. 38 – Zach Sobotka, 3. 12G – Matt Guererri, 4. 15 – Todd Root, 5. 67G – Eric Giguere, 6. 60 – Jackson Gill, 7. 98T – Tyler Thompson, 8. 3C – Colby Herzog, 9. 7W – Tom Mackay
Consolation #2 (10-laps, 2-Qualify): 1. 18P – Casey Pavlick, 2. 1 – Jim Spano, 3. 38X – Chris Fleming, 4. 33J – Robbie Johnston, 5. 28X – Steve Marshall, 6. 36 – Ben Rushaw, 7. 49C – Carl Warren, 8. 7S – Tim Schneider, 9. 90 – Nate Peckham
About Weedsport Speedway: Purchased in 2013 by Al Heinke, Weedsport Speedway has returned to a real racers track, providing a complete venue for racers, their families and friends, and for the fans looking for motorsports entertainment. Officially opened for the first time on July 24, 1955 – the Weedsport Speedway 3/8 mile dirt oval has produced a legendary list of drivers and champions including Will Cagle, Danny Johnson, Bob McCreadie, Alan Johnson, Jack Johnson, and Dave Lape to name a few. Today the facility welcomes the best of the best in dirt short track racing from the Craftsman World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series to the Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds along with the DIRTcar 358-Modifieds, Sportsman, Pro Stocks, and more. While racing entertainment is the focal point, Weedsport Speedway has gone the extra mile in welcoming Weedsport Productions, which brings the facility full circle with a dedicated digital entertainment team for web, television, and on site screen usage.