MOTORSPORTS: Justin Haers joins elite company with third Modified Track Championship

In a frenetic and sometimes even “weird” night of racing at Land of Legends Raceway, Justin Haers joined some very elite company just before misty showers drifted over the Ontario County Fairgrounds.

The night included at least three red flag periods. Twice, cars went completely out of sight into the turn two tree line. Heats were completed in about an hour, but the night was still flirting with curfew limits as the New Legends Sportsman took the track only eight minutes before the 11 p.m. cutoff. And without winning a race, Haers secured his third Modified Track Championship.

“It’s surreal. It hasn’t quite sunk in yet,” said Haers. “To focus the last three years at Land of Legends and to get the performance and outcome, I am really, really fortunate.”

At the end of the modified feature, Matt Sheppard stood as the winner, setting in motion a series of unique situations with notable historical implications.

Sheppard ran down leader Alan Johnson with around four laps remaining, denying Johnson the victory. Johnson, the all-time modified win leader at Land of Legends Raceway, is searching to extend his streak of consecutive seasons with at least one victory to 48 straight. He logged his first win in 1975, and has at least one victory each year since. Sheppard drove past Johnson in the waning laps of the double-point feature, taking the victory and the $2,000 payday. Kevin Root held on for third ahead of Erick Rudolph and Pat Ward.

Haers finished sixth, and in doing so, recorded his third straight LOLR Modified Championship. He entered the night needing to finish 17th or better; he started the race eighth. Johnson started third, and needed a win and coupled with a finish of 18th or worse, Johnson could wrestle the championship away from Haers.

“My mindset was to go out and win the race. That is what we were trying to do. In doing that, I have to be cautious and I [not] put myself in position to end my night early, and we lose the championship because of a move where I was too aggressive,” Haers said.

It looked good for Johnson to make good on his half of the bargain. He was leading when Alex Payne stormed past, only to have a mechanical failure a few circuits later. At that point, Johnson reclaimed the point before Sheppard tracked him down. Meanwhile, Haers held up his end of the bargain as well, delivering another solid top 10. He was welcomed by a shower of confetti in victory lane to celebrate a season anchored by consistency.

“A lot of guys that were super fast. I had to be more cautious than typical. After the first yellow, I got back in there and started making a charge to the front. We needed one more [lap], and we could have got a few spots better, but we needed to finish,” said Haers. “There were parts of the track where I felt really good, but I wanted to take the smoother way around and, in a nutshell, be more cautious than normal.”

The long game paid off. Haers did something no one has done at Land of Legends Raceway in 62 years: take a headline division Modified championship without recording a victory. Milt Johnson, in 1961, won the track championship at then-Canandaigua Speedway in a winless season. No modified champion has replicated that rare effort since.

“We basically went there, we did our job. We finished every lap of every feature and that is what it takes to win a championship,” said Haers, who now can claim titles on the heels of three very different journeys to them.

“They are all great. The way we won our first was exciting. We needed to beat Rudolph by a certain number of points [that night],” remembered Haers. “Last year, we needed to basically finish in the top 13 if Peter [Britten] won. You always double check everything; you prepare everything so that if you get a jingle you can pit and get back out there. You prepare for a worst case scenario. We went every week with the best prepared car that was possible and got the job done. This year meant a lot.”

It also pairs Haers alongside only three other drivers who have won three straight Modified championships at Land of Legends Raceway, including Bob McCreadie, Steve Paine and Sheppard. Sheppard has won nine track titles, and won seven straight in his most prolific run between 2011-17. Paine has won 10 track championships, winning eight straight from 2000-08 between championship reigns in 1990 and 2010. McCreadie was a dominant force in the 1990, winning four of his six track championships consecutively from 1992-95.

“How can you not be excited to be in that group of guys, Bob McCreadie, Steve Paine and Matt Sheppard,” Haers said. “I am very appreciative to be listed with the names of guys who have been so successful. And a ton of my sponsors are local around the area. This is why they sponsor my car, to get publicity. There is no better way to do it than to win a championship.”

A third championship ranks Haers among three more historically elite modified drivers. Haers joins the three drivers mentioned plus Alan Johnson, Danny Johnson and Will Cagle as the seven drivers to have won more than three modified track championships at LOLR. Cagle won six, all of them in back-to-back runs in 1975-76, then 1978-79 and 1981-82. Alan Johnson has won five (1977, 1980, 1983-84 and 1988) while Danny Johnson scored four (1987, 1989, 1991, 1999).

“I haven’t looked at the stats like that, but it was gratifying. My family and crew guys, there were 40 people down there,” said Haers of victory lane celebrations. “Down there, with the closest fans that have followed me for 20 years that go there to watch, friends, family, kids. It hasn’t quite sunk in yet.”

Family members met Haers with confetti poppers and a bottle of victory lane champagne.

“I had no idea they were going to do that. I’m superstitious, I don’t like to celebrate until it’s over,” Haers said.

There was one piece missing — Todd Kirkwood. Haers’ longtime crew chief had been ill leading up to the modified points finale and watched the race on Land of Legends TV.

“It sucked to not have him there, he is a huge part of the team. Everyone was thinking about him last night, too. And next week maybe we can get some pictures with him down there, too,” Haers said.

Haers will have two more photo opportunities with his Phelps Cement Products No. 3. First, LOLR is hosting a $3,000-to-win Modified feature Sept. 2 at Land of Legends Raceway before the two-day Gerald Haers Memorial Sept. 15-16. The modified portion of the Haers Memorial will pay $10,000 to win.

Zach Sobotka scored the win in the Saturday night’s LOLR Sportsman feature, derailing a near-storybook night for the Coffey family. Vic Coffey was added to the LOLR Wall of Fame to start the evening; Kasey Coffey was on pace to win his first career Sportsman main at LOLR before Sobotka made a daring pass to take the lead. Karl Comfort was third ahead of Paul Guererri and Steve Gray. The feature was red flagged when Tim Lafler soared into the trees, flipping end over end when the nose of his sportsman machine dug into the soft ground. The sportsman feature opened with a red flag period when six machines tangled in the first turn.

Bobby Parrow won the 305 Sprint feature in dominant form from the pole. John Smith picked up the scraps for second ahead of Steve Glover, Dan Bennett and Matt Rotz. That feature saw Dillon Paddock forge the path through the treeline off the second turn when Jordan Hutton broke in the first turn. Hutton laid down a lot of fluid and went into a spin. He ended up in the hedgerow. Paddock was driving around him when he got into the grass and launched through several small trees and disappeared from view. It was nearly the same path that Lafler took during his exit. The sprint feature was also red flagged when Ethan Gray struck the wall, shearing both right side wheels from his car before skidding along the safety rail above the front stretch concrete. He flipped and came to rest just past the flag stand.

No drivers or track crew members in these exchanges were injured.

CJ Guererri won the Street Stock main, claiming the bounty that was on Jimmy Grant. Grant basically has to start next week to lock up the championship in the division, but was still racing for the win. Mike Welch was able to hold Grant off for second, leaving Grant third ahead of Marc Minutolo and Carl Johnson.

Daniel Kerrick scored an emotional win, logging the victory over Marc Minutolo. The duo raced side-by-side for a number of laps before Kerrick parked the No. 61 in victory lane. The win was dedicated to his grandfather, who passed away four days earlier. It was an emotional victory lane scene for the Kerrick family. Tyler Burnell rallied from a flat tire and a two-position penalty for a pit lane infraction to take third ahead of Derek Excell and Jimmy Grant — who posted top fives in both Saturday night starts.

Nick Ventura started last in the 12-lap New Legends Sportsman feature, and won over Dillon Adamczak and Kevin Quigley. Kyle Ridley ranked fourth ahead of Kyle Quigley.

One week remains for the Sportsman, Hobby Stock, 305 Sprint and Street Stock divisions with double points on tap for the regular season finale September 2.

In Super DIRTcar Series action, the tour is eyeing a return this coming weekend to Lebanon Valley Speedway for the fabled Mr. Dirt Track USA event. The race will be the first event of September, and the first of three Super DIRT Week Qualifiers held that month. Those will also serve as the final qualifiers for the 2023 season, leading up to October’s 51st running of Super DIRT Week.

The Big Blocks will race a 101-lap feature with hot laps scheduled for 6 pm.

Cavalcade Weekend at Weedsport will feature a $10,000-to-win event Sept. 10, with the DIRTcar Sportsman Series also in action and then the final qualifier will be Malta’s Massive Weekend at Albany-Saratoga Speedway. That event, set for Sept. 22-23, will feature the The DIRTcar 358 Modified and Sportsman Series on Friday, followed by the DIRTcar Pro Stocks and the Super DIRTcar Series Big Blocks on Saturday with a $11,500 payout. That event will also serve as the backdrop for Kenny Tremont’s final race as he prepares to end his decorated career. The Malta race will be 115 laps in length.

Tremont has won 13 track titles at Albany-Saratoga Speedway, winning 81 times. He has been equally successful at Lebanon Valley, winning 143 times. In all, he has five Super DIRT Week wins (1 modified, 4 small block), 15 SDS wins and a total of 392 victories across 20 different venues.

During SummerFAST, Mat Williamson returned to the forefront for a popular win at Brewerton Speedway, holding off Sheppard in a thrilling main event. Sheppard was back on top for a win at Land of Legends on Aug. 16, and the win sealed his two-race Championship in the SummerFAST mini-series. Fulton Speedway rained out in the middle of the week.

Erick Rudolph looked right at home at Ransomville, dueling with Sheppard before streaking off to the win. Sheppard was second there, with Mat Williamson leading Adam Pierson and Tim Sears, Jr. in the top five.

Among Empire Super Sprint campaigners, the series went back to Granby and Drummond this weekend. Friday night, Jeff Cook scored a win at Granby ahead of Jordan Poirier and Danny Varin.

The Series will convene at Fulton and Brewerton for a CNY double header, racing Brewerton Sept. 1 and then Fulton Sept. 2. The series will make up the Utica-Rome event that rained out Aug. 4 on Sept. 8.

The overnight rains produced a fast track Friday night at Brewerton, and Max McLaughlin was prepared to deliver. McLaughlin won the 35-lap Modified feature, leveraging a lap 20 restart to rocket past Chris Mackey. From there, he built a noteworthy edge and was cruising to the win before a caution period with three laps to go bunched the field and brought a charging Tim Sears, Jr. into the mix from fourth. On the restart, McLaughlin left nothing to chance and darted back to a lead while Mackey had his hands full with Tim Sears Jr. Mackey held second at the line ahead of Sears Jr., who started 13th. Tom Sears Jr. and Larry Wight filled the top five.

Ryan Dolbear had a similar feature, with a late caution erasing a three-second lead. He held on to win the 25-lap main ahead of Riley Rogala, Chris Hulsizer, Brett Sears and Brandon Carvey. Justin Williams won the Mod Like 20-lapper, ahead of Kyle Demo and Tucker Halliday. Demo’s second place showing earned him the 2023 division championship. Nate Powers solved Chris Bonoffski to win the Four-Cylinder Super Stock feature; Bonoffski finished the title quest with the second place showing and is the 2023 division champion.

Can-Am Speedway rained out Friday night, leaving only Championship night on the regular season schedule. With one race left, Billy Dunn and Jordan McCreadie have closed on points leader Tim Fuller; Fuller was caught in a wreck during Scott Webb’s popular win a few weeks back, resulting in a 20-point loss to his nearest rivals on the points board.

Utica-Rome Speedway also rained out. The regular season wars will now conclude Friday, September 1. Matt Sheppard has nine wins in 12 features, and holds an 88-point edge over Billy Decker; Decker has raced 13 features but has been shut out of victory lane. Sheppard is the only driver with a win in the top five in points.

On Sept. 3, Utica-Rome Speedway will host the annual 50-lap New Yorker, paying $12,000 for the STSS Modifieds. September 8 will be the continuation/finish of the rained out ESS event from back in August, and will conclude the Utica-Rome season.

Outlaw Speedway was scheduled to be off. Matt Sheppard won the Ted Siri Memorial for Modifieds in the middle of the month, and Tyler Courtney scored the win during the All Star Circuit of Champions event. Outlaw will reopen Friday for their double-points Championship night. At this point, only Hannah Guererri has locked up a title at Outlaw, clinching the Rookie Sportsman crown.

Cory Costa, with six wins, is holding onto a slim edge over Danny Johnson in a quest for the Modified crown; Steve Paine has a mathematical shot on double points night. Seven racers in the Hoosier Tire Sportsman ranks have a bid on the division crown; Stacy Jackson is up by just four points over Blake Parsons and AJ Lloyd. Only 18 points separate first and fifth. In the American Racer Tire Sportsman hunt, Chris Fisher is leading Brian Fish by just 28 markers going into the finale. In the stellar Street Stock battle, Shane Wolf has a thin six point edge over CJ Guererri. Guererri is the 2022 division champion, and Chris Woodard is in the mix mathematically, only 28 points back. Marc Minutolo can rest fairly easily. He has to start the Hobby Stock main and stay clean to wrap up a title bid; he leads Brian Lloyd by 42 going into the finale. Brian Grant enjoys the largest point lead at the speedway, leading Ray Hyer by 79 in the four-cylinder standings. Gavin Hall leads Zach Daugherty by 12 in the four-cylinder youth division.

An incredibly busy night at Fulton Speedway offered double features for the Big Block modifieds and the hobby stocks, racing features that were held over from Aug. 12.

Billy Dunn registered the win in the make-up feature, which boasted 25 entries. Larry Wight raced from 15th to second, with Tim Sears Jr. following to third after starting 17th. David Marcuccilli and Amy Holland filled the top five. In the regularly scheduled 35-lapper, 35 modifieds took the green. There, Larry Wight finished one spot better with the victory from 12th while Tim Sears, Jr. raced up to second from 16th. Dalton Slack was third, having started outside the front row. Marcuccilli and Derek Webb filled the top five.

Andrew Buff denied Emmett Waldron in the DIRTcar Sportsman 25-lap feature, winning the race to the front from the fifth row; Buff started 10th and Waldron started 9th. Riley Rogala was third ahead of Cody Manitta and Gavin Eisele. John Pietrowicz won the first of the two 20-lap hobby stock features; Nathan Peckham was second ahead of Ron Hawker, Jim Evana and Brennan Fitzgibbons. In the latter 20-lapper, Nathan Peckham parked his No. 90 in victory lane, winning over Chuck Cushman and Ronald Hawker, Jim Evans and Colby Herlong filled the top five. Dylan Piersall won the Novice Sportsman feature. Richard Murtaugh scored a $1,000 payday in the boat race.

In addition to the Empire Super Sprints, the Fulton Speedway Modified, Sportsman and Hobby Stock champions will be crowned next Saturday. There will be double features for the Sportsman and Novice Sportsman classes, racing the held-over features from Aug. 12.

Tim Sears Jr. leads the points chase over Larry Wight, 620 points to 556. David Marcucilli (532), Billy Dunn (510) and rookie contender Amy Holland (468) fill the top five with a race to go. With the win, Buff has now amassed 494 markers with Waldron on his heels, just 36 points behind. Murtaugh is third (448), with Kyle Devendorf (436) and Cody Manitta (429) in the top five. John Pietrowicz is leading the Hobby Stock points by 54 markers over Jim Evans, 614-500. Adam Hunt (522), Ron Hawker (512) and Brennan Fitzgibbons (508) are in the standings’ top five.

At Genesee Speedway, Doug Ricotta parked his late model in victory lane for the first time since April 2022 with a win over Dave DuBois in the final event of the night. The 25-lap main came down to a lane choice conundrum, where leader DuBois elected to take the inside line following a brief caution period. Ricotta powered around the outside lane and took the lead, and was in command for the final 12 circuits. DuBois was chased by Jon Rivers, Jeremy Wonderling and Zack Carley. Phil Vigneri III tallied a Sportsman win over Adam Hilton, leading all 25 circuits. Hilton was the runner-up ahead of James Michael Friesen, Kyle Richner and Jacob Bansmer. Byron Dewitt picked up the Street Stock win ahead of John Zimmerman, taking the lead on lap 8 and showing the way for the balance of the 25-lap feature. Joe Chamberlain was third ahead of Tommy Kemp and Jesse Qutermous. James Gayton won the 15-lap Mini Stock main over Eric Weis, Rocco Conte, Robert Knapp and Cole Susice. Noah Pangrazio (Novice Sportsman), Nick Lipome (Youth four-cylinder) and Nate Koson (Mini Late Model) each earned class wins.

Oswego was scheduled to be off; the regular season ended with Dave Shullick Jr. (Supermodifieds), Noah Ratcliff (SBS) and Josh Sokolic (350 Supers) recording season-long championships in their respective divisions. The track will be tuning up for the annual Classic 200 Weekend over September 1-3. The kickoff on September 1 will include the 50-lap Super Stock Dave London Memorial XV, The New York State Compact Championship, and Supermodified and SBS Classic Time Trials. Racing starts at 6:30. Modifieds return on September 2, with the NASCAR Whelen Modifieds racing a 150 lap championship event alongside the Sportsman Modified Xtra Money 40-lapper. Racing schedules for that day have not yet been released. Classic 200 Sunday will include The 50-lap 350 Supers feature, the 60-lap SBS championship and the flagship 200-lap 67th International Classic. The schedule for Sept. 3 has also yet to be released. Additional details are available on the Oswego Speedway website.

Chris Marquart’s “Motorsports” appears every week during racing season. Contact him at 315-729-3999 or [email protected].

Marquart

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