Brett Hearn hoping for repeat at Orange County Fair Speedway’s Eastern States 200

Defending event champion charging into historic race with Super DIRTcar Series point lead

MIDDLETOWN, N. Y. – Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013 – Brett Hearn didn’t just win at Eastern States Weekend last year, he took a clean sweep at the historic Orange County Fair Speedway event, charging to victory in both the Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modified Eastern States 200 and 358-Modified feature races.

This year, Hearn has the Super DIRTcar Series point advantage going into one of the biggest events of the year, and is ready to defend his position at the track he still considers his “home track.” The Super DIRTcar Series Eastern States 200 feature takes over Orange County Fair Speedway Sunday, Oct. 27, after completing time trials and heat races Friday, Oct. 25.

“Last year was unbelievable,” said Hearn, who hails from nearby Sussex, N. J., just a short drive from “The Hard Clay” of Orange County Fair Speedway. “Coming off the Syracuse win, and then to go to Eastern States and set fast time in both divisions, and then win both races – it doesn’t get any better than that. I can’t imagine that it’s going to be easy to duplicate that.”

He may not duplicate his 2012 feat, but Hearn could come close this year, having already picked up a NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week win this year. Hearn battled Billy Dunn on his way to victory lane in the DIRTcar 358-Modified Series Salute the Troops 150 this October at the New York State Fairgrounds, but Dunn claimed victory in the Big-Block Modified Syracuse 200. With the lead in Super DIRTcar Series points, Hearn has high hopes heading into some of the biggest races at some of his strongest tracks.

“It’s a place where I learned how to race, so it always comes back to me pretty quick,” Hearn said of Orange County Fair Speedway. “Orange County’s my home court, and we’re also very good at Charlotte, so the race is on!”

Even to Hearn, an Eastern States 200 victory won’t come easy though. Like early October’s grueling races at Syracuse’s “Moody Mile”, the extra distance for Sunday’s race will put race teams and their cars to the test. Pit strategy will come back into play, and strong performance in qualifying might not mean a strong finish after 200 laps on “The Hard Clay.” With challengers like three-time defending series champion Matt Sheppard and this year’s Syracuse 200 champion Billy Dunn taking aim at the series point lead, Hearn will have his work cut out for him.

“I’ve always considered it to be the second biggest race to Syracuse,” Hearn said of the Super DIRTcar Series Eastern States 200. “You’ve got to refuel, or maybe take tires. There’re a lot of different strategies going on depending on tire wear and things like that.”

Gates open for campers at Orange County Fair Speedway Thursday, Oct. 24, at 2 p.m. Racing for Eastern States weekend begins 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25. The famed Super DIRTcar Series Eastern States 200 is scheduled to begin 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27.

Super DIRTcar Series Driver Points, Top 30

Driver points as of 10/20/13

No. Driver Total Series Bonus Diff. Home Track Wins Top 5 Top 10 Starts
1 20 Brett Hearn 2,295 1,295 1000 0 Lebanon/A-S 2 9 10 13
2 9s Matt Sheppard 2,233 1,233 1000 -62 Canandaigua 3 7 11 13
3 49 Billy Dunn 2,146 1,161 985 -149 Canandaigua 1 6 8 13
4 7z Dale Planck 2,099 1,099 1000 -196 Humberstone 1 4 10 13
5 98H Jimmy Phelps 2,036 1,061 975 -259 Canandaigua 0 3 8 13
6 84 Gary Tomkins 1,843 911 932 -452 Canandaigua 0 3 4 13
7 27J Danny Johnson 1,799 873 926 -496 Canandaigua 0 3 7 12
8 3 Justin Haers 1,774 809 965 -521 Canandaigua 0 2 4 12
9 21a Pete Britten 1,768 823 945 -527 Canandaigua/A-S 0 0 5 13
10 8 Rich Scagliotta 1,676 758 918 -619 Canandaigua 0 0 1 13
11 74 Matt Billings ® 1,606 678 928 -689 Canandaigua 0 2 3 11
12 10V Billy VanInwegen 1,570 615 955 -725 Orange County 0 0 0 10
13 48T Dave Rauscher 1,566 650 916 -729 Canandaigua 0 0 0 11
14 10c Tim Currier 1,543 619 924 -752 Canandaigua 0 0 0 11
15 77J Keith Flach 1,382 452 930 -913 Lebanon/A-S 0 0 0 7
16 14J Alan Johnson 1,337 382 955 -958 Canandaigua 0 0 2 6
17 6m Mat Williamson ® 1,308 308 1000 -987 Lernerville 0 2 3 4
18 44 Stewart Friesen 1,305 365 940 -990 Albany-Saratoga 1 2 2 5
19 710 Bobby Varin 1,274 356 918 -1,021 Orange County 0 0 2 5
20 34 Andy Bachetti 1,228 243 985 -1,067 Lebanon Valley 1 1 1 4
21 7x Steve  Paine 1,206 266 940 -1,089 Canandaigua 0 0 1 4
22 115 Kenny Tremont 1,197 212 985 -1,098 Albany-Saratoga 0 0 0 4
23 19w Justin Wright 1,194 209 985 -1,101 Humberstone 0 0 0 3
24 74 J.R. Heffner 1,193 218 975 -1,102 Lebanon Valley 0 1 2 2
25 83 Brian Swartzlander 1,151 166 985 -1,144 Lernerville 0 0 1 3
26 1h Tim Hindley 1,135 135 1000 -1,160 Orange County 0 1 1 1
27 2RJ Ronnie Johnson 1,068 113 955 -1,227 Albany-Saratoga 0 0 0 2
28 3J Marc Johnson 1,051 76 975 -1,244 Albany-Saratoga 0 0 1 1
29 57 Donnie Corellis 1,045 90 955 -1,250 Lebanon Valley 0 0 0 2
30 98 Eddie Marshall 1,040 108 932 -1,255 Lebanon Valley 0 0 0 2

The Super DIRTcar Series and DIRTcar Racing in the Northeast Region is brought to fans by several sponsors and partners including Hoosier Racing Tire, VP Racing Fuels, Chevy Performance Parts, NAPA Auto Parts, and Safety-Kleen. Contingency partners include the University of Northwestern Ohio, Contingency sponsors are ASI, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix, ButlerBuilt, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, KSE Racing Products, Motorsports Safety Systems, MSD Performance, Penske Shocks, Racing Electronics, Superflow and Wrisco Industries.