Wonderling, Nystrom, Boardman, Michael, and Mease also victorious during an action-packed Saturday night program.

By Daniel Nelligan

BUSTI, N.Y. — The hills of Busti came alive as Stateline Speedway hosted a massive Saturday night racing program, headlined by the Modified Mafia Touring Series. With a staggering 43 UMP Modifieds signed into the pit area for the tour’s second-ever visit, the local contingent successfully defended its home turf, highlighted by a dominant double-win performance from regional standout Dave Hess Jr.

Modified Mafia Touring Series For the second consecutive year, a local driver bested the regional touring invaders as Dave Hess Jr. delivered a wire-to-wire victory. Hess hit his marks flawlessly over the 40-lap feature, holding off national Modified heavyweights Dave Stremme and Michael Altobelli to secure the marquee win. Further back, Steve Dixon and Ray Kable shared hard charger honors. Dixon put on a thrilling show, utilizing every inch of the high side to charge from his 14th-place starting spot to finish fourth.

Another great story for the Modifieds saw the return of Troy Johnson, a long time vet in the area returning from medical leave from the sport. What turned into him just wanting to see how he would hold up after hot laps and time trials saw him set a pace good enough to place himself in the dash. Even though he might have not finished the feature, Troy Johnson made his presence known showing the the young kids that the grizzled veteran still had it in him. 

Super Late Models Hess didn’t stop with the Modifieds, pulling double duty to showcase his might in the Super Late Model ranks. Starting behind the front row of Jason Genco and Darrell Bossard, Hess quickly rocketed to the front. Capitalizing on a highly “racey” surface that favored his high-side driving style, Hess drove off into the New York night to claim his second feature victory of the evening.

RUSH Late Models The RUSH Late Models delivered a race-of-the-night candidate, kicking off with a thrilling three-wide battle for the lead on lap one between Jason Genco, Jeremy Wonderling, and rookie Branden Warner. Warner and Wonderling broke away to wage a heavy battle through lapped traffic until lap 13, when Wonderling utilized his veteran experience to slip past the rookie for the lead.

A late-race caution set up a dramatic two-lap shootout. On the restart, Genco cleared Warner and mounted a desperate high-side charge on Wonderling in an attempt to break the division’s all-time wins record at the speedway. Coming to the checkered flag, Wonderling squeezed Genco at the line to deny the record and secure the victory.

RUSH Stock Cars Kaden Michael grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the RUSH Stock Car feature and spent the remainder of the race playing defense. The event devolved into chaos, as aggressive three- and four-wide racing triggered multiple cautions. The race ultimately reached its time limit and was called early, with Michael officially securing the hard-fought win.

Challengers The Challenger feature started and ended in chaos and excitement. Trent and Addison Chamberlain controlled the early laps until Addison retired with a mechanical failure. Holden Heineman subsequently passed Trent Chamberlain on a restart, setting up a dramatic final-lap showdown. Exiting turn four coming to the checkers, Heineman and Chamberlain traded paint and spun, collecting Pete Volpe in the process. John Mease successfully navigated the wreckage to inherit the lead and steal the victory and return to victory lane in quite sometime.

RUSH Pro Mods Vaughn Nystrom delivered a dominant performance to capture his first career Stateline Speedway victory. Nystrom successfully held off Tyler Oakes and Josh Wilcox to secure the win, marking his first trip to victory lane in over 25 years of racing.

Pro Stocks Returning to his successful ways, John Boardman out-dueled the competition to capture another Pro Stock feature victory getting by Jason Covey.

Upcoming Schedule Stateline Speedway will celebrate Labor Day weekend on Saturday, September 5, with a massive “Free Night” promotion. The event features completely free grandstand admission and will award double points as the championship battles head down to the wire. Further details are available on Stateline Speedway’s social media channels.