PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — The 2017 358 Modified champion, Chris Raabe, parked his McColman Media No. 01 machine in victory lane on Saturday night at Airborne Speedway.
Raabe took the lead away from Mathieu Desardins on the inside of turns one and two on the second lap of the 35-lap event. Raabe pulled put to a commanding lead and caught lapped traffic on lap seven.Â
The Alexandria, Ontario, native picked his spots as he executed lapped traffic, but his car faded later in the race. Mike Mahaney was running in the second position and closing the gap between himself and Raabe with 10 laps remaining, but Raabe’s lead was too large for Mahaney to overcome the deficit.
Mahaney closed with a second-place finish, while Carey Terrance came on strong late in the race to finish third. Desardins settled for the fourth position, and his teammate, Paul St. Sauver rounded out the top five.
Robert Delormier took advantage of a prime starting spot to collect the victory in the J&S Steel Sportsman 25-lap feature event. Delormier searched high and low for the fast line around the track, and eventually settled on a middle to high groove to cruise to victory.
Codie Aubin rallied late in the race for a second-place finish, after he dropped back to the fourth position with 10 laps remaining. Lonnie Rivers completed the podium, while Jamy Begor and Travis Bruno finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
The defending Hartson Total Opening Renegade division champion, Zack Daniels, collected his first checkered flag of the season. Daniels held off a late race bid from Richie Turner, who drove from position 13 on the starting grid to finish in second. Tyler Irwin, Jason McClatchie and Rick Frenyea completed the top five.
Nate Smart picked up his second win of the season in the Taylor Rental Street Stock division. Smart held off a last lap bid from Mat Parker on the outside groove. Parker settled for second, while Mat Lavalley, Nick Harnden and Greg Zindler Jr. finished in positions three through five.
Kobe Hernandez picked up his first career win in the Northern Blacktopping Limited Sportsman division.