From John Naida
FORT WAYNE, IN (April 25, 2019) – The 40th Lane Automotive Sprints On Dirt powered by King Engine Bearings / MSD Ignition / Motul season opens with SOD’s traditional opening race venue, Ron Flinn’s Crystal Motor Speedway, this Saturday, April 27, loaded with talented drivers.
Last year, Zane DeVault, Plymouth, Indiana, drove to his first SOD victory by just 0.03 seconds over hard-charging 2018 SOD champion Chad Blonde (Litchfield, MI) and Matt Foos (Fremont, OH). Not only was the racing exciting, but SOD’s “Beyond Limits” format proved itself with DeVault winning with a 360 engine over Blonde’s 410 and the 305 of Foos.
While there has been a lot of talk about having lost a generation in racing, things are looking brighter for the future. Zane DeVault, 2018 Butler champ Boston Mead, micro sprint champion Keith Sheffer Jr., and Butler standout Tylar Rankin have all notified SOD that they will be racing at Crystal. Also competing will be Quentin Blonde. The nephew of Chad, Quentin was impressive with SOD late last season picking up three consecutive hard charger awards.
Not to be outdone, veteran drivers Chad Blonde, pavement standout and Chad’s cousin Jason Blonde (Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame member) will compete at Crystal. Joining them will be 2017 SOD champion Steve Irwin and Ryan Ruhl who is off to a quick start this spring and always a threat to win at Crystal. Jay Steinebach has progressed from 9th to 6th to 3rd in points over the last three seasons and will be shooting for the championship this year. Top twelve 2018 points finishers Ricky Ferkel, Justin Ward, Mark Aldrich, Mike Schumacher, and Eric Smith are expected at Crystal. Robert Bulloch, away from sprint cars in 2018, returns to SOD competition as Steinebach’s team mate.
Don’t miss all the excitement as the 40th Sprints On Dirt season begins. In case the weather doesn’t cooperate, a Saturday, May 4, rain date is already in place. To stay up to date on race status, sign up for RainedOut text alerts on the SOD website.
Check out Crystal Motor Speedway at www.crystalmotorspeedway.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CMSpeedway.
For more information, check out these websites:
Lane Automotive – www.laneautomotive.com
King Engine Bearings – www.kingbearings.com
MSD Ignition – www.msdperformance.com
Motul – www.motul.com/us/en-US
Sprints On Dirt – www.sprintsondirt.com
Sprints On Dirt is brought to you in 2019 by:
· Lane Automotive (Title Sponsor)
· King Engine Bearings (Presenting Sponsor)
· MSD Ignition (Presenting Sponsor)
· Motul (Presenting Sponsor)
· Hoosier Racing Tire (Official SOD Tire)
· Benic Enterprises (Fast Masters Sponsor)
· Engler Machine & Tool (Heat Race Sponsor)
· King Engine Bearings (Heat Race Sponsor)
· MSD Ignition (Heat Race Sponsor)
· Motul (Heat Race Sponsor)
· MAHLE Aftermarket (Hard Charger Sponsor)
· KSE Racing Products (Hard Charger Sponsor)
· Allstar Performance (Better Luck Next Time Sponsor)
· COMP Cams (Lucky Dog Sponsor)
· Benic Enterprises (Crew Chief of the Year Sponsor)
· Allstar Performance (Sportsman of the Year Sponsor)
· Motul (Sprint Car Rookie of the Year Sponsor)
· King Engine Bearings (SOD Series Rookie of the Year Sponsor)
· Noizee 1 Motorsports (Special Awards)
SOD 2019 contingency marketing partners are:
· Allstar Performance
· BR Motorsports
· Diversified Machine Inc. (DMI)
· Hepfner Racing Products (HRP)
· Keizer Aluminum Wheels
· King Racing Products
· Maxim Racing
· Pyrotect Racing Cells
· Racing Optics
· Rod End Supply
· Saldana Racing Products
· Schoenfeld Headers
· Simpson Racing Products
· Ti22 Performance