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GS3 Motorsports Photo
LANCASTER, N.Y. (May 4, 2024) – The 65th season of stock car racing at Lancaster Motorplex got underway on Saturday with new and returning drivers visiting victory lane. George Skora III from Eden, NY was declared the winner in the Insinger Performance/VP Race Fuels Sportsman main event. Mike Dalfonso from Clarence Center, NY won the Monroe Extinguisher Street Stock feature event. Garrett Zacharias from Candor, NY was declared the winner of the New York Super Stock Series event. Vinnie Christiano III from Tonawanda, NY won his first career Mighty TQ Midget feature. Eldon King III from Freedom, NY won the Late Model main event. Chris Deyoe Jr from East Otto, NY won the 4 Cylinder feature event.
Past track champions Shawn Nye and George Skora III were on the front row for the Insinger Performance/VP Race Fuels Sportsman, with Nye in the lead. Timmy Lewis would enter the top five after passing both Jake Christman and defending track champion Tony Carbone. Nye and Skora would pull away from John Barber, Alan Bookmiller, and Christman as the race reached its 1/3rd point. Nye and Skora would pull away from the field, and Nye would cross the finish line first. However, during post-race inspection, Nye was found to have illegal gears in the car, causing a disqualification and crediting the win to Skora. The win for Skora was his ninth of his career in the Sportsman division, tying him with Don Staubitz and Patrick Emerling for 13th place on the all-time wins list.
Tim Faro and Jason Duke Sr were on the front row for the New York Super Stock feature event, with Faro leading the opening circuit. Third place starter Garrett Zacharias would quickly take over the lead on lap two. Jake Wylie would pass Faro to move into third place, as Jake Christman raced in second place. Following a three-car incident on lap three that involved Matt Druar, Chris Batorski, and Josh Hunter, Zacharias would continue to lead over Wylie and Christman. Wylie and Christman would battle for several laps for second place, as race leader Garrett Zacharias started to pull away from the field. Christman would move into second on lap 28, with Zacharias well in command. While racing through lap traffic, Zacharias had to take evasive action and drive through the pit road area at a high rate of speed to avoid contact with a lap car. At the time, Zacharias received the black flag. Following the race, a deep discussion and official review of the event took place, with officials deeming that however the move went against safety protocols, Zacharias would earn the victory after paying a fine for speeding down pit road. Jake Christman was second, and Jake Wylie rounded out the top three.
Mark Hoch and Dave Johnson were on the front row for the Monroe Extinguisher Street Stocks, with Hoch in the lead. Mike Dalfonso would take over second on lap four after passing Johnson and would start to go after Hoch for the lead. Deli to the lead on lap 19. Dalfonso would hold off Hoch in the closing laps to score the feature win. It was an emotional win for Dalfonso as dedicated the win to his grandmother, who passed away early in the evening.
Mason Offhaus and Wyatt Hannon brought the field of 4 Cylinders to the green flag for their 20-lap feature event, with Offhaus in the lead ahead of third place starter Russ Bulger Jr and defending track champion Chris Deyoe Jr. Bulger would take over the lead on lap three, with Deyoe moving into second place, and on lap five, Kyle Casper would pass Offhaus to move into third place. Casper would move into second place before the race’s halfway point. Deyoe would take the lead away from Bulger on lap 11 and would go on to score the feature win.
Dave Heitzhaus and Jacob Gustafson were on the front row for the Late Model feature, with Heitzhaus in the lead. King would take over the lead on lap three and go on to score the win over Dave Whittaker and Dave Heitzhaus. Whittaker, Heitzhaus, Jacob Gustafson, and Bobby Weber were battling throughout the feature event, with King well in command of the field. The victory for King was his ninth of his career at Lancaster.
Vinnie Christiano III and Carl Schroeder were on the front row for the 20-lap feature event for the Mighty TQ Midgets, with Christiano III in the lead. Mark Schulz would take second away, with Ronnie Flaim, Kyle Hutchinson, and Brian Schulz racing in the top five early on. After several incidents that slowed the pace of the race, including a Kevin Wilson flip in turn one. Wilson would climb out under his own power. Christiano III would hold off multiple challenges from Mark Schulz, and Kyle Hutchinson throughout the 20-lap feature event, and would score his first career feature win.
Racing returns to Lancaster Motorplex on Saturday, May 11th at 2:30pm featuring the Insinger Performance/VP Race Fuels Sportsman, and the Monroe Extinguisher Street Stocks, plus the first race of the season for the Rusty Diamond Cores Pro 4 and a visit by the CAMS Vintage Modifieds.
For more information, follow Lancaster Motorplex on social media and visit the website at www.lancastermotorplexny.com
RACE RESULTS – 65th SEASON OPENER
INSINGER PERFORMANCE/VP RACE FUELS SPORTSMAN: GEORGE SKORA III, John Barber, Tony Carbone, Alan Bookmiller, Timmy Lewis, Jake Christman, Mason Hanel, Brian Schulz, Jeff Szafraniec, Rich Littlefield, Cory Grenzy, Chris Pennell, Tim Garlock, Cameron Ruggiero, Shawn Nye (Disqualified)
Qualifying Heats: Jake Christman, Shawn Nye
NEW YORK SUPER STOCKS: GARRETT ZACHARIAS, Jake Christman, Jake Wylie, Eric Brown, Mike Hyman, Jason Duke Sr, Tim Faro, Paul Godby, Derrick Vogler, Bob Palmer, Chris Batorski, David Bailey, TJ Cochrane, Ryan Lagoda, Matt Druar, Josh Hunter, Colton Ingerick
Qualifying Heats: Josh Hunter, Jake Wylie
MONROE EXTINGUISHER STREET STOCKS: MIKE DALFONSO, Mark Hoch, Dave Johnson, Dustin Novoa, Mitch Friend, Chris Barber, Nik Welshans, Dan Dressel, Max Northem, Gary Bartella, Jerry Kosmowski, Tim Welshans, Dylan Carbone, Lou Carbone, Kyle Schosek, Alex Bialkowski, Mike Piccirilli, TJ Cochrane, Tommy Wentland, Mike Rogers
Qualifying Heats: Mark Hoch, Gary Bartella, Dustin Novoa
LATE MODELS: ELDON KING III, Dave Whittaker, Dave Heitzhaus, Bobby Weber, Jacob Gustafson, Ron Richter
Qualifying Heat: Eldon King III
MIGHTY TQ MIDGETS: VINNIE CHRISTIANO III, Kyle Hutchinson, Mark Schulz, Ronnie Flaim, Vinnie Christiano Jr, Chester Haywood, Ryan Hessler, Sherri Hogan, Jacob Schulz, Paul Jorgensen, Brian Schulz, Clayton Cain, Kevin Wilson, Mike Westwood, Nick Groff, Carl Schroeder, Brendan Wallace (Did Not Start)
Qualifying Heats: Ronnie Flaim, Vinnie Christiano III
4 CYLINDERS: CHRIS DEYOE JR, Kyle Casper, Hunter McKay, Russ Bulger Jr, Andy Danielwicz, Mason Offhaus, Mikey Place, John Byrd, Connor Kurdziel, Wyatt Hannon
Qualifying Heats: Kyle Casper, Chris Deyoe Jr
