Chad Blonde Wins Hartford King Engine Bearings KoM Battle

Shawn Valenti (3rd), winner Chad Blonde, Ryan Ruhl (2nd)

Chad Blonde picked up his fourth Engine Pro Sprints On Dirt presented by ARP feature win of 2017 Friday night. It was his second King Engine Bearings King of Michigan series win at Hartford Motor Speedway and gives him a commanding lead in the KoM points.

Delta Ohio’s Shawn Valenti took the lead over pole-sitter Linden Jones at the start of the feature from the outside front row before Mark Aldrich took over second.  Then leading SOD sprint car rookie Andrew Scheid climbed the wall in turn three as the leaders completed lap one; with his car staying upright, Scheid slid along the top of the wall before dropping off the back of the wall and coming to a stop with what appeared to be nothing more than two bent front radius rods.  Before another lap could be completed, Robert Huisken and D. J. Lamance tangled in turn three with Huisken flipping hard.  Both drivers were okay, but their cars sustained heavy damage.

Back under green, Valenti held a small lead over Aldrich until Ryan Ruhl took over second on lap 5, and a lap later, Blonde moved into third from his seventh starting spot.  Blonde took second place on lap 7, then a caution for Austin Nemire’s shredded left rear tire on lap ten gave the leaders a clear track.  A crowd-pleasing battle followed, as Blonde pulled alongside Valenti twice, but Valenti found his groove and began opening up his lead.  However, the leaders got into traffic again on lap fifteen.  Valenti struggled with lapped cars and on lap 19, Blonde took the lead and drove away.  Ryan Ruhl charged into second on lap twenty-one as Valenti continued to have trouble in heavy traffic.  Blonde then cruised to a fifteen car-length over Ruhl and Valenti.

26 cars were on hand for the second of four King Engine Bearings King of Michigan races at Hartford Motor Speedway

Qualifying – Lane Automotive/MSD Ignition Fast Masters (fast qualifiers) $50 each

Heat Races – Winners $100 each

Feature

KSE Racing Products Hard Charger – Boston Mead (+8)
BR Motorsports Contingency (feature top 10 draw) – Shawn Valenti
DMI (Diversified Machine) Contingency (feature 12-16 draw) – Chris Jones
Perfit Corporation Lucky Dog – Eli Lakin

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.

Engine Pro Sprints On Dirt presented by ARP is brought to you in 2017 by many important sponsor partners including: Engine Pro (Title Sponsor), ARP (Title Sponsor), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official SOD Tire), MAHLE/Clevite (Beyond Limits Challenge Sponsor), Driven Racing Oil (Battlegrounds Bash Sponsor), King Engine Bearings (King of Michigan Sponsor), Lane Automotive/MSD Ignition (Fast Masters Sponsor), Engler Machine & Tool (Heat Race Sponsor), COMP Cams (Heat Race Sponsor), RockAuto.com (Heat Race Sponsor), The Perfit Corporation (Lucky Dog Sponsor), KSE Racing Products (Hard Charger Sponsor), XYZ Machining (Season Sportsman & Crew Chief Sponsor).  In addition, SOD contingency sponsors include: Allstar Performance, ATL Racing Fuel Cells, BR Motorsports, Diversified Machine Inc. (DMI), K2W Precision/Keizer Aluminum Wheels, King Racing Products, Kistler Racing Products, Maxim Racing, Motor City Racing Promotions, Racing Optics, Rod End Supply, Schoenfeld Headers, Simpson Racing Products, Walker Performance Filtration.