By Rich Vleck
DELEVAN, NY, (August 29, 2014)- Jared Zimbardi started racing a sprint car at the Freedom Speedway and since then has built up an impressive resume, but not until Friday Night had he won there.
Zimbardi, originally of Little Valley, NY and now residing in Bradford, PA, led all 25 laps of the first Patriot Sprint Tour event at the Freedom Speedway since 2009 to score his seventh PST win of the year, his third in a row.
“The Juice” drew the third starting spot for the feature, but inherited the pole when Ohio’s Jared Horstman suffered a flat tire on the parade laps and had to forfeit his front row position. On the initial start, Zimbardi moved out to a healthy lead while Chuck Hebing made a thrilling move to go from fourth to second by the completion of the opening circuit.
After a lap three caution for Steve Glover slowing, Hebing took a bid for the lead heading in to turn one, but it was clear that the No. 35 was too solid on the night. One more restart just before half way was just as flawless for Zimbardi as he pulled away early and was able to drive hard in to the corner, drive through the middle of the apex and pull off the bottom of the track to lap up to 10th place.
As Zimbardi was pulling away, Chuck Hebing ran comfortably in second with no competitors around for much of the feature. The finish was the fifth top-2 for “Cobra” in as many PST races in 2014.
The battle for third was focus over the second-half of the race. Rookie Dane Lorenc commanded the position for much of the race but in the final few laps, Kyle Drum, who won the Patriot event at Freedom back in 2003, would move by to complete the podium. Drum’s No. 47 came in to contact with Steve Collins’ No. 67 just before halfway while the two were battling for fourth. The contact would break the left front of Collins’ car while Drum was able to continue on.
Scott Kreutter started back in 15th place but got to fourth as he was able to get in to the top 10 quickly and was in the top five before halfway. As the 2012 champion moved forward, the 2012 Rookie of the Year came with him as Steven Hutchinson Jr. came from 10th to finish fifth for the first top five in his young career.
Dane Lorenc would slide back from third to sixth in the final three circuits, but that was still good enough for his best career PST America Finish. Dave Just fell back early but drove back up to finish seventh, while Don Adamczyk and Scott Just were eighth and ninth, respectively. Jared Horstman, who smacked the wall hard on lap six while moving through the field would get back up to round out the top 10.
A total of 20 sprint cars filled the pits on a night when the grandstands were all packed. Heat wins went to Hebing, Lorenc and Dave Just. Derek Jonathan scored his first career Evingham Site Excavation Four Laps of Fame Dash Win.
For More Information, visit www.PatriotSprintTour.com.
Patriot Sprint Tour America Series Results: 8/29/14, Freedom Speedway, Delevan, NY.
A-Main (25 Laps)- 1. Jared Zimbardi (35), 2. Chuck Hebing (45), 3. Kyle Drum (47), 4. Scott Kreutter (10B), 5. Steven Hutchinson Jr. (2), 6. Dane Lorenc (00), 7. Dave Just (54J), 8. Don Adamczyk (21), 9. Scott Just (54JR), 10. Jared Horstman (17), 11. Brad Knab (38), 12. Derek Jonathan (81), 13. Joe McEwen (44), 14. Jake Muench (14), 15. Stan Zanchin (94), 16. Devin Litwiler (07), 17. Jeremy Barnard (86), 18. Tyler Graves (25G), 19. Steve Collins (67), 20. Steve Glover (121).
Lap Leaders- Zimbardi 1-25.
Evingham Site Excavation Four Laps of Fame (4 Laps)- 1. Derek Jonathan (81), 2. Steven Hutchinson Jr. (2), 3. Stan Zanchin (94), 4. Brad Knab (38), 5. Scott Just (54JR), 6. Jake Muench (14).
Heats (8 Laps Each)-
Race 1: Hebing, Adamczyk, Collins, Zanchin, Knab, Kreutter, McEwen
Race 2: Lorenc, Horstman, Drum, Hutchinson, Barnard, Barnard, Graves, Litwiler.
Race 3: D. Just, Zimbardi, Jonathan, S. Just, Muench, Glover.