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Daggett Tops Long for Crystal Victory

By T.J. Buffenbarger

Dustin Daggett Wins 2010 Season Opener
Dustin Daggett won the 2010 Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by ARP opener at Crystal Motor Speedway. - T.J. Buffenbarger Photo

Crystal, MI. – (Saturday May 1st, 2010) – Dustin Daggett took the lead from Joe Bares on lap two, battled a majority of the event with ASCS Lucas Oil Series regular Darren Long, and held on during two last lap restarts for the victory in the Mott Motorsports car.

“That was a fun race,” said Daggett in victory lane. “We ran really good our first race out last Friday in Ohio and just continued on tonight. I can’t thank Phil and Marty Mott along with the rest of my team enough for giving me such a good race car tonight.”

Bares and Long started on the front row for the 25-lap feature event. The first attempt to start the race saw Bares get sideways and lose several positions as Long took the lead Then in turns three and four Ryan Grubaugh got sideways and Robert Huisken had nowhere to go and collided with Grubaugh to bring out the caution flag. Both drivers were unable to restart.

The second attempt at the start was better for Bares as he took the lead. After one lap though Bares was under pressure from Long and Daggett as the trio swapped the top position racing three wide through turns one and two with Daggett taking the lead. Long moved into second and went in pursuit of Daggett while Bares battled Gregg Dalman and Brett Mann for the third sport.

Daggett and Long separated themselves from the rest of the field. Daggett managed to get through lapped traffic until a pair of cautions on lap 16 and 17 for spins by Kirk Cheney and Curt Shumaker.

Long kept Daggett within striking distance until Lap 19 when Long nearly made contact with Daggett and doing so almost slid off the track. Long did not give up though and chipped away at Daggett’s lead and used slower traffic to close the gap with two laps to go.

As the leaders crossed under the white flag and appeared to headed for last lap theatrics the caution appeared for Shumaker who spun off the track.

The first attempt at the last lap restart saw Kirk Cheney nullify it with a spin in turn one. Daggett got the jump during the second attempt and Long could not make up the difference. Bares, Dalman, and Mann rounded out the top five.

Aaron Shaffer, Bares, and Long captured heat race victories, Andy Teunessen won the fast car dash, and Kyle Patrick won the B-Main.

The Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by ARP is in its 31st season of competition throughout Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and into Canada.

The American Sprint Car Series, in its 19th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing events, brings the best of Sprint Car racing to nearly 100 different tracks throughout the United States and Canada. Anchored by the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series, ASCS also consists of a several different Regions throughout the nation.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.

Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by ARP Results
Saturday May 1st, 2010
Crystal Motor Speedway – Crystal, MI

Heat Races (Top 16 in passing points transfer to the “A” Feature)

Engler Machine and Tool Heat Race #1 (8 Laps): 1. 22 – Aaron Shaffer, 2. 19 – Brett Mann, 3. 3w – Ryan Grubaugh, 4. 46 – Robert Huisken, 5. 6N – Dain Naida, 6. 33k – Kyle Patrick, 7 61x – Don Smith, 8. 22T – Tank Brakenberry

Lane Automotive/Comp Cams Heat Race #2 (8 Laps): 1. 91 – Joe Bares, 2 49t – Gregg Dalman, 3. 31 – Andy Teunessen, 4. 187 – Gavin Hunyady, 5. 55 – Kirk Cheney, 6. 10x – Curt Shumaker, 7. 29s – Marques Huffer, 8. 2t – Ralph Brakenberry

Butlerbuilt Heat Race #3 (8 Laps): 1. 3G – Darren Long, 2. 2M – Dustin Daggett, 3. 27R – Ryan Ruhl, 4. 23 – Ben Rutan, 5. 85 – Mike Daggett, 6. 14 – Ryan Davis, 7. 8 – Tim Champlin

B-Main (Top four finishers transferred to the A-Main)

Engine Pro B-Main (10 Laps): 1. 33k – Kyle Patrick, 2. 14 – Ryan Davis, 3. 8 – Tim Champlin, 4. 61 – Don Smith, 5. 29s – Marques Huffer, 6. 22t – Tank Brakenberry, 7. 2T – Ralph Brakenberry

Total Seal Fast Car Dash presented by Gaerte Engines (4 Laps): 1. 31 – Andy Teunessen, 2. 19 – Brett Mann, 3. 49t – Gregg Dalman, 4. 22s – Aaron Shaffer.

Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by Victor Reinz “A” Main Event

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 2m – Dustin Daggett, 2. 3g – Darren Long, 3. 91- Joe Bares, 4. 49t – Gregg Dalman, 5. 19 – Bret Mann, 6. 23 – Ben Rutan, 7. 85 – Mike Daggett, 8. 31 – Andy Teunessen, 9. 8 – Tim Champlin , 10. 27 – Ryan Ruhl, 11. 22 – Aaron Shaffer, 12. 14 – Ryan Davis, 13. 55 – Kirk Cheney, 14. 33 k – Kyle Patrick, 15. 61x – Don Smith, 16. 10 – Curt Shumaker, 17. 6n – Dain Naida, 18. 187 – Gavin Hunyady, 19. Ryan Grubaugh, 20. Robert Huisken.

Lap Leaders: 1 Bares, 2-25 Daggett

Hard Charger: Champlin (+10)

Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by Victor Reinz Point Standings (Top Ten): 1. Dustin Daggett 150, 2. Darren Long 142, 3. Joe Bares 135, 4. Gregg Dalman 130, 5. Brett Mann 125, 6. Ben Rutan 122, 7. Mike Daggett 119, 8. Andy Teunessen 116, 9. Tim Champlin 113, 10. Ryan Ruhl 110.




All Systems Go for Crystal!

All systems are go for the season opener at Crystal Motor Speedway tonight. Report from the track is rainfall was minimal and everything is on schedule!




ASCS SOD Season Starts Saturday at Crystal

T.J. Buffenbarger

TULSA, Okla. (April 26, 2010) – The Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by ARP series kicks off the 2010 season Saturday night at Crystal Motor Speedway. Home of the first ever Sprints on Dirt event in 1980, Saturday will be the first of three appearances during the 2010 season and the 106th all time at the 1/3-mile oval in Crystal, Michigan.

During the season opener, Dustin Daggett will attempt to collect his sixth straight feature victory at Crystal. Since September of 2006 Daggett has won an astounding nine of his last 10 starts at Crystal. In addition, Daggett is chasing the record for feature wins all time in the ASCS SOD series needing only seven more feature wins to tie the record.

One of the drivers looking to an end to Daggett’s win streak is defending ASCS SOD champion Brett Mann. Mann will defend his title aboard his family owned car for the first time in three and a half seasons. Mann has four feature wins at Crystal, the last of which came in 2004.

Gregg Dalman is another feature winner from last season scheduled to appear at Crystal on Saturday. Dalman scored one feature victory in 2009 at Winston Speedway, passing Daggett in the closing laps to secure the victory. Dalman has been close to the ASCS SOD point title on several occasions, and is looking to finally get over the hump in 2010 with a good start at the opening event at Crystal.

As an added bonus Lucas Oil ASCS National Sprint Car Series regular Darren Long, driving for veteran sprint car driver Joe Gaerte and former champion Tim Norman, is scheduled to make his first ASCS regional appearance of the 2010 season Saturday at Crystal. Long has eight career ASCS SOD feature wins with one coming at Crystal in 2003.

Hot Laps are scheduled for 6:00 p.m. with racing at 7:30. Fans that cannot make Crystal Motor Speedway can listen and/or watch the action online at racesontheweb.com.

The Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by ARP is in its 31st season of competition. Twenty-seven races are on the calendar scheduled throughout Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Ontario.

The American Sprint Car Series, in its 19th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing events, brings the best of Sprint Car racing to nearly 100 different tracks throughout 25 states and Canada in 2009. Anchored by the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series, ASCS also consists of several different regions throughout the nation.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.




ATTENTION SOD TEAMS: NO TIRE TRUCK AT CRYSTAL!

Attention teams planing on competing at the season opening Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by ARP opener at Crystal Motor Speedway on May 1st. There WILL NOT be a tire truck available at that event. If you need tires, please contact Hoosier Tire Midwest at 217-522-1955, or Benic Enterprises at 765-948-5758.




Drivers, We Need Your Profile!

If you are planning the race with the Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by ARP series during the 2010 season we would like to post your driver biography. Please fill out the following form below and e-mail it via our contact form. We will be taking photos of the drivers during first three races of the 2010 season.

Car #:
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If you have questions please contact us via the contact form.