TSRS Sprint Car News

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NAGY CAPITALIZES ON ALLEN’S MISFORTUNE TO WIN TSRS FEATURE AT BRIDGEPORT SPEEDWAY
BRIDGEPORT, NJ

Kevin Nagy, of Wind Gap, PA lucked out this past Saturday night at Bridgeport Speedway when race leader Chris Allen pulled off with three laps to go, allowing him to take his first win of the season. Nagy, who started back in sixth, hustled his way up to second by lap six, and was hoping to put on a show for the fans as he was working on catching Allen before he succumbed to engine issues.
“I was happy for me of course, to be able to be in the right place at the right time,” said Nagy. “But I was sort of bummed because I was catching him, and I would have liked to passed him fair and square. I think I would have maybe got him with a lap to go, but we will take it, especially after what happened last week at New Egypt when we basically lost the win due to a last lap caution that sent us back to second”.
Allen, who held a very strong lead over the rest of the field after taking the front running position from pole sitter Stefanie Palmai, unfortunately was forced to give it away because of late race engine problems.
“I don’t know what happened,” Allen revealed in disappointment. “With four laps to go, the motor just lost power, it was almost like we dropped a cylinder. It made no noise, so it’s gotta be something simple, hopefully small. Hopefully nothing too expensive.”
With Palmai and Allen starting on the front row, the field of twenty 305 sprinters took the first green flag at the South Jersey dirt oval of 2016, and before they reached the first turn, chaos erupted mid field when three cars tangled and flipped viciously upon arrival in turn one bringing out the red flag. Tim Tanner Jr. (18), Rick Stief (9s), and David Bonner (57) were all involved in the horrific wreck, but thankfully they all walked away uninjured. Unfortunately, their cars could not say the same as they suffered significant damage.
“I went to go in on the top side, because I figured that if everyone was going to go to the bottom, it was going to be just a ‘ride around fest’, and I was following Rick (Stief) going into the corner,” explained Tanner who started mid-pack in tenth. “I don’t know whether guys checked up in front of him, but he was kind of in the middle of the track, and he quickly came up into me. I wasn’t expecting him to do that so quickly and I hopped his right rear tire and off we went”.
In a second attempt to restart the feature event, another minor caution delayed the event once more on lap two.
Palmai and Allen would battle for the lead after the green flag waved, with Allen taking over first, but not without a short lived challenge from the 99 car of Palmai. Allen would ultimately maintain control over the top spot, strengthening it as the laps counted down on the infield scoreboard. The battle for second would occur behind the leader, between front runners Mike Haggenbottom, Kevin Nagy and Stefanie Palmai, using all lanes of the race track. Nagy would school both TSRS veterans on the topside in turns one and two on lap six, and he quickly was on his way to post a challenge for the leader.
Allen, who had reached lapped traffic at the halfway point, had no problem maneuvering between the slower cars ahead and he continued to dominate the race.
“Right when we hit lapped traffic, I really got nervous, because this track is not one of my favorite places to run,” mentioned Chris. “I’ve been lucky enough to run here well, but I was just hoping that I could keep my calm and do what I needed to do in order to win. So I settled down, and was able to stay smooth because I know from experience that you have to be smooth here to be fast here”.
With three laps to go, and with lapped traffic in toe, adding extra stress to the first few drivers, Chris Allen suddenly pulled off the track and into the infield, handing over the lead and the victory to Nagy. Mike Haggenbottom and inherit the runner up position, Stefanie Palmai would finish third, Eddie Wagner, who came all the way from twelfth came in fourth and Bryant Davis rounded out the top five.
“We were suppose to go up to Lincoln Speedway tonight to run our 410, but the weather looked funky out there so we opted to stay closer to home,” Nagy commented of his changed plans. “I love running with this class because it more on our team’s budget, and I like being able to play around with this unique mid-rail car I put together last winter. Also the competition is great and it’s just a lot of fun running with these guys!”
There were two heat races won by Chris Allen and Stefanie Palmai. The Thayer Performance “Burning Rubber” hard charger award went to two drivers, Kyle Purks and Scott Frack. They both were also the recipient of the Bruce’s Auto Body hard charger bonus of $25.
Hilborn Fuel Injection, the series sponsor for the TSRS Sprint Cars, announced this week that they were going to add a cash bonus to the top three finishers who run Hilborn Fuel Injection systems. The cars must have a “Hilborn Fuel Injection” contingency sticker on their wing, as well as one of Hilborn’s injections on the motor in order to receive the bonus. First place will receive $50, second place will have an added $35 and third place driver will be given $25 for their efforts.
TSRS will have the week off next weekend, but they will return the following Saturday Night on May 14th at New Egypt Speedway. For more info on what’s happening with the fast growing sprint car series in the nation, go to our website www.tsrs1.us or log on to our Facebook page!
FEATURE RESULTS (20 LAPS): Kevin Nagy, Michael Haggenbottom, Stefanie Palmai, Eddie Wagner, Bryant Davis, Bob Devault, Mark Bitner, Dave Brown, Kyle Purks (HC), Brendon Poff, Scott Frack DNF: Chris Allen, Joe Kay, Logan Diehl, Samantha Lieberman, Karl Fryer, Bobby Sandt Jr, Tim Tanner Jr., Rick Stief, David Bonner
FAST TIME : Mike Haggenbottom (20.003)
Thayer Performance “BURNING RUBBER BONUS” & Bruce's AUTO BODY HARD CHARGER AWARD: Kyle Purks & Scott Frack