Gypsum Racing.com

CANANDAIGUA, NY - June 27 - Now declaring Canandaigua his Saturday night hangout the remainder of the year, Wight has learned the fast way around quicker than any of his competition in 2020. After not winning a Pepsi Big-Block Modified main at LOLR until this season, ‘Lightning Larry’ can’t seem to stop winning as the Phoenix, NY driver extended his division points lead with a third triumph in five events.

“We’ve got something figured out and (car) is running really well, we’re able to come back here with the same set-up and really haven’t made too many changes,” relayed Wight, who holds a 167-147 margin over Justin Haers in the current point standings. “Everything we try in the heat seems to be not quite as good so we revert back to what we know works for the feature.”

For the second week in a row pole-sitter Gil Tegg Jr. jumped out to an early lead in the headline 35-lapper yet on this night only stayed ahead for three circuits before Watertown traveler Tim Fuller sped past using the outside groove on a lap four restart.

Yellow lights around the speedway for the turn four spin by Matt Hulsizer on lap four was a sign of things to come as 10 caution periods eventually slowed the action resulting in a 41-minute Modified main.

Filing in 15th on the 28-car starting grid buckled into his trusty #99L FX Caprara Honda-Tracey Road Equipment/Bicknell ride, Wight took advantage of every delay, rocketing from eighth to fifth on lap seven and breaking into the top-three by lap 10.

Western New Yorker Matt Farnham moved past runner-up Tegg on lap eight yet could not hold off Wight with a dozen laps complete, eventually suffering a flat right-rear tire to fall out of contention with 14 on the scoreboard. The caution flag for Farnham was all Wight needed as he got under Fuller exiting turn four then slid ahead in turn one to forge the final lead change with 20 laps still to go.

Despite Wight easily winning by two-thirds of a straightaway, positions 2-5 weren’t decided until the checkers finally waved. Fuller fended off a late race rally by season-opening winner Pat Ward while Dillon Groover, who advanced as high as second on lap 31, and Haers rounded out the top-5 at the stripe.

“We were just picking them off once we got to the top in (turns) one and two, that’s where we made up a lot of ground,” Wight said. “Think we were getting two or three cars a corner and it was able to propel us to get up there and give us time to pick away at the last couple cars. All the cautions were really starting to get me nervous, wish we would’ve went single file sooner so we could get the laps in. But it was still a good race and the track was phenomenal, just a couple holes here and there but nothing you couldn’t race through.”

“I’ll be here the rest of the year, that’s the plan to support the track for still putting on a show for us. Have to support those that are trying to make something happen and have to thank the whole speedway here to put this on and give us somewhere to race in these unprecedented times,” Wight added.

PEPSI BIG-BLOCK MODIFIED
*Feature (35 laps)
1. 99L-Larry Wight ($2,000), 2. 19-Tim Fuller, 3. 42p-Pat Ward, 4. 12x-Dillon Groover, 5. 3-Justin Haers, 6. 25-Erick Rudolph, 7. 14j-Alan Johnson, 8. 49-Billy Dunn, 9. 21a-Peter Britten, 10. 7f-Matt Farnham, 11. 23-Kyle Coffey, 12. m1-Dave Marcuccilli, 13. 19w-Justin Wright, 14. 44v-Phil Vigneri III, 15. 3b-Chad Brachmann, 16. 77-Lance Dusett, 17. 33j-Robbie Johnston III, 18. 28p-Eldon Payne,Jr., 19. 14ny-Daniel Johnson Jr., 20. 21x-Eric Williams, 21. 21-Derrick Podsiadlo, 22. 63-Adam Roberts, 23. 11j-James Sweeting, 24. 31m-Jimmy Maier, 25. 22g-Gil Tegg Jr., 26. 98h-Jimmy Phelps, 27. 132-Brandon Michaud, 28. 55-Matt Hulsizer.