By kyohnson 
In Fulton, New York, Todd Root from Warners, N.Y., achieved his very first high-dollar victory of the season in the opening round of the DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series at Fulton Speedway. He successfully defended his home turf against numerous invaders from all around the northeast and Canada, outperforming nearly 50 Sportsman competitors.
On Friday night, a total of 31 drivers took the feature event green flag, with Mike Phelps and Tyler Trump leading the pack. Phelps got off to a strong start, quickly establishing a comfortable lead. However, a caution was called with 7 laps completed due to Martin Pelletier and Greg Martin having an incident. After the restart, the battle for the lead became extremely intense, with Phelps, Trump, and Todd Root closely racing within feet of each other. On lap 15, the trio of frontrunners engaged in a thrilling three-wide show for the top podium position, and it was Todd Root who edged out Phelps to take the lead. Just one lap later, Trump, Phelps, and Brad Rouse crossed the line in a three-abreast formation for second, with Trump claiming that position, followed by Rouse and Phelps, who had to surrender the lead just over a lap before.
Halfway through the feature, Todd Root was steadily building his lead over Trump, Rouse, Jeremy Dygert, and Phelps. Brad Rouse’s strong run came to an abrupt end on lap 21 when he slowed down and pulled off the racing surface. This allowed Dave Marcuccilli to move up to the fifth position. A subsequent spinning incident by Charlie Tibbitts brought out the caution once again after 26 laps, wiping out Todd Root’s half-straightaway lead over Trump, Dygert, and Marcuccilli. Shane Pecore now slipped into fifth place.
On the ensuing restart, Dave Marcuccilli skillfully maneuvered around the Jeremy Dygert machine and into third. Pecore briefly took the fourth position in front of Dygert but soon gave it up and returned to fifth. Meanwhile, at the front of the field, Todd Root continued to drive consistent laps in the middle groove of the slick track, gradually increasing the gap between him and Tyler Trump. Although Trump was able to keep Todd Root in his sight during the final laps, he couldn’t close in on the #15 car.
Todd Root ultimately crossed the finish line first, with a comfortable lead of around a second over Tyler Trump, Dave Marcuccilli, Jeremy Dygert, and Shane Pecore. “We just had to search for the right line,” said Todd Root in victory lane. “I didn’t really know exactly where the line was going to be. I thought the track would hold up well, but once I started to find my marks, the car was really performing great. This is exactly what I was looking for, a strong and consistent start to the season,” he added.
(DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series Central Region 40 Laps) – TODD ROOT, Tyler Trump, Dave Marcuccilli, Jeremy Dygert, Shane Pecore, Billy Clark Jr., Jeremy Pitcher, Matt Picotin, Glenn Forward, Kyle Inman, Corey Barker, Kevin Root, Jessica Power, Mike Phelps, Nick Krause, Kyle Fink, Zach Sobotka, Tony Finch II, Ron Davis III, Tom Collins Jr., Chris Burek, Robert Delormier, Alex Lajoie, Chris Cunningham, Mike Stanton Jr., Charlie Tibbitts, Brad Rouse, Mike Button, Martin Pellitier, Greg Martin.
(Tom Juno Power Seal Driveway Sealing $100 Hard Charger) – Kevin Root.
(Did Not Qualify) – Torrey Stoughtenger, Ray Bliss, Will Shields, Brent Joy, Dorian Wahdan, Chris Mackey, Chantel Provencher, Gabriel Cyr, Cedric Gauvreau, Colby Herzog, Jackson Gill, Bill Megnin, Zach McBride, Tyler Thompson, Tom Cook, Joe Sobotka, Pat LaPage, Mike Stacey, John Strickler, Ricky Thompson, Tom Mackey.