Weedsport, NY — March 16, 2008 – By Tom Skibinski, Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series PR Director
The 2008 Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series opener, 7th Annual North-South Shootout at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway on Saturday, March 22 is just six days away.
Commemorating the 10th straight season of Series partnership with Advance Auto Parts based in Roanoke, Virginia, those top-10 drivers on the Advance Auto Parts Series all-time Big-Block Modified feature win list will be highlighted for each of the 10 days leading up to the event.
This all-star cast of drivers has accounted for 416 feature race victories from the list of 66 drivers taking checkered flags in 593 tour events held at 44 speedways around the Northeast since 1980. The elite group of 10 drivers has amassed 26 overall Mr. DIRTcar Big-Block Modified Championships and at least half are expected to compete full-time with the ’08 Advance Series, beginning with the lid-lid-lifter at Hagerstown.
Six-time Mr. DIRTcar Big-Block Champion Jack Johnson has totaled 28 career extra-distance Series wins to rank sixth on the all-time list. Still actively contending in his fifth decade of short-track racing around the Capital District, the Duanesburg veteran became the first New Yorker to capture the Rite Aid 200 during Super DIRT Week in 1979, matching the feat five years later on the Syracuse Mile.
The all-time Fonda Speedway champion logged his last Advance Auto Parts Series victory on June 14, 2001 at Orange County Fair (NY) Speedway, where he claimed the coveted Eastern States 200 crown in 1985. ‘Jumpin Jack’ won a career-best five main events when the Series started in 1980, emerging as the overall Mr. DIRTcar Champion later that same year. Among his biggest accomplishments were victories at the New York State Fairgrounds in all four events scheduled in 1984.
Johnson competed in the first two ‘North-South Shootouts’ at Hagerstown Speedway, securing runner-up honors in 2001 before dropping to 30th the following year.
Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series
Top-10 Big-Block Modified Feature Winners (1980-2007)
WINS DRIVER FIRST WIN LAST WIN
98 Brett Hearn Lebanon Valley, 7/15/81 Rolling Wheels, 9/22/07
65 Danny Johnson Fonda, 9/25/82 Cayuga County, 8/19/07
51 Bob McCreadie Ransomville, 9/10/82 Rolling Wheels, 9/4/00
47 Alan Johnson Ransomville, 6/27/80 Cayuga County, 9/2/07
39 Billy Decker Lebanon Valley, 9/18/88 Rolling Wheels, 9/22/07
28 Jack Johnson Cayuga County, 7/16/80 Orange County, 6/14/01
27 Steve Paine Canandaigua, 9/7/85 Can-Am, 8/18/07
26 Doug Hoffman Orange County, 10/25/87 Lowe’s, 4/6/02
18 Tim McCreadie Rolling Wheels, 9/26/99 Drummond, 8/23/04
17 Tim Fuller Rolling Wheels, 9/21/03 Cayuga County, 8/19/07
The 10th Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series season begins on March 22, 2008 with the 7th North-South Shootout at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway. Further track information is available at http://www.HagerstownSpeedway.com and the DIRTcar NorthEast Office (315/834-6606) is open during weekdays. Log into the homepage at www.superdirtcarseries.com anytime to find out more about the entire circuit.
Headquartered in Roanoke, Va., Advance Auto Parts is the second-largest retailer of automotive aftermarket parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items in the United States, based on store count and sales. As of October 6, 2007, the company operated 3,228 stores in 40 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The company serves both the do-it-yourself and professional installer markets.
The Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series for Big-Block Modifieds is brought to fans across the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Advance Auto Parts, Hoosier Racing Tire and Sunoco Race Fuels. Promotional partners include AMB i.t., Rite Aid Corporation and the University of Northwestern Ohio and the contingency sponsors are Bert Transmission, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Crane Cams, Integra Shocks, MSD Ignitions, Motorsports Safety Systems, Penske Shocks and Wrisco Industries.
