Photos: Fernando Pereira
Saratoga Speedway hosted yet another great double header weekend. 64 total cars hit the track on Saturday and Sunday, which was one of our best car counts in years. California Kid and Rockstar put on an amazing show, destroying motor homes, buses and getting some amazing air.
Wet Conditions once again affected qualifying on Saturday. Fast time in the Roadrunner class went to #28 Andrew Buchanan, setting a time of 24.518. Buchanan carried over his winning ways from opening night taking the lead early in the heat race and eventually taking the win. The 15 lap main saw #11 Derrik Senft take the lead early, holding on to it for most of the race until lap 9 when Buchanan passed Senft on the back stretch taking away the lead and the eventual win. 2nd place went to Senft and 3rd to #19 James Moore, who was filling in for Weston Lane on the night. A very impressive field on 14 Bomber Cars took to the Track on Saturday. Fast time went to #98 Kerry Steen with a time of 22.443. The B heat Went to #5 Darren Larson, and the A to #87 Brandon Steen. The 30 lap main saw #72 Travis Stevenson take the lead on lap 1. Stevenson would be pressured by #87 Brandon Steen for the whole race but was too much for Steen, leading all 30 laps. 2nd went to Brandon Steen and 3rd to his dad Kerry Steen. 15 Crash to Pass cars filled the pits on Saturday. Fast time went to #2 Glenn Pinto with a time of 24.244. The B heat went to #31 Brandon Young and the A to #88 Troy Tarbuck. The 20 lap main saw “Mr. Ugly” Gregg Sagmoen dominate the field, leading every lap and hitting everything in his site. On lap 8, our first roll over of the year happened; #63 “Smokin” Joe Libatore took a hard hit in the back stretch which sent him airborne. Smokin Joe came out unharmed but his car needed many repairs. The Hornet cars made there second appearance of the year on Saturday; fast time went to #13 Jason Fraser with a time of 21.790. The D heat went to #59 Ted Dimitrov, the C to #14 Kyle Fallowfield, the B to #08 Daryn Cahill, and finally the A to #01 Kevin Lawrenuk. The B main saw #20 William Boyes move up from last to first in 2 laps, eventually taking the win. 2nd went to #91 James Nesbitt, and 3rd to #33 Tristin Gait. The 30 laps A main saw #21 Gord Fraser take the lead on lap 4; Fraser held this lead until lap 16 when #57 Corey Sanderson took the lead and he never looked back. Fraser would finish 2nd and #01 Kevin Lawrenuk took him 3rd.
Dry Conditions made for some great racing on Sunday. Fast time in the Roadrunner class once again went to #28 Andrew Buchanan with a time of 19.047. Buchanan would also go on to win the heat. The 15 lap main saw #19 Weston Lane take the lead on lap 1 and never look back, winning his first race of the year. 2nd went to Buchanan and 3rd to #25 Andrew Cannon. A field of 9 Bomber cars hit the track Sunday night. Fast time went to #24 Charlie Ackerman with a time of 18.030. Some drama occurred in the heat race; #5 Darren Larson had been leading the race up until the last lap when Ackerman was challenging on the outside. Larson didn’t want to give up the lead, causing him to cut off Ackerman, leading to a black flag for Larson, giving Ackerman the win. The 30 lap main saw Ackerman dominate the field, lapping all but 5 cars. 2nd went Darren Larson and 3rd to Darrell Larson. 14 Crash cars hit the track on Sunday. Fast time went to #88 Troy Tarbuck with a time of 18.520. The B heat went to #24 Cody Young and the A to #13 Tom Dunn. The 20 lap feature saw #89 Gregg Sagmoen once again lead the pack and eventually take the win. 25 Hornets filled the pits on Sunday. A new track record was set in qualifying; #21 Gord Fraser set a time of 18.122, beating the old record of 18.195 set by #02 Daryl Cahill last season. The C heat went to #59 Ted Dimitrov, the B to #22 Jennifer Lawrenuk, and the A to #21 Gord Fraser. The B main saw Dimitrov lead until the final lap when #81 Jeremy Stormo took the lead. Dimitrov would finish 2nd, with 3rd going to #22 Jennifer Lawrenuk. The 30 lap A main saw #08 Daryn Cahill take the lead on lap 8 and never look back. #02 Daryl Cahill finished 2nd and #21 Gord Fraser took home 3rd.
