Feature: Sportsman 25 at Weedsport Speedway (6/25/17)
The Beyea Custom Headers Sportsman Shootout Series has been waiting over a month to take the green flag at Weedsport Speedway, and they finally did Sunday night with Kevin Ridley leading the green to checkered 25-lap main worth $1,000 presented by Big Dog Country 103.5 FM.
Driving the No. 20X, Ridley set quick time in his qualifying group, won his heat race, redrew the pole position and then dominated the Beyea Custom Headers Sportsman Shootout Series opener as he ran masterfully through lapped traffic ahead of Tyler Trump, Will Shields, Glenn Forward, and Dave Marcuccilli in the top five positions.
Nick Nye, Corey Barker, Kevin Root, Nick Krause, and Nick Guererri would finish the top ten runners in the main event which saw 28 cars take the green flag in a field of 39 racers.
Ridley and Trump would lead the field to the green flag with Ridley gaining the early advantage in the main event.
The show early on was Nye in the No. 6N as he and the Shields No. 82 battled, swapping the fourth and fifth positions back and forth in the first several laps. Shields, a heat race winner earlier in the night, would eventually secure the fourth position over Nye and looked to chase down front runners Ridley, Trump, and Kyle Inman.
Unfortunately for Inman, the No. 20K would slow on the back-stretch at lap 5 while running third, ending a great night for another heat race winner.
With Inman in the pit area Shields, Nye, and Forward would move to third through fifth in the rundown as Ridley continued to pull away out front over Trump.
Just prior to halfway Ridley would find heavy lapped traffic, and it appeared as though Trump may be able to make a run in the No. 9X. With Trump chasing Ridley, Forward was able to work by Nye for fourth as Marcuccilli began to slip his way to the front after starting ninth.
Eventually Marcuccilli was able to find his way by both Barker and Nye to find the top five positions as he tried to reel in Ridley, Trump, Shields, and Forward.
However, with no cautions in the event and a strong running leader, nobody had anything for Ridley as he ran away for the opening win in the Beyea Custom Headers Sportsman Shootout Series.
Forward, Kyle Inman, Ridley, and Shields would collect heat race wins in the Sportsman division with Taylor Caprara and Casey Pavlick winning consolations.