All-Time Canandaigua Leader Ruggles Roars To 50th Career Sprint Car Win
Williamson, Darling, Minutolo, Eldredge & Trautschold all return to LOLR victory lane in ‘26
Canandaigua, NY – June 13, 2026 – Tom Skibinski, Land of Legends Raceway PR
For the first time this season the forecast of rain was zero percent on raceday in the Finger Lakes Region and for the third straight week overall car count still managed to clear the century mark at Land Of Legends Raceway.
Yet the only numbers that really mattered on this night were found on the final score sheet as six repeat winners cracked Marine Blue Victory Lane after seven feature events as LSI Solutions presented the ‘Saturday Spectacular’ on the Ontario County Fairgrounds half-mile oval.
And while Mat Williamson (Pepsi Big-Block Modified), Chris Darling (Stirling Lubricants Sportsman), Marc Minutolo (Proctor Enterprises Street Stock), Justin Eldredge (Smith Brothers Drywall Hobby Stock) and Preston Trautschold (MighTea Boba New Legends Sportsman) all returned to the winner’s circle, the first triumph of 2026 for Darryl Ruggles proved most significant as it marked his 50th at the fairgrounds in the DisBatch Brewing Company 305 Sprint Car class.
“Maybe things are starting to turn around, that black cloud wasn’t over me today,” stated veteran wingman Ruggles, now 60, describing the hard luck that has fallen on his family even before the trackside season began. An electrical fire decimated the Ruggles World of Auto Body shop in nearby Hopewell, with race cars, parts and essential tools lost in the aftermath. When the first green flag finally fell at the end of May, a pair of blown engines followed for Ruggles and daughter Alysha Bay, setting them further back in the quest for success at their Saturday night stomping grounds.
“Started putting the motors together at 6:30 this morning. Mike (Mastin, engine builder) and I tried to resurrect one of the old ‘smoke’ motors from the March 5 fire because we lost a motor last week. Alysha lost a motor too. We’ve just had terrible luck. Put ‘old smokey’ in the car last night and it had problems. Mike said get it out here this morning and we’ll try to fix it. So we got it on the dyno around 11am, ran 3-4 sessions and Mike said ‘runs good to me, go put it in the car and go win a race!’
WIlliamson, Eldredge and Trautschold all captured checkered flags on opening day (May 30), while Darling and Minutolo each claimed victory just last week. The time in between was much longer but well worth the wait for LOLR lifer Ruggles, who last won Aug. 31 in 2024 after a lengthy duel with Adam DePuy, himself a 48-time stock car winner at the fairgrounds yet still in search of sprint car victory number one.
On this night buckled in behind the wheel of Alysha’s pink Mastin-powered #48A Stirling Lubricants FK Rod Ends-Alysha's Cut & Curl/X-1 entry, Ruggles charged ahead of pole-sitter DePuy under chief starter Scott Hixson’s initial green flag to begin the 20-lap A-Main. DePuy pulled ahead by a bumper crossing the line low to complete the seventh circuit yet after brief contact the next time around Ruggles regrouped on the high side through turns three and four to regain a lead he would never relinquish.
The lead duo reached traffic at the midway mark with John Smith, Randy Years and Cameron Moss dicing for position further back. Opening night winner Spencer Burley moved into the fray in the closing stages, darting from sixth to fourth on lap 18 yet ran out of time to contend in the caution-free affair run off in less than seven minutes.
At the wire it was dad Darryl the new ‘King of Speed’ aboard the ‘Queen of Speed’ mount, authoring a 10 car-length margin ahead of DePuy under the checkers with Smith, Burley and Moss rounding out the top-five.
“I hate trying to block but I wanted to win,” remarked Ruggles, referring to the early paint trading with DePuy. “Obviously this car is trained to run the bottom because Alysha doesn’t run the top where I was running. I see (Adam) on the bottom so I better get to the bottom if I wanna win the race. Along with Mike, can’t thank enough Paul Colagiovanni Sr, he’s been with me all week trying to help out.”
While Ruggles shook off months of misfortune to register the memorable sprint car win, a late race caution continued to provide ample ammunition for Williamson to triumph in the mighty Modified ranks.
“I got lucky really,” admitted Williamson, the two-time reigning LOLR points king following his second win in three starts this season. “I was catching Alex a little bit but he’s a good enough driver to know where to be on the race track. And on a long run like that you don’t really get a chance to regroup.”
For the most part matching the sprint car A-Main running non-stop, fifth starting Alex Payne ducked under Justin Wright to forge the early lead in the 30-lap Big-Block feature. Williamson fell in 10th on the 18-car grid and cracked the front-five six laps in, from then on methodically picking off his nearest competition one-by-one until passing Wright for the runner-up slot on lap 11.
Williamson tried to track down Payne as the laps clicked off yet when the lone yellow flag suddenly flew with just four to go it was game on for a final dash to the checkers. Exiting turn three on the low side, Payne had cut under the lap car of Mike Trautschold just as the pair caught Doug Gavette between the corners. Again, Williamson rode the rainbow avoiding the Trautschold/Gavette crash directly in front of him to put his BRP special on the rear bumper of Payne for the lap 27 restart.
Back under green, Payne was no match for the no. 6 S&W Service Centre-Marin Drywall-Becker Bros.Trucking/Bicknell entry as Williamson charged past coming out of turn four on the restart, cruising home uncontested for a convincing 12 car-length victory. For the second straight week Zach Payne settled for third followed by Peter Britten and Jimmy Phelps while Matt Sheppard edged Justin Haers at the stripe.
“I didn’t know if Alex was gonna go to the top or bottom, luckily just timed it right going to the top, got some clean air under the nose and was able to roll around him there,” noted now 13-time winner Williamson from St. Catharines ONT, regarding the race-ending restart. “Total team effort on this car, I’m just the lucky guy that gets to drive it.”
While Williamson’s wins sandwiched a runner-up tally behind Nick Root last week, Darling’s early season Sportsman triumphs have been back-to-back in his first full season.
“This is just unbelievable, going from last year to my first year in the car to now being a two-time winner at Canandaigua,” beamed Darling, who logged a handful of New Legends entry level victories last summer before graduating into LOLR’s primary Sportsman class. “I can’t believe it, just amazing.
Already a qualifying heat race winner, Trevor Houghton led his first feature laps to kick off the headline 25-lapper with a full field of 24 cars making the call. ‘25 rookie of the year Chase Spoor moved to the point the third time around while 11th-place starter Darling reached the top-five after five.
With track conditions improving dramatically from heats to features, the slowing machine of Dylan Woodworth on lap two was the only blemish on the feature that was fast-paced from the start. And none was faster than talented teen Darling as he maneuvered his blue #714 Speed Connection-Honeoye Auto Parts-Fratto Curbing-Bilstein Shocks/Bicknell ride forward lap after lap.
Darling slid under Spoor entering turn three and emerged the third and final leader as the scoreboard read 17 yet traffic became a factor over the final five miles. With four laps to go Darling split the #23 cars of Timmy Borden Jr. and Jim Rushman rounding turn two, soonafter providing a clear track ahead to get the job done.
Veteran Nick Cooper overtook runner-up Spoor two laps later yet could only get as close as 10 car-lengths as Darling secured his second set of checkers in three attempts. Points leader Richard Murtaugh III finished third followed by hard charging 15th-place starter Kevin Ridley and Spoor.
“That kinda got me a little afraid,” divulged Darling, discussing his bold maneuver near the end. “We were going three-wide and I was in the middle, saw that #23 car (Rushman) on the top. I shot the gap and it worked out.”
Starting on the pole in the 20-lap Street Stock feature worked out best for Minutolo as he led the entire distance, holding off two-time winner Jimmy Grant to pocket an additional $100 Prouty’s Bar & Grill bonus for ending the streak.
“I never count out that guy (Grant), in the past five years he’s been on top of his game,” said Minutolo, who followed up last week’s Hobby division win with career Street Stock victory #13 to increase his Canandaigua career stock car total to 79. “You’ve got to be on top of yours if you want to beat him.”
“The toughest guys and fastest guys around (race here), can’t believe I’m here. I try not to watch the leader board but damn it’s hard,” Minutolo added.
Minutolo’s no. 25B Honeoye Auto Parts-Real Estate By Jenn-Big Mike's Auto/Chevrolet Camaro topped the score board for the duration yet seventh-starting Grant was on the move from lap one. Dicing early with runner-up Rick Crego, Grant finally seized second on lap eight although a caution period was still needed to challenge the leader.
The lead was a half-straightaway by lap 15 and when the final checkered flag waved the Newark driver had increased the margin to nearly three-quarters. Grant held off Crego at the line while C.J. Guererri pushed all-time LOLR Street Stock winner Mike Welch across the stripe to complete the front-five.
The 15-lap, 15-minute caution-filled Hobby feature was hotly contested from the start, with Eldredge emerging as the third leader in the slam-bang affair. Outside pole-sitter Blane Smith held off Frank ‘Bubba’ Burnell for the initial four laps before eighth-place starter Eldredge forged the final change up front with five to go.
Kevin Lloyd and Kevin Schrader tangled in turn one on lap 14 to tighten the pack with Burnell, Jimmy Grant and Daniel Kerrick next in line for a two-lap shootout. When green lights reappeared, sixth-place Marc Minutolo quickly crashed the party, advancing to second over the final mile in his bid for a second win on Saturday.
The blue #25J Eldredge & Sons Scrap-Sunset Bowl-Big Mike's Auto-Legion Motors/Chevy Monte Carlo never flinched enroute to the thrilling victory with Minutolo, Grant, Burnell and Kerrick crossing in that order.
“Kinda owe this one to Jimmy (Grant), didn’t think there was any (traction) on top and I saw him up there,” said former track points champion Eldredge from Waterloo, after his matching his opening night success with career win #15 at the fairgrounds. “I was making good ground on the bottom so I didn’t think there was anything up there. Guys were talking earlier about a sweep (for Marc) but I had other plans.”
LOLR Promoter Paul Cole provided MighTea Boba New Legends Sportsman teams with a true daily double due to so many early season rain-outs and it was young Trautschold taking both checkered flags in the twin 12-lap feature races that attracted a season-high 13 novice entries to Canandaigua.
Matching his opening day domination aboard the potent #20 Quality Forestry Managements-QFM Site Development & Excavation/Bicknell after not returning last weekend to defend, the terrific 10 year-old from downstate in Roscoe led the final nine laps in round one before bolting from third to first on a lap two restart to stay ahead the final 11 circuits in the nightcap..
“The track was a little bumpy in turns one and two the first race out and there was a lot of bite up top later on, just found it quick and that was really my go-to,” Trautschold said. “When I got an opening up high I took it. Had a lot of fun tonight.”
LEGEND LEDGER
With respect to the many graduations celebrated throughout the community, race teams and speedway staffers are off the third weekend of the month before returning June 27 when Pepsi/Geneva Club Beverage and Ferris Mowers present the final ‘Saturday Spectacular’ of the month. A full card of Pepsi Big-Block Modified, Stirling Lubricants Sportsman, DisBatch Brewing Company 305 Sprint Car, Proctor Enterprises Street Stock, Smith Brothers Drywall Hobby Stock and MighTea Boba New Legends Sportsman classes packs the summer showdown. The first qualifier goes green at 6:30pm, pit gates open at 3:30pm, spectators gain entrance at 5 o'clock and hot laps start at 5:30 on the fast fairgrounds half-miler.
SKIDMARKS
Guided by award-winning executive producer Art Rorick, the talented LOLR TV broadcast team boasting production assistant Teara LeGrett, graphics coordinator Mark Rose, camera operators Mike Yawney, Jim & Michelle Mullen, and veteran voice Steve Ovens (PA announcer) and Adam DelGrosso (pit reporter) is once again on-site to provide LIVE video coverage of every event through Land of Legends TV, with LIVE streaming continuing to be offered FREE in 2026. On-line registration at https://landoflegendstv.com for a free account is the only step to take.
Also available for download is the LOLR mobile app found at Google Play
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.goodbarber.landoflegends or
App Store
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/land-of-legends/id1508128970?uo=4 to secure your raceday pass today.
In addition to LOLR's weekly racing being simulcast on Land of Legends Raceway TV, each show will also be broadcast live on DIRTVision and highlighted by the mighty DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds. To watch, sign up for an annual Platinum FAST PASS with DIRTVision and experience every event either online or through the DIRTVision App.
LOWER PRICES PROVIDED WITH SPECIAL 2026 TICKET & PASS PACKAGES
General Admission Ticket and Pit Pass bundles continue to be offered to LOLR fans and race teams while providing a great opportunity to save money in the process. G.A. packs of 20 ($220) or 50 ($475) and Pit bundles of 20 ($700) or 50 ($1700) must be pre-ordered to be used during the upcoming season.
Regular weekly ticket prices remain set at $15 Adults, $13 Seniors, Kids 16 yrs. and under FREE. Pit passes are $40. For those youngsters needing pit access, Child Season Pit Passes are $50 for 2 yrs. & under and $150 for kids 3-13. Camping is FREE at all race events.
To purchase ticket and pit pass bundles, review marketing opportunities available at the track in 2026 or make media credential inquiries and vendor requests, please e-mail manager@landoflegendsraceway.com. Be sure to check out www.landoflegendsraceway.com often as the latest news and season schedule information will be posted right up to raceday.
Land of Legends Raceway is located on County Road 10 at the Ontario County Fairgrounds, just 1-1/2-miles north of Routes 5&20, and is easily accessible from the NYS Thruway (I-90), taking Exit 43 (Manchester, Route 21 South) traveling from the east or Exit 44 (Farmington, Route 332 South) coming from the west.
Land of Legends Raceway Event Summary – June 13, 2026
LSI Solutions presents ‘Saturday Spectacular’
Pepsi Big-Block Modified
*Feature (30 laps): 1. 6-Mat Williamson ($2,000), 2. 70a-Alex Payne, 3. 7z-Zach Payne, 4. 21a-Peter Britten, 5. 98h-Jimmy Phelps, 6. 9s-Matt Sheppard, 7. 3-Justin Haers, 8. 11j-James Sweeting, 9. 19w-Justin Wright, 10. 30-Nick Root, 11. 28-Mike Trautschold, 12. 25-Erick Rudolph, 13. 27z-Dylan Zacharias, 14. 17-Marcus Dinkins, 15. 32c-Kasey Coffey, 16. 6x-Billy Paine, 17. 22g-Gil Tegg Jr., 18. 9g-Doug Gavette.
Heats (8 laps)
#1: Britten, Sweeting, Z.Payne, Williamson, Phelps, Trautschold, Dinkins, Rudolph, Tegg.
#2: A.Payne, Wright, Coffey, Haers, Root, Paine, Zacharias, Sheppard, Gavette.
Stirling Lubricants Sportsman Modified
*Feature (25 laps): 1. 714-Chris Darling ($750), 2. 35-Nick Cooper, 3. 33-Richard Murtaugh III, 4. 20x-Kevin Ridley, 5. 41s-Chase Spoor, 6. 25n-Evan Nugent, 7. 10g-Austin Germinio, 8. 113jr.-Frank Guererri Jr., 9. 10-Karl Comfort, 10. 9-Tim Baker, 11. 10h-Trevor Houghton, 12. 21j-Justin Liechti, 13. 20-Nick Galusha, 14. 7g-Tyler Guzzardi, 15. 69v-Tony Velez, 16. 28j-Jordan Moden, 17. 20k-Kyle Ridley, 18. 26-Zach George, 19. 23b-Timmy Borden Jr., 20. 45-Michael Lupold, 21. 63-Dylan Woodworth, 22. 23r-Jim Rushman, 23. 2-Loren Lincoln, 24. 28-Mark Potter.
Heats (8 laps)
#1: Nugent, Comfort, Borden, Baker, Velez, Moden, Lincoln, Lupold.
#2: Murtaugh, Spoor, Cooper, Houghton, Ke.Ridley, Galusha, George, Woodworth.
#3: Guererri, Ky.Ridley, Darling, Germinio, Liechti, Guzzardi, Potter, Rushman(DNS).
DisBatch Brewing Company 305 Sprint
*Feature (20 laps): 1. 48a-Darryl Ruggles ($600), 2. 99-Adam DePuy, 3. 23-John Smith, 4. 15b-Spencer Burley, 5. 25-Cameron Moss, 6. 80-Bobby Parrow, 7. 2-Randy Years, 8. 36-Mike Stelter, 9. 121-Steve Glover, 10. 3-Bailey Boyd, 11. 81k-Dalton Martin, 12. 25g-Tyler Graves, 13. 18c-Dan Craun, 14. 77-Matt Rotz, 15. 21w-Scott Wagner, 16. 10n-Nathan Pierce, 17. 31c-Maverick Coffey, 18. 17e-Ethan Gray, 19. X-Dan Bennett, 14x-Lance Dusett(DNS).
Heats (8 laps)
#1: DePuy, Burley, Moss, Graves, Wagner, Dusett, Bennett.
#2: Ruggles, Pierce, Craun, Years, Glover, Martin, Coffey.
#3: Parrow, Smith, Gray, Stelter, Boyd, Rotz.
Proctor Enterprises Street Stock
*Feature (20 laps): 1. 25b-Marc Minutolo ($500), 2. 36-Jimmy Grant, 3. 5c-Rick Crego, 4. 00-Mike Welch, 5. cj1-CJ Guererri, 6. 57j-Ely Mangiarelli, 7. 63-Mike Fellows, 8. 88-Doug Webster, 9. 12-John Burritt.
Heat (6 laps)
#1: Crego, Minutolo, Guererri, Grant, Welch, Burritt, Mangiarelli, Fellows, Webster.
Smith Brothers Drywall Hobby Stock
*Feature (15 laps): 1. 25j-Justin Eldredge, 2. 25b-Marc Minutolo, 3. 36-Jimmy Grant, 4. 57b-Frank 'Bubba' Burnell Jr., 5. 61-Daniel Kerrick, 6. 55b-Blane Smith, 7. 57jr.-Tyler Burnell, 8. 90-Nathan Peckham, 9. 93-Jared Hill, 10. 18-Wayne Ellison, 11. 98t-Jack Terrell, 12. 24k-Kevin Lloyd, 13. 4m-Austin Mangiarelli, 14. 97-Kevin Schrader, 15. 00-Mike Charette, 16. 9r-Roger Bush, 17. 22c-Craig Dingy, 18. 29i-Isaiah Murphy, 19. 22j-Jon Johnson, 21b-William Bradley(DNS).
Heats (6 laps)
#1: F.Burnell, Minutolo, Kerrick, Hill, Grant, Charette, Ellison, Terrell, Mangiarelli, Dingy.
#2: Smith, Eldredge, T.Burnell, Bush, Murphy, Schrader, Lloyd, Peckham, Johnson, Bradley(DNS).
MighTea Boba New Legends Sportsman
*Feature #1 (12 laps): 1. 20-Preston Trautschold, 2. 26-MItchell Hyde, 3. 28j-Robert Henning, 4. 18-Doug Rohr, 5. 33b-Brianna Murtaugh, 6. 25n-Elizabeth Nugent, 7. 57-Shaun Toland, 8. 87j-Joel Knudsen Jr., 9. 28-AJ Mitchell, 10. 4-Matt Scott, 11. 11-Parker Ridley, 12. 33z-Sydney Wetherbee, 13. 19-Benny Wagner.
*Feature #2 (12 laps): 1. 20-Preston Trautschold, 2. 25n-Elizabeth Nugent, 3. 28j-Robert Henning, 4. 33b-Brianna Murtaugh, 5. 57-Shaun Toland, 6. 11-Parker Ridley, 7. 18-Doug Rohr, 8. 26-MItchell Hyde, 9. 87j-Joel Knudsen Jr., 28-AJ Mitchell(DNS), 4-Matt Scott(DNS), 33z-Sydney Wetherbee(DNS), 19-Benny Wagner(DNS).
NEXT EVENT: Saturday Spectacular, June 27 @ 6:30pm; Pepsi / Geneva Club Beverage and Ferris Mowers present Big-Block Modified/Sportsman/305 Sprint/Street Stock/Hobby Stock plus New Legends Sportsman.
*No Racing Sat., June 20.
Track Instant Info
Website: www.LandOfLegendsRaceway.com
E-Mail: info@LandOfLegendsRaceway.com
Twitter: @LandofLegendsNY
Facebook: @LandofLegendsNY
Instagram: @LandofLegendsNY
Live Stream: https://landoflegendstv.com/
Along with recognizing select 50/50 raffle fund beneficiaries, Land of Legends Raceway is proud to salute several sponsors and corporate partners that continue to help bring its fans the best Saturday night racing show in the Northeast. Listed alphabetically are 2026 division sponsors
DisBatch Brewing Company (305), MighTea Boba (Leg), Pepsi Geneva Club Beverage (Mod), Proctor Enterprises (Sts), Smith Brothers Drywall (Hob), Stirling Lubricants (Spt); event sponsors Admar Construction Rentals, A-Verdi Storage Containers, Lake Beverage, Copart, *DisBatch Brewing Company, DC Rauscher Contractor, Ferris Mowers, Fulldraw Hunting Equipment, Honeoye Auto Parts, LSI Solutions, Marine Blue, *Pepsi/Geneva Club Beverage, Phelps Cement Products, *Proctor Enterprises, Prouty's Bar & Grill, Regional Truck & Trailer, Rose City Drive In, Ryan Phelps Auto Sales, Seneca Meadows Landfill, *Smith Brothers Drywall, Superior Plus Propane, Tradition Automotive Group, Wilbert's U-Pull It; promotional partners Baker's Exterminating, Champion Power Equipment, Close Racing Supply(CRS), Comfort Windows, Elab Smokers Boutique, Emerson Oil Company, Fast Lane Rod & Customs, Hoosier Racing Tire, Mac's Dairy Bar & Mini Golf, Marine Blue, Meyer's Finger Lakes RV, *MighTea Boba, Mike Emhof Motorsports, NG Promotions, Ontario County Fairboard, Phelps Cement Products, Prouty's Bar & Grill, PumperJack Septic Services, The "Original" Red Osier Landmark Restaurant, Schultz Heating & Cooling, *Stirling Lubricants, Turn 5 Media, VP Racing Fuels, Weedsport Hall of Fame, Wicked Tees.