A busy weekend near the United States-Canadian border awaits the DIRTcar Sportsman Series, with two Features on tap at Can-Am Speedway.
First, the DIRTcar Sportsman Series North/Central Region combined event will continue its postponed show from the Pabst Shootout on July 1. The event will resume with Heat Race 3, followed by Last Chance Showdowns and a 30-lap Feature paying $1,000-to-win.
Thursday’s Feature will now be a non-point event, as both the North and Central Regions have completed their season.
The DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series resumes its chase for the 2026 title on Saturday, Sept. 12, joining the Super DIRTcar Series as part of the R.D. Hutchinson Memorial.
Drivers will again compete in a 30-lap Feature, but this time $1,500 is on the line.
Where can you buy tickets to Saturday’s R.D. Hutchinson Memorial? You can buy tickets online at www.racecanam.com/schedules.
Where can you watch Saturday’s DIRTcar Sportsman Series event? Watch every lap live on DIRTVision.
For more on the DIRTcar Northeast, follow the DIRTcar Northeast Facebook page.
Here’s a look at what to watch for at Can-Am:
Tristan and Richard: With six races remaining in the DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series schedule, Tristan Ladouceur and Richard Murtaugh III have emerged as the top two contenders for the title.
Entering Saturday’s race at Can-Am, Ladouceur holds a 22-point lead over Murtaugh, who has more experience at the track.
Murtaugh, from Fulton, NY, is the defending winner of the event, which gave him momentum toward his Great Lakes 75 triumph at Super DIRT Week. In four Series starts, he’s never finished outside the top five, including a fifth in this year’s North Region opener.
A win this weekend would be his 10th career Series victory.
Like Murtaugh, Ladouceur has made four Series starts at the track. After two finishes outside the top 10, the Alexandria, ON driver has earned back-to-back third-place finishes. Ladouceur has finished in the top 10 of all four Championship Series races this season. However, he’s searching for his first Series win.
The Battle for Third: Behind the top two, Derrick McGrew Jr. and Nigel Pendykoski are separated by five points entering this weekend.
McGrew, who’s 54 points behind Ladouceur, won the Championship Series opener at Glen Ridge Motorsports Park and has finished no worse than eighth in four races. The Ballston Spa, NY driver also has momentum after finishing third in the Sportsman Classic last weekend.
McGrew is aiming for his third career Series win, but has never made a Series start at Can-Am.
One of the drivers that McGrew finished behind was Pendykoski, who scored his first career Series win in the Sportsman Classic. The Niagara Falls, ON driver enters the weekend 59 points behind Ladouceur and has finished in the top 10 in three of the four Championship Series events.
Pendykoski has made one start at Can-Am, finishing 15th last season.
A Variety of Winners: Can-Am’s weekly competition boasted one of the toughest divisions to earn a victory this season.
In 16 weekly races, 11 drivers reached Victory Lane, including Murtaugh on two occasions.
Tyler Stevenson, from Watertown, NY, won the most races with three victories, but ultimately fell short in the track’s standings to two-time champion Gavin Eisele, from LaFargeville, NY, who won twice. Frank Sibley, from Calcium, NY, was the only other driver with multiple wins at the track this season, also winning twice.
Joining those four drivers with a win were Logan Brown, Brady Howard, Eric Nier, Jessica Power, Tyler Corcoran, Karl Comfort, and Brennan Moore.
Out of those 11 drivers, eight of them have earned Series victories across the Northeast in their careers, with Moore, from Elgin, ON, winning the most recent event at the track in April.
2026 Championship Season Schedule:
Sunday, Aug. 9/Glen Ridge Motorsports Park/Fultonville, NY- Derrick McGrew Jr.
Wednesday, Aug. 19/Utica-Rome Speedway/Vernon, NY- Tony Finch II
Tuesday, Aug. 25/Ransomville Speedway/Ransomville, NY- Cody McPherson
Sunday, Sept. 6/Weedsport Speedway/Weedsport, NY- Nigel Pendykoski
Saturday, Sept. 12/Can-Am Speedway/LaFargeville, NY
Friday, Sept. 18/Mohawk International Raceway/Akwesasne, NY
Saturday, Sept. 19/Land of Legends Raceway/Canandaigua, NY
Friday, Sept. 25/Albany-Saratoga Speedway/Malta, NY
Saturday, Oct. 10/Oswego Speedway/Oswego, NY
Saturday, Oct. 17/Brockville Ontario Speedway/Brockville, ON
DIRTCar Sportsman Championship Series Points Standings
- Tristan Ladouceur 2060
- Richard Murtaugh -22
- Derrick McGrew Jr. -54
- Nigel Pendykoski -59
- Cody Manitta -93
- Bodie Marks -107
- David Hackett -128
- Connor Crane -139
- Jessica Power -146
- Bryan Preville -147
