PORT COLBORNE, ON – On a night kicking off Humberstone Speedway’s historic final season, Cody McPherson wrote his own piece of history. The St. Catharines, ON driver won his 20th DIRTcar Sportsman Series Feature Sunday night, breaking the tie with Brad Rouse for the most Series wins.
He also earned the 2024 West Region championship after winning all three events, giving him valuable bonus points when the championship trail begins in August.
“I’ve learned from experience you have to take advantage of any bonus points you can get while running the tour,” McPherson said. “That’s all we’re trying to do is max out our bonus points in the West and get the championship at one of our home tracks.
Noah Mamo, the pole sitter, led the field to the green flag in the 30-lap Feature. The Ridgeway, ON driver led the first six laps of the race before Adam Leslie wrestled the lead away from Mamo and pulled out to a two-second lead.
Behind Leslie, McPherson started moving forward. After starting seventh, he needed eight laps to reach third. Then, McPherson thundered around the top of Mamo’s No. 3M to take over second on Lap 14, setting his sights on the leader.
McPherson chased Leslie through traffic over the next 10 laps until Doug Walsh Jr. spun in front of them. Both snuck past Walsh’s No. 24 as the caution came out.
When the race resumed, McPherson powered past Leslie on the outside to take the lead and cruised to his fourth DIRTcar Sportsman Series win of 2024 and the West Region championship.
“I was just trying to hit my marks,” McPherson said. “It was a little hard to see in (Turns) 3 and 4, especially when we got into lap traffic. I was just going by feel, and I’ve raced this track for so long that you just kind of know where it is.
“Luckily, we got the yellow. I was kind of surprised when Adam took the bottom. I knew if I could just stay with him and pinch him down and take away his momentum, we’d be ok.”
Leslie finished second—his third straight West Region podium. As the leader, he said he wanted the race to stay green despite the difficulty navigating lap traffic.
“I wanted it to clean up, obviously, but when I’m in the lead, I’m in charge,” Leslie said. “Restarts are tough. You just never know what’s going to happen. Lap cars were difficult tonight. They really didn’t want to hold a line, but it is what it is.”
Brett Senek crossed the line third, earning his third straight top five. The Ransomville, NY driver, who finished third in the West Region standings, said the caution helped him get to the podium.
“Starting on the top on that restart, I got a good run going into (Turn) 1, and it worked out in my favor,” Senek said. “The track was good. It was slick but dusty and wide.
“Cody is tough to beat. He wins everywhere. When you can at least see him on the track, you know you’re doing alright.”
Matteo Panunte finished fourth, and Tyler Puchalski rounded out the top five.
RESULTS:
DIRTcar Sportsman West Region Feature (30 Laps): 1. 7-Cody McPherson[7]; 2. 15-Adam Leslie[3]; 3. 111-Brett Senek[5]; 4. 99PJR-Matteo Panunte[2]; 5. 185-Tyler Puchalski[6]; 6. 3N-Noah Mamo[1]; 7. 108B-Billy Bleich Jr[4]; 8. 68-Curtis Friesen[9]; 9. 20-Jay Mallory[11]; 10. 5S-Matt Sharpe[10]; 11. 22-Terry Smith[12]; 12. 12C-Jacob Chevalier[13]; 13. 66P-Jeff Panunte[14]; 14. 24-Doug Walsh Jr[15]; 15. 23N-Nathan Peattie[17]; 16. 13M-Dan Mckay[18]; 17. 96-Tyler Lafantaise[19]; 18. 88-Elijah Knutt[23]; 19. 28-Mitch Dumont[8]; 20. 519-Chris Hawkins[21]; 21. 888-Graeme Toth[20]; 22. 19J-John McKenney[22]; 23. 114-Kyle Rothwell[16]
