Shawn Valenti beats Mother Nature at Tri-City Motor Speedway
Johnny B Imagery photo
ERIE, MI (June 23, 2018) – Shawn Valenti, Fostoria, Ohio, took the MAHLE/Clevite Beyond Limits Challenge Engine Pro Sprints On Dirt presented by ARP win at Tri-City Motor Speedway in Auburn, Michigan, last night. The entire program was run in typical SOD fashion without a single caution all night in front of a capacity crowd.
The night started out under sunny skies before light rain started falling. It was not initially enough to halt the program, however, the rain increased and halted racing around 7:00 PM. After a medical emergency and almost two hours of a huge effort by the track crew, racing resumed with the SOD feature taking the track first.
In qualifying before the rain, Steve Irwin, Fenton, Michigan, tied the track record at 11.107. Thomas Schinderle and Gregg Dalman looked strong in taking the Engler Machine & Tool and COMP Cams heat races.
Valenti started on the pole for the feature and led all twenty-five laps of the feature completed in just over five minutes. But it was not easy as Steve Irwin made several serious challenges, even pulling along side the leader. Irwin dropped to third on lap eighteen then fourth on lap 24. Ryan Ruhl took second on lap 18 where he finished. Chad Blonde moved up seven places to finish third.
Steve and Erika Puvalowski, Tri-City Motor Speedway owners/promoters and their entire staff did a tremendous, relentless job of getting the race program in under very difficult conditions. As a result, the full house enjoyed an exciting, action-packed night of racing.
Blonde leads SOD championship points over Valenti and Ruhl. Blonde also leads Ruhl and Valenti in MAHLE/Clevite Beyond Limits Challenge points. Valenti won stage 2 of the Motul Leader of the Pack over Chad Blonde with Jay Steinebach and Ricky Ferkel tied for third.
Qualifying – Lane Automotive/MSD Ignition Fast Masters (fast qualifiers) $50 each
| Group | Time | # | Driver |
| Engler Machine & Tool Heat | 11.107 | 0 | Steve Irwin |
| COMP Cams Heat | 11.368 | 71H | Ryan Ruhl |
Heat Races
| Engler Machine & Tool Heat #1 | |||
| # | Driver | Contingency | |
| 1 | 41 | Thomas Schinderle | |
| 2 | 0 | Ricky Ferkel | |
| 3 | 0 | Steve Irwin | Benic Enterprises |
| 4 | 22M | Dan McCarron | Racing Optics |
| 5 | 1a | Mark Aldrich | |
| 6 | 24 | Eric Smith | |
| DNS | 5QB | Quentin Blonde | |
| COMP Cams Heat #2 | |||
| # | Driver | Contingency | |
| 1 | 49T | Gregg Dalman | |
| 2 | 71H | Ryan Ruhl | |
| 3 | 7 | Shawn Valenti | Benic Enterprises |
| 4 | 10a | Jay Steinebach | Racing Optics |
| 5 | 5b | Chad Blonde | |
| 6 | 8W | Josh Ward | |
| DNS | 8 | Justin Ward | |
Feature
| # | Driver | Awards | Contingencies | |
| 1 | 7 | Shawn Valenti | Rod End Supply | |
| 2 | 71H | Ryan Ruhl | Jim Coffey & Son | Rod End Supply |
| 3 | 5b | Chad Blonde | Rod End Supply | |
| 4 | 0 | Steve Irwin | Schoenfeld Headers | |
| 5 | 41 | Thomas Schinderle | ||
| 6 | 0 | Ricky Ferkel | Allstar Performance | |
| 7 | 10a | Jay Steinebach | ||
| 8 | 22M | Dan McCarron | ||
| 9 | 49T | Gregg Dalman | King Racing Products | |
| 10 | 8W | Josh Ward | ||
| 11 | 24 | Eric Smith | Keizer Aluminum Wheels | |
| 12 | 1a | Mark Aldrich | ||
| DNS | 8 | Justin Ward | ||
| DNS | 5QB | Quentin Blonde |
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger – Chad Blonde (+7)
BR Motorsports Contingency (feature top 10 draw) – Ricky Ferkel
DMI (Diversified Machine) Contingency (feature 12-16 draw) – Mark Aldrich
Perfit Corporation Lucky Dog – Josh Ward
Allstar Performance Better Luck Next Time – Quentin Blonde
Check out the Tri-City Motor Speedway website at www.tricityracetrack.com and its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/tricitymotorspeedway. 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.
