A Look Back at the 2016 Season at Ransomville Speedway
Story By: TANA ROBINSON / RANSOMVILLE SPEEDWAY MEDIA Photos By: ALEX & HELEN BRUCE / RACERSGUIDE.COM
RANSOMVILLE, NY- October 26, 2016- The biggest news of the 2016 season at Ransomville Speedway was the purchase of the racing facility made by the Atwal family, who became the third owner in the history of the speedway. The speedway saw numerous improvements this past season. Which included a brand new state of the art video board and a new lap counter. New Ransomville Speedway General Manager Tana Robinson was able to meet the additional demand for VIP seating with newly built VIP rooms. Ransomville Speedway also replaced the track surface for both the stock cars and go-karts.
Keep your eye on the Ransomville Speedway website at www.ransomvillespeedway.com for more news on Ransomville speedway as Robinson is currently working on the 2017 season, including a very exciting schedule. The one thing she didn’t have to deal with on a regular basis in 2016 was weather issues. The rain interrupted the schedule just twice.
Hometown driver Ryan Susice took home his second consecutive Krown Undercoating of Ransomville 358 Modified championship grabbing two feature victories. Susice came up through the ranks at Ransomville Speedway, starting in the Thursday night go-kart program. He has also won a Street Stock title and a pair of championships in the Investor’s Service Company Sportsman division.
The 2016 358 Modified chase went down to the final points night with Susice getting a fourth place finish while Pete Bicknell of St. Catherines, Ontario finishing second in the race and in the points. Kenny Wills of Ransomville and NIck Joy of Lyndonville, NY picked up their first career 358 Modified wins. In all, twenty-one different drivers picked up weekly track points.
Matt Farnham of Tonawanda, NY led the youth movement in the Investor’s Service Company Sportsman, by winning the division championship. Farnham won three feature events this season, including the season ending KIng of the Hill 100. James Henry of Niagara Falls, NY made a late season run at Farnham, finishing second in points. Like Susice, Farnham was a champion in the track’s go-kart program. Kevin Wills of Ransomville and Jesse Cotriss of Medina, NY were third and fourth in points respectively. Nine different drivers won features, including two other drivers in their first season in the class Austin Susice and Steve Lewis Jr. Nine different drivers won main events
Cory Sawyer of Niagara Falls, NY came back to weekly competition in 2016 and won the Ki-Po Chevrolet StreetStock championship. Sawyer also won a championship in 1996. Cory won two feature events this season while Billy Bleich Jr won six times and was the early season points leader. MIke Short of Tonawanda was third in points. Jaren Israel of Wilson, NY was fourth in points and also had six feature wins. The Street Stocks saw a growth in numbers from 2015 with seven different drivers getting feature wins and eighteen getting points.
Cole Susice of Ransomville won the Gippsters Collision Four Banger championship, winning two features and establishing a consistency of finishing in the top five. It was Cole’s second season in the Four Bangers. He is also a driver who came up through the go-kart ranks. Ransomville fireman Chad Lederhouse finished second in points with three wins, making a late season charge at Susice for the points. Mike Kramarz of Niagara Falls, NY finished third in points with a single feature victory. Twenty-five different drivers took the green flag this season and ten different winners in the field.
Second generation driver Justin McKay of North Tonawanda, NY, moved into the Van Raine Construction Novice Sportsman class after spending the 2015 season in the Gippsters Collision Four Banger class. Justin adjusted to his new surroundings very well winning the division championship. Justin won three times in 2016. Justin went into the final night of points tied with Andrew Spurback of Niagara Falls, NY, who sold his ride a few days before the final points night. Spurback still ended up second in points. Spurback also had three victories. Anthony Muscato of Lockport, NY was third in points with two wins and Darrell Borkenhagen of Sanborn, NY was fourth in points also with two wins. Garrison Krentz of Tonawanda was fifth in points. Ten different competitors were feature winners here as well.
The Van Raine Novice Sportsman class has been an excellent starting point for young drivers with several competitors moving up the ranks over the past two years.
If you’re still interested in going to the 2016 Ransomville Speedway banquet, you still have time to get your tickets. Call the speedway office at 716-791-3602 or call Tana at 716-514-6297. If you buy your tickets by November 4th tickets will be $40 after that they will be $45.
