OSWEGO, N.Y. — A strong field of 30 DIRTcar Pro Stocks from the United States and Canada made the trip to Oswego Speedway for NAPA Super DIRT Week 50.
However, one area of New York showed its dominance in qualifying—the Capital Region.
Josh Coonradt and Nick Stone each scored $500 heat race victories, gaining valuable knowledge for Saturday’s DIRTcar Pro Stock 50.
Kim Duell and Chuck Dumblewski will lead the field to the green of the 50-lap feature, after earning the top two spots in Thursday’s qualifying sessions.
Josh Coonradt picked up where he left off after winning Tuesday’s Super DIRT Week Kickoff Party victory at Weedsport, using the outside lane to score the win in Heat Race 1.
Rich Crane gained the lead on lap one of the 10-lap affair, but a caution for Brian Carter on Lap 3 put Coonradt next to the Connecticut driver.
On the restart, Coonradt and Crane battled side-by-side for two laps before Coonradt’s momentum inched him ahead of Crane for the lead.
From there, Coonradt held on to score the $500 prize and built more momentum entering Saturday.
The Fort Johnson, N.Y., driver, said the changes he made between time trials and the heat races paid off.
“We went back and made some changes,” Coonradt said. “We really didn’t have anything to lose. Everyone is making the show this weekend, and we did some things and got some pointers from Nick (Stone).
“Our car is pretty good, and there’s a lot of bite out there.”
Crane held on for second, while Luke Horning, Jason Casey, and Pete Stefanski rounded out the top five.
Stone used the same line as Coonradt to power around Chuck Dumblewski and won the second 10-lap DIRTcar Pro Stock heat on Thursday.
Stone needed only two laps to reach the front, inching ahead of Dumblewski at the start-finish line.
The Rotterdam, N.Y., driver dominated the final eight laps and took the checkered flag worth $500.
He said he decided what line to run after watching Coonradt’s move in the first heat race.
“Watching the first Heat (Race) is a huge advantage,” Stone said. “I saw Josh (Coonradt) up top there, and I said, well, we’re starting outside. Chucky chose the bottom, and it was kind of a good opportunity where we started.
“I’m still a lot tighter than I want to be. I have to fix my race car.”
Dumblewski finished second, while Jay Casey, Kenny Wallace, and Bruno Richard rounded out the top five.
Earlier in the day, the 30-car field battled to see who would start in the first three rows of Saturday’s DIRTcar Pro Stock 50.
Another Capital Region driver, Kim Duell, was the fastest overall in qualifying earning the SRI Performance Pole Award.
From Porters Corners, N.Y., Duell said starting on the pole is part of the Super DIRT Week dream.
“It’s part of the dream to put it on the pole,” Duell said. “We’ve been in the top five before, but the pole is pretty special.
“The car is really handling well. We’ve done nothing but work on it since we got here trying to adjust it to the track and the gearing and everything, and I finally think we’ve hit on it.”
Dumblewski will line up next to Duell on Sunday, as he grabbed the Finishing Touch Construction Outside Pole Award.
Luke Horning, Stone, Crane, and Jay Casey also punched their ticket into Saturday’s race, making up rows two and three.