From John Naida
ERIE, MI (June 18, 2017) – Chad Blonde made it 3 big Engine Pro Sprints On Dirt presented by ARP wins in two weekends at Butler Motor Speedway Saturday night. Blonde drove from his 6th place starting position to take the $2,100 win in the Driven Racing Oil Battlegrounds Bash WW III presented by Jim Coffey & Son Plumbing & Heating feature.
On a night where strong winds and high temperatures made track preparation a challenge, Butler’s crew was up to it and the race track held up remarkably well. The action was fast and furious on the smooth, high banked 3/8-mile with the large crowd enjoying plenty of passing. The SOD feature was over shortly after 10:30 PM.
With 23 cars still in competition after heat race action, Butler promoter Bob Garrett added 3 cars to the feature instead of running a B-Main.
Butler points leader Doug Zimmerman grabbed the early lead in the 25 lap feature from his pole position with Gregg Dalman starting and running 2nd. Thomas Schinderle started 6th, but was up to 3rd by lap3. Chad Blonde moved into 2nd on lap 7.
Zimmerman led the first 14 laps, but contact with a slower car in turn 2 caused him to spin to a stop, turning the lead over to Blonde. On lap 16, Zimmerman went off turn 3 and by the time he came back on the track out of turn 4, the caution was thrown, and he retired to the pits. On the restart, Boston Mead spun in turn 2, collecting Dain Naida and Joe Swanson, ending the night for all 3.
Blonde maintained a half a straight away lead for most of the last portion of the race. Ryan Ruhl took 2nd from Schinderle on lap 18 and looked fast, but couldn’t reel in the leader
Chris Jones won the KSE Hard Charger award by passing 12 cars. Steve Irwin started 8th, but a flat left tire on lap 6 sent him to the rear, but recovered to finish 7th.
Heat Races – Winners $100 each
| Engler Machine & Tool Heat #1 | |||
| # | Driver | Contingency | |
| 1 | 41 | Thomas Schinderle | |
| 2 | 19 | Doug Zimmerman | Kistler Racing Products |
| 3 | 47 | Robert Bulloch | Racing Optics |
| 4 | 77 | Andrew Scheid | |
| 5 | 4 | Josh Turner | |
| 6 | 20A | Andy Chehowski | |
| 7 | 46 | Robert Huisken | |
| 8 | 18 | DJ Lamance | |
| COMP Cams Heat #2 | |||
| # | Driver | Contingency | |
| 1 | 10s | Jay Steinebach | |
| 2 | 49T | Gregg Dalman | Allstar Performance |
| 3 | 0 | Steve Irwin | Racing Optics |
| 4 | 17x | Dain Naida | |
| 5 | 1a | Mark Aldrich | |
| 6 | 71H | Ryan Grubaugh | |
| 7 | 7J | Joe Swanson | |
| 8 | 6 | Tyler Bearden | |
| RockAuto.com Heat #3 | |||
| # | Driver | Contingency | |
| 1 | 5B | Chad Blonde | |
| 2 | 27B | Boston Mead | Kistler Racing Products |
| 3 | 21T | Troy Chehowski | Racing Optics |
| 4 | 71 | Ryan Ruhl | |
| 5 | 16 | Nic Rogers | |
| 6 | 27K | Ryan Kirkendahl | |
| 7 | 10J | Chris Jones | |
| 8 | 5QB | Quentin Blonde | |
Feature
| # | Driver | Started | Contingencies | |
| 1 | 5B | Chad Blonde | 6 | Rod End Supply |
| 2 | 71 | Ryan Ruhl | 12 | Rod End Supply |
| 3 | 41 | Thomas Schinderle | 5 | Rod End Supply |
| 4 | 49T | Gregg Dalman | 3 | Schoenfeld Headers |
| 5 | 10s | Jay Steinebach | 2 | ATL Racing Fuel Cells |
| 6 | 4 | Josh Turner | 13 | |
| 7 | 0 | Steve Irwin | 8 | Allstar Performance |
| 8 | 1a | Mark Aldrich | 14 | |
| 9 | 10J | Chris Jones | 9 | King Racing Products |
| 10 | 27K | Ryan Kirkendahl | 18 | |
| 11 | 20A | Andy Chehowski | 16 | Keizer Aluminum Wheels |
| 12 | 5QB | Quentin Blonde | 23 | |
| 13 | 71H | Ryan Grubaugh | 17 | |
| 14 | 46 | Robert Huisken | 19 | |
| 15 | 16 | Nic Rogers | 15 | |
| 16 | 21T | Troy Chehowski | 5 | |
| 17 | 7J | Joe Swanson | 20 | |
| 18 | 27B | Boston Mead | 7 | |
| 19 | 17x | Dain Naida | 9 | |
| 20 | 19 | Doug Zimmerman | 1 | |
| 21 | 47 | Robert Bulloch | 4 | |
| 22 | 18 | DJ Lamance | 22 | |
| 23 | 77 | Andrew Scheid | 10 |
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger – Chris Jones (12)
BR Motorsports Contingency (feature top 10 draw) – Jay Steinebach
DMI (Diversified Machine) Contingency (feature 12-16 draw) – Robert Huisken
Perfit Corporation Lucky Dog – Robert Bulloch
For more information about Engine Pro go to www.enginepro.com. For more information about ARP, go to www.arp-bolts.com. The full 2017 Sprints on Dirt schedule, rules, current news, and other information are available at www.sprintsondirt.com.
Engine Pro Sprints On Dirt presented by ARP is brought to you in 2017 by many important sponsor partners including: Engine Pro (Title Sponsor), ARP (Title Sponsor), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official SOD Tire), MAHLE/Clevite (Beyond Limits Challenge Sponsor), Driven Racing Oil (Battlegrounds Bash Sponsor), King Engine Bearings (King of Michigan Sponsor), Lane Automotive/MSD Ignition (Fast Masters Sponsor), Engler Machine & Tool (Heat Race Sponsor), COMP Cams (Heat Race Sponsor), RockAuto.com (Heat Race Sponsor), The Perfit Corporation (Lucky Dog Sponsor), KSE Racing Products, and XYZ Machining. In addition, SOD contingency sponsors include: Allstar Performance, ATL Racing Fuel Cells, BR Motorsports, Diversified Machine Inc. (DMI), K2W Precision/Keizer Aluminum Wheels, King Racing Products, Kistler Racing Products, Maxim Racing, Motor City Racing Promotions, Racing Optics, Rod End Supply, Schoenfeld Headers, Simpson Racing Products, Walker Performance Filtration.