Story By: MARTY CZEKALA / CRSA – BREWERTON, NY – There’s a first for everything. That applies Friday night as the A-Verdi Storage Containers CRSA Sprints powered by Super Gen Products get set for its inaugural race at “The D-Shaped Dirt Demon,” Brewerton Speedway featuring extra money in the B-Main.
24 drivers will take the green for the feature, plus two spots for eligible tour provisionals. The race pays $1000 to win and $200 to start the feature. Thanks to iFreeze Storage and Distribution Center and many other sponsors, extra money will be paid in the B-Main Friday.
It is the first time CRSA has raced at Brewerton. With this, the 1/3-mile D-shaped oval becomes the 25th different track that CRSA gets to push off at.
Here are the top stories for the weekend.
Last Week: CRSA ran at Outlaw Speedway Friday for the first-ever race of the Dandy Triple Play.
First-time winners have been a key story in CRSA this season and it happened again in Dundee as Dan Craun took advantage of a Blake Warner mishap under yellow with 10 to go to take his first career CRSA victory.
Craun joins Matt Rotz, Dillon Paddock and Adam DePuy as first-time CRSA winners in 2024 through nine races.
The final laps were the longest of Craun’s career, having to hold off Dalton Herrick in lapped traffic to take the victory.
“This is awesome,” said Craun. “Sometimes I wish we had rearview mirrors, but we don’t. Every time we come up on lapped traffic, this is always gonna be a factor.”
Herrick was second, followed by Kyle Pierce in third.
Points Standings: With back-to-back podiums Saturday, Kyle Pierce was able to trim the gap on Tomy Moreau’s points lead to 23. Dalton Herrick is just a little behind in third, 26 back.
Ron Greek moved to fourth in points, 97 behind, while Blake Warner dropped to fifth, 105 back.
The top 10 are John Cunningham, sixth; Cliff Pierce, seventh; Jerry Sehn Jr., eighth; Jordan Hutton, ninth; and Adam DePuy, 10th.
Here Comes the Money: There is a lot to be excited about Friday’s race at Brewerton, but one that gets some drivers fired up is extra iFreeze B-Main money added to the purse.
In CRSA racing, it’s currently $200 to start a feature, with $50 tow money for those who don’t make the show. Thanks to additional sponsorship, fifth through ninth-place finishers in the iFreeze B-Main will pay $150, 10th through 14th receive $125 and everyone on back receives $100.
iFreeze Storage & Distribution Center, located in Fulton, NY, is a fully updated 120,000-square-foot facility offering storage and distribution for items needing refrigeration or to be kept frozen. The facility can store at temperatures as low as -18 to -20 degrees Fahrenheit.
“The purse of $1000 to win and $200 to start is excellent,” said Paul Colagiovanni, who was beneficial in negotiating the deal for CRSA to run at Brewerton. “CRSA has developed a good product and any track would benefit, in my opinion, from them coming along.”
Other partners that have stepped up to provide extra money include PJC Sprayfoam, Net Zero Builders, Westward Painting Company and Mike Emhof Motorsports.
Who to Watch: Since this is the first time CRSA has run Brewerton, it’s tough to tell who has experience unless you’ve run a 360 Sprint or a Micro Sprint.
The Empire Super Sprints have run two races at Brewerton so far this season. Drivers who ran with the ESS at Brewerton and have also entered a CRSA event this season include Jordan Hutton, Billy VanInwegen, Dan Bennett and Shawn Donath.
Donath’s best finish is a third earlier this season, Billy VanInwegen 12th, Hutton’s is 18th, while Bennett’s is 23rd
Tyler Graves and Emily VanInwegen each have an appearance at Brewerton this season but didn’t make the feature. Graves was 11th in the B-Main, while Emily VanInwegen was sixth.
Last year, Blake Warner, Johnny Smith and Chad Miller ran at Brewerton with ESS and only ran the B-Main. Warner’s best finish was a fifth, Johnny Smith’s a ninth and Miller’s a tenth.
From the Frontman: “When we were looking for tracks to fill the void for this weekend, we had been in talks with Brewerton about hosting a race. We have to thank Paul Colagiovanni for his assistance in setting this up and the management team at Brewerton Speedway for hosting us! We are looking forward to a great race and want to benefit those who don’t qualify for our feature.” ~ Mike Emhof
From the Track GM: “The fields have been strong wherever this series and we are pleased to welcome them to “The Demon,” ~ Cory Reed
Up next: CRSA takes Labor Day weekend off, then returns Sept. 7 at Weedsport Speedway for round three of the I-90 Pit Stop Challenge. Coverage can be seen live on DIRTVision.