Column By: TOBY LANGRANGE / RPW – GLOVERSVILLE, NY – Starting off the season 0-2 is never a good, no matter what sport you are playing.
That is no different for the DIRTcar Sportsman East Region Series which has now lost both of its first two scheduled events so far.
This weekend’s event was slated to take place at the “Home of the Coupes”, the Bear Ridge Speedway in Vermont. A total of 28 drivers entered the event that will be made up on July 30th.
Prior to Mother Nature’s interference Jason Gray set quick time in time trials. Gray rocketed around the quarter-mile in 14.389 seconds. He bested Todd Buckwald (14.413) and Kevin Chaffee (14.456). Chaffee was also the quickest in hot laps (14.313).
The next event on the East Region schedule will be at the Glen Ridge Motorsports Park in Fultonville, New York on June 19th. The West Region kicks off their schedule on May 28th at the Merrittville Speedway with the Northern Region kicking off on June 11th at the Brockville Ontario Speedway. The Central Region opens with back-to-back shows at the Can-Am Speedway on June 29th and the Land of Legends Raceway on June 30th.
A look at the 2022 Hoosier Tire Weekly Championship for the DIRTcar Sportsman division shows Latham, New York’s Andrew Buff holding a commanding lead. The championship is determined by counting a drivers 16 best finishes throughout the season, which for the DIRTcar Sportsman started this past winter with the South Carolina swing.
Buff has competed in eleven points paying events so far with five wins, as many top five’s and nine top ten finishes. This past weekend the defending Hoosier Tire Weekly Championship champion picked up his second straight win at the Glen Ridge Motorsports Park on Sunday night.
Defending Super DIRT Week Champion Zach Sobotka holds down the second position on the strength of a pair of feature wins and eight top ten finishes in as many starts. Sobotka trails Buff by 122 points however that gap will shrink once both drivers hit 16 completed events.
Alan Fink invaded The Ridge Sunday night for his second appearance of the season and scored his sixth top five finish of the season. The Central Square driver sits third in the standings, 39 behind Sobotka. Brian Calabrese (Glen Ridge) and Cody Ochs (Albany-Saratoga) sit fourth and fifth respectfully with one feature win each.
The remainder of the top ten features Richard Murtaugh, James Michael Friesen, Justin Buff, Cameron Tuttle and Chris Johnson.
With the season in full swing Track Championship races are in full swing. With the exception of Ontario’s Humberstone Speedway (May 22nd), all weekly tracks have started their seasons. Here is a look at the standings at each DIRTcar Sportsman track as of this past weekends racing action.
Airborne Speedway – Lonnie Rivers/Travis Bruno (108), Michael DeLormier/Codie Aubin (-2) and Jamy Begor (-10)
Albany-Saratoga Speedway – Tim Hartman, Jr. (208), Chris Johnson (-1), David Boisclair (-12), Andrew Buff (-20), Dylan Madsen (-31)
Bear Ridge Speedway – Jason Gray (62), James Fadden (-1), Jeremy Huntoon (-7), Richie Simmons (-8), Matt Lashua (-9)
Brewerton Speedway – Brandon Carvey (110), Matt Caprara/Dale Caswell/Amy Holland (-14), Richard Murtaugh (-20)
Brockville Ontario Speedway – Jessica Power (65), Tyler Givogue (-4), Bobby Herrington (-10), Shane Stearns (-15), Ricky Thompson (-17)
Can-Am Speedway – David Rogers (100), Brian Hudson/Remington Hamm (-8), Ryan Shanahan (-12), Gavin Eisele/Jessica Power (-16)
Autodrome Drummond – William Racine (64), Michael Richard (-3), Raphael Gougeon (-9), Alan Carrier/Karl Letendre (-10)
Fulton Speedway – Amy Holland (108), Chris Mackey/Emmett Waldron (-2), Quinn Wallis (-18), A.J. Miller (-22)
Genesee Speedway – Phil Vigneri, III (126), Jim Harbison (-13), Kyle Richner (-24), Cameron Tuttle (-25), Brandon Michaud (-26)
Glen Ridge Motorsports Park – Brian Calabrese (168), Andrew Buff (-6), Justin Buff (-14), Cody Ochs (-20), Garrett Poland (-26)
Land of Legends Raceway – Tyler Corcoran (161), Nick Guererri (-1), Matt Guererri (-5), Kane Bristol (-8), Zach Sobotka (-10)
Merrittville Speedway – Cody McPherson (166), Adam Leslie (-10), Justin Sharp (-14), James Michael Friesen (-18), Jay Mallory (-22)
Mohawk International Raceway – Shane Pecore (65), Cedric Gauvreau (-4), Dale Gonyo (-8), Dustin Bradley (-11), Casey Swamp/Greg Snyder (-14)
Outlaw Speedway (Hoosier Tire Division) – Alex Payne (180), Stacey Jackson (-28), Brett Buono/A.J. Lloyd (-36), Brent Ayers (-44)
Ransomville Speedway – Scott Kerwin (110), Derek Wagner (-4), James Michael Friesen (-10), Cameron Tuttle (-12), Dave DePietro, II/Brett Senek (-16)
Thunder Mountain Speedway – Alan Fink (174), Hunter Lapp (-2), Will Eastman (-22), Cody Jackson (-23), Jamie Kamrowski (-24)
While not a DIRTcar sanctioned division, the Sportsman division at the Lebanon Valley Speedway held a special event this past Saturday night. On tap was the 10th annual Andrew Sherman Memorial paying the winner $2,000.
When all was said and done, Tim Hartman, Jr. took the checkered flag over John Virgilio, Whitey Slavin, Rob Maxon and Pete Lorenzo. The remainder of the top ten included Chris Lynch, Shane Powell, Ryan Heath, Garret Poland and Jeff Gallup.
Until next time, please remember to support those that support racing.