Jackson Gill Takes DIRTcar Sportsman Win At World Short Track Championship

Story By: JOE GRABIANOWSKI / DIRTCAR – CONCORD, NC – Jackson Gill, from Plessis NY, is now a two-time winner of the DRIVEN Racing Oil World Short Track Championship at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. The young gun hinted he may be moving up a division in 2020, so if this was his last hurrah in the VP Racing Fuel DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds he made it count.

Gil could hardly contain his excitement in Victory Lane.

“This is probably one of the biggest races that you can win,” he said. “To win two years in a row is unbelievable.”

The pilot of the No. 60 Troyer chassis VP Racing Fuels DIRTcar Sportsman Modified had to make a dicey move to take the win. Gil made contact with then leader Garrison Krentz from Lockport, NY on his way to Victory Lane.

“I didn’t have many laps left and well we all hate making moves like that but at the end of the day you gotta do what you gotta do to get the win,” he said.

Both drivers shook hands and agreed it was all hard racing.

Robert Bublak, an Albany-Saratoga regular, took home second place while Krentz held on for third.

Pole-sitter Corey Cormier lead the 29-car field to the green flag for the 30-lap Feature. The first restart saw a lead change as NAPA Super DIRT Week XLVIII Chevy Performance 75 Champion Kyle Inman launched his No. 20K to the front. Unfortunately, a rash of flat tires brought out caution, including the leader Inman.

That left a three-way battle for the lead between Gil, Krentz and Bublak. The three traded positions throughout the final stages of the race. Krentz passed Gil with two laps to go but Gil reclaimed the lead and carried it to Victory Lane.

All Star Invitational: Kevin Ridley, who had a heavy crash in the DIRTcar Sportsman Modified 30-lap Feature, stuck his No. 20X out front and never looked back. Ridley had to outrun a pair of excellent drivers in Kevin Root and Jessica Power. DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series Champion Root also redeemed himself with a second place after finishing mid-pack early in the evening.

VP Racing Fuels Sportsman Modified Feature (30 Laps) — 1. 60-Jackson Gill [8]; 2. 997-Robert Bublak [6]; 3. 56-Garrison Krentz [5]; 4. 42-Daryl Nutting [17]; 5. 25-Matt Janczuk [11]; 6. 92-Andrew Buff [14]; 7. 34-Kevin Root [23]; 8. 64-Tyler Corcoran [4]; 9. 631-Todd Buckwold [25]; 10. 52-Jessica Power [24]; 11. 18-Ryan MaCartney [19]; 12. 12G-Matthew Guererri [16]; 13. 410-Mike Fowler [21]; 14. 42M-Derrick McGrew [9]; 15. O8-Jack Speshock [12]; 16. 20-Corey Cormier [1]; 17. 7H-Nicole Hoag [2]; 18. 33-Richard Murtaugh [26]; 19. 20K-Kyle Inman [3]; 20. 48A-Chris Corbett [15]; 21. 2-Sam Jinkin [29]; 22. 60x-Kinser Hill [22]; 23. 8-Steve Lary [27]; 24. 11B-Don Blaney [28]; 25. 1-Robert Delormier [13]; 26. 17H-Alex Hoag [18]; 27. 22-Roddy Watts [20]; 28. 11T-Jeff Taylor [7]; 29. 20X-Kevin Ridley [10]; KSE Hard Charger Award: 34-Kevin Root[+16].

DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Invitational — 20X-Kevin Ridley; 2. 34-Kevin Root; 3. 42M-Derrick McGrew; 4. 52-Jessica Power; 5. 60-Jackson Gill; 6. 20K-Kyle Inman; 7. 56-Garrison Krentz; 8. 33-Richard Murtaugh; 9. 12G-Matthew Guererri; 10. 11T-Jeff Taylor; 11. 7H-Nicole Hoag; 12. 92-Andrew Buff; 13. 64-Tyler Corcoran; 14. 25-Matt Janczuk; 15. 42-Daryl Nutting; 16. O8-Jack Speshock; 17. 48A-Chris Corbett; 18. 18-Ryan MaCartney; 19. 22-Roddy Watts; 20. 20-Corey Cormier.