By Marty Czekala
After coming off a successful three race weekend, the A-Verdi Storage Containers CRSA Sprints took a weekend off for some needed rest and regrouping. CRSA is ready to get back to action at Thunder Mountain Speedway in Center Lisle for round two of the Joe’s Garage Southern Tier Series.
Last month, when the series ran at Thunder Mountain, it was Johnny Smith who made a late race pass on Zach Sobotka to score his first career CRSA victory.
It is the 18th time CRSA has visited Thunder Mountain Speedway.
In addition, CRSA drivers, crews and officials are pinking out Saturday for #TanaStrong. We encourage fans and those a part of Thunder Mountain to wear pink in support of Tana Robinson, Ransomville Speedway general manager and Land of Legends Raceway Marketing and Operations Director, in her battle against breast cancer, along with those who have been affected by it.
Here’s a look at the storylines.
Tune In: Action can be seen live on Dirt Track Digest TV with Marty Czekala on the call. For $5.99 a month, you can expand your race night experience at the track or online through the MyRacePass app or at www.myracepass.com, which features live timing, entry lists, fantasy and results.
Last Time Out: The series held its first tripleheader to celebrate the Fourth of July with the Independence Day Triple Play.
The series began with a $1250-to-win show July 3 at Land of Legends Raceway to kick off the DisBatch Brewing Company Challenge.
A lead change happened early in the feature when Bobby Parrow went two-for-one on polesitter Jordan Hutton and Darryl Ruggles, but charging through on restarts was Jeff Trombley.
The No. 3A moved up to second on lap five, then grabbed the lead the following lap on another restart to take the win over Parrow and Dillon Paddock.
“I had been moving around the track a little bit and found a little something going into one,” Trombley said on the restart. “I was just hoping they left me that lane open. I got a good run.”
The win is Trombley’s fourth at Canandaigua and the 16th of his career, extending his lead on the all-time wins list.
July 4 was the inaugural trip to Ransomville Speedway. Many drivers wore cowboy hats on their journey out to Wild Western New York to win a complete set of Keiser Aluminum Wheels. Scott Landers won the drawing.
Unfortunately, lap one of the feature, Landers flipped his No. 33. He was shaken up but OK.
Steve Glover led early before Dillon Paddock took the lead from him and kept a two-second lead intact for his second win of the season. Coincidentally, the win came exactly one year after his first career CRSA victory at Land of Legends.
“We felt pretty good unloading,” said Paddock. “We’ve been throwing everything at this car for the last few days with some of these slick tracks we’ve been going to, so it feels good to pass a couple of cars. To get by was key early.”
Timmy Lotz scored his best CRSA finish in second and Zach Sobotka rounded the podium in third to continue his trend of a top five in every race.
Concluding the Triple Play was the inaugural Jason Quigley Memorial, which paid out $1750 to the winner, along with many other prizes and contingencies courtesy of Adam and Stacy DePuy, as well as iFreeze and many other partners.
Lance Dusett and Bobby Parrow brought the field to green. Parrow, who has been dominant in weekly action at Land of Legends this season, checked out from the drop of the green flag to score his second win of the season, the fourth of his CRSA career.
“First annual for the Quigley family, it’s huge. What [Adam and Stacy] did for this, raising all the money, giving all the lap money, even got it up and through the pack, it’s very generous.”
Dusett recorded his best CRSA finish in second while Paddock rounded out a phenomenal week in third after going from eighth to third on the final restart.
Championship Battle: Going into the Triple Play last weekend, Zach Sobotka’s points lead was at 27 over Dillon Paddock.
With Paddock besting the points leader in all three races, “The Show Stopper” was able to cut it down to 16 through nine races.
Both drivers have two wins on the season, with Sobotka achieving the best results in top fives, nine to seven and top tens, nine to eight.
At Thunder Mountain, Sobotka beat Paddock by one position (second to third). However, at the next race in Weedsport, Paddock recorded a pair of runner-up finishes, whereas Sobotka finished fifth last May.
A Hornets Nest for Third: The point standings got interesting in the battle for third two weeks ago.
Despite three finishes outside the top 10 in the Triple Play, Dalton Herrick stays third but now has a lot of company behind him.
With three top 10s last week, including his career-high second, Timmy Lotz has jumped to fourth in points, three points behind Herrick.
Jordan Hutton dropped to fifth, a point behind Lotz.
Nine points behind Hutton is Alysha Bay. “The Queen of Speed” is coming off her best finish of the season in fifth at Land of Legends, in addition to an eighth-place run at Ransomville.
Despite his flip at Ransomville, Scott Landers scored a seventh and eighth at Land of Legends.
14 points separate third through seventh in points.
Rest of Standings: Spencer Burley has dropped to eighth, 164 points, Darryl Ruggles is ninth back 181 and Tomy Moreau rounds out the top 10, 208 points back. Vince Chicklets is 11th, 285 back and Bailey Boyd 339 behind.
Heating Up: A couple of drivers have started to improve in the last handful of races.
After starting off with no top fives in the first four races, the Ruggles-Bay Racing team has put together four top fives in the last five races.
Ruggles, past champion in 2020, has put up three top fives in those last five races and three straight top 10s. “The Motorized Madman” scored a third-place finish last month at Utica-Rome and stayed consistent throughout the Triple Play, with a pair of fifths at Land of Legends July 3 and Ransomville the following night.
Alysha Bay is coming off back-to-back top 10 runs, with a fifth last time out at Land of Legends. “The Queen of Speed” looks to grab her third straight top 10. Bay has six this year, tied for the third most this season alongside Dalton Herrick. An excellent run for her could move her up as high as third in the points standings.
In three of the last four races, Scott Landers has put together top-10 runs, with his best finish of the year being a fifth at Fulton. The lone exception was his DNF at Ransomville after flipping his No. 33 on the first lap while running 10th.
Finally, despite missing the last race, Bailey Boyd is coming off his career-best finish, a fourth at Ransomville. It is Boyd’s first career top five in CRSA competition and his first top 10 since placing eighth at Skyline last season. In his first full-time season, Boyd looks to use his fourth-place run as momentum entering Thunder Mountain.
Can he win again?: The last time he was at Thunder Mountain, Johnny Smith showed the way to victory lane in the Joe’s Garage Southern Tier Series opener.
It was “The Firecracker Kid’s” first career CRSA victory after having a decade of experience with the 305 Sprint series.
Some consider it the Smith Family’s best track in CRSA competition. Last year in the season opener, Johnny suffered a mechanical failure inside the top three after leading. Additionally, last month, Johnny’s dad, Sheldon Smith, led most of the race.
Loyalty Giveaways: 20 drivers remain eligible for the Sweet variety pack giveaway. Any of the 20 drivers who entered our shows at Outlaw and Thunder Mountain and race Saturday, plus Outlaw Aug. 8, will be entered into a giveaway for the Sweet ½ Box, Power Steering Pump, Wing Cylinder and Gen 2 Wing Valve.
By the Numbers: At Thunder Mountain, 14 different drivers have taken a checkered flag. Only one driver has won multiple features in Center Lisle, Dalton Herrick, with four; the last time was in 2021. Herrick has 10 top fives, five in front of Billy VanInwegen. 49 different drivers have finished in the top five.
From the Frontman: “After a weekend off, we’re glad to get our sprint cars back out to Thunder Mountain. The last few races there have not disappointed and we hope it comes down to the wire again like it did last month!” ~ Mike Emhof
Up Next: CRSA returns to Weedsport Speedway July 26 for an exciting weekend of sprint car racing in New York. Another edition of the I-90 Pit Stop Challenge is ahead. Can’t make it? See the action live on DIRTVision.
Standings
1. 38 Zach Sobotka, 1469 pts
2. 8 Dillon Paddock -16
3. 29 Dalton Herrick -131
4. 18 Timmy Lotz -134
5. 66 Jordan Hutton -135
6. 48A Alysha Bay -144
7. 33 Scott Landers -145
8. 15B Spencer Burley -164
9. 48JR Darryl Ruggles -181
10. 22 Tomy Moreau -208
11. 10VC Vince Chicklets -285
12. 3 Bailey Boyd -285