Chad Blonde charges to SOD King Engine Bearings KoM win at Hartford
Kenny Wallace helps Chad Blonde and crew celebrate win
Chad Blonde dominated the Engine Pro Sprints On Dirt King Engine Bearing King of Michigan Race #3 at Hartford Speedway Friday night.
The large crowd was treated to an impressive display of masterful driving as Blonde charged from his eighth starting position and had little trouble with lapped traffic on the wide, expansive track. Blonde took the lead from Linden Jones on lap four and drove away from the field. He was chased to the checkered flag by Ryan Ruhl who took second from Steve Irwin on lap 17. Ruhl was also impressive as he ran the entire race on seven cylinders, losing a cylinder at the start of the feature. SOD championship point leader Irwin finished third. The caution-free feature was completed in just five minutes and twenty-five seconds with only seven cars finishing on the lead lap.
Blonde is perfect in the three King Engine Bearing KoM races so far in 2017 and also won the last SOD race on the old Hartford track configuration last year. He was also the fastest overall qualifier and heat race winner. His three wins give him a commanding lead in the King Engine Bearing King of Michigan point standings over Steve Irwin, Gregg Dalman, Thomas Schinderle, and Linden Jones.
The Lane Automotive/MSD Ignition Fast Masters also won their respective heats with Blonde in the Engler Machine & Tool heat, Joe Swanson in the COMP Cams heat, and Ryan Ruhl in the RockAuto.com heat.
Qualifying – Lane Automotive/MSD Ignition Fast Masters (fast qualifiers) $50 each
| Group | Time | # | Driver |
| Engler Machine & Tool Heat | 14.008 | 5B | Chad Blonde |
| COMP Cams Heat | 14.224 | 7J | Joe Swanson |
| RockAuto.com Heat | 14.444 | 71H | Ryan Ruhl |
Heat Races – Winners $100 each
| Engler Machine & Tool Heat #1 | |||
| # | Driver | Contingency | |
| 1 | 5B | Chad Blonde | |
| 2 | 0 | Steve Irwin | Kistler Racing Products |
| 3 | 12 | Chris Gurley | Racing Optics |
| 4 | 10J | Chris Jones | |
| 5 | 47 | Robert Bulloch | |
| 6 | 91L | Alexis Adgate | |
| 7 | DNS | Chad Goff | |
| COMP Cams Heat #2 | |||
| # | Driver | Contingency | |
| 1 | 7J | Joe Swanson | |
| 2 | 49T | Gregg Dalman | Allstar Performance |
| 3 | 27B | Boston Mead | Racing Optics |
| 4 | 1a | Mark Aldrich | |
| 5 | 41 | Thomas Schinderle | |
| 6 | 77 | Andrew Scheid | |
| 7 | 58 | Toney Bures | |
| RockAuto.com Heat #3 | |||
| # | Driver | Contingency | |
| 1 | 71H | Ryan Ruhl | |
| 2 | 19J | Linden Jones | Kistler Racing Products |
| 3 | 20A | Andy Chehowski | Racing Optics |
| 4 | 18 | DJ Lamance | |
| 5 | 8 | Justin Ward | |
| 6 | 70 | Eli Lakin | |
| 7 | 10s | Jay Steinebach | |
Feature
| # | Driver | Started | Contingencies | |
| 1 | 5b | Chad Blonde | 8 | Rod End Supply |
| 2 | 71H | Ryan Ruhl | 5 | Rod End Supply |
| 3 | 0 | Steve Irwin | 3 | Rod End Supply |
| 4 | 49T | Gregg Dalman | 6 | Schoenfeld Headers |
| 5 | 19J | Linden Jones | 1 | ATL Racing Fuel Cells |
| 6 | 27B | Boston Mead | 4 | |
| 7 | 7J | Joe Swanson | 7 | Allstar Performance |
| 8 | 41 | Thomas Schinderle | 14 | |
| 9 | 10J | Chris Jones | 10 | King Racing Products |
| 10 | 10s | Jay Steinebach | 20 | |
| 11 | 77 | Andrew Scheid | 15 | Keizer Aluminum Wheels |
| 12 | 20A | Andy Chehowski | 9 | |
| 13 | 58 | Toney Bures | 17 | |
| 14 | 8 | Justin Ward | 13 | |
| 15 | 70 | Eli Lakin | 18 | |
| 16 | 47 | Robert Bulloch | 11 | |
| 17 | 18 | DJ Lamance | 12 | |
| 18 | 91L | Alexis Adgate | 16 | |
| 19 | 12 | Chris Gurley | 2 | |
| 20 | 1a | Mark Aldrich | DNS |
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger – Jay Steinebach (+10)
BR Motorsports Contingency (feature top 10 draw) – Linden Jones
DMI (Diversified Machine) Contingency (feature 12-16 draw) – Eli Lakin
Perfit Corporation Lucky Dog – Alexis Adgate
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.