(Jim DenHamer photo)

ERIE, MI (September 5, 2018) – The Engine Pro Sprints On Dirt presented by ARP 2018 MAHLE/Clevite Beyond Limits Challenge Championship was a barn-burner with Shawn Valenti taking the title by three points over Chad Blonde.  Valenti, in his Gressman Powersports Triple X chassis, won two of the three BLC races that escaped weather woes.

2018 MAHLE/Clevite Beyond Limits Challenge final points are:
‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ 1. 7, Shawn Valenti, 486
‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ 2. 5b, Chad Blonde, 483
‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ 3. 41, Thomas Schinderle, 432
‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ 4. 0, Ricky Ferkel, 410
‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ 5. 10s, Jay Steinebach, 407

Champ Valenti will collect $1,000 at the Engine Pro Sprints On Dirt Awards Banquet on October 27 at the Battle Creek Holiday Inn, Battle Creek, Michigan.  Second through fifth in BLC points will also be awarded a portion of the mini-series point fund.

MAHLE/Clevite Beyond Limits Challenge complete point standings and all other Sprints On Dirt points can be found on the SOD website by clicking on the “2018 Points” tab.

The 2018 BLC races completed and top three were:
‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ 1. Saturday, April 28, Crystal Motor Speedway – Zane DeVault, Chad Blonde, Matt Foos
‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ 2. Friday, June 22, Tri-City Motor Speedway – Shawn Valenti, Ryan Ruhl, Chad Blonde
‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ 3. Saturday, July 14, Crystal Motor Speedway – Shawn Valenti, Boston Mead, Steve Irwin

Two BLC races, the Dual On Dirt at I-96 Speedway on August 24 and the Mike Olrich Memorial at Crydtal Motor Speedway on September 1, were lost to rain.

For more information about MAHLE/Clevite, click here.  To learn more about Engine Pro, go to www.enginepro.com.  For more information about ARP, go to www.arp-bolts.com.  Follow SOD at www.sprintsondirt.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sprintsondirt.

Jim DenHamer photo

ERIE, MI (September 4, 2018) – The four-race Butler Motor Speedway/Engine Pro Sprints On Dirt presented by ARP Hog Creek Showdown wrapped up with the Butler Bash on August 4^th.  Chad Blonde, in his his Krieger Racing Engines powered Maxim, used four solid finishes, 3^rd, 2^nd, 1^st, and 2^nd, to take the championship.  Shawn Valenti took the HCS finale but it was too little, too late to catch Blonde.

2018 Hog Creek Showdown final points are:
‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ 1. 5B, Chad Blonde, 569
‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ 2. 7, Shawn Valenti, 545
‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ 3. 27B, Boston Mead, 482
‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ 4. 4, Josh Turner, 472
‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ 4. 10s, Jay Steinebach, 472

Blonde will collect $1,000 at the Engine Pro Sprints On Dirt Awards Banquet on October 27 at the Battle Creek Holiday Inn, Battle Creek, Michigan for his HCS championship.  The top five in HCS points will be awarded a portion of the mini-series point fund.

For full HCS point standings and all other Sprints On Dirt points, go to the SOD website and click on the “2018 Points” tab.

The 2018 Hog Creek Showdown dates and top three were:
‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ Saturday, May 19, Chase Ridenour, Boston Mead, Chad Blonde
‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ Saturday, June 16 – WWIII, Josh Turner, Chad Blonde, Shawn Valenti
‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ Friday, August 3 – Butler Bash 1, Chad Blonde, Ryan Ruhl, Boston Mead
‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ Saturday, August 4 – Butler Bash 2, Shawn Valenti, Chad Blonde, Quentin Blonde

For more information about Butler Motor Speedway, go to www.butlerspeedway.net and the speedway’s Facebook page at https://goo.gl/csxUkX.  To learn more about Engine Pro, go to www.enginepro.com.  For more information about ARP, go to www.arp-bolts.com.  Follow SOD at www.sprintsondirt.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sprintsondirt.

King Chad II (photo by Jim DenHamer)

ERIE, MICHIGAN (September 3, 2018) – Labor Day weekend traditionally brings the curtain down on the Engine Pro Sprints On Dirt presented by ARP points season and this year is no exception.  There is one twist for 2018 though, the points finale, the Mike Olrich Memorial and MAHLE/Clevite Beyond Limits Challenge Championship fell victim to heavy rains and flooding at Crystal Motor Speedway Saturday.  The Dual On Dirt Take II at I-96 Speedway on September 21 and the COMP Cams End-of-the-Year Shootout at Berlin Raceway on September 29 are non-points races.

This week, we look at each mini-points championship and the 2018 Sprint On Dirt Championship.  Today we start with the King Engine Bearings King of Michigan at Hartford Motor Speedway.

Chad Blonde picked up his second King Engine Bearings King of Michigan title, having won last year’s KoM also.  Blonde finished second to Ryan Ruhl in the first KoM race on July 8 after the series was rained out on May 18 and June 8.  From there on, though, it was all Blonde in his Krieger Racing Engines powered Maxim as he showed his mastery of the Hartford oval with wins on July 13, July 27, and Friday’s championship race.  The August 10 race was the third KoM rain out of 2018.

Blonde will collect $1,000 at the Engine Pro Sprints On Dirt Awards Banquet on October 27 at the Battle Creek Holiday Inn, Battle Creek, Michigan for his KoM championship.  The top five in KoM points will be awarded a portion of the mini-series point fund.

2018 King Engine Bearings King of Michigan final point standings:

‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ 1. 5B, Chad Blonde, 592
‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ 2. 7, Shawn Valenti, 492
‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ 3. 10S, Jay Steinebach, 456
‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ 4. 3, Dustin Shriver, 450
‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ 5. 0, Ricky Ferkel, 420

Hartford Speedway at www.hartfordspeedway.net.  To learn more about Engine Pro, go to www.enginepro.com.  For more information about ARP, go to www.arp-bolts.com.  Follow SOD at www.sprintsondirt.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sprintsondirt.

Jim DenHamer photo

ERIE, MI (September 1, 2018) –Chad Blonde (Litchfield, Michigan) picked up his third 2018 King Engine Bearings King of Michigan win at Hartford Speedway Friday and wrapped up the 2018 KoM Championship with an exciting 0.177 second win over Ryan Ruhl (Coldwater, Michigan).

The SOD Kids Feature Draw put Shawn Valenti (Fostoria, Ohio) and Mark Aldrich (Addison, Michigan) on the front row for the feature with Blonde, the current SOD point leader, starting sixth.  Before a lap could be completed, Michael Schumacher (Constantine, Michigan) brought out the red with a turn three crash.  Blonde charged into the lead on lap 2 while fifth starter Ruhl took second on lap four.  Ruhl did everything he could to reel in the leader, but Blonde was strong, holding onto a narrow lead as they weaved through lapped traffic and held on to win by less than two-tenths of a second.  Both Blonde and Ruhl utilized Krieger Racing Engines powered Maxims.

Zane DeVault (Plymouth, Indiana) led all qualifiers after returning to SOD competition.  DeVault picked up his first SOD victory on April 28 at Crystal Motor Speedway before sitting out most of the season due to an injury.  For the third time in 2018, Quentin Blonde (Litchfield, Michigan) was the KSE Hard Charger with +7.

As 2018 King Engine Bearings King of Michigan, Blonde will received $1,000 at the Sprints On Dirt Awards Banquet on October 27.  Also collecting part of the point fund will be Shawn Valenti, Jay Steinebach, Dustin Shriver, and Ricky Ferkel.

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

Heat Races

Feature

KSE Racing Products Hard Charger – Quentin Blonde (+7)
BR Motorsports Contingency (feature top 10 draw) – Mark Aldrich
DMI (Diversified Machine) Contingency (feature 12-16 draw) – Joe Swanson
Perfit Corporation Lucky Dog – Mark Aldrich
Allstar Performance Better Luck Next Time – Michael Schumacher

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.