By Marty Czekala
CENTER LISLE, N.Y. – Thunder Mountain Speedway crackled with anticipation Saturday night as the top two in the A-Verdi Storage Containers CRSA Sprints standings, Dalton Herrick and Tyler Graves, delivered a wheel-to-wheel showdown for the ages.
The two good friends electrified the crowd, swapping daring slide jobs and trading the lead before Herrick emerged victorious—ending a 34-race drought and capturing his 11th career CRSA win in the Joe’s Garage Southern Tier Series.
For Herrick, it’s his first since Sept. 21, 2024, when he won at Skyline Raceway Motorsports Park.
“This is awesome,” said Herrick, who tied a record with Scott Goodrich and Darryl Ruggles for single-track wins. “I love this place. I grew up in the turn four stands since this place opened. It’s always been really special to me and we’ve been struggling. This is amazing.”
Dave Axton started on pole alongside Herrick to green for 25 laps. Herrick’s No. 29 went to the front immediately over Axton, Chad Miller and Graves.
Graves, who started third, moved back into his original spot on lap three past Miller. On lap seven, Graves threw a slidejob on Axton to take the runner-up and have 1.1 seconds to catch Herrick.
On lap nine, Herrick approached lapped traffic, allowing Graves to chip in on the lead. Graves kept his No. 25G low, while Herrick rolled the top as Graves took the lead on lap 11.
The first yellow flew a lap later as Miller spun in turn two.
The first restart attempt was called back for another yellow with Miller, along with Dustin Sehn, spinning in turn three.
All bets were off after that.
On the single-file restart, Graves remained top, opening the door for Herrick to throw a slider of his own to take the lead as they traded jabs back with sliders of their own, sending the crowd into hysterics.
Herrick cleared Graves just past halfway, but with 10 to go, Herrick again opened the door for the No. 25G in one and two, allowing Graves to clear and take the lead with Billy VanInwegen closing in on both.
The race would change with nine to go as Bob Hamm Jr. spun in turn three.
This time, Graves selected the bottom but left the lane open on the top shelf for Herrick to take the lead.
Graves and VanInwegen both closed in on the final lap. Graves sent it deep through three and four but allowed VanInwegen to get past for second at the end while Herrick saw the line first to end the second-longest winless streak of his CRSA career and score a win at Thunder Mountain for the fifth time.
“I struggled in lap traffic and that was when he got me and I saw Billy show me a nose,” said Herrick. “I thought we were kind of done then and then we had that caution and he took the top going into one, so I got to go where he’s not. That last restart, I wasn’t thinking about points. I’m sending into one as deep as a single go. I’m not lifting. And I knew he was gonna try sliding across. We’re either gonna barrel roll this, or we’re gonna look like a hero driving out of there.”
Herrick increases his lead to 52 points on Graves.
After losing second the night before at Utica-Rome Speedway due to missing weight from a major water leak, Billy VanInwegen passed tech Saturday night and retained his second place finish. Safe to say, he had a great view watching Herrick and Graves battle.
“I think we had a chance to steal one there, but that’s how racing goes,” said VanInwegen. “Gotta thank my guys. We changed everything but the driver. Between the heat and the dash, they changed the entire driveline, torque tube assembly and stuff.”
Tyler Graves had the best opportunity to take his first career win at a track he’s rarely seen in 305 competition. A heck of a performance by TG where if the final yellow doesn’t wave, the result may have been different.
“A few less cautions and just run away and hide with it,” said Graves. “Need to throw that last slider harder on him and not let him drive around me. Whoever won that off of two was going to win that race. Got to thank my dad and Dalton for that fun hard battle. Dalton’s my best friend out here on the road. I stayed at his house last night and then we got to come here and do this. Can’t wait to come back in three weeks.”
A special thanks to the New York State Stock Car Association for supporting CRSA with NYSSCA Night for Sprint Cars. Herrick was the highest-finishing sprint car member, receiving $100. VanInwegen was second, taking $75, while Paul Colagiovanni Sr. was the wildcard, taking $50.
The Elab Smokers Boutique Scramble Dash went to Bailey Boyd, who picked up $100 courtesy of Elab.
Shayne Spoonhower was the Powdertech Powdercoating Hard Charger, gaining 11 spots to finish 10th.
23 drivers checked in this evening.
CRSA takes a mini summer vacation before returning Labor Day weekend Sunday and Monday at Utica-Rome Speedway that will pay $3000-to-win, $300-to-start supporting the Empire Super Sprints’ Cole Cup, followed by a return to Thunder Mountain Speedway. Action will air live Sunday and Monday on FloRacing and Dirt Track Digest TV, respectively.
A Main (25 Laps): 1. 29-Dalton Herrick[2]; 2. 56V-Billy VanInwegen Jr[11]; 3. 25G-Tyler Graves[3]; 4. 38-Zach Sobotka[8]; 5. 18C-Dan Craun[10]; 6. 4ST-Mikey Smith[7]; 7. 31C-Maverick Coffey[6]; 8. 2A-Dave Axton[1]; 9. 3-Bailey Boyd[9]; 10. 54-Shayne Spoonhower[21]; 11. 10SR-Paul Colagiovanni Sr[12]; 12. 33-Scott Landers[18]; 13. 410-Jerry Sehn Jr[4]; 14. D9-Dustin Sehn[19]; 15. 9K-Kyle Pierce[17]; 16. 61-Johnny Scarborough[14]; 17. 28-Ron Greek[16]; 18. 88C-Chad Miller[5]; 19. Z28-Tucker Donath[20]; 20. 77H-Bob Hamm[15]; 21. 30-Kirsten Dombroski[23]; 22. 4-Cliff Pierce[22]; 23. 18-Timmy Lotz[13]
Elab Smokers Boutique Dash (4 Laps): 1. 3-Bailey Boyd[1]; 2. 18C-Dan Craun[2]; 3. 56V-Billy VanInwegen Jr[3]; 4. 10SR-Paul Colagiovanni Sr[5]; 5. 18-Timmy Lotz[6]; 6. 61-Johnny Scarborough[4]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 25G-Tyler Graves[1]; 2. 2A-Dave Axton[3]; 3. 4ST-Mikey Smith[5]; 4. 18C-Dan Craun[6]; 5. 28-Ron Greek[2]; 6. 10SR-Paul Colagiovanni Sr[7]; 7. 54-Shayne Spoonhower[4]; 8. 4-Cliff Pierce[8]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 38-Zach Sobotka[2]; 2. 3-Bailey Boyd[1]; 3. 56V-Billy VanInwegen Jr[3]; 4. 88C-Chad Miller[7]; 5. 18-Timmy Lotz[5]; 6. 9K-Kyle Pierce[6]; 7. D9-Dustin Sehn[8]; 8. 30-Kirsten Dombroski[4]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 31C-Maverick Coffey[1]; 2. 410-Jerry Sehn Jr[2]; 3. 29-Dalton Herrick[5]; 4. 61-Johnny Scarborough[4]; 5. 77H-Bob Hamm[3]; 6. 33-Scott Landers[6]; 7. Z28-Tucker Donath[7]
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.
For more information on the series, results and points, please visit our website at www.crsa.myracepass.com.
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