LAFARGEVILLE, N.Y. — Mike Mahaney’s been nothing but consistent in DIRTcar 358 Modified Series competition this season. On Wednesday night at Can-Am Speedway, that consistency finally paid off.
“Smooth Shoe” thundered underneath Lance Willix on Lap 13 and led the final 37 laps to win the Pabst Shootout.
“We’re really rolling with the 358,” Mahaney said. “It’s been good at our weekly tracks and good on the Series. I had a really good draw and was just able to be up there where I needed to be.”
Can-Am Speedway regular Lance Willix led the field to the green in the 50-lap feature, moving ahead of Mahaney as the field completed Lap 1. Mahaney kept pace with the No. 31 until the race’s first caution for Steve Lewis slowed the field on Lap 3.
Mahaney tried the outside lane on a few occasions, trying to build momentum and carry his No. 35 around Willix. But after nine laps of Willix getting the better of him, the Elizabethtown, N.Y., driver decided to switch lanes.
That move paid off for Mahaney, who saw room to sneak underneath Willix on Lap 12. With a burst of speed through the apex of Turns 1 and 2, Mahaney wrestled the lead away from Willix, moving past him as they battled down the backstretch.
As Mahaney started driving away from Willix, Felix Roy and Mat Williamson followed, aiming for a trip to victory lane. Williamson had one shot at Mahaney on a Lap 18 restart, but Mahaney was too strong on the inside.
Just as Williamson tried inching closer to the lead, Roy gained momentum, going around “Money Mat” on Lap 20 and setting his sights on the leader.
Like Williamson, Roy’s best shot came on a restart, pulling even with Mahaney on the backstretch on Lap 35. However, his run also cost him a position, as another Can-Am regular was ready to strike late in the race.
With 15 laps to go, Billy Dunn started working the top side of the track to drive around Williamson for third, and Roy for second. From there, he started chasing Mahaney, getting the lead to under a second with five laps to go.
But as quickly as Dunn started closing in, his chances at a win slipped away. While trying to reel in Mahaney, Garrett Poland, a lap car, slid in front of Dunn, causing him to exit Turn 1 differently than before.
That was all Mahaney needed to drive away from Dunn, holding on to win the $5,000 feature and earn his second career DIRTcar 358 Modified Series win.
“I just kept trying the outside on Lance, and it wasn’t working,” Mahaney said. “This one time he slipped in Turns 1 and 2, and I filled the hole. From there, I think there was other grooves out there. [Roy] was making it work; I’m sure [Dunn] was, too. But I just wanted to hold my lane and see if I could just control the race.”
With the win, Mahaney reclaimed the series points lead by six points over Williamson, who finished fourth.
Dunn finished second, his second consecutive runner-up finish.
“I just wasn’t really balanced enough to move around,” Dunn said. “I kind of found something that nobody else found. I could make it work until my right rear got hot on a restart. But an awesome racetrack. They worked their butts off to get this place how it used to be. That was a lot of fun.”
Defending series champion Felix Roy crossed the line third.
“It was a good race,” Roy said. “I thought I was going to get Mike on that caution, but he was really solid on the bottom. Even on that long run when he hit lap traffic, we were gaining on him a bit.
“We’ll take third place all day. It was a good race. And we’re happy.”
Shaun Shaw rounded out the top five.
The finish:
Feature(50 Laps): 1. 35-Mike Mahaney[2]; 2. 49-Billy Dunn[3]; 3. 91-Felix Roy[8]; 4. 6-Mat Williamson[7]; 5. 7S-Shaun Shaw[4]; 6. 31-Lance Willix[1]; 7. 14T-Payton Talbot[10]; 8. 60-Jackson Gill[14]; 9. 18W-Scott Webb[15]; 10. 66W-Derek Webb[17]; 11. 28-Jordan McCreadie[11]; 12. M1-Dave Marcuccilli[6]; 13. 21A-Peter Britten[9]; 14. 5-Amy Holland[5]; 15. 7Z-Zachary Payne[21]; 16. 39-Ryan Bartlett[28]; 17. 11-Matt Caprara[24]; 18. 38J-Jarrett Herbison[18]; 19. 21LW-Larry Welling[16]; 20. 44-Gordon Smith[26]; 21. 63-Adam Roberts[25]; 22. 17-Garrett Poland[29]; 23. 117JR-CJ Castelletti[30]; 24. 74-Lucas Fuller[22]; 25. 11S-Steve Lewis[23]; 26. 57H-Remington Hamm[27]; 27. 12-Addison Bowman[13]; 28. 9-Tyler Meeks[19]; 29. 23-Cameron Black[20]; 30. 92-Andrew Buff[12]
