Canandaigua Card Rewards Newest Winners Comfort, Welch, Kerrick & Ridley
Williamson & Parrow increase early season point leads at Land Of Legends Raceway
*Karl Comfort victory lane photo attachment by Nick Meka
Canandaigua, NY – June 7, 2025 – Tom Skibinski, Land of Legends Raceway PR
The cream once again rose to the top Saturday night at Land Of Legends Raceway as Canadian chauffeur Mat Williamson captured his third Pepsi Big-Block Modified feature win in four starts while Bobby Parrow repeated by claiming the MighTea Boba 305 Sprint Car A-Main.
Veterans Karl Comfort (Stirling Lubricants Sportsman) and Mike Welch (Auto Value Parts Stores Street Stock) kicked off the new month with their first trips to victory lane along with Danny Kerrick (Lloyd’s Contracting Hobby Stock) and Kyle Ridley (Hutchinson Property Preservation New Legends Sportsman) to bring the curtain down on Auto Value Parts Stores / LSI Solutions Night at the Ontario County Fairgrounds.
With racers finally contending on a sun-splashed speedway for the first time this season, the Farmington Cemetery Foundation (sffcf.org) was recognized as the recipient of the top prize in the weekly 50/50 drawing.
A special table was set up on the midway Saturday and donations were made toward the recovery of injured driver Gil Tegg Jr., with the Big-Block veteran collecting $2,000 from contributing fans after fellow competitors passed their helmets through the grandstands. Tegg, who joined P.A. Announcer Steve Ovens in the scoring tower as a color analyst on this night, received another $1,000 from the 50/50 draw held May 17.
The weekly handicap format charted Williamson in 15th on the Big-Block starting grid, yet the reigning LOLR points king needed only 10 times around the slick half-miler to reach the point en route to the convincing 30-lap victory. The St. Catharines, Ont. kingpin was still feeling fortunate as a pair of opening lap crashes had his potent no. 6 S&W Service Centre-Marin Drywall-Becker Bros. Trucking/Bicknell entry scored fifth after just two laps.
“Obviously got lucky in the beginning, glad to see everybody walk away from that,” remarked Williamson, following his seventh career win in Canandaigua. “That front row was scary there coming to green. Don’t know what they were thinking but everybody’s okay and that’s all you can ask for on a deal like that when you can’t really see what happened.”
Yellow lights came on as soon as chief starter Scott Hixson waved the first green flag, the end result finding Adam Roberts along with Todd Root and Eric Williams in their first starts of ‘25 stacked together on the homestretch. A second try provided more metal mashing with an even lengthier red flag required to clean up the main straightaway mishap with a single lap yet to be scored.
This time front row partners Marcus Dinkins and James Sweeting locked horns, sending Dinkins sliding across the track unable to avoid the onrushing pack. When the dust finally cleared, Dinkins was done for the night and joined pitside for the remainder by Justin Haers, Erick Rudolph, Dylan Zacharias, Daniel Johnson Jr. and Roberts. No injuries were reported in the melee despite the heavy damage incurred.
Williamson was flat on the gas when green lights reappeared, ducking low to crack the front-five by lap two then darting under both Matt Sheppard and Kyle Coffey to take third the next time around. It didn’t stop there as Sweeting was the next victim on lap four before ‘Money Mat’ reeled in early pace-setter Nick Root for the lone lead change on lap 11.
“Saw the #3 (Haers) car get turned around at the start of the first (yellow) and tried to go around him and was hit from behind,” noted Williamson, continuing to recall the lap one race wrecks. “The second one I just seen chaos and knew it wasn’t gonna be good. It’s still good to win, a good end to the week.”
Just one more yellow flag flew for a minor incident involving Dalton Slack on lap 23, with Root still chasing Williamson while 9th-starting Alex Payne climbed to third ahead of Coffey and Sheppard. Payne jumped into second on the final restart followed immediately by Sheppard but Williamson would not be denied, increasing the winning margin to a half-straightaway under the checkered flag.
With the Modified main seemingly decided a third of the way through, the 25-lap Sportsman feature needed 21 times around to determine a winner. And that was just enough for eighth-starting Comfort to track down rising star Nick Ventura and seize the opportunity on the way to his 25th career open-wheel win at the fairgrounds.
“This car was just mint, unreal,” beamed Comfort, the 1999 and 2000 Sportsman points champion, who also logged two full-fender wins at LOLR in 1990. “This is a transition year for us and it’s all coming together. We’re having a great start to the season and it’s great to finally be back here in victory lane.”
Fresh off a fourth-place finish the previous night at Brewerton Speedway north of Syracuse, Ventura jumped out early to lead the 20-car field. With five laps in the books division rookie Chase Spoor ran second with Comfort in persistent pursuit ahead of Evan Nugent and Tim Baker.
Twelfth-starting Tyler Corcoran cracked the top-5 on lap eight with season-opening winner Matt Guererri in his tire tracks looking for more. As the laps counted down the experienced wheelemen moved up, Comfort grabbing second on lap 14 and Corcoran securing third on lap 18. Lap after lap Comfort cut the deficit between Ventura, finally swinging low for the lead exiting turn four and carrying a four car-length advantage under the checkers.
“I think (Ventura) maybe wore out his tires and think I was pretty consistent the whole race,” figured Comfort, the Stanley driver posing alongside his #10 Steve General Contractor-Millco Woodworking-Fisher Tree Service/Bicknell ride in the elusive winner’s circle. “He was just losing it a little bit in the end. I was hoping to get into more lapped cars and thought some of the other guys might run me down up top but things just went our way tonight.”
New points leader Corcoran placed second to overtake seventh-place finisher Richard Murtaugh III, who started last, while Guererri, Ventura and Spoor rounded out the final front-five. Comfort improved to third on the updated points chart.
Declared the opening night victor when apparent winner Ethan Gray was disqualified after turning up light on the scales in the customary post-race inspection, defending LOLR 305 Sprints titlist Parrow left nothing to chance adding an undisputed ending to his second 20-lap win of the ‘25 campaign in Canandaigua.
Parrow denied Dalton Martin his first-ever victory by slinging under the division rookie on lap 12 and hanging on for a four car-length triumph. John Smith returned following last week’s heat race flip to take third while Gray passed Dan Craun for fourth five laps from the end to top the final finishing order in the caution-free affair.
“This is the type of track you just had to take your time and keep the car straight,” stated Parrow, on the heels of his 14th career 305 win at LOLR with the Waterloo warrior notching another in an Empire Super Sprint special held on the fairgrounds in 1992. “This is a car Doug Shaw was using after he stopped building cars and he gave me a good deal on it. My pit guy Charlie built the motor, his first one, and it still got a little hot at the end.”
Despite experiencing an oil leak, Parrow’s no. 80 Seneca Meadows-Proctor Enterprises-Young Agency-Waterloo Auto machine was the class of the short field. Many track regulars were contending Saturday in a CRSA Series event at Thunder Mountain Speedway in New York’s Southern Tier with Johnny Smith defeating LOLR wingmen Zach Sobotka and Dillon Paddock for top honors in the latest tour stop.
With a dozen Street Stockers signed in on his sponsor’s night, the result was a double-zero payday as graybeard Welch returned to old ways dominating the 20-lap feature aboard his flashy no. 00 Orange Crush-Auto Value Parts Stores-Eldredge & Sons Scrap Recycling-Bud’s Apple Pie mount.
“Great race by him, clean side-by-side, he’s just a great competitor,” declared Welch, after Canadaigua’s all-time stock car winner forced Rick Crego to settle for runner-up laurels and deny him his first trip to victory lane. Instead, fourth starting Welch mirrored his every move, with the popular Stanley pilot rushing around Crego at the midway mark to post an uncontested five car-length victory at the line.
“Good racing and good to have some extra cars here tonight. And always good to win on your sponsor’s night. My family is here so it’s a great night for them. This one is dedicated to my wife Tana, she’s been going through a lot lately,” cracked an emotional Welch, employed as a district manager for Auto Value Parts Stores, following the 11-time track champion’s 89th Street Stock win at LOLR over Crego, invader Glenn Whritenour and past track champ Jimmy Grant. The victory also vaulted him up the points ladder, now trailing only fifth-place race finisher C.J. Guererri, 220-218,in the current standings.
Making his first appearance of the season at LOLR on Saturday, a return trip to the winner’s circle covered comfortable ground for third-generation driver Kerrick. His #61 Fratto Curbing-Midlakes Welding & Machining-Fisher Tree Service Special started alongside points leader Frank ‘Bubba’ Burnell and needed only six circuits to blast by Blane Smith and take home the 15-lap Hobby Stock trophy.
“Car felt pretty good for the first time back this year,” downplayed Kerrick, after recording his seventh career LOLR win. “Been racing at Outlaw (Speedway in Dundee), this year, trying something a little different. This week (Friday) Outlaw rained out so we thought might as well come to Canandaigua.”
That decision paid dividends for the winner yet fateful for Canandaigua’s full-fender contingent as Kerrick trails only two-time LOLR Hobby season champion Marc Minutolo on the Outlaw points chart. In the LOLR main, Kerrick bolted from 10th to first in just three miles despite three-wide racing up front thwarting his earliest efforts. A pair of yellows on lap four hampered front-runners Justin Eldredge and Burnell, opening the door for Kerrick to advance and slamming it shut on the rest of the field.
“Really was just trying to get by one (car) at a time,” conceded Kerrick, who finished third in points last season at the fairgrounds. “It’s hard when all these guys are side-by-side. Kinda got lucky with that one caution and I was able to gain a couple spots.”
Establishing a commanding lead in the closing stages, the final yellow flag on lap 14 erased a healthy 2.6-sec. advantage and only delayed the inevitable for the Stanley driver who rolled on to a 10 car-length win on familiar turf. Minutolo stole second from Smith near the end while Nate Peckham and Eldredge completed the top-five.
Different night, different track conditions, different result as Ridley ended an even younger Chris Darling’s streak of three wins to garner the 12-lap New Legends Sportsman victory steering his no. 20K Howie’s Auto-Fratto Curbing-Safety Awareness Solutions/Bicknell car.
“Finally got the car set up how I wanted to, didn’t go that well in hot laps and heat but we got it pretty dialed,” remarked Ridley, who won his first Legends race last August. Over on the Central New York circuit, girlfriend Belle Hogan won the Novice Sportsman feature at Fulton Speedway to complete the Saturday night sweep.
Angel Sperring led the opening seven laps before Ridley forged the final lead change just past the halfway point. While dicing for third, the lone caution flew when contact between Sydney Wetherbee and Darling sent Wetherbee around in turns one and two. Despite Darling putting himself to the rear on his own, he still stormed through to take second at the stripe 15 car-lengths back, with Sperring, Shaun Toland and Ethan Olmstead crossing the line next.”
“Knew the track would slick up at the end and kinda had the set-up” added Ridley, nephew of multi-time LOLR track champion and recent feature winner Kevin Ridley. “Called Uncle Kevin because he’s still in Vermont and he set it up for me. (Angel) was doing good but it was really hard to pass. Finally got under when she messed up in (turn) four and we just held on to it. Have to thank all my sponsors for getting me here to do what I want to do.”
LEGEND LEDGER
The second month of motorsports continues June 14 as Regional Truck & Trailer and Wilbert’s U-Pull It headline the six-division ‘Saturday Spectacular.’ Pepsi Big-Block Modified, Stirling Lubricants Sportsman, MighTea Boba 305 Sprint Car, Auto Value Parts Stores Street Stock, Lloyd’s Contracting Hobby Stock and Hutchinson Property Preservation New Legends Sportsman classes highlight the show with Rise Up Therapeutic Horsemanship the beneficiary while the first induction of 2025 to the LOLR Wall of Fame leads off the program. 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.
BUTTON ON WALL OF FAME-OUS
The newest addition to the Land Of Legends Wall of Fame will be made this coming Saturday as Central New York Sportsman standout Mike Button is the first selection in Canandaigua’s Class of 2025. Button joins 2018 LOLR WoF charter members Donald ‘Dutch’ Hoag, Alan Johnson, ‘Barefoot’ Bob McCreadie and DIRT Motorsports founder Glenn Donnelly, Class of ’19 inductees Steve Pesarek, Milt Johnson, Gary Montgomery and Gary & Donna Spaid, ’21 honorees Steve Paine, Paul Guererri, Mike Welch and Fred Taney, ‘22 winners Danny Johnson, Gary Tomkins, Tom & Kim Ewing and Brad Ovens, ‘23 drivers Charlie Rudolph, Vic Coffey, Joe Plazek and Darryl Ruggles and last year’s group including Adam DePuy, full-fender drivers Jipp Ortiz and Mike Minutolo Sr, along with the Haers Family in the June 14 tribute staged behind the main grandstands following practice.
SKIDMARKS
Once more commanded by award-winning executive producer Art Rorick, the talent-laden LOLR TV broadcast team boasting production assistants Makenna Hansen & C.J. Miller, graphics coordinator Mark Rore, camera operators Mike Yawney, Jim & Michelle Mullen, and veteran voices Steve Ovens (PA announcer) and Doug Elkins (pit reporter) maintains its presence on-site to provide LIVE video coverage of every event through Land of Legends TV, with LIVE streaming continuing to be offered FREE in 2025. 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.
DISCOUNT SPECIALS OFFERED WITH 2025 TICKET BUNDLES & PIT PASSES
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 ($1,700) must be pre-ordered to be used during the upcoming season.
Regular weekly G.A. ticket prices continue at $15 Adults and $13 Seniors (65 yrs. and older) while Kids 16 yrs. and under (must be accompanied by an adult) remain FREE. Pit passes are $40. For those youngsters needing pit access, a Child Season Pit Pass is $50 for tykes under 2 yrs. and $150 each for kids 2-13. All children must be accompanied by a legal guardian while competitors are not eligible for kids season passes.
Camping is FREE in outer parking areas and for inside parking, modest charges of $15 for cars and $25 for motorhomes/campers are standard fairground fares.
*Individual tickets carry a $15 value and are valid for any regular Saturday Spectacular event. For special events, ticket holders may use one bundle ticket (worth $15) towards the price of admission and pay the difference at the gate
To purchase ticket and pit pass bundles or discuss marketing opportunities available at the track in 2025, please contact LOLR Director of Marketing & Operations Tana Robinson via e-mail tana@landoflegendsraceway.com or cell 716-799-5669.
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 at the Ontario County Fairgrounds, east of the city on Town Line Road (County Road 10), with easy access off either Exit 43 (Manchester, Route 21 South) or Exit 44 (Farmington, Route 332 South) of the New York State Thruway, just ½-hour southeast of Rochester.
Land of Legends Raceway Quick Results – June 7, 2025
Auto Value Parts Stores & LSI Solutions present ‘Saturday Spectacular’
Pepsi Big-Block Modified
*Feature (30 laps): 1. 6-Mat Williamson ($2,000), 2. 70a-Alex Payne, 3. 9s-Matt Sheppard, 4. 30-Nick Root, 5. 23c-Kyle Coffey, 6. 32c-Kasey Coffey, 7. 19-Tim Fuller, 8. 11j-James Sweeting, 9. 7z-Zach Payne, 10. 3rs-Dalton Slack, 11. 21a-Peter Britten, 12. 19w-Justin Wright, 13. 21-Derrick Podsiadlo, 14. 21x-Eric Williams, 15. 30t-Todd Root, 16. 17-Marcus Dinkins, 17. 3-Justin Haers, 18. 25-Erick Rudolph, 19. 27z-Dylan Zacharias, 20. 63-Adam Roberts, 21. 27jr-Daniel Johnson Jr.
Heats (8 laps)
#1: Rudolph, Williamson, A.Payne, Slack, Ky.Coffey, Wright, Roberts.
#2: Z.Payne, Haers, Fuller, Ka.Coffey, Sweeting, T.Root, Johnson.
#3: Britten, N.Root, Sheppard, Zacharias, Dinkins, Podsiadlo, Williams.
Stirling Lubricants Sportsman Modified
*Feature (25 laps): 1. 10-Karl Comfort ($750), 2. 64-Tyler Corcoran, 3. 12g-Matt Guererri, 4.711-Nick Ventura , 5. 41s-Chase Spoor, 6. 25n-Evan Nugent, 7. 33-Richard Murtaugh III, 8. 113jr.-Frank Guererri Jr., 9. 9-Tim Baker, 10. 51-Tim Lafler, 11. 35-Nick Cooper, 12. 21j-Justin Liechti, 13. 23b-Timmy Borden Jr., 14. 7g-Tyler Guzzardi, 15. 31k-Kennedy Payne, 16. 55-Blake Parsons, 17. 69v-Tony Velez, 18. 63-Dylan Woodworth, 19. 28-Mark Potter, 53-Doug Gavette(DNS).
Heats (8 laps)
#1: Nugent, Corcoran, Lafler, Borden, Woodworth, Potter, Velez.
#2: M.Guererri, Ventura, F.Guererri, Baker, Cooper, Payne, Parsons.
#3: Spoor, Comfort, Liechti, Guzzardi, Gavette, Murtaugh.
MighTea Boba 305 Sprint
*Feature (20 laps): 1. 80-Bobby Parrow ($500), 2. 81k-Dalton Martin, 3. 23-John Smith, 4. 17e-Ethan Gray, 5. 18c-Dan Craun, 6. 14x-Lance Dusett, 7. 25-Cameron Moss, 8. 2-Randy Years.
Heat (8 laps)
#1: Martin, Parrow, Smith, Craun, Dusett, Years, Gray, Moss.
Auto Value Parts Stores Street Stock
*Feature (20 laps): 1. 00-Mike Welch, 2. 5c-Rick Crego, 3. 15-Glenn Whritenauer, 4. 36-Jimmy Grant, 5. cj1-CJ Guererri, 6. 3-Patrick Hobbs, 7. 122-Chris Beyea, 8. EX-Dale Houghtaling, 9. 1rx-Hannah Guererri-Searle, 10. 15b-Brian Butler, 11. 25b-Marc Minutolo, 12. 00r-Don Reeves.
Heats (6 laps)
#1: Crego, Grant, Minutolo, Beyea, Houghtaling, H.Guererri.
#2: Welch, CJ Guererri, Whritenour, Hobbs, Butler, Reeves.
Lloyd’s Contracting Hobby Stock
*Feature (15 laps): 1. 61-Daniel Kerrick, 2. 25b-Marc Minutolo, 3. 55b-Blane Smith, 4. 90-Nathan Peckham, 5. 25j-Justin Eldredge, 6. 57jr.-Tyler Burnell, 7. 57b-Frank ‘Bubba’ Burnell Jr., 8. 19-David Yehl, 9. 22c-Craig Dingy, 10. 97-Kavin Schrader, 11. 24k-Kevin Lloyd, 12. 88-Justin Jacoby, 13. 22j-Randy Johnson, 14. 56-Eddie Stevens, 15. 93-Jared Hill, 16. 98-Jack Terrell, 17. 16XL-Derek Excell, 18. 21b-William Bradley, 67-James Werner(DNS).
Heats (6 laps)
#1: Minutolo, Smith, Eldredge, Stevens, Kerrick, Excell, Lloyd, Schrader, Johnson, Bradley.
#2: F.Burnell, Peckham, T.Burnell, Hill, Dingy, Terrell, Yehl, Jacoby, Werner(DNS)
Hutchinson Property Preservation New Legends Sportsman
*Feature (12 laps): 1. 20k-Kyle Ridley, 2. 714-Chris Darling, 3. 56a-Angel Sperring, 4. 57-Shaun Toland, 5. 4-Ethan Olmstead, 6. 28-AJ Mitchell, 7. 33z-Sydney Wetherbee, 8. 94-Mark Sundt, 9. 21b-Jim Rushman, 10. 18-Doug Rohr(DNS).
Heat (6 laps)
#1: Darling, Ridley, Wetherbee, Toland, Mitchell, Sundt, Olmstead, Rushman, Sperring, Rohr.
NEXT EVENT: Saturday Spectacular, June 14 @ 6:30pm; Regional Truck & Trailer and Wilbert’s U-Pull It present Big-Block Modified/Sportsman/305 Sprint/Street Stock/Hobby Stock plus New Legends Sportsman with Rise Up Therapeutic Horsemanship Benefit and Legends Inductee Night #1: Mike Button.
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 its weekly 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 2025 division sponsors Auto Value Parts Stores, Hutchinson Property Preservation, Lloyd’s Contracting, MighTea Boba, Pepsi Geneva Club Beverage, Stirling Lubricants; event sponsors AMS Enterprises, Auto Value Parts Stores, A-Verdi Storage Containers, Busch Light/Lake Beverage, Disabled American Veterans, Disbatch Brewing Company, Ferris Mowers, Honeoye Auto Parts, Hoselton Auto Mall, iFreeze Storage & Distribution Center, LSI Solutions, Pace Electronics, Pepsi/Geneva Club Beverage, Phelps Cement Products, Prouty’s Bar & Grill, Regional Truck & Trailer, Ryan Phelps Auto Sales, Seneca Meadows Landfill, Smith Bros. Drywall, Tradition Automotive Group, VP Racing Fuels, Wilbert’s U-Pull It; promotional partners Always Locked Self Storage, American Woman Designs, Auto Wash Car Wash, Baker’s Exterminating, Casella Waste Systems, Champion Power Equipment, Close Racing Supply(CRS), Comfort Windows, Elab Smokers Boutique, Emerson Oil Company, Fox Pest Control, Hoosier Racing Tire, Legott’s Club 86, Mac’s Dairy Bar & Mini Golf, Meyer’s Finger Lakes RV, Mike Emhof Motorsports, Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame, Ontario County Fairboard, On The Rocks Bar & Grill, The “Original” Red Osier Landmark Restaurant, Rose City Drive-In, Ruggles World of Auto Body, Schultz Heating & Cooling, Stop DWI NYS, Superior Plumbing, Turn 5 Media, United Rentals, Voodoo Ranger Hard Tea, Wicked Tees.