Catapults To Top Of KOD Sportsman Point Standings
Story By:ROB HAZER / KOD SERIES MEDIA Photos By:DAVE DALESANDRO / RACERSGUIDE.COM
Malta, NY. -June 26, 2016– 45 very able Sportsman drivers packed Albany-Saratoga Speedway for round two of the 1-800-GOT-JUNK? King Of Dirt Crate Sportsman Series Presented By Dodson Construction, Elmo’s Speed Supply, and Hoosier Racing Tire. After 30-Laps of high paced open wheel action Connor Cleveland owned Friday Night Lights for the second strait year.
Connor Cleveland and Jack Speshock would bring the 30 car-starting field to the green flag, with Cleveland quickly putting the Dean’s Electrical Services 09 into the lead. Speshock would follow closely during the opening laps in the Donnelly Construction 08, while Darryl Nutting in the Camara Slate 42, Andrew Buff in the Buff’s Automotive 98, and Chris Schaffer in the Dodson Construction 34c all battled for position inside the top five.
Yellow flew for the first time on lap eight when the Massa Mobile Repairs 28 of Cody Hunt came to a stop in turn two. He would rejoin the tail end of the field.
On the restart a multi-car tangle that included Schaffer, the West Fair Fish and Chips 7s of Michael Sabia, and the Grennon Project Services 27 of Jeremy Pitts. All would rejoin the tail end of the field for a reshuffled double file restart.
On the restart Cleveland went back to the lead, Speshock tucked in to the 2nd spot, and Tim Hartman Jr. started flexing his muscle in the Parillo Services 22 by making passes using the top to get by the Hico Fabrication 9 of Nick Anatriello and the Johnson Racing 33J of Chris Johnson.
While the top five battles raged a handful of drivers were marching forward starting with the Connecticut Valley Auto Auctions 00 of Jason Gray. He started 22nd at the drop of the green and by the races end worked his way to a solid 6th place finish, which was an improvement of 16 spots.
Jordan Fornwalt drove the Triple-B Blasting 24 from the 19th starting spot to 7th respectively. He had charged forward 12 spots during the 30-Lap feature event proving he’ll be a contender for the Redline Graphics Newcomer Of The Year on the KOD Sportsman tour.
The Dodson Construction 14 of Chad Edwards started 30th when the green flag flew and by races end he had worked his way up to finish 8th place. An improvement of 22 positions for ‘lunchbox’ and that earned him the Saratoga Masonry Hard Charger bonus courtesy of Tim Webb.
The Greg’s Towing and Repair 173 of Cody Bleau turned in another impressive performance during Friday Night Lights at Albany-Saratoga Speedway. He started 26th on the grid, but when the checkered flag flew Bleau had earned a 10th place finish. An improvement of 16 positions shot him into the top five in points.
Jeremy Pitts started the feature event in the 23rd position and was involved in an aforementioned early race jingle. The two-time track champion had put in the work and earned himself a 13th place finish respectively by races end, which was an improvement of 10 positions.
Kevin Chaffee took the green flag from the 28th starting position with the White River Toyota number 73. He would spend the entire 30-Laps working and charging his way to a 14th place finish. It was an impressive improvement of 14 positions for the Bear Ridge Speedway regular.
Another one on the move was Newcomer Of The Year contender Joey Scarborough. He drove the Byrne’s Truck Equipment number 38 to a respectable 15th place finish after starting 29th when the green flag dropped. That’s and improvement of 14 positions he gained throughout the 30-Lap feature.
While all that was going on Hartman Jr. spent his time pressuring Speshock for 2nd and Johnson had worked his way into the 4th position. Nutting had raced inside the top five for the 2nd race in a row. All this was happening behind Connor Cleveland who dominated the 30-Lap feature event claiming his 2nd Friday Night Lights victory in a row. Speshock, Hartman Jr., Johnson, Nutting, Gray, Fornwalt, Edwards, Miller, and Bleau rounded out the top 10 finishers.
Next up for King Of Dirt Racing Series is Friday July 8th at Albany-Saratoga Speedway for the Pro Stock division’s Full Fender Firecracker, which was won by Nick Stone last season. That is followed the very next night July 9th at Lebanon Valley Speedway for the Sportsman Battle On The Banks that saw John Virgilio claim victory in 2015 defending home turf.
NOTES: 45 KOD Sportsman were in attendance at the great race place. Once again qualifying was at a premium and some good drivers didn’t make the show. Connor Cleveland has won both Friday Night Lights events at Albany-Saratoga (2015, 2016). A record number of drivers battled for the ‘hard charger’ during this years June event at Malta. Seven Sportsman talents improved more than 10 positions, with Chad Edwards ending up the Saratoga Masonry Hard Charger after starting 30th and finishing 8th. Jack Speshock had an impressive performance during Friday Night Lights. Last year he finished 20th at the checkered flag, but this year he battled with Tim Hartman Jr. for the runner up spot ending up 2nd.
Darryl Nutting redeemed himself after subsequently being DQ’d at Utica Rome following a top five run for the wrong exhaust. Nutting battled inside the top five for the entire race ultimately finishing 5th. Jordan Fornwalt was the highest finishing Newcomer Of The Year contender. He grabbed a 7th place finish, while the two drivers he’s chasing, Andrew Buff and Joey Scarborough, finished 11th and 15th respectively.
The top 10 in points changed drastically with several drivers moving into position with notable names missing. Most notably missing was defending KOD Sportsman Series champion Rocky Warner who wanted to be on hand, but couldn’t after being denied the use of a substitute driver by his Friday night promoter.
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JUNE 24, 2016 1-800-GOT-JUNK? KING OF DIRT CRATE SPORTSMAN SERIES PRESENTED BY DODSON CONSTRUCTION, ELMO’S SPEED SUPPLY, & HOOSIER RACING TIRE FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS FEATURE RESULTS AT ALBANY-SARATOGA (30 LAPS) – 1) Connor Cleveland, 2) Jack Speshock, 3) Tim Hartman Jr., 4) Chris Johnson, 5) Darryl Nutting, 6) Jason Gray, 7) Jordan Fornwalt, 8) Chad Edwards, 9) Jon Miller, 10) Cody Bleau, 11) Andrew Buff, 12) Nick Anatriello, 13) Jeremy Pitts, 14) Kevin Chaffee, 15) Joey Scarborough, 16) Chris Schaffer, 17) Josh Sunn, 18) Nick Lussier, 19) Mike Coffey Jr., 20) Mike Tholin, 21) Michael Sabia, 22) David Schilling, 23) Tim Hodge, 24) Pat Jones, 25) Cody Hunt, 26) Rob Maxon, 27) Luke Klob, 28) Robert Bublak Jr., 29) Adam Pierson, 30) Cody Clark.
DNQ – Greg McCloskey, Jack Lehner, Chris Ronca, Adam Gage, Jack Swinton, Jesse Edwards, Floyd Billington, Scott Duell, Mike Ostrander, Jim Morgan, Ken Conroy, Justin Smith, Tom Princiotta, Ryan Heath, John Proctor.
J-Tees KOD Sportsman Heat Race #1 Results (8 Laps) – JACK SPESHOCK, Darryl Nutting, Chris Johnson, Rob Maxon, Josh Sunn, Adam Gage, David Schilling, Jason Gray, Joey Scarborough, Kevin Chaffee, Jack Swinton, Floyd Billington.
J-Tees KOD Sportsman Heat Race #2 Results (8 Laps) – CONNOR CLEVELAND, Michael Sabia, Tim Hartman Jr., Luke Klob, Mike Coffey Jr., Mike Ostrander, Chad Edwards, Jeremy Pitts, Ken Conroy, John Proctor, Cody Clark.
J-Tees KOD Sportsman Heat Race #3 Results (8 Laps) – NICK ANATRIELLO, Andrew Buff, Jon Miller, Cody Hunt, Jordan Fornwalt, Robert Bublak Jr., Cody Bleau, Jack Lehner, Jesse Edwards, Greg McCloskey, Chris Ronca.
J-Tees KOD Sportsman Heat Race #4 Results (8 Laps) – CHRIS SCHAFFER, Pat Jones, Nick Lussier, Tim Hodge, Mike Tholin, Adam Pierson, Scott Duell, Jim Morgan, Justin Smith, Tom Princiotta, Ryan Heath.
King Of Dirt Sportsman Consolation #1 Results (8 Laps) – JOSH SUNN, Jordan Fornwalt, David Schilling, Jeremy Pitts, Cody Bleau, Kevin Chaffee, Greg McCloskey, Jack Lehner, Chris Ronca, Joey Scarborough, Robert Bublak Jr., Adam Gage, Jack Swinton, Jesse Edwards, Floyd Billington.
King Of Dirt Sportsman Consolation #2 Results (8 Laps) – MIKE COFFEY JR., Mike Tholin, Jason Gray, Adam Pierson, Scott Duell, Chad Edwards, Mike Ostrander, Jim Morgan, Ken Conroy, Justin Smith, Cody Clark, Tom Princiotta, Ryan Heath, John Proctor.
Dirt Track Digest Lap Leaders – Connor Cleveland (30).
$100 Saratoga Masonry Hard Charger – Chad Edwards (30th to 8th).
Hoosier Racing Tire Certificate – Jason Gray (22nd to 6th).
Redline Graphics Newcomer Of The Race – Jordan Fornwalt.
J-Tees Screen Printing Heat Bonuses (Cash & Apparel) – Jack Speshock, Connor Cleveland, Nick Anatriello, & Chris Schaffer.
Fast Time Of The Day – Jack Speshock (16.513).
King Of Dirt Crate Sportsman Tour Schedule
06/12/16 – Utica Rome Speedway – ‘602 Spring Fling’
WINNER: Rocky Warner
06/24/16 – Albany Saratoga Speedway – ‘Friday Night Lights’
WINNER: Connor Cleveland
07/09/16 – Lebanon Valley Speedway – ‘Battle On The Banks’
30 Laps / $1,000 To Win / $100 To Start
09/01/16 – Lebanon Valley Speedway – ‘Mr. Crate Track USA’
30 Laps / $1,000 To Win / $100 To Start
09/09/16 – Albany Saratoga Speedway – ‘Northeast Crate Nationals
100 Laps / $2,225 To Win / $225 To Start (Championship Points Scale)
09/10/16 – Utica Rome Speedway – ‘Salute To Our Troops’
30 Laps / $1,000 To Win / $100 To Start
09/24/16 – Bear Ridge Speedway – ‘Green Mountain State Clash’
$1,250 To Win / $100 To Start
King Of Dirt Pro Stock Tour Schedule
06/03/16 – Albany Saratoga Speedway – ‘Pro Stock Classic’
WINNER: Robbie Speed
06/12/16 – Utica Rome Speedway – ‘Action Track Throwdown’
WINNER: Luke Horning
07/08/16 – Albany Saratoga Speedway – ‘Full Fender Firecracker’
30 Laps / $750 To Win / $50 To Start
08/27/16 – Lebanon Valley Speedway – ‘Battle On The Banks’
30 Laps / $750 To Win / $50 To Start
09/09/16 – Utica Rome Speedway – ‘Seize The Crown’
30 Laps / $750 To Win / $50 To Start (Show Up Points)
King Of Dirt Racing Series are brought to you in part by sponsors and partners that include Albany Saratoga Speedway, Lebanon Valley Speedway, Bear Ridge Speedway, Utica Rome Speedway, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, Dodson Construction, Hoosier Racing Tire, Elmo’s Speed & Supply, Elmo’s Auto Body, DKM Fabrication, Fox Racing Shocks, Fastline Performance, Beyea Custom Headers & Exhausts, Bicknell Racing Products, Axcel Sports, Boyd’s Motorworks, Flach Performance Products, Extreme Speed & Performance, Bill McGaffin Photography, Saratoga Masonry, Lazzaro’s Auto Body, JTees Screen Printing, Bloomfield’s Florist, Dean’s Electrical Services, Horn Lady Motorsports, Macedon Parts Plus, Redline Graphics, DE Designs & Signs, H&R Motorsports, Ryder’s Lawn Care, Next Generation Roofing, Speed’s Garage, Stone Motorsports, A1 Installers, HICO Fabrication, Racers Guide, Race Pro Weekly, Final Reward Trophy, Dirt Track Digest, Midnight Music Machine DJ Service, and Mayhem Motorsports.
