Anytime the DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series heads to Ransomville Speedway, Cody McPherson has been a contender.
And on Tuesday night, the St. Catharines, ON driver delivered a memorable performance.
McPherson stormed around Richard Murtaugh with two laps to go to win the Sportsman portion of the Flyin’ Brian and Ray Stevens Memorial.
The $3,000 triumph means a lot to McPherson, who traveled with Brian Stevens to the track as a teenager.
“Those last five laps I said screw it, I wanted to win this race so bad,” McPherson said. “There were so many nights it was me, Mikey Granton, and Brian Stevens going up to Ohsweken. I had it made being a 15-year-old kid listening to the stories from those two, and to win this race in honor of him is so awesome.”
Connor Crane and Richard Murtaugh sat on the front row of the 30-lap Feature, with Crane gaining the early advantage. Crane, from Canaan, CT, held on throughout the first 10 laps until lap traffic allowed Murtaugh to close in.
At the race’s halfway point, Crane, who was running the bottom, decided to switch lanes to try and get around a lap car. However, that opened the door on the bottom, allowing Murtaugh to slide his No. 33 in front of Crane as they exited Turn 2 on Lap 16.
Three laps later, Murtaugh’s advantage went away as the red flag came out for Taylor Wason, who flipped on the backstretch. But while Murtaugh regained the lead on the Lap 18 restart, McPherson started his run forward behind him.
Using the outside line, McPherson drove from sixth to second in three laps, setting his sights on Murtaugh with 11 laps to go. McPherson would get closer, but then another caution flew on Lap 28 when Cody Manitta had a flat left rear tire while running sixth.
When the race resumed, Murtaugh had the advantage on the inside line over McPherson, holding him off through Turns 1 and 2 on the race’s final lap. But that’s when the yellow flag came out for the final time, as Jayden Wust got into the outside wall on the front stretch, just before the start/finish line.
That set up another green-white-checkered finish, but this time it was McPherson who took advantage. The three-time Series champion gained momentum in Turns 1 and 2 on Lap 29, thundering past Murtaugh for the lead.
From there, he held on to win the DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series stop at Ransomville for the third straight year.
Murtaugh settled for second, earning his first championship-season podium of the season.
Early leader Connor Crane finished third, Tristan Ladouceur finished fourth, and Nigel Pendykoski rounded out the top five.
With his fourth-place finish, Ladouceur holds a 26-point lead over Murtaugh.
UP NEXT: The DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series returns to action on Sunday, Sept. 6 for the Sportsman Classic at Weedsport Speedway in Weedsport, NY.
They’ll be joined by the Super DIRTcar Series for the Cavalcade Cup 100.
How can you watch the Super DIRTcar Series? Live on DIRTVision.
Stevens Memorial: 1. 1-Cody McPherson[6]; 2. 33-Richard Murtaugh[4]; 3. 711X-Connor Caine[1]; 4. 92T-Tristan Ladouceur[8]; 5. 78JR-Nigel Pendykoski[12]; 6. 111-Brett Senek[7]; 7. 44C-Abby Castile[2]; 8. 26-Derrick McGrew[3]; 9. 33M-Bodie Marks[11]; 10. 16-Matt Barbour[9]; 11. 51-Bryan Preville[14]; 12. 52-Jessica Power[18]; 13. 61-Derek Wagner[16]; 14. 71-Jacob Bansmer[15]; 15. 53-Tyler Foster[22]; 16. 54-Sullivan Dickey[24]; 17. 99PJR-Matteo Panunte[26]; 18. 18R-Madyson Rouse[17]; 19. FOX28-Tyler Stevenson[19]; 20. 6-Cody Manitta[5]; 21. 10-Trevor Houghton[29]; 22. 2-Greg Henry[28]; 23. 313-Cam Van Zandt[20]; 24. 916-Nick Brundige[27]; 25. 43J-Jayden Wust[13]; 26. 82-David Hackett[10]; 27. 14-Brendan Zimmerman[30]; 28. 99S-Stephen Miller[21]; 29. 07W-Taylor Wason[25]; 30. 185-Tyler Puchalski[23]
Hoosier Racing Tire Award (Free Tire): Tyler Stevenson
