HARTFORD, Ohio – The Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Dirt Late Model Series presented by Born2Lubricants headed to Sharon Speedway on Saturday night for the second annual Bill Forney Memorial.
Last year, Joe Martin lost a heartbreaker on the final lap to Super Late Model hall of famer Chub Frank in the inaugural Bill Forney Memorial. On Saturday night, Martin redeemed himself in the second annual event by finally working his way past Super Late Model standout Michael Norris with three laps to go after a race-long, spirited battle throughout the 30-lap non-stop feature.
It would be Martin’s second Flynn’s Tire Touring Series victory of the year and fourth of his career.
“We’re here for a celebration every time we come to Sharon Speedway,” expressed the 37-year-old Punxsutawney, Pa. racer. “Man I love this place. I love the track, the surface and shape of it, the professionalism, the staff, the safety crew- it’s a top notch facility. I love you fans up there as well. Michael (Norris) is a hell of a race car driver. He’s younger than me, but I kind of idolize him. I had a better car the whole night, but when it comes to the cushion there isn’t a better driver in the whole country and I’ll stick to that. He made it really tough for me and I should have led a lot more laps than I did. I got to race side-by-side with one of my favorite guys and that was cool.
“We got to seven to go and he got a gap on me and I thought ‘man it’s a shame we’re not going to win this race’ and then he started to get loose and I slowed down,” explained Martin. “I knocked the wall down over here and thought I gave myself a flat tire, but I think I just heated up the tires and that’s what let him gap me. I just started working the bottom and gained on him pretty quick. We set fast time, won the heat, and then drew seven for the dash so I wasn’t happy about that, but we made one adjustment before the dash that I was hesitant to do and it fixed the car. We were good all night, but that put us over the top.”
Norris took off in the lead following his second straight Sunoco Dash victory with Martin, Will Thomas III, Logan Roberson, and Matt Latta in tow. Sixth starting Daryl Charlier was on the move as he passed Latta for fifth on lap three then drove around Roberson for fourth racing off the top side of turn four on lap four.
Charlier quickly ran down Thomas and made a crossover move off the top of turn four down the frontstretch and into turn one to get by Thomas for third, despite some contact, on lap six. Roberson followed Charlier past Thomas to regain fourth on lap six.
Martin had been hounding Norris for the first few circuits, and then pulled even for the first time on lap eight. Norris made a nice move in traffic the following lap to maintain the lead, while Charlier closed in on the front duo. By lap 11, Roberson joined in making it a four-race race for the lead as the top four cars were all flying around the topside of the track in lapped traffic.
Charlier and Roberson resumed their battle as they raced side-by-side for third on lap 14, which allowed Norris and Martin to distance themselves. Martin meanwhile was able to pull even with Norris on laps 16-18, but was never able to lead a lap as Norris once again broke free on lap 19.
Martin didn’t go away as he tracked Norris back down and pulled even again on lap 23, but still wasn’t able to make the pass stick. Martin kept Norris in sight and on lap 27 made the winning move as he was able to slide Norris off turn two and pulled away down the backstretch.
Martin was able to make the right moves through lapped traffic in the final laps and took the checkered flag first for his seventh career Sharon win by 1.572 seconds. Just 10 cars finished on the lead lap of the 23 that finished the caution-free event.
After out-dueling Charlier the week before for the $3,000 victory at Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway, Norris came up short to Martin with a hard fought runner-up finish worth $1,500 driving for his brother-in-law, Nico Dabecco.
“Hats off to Joe (Martin),” stated the 30-year-old Sarver, Pa. resident. “He was just better than us at the end. As soon as the brown went away at the end I was just hanging on for dear life. That was a fun race. Thanks to all of the fans for coming out. We actually blew a water pump gasket and it started blowing anti-freeze all over the right rear tire and got us really free at the end. I think Joe was probably a little better than us. I had the preferred line up top and it made it easier to get through lapped traffic. It sucks to finish second, but I’m glad to see him get it; it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. The track was phenomenal and I’m glad to be decent somewhere other than Pittsburgh in the crate car. We’ll put it in our notes and go from there.”
The Finish:
Feature (30 Laps): 1. Joe Martin (Snyder 10s) 2. Michael Norris (Dabecco N1) 3. Daryl Charlier (Centerline 3RK) 4. Logan Roberson (17) 5. Matt Latta (21) 6. Chad Homan (91) 7. Will Thomas III (9) 8. Josh Ferry (33) 9. Breyton Santee (9) 10. Brady Wonderling (z1) 11. Mike Wonderling (18) 12. David Pangrazio (136) 13. Jeremy Wonderling (3J) 14. Logan Jaquay (Briggs 99*) 15. Ashton Briggs (11A) 16. Craig Graham (98) 17. Matt Sipes (25) 18. Brandt Graham (14) 19. Jim Rasey (Wrightsman 21J) 20. Colby Beighey (36) 21. Bo Lockwood (57) 22. Andy Michael (17x) 23. Steve Hollabaugh (3) 24. Joe Long (71) 25. Jonathan Stockdale (31)
Keyword: Martin Rushes To Sharon Late Model Win