September 4, 2018 (Schenectady, NY) – Rob Maxon is the ultimate underdog and Saturday September 1st he pulled off the biggest win of his career when he claimed the King Of Dirt Racing Mr. Crate Track USA title at Lebanon Valley Speedway, but it was unofficial until today.
At 8:15 this morning DIRTcar tech inspector Ed Brassmaster along with Lebanon Valley tech inspector Dan Bell began disassembling the Killer Crate engine of Mr. Crate Track USA 2018 winner Rob Maxon.
After an extensive teardown and tech process that included the removal and disassembly of heads, timing chain, oil pan, crank, cam, and other major components the part numbers were verified GM, inspected, and Rob Maxon’s motor was declared 100% legal.
This was huge for Maxon since it was the second time in the past several weeks he’s had his motor pulled and tested. The first time it was dyno’d and passed, but this time it was protested for a full disassembly. Maxon is now happy he can celebrate his biggest career win.
“It was frustrating. I don’t mind tech or even going through the process of pulling a motor, but this was my biggest career win. This is the one I’ve wanted to win since KOD started having Mr. Crate Track USA at Lebanon. I thought about this race all year long and busted my a** to get faster and when I won I couldn’t celebrate it until Tuesday,” said a relieved Rob Maxon.
In dirt track racing when a surprise driver pulls off an upset, most folks are thrilled with the result and welcome the new guy to victory lane. If that same driver does it impressively by dominating the field it may throw up a red flag and Maxon understands that.
“I understand that me winning may have some guys questioning it and I’m ok with that. I just hope this says hey, I can get the job done. I’ve worked hard enough and long enough to get fast to run with the best guys. It gives me a good feeling to know that and I hope others will acknowledge it now too,” said the KOD tour regular.
King Of Dirt Racing promoter Rob Hazer was equally as excited for the outcome of the technical inspection.
“Look at the end of the day this goes to show a couple things. It shows that Rob Maxon is a winner on the KOD tour and Mr. Crate Track USA champion without a doubt. It also goes to show the effort and willingness of Lebanon Valley technical inspection to ensure guys are playing fair and by the rules in this division. Especially for a race like this,” said Rob Hazer.
Maxon’s motor will be reassembled today and ran on the dyno to ensure no oil leaks or engine troubles for the 96 team when they put it back into the car for next weeks Sportsman point finale, which is a decision that Rob Maxon praised Lebanon Valley GM Lyle DeVore for.
“I wanted to make sure we ran it here at Hunt’s Machine Shop prior to me bringing it home and putting it back in the race car. Dan Bell reached out to Lyle (DeVore) and he agreed that would be best. I appreciate him going that extra for our team. It builds more trust in the process for me,” Maxon concluded.
Rob Maxon is now officially the third driver in series history to win Mr. Crate Track USA and will have his name next to Michael Sabia and Scott Duell as champions of the event. He’ll have his 4-foot trophy and plaque returned to him at the Nationals on Friday September 7th.
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SEPTEMBER 1, 2018 ANDY’S SPEED SHOP KING OF DIRT RACING CRATE MODIFIED SERIES MR. CRATE TRACK USA A-MAIN RESULTS FROM LEBANON VALLEY SPEEDWAY (30 Laps) – 1) Rob Maxon, 2) Chris Lynch, 3) Scott Duell, 4) Whitey Slavin, 5) John Virgilio, 6) Chris Curtis, 7) Chad Edwards, 8) Cody Ochs, 9) Nikki Ouellette, 10) Bobby Flood, 11) Alan Houghtailing, 12) Pete Carlotto, 13) Michael Sabia, 14) Joseph Coppoola, 15) Matthew Shultz, 16) James Fadden, 17) Ricky Quick, 18) John Brown, 19) Danny Carlough, 20) Lem Atkins, 21) Jeff Highman, 22) Jimmy Devitt, 23) Scott McCoy, 24) Ted Teal, 25) Billy Eggers, 26) John Stantolin, 27) Connor Cleveland, 28) Marty Kelly III, 29) Harold Robitaille, 30) Robbie Knipe, 31) Darryl Nutting, 32) Karl Barnes, 33) Vinny Visconti, 34) Carmen Carnibucci, 35) Mike Gramolini, 36) Michael Fitzgerald, 37) David Schilling.
Race Summary:
37 Cars Entered
Burt’s Tree Service Super Six – 1) John Virgilio, 2) Michael Sabia, 3) Robbie Knipe, 4) Chris Curtis, 5) Whitey Slavin, 6) Chris Lynch. (1 Bonus Point)
B-Main Qualifier Finish (10 Laps) – 1) Connor Cleveland, 2) Joseph Coppoola, 3) Nikki Ouellette, 4) Jimmy Devitt, 5) Scott McCoy, 6) Darryl Nutting, 7) James Fadden, 8) Jeff Highman, 9) Pete Carlotto, 10) Vinny Visconti, 11) David Schilling.
C-Main Qualifier Finish (10 Laps) – 1) Scott Duell, 2) Alan Houghtailing, 3) Ted Teal, 4) Matthew Shultz, 5) Ricky Quick, 6) Carmen Carnibucci, 7) Harold Robitaille, 8) Mike Gramolini, 9) Billy Eggers, 10) Karl Barnes.
D-Main Qualifier Finish (10 Laps) – 1) Chad Edwards, 2) Rob Maxon, 3) Cody Ochs, 4) Bobby Flood, 5) John Brown, 6) Marty Kelly III, 7) Lem Atkins, 8) Danny Carlough, 9) John Stantolin, 10) Michael Fitzgerald.
Andy’s Speed Shop Bounty ($250 Certificate) – Rob Maxon
Hoosier Tire Hard Charger – Chris Lynch
Newcomer Of The Race – James Fadden
Top Tour Finisher – Rob Maxon (1st)
Fast Axle ($50 Certificate) – Chris Curtis
King Of Dirt Racing 