The agony of coming up short in September at Can-Am Speedway three years in a row melted away when Richard Murtaugh, from Fulton, NY, capitalized on a pole position redraw to win the DIRTcar Sportsman Series tour stop in La Fargeville, NY. Shane Pecore, from Cornwall, ON, drove to a second-place finish to boost his championship run, while Cornwall Motor Speedway Track Champion Tristan Ladouceur captured the final step on the Sportsman Series podium.
A rainstorm struck just before the Feature events were about to begin, and the race track took on a completely new complexion. Drivers and teams had to make all new calls for the Feature setups.
“I was hoping it was going to be wicked slick,” noted race-winner Richard Murtaugh. “I am super good when it’s slick. We went back to the pits, and we got all the rain. All the knowledge I had ready for the slick I had to throw out the window.”
With adjustments made, Murtaugh managed to keep his #33 in front of the 30-car field for the entire 30-lap Feature, holding off all of Shane Pecore’s challenges. Everything finally came together, and Murtaugh got that September monkey off his back.
“This thing was just phenomenal,” said Murtaugh. “So close to winning this race three years in a row.”
Murtaugh came into Can-Am seventh in Series points with two Top 10s to his credit. Winning Can-Am catapults him into the Series Championship picture.
Sportsman Series invader Shane Pecore finished second and spent most of his race in Murtaugh’s tire tracks trying to find an edge and take the battle to the leader.
“The track was so fast, and Richard [Murtaugh] runs here all year and has the place figured out,” said Pecore. “We only come a couple of times a year. I put pressure on him on restarts because that was my only chance. He had the better car tonight and did a phenomenal job.”
The final step on the podium was the most contested as eventual third-place finisher Tristan Ladouceur fought hard with Emmett Waldron, Tyler Corcoran, and Jessica Power for the position. As the battle progressed, the track facilitated more and more passing, and hard work paid off.
“It’s slick in the middle, you can slide up and cut down,” Ladouceur said. “That was one hell of a workout for 30 laps. I don’t think I’d want to do 70.”
Tyler Corcoran and Jessica Power finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Next up for the DIRTcar Sportsman Series is the Sportsman Classic 75 at Weedsport Speedway on Saturday, September 6. If you can’t make it to the track, catch it live on DIRTVision.
DIRTcar Sportsman Feature (30 Laps): 1. 33M-Richard Murtaugh[1]; 2. 0-Shane Pecore[3]; 3. 92T-Tristan Ladouceur[6]; 4. 64-Tyler Corcoran[5]; 5. 52-Jessica Power[9]; 6. 4-Emmett Waldron[4]; 7. 6-Cody Manitta[20]; 8. FOX28-Tyler Stevenson[8]; 9. 14-Camdin Cook[16]; 10. 89-Dylan Madsen[23]; 11. 12-Owen Bird[21]; 12. 621G-Trevor Gibbons[19]; 13. 18E-Gavin Eisele[2]; 14. R1-Riley Rogala[12]; 15. 78JR-Nigel Pendykoski[11]; 16. 03-Joshua Jock[13]; 17. 01-Zachary Buff[27]; 18. 16X-Savannah Laflair[29]; 19. 10-Trevor Houghton[30]; 20. (DNF) 1-Jack Meeks[15]; 21. (DNF) 17-Owen Nier[10]; 22. (DNF) 2-Greg Henry[24]; 23. (DNF) 44-Ryan Barrett[14]; 24. (DNF) 60-Taylor Doxtater[25]; 25. (DNF) 54-Brady Howard[22]; 26. (DNF) 43-Tavien Blowers[28]; 27. (DNF) 34K-Keegan Nier[18]; 28. (DNF) 37-Marc Olivier McCarthy[26]; 29. (DNF) 9-Logan Brown[7]; 30. (DNS) 92-Frank Sibley
Division:
DIRTcar NE Sportsman Modifieds
In this article:Can-Am Speedway, featured, Jessica Power, Richard Murtaugh, shane pecore, tristan ladouceur, Tyler Corcoran
