BLANEY BLISTERS SHARON SPRINTS;

BLANEY BLISTERS SHARON SPRINTS;
MARK FLICK SCORES HIS FIRST
Hartford, OH - Coming off of the Ohio Sprint Speedweek Championship, Dale Blaney put on a stellar performance at his home track Saturday night. The Andrews Motorsports / Youngstown Harley-Davidson sponsored sprint lapped 8 of the 19-car field, coming from an 17th place starting position in the feature event. The Sunburst Environmental Sprints main event was led to the green by Gary Edwards and Jarod Larson. A spin by Leonard Ripper Jr. would demand a complete restart. As the field approached the flag stand, Larson quickly got out front and maintained the lead by surviving cautions on laps eight and thirteen. Ed Lynch Jr. was collected by spinning Andrew Palker and had to restart at the tail on lap 8. Gary Edwards, Mike Kekich and Kevin Andrusky battled for positions 2 thru 5 during the first half of the race. The 13th lap saw Chad Hill slow on the backstretch to restart at the tail, while second place runner, Mike Kekich, broke a front axle and was out for the night on lap 14. Meanwhile, Dale Blaney was steadily working his way thru the field, charging for the lead on the restart of lap 13. From then on, it was a matter of how many cars would be lapped. Lynch drove a great race, working his way up thru to claim second, while Larson had to settle for third, Palker fourth and Kevin Andrusky finishing fifth. Heats were won by Kekich and Larson.
Ron Smoker, and the popular Rex King, paced the field for the Gibson-Governor V-8 Modifieds. King, making his first visit of the season to the Hartford oval, was out front as the field raced thru turns one and two, and led the pack until lap 5 when Smoker rand the high groove into turns 3 and 4 to garner the top spot. Smoker held that position until the 12th circuit, as 5th place starter, Mark Flick, made a strong run thru the first turn and charged into the lead. Flick, driving the Baker Motorsports entry, was never challenged during the final 13 laps and won his first-ever feature at Sharon in a big block modified, beating out Ron Smoker and Del Rougeux respectively to take home the cash and move up from fifth to fourth in the point standings. Kevin Bolland was fourth and Jim Weller Jr. finished 5th. Heat winners were Rex King and Ron Smoker.
Twenty-three cars rolled onto the racing surface for the Coy Brother Trucking 15-lap E-Mod feature. Jim Bickerstaff Jr. and Steve Haefke were polesitters, but by the time the field rode thru the first turn, Alan Dellinger came from his 3rd starting positiong and was out front leading. Dellinger had numerous challenges from Rich Stiffler and Jeff Sharp throughout the race. Stiffler spun on the 9th lap, bunching the field. Sharp who was duelling with Stiffler before his spin, found himself within 2 car lengths and closer during the remaining 6 laps. Dellinger won for the 4th time this season, while Sharp settled for second, Carl McKinney finishing 3rd from a 23rd starting spot. Dwayne Clay was fourth and Tim Rhoades placed fifth. Heats went to Rhoades, Stiffler and Bickerstaff, Jr.
The City Disposal Pure Stocks 24-car field was brought to the green by past feature winners, Gary Robinson and Bill Hanna. Racing side by side, Robinson and Hanna entered turn 3 with Hanna overpowering Robinson to lead the initial lap. Hanna eventually led all 15 laps, but not without having to survive numerous cautions and challenges from Steve D'Apolito and Russ Kapalin who finished 2nd and 3rd respectively. Corey Ruffo started 22nd to bring home a 4th place finish and Ed Cornell charged from 24th to 5th. Heat winners were Robinson, Dan Lewis, Russ Kapalin and Will Aley. Consi winners were Corey Ruffo and Gary Laurie.