ERIE, MI (July 28, 2018) – Litchfield, Michigan’s Chad Blonde followed up his July 13 King of Michigan win by taking the King Engine Bearings KoM Race #3 at Hartford Speedway Friday. Thrilling the crowd with an epic battle with Ryan Ruhl (Coldwater, Michigan) for much of the race, Blonde powered his Krieger Racing Engines, Maxim to victory.
The SOD Kids Feature Draw put Blonde, the current SOD point leader, on the pole for the feature with Shawn Valenti (Fostoria, Ohio), second in points, starting outside front row. Fourth starter Ruhl took second on lap two with Blonde already with a big lead. Although Blonde officially led every lap, Ruhl actually nosed ahead of the leader three times. With Blonde running the high side of the track, Ruhl found speed at the bottom. Blonde finally pulled out to a three-car length lead when on lap twenty-one Ruhl made contact with the inside wall in turns three and four. Ruhl went to the work area and changed his damaged left front tire and wheel, but the contact also caused brake damage, ending his impressive race.
Ricky Ferkel, third in SOD championship points, got caught up in a turn four melee, rolling on lap 12. Trey Smith was also involved and could not restart, and Quentin Blonde also dropped out.
Chase Ridenour (Perry, Michigan) took second from his sixth place starting position. Gregg Dalman finished third, Brad Lamberson drove Ryan Kirkendall’s 27K to fourth, and Joe Swanson took fifth. Shawn Valenti lost ground in the SOD championship points battle with a seventh-place finish.
Three 360s and one crate sprinter finished in the top ten. Canadian visitor Josh Shantz, driving Michael Summers crate sprinter was the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger, advancing eleven spots to finish ninth. Shantz is a regular competitor at Ohsweken Speedway,
Qualifying – Lane Automotive/MSD Ignition Fast Masters (fast qualifiers) $50 each
| Group | Time | # | Driver |
| Engler Machine & Tool Heat | 14.926 | 7 | Shawn Valenti |
| COMP Cams Heat | 15.954 | 71H | Ryan Ruhl |
| RockAuto.com Heat | 15.554 | 11R | Chase Ridenour |
Heat Races
| Engler Machine & Tool Heat #1 | |||
| # | Driver | Contingency | |
| 1 | 5b | Chad Blonde | |
| 2 | 7 | Shawn Valenti | |
| 3 | 7J | Joe Swanson | Benic Enterprises |
| 4 | 10s | Jay Steinebach | Racing Optics |
| 5 | 0 | Ricky Ferkel | |
| 6 | 19 | Brett Mann | |
| 7 | 1a | Mark Aldrich | |
| 8 | 24 | Eric Smith | |
| COMP Cams Heat #2 | |||
| # | Driver | Contingency | |
| 1 | 71H | Ryan Ruhl | |
| 2 | 49T | Gregg Dalman | |
| 3 | 11 | Trey Smith | Benic Enterprises |
| 4 | 5QB | Quentin Blonde | Racing Optics |
| 5 | 3 | Dustin Shriver | |
| 6 | 10J | Chris Jones | |
| 7 | 35 | Josh Ward | |
| 8 | 18 | Josh Shantz | |
| RockAuto.com Heat #3 | |||
| # | Driver | Contingency | |
| 1 | 4 | Tyler Fitzpatrick | |
| 2 | 11r | Chase Ridenour | |
| 3 | 27k | Brad Lamberson | Benic Enterprises |
| 4 | 18S | Michael Summers | Racing Optics |
| 5 | 24+ | Mike Schumacher | |
| 6 | 8 | Justin Ward | |
| 7 | 58 | Tony Bures | |
| 8 | 27W | Ty Williams | |
B-Main
| # | Driver | |
| 1 | 58 | Tony Bures |
| 2 | 10J | Chris Jones |
| 3 | 19 | Brett Mann |
| 4 | 35 | Josh Ward |
| 5 | 18 | Josh Shantz |
| 6 | 8 | Justin Ward |
| 7 | 1a | Mark Aldrich |
| 8 | 24 | Eric Smith |
| 9 | 27W | Ty Williams |
Feature
| # | Driver | Awards | Contingencies | |
| 1 | 5b | Chad Blonde | Rod End Supply | |
| 2 | 11r | Chase Ridenour | Jim Coffey & Son | Rod End Supply |
| 3 | 49T | Gregg Dalman | Rod End Supply | |
| 4 | 27k | Brad Lamberson | Schoenfeld Headers | |
| 5 | 7J | Joe Swanson | ATL Racing Fuel Cells | |
| 6 | 18S | Michael Summers | Allstar Performance | |
| 7 | 7 | Shawn Valenti | ||
| 8 | 3 | Dustin Shriver | ||
| 9 | 18 | Josh Shantz | King Racing Products | |
| 10 | 24+ | Mike Schumacher | ||
| 11 | 4 | Tyler Fitzpatrick | Keizer Aluminum Wheels | |
| 12 | 10s | Jay Steinebach | ||
| 13 | 71H | Ryan Ruhl | ||
| 14 | 35 | Josh Ward | ||
| 15 | 11 | Trey Smith | ||
| 16 | 0 | Ricky Ferkel | ||
| 17 | 10J | Chris Jones | ||
| 18 | 58 | Tony Bures | ||
| 19 | 19 | Brett Mann | ||
| 20 | 5QB | Quentin Blonde |
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger – Josh Shantz (+11)
BR Motorsports Contingency (feature top 10 draw) – Mike Schumacher
DMI (Diversified Machine) Contingency (feature 12-16 draw) – Ryan Ruhl
Perfit Corporation Lucky Dog – Mark Aldrich
Allstar Performance Better Luck Next Time – Ricky Ferkel
For more information about Engine Pro go to www.enginepro.com. For more information about ARP, go to www.arp-bolts.com. The full 2017 Sprints on Dirt schedule, rules, current news, and other information are available at www.sprintsondirt.com.
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