Glen Ridge Motorsports Park
By: Jacob MacDonald
Sunday July 5, 2020

Sunday night was a surefire great night of racing at the fastest ¼ mile on dirt. With Damon Anderson putting bonuses up to the winners of every race, Scott McCoy and Luke Horning picked up their first wins of 2020 as well as a few more first career winners (Adam Tranka in Streetstocks; Frank Twing Jr in Jr Slingshots).

For the Red Chair 602 Crate Sportsmans, it was Brendan Gibbons leading the field to the flagstand. Scott McCoy took the advantage early on. Gibbons would run second for a little while however, he would pull off the track with a flat right rear tire. Meanwhile, Cody Ochs, Andrew Buff and Tucker O’Connor were putting on a show for the runner up spot as they were all under a blanket for multiple laps. This came to an end however at Lap 12 when a yellow came out for Ochs’ car turned around at the bottom of turn 2.

Tucker O’Connor used the restart to his advantage as he took away the second spot and was on the back door of Scott McCoy and would remain behind the 187 until a Lap 21 caution for Tony Farone slowing in turn 2. Off the restart, Tucker O’Connor got shuffled back and that was all Scott McCoy needed as he took his second career win at The Ridge. Andrew Buff would finish as the runner up, Travis Green finished third, Justin Buff came home in fourth and Tucker O’Connor completed the top five.

In the Yurkewecz Auto Crusher, Cousin Luke Horning did not wait long to grab the lead as he powered around on the outside to go from fourth to first and take away the lead from polesitter Tanner Warner. From there, Horning began to open a sizable lead. Josh Coonradt in the 70x was beginning to work his way up through the field as he sliced and diced to second.

Behind the top 2, the battle for third was nail biting as Tanner Warner, Andy Graves and last week’s winner Beau Ballard were battling hard for position. This was all behind Horning though as Cousin Luke dusted the field to take his first win of 2020 & 27th overall win at The Ridge. Coonradt would finish in second, while Tanner Warner would finish in third, Beau Ballard & Andy Graves rounded out the top five.

Limited Sportsman action got underway as Stephen Gray used the outside lane to take the lead from Isaac Walker. Gray appeared to be smooth sailing until a lap 5 caution which saw the early leader Walker around in turns 1 & 2. Troy Zilles used the restart as a launching pad as he quickly worked his way up to the runner up spot. Zilles did get as close as a car length from Gray's back bumper.

Towards the later stages of the event, Gray had pulled away from Zilles and appeared to be on his way to a victory. However, a lap car held up Gray enough to let Zilles draw back in and make a run at the leader. It was all for naught as Gray picked up the victory. Zilles would come across the line second but would be disqualified in post-race tech. This made Garrett Poland your runner up. Peter Lorenzo III and Thomas D’Angelo would cross the line in fourth and fifth respectively but also would be disqualified in post-race tech. Therefore, Tim Billington, Paul DeRuyter and Teddy Star rounded out the top five

Street stock racing saw Adam Tranka and Damon Anderson put on a great race. Tranka in the end was able to pick up the win despite Anderson being right on his back bumper waiting for Tranka to slip up. Kenny Allen rounded out the top three.

In the All-Star Slingshots, Tucker Jones took the lead early on but contact between the 33 of Jim Gaige and 1 off Brett Putnam in turn 4 stacked the field back up. Off the restart, Connor Hill overpowered Jones for the lead. Jones would not remain second for long however as he appeared to have a flat tire and pounded the wall out of turn four, ending his night. From there, Connor Hill drove away from the field to pick up the win. Mike Hill came home second, Dan Ballard finished third, Jim Pollard and Brett Putnam rounded out the top five.

In the Jr Slingshots, Corky Warner was the pole sitter but the driver on the move was the 1 of “Kid Dynamite” Frank Twing Jr. Jr quickly moved from his 5th starting spot up to 2nd by lap 2. However, just as Twing was going for the lead a caution came out. The 68 of Hayden Ackernecht went for a ride that ended with the car on its side. Once racing resumed, Twing powered around Warner and cruised to his first career win. Lucas Duncan would wind up second, Corky Warner third, Brock Pinkerous came home fourth and Sloan Cherko rounded out the top five.

The Mini Stock 15 lap feature saw John Napoli lead early but Josh Kane grabbed the top spot away and took home another win in the dual cams. In the single cams, Dale VanAllen cruised to victory.

The Ridge is back in action next Sunday, July 12th for a Mid-Season point blast. Double points for all divisions! Pits open at 3pm, hotlaps at 5:30 pm and heat races at 6pm! Pits are open, masks required, and social distancing is in effect. Grandstands will remain closed.

The Red Chair Dirtcar 602 Sportsman: Scott McCoy, Andrew Buff, Travis Green, Justin Buff, Tucker O’Conner, Bill August, Alex VanPelt, Dave Richer, James Meehan, Cody Ochs, Joe Orlando, Aaron Jacobs, Jerry Cohn, Tony Farone, Brendan Gibbons, Ryan Heath.

Yurkewecz Auto Crushers Dirtcar Pro-Stocks: Luke Horning, Josh Coonradt, Tanner Warner, Beau Ballard, Andy Graves, David Demorest, Jay Fitzgerald, Buck Gasner, Tom O’Connor, Matthew Groncki, Aiden Demorest, Ken Griffin.

Limited Sportsman: Stephen Gray, Garrett Poland, Tim Billington, Paul DeRuyter, Teddy Starr, James Venditti, Isaac Walker, Troy Zilles (DQ) Peter Lorenzo III (DQ), Thomas D’Angelo (DQ), Amber Jacobs.

Street Stocks: Adam Tranka, Damon Anderson, Kenny Allen, Jacob Zennaiter, Chris Daugherty.

Single Cam Mini Stock: Dale VanAllen, Wayne Russell Jr, Ray Young, Zach McSpirit, TJ Marlitt.

Dual Cam Mini Stock: Josh Kane, John Napoli, Brandon Tyler, Tyler White, Gina Voris, William Cook.

Northeast Paving & Sealcoating All-Star Slingshots: Conner Hill, Mike Hill, Dan Ballard, Jim Pollard, Brett Putnam, Tyler Vadney, Darryn Fallis, Tyler Holcomb, Nick Auspelmyer, Bob Morey, Spencer Cherko, Scott Sprague, Jim Gaige, Tucker Jones.

Northeast Paving & Sealcoating Junior Slingshots: Frank Twing Jr, Lucas Duncan, Corky Warner, Brock Pinkerous, Sloan Cherko, Ryan McCoy, Cole Conrad, Hayden Ackernecht.