Joe Swanson Tops SOD Driven Racing Oil Battlegrounds Bash at Butler Motor Speedway

Jay Steinebach (2nd), Joe Swanson (1st), Ryan Ruhl (3rd)

Swanson (Etna Green, Indiana) started from the pole, but a lap one red for a Shebly Bilton and Andy Chehowski crash on the back straightaway, and a quick caution for Tyler Bearden’s spin halted action quickly.  Once back under green, Swanson took the lead over Tim Evilsizer.  Boston Mead took 2^nd on lap 7, then Steinebach took the spot on the next lap.  Steinebach was getting faster as Swanson battled traffic and on lap 16 he shot by the leader and opened up a small lead.  On lap 18 the caution flew for Tyler Rankin’s spin.  Steinebach held the lead in spite of heavy pressure from Swanson through lap 22 when the caution came out for Doug Zimmerman’s spin.  Swanson charged into 1^st on lap 23 and led the final 2 laps to win the epic battle.

COMP Cams heat race winner Boston Mead suffered a broken rocker arm at the end of his heat race and SOD point leader suffered the same fate while leading the Engler Machine & Tool heat.  While it looked like both drivers were done for the night, they borrowed the parts needed to run the feature and their perseverance paid off.  Mead started 3^rd and finished 4^th.  Irwin started 22^nd and charged to a 6^th place finish, easily winning the KSE Hard Charger Award.

Doug Zimmerman led the 27-car field in qualifying with a 13.272 lap.

The SOD program was completed with typical SOD efficiency through the combined efforts of SOD competitors and Butler Motor Speedway officials.

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

Heat Races – Winners $100 each

Feature

KSE Racing Products Hard Charger – Steve Irwin (+16)
BR Motorsports Contingency (feature top 10 draw) – Mark Aldrich
DMI (Diversified Machine) Contingency (feature 12-16 draw) – Chris Jones
Perfit Corporation Lucky Dog – Zach Hampton

Get to know Driven Racing Oil at http://www.drivenracingoil.com.  For more information about Butler Motor Speedway, go to www.butlerspeedway.net.

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.