A DIRTcar Sportsman Series tripleheader is on tap, as three of the four regions are in action on Memorial Day weekend.
First, the East Region opens its 2025 season with the Champlain Valley Showdown at Airborne Park Speedway on Thursday, May 22. Drivers will battle in a 30-lap Feature paying $1,500-to-win.
The DIRTcar 358 Modified Series is joining the East Region, along with the track’s Renegade, Limited Sportsman, and Mini Stock divisions.
Then, the North Region heads to Brockville Ontario Speedway on Saturday, May 24, for its second race of 2025. A $1,350 (Canadian) prize is on the line in a 40-lap battle. The DIRTcar 358 Modifieds, Crate Sprints, Novice Sportsman, Mini Stocks, and Vintage cars are also on Saturday’s card.
Rounding out the weekend is the Central Region, which will open its 2025 season as part of the Heroes Remembered 100 with the Super DIRTcar Series at Weedsport Speedway. A 30-lap battle awaits drivers as they race for a $1,000 prize.
The CRSA Sprint Car Series will join the racing program along with the Super DIRTcar Series.
If you can’t make it to a Super DIRTcar Series event, watch all the action live on DIRTVision, either online or with the DIRTVision app.
For more on the DIRTcar Northeast, follow the DIRTcar Facebook page and the Series’ X/(Twitter) page.
Here are the key storylines to watch in all three regions:
EAST REGION
Ready to Defend: As the DIRTcar Sportsman Series prepares to return to Airborne for the first time since 2022, a driver from the Vermont side of Lake Champlain kicks off his East Region title defense.
Bear Ridge Speedway regular Jason Gray is a two-time DIRTcar Sportsman Series winner, but neither was at Airborne. The East Thetford, VT driver has made one Series start at the 1/2-mile in his career, finishing ninth in 2021.
He enters Thursday’s event with one victory in 2025, after winning on opening night at Bear Ridge.
Plattsburgh Faithful: Gray must contend with a stout field of Airborne regulars who’ve had success in past Series events.
Track point leader Donovan Lussier has already reached Victory Lane in Series competition, winning the All-Star Invitational Feature during last year’s World Short Track Championship at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. The St. Denis-sur-Richelieu, QC driver has two wins at Airborne in 2025 and hasn’t finished outside the top five in five races.
Six-time track champion Nick Heywood trails Lussier in the track’s points standings, aiming for his second win of the season. The Plattsburgh, NY driver was the 2023 East Region champion, but despite earning a title, he’s searching for his first Series victory at a track he’s won at 28 times.
Veteran driver Bucko Branham is the track’s most recent winner, earning his first win of 2025 last Thursday. The Plattsburgh, NY driver has knocked on the door of a Series win in the past, finishing second to Alex Lajoie in 2018. Branham is a three-time Sportsman winner on the dirt surface at Airborne. He also has 13 wins on asphalt.
Another driver in the field who has a DIRTcar Sportsman Series victory is three-time track champion Travis Bruno. The Morrisonville, NY driver earned a win in 2019, outdueling Big Block Modified driver Adam Pierson and former overall Sportsman Series champion Shane Pecore for the win. Bruno has three top fives and four top 10s in five starts at Airborne in 2025.
2025 DIRTcar Sportsman East Region Schedule
Thursday, May 22, Airborne Park Speedway
Sunday, June 1, Glen Ridge Motorsports Park
Saturday, June 14, Bear Ridge Speedway
NORTH REGION
Taming the BOS: Tyler Corcoran and Richard Murtaugh are not expected to travel North on Saturday, so Brockville track regulars who ran Can-Am in April have the chance to wrestle the points lead away.
That starts with Gavin Eisele, who finished second in last year’s overall Sportsman championship to Cody McPherson. The LaFargeville, NY driver led most of Brockville’s North Region event last year, before Pecore passed him on a late-race restart. Eisele finished third in April’s regional opener and enters the weekend with two career Series victories.
Bobby Herrington, a four-time Brockville track champion, finished third in last season’s North Region event and scored the win in the championship season finale at the track last October. The Elginburg, ON driver has three Series victories, including two during Brockville’s Fall Nationals. Herrington crossed the line fifth at Can-Am.
Jessica Power will also try to find her way to Victory Lane on Saturday at Brockville, aiming for her second Series win. The Kingston, ON driver won a Series event at Brockville in 2022, and enters the weekend with eight wins at the track. She finished ninth earlier this season at Can-Am.
Defending the North: Pecore, the defending North Region champion, returns to Brockville on Saturday, aiming for his first Series win since he outdueled Eisele for the win last season.
The Cornwall, ON driver, who also won the 2016 overall Sportsman championship, is an 11-time Series winner, with three coming at Brockville. Pecore finished fourth in the regional opener at Can-Am in April and enters the weekend eight points behind Tyler Corcoran in the North Region standings.
DIRTcar Sportsman Series North Region Schedule
Saturday, May 24, Brockville Ontario Speedway
Saturday, May 31, Autodrome Drummond
Sunday, June 1, Cornwall Motor Speedway
Wednesday, July 2, Can-Am Speedway
CENTRAL REGION
A New Champion: With reigning Central Region champion Zach Sobotka expected to run a limited schedule in 2025 and Nick Root racing Big Block Modifieds, a new regional champion will be crowned this season.
Emmett Waldron leads that charge after finishing third in the standings last year. The Savannah, NY driver has made four Series starts at the 3/8-mile oval in his career, finishing 11th in last year’s North Region opener.
Hunter Hollenbeck and Tony Finch II are also aiming for the championship, with Hollenbeck earning a top five during Weedsport’s lone Central Region stop. The Fulton, NY driver earned a top five and two top 10s toward a fourth-place finish in the standings.
Finch, meanwhile, had top 10s at Weedsport and Land of Legends Raceway, rounding out the top five at the end of the regional Series.
All three drivers are searching for their first Series victory.
The Show is Ready: The last time the DIRTcar Sportsman Series raced at Weedsport, Richard Murtaugh won the Sportsman Classic for the second consecutive season. The Fulton, NY driver is a three-time Series winner after winning last year’s Gerald Haers Memorial at Land of Legends.
Murtaugh finished second to Tyler Corcoran in the North Region opener at Can-Am in April and finished second in his last race over the weekend at Land of Legends, where he’ll race weekly on Saturday nights.
2025 DIRTcar Sportsman Series Central Region Schedule
Sunday, May 25, Weedsport Speedway
Friday, June 27, Brewerton Speedway
Wednesday, July 2, Can-Am Speedway
Saturday, July 19, Land of Legends Raceway (Combined with West Region)
Saturday, July 26, Fulton Speedway
