The DIRTcar Pro Stock Series pulled into Albany-Saratoga Speedway for one last tune-up before heading to Oswego Speedway for Super DIRT Week 51, Oct. 2-8.
Luke Horning remained a force to be reckoned with in the 30-lap, $1,000-to-win, showcase at the Malta, NY track. After starting on the inside of row two, the Gloversville, NY driver moved into second place on Lap 1. He didn’t stay there for long as he set his sights on leader Chuck Dumblewski of Amsterdam, NY.
It took “Cousin Luke” another seven laps to find his way into clean air, taking the lead on Lap 8. The Series points leader did not relinquish his position for the remaining 22 laps, scoring his 19th win of the season and bolstering his Series points lead.
Behind him, Dumblewski was overtaken on Lap 19, dropping two places back to fourth when both Kim Duell and Pete Stefanski made their way around him.
Duell ran in second with Stefanski following behind in third for the last 10 laps. There was no further passing for podium positions, as Duell finished runner-up and Stefanski finished in third place.
“We just need a slick track to show what the car can do,” Horning said. “Tonight was slick and it really worked out good for us. The car is phenomenal.”
Runner-up Duell overcame several mechanical issues throughout the event and how his car would run during the Feature. After overcoming the challenges, he was happy with the result.
“Luke (Horning) was really fast,” Duell said. “There was no catching him. Once he got lose, that was the end of it. We were just trying to hang on to second…the car was good…we had some issues but threw everything we knew at it and came out and were able to finish this good.”
Stefanski also battled challenges with his vehicle, but was satisified with his podium finish.
“Tonight, we were running with these guys and the right rear tire was going low,” Stefanski said. “We’re lucky we made it to the end of the race with the tire going low and finishing third. We’re happy with that.”
Dumblewski finished in fourth and Jaxson Ryan finished in fifth to round out the top five finishers.
UP NEXT: The DIRTcar Pro Stocks head to Oswego Speedway for Super DIRT Week 51, Oct. 2-8.
DIRTcar Pro Stock Feature (30 Laps): 1. 2H-Luke Horning[3]; 2. 14-Kim Duell[6]; 3. 2-Pete Stefanski[4]; 4. 7D-Chucky Dumblewski[2]; 5. 04-Jaxson Ryan[10]; 6. 25-Chad Jeseo[20]; 7. 57K-Kevin Fetterly Jr[1]; 8. 9-Shane Henderson[8]; 9. 9B-Slater Baker[7]; 10. 14J-Johnny Rivers Jr[5]; 11. 1X-Ian Bressette[12]; 12. 4M-Jordan Modiano[14]; 13. (DNF) 112-Christopher Wemple[16]; 14. (DNF) 28D-Phillip Defiglio[15]; 15. (DNF) 55-Dave Stckles[11]; 16. (DNF) 09J-Shawn Perez Jr[9]; 17. (DNS) 08-Doug Sheely; 18. (DNS) 711-Rich Crane; 19. (DNS) 322-Jay Casey; 20. (DNS) 324-Jason Casey
