WEEDSPORT, NY (June 14, 2021) – The 7th running of the Stirling Lubricants/Champion Racing Oil Sportsman Classic at Weedsport Speedway once again delivered as Zach Payne drove his family-owned No. 7Z to the biggest win of his young career, claiming $2,500 and the title of Classic champion.
Payne started the Sportsman crown jewel from the fourth starting position and took the lead from Nick Guererri on lap 21, leading the rest of the way to win the opening round of the DIRTcar Sportsman Central Region schedule.
Sportsman veteran Matt Janczuk threw all he had at Payne in the closing stages of the 75-lapper, but it would not be enough as Janczuk, Guererri, Tyler Murray and Tyler Corcoran trailed the No. 7Z by more than 2-seconds at the finish.
“I have to thank everyone, especially my dad (Mike), he gives me everything I need to be here,” said Payne as he rose to Victory Hill for the first time in his career. “Nick (Guererri) went high there and I just said to myself, I guess this is it. Once we got by I knew I wasn’t going to be able to leave the bottom, because it was taking rubber. I just had to be patient in traffic, you couldn’t leave the bottom.”
Weedsport’s opening night winner, Matt Guererri, took sixth with Brett Senek, Alan Fink, Gavin Eisele and Noah Walker completing the top ten runners.
Nick Guererri and Brett Senek led the 30-car DIRTcar Sportsman Classic field to green on Sunday with Guererri jumping out front in the No. 25G.
An early yellow on lap three for Tony Finch and Zac McDonald restacked the field and proved beneficial for both Payne and Janczuk as the No. 7Z and No. 33X were able to take advantage on the double file restart to slip into third and fourth in the order, passing the No. 73 of Kevin Chaffee.
Just laps later, Payne moved low on Senek to take second and began to set his sights on Guererri out front.
By lap 16 Guererri had found lapped traffic and it became evident that negotiating traffic would be an issue, as the bottom side of the speedway was king. Once in traffic, it took only three laps for Payne to close in on Guererri’s back bumper and the fight was now on for the lead.
Trying to find a way through traffic, Guererri rolled to the outside of the race track which left just enough room for Payne to slide underneath. The pair ran side-by-side before Payne was finally able to clear for the lead at the completion of lap 21.
Senek in the No. 111 was also able to roll back by Guererri to take second as the No. 25G slotted into third ahead of Janczuk and a hard charging Mike Fowler.
Unfortunately for Fowler, he would be the race’s next caution on lap 31 as the No. 410 slowed to a stop in turn three. On the restart Payne led Senek, Guererri, Janczuk, Chaffee, Fink, Murray, Matt Guererri, Corcoran and Dalton Rombaugh.
When the lights went back to green Janczuk made a bold move on the bottom of the speedway to steal two positions from Guererri and Senek to move into the runner-up position with the No. 33X. Guererri would follow suit, rolling by Senek to take second before another caution waved at the lap 38 halfway point for the No. 10J of Josh Livingston.
With the inside of the speedway having the overwhelming advantage, restarts would move to single file as the field went back to green at lap 42.
With 25-laps remaining the battle up front was settled in between Payne, Janczuk and Guererri, but further back the Tyler’s of Murray and Corcoran were bumper-to-bumper and driving through the field.
Driving the Kevin Root owned No. 34, Murray led Corcoran on a tear and by lap 55 the duo found themselves on by Fink and Senek to run fourth and fifth in the lineup.
In clear track Payne was no doubt the car to beat on this day, but lapped traffic would be the equalizer and at lap 58 the No. 7Z had a visor full as Janczuk and Guererri began to close back in.
However, caution would fly one last time on lap 64 for a spinning Rombaugh, which would return a clear track to the front bumper of the Payne No. 7Z.
That clear track proved to be all that Payne would need as he ran away to the $2,500 triumph with Janczuk and Guererri left a distance behind.
A total of 40 DIRTcar Sportsman were in the pit area on Sunday with Payne, Janczuk, Matt Guererri and Fowler claiming heat race wins. Consolation wins went to Walker, who drove to tenth in the finale, and Chris Mackey.
Payne is now the DIRTcar Sportsman point leader at Weedsport with a slim 6-point margin over Matt Guererri. Senek, Jancuk and Fink complete the top five.
The DIRTcar Sportsman next return to Weedsport on Sunday, July 25 as part of the Hall of Fame 100, joining the Super DIRTcar Series Modifieds and the Vintage Modifieds.
The next event on Weedsport’s schedule is the ESS Speed Week finale for the Empire Super Sprints on Sunday, July 4. The night’s racing will be a triple header as the DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds and the NY6A 600cc Micros join the card.
Celebrating Independence Day, a Weedsport style fireworks display will close out the evening.
Tickets are now available for Sunday, July 4 with reserved seating set at $30 and general admission seating for those 18 and up set at $25.
Youth seating for those 11-17 is $10 with kids 10 and under free.
Pit admission for DIRTcar members is $30 with non-member pricing set for $35.
Pit gates will open on July 4 at 4 p.m., grandstand gates will open at 5 p.m. and racing will begin at 7 p.m.
Visit www.weedsportspeedway.com or follow Weedsport Speedway via Facebook at www.facebook.com/weedsportspeedway and Twitter @WeedsportSpdwy for more information. Fans can reach the Speedway office by phone at (315) 834-3067.
Weedsport Speedway
Weedsport, NY
Sportsman Classic
Sunday, June 13
DIRTcar Sportsman:
7th Sportsman Classic (75-laps): 1. 7Z – ZACH PAYNE, 2. 33X – Matt Janczuk, 3. 25G – Nick Guererri, 4. 34 – Tyler Murray, 5. 64 – Tyler Corcoran, 6. 12G – Matt Guererri, 7. 111 – Brett Senek, 8. 8 – Alan Fink, 9. 18E – Gavin Eisele, 10. 22 – Noah Walker, 11. 3 – Chris Mackey, 12. 82S – Will Shields, 13. 70A – Alex Payne, 14. 73 – Kevin Chaffee, 15. 38 – Zach Sobotka, 16. 31 – Kane Bristol, 17. 10J – Josh Livingston, 18. 31B – Ryan Dolbear, 19. 14AJ – AJ Miller, 20. 41 – Dalton Rombaugh, 21. 6 – Cody Manitta, 22. R1 – Riley Rogala, 23. 27 – Jason Reome, 24. 51A – Zac McDonald, 25. 0 – Tony Finch, 26. 16B – Chris Bonoffski, 27. 410 – Mike Fowler, 28. 21V – Tony Velez, 29. 10G – Austin Germinio, 30. 32R – Ryan Shanahan
About Weedsport Speedway: 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. In 2018, Weedsport introduced the all-new Weedsport Kartway, just outside of the Speedway’s main pit area, to begin to foster the next generation of racers, crew members and race fans. Couple the racing with state-of-the-art camping and track amenities, unmatched on-site television production capabilities, plus the ability for large scale concert productions and Weedsport is one of the marquee entertainment venues in the country.
Sources: WeedsportSpeedway.com
John Meloling Photo