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Column By: MIKE WARREN / DIRTCAR – FULTON, NY – A champion will be crowned Saturday night as the DIRTcar Sportsman Series Central Region holds its final race of 2024.
The Series visits Fulton Speedway in Fulton, NY, on Saturday, July 27, for a 30-lap, $1,000 to win Feature.
Here’s a look at what to watch for at Fulton:
Battle For the Title: Two drivers have emerged as top contenders for the Central Region championship after two events.
Nick Root enters the weekend with momentum after earning his first Series victory last weekend at Land of Legends Raceway. The Geneva, NY driver enters Fulton second in the standings, eight points behind Zach Sobotka.
Root has a top five and two top 10s this season but hasn’t made a Series start at Fulton.
Sobotka, meanwhile, has been successful at Fulton in Series competition, earning a win in 2002 and two more top fives.
The Parish, NY driver hasn’t finished outside the top five in Central Region action this year as he searches for his ninth career Series win.
Chasing the Top: While Sobotka and Root are in the top two, three other drivers are within 20 points of the championship lead.
Tony Finch II is 12 points behind Sobotka, while Matt Guererri and Tyler Corcoran are 18 points out of first.
Guererri enters with momentum after a second-place finish at Land of Legends last weekend. However, like Root, he’s yet to make a Series start at Fulton.
Finch has only made two DIRTcar Sportsman starts at Fulton in his career but found success there last September. He finished second in the Sportsman portion of the Outlaw 200.
Of those three drivers, Corcoran has made the most Series starts at Fulton. In four starts, the Central Square, NY driver has finished in the top 10 on three occasions, including a fourth in 2022.
High Bank Holdup: The drivers who race at Fulton weekly will try to keep those chasing a championship out of Victory Lane.
Emmett Waldron is the winningest Sportsman driver at the track in 2024, earning two victories, five top fives, and six top 10s in seven starts.
Cody Manitta, Zach Buff, and Clayton Brewer III are chasing Waldron in the battle for a Fulton track championship this season, with Manitta and Brewer each winning a Feature.
Out of the three Fulton regulars, Waldron is the closest to knocking Sobotka off the top of the Central Region standings. Despite being seventh in points, Waldron is only -24 points out of first.
DIRTcar Sportsman Series Central Region Schedule
Date, Track, Winner
- Tuesday, June 11, Weedsport Speedway, Cody McPherson
- Wednesday, July 3, Can-Am Speedway, Postponed
- Saturday, July 20, Land of Legends Raceway, Nick Root
- Saturday, July 27, Fulton Speedway