Fourth, second, and first is how St. Catharines, ON driver Cody McPherson has started the 2024 DIRTcar Sportsman Series Fall Championship. McPherson, who started third, worked by second-place finisher Richard Murtaugh, from Fulton, NY, and Ransomville regular Cameron Tuttle from Wilson, NY to claim the $2,500 Mike Bonesky Memorial payday.
The 30-lap DIRTcar Sportsman Feature never found a rhythm as multiple cautions and a red flag period chopped up the action. However, the intensity ramped up with every restart and few friends were made in the scrums – including in the race for the lead.
“I had to pinch him a bit for the pass,” noted McPherson. “It was tough racing. Luckily we were able to make some moves on the restarts.”
With 75 laps of non-stop Super DIRTcar Series action on track beforehand, drivers knew they’d see a different Ransomville Speedway than they were used to.
“I was worried about the right rear,” said McPherson. “I know a lot of guys in the Big Blocks were running 400s and I didn’t even bring one. I kept the car as straight as possible for the first 10-12 laps and then started racing a little bit harder. Luckily it held out.”
“We had to hit our marks for the first half of the race and go racing the second half for the win.”
Perhaps no one in the field was more frustrated than Richard Murtaugh who led early.
“I am feeling really good but I wish we were one spot better,” said Murtaugh. “We got used up every restart and just lost it on the restarts. I felt like we had a car to win if we could get out front. I came here and competed against the best and got second so I’ll take it.”
The Fulton, NY driver could all but taste victory however the all-time winningest DIRTcar Sportsman Series driver had other plans.
“Before the yellow flag [lap 9] I had a much better car,” noted Murtaugh. “Once he [McPherson] got out in front I was just riding and that’s how it played out.”
Murtaugh was disappointed to get shoved out of the top spot but proud of his second-place finish as it was his first time competing at Ransomville Speedway.
Cameron Tuttle races at Ransomville weekly and was pleased with a podium finish for his home fans.
With Series racing playing out differently than a Hooser Racing Tire Weekly Championship race on a Friday night, Tuttle was eager to try something new against the Series stars.
“We had a fast car and we tried some new things seeing as how we were after the Big Blocks,” said Tuttle. “We knew the track would be different. We started outside pole and got to the lead at lap nine or so.”
Racing for the lead did not go smoothly for Tuttle as contact was made with race-winner Cody McPherson.
“The seven came down on me in Turn 3 and ripped the wheel out of my hands and bent the front end up. After the contact with the seven. My car wasn’t good. The steering was out of whack. It was a handful to hang on to until the end.”
“But we ended up third so not a bad night.”
UP NEXT: The DIRTcar Sportsman Series Championship heads to LaFargeville, NY to take on “The Nasty Track” Can-Am Speedway on Friday, September 6.
For more on the DIRTcar Northeast, follow the DIRTcar Facebook page and the Series’ X/(Twitter) page.
DIRTcar Sportsman Feature (30 Laps): 1. 7-Cody McPherson[3]; 2. 33-Richard Murtaugh[1]; 3. 35T-Cameron Tuttle[2]; 4. 18-Gavin Eisele[5]; 5. 61-Derek Wagner[8]; 6. 4W-Emmett Waldron[11]; 7. 44-Dave Conant[15]; 8. 111-Brett Senek[10]; 9. 38-Zach Sobotka[19]; 10. 21-Ryan Barrett[29]; 11. 15-Adam Leslie[14]; 12. 6-Dave DiPietro II[7]; 13. 410-Mike Fowler[17]; 14. 7T-Tyler Guzzardi[25]; 15. 30-Nicholas Root[22]; 16. 71-Jacob Bansmer[9]; 17. 114-Don Rosinski[20]; 18. 6M-Cody Manitta[30]; 19. 3-Justin McKay[21]; 20. FOX28-Tyler Stevenson[13]; 21. 16X-Savannah Laflair[23]; 22. 99S-Steven Miller[27]; 23. 24M-Tyler Moore[28]; 24. (DNF) 41-Boyd MacTavish[4]; 25. (DNF) 3A-Adam Hilton[6]; 26. (DNF) 43-Tavien Blowers[12]; 27. (DNF) 111K-Kevin Wills[16]; 28. (DNF) 52-Jessica Power[24]; 29. (DNF) 18W-James Harbison[18]; 30. (DNF) 21J-Justin Liechti[26]
Post-Race Tech: Second and Third place whistled. The first-place engine was pulled for further inspection and passed.
Hoosier Racing Tire Award: Ryan Barrett (Free Tire)
