By John Naida
ERIE, MI (September 9, 2017) – With the final points race in the books, Steve Irwin (Fenton, MI) has earned the 2017 Engine Pro Sprints On Dirt presented by ARP championship. The Flying Zero team of Irwin, car owner/wife Adrianna, and crew chief Nathan Whitney put together a consistent season in their Krieger-powered Maxim Flying Zero, finishing in the top seven in fourteen races while dropping out of one.
Irwin isn’t unfamiliar with championships. This is his second SOD championship, having won the first in 2001. He also won the 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2014 non-wing, dirt Michigan Traditional Sprints championships and the 2014 Spartan Speedway non-wing pavement championship. Irwin has 49 feature wins.
Besides the season championship, Irwin also won the SOD MAHLE/Clevite Beyond Limits Challenge four-race championship. He finished second in the King Engine Bearings Hartford Speedway King of Michigan four-race series and fifth in the Driven Racing Oil Butler Speedway Battlegrounds Bash four-race series.
Thomas Schinderle finished second in the championship chase and earned the Perfit Corporation Series Rookie of the Year title as the highest finishing driver with previous sprint car experience but a first-time SOD regular. Two-time SOD champ Gregg Dalman finished third in points, Chris Jones finished fourth and Ryan Ruhl finished fifth.
Thirteen-year-old Andrew Scheid finished eighth in the points, earning the Perfit Corporation Sprint Car Rookie of the Year title as the highest finishing driver with no previous full-size sprint car experience.
Irwin’s championship has earned him a guaranteed starting spot in the COMP Cams Great Lakes Sprint Car Classic at Berlin Raceway on Saturday, September 30th that will bring the 2017 season to a close.
The top twelve drivers in points have earned a share of the point fund that will be paid to drivers that attend the 2017 Engine Pro Sprints On Dirt presented by ARP Awards Banquet. It will be held at the Battle Creek Holiday Inn, Battle Creek, Michigan, on Saturday, November 11th. Eligible drivers are:
Car # Driver Total
1 0 Steve Irwin 1899
2 41 Thomas Schinderle 1826
3 49T Gregg Dalman 1770
4 10J Chris Jones 1426
5 71H/16 Ryan Ruhl 1409
6 10S Jay Steinebach 1385
7 47 Robert Bulloch 1366
8 77 Andrew Scheid 1342
9 20A Andy Chehowski 1342
10 1A Mark Aldrich 1132
11 7J Joe Swanson 1114
12 58 Tony Bures 1106
Want to celebrate the 2017 season at the family-friendly banquet? Racers, teams, sponsors, promoters, fans, families, friends are all invited. Tickets will be $35 per person. Email director@sprintsondirt.com to order yours.
Meet Engine Pro at www.enginepro.com. For more information about ARP, go to www.arp-bolts.com. Follow SOD at www.sprintsondirt.comand on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sprintsondirt.
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 (Hard Charger Sponsor), XYZ Machining (Season Sportsman & Crew Chief Sponsor). 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.