ERIE, MI (July 23, 2017) – Joe Swanson won a hard fought battle with Jay Steinebach to win Saturday’s Engine Pro Sprints On Dirt presented by ARP Driven Racing Oil Battlegrounds Bash at Butler Motor Speedway.
Swanson (Etna Green, Indiana) started from the pole, but a lap one red for a Shebly Bilton and Andy Chehowski crash on the back straightaway, and a quick caution for Tyler Bearden’s spin halted action quickly. Once back under green, Swanson took the lead over Tim Evilsizer. Boston Mead took 2nd on lap 7, then Steinebach took the spot on the next lap. Steinebach was getting faster as Swanson battled traffic and on lap 16 he shot by the leader and opened up a small lead. On lap 18 the caution flew for Tyler Rankin’s spin. Steinebach held the lead in spite of heavy pressure from Swanson through lap 22 when the caution came out for Doug Zimmerman’s spin. Swanson charged into 1st on lap 23 and led the final 2 laps to win the epic battle.
COMP Cams heat race winner Boston Mead suffered a broken rocker arm at the end of his heat race and SOD point leader suffered the same fate while leading the Engler Machine & Tool heat. While it looked like both drivers were done for the night, they borrowed the parts needed to run the feature and their perseverance paid off. Mead started 3rd and finished 4th. Irwin started 22nd and charged to a 6th place finish, easily winning the KSE Hard Charger Award.
Doug Zimmerman led the 27-car field in qualifying with a 13.272 lap.
The SOD program was completed with typical SOD efficiency through the combined efforts of SOD competitors and Butler Motor Speedway officials.
Qualifying – Lane Automotive/MSD Ignition Fast Masters (fast qualifiers) $50 each
| Group | Time | # | Driver |
| Engler Machine & Tool Heat | 13.337 | 16 | Ryan Ruhl |
| COMP Cams Heat | 13.272 | 19Z | Doug Zimmerman |
| RockAuto.com Heat | 14.008 | 10S | Jay Steinebach |
Heat Races – Winners $100 each
| Engler Machine & Tool Heat #1 | |||
| # | Driver | Contingency | |
| 1 | 16 | Ryan Ruhl | |
| 2 | 4T | Josh Turner | Kistler Racing Products |
| 3 | 1a | Mark Aldrich | Racing Optics |
| 4 | 7Z | Zach Hampton | |
| 5 | 20A | Andy Chehowski | |
| 6 | 27K | Ryan Kirkendall | |
| 7 | 58 | Tony Bures | |
| 8 | 0 | Steve Irwin | |
| 9 | 5QB | Quentin Blonde | |
| COMP Cams Heat #2 | |||
| # | Driver | Contingency | |
| 1 | 27B | Boston Mead | |
| 2 | 5B | Chad Blonde | Allstar Performance |
| 3 | 7J | Joe Swanson | Racing Optics |
| 4 | 19Z | Doug Zimmerman | |
| 5 | 49T | Gregg Dalman | |
| 6 | 10J | Chris Jones | |
| 7 | 39 | Tyler Rankin | |
| 8 | 6 | Tyler Bearden | |
| 9 | 91L | Lexi Adgate | |
| RockAuto.com Heat #3 | |||
| # | Driver | Contingency | |
| 1 | 41 | Thomas Schinderle | |
| 2 | 10s | Jay Steinebach | Kistler Racing Products |
| 3 | 9E | Tim Evilsizer | Racing Optics |
| 4 | 27 | Shelby Bilton | |
| 5 | 21T | Troy Chehowski | |
| 6 | 8 | Justin Ward | |
| 7 | 47 | Robert Bulloch | |
| 8 | 3G | John Gurley | |
| DNS | 52 | Zac Broughman | |
Feature
| # | Driver | Start | Contingencies | |
| 1 | 7J | Joe Swanson | 1 | Rod End Supply |
| 2 | 10s | Jay Steinebach | 4 | Rod End Supply |
| 3 | 16 | Ryan Ruhl | 5 | Rod End Supply |
| 4 | 27B | Boston Mead | 3 | Schoenfeld Headers |
| 5 | 41 | Thomas Schinderle | 8 | ATL Racing Fuel Cells |
| 6 | 0 | Steve Irwin | 22 | |
| 7 | 4T | Josh Turner | 6 | Allstar Performance |
| 8 | 5B | Chad Blonde | 9 | |
| 9 | 1a | Mark Aldrich | 7 | King Racing Products |
| 10 | 19Z | Doug Zimmerman | 11 | |
| 11 | 49T | Gregg Dalman | 14 | Keizer Aluminum Wheels |
| 12 | 7Z | Zach Hampton | 10 | |
| 13 | 9E | Tim Evilsizer | 2 | |
| 14 | 21T | Troy Chehowski | 15 | |
| 15 | 10J | Chris Jones | 17 | |
| 16 | 8 | Justin Ward | 18 | |
| 17 | 27K | Ryan Kirkendall | 16 | |
| 18 | 58 | Tony Bures | 19 | |
| 19 | 47 | Robert Bulloch | 21 | |
| 20 | 39 | Tyler Rankin | 20 | |
| 21 | 6 | Tyler Bearden | 23 | |
| 22 | 27 | Shelby Bilton | 12 | |
| 23 | 20A | Andy Chehowski | 13 |
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger – Steve Irwin (+16)
BR Motorsports Contingency (feature top 10 draw) – Mark Aldrich
DMI (Diversified Machine) Contingency (feature 12-16 draw) – Chris Jones
Perfit Corporation Lucky Dog – Zach Hampton
Get to know Driven Racing Oil at http://www.drivenracingoil.com. For more information about Butler Motor Speedway, go to www.butlerspeedway.net.
For more information about Engine Pro go to www.enginepro.com. For more information about ARP, go to www.arp-bolts.com. The full 2017 Sprints on Dirt schedule, rules, current news, and other information are available at www.sprintsondirt.com.
Engine Pro Sprints On Dirt presented by ARP is brought to you in 2017 by many important sponsor partners including: Engine Pro (Title Sponsor), ARP (Title Sponsor), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official SOD Tire), MAHLE/Clevite (Beyond Limits Challenge Sponsor), Driven Racing Oil (Battlegrounds Bash Sponsor), King Engine Bearings (King of Michigan Sponsor), Lane Automotive/MSD Ignition (Fast Masters Sponsor), Engler Machine & Tool (Heat Race Sponsor), COMP Cams (Heat Race Sponsor), RockAuto.com (Heat Race Sponsor), The Perfit Corporation (Lucky Dog Sponsor), KSE Racing Products (Hard Charger Sponsor), XYZ Machining (Season Sportsman & Crew Chief Sponsor). In addition, SOD contingency sponsors include: Allstar Performance, ATL Racing Fuel Cells, BR Motorsports, Diversified Machine Inc. (DMI), K2W Precision/Keizer Aluminum Wheels, King Racing Products, Kistler Racing Products, Maxim Racing, Motor City Racing Promotions, Racing Optics, Rod End Supply, Schoenfeld Headers, Simpson Racing Products, Walker Performance Filtration.