Watson Claims KOD Win at Lebanon Valley
KOD/DIRTcar East Point Lead Changes Hands
July 15, 2017 (Vernon, NY) – Jeff Watson was literally star of the show at Lebanon Valley Speedway Saturday, July 15th, as he picked up the KOD/DIRTcar East Sportsman Modified feature win. What made it particularly special; David Whitney and the film crew were on hand taping Watson’s episode of Dirt Rush to air this fall.
Chris Lynch and Rocky Warner would lead the field to the green flag, with home track stud Lynch in the 74 taking the early lead. Warner would tuck in for battle with then KOD/DIRTcar East Region Sportsman Modified point leader Chad Edwards and John Virgilio.
Jeff Watson who started 6th on the grid went to work on Edwards for 4th early in the race, while just behind that battle former Mr. Crate Track USA winner Michael Sabia was battling with Frank Hoard Jr. for position.
Warner, Edwards, and Watson went three wide battling for 4th, Sabia took 6th, and Adam Pierson made his way into the top 10, while Chris Lynch maintained the top spot just 10 laps in.
Rob Maxon was making moves to climb into the top 10, as he went three wide to pass Whitey Slavin and Adam Pierson followed by a pass on Chad Edwards. Back up front Sabia was pressuring Warner for the 4th position, as Watson was now pressuring Virgilio for 2nd.
A lap 14 yellow slowed the field as a multi-car tangle included Kevin Ward, David Schilling, Nikki Ouellette, and Chris Kokosa. Schilling made significant contact to the front of his race rod, which ended his evening. KOD/DIRTcar East Point leader Chad Edwards took advantage of the yellow to change a flat left front that was hindering his efforts.
On the restart Watson made his move to the high side of Virgilio to grab the 2nd position, while Sabia worked his way into the 3rd position. At the same time Scott Duell was making noise moving up from his 24th starting position climbing his way to 12th.
Up front Jeff Watson made his move on the high side taking the lead from Chris Lynch on lap 16. Behind Lynch, Watson, Sabia, and Virgilio, Rocky Warner was battling with Frank Hoard Jr. for 5th, but Rob Maxon made a move to take position from both the 78 and 1J.
Nobody was catching Watson who was determined to win a KOD/DIRTcar East Region Sportsman Tour race. He’d out run Sabia to the checkered, with Lynch, Virgilio, Maxon, Warner, Slavin, Duell, Curtis, and Hoard Jr. rounding out the top 10.
“We were really excited to get back here. This is my home; it’s where I saw my first race, won my first race, this is my home,” said Watson in victory lane.
”This is for smoking Joe. To actually be competitive with Rocky Warner, Chad Edwards, and these series guys who have been kicking my but on tour all season it just feels good. Even the hometown guys like Virgilio, Lynch, Sabia, they’ve all been doing really well this year. It’s just awesome,” he concluded.
“I wanted to defend home turf and be where Jeff is right now, but we’ll take 2nd. This helps us on tour and we should jump forward a few spots,” said 2nd place finisher Mike Sabia.
“We had a carburetor issue coming down the stretch. Loosing to Jeff and Mike is like loosing to Kenny or Brett here. I’m proud of what our team did and I couldn’t be prouder of this team,” said 3rd place finisher Chris Lynch.
KOD NOTES: 36 KOD/DIRTcar East Sportsman teams checked in at the high banks of Lebanon Valley. Tough break for Cody Bleau and Cody Ochs who blew engines prior to heat race action, along with Bobby Deleon who had mechanical failure. Michael Sabia set overall fastest time during time trial sessions, while KOD officials used a new format for hot laps and time trials, which will be used by all three divisions. Jeff Watson picked a perfect night to park it in victory lane, as David Whitney and the Dirt Rush film crew was on hand shooting his episode of the reality series that will debut in the fall. Chad Edwards entered the night as the point leader by two and Rocky Warner left the night as the point leader by eight. Scott Duell earned hard charger honors after driving from 24th to 8th.
JULY 15, 2017 1-800-GOT-JUNK? KING OF DIRT RACING DIRTcar EAST SPORTSMAN MODIFIED SERIES PRESENTED BY ANDY’S SPEED SHOP, DODSON CONSTRUCTION, & DEAN’S ELECTRICAL FEATURE RESULTS AT LEBANON VALLEY SPEEDWAY (30 Laps) – 1) Jeff Watson, 2) Michael Sabia, 3) Chris Lynch, 4) John Virgilio(Sub09), 5) Rob Maxon, 6) Rocky Warner, 7) Whitey Slavin, 8) Scott Duell, 9) Chris Curtis, 10) Frank Hoard Jr, 11) Cody Hunt, 12) Adam Pierson(Sub173), 13) Nick Plumstead, 14) Kevin Ward, 15) Rich Ricci III, 16) Chad Edwards, 17) Kevin Chaffee, 18) Brian Pessolano, 19) Nikki Ouellette, 20) Lem Atkins, 21) Andrew Buff, 22) Harold Robitalle, 23) Alan Houghtaling, 24) James Kraus, 25) Robbie Knipe, 26) Matt Burke, 27) Milton Mann, 28) David Schilling, 29) Chris Kokosa, 30) Mike Barrett, 31) Vinny Visconti, 32) Jack Lehner, 33) Cody Bleau (DNS), 34) Cody Ochs (DNS), 35) Bobby Deleon (DNS), 36) Mike Gramolini (DNS).
KOD/DIRTcar East Sportsman Heat #1 Results (8 Laps) – 1) Rob Maxon, 2) Chad Edwards, 3) Adam Pierson, 4) Chris Curtis, 5) Andrew Buff, 6) Lem Atkins, 7) Nikki Ouellette, 8) Mike Barrett, 9) Mike Gramolini.
KOD/DIRTcar East Sportsman Heat #2 Results (8 Laps) – 1) Michael Sabia, 2) Jeff Watson, 3) Frank Hoard Jr, 4) Milton Mann, 5) Vinny Visconti, 6) Alan Houghtailing, 7) Harold Robitalle, 8) Cody Bleau (DNS), 9) Bobby Deleon (DNS).
KOD/DIRTcar East Sportsman Heat #3 Results (8 Laps) – 1) Robby Knipe, 2) John Virgilio, 3) Chris Kokosa, 4) Jack Lehner, 5) Brian Pessolano, 6) Kevin Chaffee, 7) Lem Atkins, 8) Cody Ochs, 9) Matt Burke.
KOD/DIRTcar East Sportsman Heat #4 Results (8 Laps) – 1) Chris Lynch, 2) Whitey Slavin, 3) Rocky Warner, 4) Kevin Ward, 5) Cody Hunt, 6) Scott Duell, 7) David Schilling, 8) Rich Ricci III, 9) James Kraus.
DTD Lap Leaders – Chris Lynch (1-15), Jeff Watson (16-30).
Hoosier Tire Hard Charger – Scott Duell (+16)
Andy’s Speed Shop $250 Bonus – Jeff Watson (1st)
Fast Axle Superior Sixth – Rocky Warner ($50 Certificate)
J-Tees Fast Timer – Michael Sabia (21.913)
Killer Crate Newcomer Of The Race – Jeff Watson (1st)
2017 KING OF DIRT RACING SMALL BLOCK MODIFIED SCHEDULE
06/13/17 Devil’s Bowl Speedway Marc Johnson (Winner)
07/09/17 Utica Rome Speedway Erick Rudolph (Winner)
07/30/17 Lebanon Valley Speedway West Lebanon, NY 35 Laps
08/20/17 Utica Rome Speedway Vernon, NY 40 Laps
09/08/17 Albany Saratoga Speedway Malta, NY 40 Laps
09/09/17 Lebanon Valley Speedway West Lebanon, NY 35 Laps
09/15/17 Albany Saratoga Speedway Malta, NY 40 Laps
09/23/17 Fonda Speedway Fonda, NY 40 Laps
2017 KING OF DIRT RACING SPORTSMAN SCHEDULE (DIRTcar East Region)
05/28/17 Devil’s Bowl Speedway Chad Edwards (Winner)
06/18/17 Utica Rome Speedway Rocky Warner (Winner)
07/15/17 Lebanon Valley Speedway Jeff Watson (Winner)
08/15/17 Albany Saratoga Speedway Malta, NY 30 Laps
08/20/17 Utica Rome Speedway Vernon, NY 30 Laps
08/31/17 Lebanon Valley Speedway West Lebanon, NY 30 Laps
09/08/17 Albany Saratoga Speedway Malta, NY 100 Laps
09/22/17 Fonda Speedway Fonda, NY 30 Laps
2017 KING OF DIRT RACING PRO STOCK SCHEDULE
06/02/17 Albany Saratoga Speedway Kenny Martin Jr. (Winner)
06/18/17 Utica Rome Speedway Postponed To Aug. 20th
07/07/17 Albany Saratoga Speedway Robbie Speed (Winner)
08/20/17 Utica Rome Speedway Vernon, NY 30 Laps
08/26/17 Lebanon Valley Speedway West Lebanon, NY 30 Laps
09/17/17 Devil’s Bowl Speedway West Haven, VT 29 Laps
For more information on the King Of Dirt Racing Series visit on the web at www.kingofdirtracing.com.
You can also find King Of Dirt via Twitter @kodracingseries or @kodracing.
Look for KOD also on Instagram @kingofdirtracing or on Facebook www.facebook.com/kingofdirtracing.
Follow King Of Dirt Racing Series happenings via Instagram @kingofdirtracing.
For more information on DIRTcar Racing visit www.dirtcar.com.
KING OF DIRT RACING is brought to you in part by sponsors and partners that include: Albany-Saratoga Speedway, Devil’s Bowl Speedway, Fonda Speedway, Lebanon Valley Speedway, Utica Rome Speedway, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, A-1 Installers, Andy’s Speed Shop, Beyea Custom Headers & Exhaust, Bicknell Racing Products, Bill McGaffin Photography, Bruno’s Towing & Recovery, Buff’s Auto Service, Burt’s Tree Service, Central NY Motorsports, Dean’s Electrical Service, Dirt Track Digest, DKM Fabrication, DMC Racing Products, Dodson Construction, Electric City Taxi, Elmo’s Auto Body, Elmo’s Speed Supply, Extreme Speed & Performance, Fast Axle, Fastline Performance, Flach Performance Products, Fox Racing Shocks, HICO Fabrication, Herrington Farms Inc., Hoosier Racing Tire, J-Tees Screen Printing, Lazzaro’s Auto Body, Macedon Parts Plus, Mayhem Motorsports, Moore 2 Music Entertainment, Mueller & Sons Towing/Recovery, NAPA Auto Parts Of Gloversville/Johnstown, Next Generation Roofing, PFC Brakes, R3 Graphics, Race Pro Weekly, Racers Guide, Redline Graphics, Saratoga Masonry, Simplicity Designs, Speed’s Garage, Stone Motorsports.
Sources: Rob Hazer/King Of Dirt Racing Series PR