Defending Champs Williamson & Comfort Back In Canandaigua Victory Lane
Grant & Eldredge triumph as Burley & Trautschold Score 1sts in Land of Legends ‘26 opener
Canandaigua, NY – May 30, 2026 – Tom Skibinski, Land of Legends Raceway PR
It took an extra month for ninth-year promoter Paul Cole to finally get cars in competition on the track, yet the wait certainly proved worthy for the packed pit area and capacity grandstand crowd that arrived at Land Of Legends Raceway to officially launch its 63rd season of motorsports.
Following a handful of failed attempts to host springtime practice sessions prior to May 21, as well as the initial four race events cancelled due to rain and the resulting wet conditions, weather finally cooperated in time to welcome back racers and their loyal fans to the Ontario County Fairgrounds.
Open-wheel aces Mat Williamson and Karl Comfort and full-fender veterans Jimmy Grant and Justin Eldredge couldn’t wait to return as they got off to triumphant starts in the highly anticipated lead-off May 30 ‘Saturday Spectacular’ presented by Proctor Enterprises and Wilbert’s U-Pull It. Second-year regular Spencer Burley and first-time visitor Preston Trautschold were just as successful, each etching their name in the track recordbook after posting flag-to-flag victories.
On this night the Humane Society of Yates County was recognized as the beneficiary of the season-opening 50/50 drawing.
Two-time reigning Pepsi Big-Block Modified points king Williamson led all but nine circuits to capture the headline 30-lap feature and pocket the $2,000 winner’s share while Comfort led just the final three in the 25-lap Stirling Lubricants Sportsman headliner, both in pursuit of another coveted title at the fairgrounds.
Grant grabbed the lead on lap four and never looked back in the 20-lap Proctor Enterprises Street Stock feature while race-long leader Eldredge survived a handful of yellow flags over the second half of the race to claim the 15-lap Smith Brothers Drywall Hobby Stock main.
Second-generation standout Burley proved just as dominant, out-distance defending DisBatch Brewing Company 305 Sprint Car points champion Bobby Parrow to capture a convincing 20-lap A-Main victory while pre-teen Trautschold easily won the 12-lap MighTea Boba New Legends Sportsman nightcap to conclude opening day.
With the '26 opener originally scheduled the first weekend in May before continued rain and resulting saturated grounds scrapped the initial four shows, sunny skies throughout the day and cool temperatures come nightfall produced ideal race conditions for the 103 teams signed in for the annual lid-lifter that ultimately closed out the last full month of Spring.
Prior to Saturday, the latest opener kicked off DIRTcar founder Glenn Donnelly’s first full season at the fairgrounds on May 20, 1978 and the Modified main was won by Alan Johnson. 2026 now marks the 50th consecutive campaign in Canandaigua for the long-time Weedsport NY-based operation.
The month-long delay had little effect on Williamson’s success rate as the Canadian standout had his no. 6 S&W Service Centre-Becker Bros. Trucking/Bicknell entry on rails throughout en route to his second consecutive opening day victory.
“Had a new CC (Performance) motor in tonight. Bought it from Will Thomas with not many laps on it, but we were still worried because last year the car was so damn good with an older motor in it and we were scared to put a new one under the hood,” remarked Williamson, after notching his 12th career Big-Block win at the fairgrounds, seven of which came last season. “Just a total team effort on that motor to make it run as good as it did tonight on the slick stuff.”
After the top-two finishers from the three heat race qualifiers redrew, pole-sitter Williamson diced with front row partner Justin Haers until settling the score once and for all on lap 10, pacing the 18-car starting field over the final 21 circuits in the caution-free feature run off in just over 10 minutes.
“Justin is always fun to race with, he’s really good on the top side here,” Williamson noted. “Just kinda bided my time on the bottom and tried not to get the tires hot. Obviously happy with the results tonight.”
Three-time LOLR points champ Haers proved a worthy challenger yet still settled for runner-up honors nearly a half straightaway behind under the checkered flag while ‘Super’ Matt Sheppard earned the show position. Ninth-place starter Alex Payne was the biggest mover, advancing to fourth in the closing laps while Zach Payne hung on for fifth at the line.
While the non-stop Big-Block feature was practically decided by the midway point, Comfort needed 23 laps to get the job done despite falling into fifth on the 24-car Sportsman starting grid.
“Great battle out there, Kevin (Ridley) is super fast so I knew it would be a tough one to get by him,” stated Comfort, following his late-race pass of Ridley that forced the lone lead change just over a mile from the finish. “But I had to sneak up on him and not show myself too soon. Lost a lot of races in the past letting the leader see me too early and didn’t want it happening again tonight.”
Veteran Ridley and teenager Chris Darling pulled away at the drop of starter Scott Hixson’s initial green flag followed by Frank Guererri Jr. while Comfort and Richard Murtaugh III jockeyed for position among the front-five. Halfway through, the leaders swapped the top spot navigating around heavy traffic while a trio of yellow flags flew to keep the frontrunners bunched as the laps clicked off.
The lap 19 restart proved most pivotal as hard-charging Comfort and second-place car of Darling made contact exiting turn four, a flat right-rear tire sending Darling pitside in the aftermath while Comfort was the new chaser in Ridley’s rear-view. Comfort mirrored his move around Darling with an outside maneuver four laps later, dropping Ridley to second at the stripe followed by Guererri, second-generation pilot Nick Cooper and 12th-starting Evan Nugent.
“Just kinda running the bottom, you know how I do, but it was just slow down low and there were a lot of fast cars,” figured Comfort, who won his first season-opener in 1999 and now stands fifth all-time at LOLR with 27 Sportsman wins. “Thought I just needed a caution to try something. Then I started trying the outside and I could flat-foot it all the way around. Thought Darling saw me, was outside and I kinda got out of it, then we hit and I thought we were both done but it all worked out.”
Drawing the pole to kick off the 10-mile Sprint Car A-Main, Burley took full advantage as he led the distance to become the 40th driver to claim victory in 305 competition at the fairgrounds since the division was launched in 2012.
“Feels pretty good. We’ve had a rough start to the season so it feels good to get the monkey off our back and get it done on opening night,” stated the low-key wingman after parking the potent #15B Elab Smokers Boutique-Mohawk Northeast sprint in Marine Blue victory lane for the first time to rekindle the family tradition. Father Todd Burley collected the overall Mr. DIRT Sportsman crown in 1992 and ended his Canandaigua career scoring 14 Sportsman wins and one in the Big-Block ranks.
Saturday was all about Spencer, who out-dueled front row partner Dan Craun on lap one then authored a flawless performance for the remainder to post a comfortable 10 car-length victory over two-time defending track champion Parrow at the line. After top-five contenders Ethan Gray and Darryl Ruggles combined to incur the only caution period on lap 19, Burley never flinched back under green despite Parrow pulling to his bumper for the winner-take-all restart.
“Glad it was single-file (restart) so I didn’t have to worry about anything,” added Burley, who placed eighth in ‘25 points with four top-five finishes in 11 events to conclude his rookie season. “As long as I hit my marks I knew I’d be good.”
Last year’s season-opener victor Parrow crossed the line second followed by Craun, Lance Dusett and returning veteran Mike Stelter.
The caution-free Street Stock feature led off the six-star card and three-time LOLR points king Grant was no match for his full-fender foes after taking the lead on lap four from Rick Crego and never looking back in the seven-minute main.
“Didn’t know how hard to run the car (early on), just a good pace I was setting there,” pointed out Grant, with three of his 35 feature wins now recorded in season-opening events at LOLR. “The corners were really different, I could run the middle down there and you had to run the bottom to catch the bite over there.”
“It’s good to be home, love this place and it’s our third win this week. We’re on a roll, gotta pinch myself to see if it’s real. Have to thank Proctor Roofing that came on new this year, Washburn Excavating and Nick Fratto, he’s a huge help, plus everybody that continues to support this team,” added Grant, who also scored wins at Genesee and Outlaw speedways leading up to his latest trophy in Canandaigua.
Defending Street Stock season champion C.J. Guererri finished three seconds behind Grant with Crego, Ely Mangiarelli and all-time LOLR winner Mike Welch rounding out the final front-five.
A big field of 20 Hobby Stockers signed in but it was the familiar face of Eldredge showing up in the winner’s circle after the caution-plagued affair.
“Those restarts were killing me, just glad that Marc (Minutolo) didn’t door me like he said on Facebook,” declared Eldredge, following his 14th feature win that includes the 2021 lid-lifter scored en route to the season championship. “The track was kinda rubbered up in the middle so I knew if I stayed right there I could hold him off.”
Eldredge held off Minutolo on five restarts following minor mishaps yet on the heels of the final lap slowdown Frank ‘Bubba’ Burnell Jr. was able to take over second but still fell a car-length behind the winner in a dramatic late-race dash. Jimmy Grant performed double-duty to finish fourth ahead of ninth starting Jared Hill.
Exactly one dozen entry-level New Legends signed in on Saturday and it was second-generation driver Trautschold leading the way to claim the 12-lap finale circling the legendary Finger Lakes layout for the very first time. Preston has already been competing in motorsports for half his life, yet what makes Saturday’s record-setting run more impressive is this anything-but-raw Roscoe NY racer does not even turn 11 years of age until October.
“The track was good tonight, got a better line going around in the car when I got the lead,” remarked the soft-spoken wheelman, winner of Slingshot track titles at Utice-Rome, Hamlin and Glen Ridge speedways in ‘25, who politely thanked sponsors Speed Connection, Seneca Auto Sales, Ted’s Body Shop, Bilstein Shocks and of course mom and dad in his maiden voyage to Marine Blue victory lane for the blue no. 20 Bicknell ride. “My dad said you’re gonna beat me when you get older. I don’t know, will see.”
Oh ya, father Mike Trautschold finished 10th in the Big-Block Modified main leaving Preston with bragging rights for the four-hour downstate trip back home.
LEGEND LEDGER
Already moving closer to the summer season, the second 'Saturday Spectacular' of 2026 at Land of Legends slated for June 6 is presented by DisBatch Brewing Company and Fulldraw Hunting Equipment. The five-star show is highlighted by Round #4 of the A-Verdi Storage Containers CRSA 305 Sprint Car tour with the winged warriors contending in the second leg of the six-race DisBatch Brewing Company/Stirling Lubricants Challenge Series. Also on the card are the premier Pepsi Big-Block Modifieds in a paint-trading 30-lap main event along with Stirling Lubricants Sportsman, Proctor Enterprises Street Stock and Smith Brothers Drywall Hobby Stock classes. MighTea Boba New Legends Sportsman have the night off. Pit gates open at 3:30pm, spectators gain entrance at 5 o'clock, hot laps start at 5:30 and the first qualifier goes green at 6:30pm.
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 2024. 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 starting with the 5/2 season-opener 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.
2026 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
8th Annual Gerald Haers Memorial Weekend
Fri Sep 18 ….15th Top Gun Street Stock Shootout' + Hobby Stock Hoedown + CRSA Sprints
Sat Sep 19 ... BB Modified $10,000-to-win (100L) + GHM Sportsman Classic (40L)
Big-Block Modified Super DIRTcar Series ... Thr Jul 2 & Tue Aug 18
DIRTcar Sportsman Series ... Wed Jul 22 (Central/West reg.) & Sat Sep 19 (NE reg.)
A-Verdi Storage Containers CRSA 305 Sprint Series
DisBatch Brewing Company/Stirling Lubricants Challenge
Sat Jun 6 / Thr Jul 2 / Fri Sep 18
Empire Street Stock Series
Sat Aug 8
“Scoppo Memorial Nite” ... Sat Jul 4 “Power Wheels Race Nite” ... Sat Aug 1
“Family Autograph Nite” ... Sat Jul 11 “Wall of Fame Induction Nite” ... TBD
183rd Ontario County Fair
Wed Jul 22 …. DIRTcar Sportsman Series + New Legends Sportsman Special
*No Racing … Sat Jun 20 / Sat Jul 25 (fair) / Sat Aug 15 / Sat Sep 12.
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 – May 30, 2026
Proctor Enterprises and Wilbert’s U-Pull It present 63rd Season-Opener
Pepsi Big-Block Modified
*Feature (30 laps): 1. 6-Mat Williamson ($2,000), 2. 3-Justin Haers, 3. 9s-Matt Sheppard, 4. 70a-Alex Payne, 5. 7z-Zach Payne, 6. 21a-Peter Britten, 7. 98h-Jimmy Phelps, 8. 32c-Kasey Coffey, 9. 30-Nick Root, 10. 28-Mike Trautschold, 11. 11j-James Sweeting, 12. 19w-Justin Wright, 13. 17-Marcus Dinkins, 14. 3b-Ryan Behrent, 15. 9g-Doug Gavette, 16. 6p-Billy Paine, 17. 27z-Dylan Zacharias, 57-Pat Kelly(DNS), 22g-Gil Tegg Jr.(DNS).
Heats (8 laps)
#1: Z.Payne, Trautschold, Britten, Wright, Sweeting, Zacharias, Paine.
#2: Haers, Coffey, Dinkins, Behrent, Kelly(DNS), Tegg(DNS).
#3: Williamson, Sheppard, A.Payne, Phelps, Root, Gavette.
Stirling Lubricants Sportsman Modified
*Feature (25 laps): 1. 10-Karl Comfort ($750), 2. 20x-Kevin Ridley, 3. 113jr.-Frank Guererri Jr, 4. 35-Nick Cooper, 5. 25n-Evan Nugent, 6. 33-Richard Murtaugh III, 7. 21j-Justin Liechti, 8. 9-Tim Baker, 9. 10g-Austin Germinio, 10. 41s-Chase Spoor, 11. 28j-Jordan Moden, 12. 7g-Tyler Guzzardi, 13. 20-Nick Galusha, 14. 20k-Kyle Ridley, 15. 23b-Timmy Borden Jr., 16. 63-Dylan Woodworth, 17. 28-Mark Potter, 18. 10h-Trevor Houghton, 19. 45-Michael Lupold, 20. 87-Brad Sawyer, 21. 2-Loren Lincoln, 22. 714-Dale Darling, 23. 51-Tim Lafler, 24. 69v-Tony Velez.
Heats (8 laps)
#1: Lafler, Cooper, Murtaugh, Liechti, Potter, Lupold, Houghton, Woodworth(DNS).
#2: Comfort, Ke.Ridley, Germinio, Guzzardi, Galusha, Baker, Sawyer, Moden.
#3: Darling, Guererri, Spoor, Nugent, Velez, Ky.Ridley, Borden, Lincoln.
(DNS).
DisBatch Brewing Company 305 Sprint
*Feature (20 laps): 1. 15b-Spencer Burley ($600), 2. 80-Bobby Parrow, 3. 18c-Dan Craun, 4. 14x-Lance Dusett, 5. 36-Mike Stelter, 6. 81k-Dalton Martin, 7. 25-Cameron Moss, 8. 77-Matt Rotz, 9. 121-Steve Glover, 10. X-Dan Bennett, 11. 23-John Smith, 12. 2-Randy Years, 13. 22-Gary Drum, 14. 21-Will Glover, 15. 21w-Scott Wagner, 16. 17e-Ethan Gray, 17. 48jr.-Darryl Ruggles, 80w-Mat Williamson(DNS), 48a-Alysha Bay(DNS), 99-Adam DePuy(DNS).
Heats (8 laps)
#1: Rotz, Stelter, Gray, Martin, Drum, Wagner, DePuy(DNS).
#2: Dusett, Craun, S.Glover, Ruggles, Bennett, Years, W.Glover.
#3: Parrow, Burley, Moss, Williamson, Smith, Bay(DNS).
Proctor Enterprises Street Stock
*Feature (20 laps): 1. 36-Jimmy Grant ($500), 2. cj1-CJ Guererri, 3. 5c-Rick Crego, 4. 57j-Ely Mangiarelli, 5. 00-Mike Welch, 6. 12-John Burritt, 7. 00r-Don Reeves, 8. 25b-Marc Minutolo.
Heat (6 laps)
#1: Guererri, Welch, Grant, Crego, Mangiarelli, Burritt, Reeves, Minutolo.
Smith Brothers Drywall Hobby Stock
*Feature (15 laps): 1. 25j-Justin Eldredge, 2. 57b-Frank 'Bubba' Burnell Jr., 3. 25b-Marc Minutolo, 4. 36-Jimmy Grant, 5. 93-Jared Hill, 6. 90-Nathan Peckham, 7. 57jr.-Tyler Burnell, 8. 55b-Blane Smith, 9. 18-Wayne Ellison, 10. 22c-Craig Dingy, 11. 9r-Roger Bush , 12. 56-Eddie Stevens, 13. 98t-Jack Terrell, 14. 00-Mike Charette, 15. 21b-William Bradley, 16. 97-Kevin Schrader, 17. 4m-Austin Mangiarelli, 18. 22j-Randy Johnson, 19. 8j-Jeff Rex, 24k-Kevin Lloyd(DNS).
Heats (6 laps)
#1: F.Burnell, Eldredge, Dingy, Johnson, Schrader, Ellison.
#2: Minutolo, Peckham, Smith, Stevens, Terrell, Rex, Lloyd.
#3: T.Burnell, Grant, Hill, Bush, Charette, Bradley, Mangiarelli.
MighTea Boba New Legends Sportsman
*Feature (12 laps): 1. 20-Preston Trautschold, 2. 18-Doug Rohr, 3. 19w-Robert Henning, 4. 33z-Sydney Wetherbee, 5. 33b-Brianna Murtaugh, 6. 25n-Elizabeth Nugent, 7. 28-AJ Mitchell, 8. 57-Shaun Toland, 9. 17r-Trent Reagan, 10. 19-Benny Wagner, 11. 11-Parker Ridley, 12. 26-MItchell Hyde.
Heats (6 laps)
#1: Trautschold, Rohr, Wetherbee, Toland, Mitchell, Hyde.
#2: Henning, Nugent, Murtaugh, Wagner, Reagan, Ridley.
NEXT EVENT: Saturday Spectacular, June 6 @ 6:30pm; DisBatch Brewing Company and Fulldraw Hunting Equipment present Big-Block Modified/Sportsman/Street Stock/Hobby Stock plus A-Verdi Storage Containers CRSA Sprint Car Series Race #4 / DisBatch Brewing Company-Stirling Lubricants Challenge Series Race #2 - 305 Sprint(25L)
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.