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Rutz scores AST/BSST victory at Great Falls
Andrew Kunas
GREAT FALLS, Mont. - Things didn't go so well for Travis Rutz the first and only time he previously raced at Electric City Speedway. He crashed...in qualifying, no less.
Just over two years later, Rutz made his second visit to the Montana clay oval a more memorable one on Saturday night, and in a good way. He won this time.
The 19-year-old Rutz of Langley, Brit. Col. took the lead from Billings driver Phil Dietz early and would win the 25-lap Can-Am Border Battle winged 360 sprint car event between the host Big Sky Sprint Tour and the visiting Alberta Sprint Tour. Rutz, who earned $1,000 for the win, won previously with the AST and the old Northern Sprint Tour, but his first win at Electric City Speedway was also his first with the Big Sky Sprint Tour.
Unfortunately for Rutz, his father Doug wasn't around to see it, being unable to attend. It was the first time ever, as far as Rutz could remember, that his father was not with him at any of his races since he five-year-old and racing go-karts.
"Fifteen years, and never had my dad not been around," Rutz said. "It's nice to win it, but still."
As a result of his second place finish in the Cash Dash race, Rutz started alongside Boise, Idaho's Joe Ramaker on the front row. Ramaker took the lead on the initial start ahead of Dietz and Rutz, but slid back to third on the second lap. Dietz held the top spot for about four laps until Rutz challenged, taking the lead on the high side exiting turn four. Rutz then had to withstand challenges by Dietz and Brent Kronfuss to secure the victory.
Rutz, who won July's Gold Cup Race of Champions in Edmonton aboard his father's car, won for the second time in Richard Saumure's No. 39c Shark-powered Triple X entry. All three victories, including Saturday's co-sanctioned event with the BSST, have been with the AST.
"I'm having a lot of fun, had a nice run. I just want to say thanks to Richard," Rutz said. "I'm happy to win this for Richard and keep his car owner lead in the AST going. I heard they had a one groove track, follow the leader type thing here, but it was great tonight. I really like this place."
As the bottom dried out during the B-Main and support class feature races, the top groove of the 3/10-mile, high-banked clay oval came into play in the A-Main. Rutz and others sailed around the top of the track in the turns while others were still using the bottom, making the track a competitive one.
About halfway through the feature, Dietz challenged Rutz for the lead. Rutz and the BSST point leader diced for about two laps before Rutz again established himself as the leader. Rutz found himself in traffic a number of times, but said he never felt bothered by it.
"I feel really comfortable in traffic," Rutz said. "I actually feel like I'm at an advantage."
Bozeman, Mont. driver Brent Kronfuss, who leads the BSST in victories this season with six, passed Dietz for second in the latter half of the event and closed in on Rutz in the closing laps, also using the high groove. Kronfuss, however, couldn't attempt to make a move.
"I think we were faster than Rutz on the long run, but ultimately he put it to work when it counted. I'm just happy to finish where we finished," said Kronfuss, who won the May 19 AST/BSST event at Electric City Speedway. The fifth and final yellow flag of the event came with only three laps remaining. It was on restarts where Rutz was strongest. The initial start of the event was what hurt Kronfuss the most, as he slid back from his fourth starting position and had to work his way back up.
"The car was good. We started fourth, but we had a bad start and moved backwards," said Kronfuss, who settled for second aboard the Attack Motorsports No. 9k USA-Triple X entry.
Ramaker, who drove Saumure's car late last year and earlier this year, started fifth on the final restart but picked off both Dietz and defending AST champion Tim Gee of LeDuc, Alberta to take third at the finish in his own No. 98 Ostrich-powered J&J after racing hard with the other two drivers and Bill Boyce all race long.
"The track was pretty good, two lanes. The top went out a bit at the end, so the fast way was around the bottom. Fortunately, no one was using it and I was able to pass two cars at the end," said Ramaker, who won the May 18 event in Great Falls before being bested by Kronfuss the next night.
"I was set up too tight," said Ramaker, who leads the AST point standings. "We were fastest at the end, but we were too tight earlier."
Dietz, who carried a slim six-point lead in the BSST into the event, finished fourth in his own No. 72 RFast-powered Rocket. Gee, who calls LeDuc, Alberta home and is second in the AST points, finished fifth in his own No. 41 Shark-powered Triple X after breifly running as high as third.
Bill Boyce, out of Lethbridge, Alberta, finished sixth in his own No. 1 White-powered Eagle. Helena, Mont.'s Trevor Kirkland in his No. 37 Triple X and LeDuc's Rocky Borys in the Tim Gee No. 4q Maxim followed. Danielle Huson, the 17-year-old rookie out of Sedro-Woolley, Wash., drove her father Marc's No. 73 Shark-powered Rocket to ninth in her first time racing on any Montana track. Jeremy McCune of Billings rounded out the top ten in his own No. 0J Triple X. Paxton Lambrecht, the defending BSST champion out of Shephard, Mont., finished 14th.
Kyle Bates of Lethbridge scored a surprising victory in the 12-lap B-Main when he held off the superior 360 sprint cars with his sportsman motor. Bates, who usually drives with the MDM Sportsman Tour in Alberta, hugged the bottom of the track during the entire event and earned a transfer position to the A-Main, being followed by McCune, Calvin Stumpf and David Hoiness. Bates finished 19th in the A-Main.
Ramaker's win the eight-lap Cash Dash was won over Rutz, Dietz, Kronfuss, Borys, Gee, Kirkland and Boyce. The drivers earned their spots in the dash by virtue of points accumulated, both finishing and by making passes, during heat race action. Eight more cars were locked into the A-Main by the same method, while the remaining cars went to the B-Main.
Kronfuss scored the win in the first heat while Kirkland took the checkers in the second heat for the BSST and Borys won the third heat Ramaker took the checkered flag in the fourth and final heat race for the AST.
Twenty-seven drivers took part in Saturday's event, respresenting Montana, Alberta, British Columbia, Wyoming, Idaho and Washington. The AST had a strong showing on Saturday, as about ten drivers, either with the AST or having strong ties to the AST, were on hand and all made the A-Main.
The drivers of the Alberta Sprint Tour and Big Sky Sprint Tour will go at it again tonight in the final night of the Can-Am Border Battle at Electric City Speedway. Ramaker for the AST and Kronfuss for the BSST split the May weekend, while Rutz's victory on Saturday gives the AST a 2-1 advantage in head-to-head encounters in Great Falls this season. The drivers of the BSST will look even things up on Sunday.
Gates open at 6:00 p.m. with racing scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tickets for spectators ages 13 and older are $14. Kids between six and 12 years of age get in for $6. Kids younger than six and senior citizens older than 70 are in for free.
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Alberta Sprint Tour / Big Sky Sprint Tour
Can-Am Border Battle
Electric City Speedway
Great Falls, MT
September 1, 2007
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
27 cars
Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. 9k Brent Kronfuss, 2. 1 Bill Boyce, 3. 99 Tyler Pinceman, 4. 12 Casey Adams, 5. 32 Tyler Gable, 6. 4 Bill Carey, 7. 0J Jeremy McCune.
Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. 37 Trevor Kirkland, 2. 72 Phil Dietz, 3. 7x Paxton Lambrect, 4. 138 Trevor Turnbill, 5. 19 Dennis MacEachern, 6. 57 Kolter Kosten, 7. 38 Jerry Brown Jr.
Heat 3 (8 laps): 1. 4q Rocky Borys, 2. 39c Travis Rutz, 3. 41 Tim Gee, 4. 22 Geoff Beck, 5. 88 Calvin Stumpf, 6. 69r Dave Wise, 7. 240 Teri Omoth.
Heat 4 (8 laps): 1. 98 Joe Ramaker, 2. 73 Danielle Huson 3. 35 Chip Roe, 4. 397 Kyle Bates, 5. 27DD David Hoiness, 6. 36 Michelle Dodge.
Heat race points and passing points determine starting positions of Cash Dash, B-Main, and part of A-Main. Top 16 in points locked into A-Main. Top eight locked into Cash Dash.
Cash Dash (6 laps): 1. 98 Joe Ramaker, 2. 39c Travis Rutz, 3. 72 Phil Dietz, 4. 9k Brent Kronfuss, 5. 4q Rocky Borys, 6. 41 Tim Gee, 7. 37 Trevor Kirkland, 8. 1 Bill Boyce. Finish determines first eight starting positions of A-Main.
B-Main (12 laps): 1. 397 Kyle Bates, 2. 0J Jeremy McCune, 3. 88 Calvin Stumpf, 4. 27DD David Hoiness, 5. 240 Teri Omoth, 6. 57 Kolter Kosten, 7. 4 Bill Carey, 8. 69r Dave Wise, 9. 38 Jerry Brown Jr., 10. 32 Tyler Gable, 11. 36 Michelle Dodge. Top four finishers transfer to A-Main.
A-Main (25 laps): 1. 39c Travis Rutz, 2. 9k Brent Kronfuss, 3. 98 Joe Ramaker, 4. 72 Phil Dietz, 5. 41 Tim Gee, 6. 1 Bill Boyce, 7. 37 Trevor Kirkland, 8. 4q Rocky Borys, 9. 73 Danielle Huson, 10. 0J Jeremy McCune, 11. 19 Dennis MacEachern, 12. 138 Trevor Turnbill, 13. 12 Casey Adams, 14. 7x Paxton Lambrect, 15. 35 Chip Roe, 16. 22 Geoff Beck, 17. 27DD David Hoiness, 18. 88 Calvin Stumpf, 19. 397 Kyle Bates, 20. 99 Tyler Pinceman.
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AST: Alberta Sprint Tour
http://www.albertasprinttour.com
BSST: Big Sky Sprint Tour
http://www.bsstracing.com
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