Column By: TOBY LAGRANGE / RPW – GLOVERSVILLE, NY – A few decades ago, professional wrestler Ric Flair coined the phrase, “To be the man, you gotta beat the man” and while that undoubtedly applies to motorsports as well, here in the Northeast it has taken on a slightly different meaning.
Heading into the 2023 season, the DIRTcar Sportsman and Pro Stock Championships were shaping up to be some of the best we have seen in recent years. One with a returning champion and the other without.
Reigning DIRTcar Sportsman Champion Cody McPherson was and is the favorite to repeat in 2023 and over in the DIRTcar Pro Stock ranks, defending champion Bruno Richard has traded in his full fender machine for one with a top wing. Richard is now a rookie in the Panther Frameworx 602 Crate Sprint Car Division at the Can-Am Speedway in Lafargeville, New York.
As we head into the month of July, the “man” in the Ric Flair comparison is not McPherson nor is it Richard or DIRTcar Pro Stock division runner up in 2022 Luke Horning. The “man” is actually Mother Nature.
Both the DIRTcar Pro Stock Series and all four regions of the DIRTcar Sportsman Regional Series have been plagued by rain. On the DIRTcar Sportsman side of things, of the six scheduled events heading into this week only three have been completed and two of those three were cross over events between different regions.
The DIRTcar Pro Stock Series season opener at the Can-Am Speedway was lost to Mother Nature on April 15th while the DIRTcar Sportsman Regional Series events at the Airborne Speedway (April 29th), Brewerton Speedway (June 23rd) and Land of Legends Raceway (June 24th) were each lost pending a reschedule date.
With the Airborne rain out, the DIRTcar Sportsman season opened with the East Region opener at the Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, Vermont on Saturday May 13th. When all was said and done with the 40-lap event, East Thetford, Vermont’s Jason Gray used his home track knowledge to bring home the win. Gray, the current track points leader was followed by Max Dolliver, Nick Heywood, D.J. Robinson and Canaan, New Hampshire’s Matt Lashua. A total of 25 drivers entered the program.
The next DIRTcar Sportsman regional event to get in was the West Region season opener at the Ransomville Speedway in western New York on Friday May 19th. With 21 drivers on hand for the Chris Moore Memorial, McPherson would bring home the win over Derek Wagner, Cameron Tuttle, current track points leader Brett Senek and North Tonawanda, New York’s Dave DiPietro. Wagner (2nd), Tuttle (3rd) and (5th) DiPietro each currently sit in the top five of the tracks point standings.
Depending on when you are reading this, the last DIRTcar Sportsman Series event to be completed was at my announcing home, the Glen Ridge Motorsports Park in Fultonville, New York. A total of 30 drivers entered the event at The Ridge and to say it was a great show would be an understatement.
When Head Starter Brandon Krutz waved the checkered flag it was Derrick McGrew, Jr. crossing underneath it first to bring home the $1,500 feature win. The 16-year-old second generation driver from Ballston Spa, New York would bring home the win over defending track champion Andrew Buff, Zach Buff, Chad Edwards and Cody Ochs.
Four of the top five finishers were track regulars with each having scored a win this season at the track. For McGrew the win was his second of the season at The Ridge. All five drivers are also regulars at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway on Friday nights with three of them – Andrew Buff (1st), Zach Buff (6th) and Edwards (8th) currently sitting in the top five in track points at the Lyle DeVore promoted facility.
A look at the DIRTcar Sportsman Eastern Region Point Standings shows Nick Heywood on top by two points over McGrew. Max Dolliver and Jason Gray are both six points back while D.J. Robinson rounds out the top five, 24 points back. A total of 43 drivers have competed in the East Region so far this season. The East Region finale will take place on Saturday July 29th at Bear Ridge.
With only one event in the books, the West Region points mirror that of the Ransomville finish. The final two events for the region are scheduled for Saturday July 1st at Merrittville and Sunday July 2nd at Humberstone.
Both the Central and North Regions have two events each remaining on their 2023 schedule. On June 28th the series heads to Can-Am for a cross over event between the two regions. The Central Region will conclude on Saturday July 29th at the Fulton Speedway and the North Region will throw the checkered flag on the same night at the Brockville Ontario Speedway.
For those not familiar with how the overall DIRTcar Sportsman Championship is decided, it resembles how the old D.I.R.T. system worked. The Hoosier Tire DIRTcar Weekly Championship Bonus points are added to the Regional Series Bonus points, the additional start points and the Championship Series points to determine a driver’s final point total.
The ten race DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series will kick off on Tuesday August 15th at the Fulton Speedway and end at the Brockville Ontario Speedway on Saturday October 14th.
The DIRTcar Pro Stock Series will kick off on August 14th at the Brewerton Speedway with stops at the Lebanon Valley Speedway (8/26), Glen Ridge Motorsports Park (8/27), Albany-Saratoga Speedway (9/23) and Oswego Speedway (Super DIRT Week – 10/7).
Like the DIRTcar Sportsman division, the DIRTcar Pro Stocks will be once again invited to the Dirt Track at Charlotte for the World Short Track Championships (non-points) on October 27th and 28th.