Donovan Lussier, from St-Denis-sur-Richelieu, QC, finally collected a points-paying DIRTcar Sportsman Series win in a North/Central Region clash at Can-Am Speedway.
The hard-fought victory was his second DIRTcar Sportsman Series win, adding one to his World Short Track Championship victory at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.
Lussier, in the No. 61L, claimed the lead from Cornwall, ON driver Shane Pecore at the halfway point and held off all late challenges in the competitive 30-lap Feature. Pecore finished second while a charging Richard Murtaugh closed out the podium.
Thirty DIRTcar Sportsman Series drivers took the green at “The Nasty Track” to close out the Pabst Shootout with Shane Pecore and Mike Fowler sharing front-row honors. Pecore was forced to defend early as Fowler challenged the leading No. 0. Unfortunately, for the Fulton, NY driver, Fowler failed to complete the pass, slipped back, and finally finished 24th.
Pecore kept his foot on the gas and stretched the lead out by lap 10 when a rash of caution flags ended his reign over the field. The race got into a rhythm for the second half, and on lap 15, Donovan Lussier found grip on the high side and rocketed to the lead over Pecore.
Lussier then hung on until lap 30 for the coveted checkered flag celebration.
“I ran the outside the whole race,” said Lussier. “I knew Shane [Pecore] was really good on the restarts on the bottom. I just had to pick his lane a little bit and get back to the top as quick as possible. I saw him, and we made a little contact. Just racing hard for the win with him up front.”
Despite making the haul south from Quebec with only a skeleton crew at an unfamiliar race track, Lussier took the top prize.
“Every time we go to a new track, we seem to find out a way quickly on the setup,” noted Lussier. “It’s always fun to learn new things and keep going. It’s been an awesome season for us so far. We just gotta keep it going.”
Shane Pecore settled for second after making multiple challenges to Lussier for the lead.
“I tried everything I could on the final restart,” said Pecore. “Donovan [Lussier] is a good racer. He’s got a good team behind him. That was a lot of fun, and that’s what racing is about. Now we can head home and get ready for the rest of the week.”
“One of our main goals is to get back on the DIRTcar Sportsman Series. It’s been a seven-year absence. We are getting good home track points and good points for the championship season.
After starting eighth, Richard Murtaugh, from Fulton, NY, climbed up onto the podium.
“I just haven’t had the best luck here,” Murtaugh noted. “We redrew pretty badly with the worst number in the bucket. We brought out our new car and are just trying to make sure it is good. Just some small tweaks and we’ll be right there.”
Tyler Corc0ran and Taylor Doxtater finished out the Top 5.
The final two DIRTcar Sportsman North Region races are this weekend on Saturday, July 5, at Brockville Ontario Speedway and Sunday, July 6, at Cornwall Motor Speedway, where only the Feature remains on the card after a rain-shortened event.
The DIRTcar Sportsman Central Region also has just two events remaining on the schedule. They are Saturday, July 19, at Land of Legends Raceway (Combined with West Region)
and Saturday, July 26, on the high banks of Fulton Speedway.
