rebelracewriter Posted July 18, 2016 Report Share Posted July 18, 2016 ERIE, MI (July 11, 2016) – Brian “Punchie” Smith took his 3rd SOD feature win in Saturday’s Engine Pro Sprints on Dirt presented by ARP victory in the MAHLE/Clevite Beyond Limits Challenge 25-lap feature at Muskegon’s Thunderbird Raceway. Before a standing-room only crowd, it didn’t take long for outside front row starter Steve Irwin (Flying Zero) to open a lead on pole starter Mark Aldrich (1a). Irwin set a torrid pace that quickly got him into lapped traffic early in the race that had only caution, on lap 3, when mechanical gremlins brought Jay Steinebach (10s) to a stop in turn 2.Meanwhile SOD point leader Punchie (2+) worked his way up to 2nd from his 5th place starting position and set sail for Irwin. While traffic helped his pursuit of Irwin, it also created a couple of close calls, and Smith noticeably became more cautious. Lap 13 proved to be unlucky for the leader when he got boxed in and Smith finally made the pass for the lead he would hold until the finish. In spite of searching for quicker line around the almost circular track, Irwin (0) was not able to catch Smith and finished 2nd. Tom Schinderle (41) finished 3rd and Dain Naida (17X) 4th after a nearly race-long spirited battle with 5th place finisher Dan McCarron (22M) in which McCarron thrilled the crowd with an all-out attempt to take over the spot. 19 cars started the feature and 18 finished clearly thrilling the enthusiastic crowd.Fastest hot lap times were posted by a 305 driven by Dundee, Michigan’s Dan McCarron. He was followed by two 360s, Dain Naida (Tecumseh, MI) and Alex Hill, the Six Nation Sensation, from Wilsonville, Ontario. They were followed by the 410 of feature winner Brian Smith from Fremont, Ohio, and the 360 of 2015 SOD champion Gregg Dalman from Bellevue, Michigan.The Engler Machine & Tool heat race was won by Dan McCarron (305 cubic inch motor) who was also the fastest car in hot laps. Veteran driver Mark Alrich (410 cubic inch motor) dominated the Lane Automotive heat race showing that the hot, windy weather wasn’t going to slow the speedy SOD competitors. Robert Huiskin (360 cubic inch motor) wasn’t about to be out performed and charged to a decisive COMP Cams heat race win. The top 3 heat race finishers were paired up with kids for the License 2 Play Feature Draw to determine the first 9 feature start positions.Racing with SOD at Thunderbird Raceway were lady competitors Lexi Adgate and Alex Hill. Both have had successful mini-sprint and are now ready to show the boys they can do the job in full size sprints. Hill passed the most cars in the feature.MAHLE/Clevite Beyond Limits ChallengePlaceCar NoNameLapsLag12+Smith, Brian25020Irwin, Steve25-3.678341Schinderle, Tom25-4.41417XNaida, Dain25-4.754522MMcCarron, Dan25-5.34261AAldrich, Mark25-6.7746Huiskin, Robert25-12.449881Gall, John25-20.516919Mann, Brett24-1 Laps1010JJones, Chris24-1 Laps1177xHill, Alex24-1 Laps1249TDalman, Gregg24-1 Laps138Ward, Justin24-1 Laps1444JJacoby, Bill24-1 Laps1558Bures, Tony24-1 Laps1624Smith, Eric23-2 Laps1791LAdgate, Lexi23-2 Laps186Bearden, Tyler23-2 Laps1910SSteinebach, Jay3-22 LapsEngler Machine & Tool Heat Race: 1 McCarron, 2 Steinebach, 3 B Smith, 4 Jones, 5 E Smith, 6 BeardenLane Automotive Heat Race: 1 Mark Aldrich, 2 Gall, 3 Naida, 4 Ward, 5 Bures, 6 AdgateCOMP Cams Heat Race: 1 Robert Huiskin, 2 Irwin, 3 Schinderle, 4 Mann, 5 Dalman, 6 Hill, 7 JacobyContingency Awards:Engine Pro Lucky Dog Award – Alex HillKSE Race Products Hard Charger Award – Bill JacobyKistler Racing Products contingency awards: Jay Steinebach, Steve IrwinCOMP Cams contingency award: John GallBR Motorsports contingency award: Brian SmithAllstar Performance contingency award: Dain NaidaSchoenfeld Headers contingency award: Tom SchinderleRod End Supply contingency awards: Brian Smith, Steve Irwin, Tom SchinderleRacing Optics contingency award: Dain NaidaATL Fuel Cells contingency award: Dan McCarronKing Racing Products contingency award: Mark AldrichTi22 Performance contingency award: John GallDMI contingency award: Justin Ward Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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