Long Opens Sprint on Dirt Season in Victory Lane at Crystal

By T.J. Buffenbarger

Crystal, MI – (April 28, 2012) – Darren Long made the long drive from Elida, Ohio worthwhile by picking up the feature win to kick off the 2012 Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by ARP season at Crystal Motor Speedway. Long started on the pole and led every lap in route to his first victory of the 2012 season driving his family owned Gaerte powered KPC chassis.

“I knew my motor would take off really well, and the car was driving really well. On the restarts I was able to pull the wing back to drive off the corner better,” said Long. “I was trying to be real patent through the lapped traffic. I have to thank my guys that work on my team; they are doing a great job.”

Long and Brett Mann started on the front row for the 25-lap feature event. After the first start was negated by Brad Lamberson and Steve Irwin spinning off the third corner, Long got the jump at the start with Dustin Daggett moving past Brett Mann for second. Long and Daggett pulled away from the rest of the field while eight starting Jared Horstman started moving through the field into the top five by lap four.

By lap seven Long began to encounter slower traffic and allowed Daggett to close in to challenge for the lead. On lap 12 Long got held up by a slower car and allowed Daggett to pull up to his back bumper. One lap later though Long moved by two lapped cars crossing outside to inside that ended up blocking Daggett and allowed Long to open up some breathing room.

On lap 14 that advantage was erased by a pair of cautions. The first for Andy Chehowski spinning in front of the leaders in turn two, then one lap later for Dain Naida’s spin off of turn four. This allowed Daggett to move around the lapped cars between himself and Long for the restart. Long was up for the challenge though and pulled away from Daggett to open up a half straightaway lead.

Further back in the field Gregg Dalman mounted a late race charge from 13th starting position into the top five. Dalman then was able to move Ruhl and Horstman to advance to the third position with five laps to go.

Up front it was all Long blasting through the lapped traffic to take the victory over Daggett, Dalman, Horstman, and Ruhl.

Daggett, Long, Chehowski, and Mann won heat race events, Lambertson won the Brodix cylinder heads dash, and Naida won the Engine Pro B-Main Event. Chehowski also picked up a cash bonus for his name being drawn for the Engine Pro Lucky Dog Prize.

The next event for the Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by ARP series takes place Friday May 25th at Limaland Motorsports Park in Lima, Ohio.
Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt Presented by ARP
Crystal Motor Speedway – Crystal, MI
Saturday April 28th, 2012

Heat Race Events (Top 16 in passing points advanced to the “A” Feature)

Engler Machine and Tool Heat Race #1 (8 Laps): 1. 2M – Dustin Daggett, 2. 10 – Steve Irwin, 3. 16 – Ryan Ruhl, 4. 00 – Ryan Grubaugh, 5. 16c – Greg Wheeler, 6. 07 – Dain Naida, 7. 36 – Nate Bostrum, 8. 4 – Eric Smith

Allstar Performance Heat Race #2 (8 Laps): 1. 7 – Darren Long, 2. 17 – Jared Horstman, 3. 49t – Gregg Dalman, 4. 46 – Robert Huisken, 5. 70 – Jim Lingar, 6. 49 – Sean Dancer, 7. 81L – Keith Love (Love did not go to the scales after the race)

Butlerbuilt Racing Seats Heat Race #3 (8 Laps): 1. 20A – Andy Chehowski, 2. 27B – Lambertson, 3. 31 – Andy Teunessen, 4. 81 – John Gall, 5. 50 – Mike Burns, 6. 21 – Matt Lumbert. DNS: 8 – Tim Champlin

Hoosier Tires Heat Race #4 (8 Laps): 1. 3w – Brett Mann, 2. 5 – Keith Dempster, 3. 88 – Mike Daggett, 4. 14 – Ben Rutan, 5. 10S – Jay Steinebach, 6. 29s – Marques Huffer, 7. 2 – Joe Geibe.

Brodix Cylinder Heads Fast Car Dash (4 Laps): 1. 27 – Brad Lambertson, 2. 10 – Steve Irwin, 3. 16 – Ryan Ruhl, 4. 31 – Andy Teunessen. (Determined starting positions 9-12 for the “A” Feature)

Engine Pro “B” Feature (10 Laps): 1. 07x – Dain Naida, 2. 16c – Greg Wheeler, 3. 14 – Ben Rutan, 4. 29s – Marques Huffer, 5. 10s – Jay Steinebach, 6. 81L – Keith Love, 7. 8 – Tim Champlin, 8. 70 – Jim Lingar, 9. 2G – Joe Geibe, 10. 36 – Nate Bostrum, 11. 4 – Eric Smith, 12. 21 – Matt Lumbert. DNS: 49 – Sean Dancer (Top four finishers advanced to the “A” Feature)

“A” Feature (25-Laps): 1. 7 – Darren Long, 2. 2m – Dustin Daggett, 3. 49t – Gregg Dalman, 4. 17 – Jared Horstman, 5. 16 – Ryan Ruhl, 6. 00 – Ryan Grubaugh, 7. 88 – Mike Daggett, 8. 3w – Brett Mann, 9. 5 – Keith Dempster, 10. 46 – Robert Huisken, 11. 20A – Andy Chehowski, 12. 27 – Brad Lambertson, 13. 10 – Steve Irwin, 14. 31 – Andy Teunessen, 15. 16c – Greg Wheeler, 16. 81 – John Gall, 17. 50 – Mike Burner, 18. 14 – Ben Rutan, 19. 07x – Dain Naida, 20. 29s – Marques Huffer.

Lap Leaders: Long 1-25

Engine Pro Lucky Dog: Andy Chehowski