AFTON, NY – One heck of a shakedown!

Tim Hartman Jr. invaded Afton Motorsports Park on Friday night to log laps prior to the Saturday portion of the American Racer Cup Short Track SuperNationals 12 weekend. The Niskayuna, N.Y., native ultimately drove to a $2,000 victory in the Open vs. Crate Sportsman 30-lap headliner, his first-ever Afton win.

“We came here tonight to get some laps before tomorrow’s show,” Hartman said, referring to the final round of the Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series Fueled By Sunoco Crate 602 Sportsman North Region finale.

“I knew we had a good car, but I never expected to win.”

A field of 54 Sportsman drivers packed the Afton pit area. Twenty-six started the 30-lap main, with Hartman rolling off from seventh.

Afton regular Allan Hodge led the opening 10 laps of the main event before Hartman’s Parillo Services No. 22 worked the low line to the top spot.

New Jersey’s Steve Davis, however, kept Hartman honest.

Davis charged from eighth starting spot into second and worked on Hartman for the race’s final half, ultimately setting for second.

Hartman’s $2,000 payday included $1,500 from the base purse and an additional $500 for posting the $20 “Gambler’s Fee” prior to the start of racing.

Davis settled for second, with Matt Meade, 10^th-starter Mike Schane and Nick Nye, who rolled off 16^th, completing the front five.

Five heat races and two consolations were required to set the main event starting field. Heat winners were Hodge, Kenny Hammond, Hartman, Davis and Jimmy Zacharias. Dennis Clapperton and Brandon Loucks were the consolation victors.

The American Racer Cup Sportsman Match Races featuring champions from participating venues was dominated by Steve Davis, representing New Egypt (N.J.) Speedway. Davis drew the lowest number and started off the races as a result. He won every round to take home $1,500 courtesy of American Racer, Lias Tire, Sunoco Race Fuels and Insinger Performance.

On the eve of the 12^th “Working Man’s Race” 34 Modifieds took practice laps around the Afton oval.

The fastest eight drivers went to an 8-lap Dash and Danny Bouc of Pipersville, Pa., made his Afton debut a memorable one. Bouc outlasted Andy Bachetti and put the Craig and Leslie Pondish No. 6 into the redraw for Saturday’s main event.

Alysha Bay took advantage of a spin by Emily Van Inwegen in slower traffic to come out on top of the Super Gen Products CRSA Sprint Car 25-lap event. Mike Kiser charged hard late in the going but settled for runner-up pay.

Jeff Trombley only needed to take the green flag to be crowned the CRSA Sprint Car champion and, after suffering mechanical woes, did just that. Trombley started the race and darted to the infield, waiting the 25 laps to celebrate his championship.

Slingshots made their first-ever Short Track SuperNationals appearance with 17 cars turning out. Scott Neary overcame a late-race penalty for jumping a restart to take the $350 payday. Jarred Silfee came home second, with Brett Putnam rebounding from a spin to place third.

Racing resumes on Saturday for Day No. 2 of the Short Track SuperNationals weekend. Headlining the program are the STSS Modifieds racing 50 laps for $5,500 to win in the seventh round of the Halmar International North Region plus the American Racer Cup Modified Match Races ($2,000 to win), Crate 602 Sportsman in the Championship Round for $1,500 to win, Street Stocks ($750 to win) and Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modifieds.

Complete Saturday race information can be found at the following link: https://shorttracksuperseries.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/SaturdaySTSNInformationSheet.pdf

Afton Motorsports Park is located conveniently off I-88 Exit 7 (Afton), approximately 25 miles north and east of Binghamton, at 46 East Main Street Afton, N.Y. 13730. There is plentiful space for parking and camping. To learn more about Afton Motorsports Park, visit www.aftonmotorsportspark.com.  

To learn more about the 2019 Short Track Super Series Fueled By Sunoco, visit www.shorttracksuperseries.com, e-mail bdmotorsportsmedia@gmail.com, check out ‘Short Track Super Series’ on Facebook or @ShortTrackSS on Twitter or Instagram.

The Short Track Super Series is presented by American Racer/Lias Tire, Sunoco Race Fuel, Insinger Performance, Bob Hilbert Sportswear, Halmar International, Velocita-USA, Design for Vision/Sunglass Central, Rob Sherlock Roofing, ATL Racing Fuel Cells, Behrent’s Performance Warehouse, Beyea Custom Headers, Bicknell Racing Products, Dirt Track Digest, EIBACH Springs, Escape RV, Fast Axle, Fox Racing Shocks, Henry’s Exhaust, Hig Fab, HyperCo, Kirkey Racing Fabrication, Land Hoe Maintenance, K&N, MJK Home Maintenance, Precision Hydraulic & Oil, QA1, Racing Optics, Superior Remodeling, Teo-Pro Car, VAHLCO, Velocita, WELD Racing & Wilwood.

AMERICAN RACER CUP SHORT TRACK SUPERNATIONALS RACE SUMMARY – AFTON MOTORSPORTS PARK OCTOBER 11, 2019

Sportsman Feature Finish (30 laps): TIM HARTMAN JR., Steve Davis, Matt Meade, Michael Schane, Nick Nye, Kenny Hammond, Allen Hodge, Dennis Clapperton, Jim Rothwell, Brandon Edgar, James Gould, Bill Deckelman, Gary Smith, Brandon Loucks, Ray Leonard, Lem Atkins, Jimmy Zacharias, Rich Ricci III, Leah Decker, Mike Grover, Steve Andersen, Jason Feinberg, Tighe Sherlock, Hunter Lapp, Marshall Hurd, Tyler Ward.

Did Not Qualify:  Dave Rosa, Brandon Kuhn, Travis Green, Daniel Morgiewicz, Kenny Bock, Zachary Falciani, Randy Fox, Will Jones, Bailey Boyd, Tom Rudalavage, Brian Franko, Don Bellen, Kurtis Hohensheldt, Bill Williams, Randy Gates , John Williams, Doug Ohara, Dan Burman, Danielle Smith, Craig Pope, Craig Pritchard, James O’Hara, A.J. Digsby, Brandon Fritsch, Dave Van Buren, Blaine Klinger, Joe Brown, Butch Klinger.

Modified Redraw Dash Finish (8 laps): DANNY BOUC, Andy Bachetti, Nick Nye, Shawn Walker, Jimmy Wells, Alex Yankowski, Jeremy Smith, J.R. Hurlburt.

CRSA Sprint Car Feature Finish (25 laps): ALYSHA BAY, Mike Kiser, Jeff Sehn, Brett Jaycox, Dana Wagner, Darryl Ruggles, Mike Van Pelt, Josh Flint, John Scarborough, Emily Van Inwegen, Peter Dance, Dalton Herrick, Jeff Taylor, Matt Priscott, Brandon Clapperton, Floyd Billington, Justin Milles, Kyle Pierce, Jeff Trombley, Mark Conolly.

American Racer Cup Sportsman Match Races: STEVE DAVIS, Daniel Morgiewicz, Brandon Edgar, Michael Schane, Dennis Clapperton, Kenny Hammond, Tim Hartman Jr., Blaine Klinger.

Slingshot Feature Finish (20 laps): SCOTT NEARY, Jarred Silfee, Brett Putnam, Rodney Renwick, Dan Slosek, Calvin Wheelock, Julia Renwick, Nick Auspelmyer, Alex Boughton, Matthew Backus, Don Boonstra, Bob Boughton, Taylor Mills, Kasey Hufcut, Mike Wheelock.

Did Not Start: Tom Backus, Jim Pollard.