By Steve Ovens
(CANANDAIGUA, NY) – Bobby Parrow made a rather glorious return to sprint car racing in 2020 driving for Land of Legends Raceway 305 sprint competitor Tom Fletcher. The new pairing picked up 2 wins on the same night in August and contended for the track title at season’s end.
Fletcher and Parrow looked to 2021 as a year where they could continue to build on their success and got off to a hot start, winning opening night at Land of Legends Raceway on May 15. Move to this weekend’s second round of the 16-race CRSA Series and the D.C. Rauscher, Wings for Cystic Fibrosis No. 53 was again contending for the victory.
Parrow battled back and forth, lap after lap, with defending LOLR 305 Sprints track champion Alysha Bay. Bay committed to the bottom lane, Parrow blasting the cushion after a 5:30 light shower made for a super fast surface that saw average speeds over 108mph in Hot Laps.
While the battle for the lead had most of the attention there were also several cars making quick work of traffic to elevate themselves on the leaderboard. Jeff Trombley worked both high and low to eventually find himself in third position before the tires heated up and his march forward leveled off. Trombley’s moves to get there earned him the “Maguire Family of Dealerships Magnificent Move of the Race.”
Rochester, NY’s David Ferguson had even more work to do as he washed, dried and pressed his Speedy Cleaners No. 45 from eighteenth starting position to fifth in the final rundown. His +13 effort earned Ferguson the “Powdertech Powdercoating Hard Charger Bonus” in his first race back since 2019.
Up front though, the lead changed hands four times in the closing laps with Parrow getting an advantage, Bay closing back in and eventually taking the lead back. An impressive Land of Legends Raceway crowd were not even using the seats they paid for in those last two laps. Bay found bite with a lap to go to retake the lead and beat Parrow in a drag race off the fourth turn to cross the line first.
However in post-race CRSA tech inspection, an infraction of the valve springs would relegate Bay to a 23rd place finish and award Parrow his first career CRSA Series victory. Parrow spoke with Land of Legends Raceway Public Relations Director Tom Skibinski on Sunday to discuss the victory.
“Its tough when you’re leading to know where all the others are getting fast,” said Parrow, who joined last weekend’s Penn Can (Pa.) Speedway winner Kyle Pierce as first-time entries in the CRSA record book.
Parrow is the seventh different winner in 12 CRSA events staged at LOLR and the 20-lap win worth $770 was also the first tour triumph for team owner Tom Fletcher. “Car was great in turns three and four, should’ve changed my line and run a little lower in turns one and two but up top was working good early on.”
“You need to keep your lap times consistent and I felt pretty consistent running the top side when out in front,” said Parrow, who credited his key set-up guys on race day Mike Forde and Charlie Doverspike for managing another top performance. “Those two watch the track and consider the ever-change surface conditions then figure out any adjustments to make with the car. After that it was up to me to make all their work pay off.”
The aforementioned Kyle Pierce had a flat tire during the 20-lap Feature and made a trip to the pits to try and quickly make a change. CRSA rules do not call for a specified work area or guaranteed time for pit work and the Pierce crew was unable to return before the green flag was displayed. A tough night did earn Pierce the “Midstate Basement Authorities Out of the Basement Award”- an award sponsored by one of Pierce’s new marketing partners this season.
CRSA Sprints and their drivers wish to thank VanBortel Trucking owner Ike VanBortel who contributed an extra $500 into Saturday night’s purse for each position in the field along with being a nightly sponsor at Land of Legends Saturday.
Next on the schedule for the Super Gen Products CRSA 305 Sprints is a trip to “The Showpiece of the Northeast” at Al Heinke and Jimmy Phelps’ Weedsport Speedway. It will be a grand stage for the CRSA Sprints as they join the Super DIRTcar Series running the “Heroes Remembered 100” as well as the DIRTcar Sportsman division.
The CRSA 305 Sprints are powered by Super Gen Products with their Champion Power Equipment located in Newark, NY. Associate sponsors for the 2021 CRSA 305 Sprints include Midstate Basement Authorities, CNY Farm Supply, the Maguire Family of Dealerships, Powdertech Powdercoating, Hoosier Racing Tires, Insinger Performance with their Stinger Race Fuel and is owned and operated by Mike Emhof Motorsports.
For more information on the series, results, points and 2021 schedule please visit our website www.crsa.myracepass.com
Please visit the Super Gen Products with Champion Power Equipment CRSA Sprints on Facebook (@CRSAsprints) and on Twitter (@CRSAsprints).
SUPER GEN PRODUCTS CRSA SPRINTS @ LAND OF LEGENDS RACEWAY OFFICIAL RESULTS- Saturday May 22nd, 2021:
20-Lap A-Main (23 cars): 1. 53-Bobby Parrow ($770), 2. 3a-Jeff Trombley, 3. 13t-Trevor Years, 4. 48jr.-Darryl Ruggles, 5. 45-David Ferguson (H.C. +13), 6. 18c-Dan Craun, 7. 56d-Peter Dance, 8. 25w-Dana Wagner, 9. 2-Randy Years, 10. 121-Steve Glover, 11. 75-Brandyn Griffin, 12. 38-Jason Whipple, 13. 41j-Josh Flint, 14. 66-Jordan Hutton, 15. 28-Ronnie Greek, 16. 410-Jerry Sehn Jr., 17. 41-Chase Moran, 18. j27-John Cunningham, 19. 77-Matt Rotz, 20. 11-Jacob Lynch, 21. 17e-Ethan Gray, 22. 9k-Kyle Pierce, 23. 48a-Alysha Bay(DSQ).
Heats (8 laps)
#1: Wagner, R.Years, Dance, Greek, Cunningham, Hutton, Whipple, Griffin.
#2: Craun, Ruggles, Bay T.Years, Trombley, Glover, Sehn, Lynch.
#3: Parrow, Flint, Gray, Pierce, Rotz, Ferguson, Moran.