LaFargeville, NY — August 21, 2009 – By Tom Skibinski, Super DIRTcar Series PR Director
*Rick Young Photo
‘Super Matt’ Sheppard continued to set the Big-Block world ablaze as he dominated
the Super DIRTcar Series ‘End of Summer Spectacular’ presented by Dig Safely New York in flag-to-flag fashion Friday night at Can-Am Motorsports Park.
Sheppard’s third tour triumph in the last four extra-distance outings marked the second time he has led the entire distance aboard the JB Motorsports no. 9s Xtreme Lubricants/Bicknell entry, even with the latest Modified main extended an extra five laps following a late-race caution.
“We set a lot of goals this year, and we usually set our goals pretty high, and we’ve just about reached most of them,” remarked Sheppard, 27, on the heels of his 15th feature win of the season, almost doubling his previous career best output of eight checkered flags taken in 2007. Each of the last five seasons he has scored just one series victory and he already has four in the opening 13 events on the ’09 championship trail. “Maybe we need to raise the bar a little.”
“This is definitely the time of year to be hitting your stride and these cars have been so fast the last two, three, four weeks. And this isn’t even the same car I’ve been running. I’ve got two of them and I couldn’t pick between them if I had to. Its so nice to have two race cars that are just that fast,” added Sheppard, who opened up a 15 car-length victory margin at the line despite a green-white-checkered flag finish that gave the all-star field one final chance pull up on the leader.
Dale Planck crossed the stripe second for his best series showing of the season while defending race winner Gary Tomkins posted his second straight top-three finish outlasting upstart Willy Decker and Steve Paine, the only four-time series race winner at Can-Am. Planck’s second top-five tally of the ’09 series locked up a guaranteed starting berth in the prestigious Super DIRT Week XXXVIII Modified 200 Championship race slated for Oct. 11 at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse.
Sheppard opened the show by stopping the clocks at 19.084 seconds (94.320 mph) to earn his fourth Integra Shocks Fast Time Award, yet his draw of ‘3’ for inversion put him inside row two for his heat race qualifier in which he finished second. Yet when it came time for the customary re-draw to line up the front six rows for the feature, the second-generation driver from Waterloo, N.Y. grabbed no. 1 to send his rivals reeling.
Even an opening lap red flag failed to make Sheppard flinch as he jumped out early and charged ahead for a 1.6-second advantage after just five circuits. Forcing a complete restart, the initial stoppage the first trip around was initiated when sixth-place starter Billy Dunn was unable to fire, thus stacking up the on-rushing pack behind him that resulted in a pile of battered metal on the frontstretch that brought the grandstand crowd to its feet. When the carnage was finally cleared, Larry Wight and Michael Storms were knocked out before a single lap was complete while Can-Am regular Scott Webb ended his night upside down in the wreck. Also involved were Billy Decker, Frank Cozze and Tim Kerr, yet all returned when the green lights were turned back on although Kerr arrived nine laps down.
Sheppard built up another terrific lead, blasting by cars at the back of the field by lap eight before the first yellow flag unfurled two laps later for the slowed mount of Chris Higgins in turn four. Front row starter Willy Decker, Planck, Tomkins and Paine completed the front-five by lap 10 and only Decker’s position would change over the ensuing 66 laps that clicked off non-stop under green.
Sheppard continued to ride on rails the remainder of the way, lapping 15th-place runner Billy Decker on lap 45 and disposing of Danny Johnson to leave just 13 cars with all circuits complete and 15 laps still to go. Just one final obstacle delayed the inevitable as Sheppard’s teammate Jeff Brownell, Jr. and Pat O’Brien tangled in front of the leader on lap 75 pushing the distance to 80 times around the spacious half-miler.
“This race car is just awesome, but I’ll tell you what, this track was wide and racy tonight,” noted Sheppard, following his first career open-wheel win at Can-Am. “There were about 10 or 15 times I didn’t want to be leading it because I didn’t know where the heck to run. I think it was 75 laps and I probably ran about 150 different lines out there. Luckily for me the car was good enough that it was pretty good everywhere I took it and that’s what we needed.”
“I have to thank the people at Can-Am for putting on this show, this place was awesome tonight. I also need to thank the guys that help me out, they bust their butts so its nice to be back in victory lane,” added Sheppard, who closed to within 99 points of current series leader Hearn who settled for seventh-place after an early it stop.
Third-place starter Planck rocketed by Willy Decker on lap 15 for second and 10 laps later erased Sheppard’s 3.5-second advantage in traffic yet that was all his brand new ride could muster as the Cortland, N.Y. chauffeur was forced to settle for runner-up laurels in the near caution-free affair.
“Its nice to be back up here (podium) and finally have a car that goes forward when you hit the gas,” said Planck, 39, who scored his only top-five finish (4th) at Ransomville Speedway on July 3. Just last year he had racked up three victories in the opening nine races en route to third-place in the final overall Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship. “I can’t thank Bobby Hearn (chassis builder) enough, the first night out with this car we didn’t touch it too much, just changed tires, that was about it.”
“Also have to thank the crew, Taylor and I busted our humps getting the car together this week. Didn’t even have a chance to get a nice paint job on it, maybe now that its proven itself and its an okay car I guess we’ll paint it up.”
“Before that last restart I was pretty much running the bottom, got under Matt but I knew his car was turning way too good right in the center of the corner. My car just couldn’t do that. I was actually just trying to hang on those last couple laps,” divulged Planck, in his debut of a 2010 Teo Pro Car duck-taped with no. 77x and still waiting for the RezX Racing entry to be lettered with Grow It Hydroseeding and Action Race Parts.
Himself moving into third on lap 34 in a dramatic three-wide turn 3-4 maneuver between Willy Decker and the lapped car of Rob Bellinger, Tomkins remained there for the duration as a second straight solid run sent the Clifton Springs, N.Y. speedster home smiling.
“We’re finally finding out some stuff about the car that we didn’t know,” revealed Tomkins, 43, who parked Doug Dulen’s Honeoye Motorsports no. 84 Rochester Americans-National Guard/Bicknell ride in the show position after improving one position from the opening green. “We’re getting some good runs now and also having some good luck.”
“We were off a little but still got third so we’ll take it. Its tough, the track was really fast tonight. Our car was just a little too tight so standing out here (3rd) is good. We’re already looking forward to Cornwall on Sunday, hopefully the weather will hold off and we can put on a good show.”
“I have to thank Doug Dulen (owner), he’s really done a lot for us. And Mike Payne (crew chief) for all his hard work, he’s the reason why I’m standing here right now,” added Tomkins, the 2004 Mr. DIRTcar title holder who is now tied with Justin Haers for sixth in the series point standings with eight events left on the schedule.
Up next in just two more days is the rescheduled 15th Akwesasne Mohawk Casino International 100 at Cornwall Motor Speedway on Sunday, Aug. 23, with another $6 grand up for grabs to the 100-lap winner on the tight quarter-miler in Ontario, Canada.
Super DIRTcar Series Race #13 – Can-Am Motorsports Park, August 21, 2009 ‘End of Summer Spectacular 75’ Big-Block Modified Event Summary
FIN STR CAR# DRIVER
1 1 9s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY ($6,000)
2 3 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
3 4 84 Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY
4 2 1x Willy Decker/Vernon,NY
5 7 7x Steve Paine/Waterloo,NY
6 9 42p Pat Ward/Genoa,NY
7 10 20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
8 16 3 Justin Haers/Phelps,NY
9 13 98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY
10 30 14j Alan Johnson/Middlesex,NY
11 19 99 Ryan Phelps/Fulton,NY
12 5 6 Pat O’Brien/Kingston,ONT
13 12 fx1 Frankie Caprara/Watertown,NY
14 14 27j Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY
15 18 91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY
16 32 19h Chris Higgins/Syracuse,NY
17 17 8 Rich Scagliotta/Bound Brook,NJ
18 21 8r Rob Bellinger/Dexter,NY
19 11 5 Jason Potter/Richland,NY
20 8 29 Jeff Brownell Jr./Waterloo,NY
21 23 07 Tim Kerr/Picton,ONT
22 33 13 Tony Steiner/Jamesville,NY
23 29 22 Eric Gauvreau/Chelsea,QUE
24 28 44 Frank Cozze/Wind Gap,PA
25 24 21 Lance Willix II/Theresa,NY
26 27 85 Ted Lamb Jr./Clay,NY
27 15 90 Scott Parliament/LaFargeville,NY
28 26 88 Tim O’Brien/Kingston,ONT
29 6 49 Billy Dunn/Watertown,NY
30 20 99L Larry Wight/Phoenix,NY
31 22 4* Michael Storms/Wantage,NJ
32 25 18w Scott Webb/Brownville,NY
DNS 31 18 Sean Beardsley/Central Square,NY
GATER RACING NEWS LAP LEADER: Sheppard (1-80).
CAUTIONS: 2 for 4 laps (lap 10, lap 75); 1 RED FLAG (lap 1).
HEAT WINNERS: Ward, Paine, Tomkins, Brownell.
DIG SAFELY NEW YORK LAST CHANCE RACE WINNER: Bellinger.
BICKNELL RACING PRODUCTS WINNER AWARD: Matt Sheppard.
RISLONE OIL STABILIZER & TREATMENT WINNER AWARD: Matt Sheppard.
BARS LEAKS RUNNER-UP AWARD: Dale Planck.
SYRACUSE SDW XXXVIII 200 QUALIFIER: Dale Planck.
HALFWAY LEADER: Matt Sheppard.
BERT/KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER AWARD: Alan Johnson.
XTREME LUBRICANTS SLICK MOVE OF THE RACE AWARD: Gary Tomkins.
PENSKE POWER POSITION AWARD (11th): Ryan Phelps.
INTEGRA SHOCKS FAST TIME AWARD: Matt Sheppard (19.084sec/94.320mph).
TOTAL PURSE: $27,750.
CARS ENTERED: 33.
NEXT EVENT: Cornwall Motor Speedway “Akwesasne Mohawk Int’l 100” – August 23, 2009.
QUALIFYING
FAST AVE
TIME MPH CAR# DRIVER
1 19.084 94.320 9s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY
*$100 Integra Shocks Fast Qualifier Award
2 19.087 94.305 91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY
3 19.246 93.526 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
4 19.290 93.313 6 Pat O’Brien/Kingston,ONT
5 19.291 93.308 7x Steve Paine/Waterloo,NY
6 19.311 93.211 20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
7 19.352 93.014 49 Billy Dunn/Watertown,NY
8 19.409 92.740 29 Jeff Brownell Jr./Waterloo,NY
9 19.511 92.256 42p Pat Ward/Genoa,NY
10 19.532 92.156 99L Larry Wight/Phoenix,NY
11 19.538 92.128 4* Michael Storms/Wantage,NJ
12 19.582 91.921 fx1 Frankie Caprara/Watertown,NY
13 19.593 91.870 1x Willy Decker/Vernon,NY
14 19.617 91.757 98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY
15 19.626 91.715 3 Justin Haers/Phelps,NY
16 19.686 91.436 19h Chris Higgins/Syracuse,NY
17 19.690 91.417 8r Rob Bellinger/Dexter,NY
18 19.738 91.195 84 Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY
19 19.805 90.886 90 Scott Parliament/LaFargeville,NY
20 19.834 90.753 44 Frank Cozze/Wind Gap,PA
21 19.853 90.666 99 Ryan Phelps/Fulton,NY
22 19.888 90.507 5 Jason Potter/Richland,NY
23 19.891 90.493 14j Alan Johnson/Middlesex,NY
24 19.894 90.480 07 Tim Kerr/Picton,ONT
25 19.895 90.475 18w Scott Webb/Brownville,NY
26 19.978 90.099 88 Tim O’Brien/Kingston,ONT
27 19.988 90.054 18 Sean Beardsley/Central Square,NY
28 20.075 89.664 85 Ted Lamb Jr./Clay,NY
29 20.094 89.579 8 Rich Scagliotta/Bound Brook,NJ
30 20.218 89.030 13 Tony Steiner/Jamesville,NY
31 20.520 87.719 21 Lance Willix II/Theresa,NY
32 -NT- —– 22 Eric Gauvreau/Chelsea,QUE
33 -NT- —– 27j Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY
Heat Races (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to feature; top 3 redrew)
#1: Ward, Sheppard, P.O’Brien, J.Phelps, Scagliotta, Bellinger, T.O’Brien, Higgins.
#2: Paine, Caprara, Potter, D.Johnson, B.Decker, Kerr, Gauvreau, Steiner.
#3: Tomkins, Dunn, Hearn, Parliament, R.Phelps, Willix, Webb, A.Johnson.
#4: Brownell, Planck, W.Decker. Haers, Wight, Storms, Beardsley, Lamb, Cozze.
Dig Safely New York Last Chance Race: (10 laps, top 9 finishers transferred to feature)
#1: Bellinger, Storms, Kerr, Willix, Webb, T.O’Brien, Lamb, Cozze, Gauvreau, Beardsley, Higgins, Steiner, A.Johnson (DNS).
Guaranteed: A.Johnson.
Provisionals: Beardsley, Higgins, Steiner.
Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modified Point Standings (Thru Aug. 21, 2009)
Rank No. Driver Total Diff Wins Top-5 Top-10 Starts
1 20 Brett Hearn 1,128 0 2 10 12 13
2 9s Matt Sheppard 1,029 -99 4 8 9 13
3 98H Jimmy Phelps 981 -147 0 5 10 13
4 91 Billy Decker 922 -206 2 6 6 13
5 99 Ryan Phelps 862 -266 2 4 8 13
6 84 Gary Tomkins 838 -290 0 3 8 13
7 3 Justin Haers 838 -290 0 1 7 13
8 77x Dale Planck 798 -330 0 2 5 13
9 27J Danny Johnson 754 -374 0 1 6 13
10 14J Alan Johnson 664 -464 1 3 7 10
11 4 Mike Storms 638 -490 0 0 2 13
12 49 Billy Dunn 618 -510 0 1 2 12
13 99L Larry Wight 580 -548 0 0 0 13
14 29 Jeff Brownell Jr. 545 -583 0 1 3 10
15 7x Steve Paine 530 -598 0 2 6 8
16 74 Tim Fuller 486 -642 1 3 3 7
17 8 Rich Scagliotta 316 -812 0 0 0 5
18 42p Pat Ward 306 -822 0 1 4 6
19 6 Pat O’Brien 306 -822 0 1 2 5
20 FX1 Frankie Caprara 283 -845 0 0 2 5
21 42 Pete Bicknell 203 -925 0 1 2 3
22 18 Sean Beardsley 189 -939 0 0 0 4
23 62 Tom Sears Jr. 169 -959 0 0 0 3
24 99B Chuck Bower 167 -961 0 0 0 4
25 8R Rob Bellinger 161 -967 0 0 0 4
26 33 Mike Mahaney 158 -970 0 0 0 4
27 32c Vic Coffey 141 -987 0 0 1 3
28 1H David Hebert 140 -988 0 1 1 2
29 02 Roy Bresnahan 132 -996 0 0 0 3
30 21 Derrick Podsiadlo 131 -997 0 0 1 3
31 22 Mario Clair 127 -1,001 0 0 0 2
32 3b Chad Brachmann 125 -1,003 0 0 0 3
33 83x Tim Sears 120 -1,008 0 0 0 3
34 43 Keith Flach 111 -1,017 0 0 0 2
35 34b Andy Bachetti 110 -1,018 0 1 1 1
36 19H Chris Higgins 108 -1,020 0 0 0 2
37 07 Tim Kerr 108 -1,020 0 0 0 2
38 88 Tim O’Brien 108 -1,020 0 0 0 2
39 44 Shannon Whaley 105 -1,023 0 0 0 2
40 9m Tim McCreadie 105 -1,023 0 0 1 2
41 22 Eric Gauvreau 97 -1,031 0 0 0 2
42 76 Travis Braun 97 -1,031 0 0 0 2
43 21 Yan Bussiere 97 -1,031 0 0 0 2
44 24 Jim Witko Jr. 96 -1,032 0 0 0 2
45 96 Kyle Dingwall 95 -1,033 0 1 1 1
46 97 Michel Chicoine 95 -1,033 0 0 0 2
47 26 Rick Richner 94 -1,034 0 0 0 2
48 42B Kevin Bates 91 -1,037 0 0 0 2
49 16 Mike Bowman 90 -1,038 0 0 0 2
50 60 Brian Berger 86 -1,042 0 1 1 1
51 44 Frank Cozze 82 -1,046 0 0 0 2
52 73 Alain Boisvert 82 -1,046 0 0 1 1
53 22 Larry Lampman Jr 81 -1,047 0 1 1 1
54 33.3 Tommy Meier 81 -1,047 0 1 1 1
55 77F Mark Flach Jr. 81 -1,047 0 1 1 1
56 13 Tony Steiner 77 -1,051 0 0 0 1
57 57 Donnie Corellis 77 -1,051 0 0 1 1
58 88c Rich Laubach 76 -1,052 0 0 0 1
59 42 Guy Sheldon 71 -1,057 0 0 1 1
60 160 Johnny Hill 70 -1,058 0 0 0 2
61 1F Stewart Friesen 68 -1,060 0 2 4 4
62 98 Eddie Marshall 66 -1,062 0 0 0 1
63 72 Todd Stewart 65 -1,063 0 0 1 1
64 54 Steve Bernard 65 -1,063 0 0 1 1
65 14 Jimmy Horton 63 -1,065 0 0 0 1
66 7* Danny O’Brien 62 -1,066 0 0 1 1
67 5 Jason Potter 61 -1,067 0 0 0 1
68 5H Chris Hile 60 -1,068 0 0 0 1
69 1F Adam Ferri 60 -1,068 0 0 0 1
70 72 Tommy Flannigan 60 -1,068 0 0 0 1
71 123 Robbie Krull 60 -1,068 0 0 0 1
72 64 Donnie Ackner 59 -1,069 0 0 0 1
73 26 Ryan Godown 57 -1,071 0 0 0 1
74 38 Scott Wood 56 -1,072 0 0 0 1
75 44 Sebastien Gougeon 56 -1,072 0 0 0 1
76 2 Dave Axton 56 -1,072 0 0 0 1
77 48T Dave Rauscher 55 -1,073 0 0 0 2
78 88k Randy Chrysler 55 -1,073 0 0 0 1
79 3 Claude Brouillard 54 -1,074 0 0 0 1
80 99 Charlie Donk 52 -1,076 0 0 0 1
81 88 Krey Sandstedt 52 -1,076 0 0 0 1
82 24s Chris Shultz 51 -1,077 0 0 0 1
83 46 Kayle Robidoux 51 -1,077 0 0 0 1
84 115 Kenny Tremont Jr. 51 -1,077 0 0 0 1
85 16w Lance Willix II 50 -1,078 0 0 0 1
86 56 Vince Vitale 50 -1,078 0 0 0 1
87 52 James M. Friesen 50 -1,078 0 0 0 1
88 xXx Todd Gordon 50 -1,078 0 0 0 1
89 6m Mat Wiliamson 50 -1,078 0 0 0 1
90 M96 Brian McDonald 50 -1,078 0 0 0 1
91 3d Dexter Stacey 50 -1,078 0 0 0 1
92 66w Wallace Stacey 50 -1,078 0 0 0 1
93 23 Dany Bilodeau 50 -1,078 0 0 0 1
94 1H Tim Hindley 50 -1,078 0 0 0 1
95 124 Pierre Dagenais 49 -1,079 0 0 0 1
96 80x Chris Steele 48 -1,080 0 0 0 1
97 72x Denis Gauvreau 48 -1,080 0 0 0 1
98 17c Bobby Davidson 48 -1,080 0 0 0 1
99 43 Fred Carleton 46 -1,082 0 0 0 1
100 14 Brian Swarthout 45 -1,083 0 0 0 1
101 37s Wayne Conn Jr. 45 -1,083 0 0 0 1
102 22J Gino Clair 45 -1,083 0 0 0 1
103 55 Mike King 45 -1,083 0 0 0 1
104 91 Chad Homan 44 -1,084 0 0 0 1
105 08 Mark D’Ilario 44 -1,084 0 0 0 1
106 39 Clement Therrien 44 -1,084 0 0 0 1
107 87 Hector Stratton 44 -1,084 0 0 0 1
108 28 Scott Kerwin 43 -1,085 0 0 0 1
109 20d Del Rougeux Jr. 42 -1,086 0 0 0 1
110 21m Bob McGannon 42 -1,086 0 0 0 1
Super DIRTcar Series Modified Entries – August 21 (33)
Car# Driver/Hometown Team (Sponsor / Chassis / Engine)
07 Tim Kerr/Picton,ONT Hubert Kerr Construction-Northwood 2 Construction/Bicknell/Enders
1x Willy Decker/Vernon,NY ComeRaceWithUs.com-Kehn’s Collision/Bicknell/Moshier
fx1 Frankie Caprara/Watertown,NY F.X. Caprara Car Co.-SUNY Canton/Troyer/Dan Bedell
3 Justin Haers/Phelps,NY Phelps Cement Products-SMV Motorsports-Jeff Jolly Masonry/Bicknell/Finger Lakes
4* Michael Storms/Wantage,NJ Keizer Aluminum Wheels-Mike Sparta Trckng-Four Star Transmissions/TEO/Morrison
5 Jason Potter/Richland,NY Butler Disposal-Fat Nancy’s Tackle Shop/Bicknell/Enders
6 Pat O’Brien/Kingston,ONT 730 Truck Stop-Gypsum Logistics-Milestone Concrete/Bicknell/Enders
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
8r Rob Bellinger/Dexter,NY U-Store of Watertown-Westward Painting-Coffin Excavation/Troyer/Finger Lakes
9s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY Xtreme Lubricants/Bicknell/C.C. Performance
13 Tony Steiner/Jamesville,NY NY Tech Supply-Tech Tire Repairs/Bicknell/Donath
14j Alan Johnson/Middlesex,NY Bully’s Truck Stop-CFF,Inc.-Raymond’s Car Care/Bicknell/Jimmy D’s Speed
18 Sean Beardsley/Central Square,NY Pipe Pros-Bradco Supply/Troyer/Moshier
18w Scott Webb/Brownville,NY Davidson Automotive Group-Marzano Excavating/Bicknell/Feil
19h Chris Higgins/Syracuse,NY Transportation Repair Service-JLRB Construction/Bicknell/Higgins Performance
20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ Madsen Motorsports-Wentworth Custom Homes-Kruger-WLR-BPG/TEO/Enders
21 Lance Willix II/Theresa,NY SUNY Canton-Nor-Shir Construction/Bicknell/Morrison
22 Eric Gauvreau/Chelsea,QUE Micheline Richard Home Sales-Gauvreau Top Soil/Troyer/Ovide Doiron
27j Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY Thompson Motorsports-SUNY Canton/Troyer/Dan Bedell
29 Jeff Brownell Jr./Waterloo,NY Xtreme Lubricants/Bicknell/C.C. Performance
42p Pat Ward/Genoa,NY Gypsum Express,Ltd./Bicknell/Kevlar
44 Frank Cozze/Wind Gap,PA Waite’s Gen.Contractors-Carquest-Bert Trans.-Deerfoot Auto Parts/PMC/M2 Power
49 Billy Dunn/Watertown,NY Number One Speed-American Traditions-Fast Lube Watertown/Bicknell/Finger Lakes
77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY RezX Racing-Grow It Hydroseeding-Action Race Parts-Teo Fab./TEO/Kevlar
84 Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY Honeoye Auto Parts-Rochester Americans-National Guard/Bicknell/Mastin
85 Ted Lamb Jr./Clay,NY M.R. Burdick Enterprises-Fergison Water Works/TEO/Morrison
88 Tim O’Brien/Kingston,ONT Jim’s Performance Plus-SG Wells Ford/TEO/Jim’s Performance Ford
90 Scott Parliament/LaFargeville,NY Rt. 37 Bldg Supply-Utica Boilers-Thousand Islands Heating & AC/TEO/Finger Lakes
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
SKIDMARKS
Hometrack Heroes: Not only do Billy Dunn and Justin Haers chase the Super DIRTcar Series around the Northeast throughout the season, both upcoming tour talents are locked into the summer-long points battle at Can-Am. Towing in from nearby Watertown, N.Y., Dunn currently tops the points chart with three Friday night feature wins while Central New York speedster Haers already owns five victories at the LaFargeville layout despite missing a handful of events which has kept him out of the top-five in the track standings. “We’ve got our Syracuse motor back in tonight, the same one we got those three wins with,” said Dunn, before finishing a disappointing 29th in the finale. Noted Haers before hitting the track for warm-ups, “Sometimes it ends up being a hometrack disadvantage. This place has been different just about every week, you just have to adjust.” Haers entered the race with victories in his last three trips to Cam-Am prior to placing eighth in the Super DIRTcar Series special..
Also making the trip north up Route 81 from his home in Syracuse, N.Y. every Friday is Chris Higgins, second so far in Can-Am points right behind Dunn. The ’05 DIRTcar Sportsman Rookie of the Year, Higgins is enjoying his second season in the Big-Block ranks with one win to his credit at the Jefferson County oval. “I’ve run against these guys at their own tracks, now they get to play in my sandbox tonight,” smiled Higgins as he prepared his BRP mount for the first practice run. “We’ve run about 20 races, probably less than half of what those on tour have done so far and we’re still learning a lot every time out. When these guys come in they usually only have to make a couple adjustments, that’s what experience is all about. We’re still pretty confident a top-10 finish isn’t out of the question, just taking small steps is fine with us at this time.”
Super DIRT Week Schedule On Web: DIRTcar Racing Northeast’s prized jewel ‘Super DIRT Week’ is now just a little over one month away and a detailed schedule has been posted on www.superdirtcarseries.com and www.dirtcar.com so make plans accordingly. The 38th edition held at the New York State Fairgrounds’ Moody Mile’ in Syracuse opens trackside on Wednesday, Oct. 7 with Modified ‘Happy Hour’ slated for 3-5pm. Thursday is ‘Media Day’ followed by Integra Shocks Time Trials for both Big-Blocks and 358-Modifieds plus the 358 and Sportsman futures events. The Friday card is headlined by Big-Block Triple 20 and 358-Modified Twin 20 qualifying races plus Sportsman Time Trials before first-time Big-Block and Pro Stock pilots contest in their own finale. The weekend is filled with main events for DIRTcar Northeast’s top traveling series — Syracuse 150 358-Modified Championship and Sportsman Championship races on Saturday, with the 200-lap SDW XXXVIII Modified Championship and Pro Stock Championship taking center stage on Sunday.
Pot Holes: After missing Cayuga County’s inaugural ‘All-Star Weekend’ in July due to suffering a broken right foot in a league basketball game, defending Super DIRT Week Big-Block winner Frank Cozze was back on tour with a new car but pitted early after bending the front nose and experiencing carburetor trouble in his heat. The Wind Gap, Pa. veteran lasted only 18 laps in the feature before pulling pitside for the remainder … No relation to reigning Mr. DIRTcar points king Billy Decker, Willy Decker made a rare career stop at Can-Am. “I remember it being dry and slick, kind of like how it turned out tonight. Right now I’m planning to make as many series shows as I can after Labor Day, looks like Rolling Wheels (Sept. 7) will be the next one.” … Matt Sheppard remarked “Usually I can time trial better than I can draw” after setting fast time and prior to selecting ‘3’ for the heat race inversion. He then went out and grabbed the no. 1 spot to begin the feature on the point and never looked back … First heat win of the ’09 Series for Gary Tomkins certainly proved to be a sign of good things to come … Michael Storms was lined up to sign autographs by the Dave’s Racing Collectibles trailer in the Can-Am midway during intermission, only Storms needed to qualify through the consolation round and pending rain forced officials to hurry the show along. Ironically, raindrops began to fall as the driver interviews concluded victory lane ceremonies by 10:40pm … 3 Small-Blocks in the field entered by local favorite Lance Willix II, Tim O’Brien from Ontario and Eric Gauvreau from Quebec, with Gauvreau locking up an automatic starting bid for the SDW XXXVIII 358-Modified Championship on the Syracuse Mile, Oct. 10.
UPCOMING EVENTS
The Super DIRTcar Series stars return to action further north as they cross the border for a second try at conquering Cornwall Motor Speedway (rain delayed from July 12) on August 23. Then its off to New York State’s Capital District as the top point chasers close out the month at Lebanon Valley Speedway on Aug. 27 in the $17,500-to-win ‘Mr. DIRT Track U.S.A.’ title event.
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 Matt Sheppard
Sat-Aug 8 Canandaigua Speedway Tim Fuller
Fri-Aug 21 Can-Am Motorsports Park Matt Sheppard
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 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.
