FULTONVILLE, N.Y. — DIRTcar Sportsman standout Connor Crane claimed the $2,000 DIRTcar Sportsman Series East Region finale payday Sunday at Glen Ridge Motorsports Park.
Hometrack hero Zach Buff and Tanner Warner, who started 15th, joined Crane on the podium.
Crane, in his black No. 711, jumped out to an early lead and tried to leave the 30-car field in his wake. However, Brewerton Speedway invader Riley Rogala worked his way to the inside of Crane and took the lead on Lap 10.
Rogala and Crane battled side-by-side through multiple restarts until lap 29, when Crane found a way around Rogala, which also allowed Zach Buff to follow through into second. From there, Crane kept the No. 711 straight and square until the checkered flag.
“I was kind of waiting for the moment where he [Rogala] slipped off the bottom,” said Connor Crane. “I finally got him by running the bottom on the backstretch.”
Zach Buff was battling inside the top five when third-place Camron Hotaling lost control and scattered the field, bringing out an early caution flag. Buff fell back as far as fifth, but he battled back onto the podium behind Crane.
“We were ripping around the top there in the beginning,” said Buff. “Then the bottom came to life and I moved down there. I was patient and picked off a couple cars at a time after falling back. It was a good run. Hats off to Crane and Warner. Those guys are great drivers. I just wish I could have been one stop better.”
The tenacious Tanner Warner came all the way from 15th to the podium. However, he waited until Lap 39 to make his final move to pass Rogala for third.
“I did not expect that,” said Warner. “The restarts were our friend for sure. People slipped up at the right time, and I followed my way through. It was a good run.
“You had to be patient and wait. I was saving my tire, and I didn’t realize it was already the end of the race. With another ten laps, I could have gotten dicey with the leaders.
With a seventh-place finish, Joey Scarborough claimed the 2026 DIRTcar Sportsman East Region Championship.
The finish:
Feature (40 Laps): 1. 711X-Connor Crane[2]; 2. 01-Zach Buff[4]; 3. 78-Tanner Warner[15]; 4. R1-Riley Rogala[1]; 5. 711C-Chris Crane Jr[7]; 6. 26-Derrick Mcgrew Jr[12]; 7. 11VT-Joey Scarborough[22]; 8. 88-Michael Wagner Fitzgerald[20]; 9. 51P-Bryan Preville[17]; 10. 33M-Bodie Marks[16]; 11. 916-Nick Brundige[6]; 12. 797-Corky Warner[19]; 13. 4-Dale Robinson[23]; 14. 07-Taylor Wason[11]; 15. 23-Chad Gregory[28]; 16. 2-Brent Warren[10]; 17. 98H-Camron Hotaling[3]; 18. 27-Michael Ballestero[24]; 19. 11-William August[9]; 20. 216-Phil Arnold[14]; 21. 6-Cody Manitta[13]; 22. 76-Raelin Dunham[25]; 23. 28-Brian Harber[27]; 24. 12-Katrina LeClaire[26]; 25. 26H-Jeremy Huntoon[29]; 26. 14-Samuel Groom[30]; 27. 10X-Cory Castell[8]; 28. 98-Craig Wholey[21]; 29. 43T-Tavien Blowers[5]; 30. 5EJ-EJ Gallup[18]
