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.

ERIE, MI (August 30, 2018) – The Engine Pro Sprints On Dirt presented by ARP 2018 championship points season closes out this weekend with two big races.  Tomorrow, Friday, August 31, the King Engine Bearings King of Michigan series concludes at Hartford Speedway.  Saturday, September 1, the MAHLE/Clevite Beyonds Limits Challenge concludes at Crystal Motor Speedway with the 5^th Annual Mike Olrich Memorial.

Chad Blonde (Litchfield, MI), the 2017 KoM champion, leads the King Engine Bearings King of Michigan Championship, winning the last two KoM races.  Blonde leads Shawn Valenti (Fostoria, OH), Gregg Dalman (Bellevue, MI), Dustin Shriver (South Bend, IN), and Tyler Fitzpatrick (Goshen, IN) in KoM points.  The 2018 champion will be crowned Friday, and will receive $1,000; the top five will win a share of the point fund.  Ryan Ruhl (Coldwater, MI) won the first 2018 KoM race with Blonde finishing second.  KoM races were rained out on May 18, June 8, and August 10.

For more information about SOD’s KoM series and 2018 Kids Feature Draw marketing partner King Engine Bearings, go to www.kingbearings.com.  Check out Hartford Speedway at www.hartfordspeedway.net for more information about the speedway.

The 5th annual Mike Olrich Memorial and 2018 MAHLE/Clevite Beyonds Limits Challenge Championship takes place Saturday, September 1 at Crystal Motor Speedway, capping off SOD’s 39th consecutive season at the speedway.

Ryan Ruhl has been the man to beat in the Memorial, with wins in 2015, 2016, and 2017.  Randy Hannagan (Lima, OH) won the 2014 race.

The MAHLE/Clevite Beyonds Limits Challenge points battle is a close one.  Shawn Valenti leads Chad Blonde by just three points.  Thomas Schinderle (Berkley, MI), Ricky Ferkel (Mt. Pleasant), MI), and Jay Steinebach (Hudsonville, MI) round out the top five.

The Mike Olrich Memorial honors the memory of former Sprints On Dirt official and series director Mike Olrich.  Professionally, Mike was a greenhouse researcher at Michigan State University.  His work lives on through a complex computer-based tool that he co-authored that still provides assistance to flower growers in production scheduling.  Mike was a dedicated family man who always found time to be deeply involved coaching youth sports.  Michael Steven Olrich, passed away suddenly August 3, 2013, at the age of 43.  SOD continues to operate with the honesty and integrity Mike was known for, and honors him every year with the Mike Olrich Memorial Race.

The race will be the final points race of the Engine Pro Sprints On Dirt presented by ARP 2018 Season Championship.  Currently, Chad Blonde holds the points lead over Shawn Valenti, Jay Steinebach, Ricky Ferkel, and Justin Ward, (Benzonia, MI), 2016 SOD Sprint Car Rookie of the Year).  The SOD champion will have a guaranteed starting position in the SOD season finale, the COMP Cams End-of-the-Year Shootout at Berlin Raceway on September 29th.

Follow Crystal Motor Speedway at www.crystalmotorspeedway.com.  Meet MAHLE at www.us.mahle.com.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.

Erie, MI (August 25, 2018) – In spite of persistent threatening skies and light rain, I-96 Speedway promoter Jeff Dice was determined to get the Dual on Dirt program in for Engine Pro Sprints On Dirt last night.  However, after heat races and the King Engine Bearings Kids feature Draw, he had to pull the plug.

The I-96 crew masterfully prepped the track and gave competitors a lightning fast track.  The crew fought back each time the rain returned, but eventually the skies opened up enough to make any attempt to recover the track impossible.

I-96 Speedway has scheduled Engine Pro Sprints On Dirt presented by ARP to return on Friday, September 21^st.

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

Heat Races

Rod End Supply – Boston Mead, Shawn Valenti, Steve Irwin
Schoenfeld Headers – Chase Ridenour
ATL Racing Fuel Cells – Ricky Ferkel
Allstar Performance – Quentin Blonde
BR Motorsports – Ricky Ferkel
DMI (Diversified Machine) – Chad Blonde
Perfit Corporation Lucky Dog – Chase Ridenour
Allstar Performance Better Luck Next Time – Ryan Ruhl

Check out I-96 Speedway at www.i96speedway.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/I96Speedway/.

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.