Mike Warren – With redemption on his mind, Richard Murtaugh delivered a history-making performance Sunday night at Weedsport Speedway.
The Fulton, NY driver passed Gavin Eisele with 18 laps to go and held on to win his second consecutive Sportsman Classic, joining Dave Marcuccilli as the only drivers to win the event in back-to-back years.
His win comes two days after being passed for the lead with two laps to go in the DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series event at Can-Am Speedway.
“That was the Richard Murtaugh show,” Murtaugh said. “After getting passed with two to go Friday at Can-Am, I’ve been telling everyone all day that tonight I was taking this win. We spent a lot of time in the shop yesterday getting this car ready, and it was flawless.”
Gavin Eisele brought the field to green in the 75-lap Feature, outdueling Murtaugh for the lead in Turns 1 and 2.
He led the first 13 laps until Kevin Chaffee spun to bring out the race’s first caution.
On the ensuing restart, Murtaugh tried swinging to the outside of Eisele in Turns 1 and 2, but Eisele was too strong and pulled away down the backstretch.
Eisele held onto that advantage until Murtaugh and Zach Sobotka closed within three car lengths while the No. 18 was battling lap traffic. But a yellow for Clayton Brewer on Lap 40 gave the LaFargeville, NY driver another chance to pull away on a restart.
When the race resumed, Murtaugh bided his time as Eisele drove away, knowing he’d have another chance in lap traffic.
That opportunity came on Lap 58, and he made it count. As Eisele struggled to get around Savannah Laflair in traffic, Murtaugh found a burst of speed on the outside lane in Turns 3 and 4.
Using Laflair’s No. 16 as a pick, Murtaugh’s No. 33 powered past Eisele as they reached the start/finish line, and he drove away through Turns 1 and 2.
However, Murtaugh was still in traffic, and Eisele and Sobotka were in striking distance with 10 laps to go. Murtaugh held off every challenge for seven laps before a close call on Lap 72 almost ended his night.
Cody Manitta and Dave Dickey spun in front of Murtaugh, forcing him to go inches away from the inside wall to avoid them in Turn 2. He got through unscathed, but with the yellow flag coming out, he had to face another challenge.
He conquered that challenge on the single-file restart, holding off Eisele for the final three laps to score the $2,500 victory.
After watching Eisele pull away on three occasions, Murtaugh said he knew he needed a long green-flag run.
“[Eisele had a lot more short-run speed than myself,” Murtaugh said. “I knew if we had a long green flag run, it was going to be a battle, but if it was like a 20-lap run, he had me cleared by a long shot. The longer run, that’s what paid off. Just catch him in lap traffic, make my move, and from there, just hang on.”
Eisele held on for second after leading the race’s first 57 laps. It’s his fourth consecutive top 10 in DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series competition this season and third podium in five races.
“I was riding around hoping [the lap cars] would move around,” Eisele said. “I had everything to lose, and [Murtaugh] had nothing to lose, so he made the move he needed to get to the lead and caught me at the wrong time. It is what it is.”
Eisele, who’s second in the Series standings, cut Cody McPherson’s points lead to 13 entering next weekend’s event at Land of Legends Raceway. McPherson finished sixth.
Zach Sobotka crossed the line third and said he was happy with his performance after his team faced adversity.
“We had to overcome quite a bit tonight breaking a rear end in the [Heat Race],” Sobotka said. “Luckily, we held on for a second and got in the redraw.
“My line kind of went away toward the end. I was trying to slide up to the cushion coming out of (Turn) 4 and there just wasn’t really much there toward the end. (Turns) 1 and 2, it was pretty much bottom-dominant. But with what we started with, we’ll take the third.”
Defending Super DIRT Week winner Matt Janczuk finished fourth, and Emmett Waldron rounded out the top five.
UP NEXT: The DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series heads to Land of Legends Raceway on Saturday, Sept. 14, as part of the Gerald Haers Memorial.
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch the action on DIRTVision, either online or with the DIRTVision app.
SPORTSMAN CLASSIC (75 Laps): 1. 33-Richard Murtaugh, 2. 18-Gavin Eisele, 3. 38-Zach Sobotka, 4. 33x- Matt Janczuk, 5. 4- Emmett Waldron, 6. 7- Cody McPherson, 7. 30- Nick Root, 8. 0F- Tony Finch II, 9. 410- Mike Fowler, 10. 01- Zach Buff, 11. 15- Adam Leslie, 12. 99- Jordan Millard 13. F28- Tyler Stevenson, 14. 72H- Hunter Hollenbeck, 15. 52-Jessica Power, 16. R1- Riley Rogala, 17. 113- Frank Guererri, 18. 284- Jamie Kamrowski, 19. 23-Dave Dickey, 20. 21- Ryan Barrett, 21. 21J- Justin Leichti, 22. 16X- Savanah Laflair, 23. 37- T.J. Frost, 24. 23B- Timmy Borden Jr., 25. 1D- Paul Deruyter, 26. 6-Cody Manitta, 27. 18S- Brian Harber, 28. 9-Logan Brown, 29. 33T- Todd Hayward, 30. 33J- Clayton Brewer III, 31. 10x- Cory Castell, 32. 8- Kevin Chaffee
Hoosier Racing Tire Award (Free Tire): Tyler Stevenson