Weedsport, NY — March 6, 2008 – By Tom Skibinski, Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series PR Director
Integra Shocks has partnered with DIRTcar Racing and for the third straight year will continue to play an active role in point fund sponsorship of the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series during the 2008 race season.
The fastest Big-Block Modified driver during qualifying at each Advance Auto Parts Series stop will earn the ‘Integra Shocks Fast Time Award’ along with five bonus points towards the overall Hoosier Tire-Sunoco Race Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship.
“Involvement with the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series has helped take us to the next level despite remaining a relatively small company,” said Integra Shocks owner Scott Keyser. “We’re proud of the fact that our success has spread mostly by word of mouth since starting out just six years ago. Last season four of the top-seven drivers in the overall (Mr. DIRTcar) Modified standings and (Super DIRT Week) Rite Aid 200 champion Vic Coffey won using our product. We’re looking forward to continued growth with this partnership and sharing the benefits with DIRT and its competing teams for years to come.”
Integra has been successful in the DIRTcar Modified market for the past two seasons, yet it isn’t about to rest on past laurels and let the competition catch up. Engineers have been hard at work developing new shock valvings that allow for increased grip and driver feel in the slick. The result is Integra’s new Base Valve “slick track” shock package designed exclusively for DIRTcar Modifieds.
In 2008, a $100 cash award will be available at all 23 Big-Block events, beginning with the Advance Auto Parts Series opener at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway on March 22 and concluding with the Eastern States 200 Championship at Orange County Fair (NY) Speedway on October 19. The driver winning the most Integra Shocks Fast Time awards during the season will collect a bonus set of four Integra Shocks ($1,400 value) at the DIRTcar Racing NorthEast ‘Night of Champions’ Banquet in November.
The Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series has been recognizing a fast time trialer since 1983, with 1999 marking the first year the awards program included every tour event scheduled. All-time Advance Auto Parts Series race winner Brett Hearn is also a leader when it comes to speed, earning a series-best total of 38 Integra Shocks Fast Time awards during the past two decades. Past Mr. DIRTcar titleholders Billy Decker and Tim Fuller, along with Dale Planck, Matt Sheppard, Pat Ward, Frank Cozze, Ronnie Johnson and Coffey are among some of the most successful Big-Block drivers that rely on Integra Shocks today.
Last March at Hagerstown eventual fourth-place finisher Decker earned the initial Integra Shocks Fast Time Trial Award of the 2007 Advance Auto Parts Series campaign, stopping the clocks with a one-lap best of 19.391 seconds. Decker set the current track standard of 19.016 sec. (94.657 mph) on June 23, 2005.
Keyser and Brian Daugherty, General Manager Integra Shocks and Springs division, will be in attendance throughout the year at select events scheduled in the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series as well as on Manufacturer’s Row during Super DIRT Week XXXVII in October at the New York State Fairgrounds. Contact Integra Shocks’ headquarters in Muskegon, MI (1-800-472-2464 toll free) or to check out additional products please visit the website at www.portcityracing.com and apply for a free 2008 performance parts catalogue when your first order is placed.
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.
Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series
Big-Block Modified Integra Shocks Fast Time Award Winners (1983-2007)
EVTS DRIVER FIRST FAST TIME LAST FAST TIME
38 Brett Hearn Orange County, 10/24/86 Orange County, 10/21/07
32 Billy Decker NYS Fairgrounds, 7/3/01 Lebanon Valley, 8/11/07
21 Tim McCreadie Rolling Wheels, 7/4/00 Cayuga County, 5/29/05
17 Tim Fuller New Egypt, 6/20/02 New Egypt, 10/13/07
14 Steve Paine Canandaigua, 9/1/99 Rolling Wheels, 9/22/07
9 Chuck Bower Cayuga County, 5/28/00 Lernerville, 8/3/05
9 Matt Sheppard Drummond, 7/12/04 Ransomville, 7/6/07
8 Bob McCreadie NYS Fairgrounds, 10/7/90 Fonda, 10/20/02
8 Gary Tomkins Drummond, 7/10/00 Rolling Wheels, 5/7/06
7 Alan Johnson Cayuga County, 5/26/02 Rolling Wheels, 9/4/06
5 Frank Cozze Orange County, 6/10/04 New Egypt, 8/15/07
4 Jimmy Phelps Drummond, 7/11/05 NYS Fairgrounds, 10/7/07
3 Billy Pauch NYS Fairgrounds, 10/12/86 NYS Fairgrounds, 10/9/88
3 Kenny Brightbill NYS Fairgrounds, 10/13/96 New Egypt, 8/2/00
3 Doug Hoffman NYS Fairgrounds, 10/11/87 Tri-City, 8/5/01
3 Andy Bachetti Orange County, 10/24/99 Lebanon Valley, 7/7/05
2 Jack Johnson NYS Fairgrounds, 10/7/84 Orange County, 10/28/84
2 Dave Blaney NYS Fairgrounds, 10/9/94 NYS Fairgrounds, 10/10/99
2 Jimmy Horton NYS Fairgrounds, 10/11/92 Big Diamond, 6/18/03
2 Bobby Varin NYS Fairgrounds, 10/11/98 Fonda, 7/17/03
2 Pat Ward Fonda, 7/19/00 Rolling Wheels, 9/23/06
2 Dale Planck Drummond, 7/10/06 Brewerton, 8/3/07
1 Merv Treichler NYS Fairgrounds, 10/9/83
1 Rich Eurich Orange County, 10/30/83
1 Sammy Swindell NYS Fairgrounds, 10/13/85
1 Anthony Ferriauolo IV Orange County, 10/27/85
1 Joe Plazek NYS Fairgrounds, 10/10/93
1 Jeff Heotzler Orange County, 10/27/96
1 Chuck McKee Orange County, 10/25/98
1 Scott Prentice Rolling Wheels, 4/30/00
1 Danny Johnson Lebanon Valley, 8/10/00
1 A.J. Romano Rolling Wheels, 8/20/00
1 Ricky Elliott New Egypt, 6/21/01
1 Eddie Marshall Lebanon Valley, 8/2/01
1 Ron Smoker NYS Fairgrounds, 9/3/01
1 Frankie Caprara Lowe’s, 4/6/02
1 Todd Burley Cornwall, 7/7/02
1 Bucky Kell Hagerstown, 3/27/04
1 Justin Hears Rolling Wheels, 5/2/04
1 J.R. Heffner Lebanon Valley, 9/10/05
1 Rick Grosso Jr. New Egypt, 9/24/05
1 Pierre Berthiaume Brockville, 7/4/06
1 Rick Mill Orange County, 10/22/06
1 Duane Howard Grandview, 7/18/07
1 Ryan Phelps Cayuga County, 9/2/07
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.
