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Decker Leaves No Doubt In Great Canadian Conquest At Brockville

Billy_Decker_BOS_720102008_WEB

Brockville, ONTJuly 10, 2008 – By Tom Skibinski, Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series PR Director
*Rick Young Photo

Race fans continued to experience the unmistaken symptoms of red eye along the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series as Billy Decker put the flashy red LJL Racing no. 91 Gypsum Wholesalers-Stadium Int’l-Quality Hardwoods/Bicknell entry in victory lane for a third straight show. 

 Click to listen to first place Billy Decker, second place Jimmy Phelps, and third place finisher Steve Paine

This time race chasers from north of the border were able to witness Decker’s Advance Series dominance on Thursday night as the Unadilla, New York wheelman opened the ‘Great Canadian Tour’ with a near flag-to-flag victory in the headline ‘Coca-Cola/BOB FM 100’ for Modifieds at Brockville Ontario Speedway.

“So far so good, I’m surrounded by good people and a good race team as they give me a gun to drive every night and I’m very appreciative of that,” said Decker, 43, following his fourth Advance Series wins in the initial seven races to extend his points lead. Mirroring his results posted in the past two 100-lappers, the ‘Franklin Flyer’ led all but three circuits at the BOS and outdistanced runner-up Jimmy Phelps by a half-dozen car-lengths at the stripe. The 1998 overall Hoosier Tire Mr. DIRTcar Modified Champion began his streak leading all 101 laps at Fulton Speedway on June 7 before pacing the field for the final 88 times around at Ransomville Speedway on July 3. “I hate to get too far in front of ourselves, the next thing you know you pop in a couple bad finishes and you wonder what the heck happened.”

The rest of the 30-car starting field never really knew what hit them after Decker took the lead from fellow Gypsum driver Pat O’Brien on lap four and cruised on for another $6,000 victory ahead of the best on DIRTcar racing NorthEast’s premier Big-Block Modified tour. Steve Paine followed Phelps to the checkers with Dale Planck and Frankie Caprara filling out the final front-five. Phelps’ runner-up tally also earned him preferred starter status in the prestigious Rite Aid 200 Championship race on Oct. 12 of Super DIRT Week XXXVII at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse.

Planck put the only blemish on Decker’s brilliant day as he was fastest in Integra Shock Time Trials (14.422sec./93.607mph) on the recently enlarged 3/8-mile Brockville oval. Decker was second-quickest out of 36 drivers running under the clocks and he copped his qualifying heat before drawing fourth to start outside row two for the main event.

Looking to repeat his march to the winner’s circle at Brockville, defending race winner O’Brien blasted by Frenchman Yan Bussiere to start the century grind yet could not match Decker’s drive to the front after just four laps. Pro stock graduate Clayton Benedict slammed the turn four outside wall to bring out the first yellow flag the next lap and when the dust settled Decker was in command over O’Brien, Planck, Phelps and Matt Sheppard.

Green lights returned around the speedway and Decker pulled away despite Planck grabbing second with 10 laps complete to mount an early race challenge. Decker reached traffic by lap 16 and the next time around Ryan Poole looped his machine in turn three to force out another caution. Minor mishaps by Scott Parliament (lap 27) and Todd Stewart (lap 30) required two more slowdowns although Decker easily out-dragged Phelps on the ensuing restarts in the early going.

At the midway mark, the trio of Decker, Phelps and Planck paced the field with Paine and second-year tour follower Billy Dunn locked in pursuit. Phelps had actually pulled ahead of Decker for a moment on lap 46 as the pair diced on the back chute, but that was the closest any one would get to Decker who took no prisoners the remainder of the way.

As the laps dwindled the top-5 running order remained intact as Decker clung to the bottom with Phelps hanging on higher and Paine, Planck and Caprara testing every lane in between. Decker opened up more than a one-second advantage in the later stages and that’s the way it ended with DIRTcar NorthEast’s winningest driver in ’08 scoring his division-high 15th feature win of the season once again in decisive fashion.

“I thought we were pretty decent down low but Jimmy Phelps made me get up on the wheel,” admitted Decker, following his 43rd career Advance Series triumph, giving him 165 on the DIRTcar NE circuit since 1987. “On that one restart he was rolling me on the outside and I said ‘geez, he’s going pretty good.’ I was on the gas pretty hard and stayed right with him, certainly couldn’t afford to fall of the seat or these guys will pass right by you.”

“I did notice a little difference with the track (from last year) but our savior tonight was the brown on the bottom. When I got to the middle I wasn’t very good, we got too tight. We haven’t figured that (line) out yet but we’re good enough to run pretty quick down low and that’s been good enough to win lately,” Decker added.

Phelps has not been quite good enough to win a tour race yet this season, but the Baldwinsville, New York chauffeur did the next best thing by coming home second for his highest finish of the ’08 Advance Series steering the H&H Motorsports no. 98H Mohawk Northeast-New England Race Fuels-Joe Gibbs Racing Oil/Troyer entry.

“We took a look up high on a couple restarts and ran with him for a lap or two but I’ll tell you what, second to Billy Decker this year is just like a win so we’re pretty happy,” declared Phelps, 33, who leap-frogged over both Danny Johnson and reigning Mr. DIRTcar points king Brett Hearn to improve from fifth to third in the standings heading to Quebec. The “B’Ville Blizzard” led a trio of Troyer cars up front that included Paine and Caprara, who netted his first top-five finish of the year.

“The bottom was good down here in turns three and four, in turns one and two I could run in the middle and up top most of the race and that’s where I felt the best. But out there you could only stay with (Decker) a lap or two then you would have to fall back on the bottom to get your speed back up. Yet coming out of here in one piece, it’s a good second-place finish and hopefully we’ll be back (podium) again tomorrow night,” Phelps said.

Paine’s third-place tally was his third top-five finish in seven tour attempts yet the first for the Waterloo, New York native since Rolling Wheels Raceway Park on May 4.

“On a couple restarts I was in the middle and didn’t feel half bad but I just didn’t think my tires would stay good running out there all night,” figured Paine, who garnered Brockville’s lone DIRTcar Big Block Modified track points title in 2004. The 2000 Mr. DIRTcar Champion owns 14 career DIRTcar wins at the BOS, five with the Big-Blocks and nine more in the 358-Modified ranks.

“If it came down to the end and we were close I might try the middle a little bit but we wanted to have tires at the end. We never did get a shot towards the end but (Decker and Phelps) were both better than I was anyway so third isn’t too bad. We’re gonna try to run this Canadian Tour with just one car, I figured working and wrenching just one in four days is better than trying to work on two. So we’ll just have to wait to see how that works out,” added Paine, whose last Advance Series win came a year ago at Can-Am Motorsports Park.

Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series teams continue the ‘Great Canadian Tour’ with round two slated for Autodrome Granby on Friday, followed by consecutive nights of Big-Block Modified action at Autodrome Drummond in Quebec and Cornwall Motor Speedway in the province of Ontario from July 11-13.

Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series Race #7 – Brockville Ontario Speedway, July 10, 2008 Coca-Cola/BOB FM Big-Block Modified Event Summary
FIN STR CAR# DRIVER
1 4 91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY($6,000)
2 3 98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY
3 8 7x Steve Paine/Waterloo,NY
4 5 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
5 10 fx1 Frankie Caprara/Watertown,NY
6 7 49 Billy Dunn/Watertown,NY
7 6 9s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY
8 19 84 Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY
9 14 17d Danny O’Brien/Kingston,ONT
10 9 20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
11 23 66x Alan Johnson/Middlesex,NY
12 18 99 Ryan Phelps/Fulton,NY
13 11 3 Justin Haers/Phelps,NY
14 15 m96 Jessica Zemken/Sprakers,NY
15 21 99a Mike Adderley/Charlotte,NC
16 12 22 Mario Clair/St-Edmond,QUE
17 17 90 Scott Parliament/LaFargeville,NY
18 13 115 Stephane LaFrance/Morrisburg,ONT
19 16 99L Larry Wight/Phoenix,NY®
20 24 19 John Lazore/Hogansburg,NY
21 1 21 Yan Bussiere/Drummondville,QUE
22 22 5 Jason Potter/Pulaski,NY
23 27 35 Adam Moore/Elgin,ONT
24 2 6 Pat O’Brien/Kingston,ONT
25 30 7j Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY
26 26 72 Todd Stewart/Kingston,ONT
27 20 96 Kyle Dingwall/Brockville,ONT
28 28 00 Ryan Poole/Charleston Lake,ONT
29 25 12c Clayton Benedict/Cornwall Island,ONT
30 29 61 Bryan Rogers/Kingston,ONT
DID NOT QUALIFY(6)
9-Jason Riddell/Cardinal,ONT
12-John Mulder/Spencerville,ONT
25-Bobby Herrington/Elginburg,ONT
31x-Andy Lloyd/Kingston,ONT
66w-Wallace Stacey/Kahnawake,QUE
95-Mark Hitchcock/Kingston,ONT

EVENT SUMMARY:
LAP LEADERS: P.O’Brien (1-3), Decker (4-100).
CAUTIONS: 8 for 7 laps.
HEAT WINNERS: Planck, Decker, Sheppard, Dunn.
DIG SAFELY NEW YORK LAST CHANCE RACE WINNERS: Adderley, Potter.
BICKNELL RACING PRODUCTS WINNER AWARD: Billy Decker.
CRANE CAMS WINNER AWARD: Billy Decker.
RISLONE OIL STABILIZER & TREATMENT WINNER AWARD: Billy Decker.
BARS LEAKS RUNNER-UP AWARD: Jimmy Phelps.
CRANE CAMS RUNNER-UP AWARD: Jimmy Phelps.
SYRACUSE RITE AID 200 QUALIFIER: Jimmy Phelps (P).
HALFWAY LEADER: Billy Decker.
BERT/KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER AWARD: Alan Johnson.
HOLLEY HARD LUCK AWARD: Pat O’Brien.
PENSKE POWER POSITION AWARD (6th): Billy Dunn.
INTEGRA SHOCKS FAST TIME AWARD: Dale Planck (14.422sec/93.607mph).
TOTAL PURSE: $27,575.
CARS ENTERED: 36.
NEXT EVENT: Autodrome Granby “Budweiser 100” – July 11, 2008.
 
QUALIFYING
FAST AVE
TIME MPH CAR# DRIVER
1 14.422 93.607 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
*$100 Integra Shocks Fast Qualifier Award
2 14.482 93.219 91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY
3 14.622 92.327 20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
4 14.684 91.937 98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY
5 14.713 91.756 3 Justin Haers/Phelps,NY
6 14.726 91.675 7x Steve Paine/Waterloo,NY
7 14.747 91.544 9s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY
8 14.765 91.432 49 Billy Dunn/Watertown,NY
9 14.788 91.290 6 Pat O’Brien/Kingston,ONT
10 14.804 91.192 fx1 Frankie Caprara/Watertown,NY
11 14.975 90.150 m96 Jessica Zemken/Sprakers,NY
12 14.981 90.114 21 Yan Bussiere/Drummondville,QUE
13 15.003 89.982 115 Stephane LaFrance/Morrisburg,ONT
14 15.061 89.635 17d Danny O’Brien/Kingston,ONT
15 15.072 89.570 99a Mike Adderley/Charlotte,NC
16 15.125 89.256 99L Larry Wight/Phoenix,NY®
17 15.139 89.174 66x Alan Johnson/Middlesex,NY
18 15.165 89.021 99 Ryan Phelps/Fulton,NY
19 15.183 88.915 84 Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY
20 15.191 88.868 5 Jason Potter/Pulaski,NY
21 15.211 88.752 90 Scott Parliament/LaFargeville,NY
22 15.267 88.426 19 John Lazore/Hogansburg,NY
23 15.320 88.120 22 Mario Clair/St-Edmond,QUE
24 15.352 87.936 96 Kyle Dingwall/Brockville,ONT
25 15.399 87.668 12 John Mulder/Spencerville,ONT
26 15.414 87.583 9 Jason Riddell/Cardinal,ONT
27 15.435 87.464 35 Adam Moore/Elgin,ONT
28 15.438 87.447 72 Todd Stewart/Kingston,ONT
29 15.439 87.441 12c Clayton Benedict/Cornwall Island,ONT
30 15.486 87.176 27j Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY
31 15.557 86.778 31x Andy Lloyd/Kingston,ONT
32 15.592 86.583 95 Mark Hitchcock/Kingston,ONT
33 15.595 86.566 25 Bobby Herrington/Elginburg,ONT
34 15.681 86.091 00 Ryan Poole/Charleston Lake,ONT
35 15.724 85.856 61 Bryan Rogers/Kingston,ONT
36 15.836 85.249 66w Wallace Stacey/Kahnawake,QUE

Heat Races (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to feature, top 3 went to re-draw)
#1: Planck, P.O’Brien, Haers, LaFrance, Parliament, Benedict, A.Johnson, Mulder, Herrington.
#2: Decker, Paine, Caprara, D.O’Brien, R.Phelps, Lazore, Poole, Riddell, D.Johnson.
#3: Sheppard, Hearn, Clair, Zemken, Tomkins, Adderley, Rogers, Moore, Lloyd.
#4: Dunn, J.Phelps, Bussiere, Wight, Dingwall, Potter, Stewart, Hitchcock, Stacey.
Dig Safely New York Last Chance Races (10 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to feature)
#1: Adderley, A.Johnson, Benedict, Moore, Rogers, Mulder, Lloyd, Herrington (DNS).
#2: Potter, Lazore, Stewart, Poole, Hitchcock, D.Johnson, Riddell, Stacey.
Guarantees: Rogers, D.Johnson.

Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series Point Standings (Through July 10, 2008)
Rank No. Driver Total SeriesDiff Money Wins Top-5 Top-10 Starts
1 91 Billy Decker 578 578 0 $24,900 4 5 7 7
2 77x Dale Planck 493 493 -85 $15,025 2 4 5 7
3 98h Jimmy Phelps 486 486 -92 $11,900 0 3 6 7
4 20 Brett Hearn 482 482 -96 $10,100 0 4 6 7
5 27J Danny Johnson 456 456 -122 $11,425 0 3 4 7
6 9s Matt Sheppard 446 446 -132 $14,400 1 2 4 7
7 84 Gary Tomkins 435 435 -143 $6,675 0 1 7 7
8 14J Alan Johnson 430 430 -148 $7,025 0 1 4 7
9 7x Steve Paine 414 414 -164 $8,175 0 3 3 7
10 3 Justin Haers 410 410 -168 $5,350 0 1 5 7
11 FX1 Frankie Caprara 380 380 -198 $4,800 0 1 4 7
12 99 Ryan Phelps 372 372 -206 $3,900 0 0 2 7
13 49 Billy Dunn 331 331 -247 $3,650 0 0 1 7
14 99L Larry Wight 301 301 -277 $3,100 0 0 1 7
15 6 Pat O’Brien 299 299 -279 $2,960 0 0 1 7
16 29 Jeff Brownell Jr 248 248 -330 $2,000 0 0 0 6
17 42B Kevin Bates 220 220 -358 $1,950 0 0 0 6
18 99b Chuck Bower 140 140 -438 $900 0 0 0 4
19 11j Sean Beardsley 139 139 -439 $900 0 0 0 4
20 16 Mike Bowman 135 135 -443 $900 0 0 0 4
21 357 Stewart Friesen 131 131 -447 $2,750 0 1 1 2
22 19 Tim Fuller 130 130 -448 $2,750 0 1 1 2
23 5 Jason Potter 125 125 -453 $900 0 0 0 4
24 56 Vince Vitale 125 125 -453 $610 0 0 0 3
25 48T Dave Rauscher 119 119 -459 $750 0 0 0 3
26 4 Duane Howard 105 105 -473 $6,000 0 1 1 1
27 79 Mike Storms 102 102 -476 $1,050 0 0 0 3
28 44 Shannon Whaley100 100 -478 $450 0 0 0 3
29 62s Tom Sears Jr. 99 99 -479 $700 0 0 0 3
30 123 Robbie Krull 96 96 -482 $4,000 0 1 1 1
31 85 Dan Vauter 89 89 -489 $600 0 0 0 2
32 8 Rob Bellinger 86 86 -492 $600 0 0 0 3
33 21 Derrick Podsiadlo 84 84 -494 $600 0 0 0 3
34 89b Todd Burley 80 80 -498 $1,700 0 1 1 1
35 28 Scott Kerwin 76 76 -502 $1,400 0 0 1 1
36 13 Tony Steiner 73 73 -505 $300 0 0 0 1
37 32c Vic Coffey 70 70 -508 $500 0 0 0 1
38 1w Billy Pauch 66 66 -512 $1,400 0 0 1 1
39 17d Danny O’Brien 65 65 -513 $800 0 0 1 1
40 20m Jeff McGinnis 65 65 -513 $800 0 0 1 1
41 88 Steve Hulsizer 65 65 -513 $450 0 0 0 2
42 15x Billy Pauch Jr. 63 63 -515 $1,040 0 0 0 1
43 85 Wade Hendrickson 62 62 -516 $1,200 0 0 1 1
44 71 David VanHorn 59 59 -519 $1,020 0 0 0 1
45 26 Rick Richner 58 58 -520 $400 0 0 0 1
46 93 Rich Vinson 56 56 -522 $350 0 0 0 1
47 M96 Jessica Zemken 54 54 -524 $325 0 0 0 1
48 14 Rick Laubach 54 54 -524 $1,000 0 0 0 1
49 91h Chad Homan 53 53 -525 $300 0 0 0 1
50 99 Mike Adderley 52 52 -526 $300 0 0 0 1
51 44v Phil Vigneri 52 52 -526 $300 0 0 0 1
52 22 Mario Clair 51 51 -527 $300 0 0 0 1
53 111 Kevin Wills 50 50 -528 $300 0 0 0 1
54 90 Scott Parliament 48 48 -530 $300 0 0 0 1
55 20R Josh Richards 48 48 -530 $750 0 0 0 1
56 115 Stephane LaFrance 46 46 -532 $300 0 0 0 1
57 19 John Lazore 44 44 -534 $300 0 0 0 1
58 21 Yan Bussiere 44 44 -534 $300 0 0 0 1
59 41 Boyd MacTavish 44 44 -534 $300 0 0 0 1
60 43 Keith Flach 43 43 -535 $300 0 0 0 2
61 X Chad Phelps 42 42 -536 $300 0 0 0 1
62 39w Steven Downs 42 42 -536 $750 0 0 0 1
63 35 Adam Moore 41 41 -537 $300 0 0 0 1
64 12c Clayton Benedict 40 40 -538 $300 0 0 0 1
65 00 Ryan Poole 40 40 -538 $300 0 0 0 1
66 61 Bryan Rogers 40 40 -538 $300 0 0 0 1
67 96 Kyle Dingwall 40 40 -538 $300 0 0 0 1
68 72 Todd Stewart 40 40 -538 $300 0 0 0 1
69 42 Pete Bicknell 40 40 -538 $300 0 0 0 1
70 80 Chris Steele 40 40 -538 $300 0 0 0 1
71 83 Tim Sears 40 40 -538 $300 0 0 0 1
72 87 Shawn Donath 40 40 -538 $300 0 0 0 1
73 6 Pete Taylor 40 40 -538 $300 0 0 0 1
74 24 Jim Witko Jr. 40 40 -538 $300 0 0 0 1
75 93 Ryan Bartlett 40 40 -538 $300 0 0 0 1
76 43 Jimmy Horton IV 40 40 -538 $750 0 0 0 1
77 777 Kevin Bolland 40 40 -538 $750 0 0 0 1

Advance Auto Parts DIRTcar Modified Entries – July 10 (36)
CAR# DRIVER / HOMETOWN TEAM (Sponsor / Chassis / Engine)
00 Ryan Poole/Charleston Lake,ONT Murdock Cement Finishing-Brockville Motor Sales/Bicknell/Mike Blok (Eng. Research)
fx1 Frankie Caprara/Watertown,NY F.X. Caprara Car Co.-Auto Value-JK Contracting/Troyer/Dan Bedell
3 Justin Haers/Phelps,NY Phelps Cement Products-SMV Motorsports-Jeff Jolly Masonry/Bicknell/Finger Lakes
5 Jason Potter/Pulaski,NY Dick’s Auto Specialties-Fat Nancy’s Tackle Shop/Bicknell/Feil
6 Pat O’Brien/Kingston,ONT 730 Truck Stop-Gypsum Logistics-Newells Garage/Bicknell/Enders
7x Steve Paine/Waterloo,NY Tallmadge Tire-Swarthout Recycling-Instant Heat Wood Pellets/Troyer/Finger Lakes
9 Jason Riddell/Cardinal,ONT JR Trucking-Ironhorse Transportation/Bicknell/Jim’s Performance
9s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY Advanced Lubrication Specialties-BPG/Chad Sinon Motorsports/Bicknell/Finger Lakes
12 John Mulder/Spencerville,ONT Splash Well Drilling-Polite Sand & Gravel/Bicknell/Mike Blok (Eng. Research)
12c Clayton Benedict/Cornwall Island,ONT Thompson Motorsports-No. 9 Fuels/Troyer/Steve O
17d Danny O’Brien/Kingston,ONT 1000 Islands RV Centers-Stover Bus Lines-Pat’s Radiator/Bicknell/Morrison
19 John Lazore/Hogansburg,NY Street Wise Fight Wear-JL Motorsports-G&R Auto Parts/TEO/Enders
20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ Madsen Motorsports-Wentworth Custom Homes-Kruger-WLR/TEO/Enders
21 Yan Bussiere/Drummondville,QUE Bud Light/TEO/RL Racing Engines
22 Mario Clair/St-Edmond,QUE Batiments JDL-Motel Drummond-Freightliner/Bicknell/Morrison
25 Bobby Herrington/Elginburg,ONT Stover Bus Lines-Old Forester/Bicknell/Enders
27j Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY JIR Motorsports-A&D Structures/Troyer/Morrison
31x Andy Lloyd/Kingston,ONT Lamour Lawncare & Landscape-Corcoran Excavating-Collins Trkng/Bicknell/Morrison
35 Adam Moore/Elgin,ONT Four-O-One Electric-E&A Welding-Taylor Auto Mall/Bicknell/Engines Extra
49 Billy Dunn/Watertown,NY Number One Speed-American Traditions-Fast Lube Watertown/Bicknell/Finger Lakes
61 Bryan Rogers/Kingston,ONT J.Harrison Excavation & Pipeline-Tony K/Bicknell/JR Engines
66w Wallace Stacey/Kahnawake,QUE Bully’s Truck Stop-CFF,Inc./Bicknell/RL Performance
66x Alan Johnson/Middlesex,NY Bully’s Truck Stop-CFF,Inc./Bicknell/Paul Gavenda
72 Todd Stewart/Kingston,ONT Red Line Oil-ReMax Realty/TEO/DSE1
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-Red Parker & Son Excavating/Bicknell/Mastin
90 Scott Parliament/LaFargeville,NY Rt. 37 Building Supply-Utica Boilers/TEO/Enders
91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY Gypsum Wholesalers-Stadium Int’l-Quality Hardwoods/Bicknell/Enders
95 Mark Hitchcock/Kingston,ONT Jim’s Performance Plus-SG Wells Ford-Cruickshank/TEO/Jim’s Performance Ford
96 Kyle Dingwall/Brockville,ONT Eastern Ontario Millwrighting-Harlenvino Transportation/Bicknell/Mike Blok(Eng.Res.)
m96 Jessica Zemken/Sprakers,NY LaSalle Motorsports-Kriska Transportation/Bicknell/Mike Blok(Eng.Res.)
98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY Mohawk N.E.-New England Race Fuels-Joe Gibbs Racing Oil/Troyer/Finger Lakes
99 Ryan Phelps/Fulton,NY Big Red Towing-Dave Miller Auto Body/Bicknell/Enders
99a Mike Adderley/Charlotte,NC T.J. Clement Construction-Atomic Sign Works/TEO/Morrison
99L Larry Wight/Phoenix,NY® Gypsum Express,Ltd./Bicknell/Enders
115 Stephane LaFrance/Morrisburg,ONT Trick Race Parts-Groupe Richer/LaFrance/Kevlar

SKIDMARKS
BOS Just Got Bigger
: Brockville Ontario Speedway has been a quarter-mile clay oval ever since it started flying the DIRTcar banner in 1983. That all changed in time for the ’08 opener as owner/promoter Paul Kirkland widened the turns and added fresh clay all around last November and voila …. a new and improved 3/8-miler has come to life. “We added about 50 feet (300 truck loads) to both ends and cut down turns one and two while widening them at the same time,” pointed out Kirkland, who endured overnight rain on Wednesday and was forced to arrive at the track early on Thursday, priming his pumps during the morning hours to rid the BOS of standing water that inundated the southern Ontario facility. The speeds have definitely increased and there’s more room now for drivers to get the job done.”

Thursday Is Ladies Night: Making a rare appearance as part of the Advance Auto Parts Series for Big-Block Modifieds, second-generation racer Jessica Zemken not only qualified for the century grind at Brockville, she finished 14th just one lap down to the leaders aboard the small-block powered no. m96 LaSalle Motorsports-Kriska Transportation/Bicknell ride. Including three DIRTcar 358-Modified feature wins this season at Brockville, Zemken has reached victory lane on four occasions in 2008. With the Sportsman Modified Series also on the card Thursday at BOS, teenager Tabatha Murphy was also signed in but failed to qualify in her first Series attempt.

Late Arrivals: Just getting to the track required some solid team work for tour travlers Dale Planck and Gary Tomkins. The hauler toting the RezX Racing no. 77x Grow It Hydroseeding-Action Race Parts/TEO for Planck suffered a flat tire en route to Brockville while a faulty brake line on Tomkins’ Honeoye Auto Parts truck delayed his arrival to late afternoon. Tomkins phoned good friend Jason Potter, who was almost on his way to Brockville from his home in Pulaski, New York, and his father Terry Potter made the necessary mechanical repairs to get the trailer back on the road.

Super Southern Swing: The inaugural ‘Super Southern Swing’ kicks off at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania on Wednesday, July 16 and concludes with the first-ever tour appearance at Georgetown Speedway in Delaware on Thursday, July 17, with the DIRTcar doubleheader pre-race roster already swelling to well over 40 race teams. Along with current Advance Series point leader Billy Decker, all-time tour winner Brett Hearn and all-time DIRTcar Big-Block Modified feature winner Alan Johnson, The all-star cast of cars and stars from the Northeastern Modified ranks also includes ’07 Grandview titlist Jeff Strunk and reigning Georgetown points king Ryan Godown plus season-opening Florida DIRTcar Nationals winners Billy Pauch and Jimmy Horton, along with their sons Billy Jr. and Jimmy IV. Top ‘08 tour point-getters Danny Johnson, Dale Planck, Jimmy Phelps, Matt Sheppard, Gary Tomkins, Justin Haers and Steve Paine will all be in competition, battling for bragging rights against such interstate pilots Frank Cozze, Duane Howard, Craig VonDohren, Rick Laubach, Steve Bottcher, Keith Hoffman and Kenny Brightbill from Pennsylvania and Delaware drivers Jamie Mills, Chad James, Steve Downs, Tim Millman and upstarts Jordan and Joseph Watson.

Get Out The Word First: RACEceiver is the Official Driver Communicator of DIRTcar Racing. A compact radio receiver that conveniently fits into a driver’s pocket, a RACEceiver allows each driver to hear directions from series officials, which greatly enhances the safety and timeliness of events. A similar version available to fans will allow RACEceiver users to hear what information series officials are relaying to the drivers. For more information about RACEceiver, visit www.raceceiver.com, call 866/301-7223, or look for their sales trailers at various events.

Tracks Know The Score: In the ongoing effort to assist every sanctioned track with presenting the best possible race programs, DIRT has teamed with AMB i.t. which continues to be recognized as the Official Timing System of DIRTcar racing. AMB i.t. is the world’s leader in automatic race timing and scoring systems and the DIRT organization is proud to retain the company as a valued partner in the timing and scoring of all DIRTcar Racing events.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series teams headed down the Canadian turnpike for back-to-back shows in Quebec at autodromes Granby and Drummond on July 11-12 before concluding the ‘Great Canadian Tour’ on Sunday at Cornwall in Ontario.

2008 Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series Schedule
NP=Non-Point event.
*All events subject to change
.
DAY-DATE TRACK WINNER/RITE AID 200 QUALIFIER
Wed-Feb 13 Volusia Speedway Park-NP Billy Pauch
Thr-Feb 14 Volusia Speedway Park-NP Brett Hearn
Fri-Feb 15 Volusia Speedway Park-NP Dale Planck
Sat-Feb 16 Volusia Speedway Park-NP Jimmy Horton
Sat-Mar 22 Hagerstown Speedway Weather-Cancelled
Thr-May 1 Virginia Motor Speedway Matt Sheppard(G)
Sun-May 4 Rolling Wheels Raceway Billy Decker(G)
Sun-May 4 Rolling Wheels Raceway Dale Planck(G)
Sun-May 25 Cayuga Co Fair Speedway D.Planck/Danny Johnson(P)
Sat-Jun 7 Fulton Speedway B.Decker/Brett Hearn(P)
Thr-Jul 3 Ransomville Speedway B.Decker/Robbie Krull(P)
Thr-Jul 10 Brockville Ont Speedway B.Decker/Jimmy Phelps(P)
Fri-Jul 11 Autodrome Granby Granby,QUE
Sat-Jul 12 Autodrome Drummond Drummondville,QUE
Sun-Jul 13 Cornwall Motor Speedway Cornwall,ONT
Wed-Jul 16 Grandview Speedway Bechtelsville,PA
Thr-Jul 17 Georgetown Speedway Georgetown,DE
Thr-Jul 31 Orange Co Fair Speedway Middletown,NY
Mon-Aug 4 Merrittville Speedway Thorold,ONT
Fri-Aug 8 Brewerton Speedway Brewerton,NY
Sat-Aug 9 Canandaigua Speedway Canandaigua,NY
Sat-Aug 16 Can-Am Motorsports Park LaFargeville,NY
Sun-Aug 31 Cayuga Co Fair Speedway Weedsport,NY
Mon-Sep 1 Rolling Wheels Raceway Elbridge,NY
Sat-Sep 6 Lebanon Valley Speedway West Lebanon,NY
Fri-Sep 12 Lernerville Speedway Sarver,PA
Sat-Sep 20 Canandaigua Speedway Canandaigua,NY
Sat-Sep 27 Rolling Wheels Raceway Elbridge,NY
Sun-Oct 12 New York State Fairgrounds Syracuse,NY
Sun-Oct 19 Orange Co Fair Speedway Middletown,NY

Headquartered in Roanoke, Va., Advance Auto Parts, a leading automotive aftermarket retailer of parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items in the United States, serves both the do-it-yourself and professional installer markets As of April 19, 2008, the Company operated 3,291 stores in 40 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Additional information about the Company, employment opportunities, customer services, and on-line shopping for parts and accessories can be found on the Company’s web site at http://www.advanceautoparts.com.

ADVANCE AUTO PARTS MODIFIED SERIES SPONSORS
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 and Hoosier Racing Tire. Rite Aid Corporation is a promotional partner and the contingency sponsors are Bars Leaks, Bert Transmission, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Crane Cams, Dig Safely New York, Holley HP Carburetors, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, KSE Racing Products, Motorsports Safety Systems, Penske Shocks, Rislone Oil Stabilizer and Wrisco Industries.