One of the crown jewel events at the Can Am Speedway in Lafargeville New York is set to go green Wednesday July 2nd, one of the most coveted in track history, with some looking for another win, with veterans still looking for their first.
The 29th running of the Pabst Shootout is one of the most anticipated events on the 2025 card and this year brings even more excitement, as it will also be part of the DIRTcar 358 Modified Series.
With this event being part of the series, a great field is anticipated for the annual mid-summer classic. The first 3 events of the series at Airborne, Glen Ridge and Fulton, have produced some exciting racing with Mat Williamson taking the Fulton and Airborne events, while Brian Calabrese upset the field at Glen Ridge for his first career win. Mike Mahaney, our own track point leader Lance Willix and defending series champion Felix Roy have also been in the mix and it should be no different at Can Am.
The history of this event dates back to 1980, plenty of big names have taken the title home. 20 different drivers have claimed the previous 28 Shootouts, with hall of famers Danny O’Brien and Steve Paine claiming three each, the most of all drivers. The late Bob McCreadie won the first event in 1980, which was a 100 lap contest. Tony Corcoran, Doug Carlyle, Bill Steyvenberg and Donnie Wetmore rounded out the top 5. A total of 42 drivers tried to qualify for the inaugural event, with 30 taking the green flag. The Pabst Shootout went away from the schedule after O’Brien won the 2001 event, however it returned under the Bartlett family ownership in 2018 and Bobby Herrington, who lives not too far from O’Brien, scored an upset victory with a last lap pass on Tim Fuller.
The most recent Shootout belonged to Watertown New York’s Billy Dunn on June 28th of 2023. Dunn held off Tim Fuller to score his second win in the event, with Jordan McCreadie, Shaun Shaw and Ryan Arbuthnot the top 5. In only 6 Pabst Shootout starts Dunn has 2 wins 4 top 5s and 4 top 10 efforts.
Fuller has yet to win the Pabst Shootout in his Hall of Fame career. In 11 career starts, the four time Can Am champion has a record five runner up finishes, part of his 7 top 5s and 9 top 10s.
Current points leader in the Whitesboro Plowshop DIRTcar 358 Modifieds Lance Willix has two wins this year, while the DIRTcar 358 Series has seen the Theresa native finish 7th in the first three races of the 2025 campaign. By the way he finished 7th in the Pabst Shootout 1 year ago.
A big evening will also feature the DIRTcar Sportsman Series, a combined Central/North event, which will see a solid car count plus the first race of Central New York Speedweek for the Empire Super Sprints. Billy VanInwegen won the event last year, while two-time series champion Jordan Poirier claimed the 2024 CNY Speedweek title.
A packed pit area and a packed grandstand will make for a great evening with Fan Fest beginning at 4pm, hot laps and time trials for the DIRTcar 358 Modified and DIRTcar Sportsman Series to follow. The first green flag flies at 7pm. The Annual Pabst Shootout is presented by our good friends at North Counties Supply. The Joel R Davis Legacy for Youth Sports as the evenings featured Non-Profit.
Be sure to give the track a follow on our Facebook page and don’t forget to add us to your favorites on My Race Pass to get all the up-to-date results, alerts and media releases at the speedway. Be sure to check out the live broadcast of all Can Am Speedway events on Dirt Track Digest TV. To check out everything that’s going on all season long check out our website at racecanam.com.
- Tyler & Michelle Bartlett on Jul 01, 2025
- Article Date: 7/1/2025 by Tim Baltz