By Marty Czekala
It will be another 4th of July holiday party in Canandaigua as the A-Verdi Storage Containers CRSA Sprints invade Land of Legends Raceway Thursday for their lone midweek show of the year.
The show is round three of the DisBatch Brewing Company/Stirling Lubricants Challenge.
This race will also be a part of the undercard to the Super DIRTcar Series’ Stars and Stripes Spectacular.
This is the 26th time the series has visited the Ontario County Fairgrounds and the second time this season. Last time at Land of Legends, defending series champion Zach Sobotka scored his first win of the season.
CRSA will also make a trip Sept. 18 during Gerald Haers Memorial weekend.
Here’s a look at the news and notes for Thursday.
Last Time Out: CRSA made their return to Fulton Speedway June 21 for an I-90 Pit Stop Challenge event.
Even with a dominant start from Dalton Herrick, Spencer Burley reeled him in during the long run and made the race-winning pass with three to go for his second win of the season.
Herrick started from pole position and had a lead of over two seconds before a yellow followed by a red for a massive wreck down the back straight, taking out nearly half the field.
In the final laps, Herrick ran a comfortable pace on the outside, but Burley started chipping down a 3.4-second lead, following Herrick’s line up top and using Mike Stelter as a pick to find his way around Herrick on the cushion to take his second win of the season.
“I was running him down pretty good,” said Burley. “I needed a little bit of lapped traffic to help me out and got what I needed. I could tell I was running him down little by little and I didn’t know that was three to go.”
Herrick finished second, while Mikey Smith scored third.
Point Standings: Despite Herrick coming so close to ending a 24-race winless streak, the 2022 series champion is now the new points leader, six ahead of Tyler Graves.
Timmy Lotz and Paul Colagiovanni Sr. each moved up the leaderboard to third and fourth, 67 and 86 points behind Herrick, respectively.
Fifth through eighth are separated by 12 points. Nick Webb, with wedding obligations last Saturday, dropped to fifth, 152 points behind. Jerry Sehn Jr., now sixth, trails Webb by seven.
Three points behind Sehn Jr. is Tomy Moreau, while Johnny Scarborough moved up to eighth, two frames back on Moreau.
The rest of the top 12 look like this: Maverick Coffey, ninth -211, Zach Sobotka, 10th -250, Spencer Burley, 11th -252, and Jeff Trombley, 12th -273.
In the DisBatch/Stirling Challenge, Zach Sobotka leads Spencer Burley by nine, while Darryl Ruggles, Dillon Paddock and Tyler Graves round out the top five, 20-22 points behind.
Last Week’s Tuneup: With no series race last week, many drivers used the weekly show as a tuneup race, with notable entries including Tucker Donath, Zach Virkler, Zach Bobbett and Kyle Drum.
In the end, it was Lance Dusett taking the checkered flag for his first win of the season.
Dusett is coming off his second podium with CRSA June 6 at Land of Legends, and a good run could put him in contention for a top-three finish or even a win.
Can he do it again?: As the only multi-time winner in CRSA competition this season, Spencer Burley has been one of the fastest to wheel a 305 Sprint Car in 2026.
In weekly action last week at Land of Legends, Burley made a 19th to third charge to the front to remain in the points lead.
Along with a win May 30 in Canandaigua in weekly action, there’s no doubt Burley will be a contender to win.
Breaking the Drought: Dalton Herrick looked to break a 24-race winless streak last time out at Fulton.
With the early start to the season, there’s a chance the drought, which dates back to Skyline Sept. 2024, will end this year.
This season, Herrick has a pair of second-place finishes, with the first coming at Fonda May 30.
Herrick has one career win at Land of Legends, which happened in Aug. 2023.
Due up: The last time Darryl Ruggles won a CRSA Sprints feature was at Land of Legends in Aug. 2022.
Based on the start he’s had to his 2026 season, Ruggles should be expected to run near the front.
At Ransomville and the first CRSA show of the year at Canandaigua, Ruggles led early before losing the lead to eventual winners Spencer Burley and Zach Sobotka.
However, on June 13, the Land of Legends Wall of Famer recorded his 50th career sprint car win at the facility.
By The Numbers: At Land of Legends, there have been 13 different CRSA winners since 2018. Darryl Ruggles leads with five, including three in 2018. Jeff Trombley has four and Alysha Bay has three. Seven drivers have recorded their first career win. Dan Craun remains the only driver to qualify for every CRSA A-Main in Canandaigua.
Tune In: Racing will be streamed on DIRTVision with Marty Czekala on the call. Additionally, enhance your race nights at the track or online via the MyRacePass app or www.myracepass.com for $5.99/month, featuring live timing, entry lists, fantasy, and results.
From the Frontman: “We’re expecting a packed crowd in the stands and in the pits as we prepare to celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary! It’s gonna be an exciting night of racing as we begin our month of July!” ~ Mike Emhof
Up Next: CRSA returns to Pennsylvania for the first time in nearly two years with a visit to Penn Can Speedway for the first stop in the Joe’s Garage Southern Tier Series. For those who can’t make it, action can be seen live on The Cushion.
The CRSA Sprints are brought to you by A-Verdi Storage Containers. Associate sponsors include Pit Stop Convenience Stores, DisBatch Brewing Company, Stirling Lubricants, Dandy, Joe’s Garage, Westward Painting Company, Elab Smokers Boutique, iFreeze Storage & Distribution Center, Maguire Automotive Group, Powdertech Powdercoating, Ruggles World of Auto Body, PJC Business Ventures, Magsarus Ignitions, Hoosier Racing Tire, Bicknell Racing Products, Insinger Performance with their Stinger Race Fuel, My Race Pass and is owned and operated by Mike Emhof Motorsports.
Standings
29 Dalton Herrick, 755 pts
25G Tyler Graves -6
10SR Paul Colagiovanni Sr. -61
18 Timmy Lotz -67
27W Nick Webb -152
410 Jerry Sehn Jr. -159
2 Tomy Moreau -162
61 Johnny Scarborough -164
31C Maverick Coffey -211
38 Zach Sobotka -250
15B Spencer Burley -252
3A Jeff Trombley -273