Zach Buff’s charge through the field in Thursday’s DIRTcar Sportsman Series East Region opener at Airborne Park Speedway proved to be a significant one.
After driving from 15th to third in 40 laps, the Latham, NY driver inherited the Champlain Valley Showdownvictory after Donovan Lussier and Vince Quenneville Jr. were disqualified due to a fuel infraction.
Long-time Airborne regulars Travis Bruno and Jamy Begor led the field to the green flag in the East Region opener, but it wasn’t long before Lussier started moving forward.
The St. Denis-sur-Richelieu, QC driver, who started third, stormed past Begor on the race’s opening lap, moving into second before the first caution fell on Lap 3 for Bucko Branham, who had a right-rear flat tire.
When the race resumed, the driver of the No. 61L quickly moved to the outside lane, powering around Bruno as they reached the start/finish line on Lap 4.
Despite several restarts throughout the race, Lussier pulled away on many occasions, whether it was Bruno or Vince Quenneville Jr who lined up next to him.
But even with the lead, Lussier almost made a costly mistake on Lap 33. When driving through lap traffic in Turn 1, the Canadian competitor hit an implement tire, breaking his momentum.
It still wasn’t enough to stop him, as he was the first to reach the checkered flag.
However, both Lussier and Quenneville, who crossed the line second, failed post-race technical inspection after it was found they were not running the mandated VP D98 fuel.
That gave the win to Buff, who took home the $1,500 prize and his second career DIRTcar Sportsman Series win.
Buff moved up 11 spots in the race’s first eight laps before settling into the top five and reaching third by Lap 13.
Despite the win, he said the track’s slick surface made for a challenge in the 40-lap Feature.
“(Turn) 1 and 2 was real slick,” Buff said. “One time, I thought I was going around, and I saved it. Just happy to come out clean going from 15th to third.”
The disqualifications moved Michael Wright to second and Codie Aubin to third. Rounding out the top five were Travis Bruno and Bucko Branham.
UP NEXT: The DIRTcar Sportsman Series East Region heads to Bear Ridge Speedway on Saturday, Aug. 2. Series officials are still searching for a viable option to reschedule the postponed event at Glen Ridge Motorsports Park.
For more on the DIRTcar Northeast, follow the DIRTcar Facebook page and the Series’ X/(Twitter) page.
Champlain Valley Showdown (40 Laps): 1. 01-Zach Buff[15]; 2. 78-Michael Wright[7]; 3. 7-Codie Aubin[9]; 4. 33R-Travis Bruno[1]; 5. 20-Bucko Branham[16]; 6. R7-Lonnie Rivers[13]; 7. 88-Fire Swamp[11]; 8. 70-Jason McClatchie[23]; 9. 38-Mike Phinney[20]; 10. 8-Kevin Chaffee[6]; 11. 88M-Michael Wagner Fitzgerald[5]; 12. 77-Eric Shaw[14]; 13. 50X-Evan Roberts[25]; 14. 29F-Tanner Forbes[10]; 15. 2-Brent Warren[26]; 16. 76A-Mike Arnold[30]; 17. 51-Bryan Preville[8]; 18. 26-Jeremy Huntoon[29]; 19. 43-Tavien Blowers[18]; 20. 20X-Jamie Lafountain[17]; 21. 19-Jamy Begor[2]; 22. 09-Charlotte Morin[22]; 23. 631-Todd Buckwold[24]; 24. 18-Chris Cayea[27]; 25. 22M-Matt Leonard[12]; 26. 00-Jason Gray[19]; 27. 17-Caleb Durgan[21]; 28. 4-Dale Robinson[28] DQ-61L-Donovan Lussier[3]; DQ 78Q-Vince Quenneville [4]
