Rain almost cancelled an eventful night at Saratoga Speedway on Saturday. The Crash to Pass cars, Hornet cars, Figure 8s and Roadrunners were all on a racing card highlighted by a huge oil spill and the season's first rollover.
#66 Nick Leavitt led the Roadrunner division championship by 18 points over #59 Ted Dimitrov going into Saturday, but with Dimitrov winning two of three races he now holds the the points lead. Dimitrov set fast time of 19.048 seconds in qualifying.
#17 Dan Kemp, who ran into mechanical problems later in the night, won the only dash for the Roadrunners. Dimitrov battled Leavitt in the heat and eventually came out victorious.
Three cars took to the track for the 12-lap feature: Dimitrov took the lead early and never looked back to win his second main event of the year. Leavitt finished second with #25 Andrea Cannon third.
There were five Figure 8 cars on Saturday. This class has been added to the schedule on every night that features Crash to Pass, Hornets and Roadrunners. #15 Cindy Kennedy had a great night, winning the dash, heat and held off her boyfriend #31 Tom Dunn to win the main event. This is an up-and-coming class that is great for anyone looking for inexpensive, fun racing.
Crash to Pass made their fourth appearance of the year. #01 "The General" Jeff May set fast time of 18.771 in qualifying. #66 Billy Brimacombe Jr. won his second straight B dash, with the A dash going to #8 Brad Kotscherofski, which was his first dash win of the season.
All 10 cars took to the track for the 12-lap heat, but on lap one #7 Jamie Pinto and #37 David Cates got tangled up in turn two, causing Cates to end up on Pinto's hood. Later, #40 Cam Edward laid down three thick strips of oil all around the race track, causing a very slick track, but #72 Travis Stevenson managed to race his way through to take the win.
In the 20-lap feature, #73 Sheldon Hopp took the lead on lap one and led for the next 14 laps. A popcorn yellow on lap 13 diminished Hopp's lead, putting Stevenson right on his bumper. Stevenson eventually took out Hopp and led from that point on, winning his second main event of the year. #40 Cam Edward took second with third going to Hopp.
The Hornet cars made their third straight appearance at Saratoga Speedway. On behalf of the racing community, I would like to send many wishes to the Phillips family, who were absent on Saturday to attend a family funeral.
In lighter news, #02 Daryl Cahill set fast time of 18.117 in qualifying. Also in qualifying, #35 Blaire Mark had the first rollover of the year. He came hard out of turn four and smashed into the tires, flipping him over. The driver was all right, but the car was done for the evening.
#64 MacLaren Inglis won the B dash, with the A going to #08 Daryn Cahill. #28 Brianne Fenn took the B heat, which was her first heat race win of the year. #08 Daryn Cahill fought his way from the back to win the A heat.
In the 25-lap feature race, #01 Kevin Lawrenuk grabbed the lead on lap three and never looked, battling his way through lap traffic to win a great green-white chequered race. Daryn Cahill took second with third going to brother Daryl Cahill.
EXTRA LAPS This Saturday's racing (sponsored by Chances Gaming) will feature the IMCA Modifieds, Dwarfs, Bombers and Motorcycles ... #72 Stewart Lee holds a slim 26-point lead over #29 Gilles Cyr going into the weekend with #98 Bobby Cyr only 67 points back ... #00 Bart Smith holds a comfortable 85-point lead over #44 Tim Openshaw ... the "Eve of Destruction" is coming up on June 30 with the first Crash to Pass boat race of the year ... an amazing limo jump and the biggest fireworks show ever will also be featured along with the Hornets and Roadrunners ...
– Saratoga Speedway