Airborne Park Speedway

Mahaney finds late magic to score modified win, Reeves and Lussier take sportsman doubles

9/16/2024

Airborne Park Speedway

Mahaney finds late magic to score modified win, Reeves and Lussier take sportsman doubles

PLATTSBURGH, Ny.-- Mike Mahaney won Thursday’s 358 modified feature at Airborne Park Speedway, using a late restart to go from 6th to 1st and earn his second win in three weeks. He was joined in Egglefield Ford Victory Lane by Beau Reeves, Donovan Lussier, Shawn Duquette, Jeremiah King and Kyle Botala.

Tanner Siemons and George Foley led the field to green for the penultimate, 30-lap Be Cool Heating and Air Conditioning 358 Modified Feature of 2024. Siemons got out to the early lead on the outside lane and built up a large gap over the field with Foley running in 2nd for most of the race. Jordan Fornwalt was 3rd while Justin Stone and Jeremy Roy battled fiercely for 4th. By the halfway point, Stone entered into 3rd, looking like the best car on the racetrack.

Ten laps later, on lap 25, an infield tire was struck in turn four, leaving it in the middle of the racetrack, forcing race control to throw the caution flag. Siemons chose the top on the restart and went upstairs in turn one. Foley fired a slider from the bottom and took the lead away from Siemons, who then crossed him over. They battled side-by-side down the backstretch headed for the west end. Foley exited turn four as the leader with Simeons 2nd. Mahaney was up to 4th and then took 2nd on the bottom of turn two, and with three laps to go, he took the lead from Foley, going unchallenged for the last three circuits to score the win. Foley was 2nd with his best run of the season. Siemons was 3rd, also with a season-best result. Felix Roy was 4th and Justin Stone was 5th. Mahaney’s point lead is now 21 points headed into title night for the modifieds on September 19.

The J&S Steel Sportsman ran two 20-lap features. Jonathan Toohill was on the pole for the first go-round just before intermission, leading the way early on the bottom before Beau Reeves was able to sneak by on the outside lane on an early restart. Joey Scarborough started near the tail by virtue of the handicapped lineup, and was making his way forward, taking 2nd position from Toohill late in the going.

With a few laps remaining, Reeves’ car looked evil on the outside lane, handling poorly in the corners, and Scarborough began to close the gap. But he ran out of time. Reeves turned around a hard year with the win. Scarborough was 2nd with Evan Roberts 3rd. Jamy Begor and Toohill rounded out the top five.

The second sportsman main of the night saw a 12-car invert from feature No. 1’s finish, with Reeves starting 12th and Scarborough starting 11th and so on. Dylan Rabtoy and Bucko Branham had the front row. Branham led the way early, running smoothly in the middle, until Lussier, who started 4th, made his way around on the outside lane. Branham challenged him back, moving down the racetrack to catch some bite on the bottom, before eventually giving way to Nick Heywood. Heywood tried to track down Lussier, but was unable to, and at the end of twenty laps, Lussier was in Egglefield Ford Victory Lane for the seventh time in 2024. Heywood was 2nd with Branham 3rd, Scarborough 4th and Travis Bruno 5th.

The 9th State Cannabis Renegades again put on a classic display of close, hard-nosed, side-by-side racing. Richie Turner, Tyler Irwin, Shawn Fountain, Levi Bombard, the Terry brothers and Shawn Duquette all put on a show at the front of the field. In the end, it was a familiar story, with Duquette on the bottom and Josh Terry working the middle in the closing laps, the two top point-earners so far in 2024, duking it out for another win. Duquette rolled away with it on the bottom, earning his third win of the year. Tylor Terry was 2nd with younger brother Josh 3rd. Turner was 4th and Irwin was 5th. Nate Guay came back from an early crash to finish 6th. The Precision Heating and Air Conditioning Hard Charger was Tylor Terry, racing from 9th to 2nd.

The Moore Recycling Mini Stocks saw a pair of newcomers on the front row for their A-main. Brandon Osher and Jeremiah King set the pace for the 15-lap feature with 22 cars behind them. Two failed attempts to start the race, interrupted by wrecks, were followed by a green flag that saw Osher not fire strongly, immediately handing the lead to King. The 16-year-old from Peru was nearly untouchable from there, riding his Dodge Neon out into the Plattsburgh sunset, earning his first-career A-main win. Ryan Senecal was 2nd with Jake Fountain 3rd. Rick Doner and Osher rounded out the top five. The points leader entering the night, Speedy Bresette, pulled into the pits on lap one of the feature, not returning. Senecal regained the points lead and holds a 29-point advantage heading into the final two weeks. Rick Doner is now 2nd, Bresette is 3rd, 32 points back.

Kyle Botala, from Grand Isle, Vermont, won the B-feature from 3rd starting spot. Haiden Bordeau and Dustin Drake ran 2nd and 3rd. Kyle Hart and Ernie Parent completed the top five.

Airborne Park Speedway returns to racing for one more installment of “Thursday Night Thunder” powered by New England Ford Dealers on Thursday, September 19, championship night for the 358 modifieds! General admission is just $15, kids 12 and under are free! Tower rooftop access with pit passes are available for $50. Pit passes are $28 for members and $38 for non-members. Pits open at 4PM with the stands opening at 5:30. Racing begins at 7PM! If you can’t join us in person, Dirttrackdigest.tv has the action live, every night for $24.99.

OFFICIAL RESULTS – Airborne Park Speedway – September 12, 2024.

Be Cool Heating, Cooling and Refrigeration 358 Modified Feature (30 laps)