The first ever father/daughter team of Kelvin and 17-year-old Rosalee Ramer headlined an amazing show at Saratoga Speedway as four new monster trucks ripped it up over the long weekend. Blown Income and Tow Monster were the other two Monster Trucks that made their debuts over the weekend, with the Hornet cars, Crash to Pass cars and the Roadrunners joining the over 1500 Horse Powered machines.
After the previous week’s races were washed away by rain, Mother Nature returned the hot temperatures to the Island for the long weekend, making for some awesome track conditions Saturday.
Six heats were run on Saturday with wins going to Sheldon Hopp, Garrett-Ann Rosner, Chris Hleck, Trey Woolcock, Nate Bonn, and Ryan Guest. In the Crash to Pass main event, Hopp continued to dominate the field, ploughing his way into first on lap 2 and holding on to take home his fourth main event win of the year.
The Roadrunner main saw Guest get his #88 machine back into winner’s circle. Guest, who had won six straight main events to start the year, had his streak snapped on July 18 but would not be stopped on this night. He grabbed the lead on lap 3 of the 15-lap feature and held on start up a new main event winning streak.
In the 25-lap Hornet B main event, a battle ensued between Rowland Westra and Trey Woolcock. The pair fought bumper-to-bumper through lap traffic, but Westra managed to hold off a hard-charging Woolcock to take home yet another main event win, solidifying his lead to over 550 points in the Hornet B division. Raymond Fortier found himself in winners square in the Hornet A main event; Fortier grabbed the lead on lap 8 and fought off a very tight field of nine cars to claim his second straight main event win.
T.J. Lippy (41) delivers a jolt to Cam Edwards and a shower of sparks during a Crash to Pass race heat at Saratoga Speedway Saturday night. — Fernano Pereira photo
Sunday’s night action saw an even bigger field of Hornets, going from 31 Saturday to a season high 37.
The track’s first two rollovers of the season took place Sunday; first Trevor Cannon in an action-packed Crash to Pass heat race, and then Kelvin Ramer in the Time Flys monster truck, putting it on its roof in front of a very enthusiastic crowd.
After the dust settled, heat race wins Sunday went to Cam Edward, Hopp, Serina Hintz, Woolcock, Liam Inglis, Blair Mangles, and Guest.
Once again in the Crash to Pass main, Hopp would completely dominate the field, making his way to the lead on lap 3 and pulling away from there for his second main event win in as many nights. Guest also continue his winning ways in the 15 lap feature in the Roadrunner division, taking home a clean sweep by winning all four races over the weekend.
In the Hornet B main event, one of the tightest battles of the year ensued between Woolcock, Westra, Carter Hintz and TJ Halliday; Woolcock would manage to hold off the pack until lap 24 when Westra took advantage of lap traffic to go from third to first in one lap. Westra held on to take home his second straight main event win, with Woolcock taking home second and Halliday finishing in third in a smooth, green-white-checkered race. Another tight battle emerged in the Hornet A main event; Neufeld, White and Fortier once again battled bumper-to-bumper, with Fortier again getting the upper hand, capping off a weekend in which the same car won both main events in each class.
Extra laps… This weekend brings back the Wilroc Lite Sprints cars for the third time this season. So far the track has drawn fields of 16 and 17 cars, with this weekend looking to be no different. Last race saw one of the most exciting main events of the year, with more than 13 passes taking place in a 30-lap race. After getting rained out in their last outing, the I.M.C.A Modifieds and the Bomber cars will join the sprint cars, with First Insurance & Credit Union sponsoring the night.
