In only his fifth race in a sprint car, Zach Sobotka won. However, he didn’t feel destined for victory lane when the night started, and especially after he lost his front wing early in the feature.
Then again, Sobotka didn’t have sprint cars in his plans this year. He regularly races sportsman modifieds. That’s until Paul Colagiovanni called. He’s a frequent customer at Northern Coat & Blast, Sobotka’s family business. Colagiovanni fields sprint cars, including for Billy VanInwegan.
“We’ve always done his powdercoating,” said Sobotka, of Parish, New York. “He called me one night, asked me if I wanted to run his car at Brewerton [Speedway in New York]. I said, ‘Definitely.’ We finished third my first night in his [car]. A week later, he asked me if I wanted to bring the car to my shop.”
Sobotka’s fifth race came on Friday at Utica-Rome Speedway in Vernon, New York. He started off with drawing the last number possible. That meant Sobotka started last in the last heat race. From ninth place he moved up to sixth before the checkers waved. Since the CRSA Sprints use passing points, that put Sobotka in a position for the redraw, which then put him on the pole for the feature. While things started looking up, there were many unknowns for Sobotka.
“We don’t really know how to set one up,” Sobotka said of running a sprint car. “We didn’t know how it was going to handle. Those guys [in the series] have been doing it forever — I didn’t even expect to lead a lap.”
Sobotka’s no slouch in a sportsman modified, though. He won the track championship at Land of Legends Raceway in Canandaigua, New York, and has nine wins this season.
“It’s completely different,” said Sobotka of when comparing a sprint car to a modified. “You got a way bigger right-rear tire. Then it’s about 1,000 pounds lighter and way smaller. The big wing on top pretty much makes you stick wherever you want to. The sprint car has way more power. There’s a lot more happening in a lot quicker time.”
Sobotka seemed to forget to mention about the small wing on the sprint car’s nose. Maybe that’s because he lost his on the eighth lap of the CRSA feature at Utica-Rome.
“When it fell off, it was a burst of air that pushed me back and pinned me back into the seat,” Sobotka said. “I instantly thought about pulling off. I didn’t think it would go in a circle anymore. It made the car feel wicked tight and made it feel like the front tires weren’t even touching the track.”
The 25-lap feature had quite a few cautions. Nevertheless, every restart Sobotka managed to hold onto the lead. Perhaps it was advantageous, as the air from running in traffic may have adversely affected the handling of his sprint car that didn’t have a front wing. Regardless, Zach Sobotka can now add a sprint car trophy to his mantel.
“We didn’t expect [a win in a sprint car],” said Sobotka. “Then again, we didn’t expect the whole night to happen.”
The Outside Groove Executive Editor has covered motorsports since 2000. His many awards include the 2019 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Jim Hunter Writer of the Year and the 2013 Russ Catlin Award for Excellence in Motorsports Journalism.
Photographers
The Outside Groove contributor from Macungie, Pennsylvania, has covered the sport since 2012. Sabo serves as the official track photographer of Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania. Photography is a family ordeal for Sabo. He shoots with his daughter, Abby, at Shellhammer Dirt Track in Shoemakersville, Pennsylvania. At Grandview and other venues Sabo travels to, he and his father, Stephen “Poppa Pepper” Sabo Sr., capture the night’s action with their cameras.
