By Zach Hiser
Jackson, MI – Teams, officials, partner tracks, and marketing partners all gathered Saturday night at the Commonwealth Commerce Center in Jackson, Michigan to honor Champions and other award winners with the Great Lakes Super Sprints Presented by Engine Pro & ARP Tour, the Michigan CAT Division, the Ohio CAT Division, the Great Lakes Traditional Sprints Presented by MacCallister CAT Rental Store, and the Great Lakes Lightning Sprint Presented by MacCallister CAT Rental Store. In total, over $90,000 in prize money was awarded as well as door prizes and product certificates.
For the Great Lakes Super Sprints Presented by Engine Pro & ARP Tour drivers, over $70,000 was awarded to drivers who raced with GLSS throughout the 2024 season; one that saw 32 races at 15 different tracks in four states and two countries. In total, 122 drivers earned points on the tour with 16 different drivers going to victory lane. Cloverdale, OH’s Abby Hohlbein was in attendance to accept her Rookie of the Year award after turning in two top-10 finishes in her 15 starts this season. Chase Dunham of Leipsic, OH accepted his award for 10th in the championship standings after 13 top-10s and six top-fives in the season in 19 starts. Kelsey Ivy (Mange) accepted her 6th place Tour award following a season with nine top 10s and four top 5s in 25 starts. Veteran Gregg Dalman took 5th place honors Saturday night with a season that saw him make 27 starts with 11 top 10s and three top fives. Dustin Daggett added to his hardware collection after finishing runner-up in the standings pulling in 27 top-10s and 13 top-fives in 27 starts last season including wins at I-96 Speedway and Crystal Motor Speedway.
Awarded as the Great Lakes Super Sprints Presented by Engine Pro & ARP Tour Champion for the third time in his career was Elida, OH’s, Max Stambaugh. In 2024, Stambaugh drove the Smith Motorsports No.71H to a season-high six wins (I-75 Raceway 2x, Hartford Motor Speedway, Tri City Motor Speedway 2x, and Silver Bullet Speedway), 19 top-fives, and 28 top-10s in 31 starts. Paired with the Michigan CAT Division Championship he was also awarded Saturday night, Stambaugh now has a record-setting five championships with GLSS. Trailing only Jared Horstman who has nine counting back to the days of the NRA Sprint Invaiders.
As for Smith Motorsports, the pair of championships in 2024 give them a total of six consecutive titles with the Great Lakes Super Sprints dating back to their first title run with Ryan Ruhl in 2021.
The Ohio CAT Division, which conducted 11 races at five tracks in 2024 welcomed in 92 different drivers with nine winners. Kelsey Ivy (Mange) took home the award for 10th in the Ohio CAT Division with two top-10s in nine starts in the Buckeye State. Gregg Dalman accepted his award for 8th in the championship standings thanks to his solid performance in nine starts this season. Chase Dunham’s season in Ohio landed him 6th in the region’s standings after six top-10s and three top-5s in 10 starts. Stambaugh was awarded the runner-up finish in the 2024 standings, falling short of the clean sweep of championships by three points. Stambaugh’s Ohio efforts included four top-5s and 10 top-10s in 11 starts.
As for the Ohio CAT Division Champion, Dustin Daggett finished ahead of Stambaugh during the final night at Millstream Speedway to secure his second Great Lakes Super Sprints Championship and his first since 2018. Daggett joins Jared Horstman and Max Stambaugh as the only drivers to win more than one championship with the Great Lakes Super Sprints since the launch in 2016. Daggett’s final line this season looked a lot like Stambaugh’s, with four top-fives and 10 top-10s in his 11 starts.
The Michigan CAT Division welcomed 59 different drivers in 2024 and saw eight different racers pull into victory lane. A 15-race schedule unfolded at six different race tracks. Zach Broughman accepted his award for 10th in the Michigan CAT Division after starting 12 shows last summer. Kelsey Ivy (Mange) returned to the podium to accept her fifth-place award in a season where she finished a career-best third during three different races. Her final stat line showed four top-fives and seven top-10s in her 14 starts. Gregg Dalman was back with a fourth-place award thanks to his three top-fives and 10 top-10s in his 14 starts. Daggett, for the second time in the program, accepted the award for second in the championship standings posting two feature wins at I-96 Speedway and Crystal Motor Speedway, eight top-fives and 11 top-10s in 14 starts. Then, Stambaugh accepted his award for the Michigan CAT Division Championship thanks to his four wins, 11 top-fives, and 13 top-10s in 14 starts.
The Great Lakes Traditional Sprints Presented by MacCallister CAT Rental Store honored Tom Lowe who, in six starts, turned in four top-10 finishes and a top-five to finish 8th in the standings. Longtime racer, Mike Astrauskas finished 7th in the standings in 2024 thanks to four top-10s during his six starts. Aidan Salisbury was on hand to accept his award for fourth in the standings; earned thanks to his six top-10s and three top-fives in his eight feature starts. Max Frank, the only repeat winner the Series saw in 2024, finished third in the championship standings. Frank posted seven top-10s and four top-fives in his seven starts as well as three wins coming at Tri-City Motor Speedway and Silver Bullet Speedway (2x). After eight starts in 2024, Brian Ruhlman finished runner-up in the championship hunt with eight top-10s and five top-fives plus a win at Tri City Motor Speedway. The 2024 Great Lakes Traditional Sprints Champion was collecting his 11th career Series Championship on Saturday night. Steve Irwin’s season featured eight top-10s, seven top-fives, and a feature win to open the season at Butler Motor Speedway.
In the Great Lakes Lightning Sprints, Geoff Miller was awarded the 10th place Championship Award as well as the 2024 Rookie of the Year. Miller posted two top-10s in his 13 starts. Avery Neal accepted the award for 9th thanks to seven top-five finishes in 11 starts last season. Division, MI’s, Chad Colley finished 8th last season with seven top-10s and one top-five in 13 starts. After 15 starts last year and five top-10s, Bobby Miller was awarded the 7th place award. Dalton Pipgras took 6th in the championship standings after four top-fives and 11 top-10s in his 13 starts. Arlie Cooper, Jr cracked the top five last season with three top-five finishes and 10 top-10s in 14 starts. Noah Wilfong built a strong 2024 season with 15 starts last year and 12 top-10s to go along with five top-five finishes. Jacob Sabaj’s sophomore season was almost as good as his rookie year, in 14 starts the Cournna, MI native grabbed nine wins and 13 top-fives. However, it wasn’t enough to knock off Justin Ward who made 16 features in 2024 and finished in the top 10 each night. In fact, the Benzonia, MI native made 15 of those starts into top-five finishes as well; three of which came as feature wins.
Details of the 2025 schedules for the Great Lakes Traditional Sprints and Great Lakes Lightning Sprints are expected to be released in the coming weeks.
Find GreatLakesSprints.com for more information on the Great Lakes Family of Sprint Cars. Follow the Great Lakes Sprint Series on Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, and YouTube.
Jackson, MI – Teams, officials, partner tracks, and marketing partners all gathered Saturday night at the Commonwealth Commerce Center in Jackson, Michigan to honor Champions and other award winners with the Great Lakes Super Sprints Presented by Engine Pro & ARP Tour, the Michigan CAT Division, the Ohio CAT Division, the Great Lakes Traditional Sprints Presented by MacCallister CAT Rental Store, and the Great Lakes Lightning Sprint Presented by MacCallister CAT Rental Store. In total, over $90,000 in prize money was awarded as well as door prizes and product certificates.
For the Great Lakes Super Sprints Presented by Engine Pro & ARP Tour drivers, over $70,000 was awarded to drivers who raced with GLSS throughout the 2024 season; one that saw 32 races at 15 different tracks in four states and two countries. In total, 122 drivers earned points on the tour with 16 different drivers going to victory lane. Cloverdale, OH’s Abby Hohlbein was in attendance to accept her Rookie of the Year award after turning in two top-10 finishes in her 15 starts this season. Chase Dunham of Leipsic, OH accepted his award for 10th in the championship standings after 13 top-10s and six top-fives in the season in 19 starts. Kelsey Ivy (Mange) accepted her 6th place Tour award following a season with nine top 10s and four top 5s in 25 starts. Veteran Gregg Dalman took 5th place honors Saturday night with a season that saw him make 27 starts with 11 top 10s and three top fives. Dustin Daggett added to his hardware collection after finishing runner-up in the standings pulling in 27 top-10s and 13 top-fives in 27 starts last season including wins at I-96 Speedway and Crystal Motor Speedway.
Awarded as the Great Lakes Super Sprints Presented by Engine Pro & ARP Tour Champion for the third time in his career was Elida, OH’s, Max Stambaugh. In 2024, Stambaugh drove the Smith Motorsports No.71H to a season-high six wins (I-75 Raceway 2x, Hartford Motor Speedway, Tri City Motor Speedway 2x, and Silver Bullet Speedway), 19 top-fives, and 28 top-10s in 31 starts. Paired with the Michigan CAT Division Championship he was also awarded Saturday night, Stambaugh now has a record-setting five championships with GLSS. Trailing only Jared Horstman who has nine counting back to the days of the NRA Sprint Invaiders.
As for Smith Motorsports, the pair of championships in 2024 give them a total of six consecutive titles with the Great Lakes Super Sprints dating back to their first title run with Ryan Ruhl in 2021.
The Ohio CAT Division, which conducted 11 races at five tracks in 2024 welcomed in 92 different drivers with nine winners. Kelsey Ivy (Mange) took home the award for 10th in the Ohio CAT Division with two top-10s in nine starts in the Buckeye State. Gregg Dalman accepted his award for 8th in the championship standings thanks to his solid performance in nine starts this season. Chase Dunham’s season in Ohio landed him 6th in the region’s standings after six top-10s and three top-5s in 10 starts. Stambaugh was awarded the runner-up finish in the 2024 standings, falling short of the clean sweep of championships by three points. Stambaugh’s Ohio efforts included four top-5s and 10 top-10s in 11 starts.
As for the Ohio CAT Division Champion, Dustin Daggett finished ahead of Stambaugh during the final night at Millstream Speedway to secure his second Great Lakes Super Sprints Championship and his first since 2018. Daggett joins Jared Horstman and Max Stambaugh as the only drivers to win more than one championship with the Great Lakes Super Sprints since the launch in 2016. Daggett’s final line this season looked a lot like Stambaugh’s, with four top-fives and 10 top-10s in his 11 starts.
The Michigan CAT Division welcomed 59 different drivers in 2024 and saw eight different racers pull into victory lane. A 15-race schedule unfolded at six different race tracks. Zach Broughman accepted his award for 10th in the Michigan CAT Division after starting 12 shows last summer. Kelsey Ivy (Mange) returned to the podium to accept her fifth-place award in a season where she finished a career-best third during three different races. Her final stat line showed four top-fives and seven top-10s in her 14 starts. Gregg Dalman was back with a fourth-place award thanks to his three top-fives and 10 top-10s in his 14 starts. Daggett, for the second time in the program, accepted the award for second in the championship standings posting two feature wins at I-96 Speedway and Crystal Motor Speedway, eight top-fives and 11 top-10s in 14 starts. Then, Stambaugh accepted his award for the Michigan CAT Division Championship thanks to his four wins, 11 top-fives, and 13 top-10s in 14 starts.
The Great Lakes Traditional Sprints Presented by MacCallister CAT Rental Store honored Tom Lowe who, in six starts, turned in four top-10 finishes and a top-five to finish 8th in the standings. Longtime racer, Mike Astrauskas finished 7th in the standings in 2024 thanks to four top-10s during his six starts. Aidan Salisbury was on hand to accept his award for fourth in the standings; earned thanks to his six top-10s and three top-fives in his eight feature starts. Max Frank, the only repeat winner the Series saw in 2024, finished third in the championship standings. Frank posted seven top-10s and four top-fives in his seven starts as well as three wins coming at Tri-City Motor Speedway and Silver Bullet Speedway (2x). After eight starts in 2024, Brian Ruhlman finished runner-up in the championship hunt with eight top-10s and five top-fives plus a win at Tri City Motor Speedway. The 2024 Great Lakes Traditional Sprints Champion was collecting his 11th career Series Championship on Saturday night. Steve Irwin’s season featured eight top-10s, seven top-fives, and a feature win to open the season at Butler Motor Speedway.
In the Great Lakes Lightning Sprints, Geoff Miller was awarded the 10th place Championship Award as well as the 2024 Rookie of the Year. Miller posted two top-10s in his 13 starts. Avery Neal accepted the award for 9th thanks to seven top-five finishes in 11 starts last season. Division, MI’s, Chad Colley finished 8th last season with seven top-10s and one top-five in 13 starts. After 15 starts last year and five top-10s, Bobby Miller was awarded the 7th place award. Dalton Pipgras took 6th in the championship standings after four top-fives and 11 top-10s in his 13 starts. Arlie Cooper, Jr cracked the top five last season with three top-five finishes and 10 top-10s in 14 starts. Noah Wilfong built a strong 2024 season with 15 starts last year and 12 top-10s to go along with five top-five finishes. Jacob Sabaj’s sophomore season was almost as good as his rookie year, in 14 starts the Cournna, MI native grabbed nine wins and 13 top-fives. However, it wasn’t enough to knock off Justin Ward who made 16 features in 2024 and finished in the top 10 each night. In fact, the Benzonia, MI native made 15 of those starts into top-five finishes as well; three of which came as feature wins.
Details of the 2025 schedules for the Great Lakes Traditional Sprints and Great Lakes Lightning Sprints are expected to be released in the coming weeks.
Find GreatLakesSprints.com for more information on the Great Lakes Family of Sprint Cars. Follow the Great Lakes Sprint Series on Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, and YouTube.