In Saturday’s triumphant return of the DIRTcar Pro Stock Series to Land of Legends Raceway, Shane Playford created his own triumphant moment.
The Gloversville, NY driver stormed past Luke Horning on a Lap 8 restart and never looked back to score his first career Series victory in the Finger Lakes.
“I’ve never even seen this place,” Playford said. “The track was beautiful. Racing with my best friend was amazing. [Horning] made a mistake off (Turn 2), and I was able to get back in front of him.
“What a good time. We won on the [DIRTcar Pro Stock] Series.”
Horning powered to the lead on the race’s opening lap after beating Playford into Turns 1 and 2. Playford tried keeping pace with Horning in the first five laps, but the 2023 Series champion was too strong.
However, Playford got another opportunity at the lead when the race’s only caution for Devon Camenga slowed the field on Lap 8.
When the race resumed, Horning continued his pace at the top of the track, trying to pull away from Playford again. But as Horning entered Turn 4, his car slipped up the racetrack and took him out of his preferred line.
Playford took advantage of Horning’s misfortune, sliding underneath the No. 2H to take the lead as they reached the start finish line.
Shane Playford and Luke Horning battle for the lead at Land of Legends/Joe Grabianowski
After moving into the top spot on Lap 8, Playford pulled away from the field and led by three seconds with seven laps to go. But that’s when Playford caught the back of the field and struggled getting by Hugh Page, a lap car.
That allowed Horning to close on Playford’s No. 6 in the final five laps, making up two and a half seconds by the time they took the white flag.
Despite his late charge, Horning couldn’t catch Playford, though, as Playford went on to score the $1,000 victory at Land of Legends, becoming the 104th different winner in Series history.
Even with his big lead in the second half of the race, Playford said he knew Horning would be there at the end.
“Luke is so good at adjusting his line,” Horning said. “He lost the lead, and he knows why he lost the lead. And he’s very good at correcting that. So, I was just trying to get ahead of him as fast as I could. We did it.”
Horning finished second, earning his 18th career Series top five. The Gloversville, NY driver said once he lost the lead, he had to change his line to have a shot at beating Playford.
“I was just so tight,” Horning said. “I’d have to slam the brakes, and I couldn’t find anything that really worked. Then I got real tight when he got by me, and I was just settling. But then I was like, we didn’t come here to run second, we might as well try something.
“I just started coming in a little bit harder, and just before I would get tight, I’d start turning down the track more. I don’t think we could’ve gotten by him, but we could’ve gotten to him.”
Tommy Lizotte crossed the line third for his first career Series podium. The LaPocatiere, QC driver said he was happy with his finish at a track he’s never been to.
“This was my first time here,” Lizotte said. “It’s very good. We drove 10 hours to get to this track. Thank you to my crew for the help.”
Chris Stalker finished fourth, and Jason Casey rounded out the top five.
Current Series points leader Pete Stefanski finished seventh, increasing his points lead to 24 over Tyler Bushey, who finished eighth.
UP NEXT: The DIRTcar Pro Stock Series battles in its penultimate points-paying event of the 2025 season on Friday, Oct. 3, with a visit to Fulton Speedway in Fulton, NY, as part of the track’s annual Outlaw 200 weekend.
For more on the DIRTcar Northeast, follow the DIRTcar Northeast Facebook page and the Series’ X/(Twitter) page.
DIRTcar Pro Stock Series (30 Laps): 1. 6-Shane Playford[1]; 2. 2H-Luke Horning[2]; 3. 777-Tommy Lizotte[9]; 4. 177-Chris Stalker[8]; 5. 324-Jason Casey[10]; 6. 48-Jocelyn Roy[6]; 7. 2-Pete Stefanski[7]; 8. X15-Tyler Bushey[14]; 9. 12S-Dakota Sharp[11]; 10. 8-Marc Lalonde[5]; 11. 72G-Denis Gauvreau[4]; 12. 2Z-Hugh Page[17]; 13. 28-Phil Defiglio[15]; 14. 58-Roxanne Roy[16]; 15. 711-Rich Crane[3]; 16. 110-Devon Camenga[13]; 17. 54S-Zachary Sorrentino[12]
