On the DIRTcar Sportsman Series North Region’s final weekend, defending regional champion Shane Pecore took a significant step toward back-to-back championships on Saturday at Brockville Ontario Speedway.
The Cornwall, ON driver took the lead from Xavier Andrews on a Lap 32 restart and never looked back to win the 40-lap Feature, taking home the $1,350 (CAN) prize.
Andrews grabbed the early lead in the 40-lap Feature, outdueling Tristan Ladoceur as they raced into Turn 1. Behind him, Jessica Power stormed to second, setting her sights on Andrews early in the race.
Pecore, who started third, stayed behind Power’s No. 52, looking for an opportunity to strike. And after a pair of cautions on Lap 16 and 18, that moment came as he powered around the Kingston, ON driver to grab second.
When the race reached its second half, Pecore kept chasing down Andrews, who was aiming for his first career Series victory. But any thought Andrews, from Kingston, ON driver had of winning, slipped away after the caution came out again on Lap 31.
When the race resumed, Pecore used the outside lane to swing around the outside of Andrews and take the lead on as they exited the corner on Lap 32. From there, the 2016 Series champion went untouched to score his 12th career Series triumph, and first since Brockville in May of 2024.
“I didn’t know if I’d have a shot at the Zero if it stayed green,” Pecore said. “But I was thankful for the caution. Then I just did what I do, send it up top and it worked out for me.”
With the win, Pecore holds an 18-point lead entering Sunday’s finale at Cornwall Motor Speedway over Gavin Eisele, who finished sixth.
Andrews crossed the line second, earning his best career DIRTcar Sportsman Series finish. He said he was happy with his finish despite not getting the result he hoped for.
“Seconds not where you want to be, but we ran good,” Andrews said.
Ladouceur rounded out the podium, also earning his best career Series finish.
“We started on the outside pole and stayed up on the top just an extra few laps, Ladouceur said. “I fell the fourth, and on that last restart, I got to third. I’m pretty happy about that, considering the night we had at Can-Am (Speedway) on Wednesday.”
Bobby Herrington finished fourth, and Power rounded out the top five.
UP NEXT: The DIRTcar Sportsman Series North Region finishes its 2025 season with a return to Cornwall Motor Speedway to run the Feature that was postponed from June 1.
Drivers who race in the first Feature will have the opportunity to take part in a complete racing program following the event.
For more on the DIRTcar Northeast, follow the DIRTcar Facebook page and the Series’ X/(Twitter) page.
DIRTcar Sportsman Series Feature (40 Laps): 1. 0-Shane Pecore[3]; 2. ZERO-Xavier Andrews[1]; 3. 92T-Tristan Ladouceur[2]; 4. 88Z-Bobby Herrington[4]; 5. 52-Jessica Power[5]; 6. 18E-Gavin Eisele[9]; 7. 35B-Brennan Moore[7]; 8. 16-Matt Barbour[11]; 9. 88K-Dylan Kirkland[6]; 10. 88S-Fire Swamp[10]; 11. 48D-Sylvain Dupuis[15]; 12. 11-Dan Ferguson[14]; 13. 51-Bryan Preville[8]; 14. 707-Greg Brinklow[18]; 15. 98H-Domonick Merkley[12]; 16. 18B-Blake Smith[21]; 17. 32-Tyler Stewart[20]; 18. 28-Matt Mould[25]; 19. 79-Chris Hale[26]; 20. 18-Jordan Wood[22]; 21. 16X-Savannah Laflair[23]; 22. 35D-Dylan Moore[13]; 23. 35P-Patrick Kudrinko[24]; 24. 03-Joshua Jock[17]; 25. 17M-Madie Wallace[19]; 26. 20-Nathan Lambert[16]; 27. (DNS) 14K-Karl Potvin
Post-Race Tech: D98 fuel and carburetors were checked on the top five. All passed.
