RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME: Harris Capitalizes on Spinning Leaders to Win Hope for Harlie Finale at Cedar Ridge
Krup, Hoffman and Nicely tangle in Turns 1-2 after battling in lapped traffic MORGANTOWN, KY – After one of the wildest turn of events seen all year on the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals circuit, Utica, KY's own Josh Harris pulled off his fourth career victory with the tour in Saturday night's Hope for Harlie finale at Cedar Ridge Speedway. Harris had marched his way up from ninth to fourth and was riding with a sizable gap to Tyler Nicely as they rounded Turn 4 to complete Lap 26. By the time he reached the exit of Turn 2 on Lap 27, Harris was the race leader.  Josh James PhotoFriday night's Hope for Harlie preliminary Feature winner Will Krup had led since the drop of the green and was in the thick of a big battle for the lead with 2020 tour champion Nick Hoffman, deep in lapped traffic. The two frontrunners approached a pack of several slower cars, spread out across all three grooves, with Hoffman on the top and Krup on the bottom. Coming out of Turn 4 on Lap 26, Hoffman made a dive to the inside to try and get around the pack but hadn't quite cleared Krup's nose and made contact with it going down the frontstretch. Hoffman was able to gather it back in before entering Turn 1, but ended up sliding up the track right in front of Krup, who had switched to the high side. The contact that ensued sent both drivers around in the middle of Turns 1-2, leaving Nicely barreling through with no place to go, as he and another lapped car piled in and made substantial contact. "Nick went to the bottom there and I crossed lanes to go to the top, he slid from the top and I just had nowhere to go," Krup said of the incident. "I tried to get on the brakes. Looking at the video, Tyler didn't have anywhere to go, so he got into me, and it was just all a bang-bang deal, all three of us were out." And just like that, all three leaders were taken out of the race. Nicely left the racing surface on the hook, Krup drove back to the pit area and Hoffman soon followed suit. "I'd seen Tyler [Nicely] right in front of me," Harris said from his point-of-view. "I wasn't really gaining on him and he wasn't getting away from me. I was hoping we had a caution so we could race it out and see where we were with him, but I wasn't expecting the caution to be for all three of them. "We got through that wreck; there were cars going everywhere, it was kinda like a Daytona crash." With Harris now in the lead, it was his race to lose. The field went back to green as Danny Schwartz, Jimmy Payne and Gabriel Kirtley now moved into the picture. Try as they may, though, Harris' Mark Bush Racing Chassis #22H was not to be beaten. He led the field the rest of the way home in the 40-lap contest to pick up his first Summit Modified victory of the season and the $3,000 top prize.  The extent of the damage to Nicely's #25 (Mark Davis Photo)"I have lost plenty the way that I won it tonight. Obviously [this is] not the way you want to win it, but you take them any way you can get them," Harris said. Meanwhile, the Elite Chassis trio sat parked in the pit area, loading up after a sour conclusion to the weekend that ended with finishes of 13th (Hoffman), 14th (Krup) and 15th (Nicely). Through it all, Krup did come away with the one victory on Friday night, although he felt he could have completed the sweep on Saturday. "We were just kinda cruising there, trying not to burn up the tires," Krup said. "Just trying to take our time, pick off the lapped traffic when we could. It got super racey there, and I think our car pretty good and definitely had a shot to win this deal." Despite his gain from their expense on Saturday, Harris did tip his cap to the dominance of the Elite Chassis gang throughout the year. Hoffman, Krup, Nicely and Plainfield, IL-pilot Mike McKinney have combined for a significant number of Feature wins this year, and Harris will be gunning for them next season. "Our car was really good. We've been really working hard on chasing those guys. It's no secret that those three and McKinney are the four fastest cars in the country right now. I believe we're fifth right behind them," Harris said. UP NEXT The 2020 DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals field jumps back into action one final time this year for the Modified portion of the Hooiser Dirt Shootout makeup race at Kokomo Speedway. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision. RESULTS Feature (40 Laps) 1. 22H-Josh Harris [9]; 2. 21D-Danny Schwartz [11]; 3. 68-Jimmy Payne [4]; 4. K7-Gabriel Kirtley [13]; 5. 16C-John Clippinger [14]; 6. 59R-Jacob Rexing [5]; 7. 24-Zeke McKenzie [8]; 8. 37-Ty Shearon [21]; 9. 121-Caleb Slaughter [16]; 10. 62E-Kim Edington [23]; 11. 03-Zach Dennis [10]; 12. 1S-Brian Shaw [7]; 13. 7-Nick Hoffman [3]; 14. K19-Will Krup [2]; 15. 25-Tyler Nicely [6]; 16. 29S-Bill Sollers [20]; 17. 11-Dennis Vincent [19]; 18. 22-Wade Wenthe [1]; 19. R4-Ricky Arms [12]; 20. 55-Blaze Melton [15]; 21. 13-Charlie Mefford [18]; 22. 99-Teagan Embrey [17] 23. 8-TJ Armour [22]; 24. 46-Johnny Madden [24] |
Posted: 19 Sep 2020 09:40 PM PDT Matt Janczuk, Brett Senek, and Zach Sobotka top podium at DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series: Central Region finale; Janczuk declared Central Region champ CANANDAIGUA, NY – Over 50 DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series drivers unloaded at Land of Legends Raceway for the final DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series: Central Region event of 2020. For many drivers, this was the final look at the Canandaigua, NY half-mile speedway before the Series returns on Saturday, October 10 for DIRTcar OktoberFAST presented by DIRTVision. With a mere 20 points separating the top five in points, it was anyone's guess as to who would come out on top. To decide it, 30 cars stomped on their Chevy Performance crate engine accelerators at the green flag and never stopped until the checkered flag fell after 30 laps of hardscrabble, high-intensity DIRTcar Racing. At the end of 30 laps, the top three were Matt Janczuk, Brett Senek, and Zach Sobotka. Before this year these drivers did not have ten starts at Land of Legends Raceway between the three of them. Janczuk took the green flag, held on to the lead, and never looked back to become 2020's DIRTcar Sportsman Modified: Central Region champion. "We had a good car. This thing has been awesome all year. It's a bucket list thing winning the Series. I wish it hadn't been a shortened season but when we ran we ran well," said Janczuk. "We'll take this first-ever Series championship!" Victory Lane seemed just out of reach in Canandaigua but the No. 33X driver looks like he has it figured out now. "We have a bunch of seconds here and I just couldn't figure this place out. We won last time but we don't have many starts here," noted Janczuk. Maybe six in my whole career. To get these wins is awesome." Although the race was green from flag to flag, it was not an easy win for the champ. He spent his time on the front stretch trying to make out where Kevin Root in his No. 34 was running in the field as he was second in points all while defending against Brett Senek and managing traffic. Root was also the defending Series and track champion so Janczuk knew he could come out of nowhere to the front. "I could see the 111 and the 38 were on the leader board between me and Kevin Root who got up to fourth at the end," Janczuk said. "I knew we had a good car. We struggled in lapped traffic a little bit and I didn't know if we had gapped those guys are not." Runner-up Brett Senek normally races at Ransomville Speedway but with limited opportunities to race anywhere in 2020, Senek found himself making starts at Land of Legends Raceway. Senek chased Janczuk all night but just couldn't get the break he needed to make a serious run. "He was fast. I thought once we got into traffic that I would have something for him. I couldn't get through the traffic like him," noted Senek. "Once we caught some cars I thought I had a chance but he's just really good." Zach Sobotka came in strong, leading the Hoosier Racing Tire Weekly Championship, and ready to go for a Series win. Unfortunately, the No. 38 team missed the Feature setup a little bit. "We had a good car but it was a bit free. All around it was a pretty good night for us. I thought that once Janczuk hit traffic that the 111 and myself would catch him but we didn't," Sobotka said similarly to Senek. The stars seemed to be aligned for Matt Janczuk. AJ Miller is the randomly chosen recipient of one free tire courtesy of Hoosier Racing Tire. Don't forget to get all your DIRTcar OktoberFAST information here. Competitors must register prior to September 30. To watch, get your DIRTVision Fast Pass today! DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series: Central Region 30-lap Feature Results
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