ITS PAT WARD AGAIN AS HE COLLECTS HIS SIXTH WIN OF THE SEASON ON FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT VERNON, NY-After one week off from victory lane, Pat Ward found his way back to the top of the leader board when the dust settled in the 358-Modified feature to collect his sixth win of the season. Ward’s win came in front of a huge crowd on Fan Appreciation Night, which was sponsored by the Mirabito Fuel Group and William Fuller Mason Contractor. Ward pocketed $1,600 for his efforts. Gus Schmidt blasted into the lead from his third starting spot when Matt Burdick’s green flag brought the 30 lap 358-Modified feature to life. A couple of early cautions changed how the event would play out, as Ted Lamb and Willy Decker were both eliminated from contention and Stewart Friesen penalized and put to the tail of the field. The early cautions played into 14th place starter Pat Ward’s hands, as he was in the runner up spot by lap five. Ward would make short work of Schmidt as he grabbed the lead by the sixth, dropping Schmidt into second and into the clutches of 11th place starter Mitch Gibbs. Plenty of passing was going on throughout the field, and it was most evident when watching Friesen, who was making a furious charge to the front. By lap 10, he was already into the second spot and looking to run down the leader Ward. With green flag racing prevailing for the remainder of the event, Friesen was unable to close on the leader as Ward raced off with his sixth win of the season. Friesen followed Ward across the line with Gibbs able to get by Schmidt for a fine third place finish. Bobby Varin recovered from an early race incident to place fourth with Schmidt in fifth. Rounding out the top ten was Jim Davis, Jamie Christian, Paul Kinney, Bill Shantel Jr., and John Ramsey. The Sportsman kicked off the evening with their makeup feature from June 15, and third place starter Steve Way took the lead on lap two initially with Casey Williams grabbing the lead on lap five from 10th starting spot. Williams showed smoke with apparent motor problems several laps later which handed Way the lead back on lap 11. Way would hang on for the remainder of the 20 lap event to score his second win of the season. Jeremy Vunk, Brad Alger, Jim Rothwell, and Jason Rood trailed Way across the line. Way looked to make it two in a row when he grabbed the lead on from pole sitter Tim Nye on the fifth circuit of the 20 lap Sportsman nightcap. Way’s hopes for a sweep were crushed when sixth place starter Jason Rood swept by Way by lap seven for the lead. Rood would keep himself in the lead to collect his first career Sportsman win with Jim Rothwell, Matt Janczuk, Jeremy Vunk, and Way chasing. Pole sitter AJ Digsby held off the furious charges of Shawn Frost, Tom Denton, Bill Knapp, and Jim Normoyle for the first 15 circuits of the 20 lap Pro Stock main, with Frost finally gaining the edge as lap 16 was being scored. As the field entered turn one on that lap, Digsby looped his racer with Denton making hard contact. Digsby would continue on with his chance for the win gone while Denton had to retire for the evening. The ensuing caution would create a dash for the win, with Frost hoping to hold off the field for the win. On the final lap, Knapp had the advantage coming off turn two but Frost regained the lead coming off turn four with the checkered flag waving to net his fourth win of the season. Knapp, Normoyle, Bret Belden, and Rob Seavy completed the top five positions. It took three laps for Chris Carr to charge from his 11th place starting spot to the lead in the 15 lap Pure Stock feature, as he grabbed the top spot from Chuck Cushman as lap three was going into the books. Despite a last lap caution which allowed Ron Hawker one last shot at the leader, Carr was able to hang for the popular win which was his first of the season. Hawker was second, with Rick Breed, Chris Cunningham, and Phil Norman chasing. This Sunday August 10, the SUNY Canton Street Stock Series join a regular program of 358-Modifieds, Sportsman, and Pro Stocks. The night’s action will be sponsored by Cunningham Auto Supply and SUNY Canton. Gates open at 3 p.m. with racing getting started at 5:30 p.m. MIRABITO FUEL GROUP & WILLIAM FULLER MASON CONTRACTOR RACE SUMMARY 358-MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH (30 LAPS)- PAT WARD, Stewart Friesen, Mitch Gibbs, Bobby Varin, Gus Schmidt, Jim Davis, Jamie Christian, Paul Kinney, Bill Shantel Jr., John Ramsey, Paul Jensen, Jeff Kotary, Dave Rauscher, David Orr, Willy Decker, Bob Henry Jr., Brian Murphy, and Ted Lamb. DNS- Alan Barker. SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH FROM 6/15 (20 LAPS)- STEVE WAY, Jeremy Vunk, Brad Alger, Jim Rothwell, Jason Rood, Matt Janczuk, Mike Button, Tim Nye, Aaron Jacobs, Chris Daley, Jack Miller, Jeff Leslie, Casey Williams, Steve Yankowski, Glenn Forward, AJ Filbeck, and Craig Pope. DNS- Chris Hile, Rob Hile, and Todd Fey. SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (20 LAPS)- JASON ROOD, Jim Rothwell, Matt Janczuk, Jeremy Vunk, Steve Way, Tim Nye, Mike Button, Aaron Jacobs, Brad Alger, Jack Miller, AJ Filbeck, Chris Daley, Glenn Forward, Jeff Leslie, Steve Yankowski, and Bill Trexler Jr. DNS- Craig Pope and Casey Williams. PRO STOCK FEATURE FINISH (20 LAPS)- SHAWN FROST, Bill Knapp, Jim Normoyle, Bret Belden, Rob Seavy, Chris Mackey, Dave Moyer, AJ Digsby, Ed Ostrander, Dan Ody, Jim Grippen, Rich Daunehauer, Tom Denton, Matt Shadic, Joe Palmer, Dave Meeks, Paul Strieff, and Mark Effner. PURE STOCK FEATURE FINISH (15 LAPS)- CHRIS CARR, Ron Hawker, Rick Breed, Chris Cunningham, Phil Norman, Russ Marsden, Jim Thomas, Kelly Pope, Bill Mason, Frank Hyatt, Scott Wheelock, Tim Janczuk, Keith Stevenson, Andy Potter, Waylan Wilczek, Robert Thieme, Chuck Cushman, Rick Trexler, Jim Richmond, and John Wesolowski. DNS- Cale Hoffman.