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Whipple Wins First, Trombley Lands Danny Willmes Memorial CRSA Victories

Whipple Wins First, Trombley Lands Danny Willmes Memorial CRSA Victories

Race Report by Steven Ovens & Tom Skibinski – August 17th, 2021 – Don Romeo photo –

(CANANDAIGUA, NY) – Mother Nature finally cooperated with both Land of Legends Raceway and the Super Gen Products CRSA Sprints to complete the June 19 A-Main as well as a complete show already scheduled for August 14.

One driver would etch his first ever CRSA Sprints victory, while another claimed his second win of the season and yet again extending his grasp on the 2021 Series Championship. Land Of Legends Raceway got back on track in a big way Saturday night with local leadfoot Jason Whipple and tour traveler Jeff Trombley sharing victory lane in the SuperGen Products with Champion Power Equipment CRSA Sprint Car Series doubleheader.

Both wingmen scored flag-to-flag wins, albeit by less than a half-second, with Whipple nipping Alysha Bay in the make-up 20-lap 305 A-Main presented by A-Verdi Storage Containers that was postponed due to rain on June 19 while Trombley staved off a late rally by Darryl Ruggles in the Danny Willmes Memorial nightcap, Canandaigua's 2021 CRSA finale headlined by Auction Direct USA and Midstate Basement Authorities.

The winged warriors were back in town attracting a track-best turnout of 26 Mike Emhof Motorsports 305 sprinters to the hallowed half-miler, all out to match the success of Bobby Parrow who claimed round #1 of the CRSA traveling tour in May.

Whipple was up to the challenge in the initial holdover A-Main, in what might may be the 2017 LOLR track champion's swan song at his long-time weekend hangout.

“Alysha just said I can't quit and I told her this is probably going to be our last year for awhile,” divulged Whipple, now 47, following his seventh career MEM 305 triumph at Canandaigua and first-ever in CRSA competition. “Been getting too tiring lately, just time to take a little bit of a break.”

Once chief starter Scott Hixson's first green flag flew, the rejuvenated driver from nearby Shortsville blasted by pole-sitter Bay and tried not to look back as weekend rivals Ruggles and Brandyn Griffin joined Bay hot on his trail. Whipple's Gavenda-powered #38 Bauer's Garage-Termotto's Homescape-Nu-Way Auto Parts/Maxim rim-rode high kicking up dust on the cushion while his counterparts closed the gap clinging to the low lane as laps frantically clicked off.

While all-time LOLR sprint winner Ruggles charged from eighth to fourth by the halfway point, his daring daughter held second for the duration despite traffic aiding her effort over the final five laps. When Whipple slipped even higher exiting turn two on the final circuit, bottom-feeding Bay crept underneath down the back chute, ultimately falling just 0.127-sec. shy of victory as the lead pair broke the wire in crowd-pleasing fashion.

Griffin chased the “Queen of Speed” across the line followed by her father the “Motorized Madman” with Trombley holding together for a fifth-place tally.

The Powdertech Powdercoating Hard Charger Bonus went to Bobby Parrow who gained eight spots from 19th to 11th in the final tally.

Trombley’s moves to get from a Top 10 starting spot to a Top 5 finish earned him the “Maguire Family of Dealerships Magnificent Move of the Race.”

The award drivers are appreciative of but don’t necessarily want to see at night’s end was awarded to Josh Flint. A 19th place finish for the driver second in points coming into the night would see Flint receive the “Midstate Basement Authorities Out of the Basement” award.

“Towards the end of the race the high side was going away, going away and I kept trying to go easy in (turns) one and two but the car just kept pushing up,” explained Whipple, after becoming the fourth first-time CRSA winner in 2021 and 72nd since it was launched in 2006.

“Thankfully, Alysha was just far enough away from us at the end. This win was very much needed, just so happy (grounds crew) put down some water on that high side to get me by for 20 laps.”

Another quality field of winged warriors signed up for the regularly scheduled show with $1,250 added to the purse of the first-ever Danny Willmes Memorial event. Steve Glover, Griffin and Ruggles won preliminary races, with $50 split among the top-3 heat finishers. A former competitor himself turned race sponsor then loyal supporter of both Ruggles and Bay, Willmes suffered through a terminal illness before passing away on Sept. 2, 2019 at age 66.

Outside front row was the place to be for the CRSA contingent as Altamont NY invader Trombley out-dragged David Ferguson to set the early pace. While the opening 10-miler ran off caution-free, contact with Ruggles' rear bumper entering turn four ended with Ethan Gray's mount getting sideways to slow the action on lap three.

Yellow lights flashed twice more when Dan Craun's ride broke on lap four and Tucker Donath spun rounding the first corner with six laps still to go.

Starting sixth in the 20-lap Willmes Memorial, Ruggles was once again a man on the move, charging around Ferguson and setting his sights on Trombley. Ferguson regained his runner-up status on lap eight yet was stymied behind traffic to turn over second to '20 CRSA high point man Ruggles.

Despite Donath's lap 14 loop tightening the pack in his rear-view mirror, Trombley pulled away back under green. In his own quest for career sprint win #42 in Canandaigua, Ruggles remained in touch, shadowing the winner with a separation of only 0.461-sec. measured at the stripe followed by Ferguson, Parrow and Bay.

“Car was good, really went wherever I needed to go, the key is to keep the tires hooked,” remarked Trombley, 63, a three-time CRSA points champion (2017-19) after posting his 10th career tour triumph, his third in Canandaigua worth a cool $1,000.

“Have to thank my wife for drawing the pole, never hurts to start out with a clear track ahead.”

A former Big-Block Modified driver, Trombley has fared far better in an open-cockpit car at Canandaigua, running seven Super DIRTcar Series shows and registering three Top-10s with a best finish of 6th-place in 1993. Saturday marked his first win at LOLR sporting a black no. 3A Warren's Auto Body-Powder Tech-Helderburg Excavating & Trucking-Roosevelt's Towing/XXX/Grant, as the initial two victories were scored steering his customary yellow entry.

“I took this (black) car out because I thought it was better than the other (yellow) one and it really feels good,” added Trombley, after extending his points lead in the current CRSA standings through 10 events.

“Got into a little jingle in the first race and had to replace an axle in the friont-end. The guys did an awesome job getting us here. It even took awhile just getting to the track, hope everybody is alright in that (bus) wreck on the thruway. The ride home will definitely be a shorter one for us.”

The Powdertech Powdercoating Hard Charger Bonus went to John Cunningham who gained eleven spots from 18th starting position to a finish of 7th.

Ethan Gray, after an early race spin, charged from last to a finish of 9th place finish with some impressive passes for position. This earned him the “Maguire Family of Dealerships Magnificent Move of the Race.”

The award drivers are appreciative of but don’t necessarily want to see at night’s end was awarded to Dan Craun. A 26th place finish after suffering a broken front end saw Craun receive the “Midstate Basement Authorities Out of the Basement” award.

Next on the schedule for the Super Gen Products / Champion Power Equipment CRSA Sprints will be a return to the Brett Deyo-promoted track of Utica Rome Speedway for a $1,000-to-win show on August 20.

The CRSA 305 Sprints are powered by Super Gen Products with their Champion Power Equipment located in Newark, NY. Associate sponsors for the 2021 CRSA 305 Sprints include Midstate Basement Authorities, CNY Farm Supply, the Maguire Family of Dealerships, Powdertech Powdercoating, Hoosier Racing Tires, Insinger Performance with their Stinger Race Fuel and is owned and operated by Mike Emhof Motorsports.

For more information on the series, results, points and 2021 schedule please visit our website www.crsa.myracepass.com

Please visit the Super Gen Products with Champion Power Equipment CRSA Sprints on Facebook (@CRSAsprints) and on Twitter (@CRSAsprints).

SUPER GEN PRODUCTS CRSA SPRINTS @ LAND OF LEGENDS RACEWAY OFFICIAL RESULTS- Saturday August 14th, 2021:
DANNY WILLMES MEMORIAL A-MAIN RESULTS (20 Laps): 1. 3A-Jeff Trombley[2] ($1,000); 2. 48JR-Darryl Ruggles[6]; 3. 45-David Ferguson[1]; 4. 53-Bobby Parrow[3]; 5. 48A-Alysha Bay[5]; 6. 75-Brandyn Griffin[10]; 7. J27-John Cunningham[18]; 8. 121-Steve Glover[11]; 9. 17E-Ethan Gray[8]; 10. 66-Jordan Hutton[7]; 11. 41J-Josh Flint[17]; 12. 25W-Dana Wagner[14]; 13. 36-Mike Stelter[15]; 14. 4T-Ray Preston[13]; 15. 9K-Kyle Pierce[25]; 16. 13T-Trevor Years[9]; 17. 2-Randy Years[20]; 18. 38-Jason Whipple[12]; 19. 62-Jacob Lynch[4]; 20. 28-Ron Greek[23]; 21. 18-Timmy Lotz[19]; 22. 77-Matt Rotz[21]; 23. 3-Tucker Donath[24]; 24. 22M-Matt Priscott[22]; 25. (DNF) 4-Cliff Pierce[26]; 26. (DNF) 18C-Dan Craun[16]

Powdertech Powdercoating Hard Charger Bonus: J27 John Cunningham +11 spots $25
Maguire Family of Dealerships “Magnificent Move of the Race”: 17E Ethan Gray $25
Midstate Basement Authorities “Out of the Basement” Bonus: 18C Dan Craun $25

Heats (8 laps)
#1: 1. 75-Brandyn Griffin[1] ($25); 2. 13T-Trevor Years[2] ($15); 3. 66-Jordan Hutton[7] ($10); 4. 62-Jacob Lynch[6]; 5. 4T-Ray Preston[8]; 6. 18C-Dan Craun[4]; 7. 18-Timmy Lotz[9]; 8. 22M-Matt Priscott[5]; 9. 9K-Kyle Pierce[3]

#2: 1. 121-Steve Glover[2] ($25); 2. 3A-Jeff Trombley[3] ($15); 3. 53-Bobby Parrow[4] ($10); 4. 38-Jason Whipple[5]; 5. 25W-Dana Wagner[1]; 6. 41J-Josh Flint[8]; 7. 2-Randy Years[7]; 8. 28-Ron Greek[6]; 9. 4-Cliff Pierce[9]

#3: 1. 48JR-Darryl Ruggles[4] ($25); 2. 48A-Alysha Bay[8] ($15); 3. 45-David Ferguson[2] ($10); 4. 17E-Ethan Gray[5]; 5. 36-Mike Stelter[7]; 6. J27-John Cunningham[6]; 7. 77-Matt Rotz[3]; 8. 3-Tucker Donath[1]

JUNE 19TH MAKE UP A-MAIN RESULTS (20 Laps): 1. 38-Jason Whipple[2] ($750); 2. 48A-Alysha Bay[1]; 3. 75-Brandyn Griffin[7]; 4. 48JR-Darryl Ruggles[8]; 5. 3A-Jeff Trombley[10]; 6. 45-David Ferguson[3]; 7. 66-Jordan Hutton[13]; 8. 13T-Trevor Years[15]; 9. 121-Steve Glover[16]; 10. 25W-Dana Wagner[11]; 11. 53-Bobby Parrow[19]; 12. 2-Randy Years[9]; 13. 17E-Ethan Gray[14]; 14. 18C-Dan Craun[4]; 15. 28-Ron Greek[18]; 16. 77-Matt Rotz[5]; 17. 9K-Kyle Pierce[22]; 18. 62-Jacob Lynch[17]; 19. (DNF) 41J-Josh Flint[12]; 20. (DNS) 4-Hank Katz; 21. (DNS) 66K-Erik Karlsen; 22. (DNS) X-Dan Bennett; 23. (DNS) 410-Jerry Sehn Jr

Powdertech Powdercoating Hard Charger Bonus: 53 Bobby Parrow +8 spots $25
Maguire Family of Dealerships “Magnificent Move of the Race”: 3A Jeff Trombley $25
Midstate Basement Authorities “Out of the Basement” Bonus: 41J Josh Flint $25

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