CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. — For the second consecutive weekend, the DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series became the Richard Murtaugh show.
The Fulton, N.Y. driver passed Cody Manitta on lap eight and drove to the $2,000 victory in the sixth annual Gerald Haers Memorial at Land of Legends Raceway.
“Starting on the outside pole was huge,” Murtaugh said. “We’ve been on a streak right now, and once you get out front, it’s huge. I was able to set my own pace, and that pace was blistering. I just drove right away.”
Murtaugh and Manitta led the field to green in the 40-lap feature, with Murtaugh leading lap one. That lead lasted three laps before a caution for Tyler Stevenson brought out the race’s first yellow flag on lap three.
When the race resumed, Manitta drove around Murtaugh in turns three and four to wrestle the top position away.
But it wasn’t long before Murtaugh’s started building momentum. He needed three laps to pull even with Manitta’s No. 6 car as they battled side-by-side for the lead.
Manitta tried holding off Murtaugh’s challenges, but Murtaugh stormed ahead of Manitta as they crossed the start/finish line on lap eight.
Murtaugh set a quick pace for the second time until the race’s final caution came out for James Henry on lap 16, who stopped in turn four.
On the restart, Murtaugh thundered ahead of his competitors. At the same time, Manitta dropped back, allowing Land of Legends Raceway track champion Zach Sobotka to move into second place on the outside lane.
However, the race stayed green for the final 23 laps, allowing Murtaugh to pull away unchallenged to win the sixth annual Gerald Haers Memorial—his first victory at Land of Legends.
While track position was pivotal in his third DIRTcar Sportsman Series win, he said hitting his marks was vital once he got out front.
“I had a ton of grip and could drive wherever I wanted to,” Murtaugh said. “I’ve been here a few times and haven’t had the greatest car. I knew once we got out front and stayed consistent, we’d be really good.”
Eisele finished second to Murtaugh for the second straight race, earning his fourth podium finish in six championship season events.
The LaFargeville, N.Y. driver, who started seventh, said he hoped he could catch Murtaugh in lap traffic.
“I was just trying to choose which lane was best,” Eisele said. “We started getting better at the end when I think some guys were starting to fall off. I was hoping for a caution at the end, but it never happened.”
With Eisele’s runner-up finish, he trails Series points leader Cody McPherson, who finished sixth, by five points entering the next event at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.
Sobotka settled for third after starting ninth. The Parish, N.Y. driver said that, like Eisele, he needed a caution to have a chance at Murtaugh.
“I got most of them on restarts,” Sobotka said. “It’s tough passing here when you get a long green flag stretch. It doesn’t help when the motor is breaking up, running the bottom in 3 and 4. It’s something we have to figure out.”
Nick Cooper finished fourth, and Emmett Waldron rounded out the top five.
Nick Root won the Stirling Lubricants Sportsman Championship event while the $10,000 winner’s check in the Pepsi Modified GHM 100 went to Mat Williamson.
Feature Finish (40 Laps)
1. 33-Richard Murtaugh[2]; 2. 18-Gavin Eisele[7]; 3. 38-Zach Sobotka[9]; 4. 35-Nick Cooper[10]; 5. 4-Emmett Waldron[5]; 6. 7-Cody McPherson[4]; 7. 32C-Kasey Coffey[17]; 8. 6M-Cody Manitta[1]; 9. 44-Dave Conant[3]; 10. 64-Tyler Corcoran[8]; 11. 113-Frank Guererri[11]; 12. 52-Jessica Power[14]; 13. 12G-Matt Guererri[13]; 14. 35T-Cameron Tuttle[15]; 15. 6D-Dave DiPietro II[23]; 16. 410-Mike Fowler[20]; 17. 30-Nicholas Root[12]; 18. 21-James Henry[21]; 19. 7T-Tyler Guzzardi[19]; 20. 15-Adam Leslie[27]; 21. 42-Daryl Nutting[6]; 22. 1F-AJ Lloyd[18]; 23. 21J-Justin Liechti[30]; 24. 7S-Torrey Stoughtenger[26]; 25. 16X-Savannah Laflair[29]; 26. 31K-Kennedy Payne[16]; 27. 711-Nick Ventura[25]; 28. 21R-Ryan Barrett[24]; 29. 10-Karl Comfort[22]; 30. F28-Tyler Stevenson[28]