WEEDSPORT, NY (August 17, 2026) – A packed house at Weedsport Speedway not only watched Stewart Friesen win an instant classic on Sunday, but they also witnessed Tony Finch II and Dillon Raffurty park atop Weedsport’s prestigious victory hill.
Piloting his familiar No. 0 DIRTcar Sportsman, Tony Finch II has fought to find victory hill at Weedsport for several seasons, and was finally able to get it done for the first time on Sunday. Finch and crew showed the emotion of what it means to win at Weedsport in fine fashion, following heartbreak for race leader Richard Murtaugh who appeared to be well on his way to victory.
Sam Groom and TJ Frost started the 30-lap, $1,000 to win, DIRTcar Sportsman main from the front row on Sunday with Groom darting to the early race lead. However, an early caution setup an opportunity for third place starting Kyle Perry to restart on the front row. On the ensuing green flag Perry, the defending Oswego Speedway 350-Supermodified champion, shot to the point and began to pull away in his No. 20K.
Finch would eventually roll to the runner-up spot during this early green flag stretch, but all eyes were now on Murtaugh who had started tenth and was charging through the pack. Before long, Murtaugh had blasted to third and a lap or so later charged by Finch for second as he focused in on race leader Perry.
Perry held his advantage for several laps until yet another yellow flew just prior to halfway. The caution yet again setup a double file restart, this time putting Murtaugh to the outside of row one. As green lights went on at lap 14, Murtaugh now took advantage of the top side and sped to the lead in the No. 33, with Perry sliding back to fourth behind Finch and Mike Fowler.
Murtaugh now appeared to be on cruise control at the front until disaster struck with a mechanical failure just laps from the finish. As Murtaugh pulled pit side, Finch assumed the lead and never looked back on his way to his first career victory at Weedsport.
The victory was Finch’s fifth of the 2026 DIRTcar Sportsman season, as he aims to move closer to the top ten in the standings of the Hoosier Tire Weekly Championship hunt.
Fowler held strong to take second ahead of early race leader Perry in third. Up and coming talent, Mason Rogers, finished in fourth with Austin Germinio finishing the top five spots.
Frost, Savannah LaFlair, Branden Morseman, Frank Guererri and Timmy Borden Jr. filled the top ten.
Heat race victories on Sunday went to Hunter Hollenbeck and Finch.
The DIRTcar Sportsman will return to Weedsport on Sunday, September 6 for the Sportsman Classic 75 as part of the Super DIRTcar Series Cavalcade Cup.
Sunday also featured round three of the OneGroup Beast of the East Mod Lite Showdown with an impressive 42 Mod Lites on hand with drivers from all across the eastern portions of the United States and Canada.
One of those long-distance travelers just happened to be the night’s race winner, Dillon Raffurty. Traveling in from Kansas City, MO to take on the four nights of the Beast of the East Showdown, Raffurty showed speed all night long in his No. 46, holding off a hard charging Zack Babcock for the $1,000 score.
Babcock, who also took second at Fulton Speedway on Saturday night, now holds the lead in the Beast of the East Showdown standings as the tour wraps up on Monday with a return trip to Brewerton Speedway.
Brayden Benson chased Raffurty and Babcock across the line in third followed by Doug Williams, Alex Forcier, Ryan Anderson, Ashton Anderson, Hunter Lawton, Mike Mullen and Joe Garafolo.
Qualifying heat wins went to Raffurty, Ryan Anderson, Angel Rivera and Benson. The night’s two B-Mains were topped by Roger Olschewske Jr. and Brad Harris.
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Weedsport Speedway
Hall of Fame 100
Sunday, August 17, 2026
Box Score:
DIRTcar Sportsman (30-laps): 1. 0F – TONY FINCH II, 2. 410 – Mike Fowler, 3. 20K – Kyle Perry, 4. 44 – Mason Rogers, 5. 10G – Austin Germinio, 6. 00B – TJ Frost, 7. 16X – Savannah LaFlair, 8. 44M – Branden Morseman, 9. 113JR – Frank Guererri, 10. 23B – Timmy Borden Jr., 11. 10 – Trevor Houghton, 12. 33 – Richard Murtaugh III, 13. 63 – Dylan Woodworth, 14. 14 – Sam Groom, 15. 16H – Tucker Halliday, 16. 72 – Hunter Hollenbeck, 17. 41S – Chase Spoor
Beast of the East Mod Lites (25-laps): 1. 46 – DILLON RAFFURTY, 2. 88 – Zack Babcock, 3. 25M – Brayden Benson, 4. 9W – Doug Williams, 5. 6A – Alex Forcier, 6. 44 – Ryan Anderson, 7. 15 – Ashton Anderson, 8. 61 – Hunter Lawton, 9. 06 – Mike Mullen, 10. 55 – Joe Garafolo, 11. 95 – Angel Rivera, 12. 32 – Cohen Corbett, 13. 22 – Kyle Demo, 14. 9 – Roger Olschewske Jr., 15. 26 – Tyler Garey, 16. 88X – Cody Drummond, 17. 3T – Pierre-Olivier Trudel, 18. 6F – Martin Forcier, 19. 11 – Nick Graziano, 20. 22K – Brad Harris, 21. 3 – Nathan Wolfe, 22. 10W – Justin Williams, 23. 28 – David Simonson, 24. 60 – Kobe Van Fossen, 25. 6S – Ryleigh Sliter, 26. 7S – Dillan Sliter
2026 Weedsport Speedway Schedule:
Sunday, September 6
Cavalcade Cup
Super DIRTcar Series Cavalcade Cup 100
DIRTcar Sportsman Classic 75
Hoosier 600 Microsprint Tour
Friday, September 18
Page Trucking Big Rig Nationals
American Big Rig Series
About Weedsport Speedway: Officially opened for the first time on July 24, 1955 – the Weedsport Speedway 3/8 mile dirt oval has produced a legendary list of drivers and champions including Will Cagle, Danny Johnson, Bob McCreadie, Alan Johnson, Jack Johnson, and Dave Lape to name a few. In 2018, Weedsport introduced the all-new Weedsport Kartway, just outside of the Speedway’s main pit area, to begin to foster the next generation of racers, crew members and race fans. Couple the racing with state-of-the-art camping and track amenities, unmatched on-site television production capabilities, plus the ability for large scale concert productions and Weedsport is one of the marquee entertainment venues in the country.