By Paul Harkenrider (Ransomville, NY) | Chuck Hebing took the lead on lap four from Dan Bennett and did not look back to pick up his second straight PST A-Main over Kyle Drum and Paulie Colagiovanni at the Ransomville Speedway.
20 cars signed into the Big R for the tours 18th time where Chuck Hebing, Tommy Wickham, and Josh Azzi scored the heat wins. Paulie Colagiovanni scored the Bonnell’s Rod Shop Four Laps of Fame Dash.
Josh Azzi and Jim Porter would bring the 20 car field to green with Azzi taking command in the opening lap. That lead would not last as Dan Bennett, who started third on the grid, would pass Azzi on the outside of turn two during the third lap. Immediately following the lead change, the first yellow would come out for a spinning Scott Goodrich and Dave Just. Bennett would lead Drum and Azzi followed by Hebing and Wickham.
On the restart, fourth place runner Chuck Hebing would go underneath both Bennett and Drum off the second corner and would be scored the race leader on lap five.
It would take several laps before Kyle Drum would clear the X machine of Dan Bennett but on lap eight, he was able to do so off turn four. The second caution would come out on lap nine for a spinning Steve Glover in turn two.
Hebing would dominate the final 16 laps of race and cruise to his second straight A Main victory of the season. Kyle Drum would settle for yet another podium finish, his third straight podium dating back to last season.
Bonnell’s Rod Shop Dash winner, Paulie Colagiovanni began to make his presence known in the second half of the race by continuing to click by cars and get to third by lap fifteen. He would end up finishing a Ransomville Speedway career best, third place finish after starting ninth.
Scott Kreutter battled mechanical issues during hot laps which forced him to scratch from his heat race. After starting 19th, the former PST Champ was able to salvage a fourth place finish. He would go on to earn the Casey’s Truck Salvage ‘Salvage of the Night’ award.
2017 PST newcomer of the year Jordan Thomas had a right front shock go down during his heat race but was still able to hold on for a second-place run. Thomas would also have a rough start to his A-Main by contacting the turn two wall losing several positions. The Pennsylvania driver was able to battle back and take home an eighth-place finish.
Josh Azzi has always had strong runs at Ransomville and Friday night was no different. The Dansville, New York driver would lead all eight laps during his qualifying heat to pick up his first heat win of the season. Azzi would then draw the pole during the PST re-draw and after a tough battle with his fellow PST competitors, Azzi would take home a seventh-place finish.
The Patriots return to racing tonight at the Fulton Speedway for their traditional stop in central New York. The tour will take next weekend off as many competitors will be racing with the All-Star Circuit of Champions when they invade the Empire State.
The following weekend, the tour makes its first trip to Pennsylvania and a return visit to Clinton County Motor Speedway on Friday, June 15. The following evening, the tour ventures further south into Central Pennsylvania and visits the always fast Selinsgrove Speedway for the Joe Whitcomb Memorial paying $2,571 to win.
Please be sure to visit www.patriotsprinttour.com, you can also like ‘Patriot Sprint Tour’ on facebook and by following us on Instagram and Twitter @PatriotSprints.
The Patriot Sprint Tour recognizes the following marketing partners for the 2018 season: A-Verdi Storage Containers, Hoosier Racing Tires, Prestige Pool & Spa, Einstein Construction Group, Bonnell’s Auto Group, Bonnell’s Rod Shop, Fine Touch Collision, Mike Emhof Motorsports Inc., Super Gen Products with Champion Power Equipment, Patriot Tank Lines, Danny Willmes Enterprises, Casey’s Truck Salvage, Just Signs & Designs, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Sunoco Race Fuels, Insinger Performance, Shuttleworth Asphalt Sealing, ASI Racewear, Curtis Berleue Photography.
Patriot Sprint Tour Quick Results
June 1 2018
A Main: 1) 45- CHUCK HEBING (2) 2) 47- Kyle Drum 3) 10-Paulie Colagiovanni 4) 49-Scott Kreutter 5) X-Dan Bennett 6) 75- Tommy Wickham 7) 17z-Josh Azzi 8) 79- Jordan Thomas 9) 48jr- Darryl Ruggles 10) 81- Derek Jonathan 11) 48a-Alysha Bay 12) 22f- Jim Porter 13) 121- Steve Glover 14) 67-Pete Richardson 15) 30-Scott Goodrich 16) 38-Brad Knab 17) 86-Jeremy Barnard 18) 2-Steven Hutchinson 19) 54J- David Just 20) 54jr- Scott Just (DNS)
Heat 1: 1) 45- Chuck Hebing 2) 81- Jonathan Preston 3) 121- Steve Glover 4) 67- Pete Richardson 5) 86- Jeremy Barnard 6) 54jr- Scott Just 7) 49- Scott Kreutter
Heat 2: 1) 75- Tommy Wickham 2) 47- Kyle drum 3) X-Dan Bennett 4) 48jr-Darryl Ruggles 5) 2-Steve Hutchinson Jr 6) 54j-David Just 7) 48a-Alysha Bay
Heat 3: 1) 17z-Josh Azzi 2) F22-Jim Porter 3) 79-Jordan Thomas 4) 10- Paulie Colagiovanni 5) 30-Scott Goodrich 6) 38-Brad Knab
Bonnell’s Rod Shop Four Laps of Fame Dash: 1) 10- Paulie Colagiovanni 2) 79- Jordan Thomas 3) 121-Steve Glover 4) 67- Pete Richardson 5) 2-Steve Hutchinson Jr 6) 86- Jeremy Barnard
Prestige Pool & Spa ‘Final Finisher’: Jeremy Barnard ($25)
Casey’s Truck Salvage ‘Salvage of the Night’: Scott Kreutter ($25)
Patriot Sprint Tour Point Standings: 1) 45-Chuck Hebing (441) 2) 10-Paulie Colagiovanni (374) 3) 79-Jordan Thomas (354) 4) 48jr-Darryl Ruggles (352) 5) 47-Kyle Drum (328) 6) 81-Derek Jonathan (328) 7) 67r-Pete Richardson (305) 8) 87*-Jason Barney (288) 9) 30-Scott Goodrich (284) 10) 10c-Jeff Cook (277) 11) 121-Steve Glover (264) 12) 28fm-Steve Poirier (244)