One year after finishing second to his brother during Malta Massive Weekend, Connor Crane was one spot better on Friday night at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.
The Canaan, CT driver outdueled Richard Murtaugh in the closing laps to score his first career DIRTcar Sportsman Series victory.
Track regular Dylan Madsen led the field to the green in the 35-lap Feature, driving away from Crane in the race’s opening laps. The Spencertown, NY driver held the advantage throughout the first half of the race, as Crane held off early challenges from Murtaugh for second.
That battle lasted until Lap 13, when Murtaugh’s momentum on the outside lane was too much for Crane, as he powered his No. 33 past Crane for second. That happened as Madsen started catching lap traffic, allowing Murtaugh and Crane to catch Madsen out front.
Murtaugh’s first opportunity to take the lead came on Lap 19, when he nosed ahead of Madsen’s No. 89 on the backstretch. Madsen countered immediately, though, sliding in front of Murtaugh to keep the lead as they exited Turn 4. However, Madsen’s lead was short-lived, as Murtaugh kept his momentum rolling on the top, driving by Madsen on the outside lane to take the lead on Lap 22.
Behind Murtaugh, Crane followed on the inside, taking second away from Madsen. As Murtaugh pulled away, a yellow on Lap 28 for Savannah Laflair slowed the field for the second time, giving Crane another shot at the win.
When the race resumed, Murtaugh continued his pace on the outside, but Crane stayed with the DIRTcar Sportsman Series full-time competitor as they battled for the lead. Crane took his first chance to pass Murtaugh on Lap 30, sliding in front of him in Turn 4. But it wasn’t enough that time, as Murtaugh drove by him again on the bottom.
Crane wouldn’t be stopped, though. As the two drivers exited Turn 4 on Lap 31, Crane threw another slide job at Murtaugh to take the lead as they crossed the start/finish line. Murtaugh returned the favor in Turns 1 and 2, sliding Crane as they drove through the corner, but Crane’s momentum was too much as he pulled ahead of Murtaugh again.
Connor Crane battles Richard Murtaugh for the lead/Joe Grabianowski
That was all Crane needed as he led the final two laps to win the 35-lap Feature.
“I just have to thank Richard for running me clean,” Crane said. “That was awesome. I can’t believe I’m here after last year, when my brother passed me with like 10 to go. I can’t believe I did it.
“This track is awesome. This is the best place to be in the Northeast.”
Murtaugh settled for second in only his third appearance at the track. He said even with the lead, his lack of experience played a role in relinquishing the lead at the end of the race.
“I knew he was better on the bottom,” Murtaugh said. “When I went into Turn 1, I looked over and saw him. It’s my third time ever here, so I didn’t really know what to do. I was just kind of ripping the top. Once he got under me, I didn’t think he’d slide me, and once he did, I was like, what do I do now?”
Emmett Waldron crossed the line third, earning back-to-back Series top fives. The Savannah, NY driver said that while he had a good car, he still needed to start up front.
“This car is really good,” Waldron said. “We just need to start more toward the front more. We finally made a redraw in one of these Series races. We’ve been starting 11th and 12th, and it’s so hard to get to the front in these crate cars.”
Gavin Eisele finished fourth, and last year’s winner Chris Crane Jr. rounded out the top five.
Series points leader Shane Pecore finished ninth, extending his lead to nine points over Tristan Ladouceur, who finished 11th.
DIRTcar Sportsman Feature (35 Laps): 1. 711X-Connor Crane[2]; 2. 33-Richard Murtaugh[4]; 3. 4-Emmett Waldron[7]; 4. 18E-Gavin Eisele[6]; 5. 711C-Chris Crane Jr[8]; 6. 89-Dylan Madsen[1]; 7. 78JR-Nigel Pendykoski[14]; 8. 33M-Bodie Marks[3]; 9. 0-Shane Pecore[10]; 10. 22-Tim Hartman Jr[20]; 11. 92T-Tristan Ladouceur[21]; 12. 98W-Craig Wholey[5]; 13. 01-Zachary Buff[19]; 14. 112-Dave Baranowski[24]; 15. 916-Nick Brundige[9]; 16. 44-Ryan Barrett[30]; 17. 12-Jon Miller[25]; 18. 27-Michael Ballestero[17]; 19. 16X-Savannah Laflair[27]; 20. 52-Jessica Power[23]; 21. 12P-Connor Prokop[11]; 22. 10-Trevor Houghton[28]; 23. (DNF) 1M-Mark Mortensen[12]; 24. (DNF) 34-Dylan Grogan[15]; 25. (DNF) 26-Derrick Mcgrew Jr[26]; 26. (DNF) FOX28-Tyler Stevenson[29]; 27. (DNF) 42D-Daniel Grignon[18]; 28. (DNF) 07W-Taylor Wason[22]; 29. (DNF) 43-Tavien Blowers[13]; 30. (DNF) 02C-Cody Ochs[16]
