Thorold, ONT — August 3, 2009 – By Tom Skibinski, Super DIRTcar Series PR Director
*Alex Bruce Photo
Second-generation standout Matt Sheppard continued his torrid pace around the Northeast Big-Block Modified circuit, scoring his second Super DIRTcar Series victory of the season Monday night at Merrittville Speedway in the 17th Trevor Wilkens Memorial 100 presented by Toolneeds.
‘Super Matt’ forged the seventh and final lead change on lap 26, then circled the fast third-mile Thorold oval lapping up to the fourth-place car to collect a well-deserved $6,000 payday in the annual Canadian Civic Holiday special.
“First of all the the track was just awesome tonight, its about the raciest place we go all year,” remarked Sheppard, 27, after finishing with a 10 car-length advantage despite the sixth and final yellow flag bunching the field for the last restart with 14 laps to go. “Every time we come here the facility is great and the track is awesome, just can’t say enough about coming here.”
Almost as happy with the third straight Super DIRTcar Series show staged at Merrittville were runner-up Brett Hearn, third-place finisher Pat Ward and fourth-place Pete Bicknell, while Larry Lampman Jr. rounded out the top-five one lap down to the leaders. With Sheppard and Hearn each already posting a pair of tour triumphs this season, Ward locked up a guaranteed starting berth in the prestigious Rite Aid 200 Championship race on Oct. 11 of Super DIRT Week XXXVIII at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse.
Fans knew they were in for a treat when Justin Haers kicked off qualifying with a new tour record of 15.044 seconds in Integra Shocks Time Trials. Haers, whose only other top time was recorded at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park in 2004, was clocked quickest ahead of heat winners Billy Decker and Sheppard, with two Integra Shocks awards already earned for each during the ’09 campaign.
When it came time for the customary pre-race draw for starting positions in the 100-lap Modified main, Larry Wight and Lampman grabbed front row starting positions while Sheppard secured the number nine slot with the JB Motorsports no. 9s Xtreme Lubricants-Seneca Auto Sales/Bicknell mount anxious to advance in the 30-car field.
At the drop of the initial green flag, ‘Lightning Larry’ Wight wasted little time bolting ahead while Haers and Hearn moved in to challenge after five laps were scored. Tour traveler Gary Tomkins looped his mount in turn four to incur the first caution period and on the ensuing restart Haers took his first lead blasting high out of turn two aboard his potent Phelps Cement Products no. 3 SMV Motorsports-Jeff Jolly Masonry/Bicknell. Just three laps later, local pilot Travis Braun suffered a flat right-rear tire in the same spot to send the yellow lights flashing around the track for a second time.
A back-and-forth battle among the leaders continued with Wight regaining the point on lap 14 and Haers stealing it back the following circuit. Carrying the momentum from a three-wide maneuver past Hearn and Wight on lap 17, rim-riding Dale Planck needed just two more times around to overtake Haers for the top spot and become the third driver of the night to lead his first laps of the season in Super DIRTcar Series competition.
While Hearn improved to second by lap 20, Sheppard was even faster as he buckled down on the low side to move into third ahead of early pace-setters Haers and Wight. The next time around another yellow flag unfurled, this time for reigning Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar champ Billy Decker, who limped pitside with a broken shock mount derailing the Gypsum Wholesalers no. 91 Stadium Int’l-Quality Hardwoods/Bicknell ride.
Quick slowdowns for the parked car of track regular Bill Bleich in turns three and four on lap 22 and Wight, as his mount slid high off turn four, kept the field in check before 56 laps were run off straight through under green with only the strongest able to survive. Sheppard took his first lead by a mere bumper on lap 24 while Planck regrouped to take it back the following circuit. But once ‘Super Matt’ charged to the point on lap 26, there would be no looking back as the Waterloo, New York warrior went unchallenged the rest of the way.
At the halfway mark lapped cars were easy prey for Sheppard as he out-distanced himself from Planck and Hearn using heavy traffic to his advantage. Just a dozen cars remained on the lead lap with 60 in the score book, although that number quickly diminished as the counter clicked off in the closing stages.
Tenth-place runner Steve Paine fell victim to Sheppard’s stronghold on lap 64, eighth-place running Danny Johnson went down a half-dozen laps later while defending race winner Jimmy Phelps ran seventh before losing one with 74 circuits on the board. Charging all the way from 22nd on home soil, track owner Bicknell got past Planck on lap 76 and Sheppard followed to leave four cars on the lead lap after just two more circuits.
DIRTcar 358-Modified rookie Mark D’Ilario lost a wheel exiting turn three to give the field a quick breather, although rain drops began to fall when the green lights came back on lap 86. Sheppard and Hearn rolled out of sight over the final circuits while Bicknell’s last bid to overtake Ward was foiled as he slipped over the edge in turn one with less than 10 laps to go. When the checkers finally waved it was Sheppard posting his DIRTcar Northeast-high 12th Big-Block win of the season, his first-ever triumph at Merrittville that vaulted him into second-place in the series standings through 10 events.
“This car was just awesome tonight,” beamed Sheppard, following one of the most dominating performances of the season. “I found a little something on the bottom early and pretty much stuck with it and just kept plugging way. It may look fast down there but man, when you’re sitting in the cockpit it feels like you’re barely moving while you’re puttin’ around the bottom.”
“I had no idea how far ahead I was when that last caution (lap 80) came out but I looked at the scoreboard and said ‘man, I just lapped the 5th-place guy’ so I figured we were pretty good. I have to thank my car owner Jeff Brownell and Bicknell Racing Products for this great team, I only had one guy make the trip up here with me tonight so it’s pretty special,” added Sheppard, following his third win over the extended weekend including victories at Brewerton (Fri.) and Canandaigua (Sat.) speedways.
Despite settling for runner-up laurels for the second-time this season on tour, runner-up Hearn increased his series points lead to 150 over Sheppard after entering the show 143 markers ahead of Decker.
“At one time Matt got so far ahead of us I couldn’t believe we were hanging on to second at that point,” noted Hearn, 50, after setting a single-season record with his 10th straight top-five tally to begin the series steering the Madsen Motorsports no. 20 Wentworth Custom Homes-Kruger-WLR-BPG/TEO machine. “So I’m real pleased with this (finish), it wasn’t a win but we’ve been so consistent this year, just gotta knock down a couple more Ws now.”
“After that last yellow, sometimes they let you go up to the leader single-file on the outside so I was trying to get up to the leader’s back bumper. But on the RACEceiver they told me to get back behind a few of the lapped cars. I did that, yet by the time I broke free of all the lapped cars (Matt) was out there a little too far. At the end we had a good line going in, I think we were catching him a little bit but he was probably just taking it easy and being safe,” added Hearn, who already owns a series-best 102 wins and is in quest of an unmatched seventh overall Mr. DIRTcar Big-Block Championship.
Contending in just his third Super DIRTcar Series event of the season, Ward took third-place honors aboard the LJL Racing no. 42P Gypsum Express/Bicknell team entry.
“We’re pretty happy with third, we had to fight through a lot of good cars there,” said Ward, 52, who began 10th on the grid before navigating through the pack to salvage show position at the stripe. “We just stayed patient, tried not to spin the tires too much.”
“We were really good off turn four at the bottom and just kinda held our own in turns one and two. This car has been good all year so I’m pretty happy. Have to thank John, Laura and Larry Wight (owners), my pit crew, Scott Jeffery and all the guys, they all help me out. It was definitely a good run for us tonight,” Ward stated.
Super DIRTcar Series Race #10 – Merrittville Speedway, August 3, 2009 ‘17th annual Trevor Wilkens Memorial 100 presented by Toolneeds’ Big-Block Modified Event Summary
FIN STR CAR# DRIVER
1 9 9s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY ($6,000)
2 4 20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
3 10 42p Pat Ward/Genoa,NY
4 22 42 Pete Bicknell/St.Catharines,ONT
5 2 22 Larry Lampman,Jr./Port Colborne,ONT
6 11 98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY
7 5 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
8 14 7x Steve Paine/Waterloo,NY
9 8 99 Ryan Phelps/Fulton,NY
10 15 fx1 Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY
11 28 1f Adam Ferri/Pt.Colborne,ONT
12 3 3 Justin Haers/Phelps,NY
13 23 38 Scott Wood/Thorold,ONT
14 6 4s Michael Storms/Wantage,NJ
15 1 99L Larry Wight/Phoenix,NY
16 20 26 Rick Richner/Niagara Falls,NY
17 27 80 Chris Steele/Fenwick,ONT
18 21 43t Fred Carleton/Niagara-o-t-Lake,ONT
19 17 37s Wayne Conn Jr./St.Catharines,ONT
20 29 08 Mark D’Ilario/Smithville,ONT
21 19 3b Chad Brachmann/Sanborn,NY
22 12 84 Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY
23 24 76 Travis Braun/Jordan Station,ONT
24 7 91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY
25 18 71 Mike Bowman/St.Catharines,ONT
26 13 6 Mat Williamson/St.Catharines,ONT
27 30 108 Bill Bleich/Port Robinson,ONT
28 25 xXx Todd Gordon/St.Catharines,ONT
29 26 52 James Friesen/St.Catharines,ONT
30 16 44 Brian Stevens/St.Catharines,ONT
GATER RACING NEWS LAP LEADERS: Wight (1-6), Haers (7-13), Wight (14), Haers (15-18), Planck (19-23), Sheppard (24), Planck (25), Sheppard (26-100).
CAUTIONS: 6 for 6 laps.
HEAT WINNERS: Planck, J.Phelps, Sheppard, Decker.
DIG SAFELY NEW YORK LAST CHANCE RACE WINNERS: Carleton, Bicknell.
BICKNELL RACING PRODUCTS WINNER AWARD: Matt Sheppard.
RISLONE OIL STABILIZER & TREATMENT WINNER AWARD: Matt Sheppard.
BARS LEAKS RUNNER-UP AWARD: Brett Hearn.
SYRACUSE RITE AID 200 QUALIFIER: Pat Ward.
HALFWAY LEADER: Matt Sheppard.
BERT/KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER AWARD: Pete Bicknell.
XTREME LUBRICANTS SLICK MOVE OF THE RACE AWARD: Dale Planck.
PENSKE POWER POSITION AWARD (14th): Michael Storms.
INTEGRA SHOCKS FAST TIME AWARD: Justin Haers (15.044sec/79.766mph) *NEW TRACK RECORD.
TOTAL PURSE: $27,750.
CARS ENTERED: 37.
NEXT EVENT: Brewerton Speedway – August 7, 2009.
DID NOT QUALIFY(7)
8-Rich Scagliotta/Bound Brook,NJ
8s-Tim Jones/Sanborn,NY
13-Dennis Giancola/St.Catharines,ONT
16w-Derek Wutzke/Fenwick,ONT
69-Rob Pietz/Gasline,ONT
72-Tommy Flannigan/St.Catharines,ONT
82-Ken Winfield/Fort Erie,ONT
QUALIFYING
FAST AVE
TIME MPH CAR# DRIVER
*1 15.044 79.766 3 Justin Haers/Phelps,NY
*NEW TRACK RECORD *$100 Integra Shocks Fast Qualifier Award
2 15.053 79.718 91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY
3 15.157 79.171 42p Pat Ward/Genoa,NY
4 15.205 78.921 9s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY
5 15.220 78.844 3b Chad Brachmann/Sanborn,NY
6 15.293 78.467 98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY
7 15.308 78.390 20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
8 15.312 78.370 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
9 15.344 78.206 4s Michael Storms/Wantage,NJ
10 15.372 78.064 84 Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY
11 15.428 77.781 fx1 Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY
12 15.441 77.715 7x Steve Paine/Waterloo,NY
13 15.539 77.225 42 Pete Bicknell/St.Catharines,ONT
14 15.565 77.096 8 Rich Scagliotta/Bound Brook,NJ
15 15.600 76.923 99 Ryan Phelps/Fulton,NY
16 15.751 76.186 99L Larry Wight/Phoenix,NY
17 15.764 76.123 22 Larry Lampman,Jr./Port Colborne,ONT
18 15.789 76.002 6 Mat Williamson/St.Catharines,ONT
19 15.825 75.829 08 Mark D’Ilario/Smithville,ONT
20 15.841 75.753 38 Scott Wood/Thorold,ONT
21 15.850 75.710 71 Mike Bowman/St.Catharines,ONT
22 15.875 75.591 26 Rick Richner/Niagara Falls,NY
23 15.893 75.505 108 Bill Bleich/Port Robinson,ONT
24 15.902 75.462 xXx Todd Gordon/St.Catharines,ONT
25 16.019 74.911 37s Wayne Conn Jr./St.Catharines,ONT
26 16.044 74.794 80 Chris Steele/Fenwick,ONT
27 16.080 74.627 44 Brian Stevens/St.Catharines,ONT
28 16.104 74.516 76 Travis Braun/Jordan Station,ONT
29 16.145 74.326 69 Rob Pietz/Gasline,ONT
30 16.171 74.207 52 James Friesen/St.Catharines,ONT
31 16.176 74.184 43t Fred Carleton/Niagara-o-t-Lake,ONT
32 16.252 73.837 1f Adam Ferri/Pt.Colborne,ONT
33 16.477 72.829 8s Tim Jones/Sanborn,NY
34 16.491 72.767 82 Ken Winfield/Fort Erie,ONT
35 16.546 72.525 13 Dennis Giancola/St.Catharines,ONT
36 16.656 72.046 72 Tommy Flannigan/St.Catharines,ONT
37 -NT- —– 16w Derek Wutzke/Fenwick,ONT
Heat Races (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to feature; top 3 redrew)
#1: Planck, Storms, Lampman, Williamson, Conn, Carleton, Gordon, D’Ilario, Giancola, Steele.
#2: J.Phelps, Wight, Haers, Paine, Bowman, Wood, Pietz, Scagliotta.
#3: Sheppard, Ward, Tomkins, Johnson, Brachmann, Bicknell, Braun, Jones, Flannigan.
#4: Decker, Hearn, R.Phelps, Stevens, Richner, Friesen, Bleich, Ferri, Winfield.
Dig Safely New York Last Chance Races: (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to feature)
#1: Carleton, Wood, Gordon, Steele, D’Ilario, Pietz, Giancola, Scagliotta (DNS), Wutzke (DNS).
#2: Bicknell, Braun, Friesen, Ferri, Bleich, Jones, Winfield, Flannigan.
Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modified Point Standings (Thru Aug. 3, 2009)
Rank No. Driver Total Series Diff Wins Top-5 Top-10 Starts
1 20 Brett Hearn 918 918 0 2 10 10 10
2 9s Matt Sheppard 768 768 -150 2 6 7 10
3 98H Jimmy Phelps 725 725 -193 0 3 7 10
4 91 Billy Decker 722 722 -196 2 5 5 10
5 99 Ryan Phelps 648 648 -270 2 3 6 10
6 3 Justin Haers 629 629 -289 0 0 5 10
7 77x Dale Planck 616 616 -302 0 1 4 10
8 84 Gary Tomkins 604 604 -314 0 1 6 10
9 FX1 Danny Johnson 559 559 -359 0 1 4 10
10 4 Mike Storms 514 514 -404 0 0 2 10
11 49 Billy Dunn 486 486 -432 0 1 2 9
12 99L Larry Wight 458 458 -460 0 0 0 10
13 14J Alan Johnson 429 429 -489 1 2 4 7
14 29 Jeff Brownell Jr. 368 368 -550 0 1 2 7
15 74 Tim Fuller 316 316 -602 0 2 2 5
16 7x Steve Paine 313 313 -605 0 0 4 5
17 FX1 Frankie Caprara 224 224 -694 0 0 2 4
18 8 Rich Scagliotta 218 218 -700 0 0 0 3
19 42 Pete Bicknell 203 203 -715 0 1 2 3
20 6 Pat O’Brien 185 185 -733 0 1 1 3
21 1H David Hebert 140 140 -778 0 1 1 2
22 22 Mario Clair 127 127 -791 0 0 0 2
23 3b Chad Brachmann 125 125 -793 0 0 0 3
24 02 Roy Bresnahan 122 122 -796 0 0 0 3
25 62 Tom Sears Jr. 113 113 -805 0 0 0 2
26 43 Keith Flach 111 111 -807 0 0 0 2
27 34b Andy Bachetti 110 110 -808 0 1 1 1
28 33 Mike Mahaney 108 108 -810 0 0 0 3
29 9m Tim McCreadie 105 105 -813 0 0 1 2
30 99B Chuck Bower 103 103 -815 0 0 0 3
31 76 Travis Braun 97 97 -821 0 0 0 2
21 Yan Bussiere 97 97 -821 0 0 0 2
33 96 Kyle Dingwall 95 95 -823 0 1 1 1
97 Michel Chicoine 95 95 -823 0 0 0 2
35 26 Rick Richner 94 94 -824 0 0 0 2
36 42p Pat Ward 93 93 -825 0 1 2 3
37 17 Sean Beardsley 92 92 -826 0 0 0 2
38 32c Vic Coffey 87 87 -831 0 0 1 2
39 60 Brian Berger 86 86 -832 0 1 1 1
40 73 Alain Boisvert 82 82 -836 0 0 1 1
41 22 Larry Lampman Jr 81 81 -837 0 1 1 1
33.3 Tommy Meier 81 81 -837 0 1 1 1
77F Mark Flach Jr. 81 81 -837 0 1 1 1
44 83x Tim Sears 80 80 -838 0 0 0 2
45 57 Donnie Corellis 77 77 -841 0 0 1 1
46 8R Rob Bellinger 72 72 -846 0 0 0 2
47 42 Guy Sheldon 71 71 -847 0 0 1 1
48 160 Johnny Hill 70 70 -848 0 0 0 2
49 21 Derrick Podsiadlo 69 69 -849 0 0 0 2
50 88 Tim O’Brien 68 68 -850 0 0 0 1
51 98 Eddie Marshall 66 66 -852 0 0 0 1
52 44 Shannon Whaley 65 65 -853 0 0 0 1
72 Todd Stewart 65 65 -853 0 0 1 1
07 Tim Kerr 65 65 -853 0 0 0 1
54 Steve Bernard 65 65 -853 0 0 1 1
56 14 Jimmy Horton 63 63 -855 0 0 0 1
57 7* Danny O’Brien 62 62 -856 0 0 1 1
58 1F Adam Ferri 60 60 -858 0 0 0 1
72 Tommy Flannigan 60 60 -858 0 0 0 1
123 Robbie Krull 60 60 -858 0 0 0 1
61 64 Donnie Ackner 59 59 -859 0 0 0 1
62 26 Ryan Godown 57 57 -861 0 0 0 1
63 38 Scott Wood 56 56 -862 0 0 0 1
22 Eric Gauvreau 56 56 -862 0 0 0 1
44 Sebastien Gougeon 56 56 -862 0 0 0 1
66 88k Randy Chrysler 55 55 -863 0 0 0 1
67 3 Claude Brouillard 54 54 -864 0 0 0 1
68 88 Kory Sandstedt 52 52 -866 0 0 0 1
69 24s Chris Shultz 51 51 -867 0 0 0 1
46 Kayle Robidoux 51 51 -867 0 0 0 1
115 Kenny Tremont Jr. 51 51 -867 0 0 0 1
72 52 James M. Friesen 50 50 -868 0 0 0 1
xXx Todd Gordon 50 50 -868 0 0 0 1
6m Mat Wiliamson 50 50 -868 0 0 0 1
16 Mike Bowman 50 50 -868 0 0 0 1
M96 Brian McDonald 50 50 -868 0 0 0 1
3d Dexter Stacey 50 50 -868 0 0 0 1
66w Wallace Stacey 50 50 -868 0 0 0 1
23 Dany Bilodeau 50 50 -868 0 0 0 1
1H Tim Hindley 50 50 -868 0 0 0 1
81 124 Pierre Dagenais 49 49 -869 0 0 0 1
82 80x Chris Steele 48 48 -870 0 0 0 1
72x Denis Gauvreau 48 48 -870 0 0 0 1
17c Bobby Davidson 48 48 -870 0 0 0 1
85 43 Fred Carleton 46 46 -872 0 0 0 1
24 Jim Witko Jr. 46 46 -872 0 0 0 1
87 37s Wayne Conn Jr. 45 45 -873 0 0 0 1
22J Gino Clair 45 45 -873 0 0 0 1
55 Mike King 45 45 -873 0 0 0 1
90 08 Mark D’Ilario 44 44 -874 0 0 0 1
39 Clement Therrien 44 44 -874 0 0 0 1
87 Hector Stratton 44 44 -874 0 0 0 1
93 28 Scott Kerwin 43 43 -875 0 0 0 1
94 21m Bob McGannon 42 42 -876 0 0 0 1
95 20 Jeff McGinnis 41 41 -877 0 0 0 1
96 71 Mike Bowman 40 40 -878 0 0 0 1
108 Bill Bleich 40 40 -878 0 0 0 1
44 Brian Stevens 40 40 -878 0 0 0 1
37c Eric Fisher 40 40 -878 0 0 0 1
35 Adam Moore 40 40 -878 0 0 0 1
0 Bill Gill 40 40 -878 0 0 0 1
x31 Andy Lloyd 40 40 -878 0 0 0 1
9 Jason Riddell 40 40 -878 0 0 0 1
85 David Langlois 40 40 -878 0 0 0 1
63 Dominic Dufault 40 40 -878 0 0 0 1
74 Fredric Gamache 40 40 -878 0 0 0 1
49 Francois Berrier 40 40 -878 0 0 0 1
90 Martin Roy 40 40 -878 0 0 0 1
198h Erick Rudolph 40 40 -878 0 0 0 1
44v Phil Vigneri Jr. 40 40 -878 0 0 0 1
93 Rich Vinson 40 40 -878 0 0 0 1
24v Bobby Varin 40 40 -878 0 0 0 1
33 Ray Swinehart 40 40 -878 0 0 0 1
39 Ryan Larkin 40 40 -878 0 0 0 1
87x Paul Gilardi 40 40 -878 0 0 0 1
88 Eric Lefebvre 40 40 -878 0 0 0 1
87 Martin Gagne 40 40 -878 0 0 0 1
61 Jean Boissonneault 40 40 -878 0 0 0 1
119 37md Jeremiah Shingledecker 30 30 -888 0 0 0 1
120 X Chad Phelps 25 25 -893 0 0 0 0
13 Tony Steiner 25 25 -893 0 0 0 0
Super DIRTcar Series Modified Entries – August 3 (37)
Car# Driver/Hometown Team (Sponsor / Chassis / Engine)
xXx Todd Gordon/St.Catharines,ONT Blue Moon Potatoes-Spats Graphics-Buona Pizza/Bicknell/ERD(Terry Vince)
08 Mark D’Ilario/Smithville,ONT Pioneer Fuels-Turn 4 Collision-Chevron/Bicknell/Fioravanti
1f Adam Ferri/Pt.Colborne,ONT LaFarge In America-RC Delivery-Thruway Muffler/Bicknell/ERD
fx1 Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY Thompson Motorsports/Troyer/Dan Bedell
3 Justin Haers/Phelps,NY Phelps Cement Products-SMV Motorsports-Jeff Jolly Masonry/Bicknell/Finger Lakes
3b Chad Brachmann/Sanborn,NY Mighty Taco/Bicknell/Honest Abe’s
4s Michael Storms/Wantage,NJ Keizer Aluminum Wheels-Mike Sparta Trckng-Four Star Transmissions/TEO/Morrison
6 Mat Williamson/St.Catharines,ONT Optional Hose & Hydraulics-Jasen Enterprises/Bicknell/ERD
7x Steve Paine/Waterloo,NY Tallmadge Tire-Swarthout Recycling-Instant Heat Wood Pellets/Bicknell/Finger Lakes
8 Rich Scagliotta/Bound Brook,NJ Central Jersey Trailer & Hitch Depot-Adamsville Maintenance/Troyer/Feil
8s Tim Jones/Sanborn,NY Blue Moon Potatoes-Sharp’s Auto Center/Bicknell/Balancing Act
9s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY Xtreme Lubricants-Seneca Auto Sales/Bicknell/C.C. Performance
13 Dennis Giancola/St.Catharines,ONT Commercial Auto Electric-Barry Toth Trucking/Bicknell/Gordenmark
16w Derek Wutzke/Fenwick,ONT Rosehill Auction House-Base Mechanical/Bicknell/New Generation
20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ Madsen Motorsports-Wentworth Custom Homes-Kruger-WLR-BPG/TEO/Enders
22 Larry Lampman,Jr./Port Colborne,ONT CMH Leasing-Turn 4 Collision-Garden City Autox/Bicknell/CC Performance
26 Rick Richner/Niagara Falls,NY National Vacuum-Jetport Lounge-Lazy Lakes Camping Resort/Bicknell/Gor-Den
37s Wayne Conn Jr./St.Catharines,ONT Gaston’s Auto Sales-Part Source/Bicknell/Ray Stevens
38 Scott Wood/Thorold,ONT Henderson’s Pharmasave-Investors Group/Bicknell/Fioravanti
42 Pete Bicknell/St.Catharines,ONT Lucas Oil Products-Merrittville Speedway-Bicknell Race Products/Bicknell/ERD
42p Pat Ward/Genoa,NY Gypsum Express,Ltd./Bicknell/Kevlar
43t Fred Carleton/Niagara-o-t-Lake,ONT Turn 4 Collision-Pine View Drywall-Brian’s Tire Repair/Bicknell/New Generation
44 Brian Stevens/St.Catharines,ONT Fortis Pizzeria-D&T Catering-Stevens Racing/Bicknell/Ray Stevens
52 James Friesen/St.Catharines,ONT Blue Moon Potatoes-New Generation Racing Engines/Bicknell/Al Blanchard(NG)
69 Rob Pietz/Gasline,ONT Bob Pietz Heating & Air Conditioning-Bas Farms Storage/Bicknell/ERD
71 Mike Bowman/St.Catharines,ONT PVM Hydraulics-Seaway Hose & Hydraulics-Eaton Aeroquip/Bicknell/Fioravanti
72 Tommy Flannigan/St.Catharines,ONT Kane’s Vending-CMH Leasing/Bicknell/Fioravanti
76 Travis Braun/Jordan Station,ONT Brian’s Tire Repair-TC Braun Construction-DBN Drywall/Bicknell/DSE1
77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY RezX Racing-Grow It Hydroseeding-Action Race Parts-Teo Fab./TEO/Kevlar
80 Chris Steele/Fenwick,ONT Niagara Dental Arts-Mac Outpost Computers-RCM Racing/Bicknell/Fioravanti
82 Ken Winfield/Fort Erie,ONT Bill’s Toyota-Tamburri Bros.-Reeb House/Bicknell/Fioravanti
84 Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY Honeoye Auto Parts-Rochester Americans-National Guard/Bicknell/Mastin
91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY Gypsum Wholesalers-Stadium Int’l-Quality Hardwoods/Bicknell/Kevlar
98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY Mohawk N.E.-New England Race Fuels-Joe Gibbs Racing Oil/Troyer/Bruneau
99 Ryan Phelps/Fulton,NY Big Red Towing-Dave Miller Auto Body/Bicknell/Enders
99L Larry Wight/Phoenix,NY Gypsum Express,Ltd./Bicknell/Kevlar
108 Bill Bleich/Port Robinson,ONT Baron Roofing & Siding-Peninsula Press-Westside Trucking&Excv/Bicknell/ERD
SKIDMARKS
Harvey Hainer Sr. Condolences: On a night that honored the memory of former racer Trevor Wilkins, a lifetime of auto racing contributions made by Harvey Hainer Sr. was also remembered on Monday evening. Brother in-law of Lloyd Holt and father of Harvey Hainer Jr., who captured his lone Super DIRTcar Series victory at Ransomville Speedway in September of 1981, Harvey Sr. passed away on July 23 at his home at the age of 75. He was a Hall of Fame inductee at Merrittville Speedway and was in attendance at the track the weekend prior for the Annual Hall of Fame ceremonies. Very active in stock car racing for many years and owner and operator of Hainer’s Discount Tire and Auto along with his son for 20 years, Harvey Sr. never raced himself but quipped “I just spend all the money.”
Pot Holes: Field of 37 cars bettered last year’s race total by one entry, yet come Integra Shocks Time Trials, 10 of those topped the former one-lap standard set by Brett Hearn who posted a time of 15.383 seconds (78.008 mph) in August of ‘07. This time around Justin Haers paced the group with a single-lap best of 15.044 sec. (79.766 mph) around the ultra-tacky one-third miler….Derek Wutzke was the lone driver not to take time and left early before qualifying….Attempting to follow both the Super DIRTcar Series and Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship trail, Rich Scagliotta was the second car to load up on Monday following a lap two incident in the second of four qualifying heats. New Jersey invader Scagliotta and Merrittville regular Scott Wood touched wheels coming out of turn four and the resulting contact sent the no. 8 Central Jersey Trailer & Hitch Depot-Adamsville Maintenance/Troyer barrel-rolling over the front stretch wall and ending upside down just shy of the starter’s stand. No injuries were reported in the spectacular mishap….Qualifying was some of the best in the series with Sheppard and Ward battling lap after lap without trading paint in heat number three while Decker needed a last turn, last lap pass to steal away a near certain victory from Brett Hearn….Danny Johnson back competing for car owner Dave Thompson, on this occasion wheeling a Dan Bedell-powered Troyer car and rising as high as fourth before fading to 10th at the line.…a pair of Larrys on the front row to start the feature with Wight on the pole and Lampman outside looking to repeat after copping the 50-lap Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship main at Merrittville in May. Jimmy Phelps and Dale Planck chased current Merrittville Small-Block points leader Lampman across the line a couple months back ….A special bike race was held on the front chute following the pre-race feature re-draw that included heat winners Phelps, Matt Sheppard, Billy Decker and Michael Storms (subbed for Dale Planck), plus fast timer Justin Haers and Merrittville high point man Lampman, with Phelps taking top honors in the crowd-pleaser.
UPCOMING EVENTS
The mighty Mod Squad crosses over into the states and heads east for back-to-back Series shootouts at Brewerton Speedway and Canandaigua Speedway, Aug. 7-8. Can-Am Motorsports Park and Cornwall Motor Speedway (rescheduled from July 12) stage consecutive 100-lappers Aug. 21 & 23 prior to the touring stars closing out the month at Lebanon Valley Speedway on Aug. 27.
2009 Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modified Schedule
NP=Non-Point event; SP=Show-Up Point event.
*All events subject to change.
DAY-DATE TRACK WINNER/LOCATION
Wed-Feb 11 Volusia Speedway Park-NP Pat Ward
Thr-Feb 12 Volusia Speedway Park-NP Pat Ward
Fri-Feb 13 Volusia Speedway Park-NP Jamie Mills
Sat-Feb 14 Volusia Speedway Park-NP Brett Hearn
Sat-Mar 28 Hagerstown Speedway rain-cancelled
Sun-Apr 26 Big Diamond Raceway Duane Howard
Sat-Jun 6 Lebanon Valley Speedway Matt Sheppard
Sun-Jun 7 Airborne Speedway rain-cancelled
Wed-Jun 17 Orange Co Fair Speedway Bily Decker
Fri-Jul 3 Ransomville Speedway Brett Hearn
Sat-Jul 4 Fulton Speedway Alan Johnson
Thr-Jul 9 Brockville Ont Speedway Brett Hearn
Fri-Jul 10 Autodrome Granby Billy Decker
Sat-Jul 18 Cayuga Co Fair Speedway Ryan Phelps
Sun-Jul 19 Cayuga Co Fair Speedway Ryan Phelps ($20,000-to-win)
Mon-Aug 3 Merrittville Speedway Matt Sheppard
Fri-Aug 7 Brewerton Speedway Brewerton,NY
Sat-Aug 8 Canandaigua Speedway Canandaigua,NY
Fri-Aug 21 Can-Am Motorsports Park LaFargeville,NY
Sun-Aug 23 Cornwall Motor Speedway Cornwall,ONT
Thr-Aug 27 Lebanon Valley Speedway West Lebanon,NY ($17,500-to-win)
Sun-Sep 6 Cayuga Co Fair Speedway Weedsport,NY
Mon-Sep 7 Rolling Wheels Raceway Elbridge,NY
Fri-Sep 11 Lernerville Speedway Sarver,PA
Fri-Sep 18 Autodrome Drummond Drummondville,QUE
Sat-Sep 26 Rolling Wheels Raceway Elbridge,NY
Sun-Oct 11 New York State Fairgrnds Syracuse,NY ($50,000-to-win)
Sun-Oct 18 -TBA-
Sun-Oct 25 -TBA-
The Big-Block Modified Super DIRTcar Series is brought to fans across the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Hoosier Racing Tire www.hoosiertire.com and VP Racing Fuels www.vpracingfuels.com. Promotional partners include Rite Aid Corporation www.riteaid.com, Dig Safely New York www.digsafelynewyork.com and the University of Northwestern Ohio www.unoh.com and the contingency sponsors are Bars Leaks www.barsproducts.com, Bert Transmission www.berttransmission.com, Bicknell Racing Products www.bicknellracingproducts.com, Bilstein Shocks www.bilstein.com, Brodix Cylinder Heads www.brodix.com, Ferris Industries www.ferrisindustries.com, Integra Shocks www.integrashocksandsprings.com, Intercomp www.intercomp-racing.com, KSE Racing Products www.kse-racing.com, Motorsports Safety Systems www.motorsportssafetysystems.com, Penske Shocks, www.penskeshocks.com, Racing Electronics www.racingelectronics.com, Rislone Oil Stabilizer www.barsproducts.com and Wrisco Industries www.wrisco.com.
