DJ Gets Eastern States 200 #6

Johnson Does It Again: Johnson Wins Sixth Eastern States 200

MIDDLETOWN, NY – October 23, 2011 – Danny Johnson was not to be denied in the 50^th edition of the Eastern States 200 at Orange County Fair Speedway. Two red-flag periods, a bevy of cautions, and nearly 140-laps of work on his right-rear Hoosier tire would not stop Johnson from claiming the $20,000 top prize.

Johnson would inherit the lead from Justin Haers on lap 136 as the driver from Phelps, NY made his mandatory pit stop. Johnson would dominate the rest of the race to pick up his second Super DIRTcar Big-Block Series win of the season.

“This car and this crew were great today,” explained Johnson, who only trails Brett Hearn (8) in Eastern States 200 victories. “We had to pass a lot of cars today but we made it work and here we are.”

Orange County Fair Speedway regular Tim Hindley would bring the car home with a stout second place finish. “Those restarts towards the end were a little rough. The track was good for most of the race, but the top wasn’t there in 3 and 4 towards the end. We had a really good car though.”

Hindley also finished second to Johnson in the 2008 Eastern States 200. “We’ll get one of these. We just need to beat Danny.”

Danny Johnson started the Eastern States 200 from sixth starting spot and ran a conservative race early. A lap-65 caution for Jerry Higbie and Peter Britten tangling saw nearly half of the field make their mandatory pit stop. Johnson came out of the pits fifth of the cars that had pitted, but pitted the very next lap, restarting the race at the tail of the field.

“The original plan was to take fuel only,” explained Johnson. “The guys checked the tire and told me there was no way it was going to last another 140 laps so we came back in for a new tire.”

Johnson immediately started working towards the front using the outside to pass cars lap after lap. Johnson had worked his way into the top-5 by lap 115 with Andy Bachetti the only driver in front of him that had made the mandatory stop.

Bachetti appeared to be Johnson’s biggest threat, and was in position to win his first Eastern States 200, but his Steve Hough-owned #34 came to an abrupt stop in turn 3 on lap 120, ending his fantastic run.

With Bachetti out of the event, Gary Tomkins proved to be a threat, as he moved up behind Johnson and began challenging him for position.

When Justin Haers finally made his pit stop on lap 136, Tomkins found himself in second place with Johnson in front. It appeared as if Tomkins was the only car able to maintain the pace set by Johnson, but a late race right rear flat negated the fine run put in by Tomkins.

Johnson went on unchallenged until a caution on lap-198 saw the field bunch up for one last chance to steal the victory from Johnson. Billy Decker would restart to the outside of Johnson, but Johnson proved too strong, as he immediately opened up his lead and went onto the win.

Tim Hindley was able to take advantage of the late-race restart and passed Billy Decker for second. Decker would finish third, with his championship rival Matt Sheppard coming home fourth. Johnny Guarino, using a DIRTcar 500 Spec big-block motor came home in fifth.

Heavy impact with the outside wall, and then with Mike Ruggerio saw S.E.F. 200 winner Stewart Friesen complain of neck pain. The safety crew was quick to the scene and cut him out of the car and placed him on a backboard. He was taken to a local hospital where he was treated and released with no serious injuries. The race was red flagged.

A second red flag came out when Jimmy Phelps, while running in the top-5, was turned on a restart resulting in a pile up that blocked the track. Tim Fuller, Danny Creeden, and Tommy Sears would all have their days end in the pile up.

Brett Hearn was running in third and appeared to have a car capable of winning his unprecedented ninth Eastern States 200 when mechanical problems ended his day on lap 85.

Clinton Mills, who nearly won the 2010 Eastern States 200, was involved in a scary flip after heavy contact with the first turn wall during one of two consolation races Sunday afternoon. He walked away without injury.

The two consolation races were won by Stewart Friesen and Mike Ruggerio.

The Super DIRTcar Big-Block Series will now head to the Dirt Track at Charlotte for The World Finals November 3-5. For more information, visit SuperDIRTcarSeries.com.

Race Summary Eastern States 200 Orange County Fair Speedway

Pos. Car Num. Driver/Hometown, State, Laps Complete, Purse

1^st 27J Danny Johnson/Rochester, NY, 205, $20,000

2^nd 1H Tim Hindley/Monticello, NY, 205, $8,000

3^rd 91 Billy Decker/Unadilla, NY, 205, $4,500

4^th 9s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo, NY, 205, $3,500

5^th 9 Johnny Guarino/Riverdale, NJ, 205, $3,000

6^th 115 Kenny Tremont/Sand Lake, NY, 205, $2,000

7^th 10 Richie Eurich/Warwick, NY, 205, $1,500

8^th 42p Pat Ward/Genoa, NY, 205, $1,000

9^th 33 John Lieto/Mt. Kisco, NY, 205, $900

10^th 33 1/3 Tommy Meier/Waldrick, NJ, 205, $800

11^th 4 Tim McCreadie/Watertown, NY, 205, $700

12^th 19 Chuck McKee/Middletown, NY, 205, $600

13^th 8R Rob Bellinger/Dexter, NY, 205, $500

14^th 98H Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville, NY, 205, $450

15^th 99L Larry Wight/Phoenix, NY, 205, $400

16^th 673 Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs, NY, 205, $375

17^th 8 Rich Scagliotta/Bound Brook, NJ, 205, $350

18^th 74 J.R. Heffner/Pittsfield, MA, 205, $325

19^th 10c Tim Currier/Auburn, NY, 205, $290

20^th 4SL Bob Hentschel/Accord, NY, 199, $280, Accident

21^st 3 Justin Haers/Phelps, NY, 188, $275, Accident

22^nd 74 Tim Fuller/Edwards, NY, 183, $260, Accident

23^rd 62s Tommy Sears/Clay, NY, 183, $260, Accident

24^th 11 Danny Creeden/Middletown, NY, 183, $260, Accident

25^th 53 Mike Ruggerio/Walden, NY, 181, $260, Front End

26^th 79 Jeremy Markle/Port Jervis, NJ, 178, $260, Accident

27^th 6x Jackie Brown/Hurley, NY, 157, $260, Suspension

28^th 21m Bob McGannon/Garnerville, NY, 148, $260, Accident

29^th 24 Chris Shultz/Holmes, NY, 148, $260, Accident

30^th 10 Michael Storms/Wantage, NJ, 144, $260, Suspension

31^st 2RJ Ronnie Johnson/Duanesberg, NY, 135, $250, Accident

32^nd 7 Rick Laubach/Hellerstown, PA, 135, $250, Accident

33^rd 10J Jeff Heotzler/Wallkill, NY, 135, $250, Accident

34^th 34 Andy Bachetti/Sheffield, MA, 120, $250, Engine

35^th 49 Billy Dunn/Watertown, NY, 99, $250, Driveshaft

36^th 20 Brett Hearn/Sussex, NJ, 85, $250, Mechanical

37^th OB’s Bobby Varin/Sharon Springs, NY, 72, $250 Accident

38^th 97 Jerry Higbie/Slate Hill, NJ, 65, $250,Accident

39^th 21a Peter Britten/Brisbane, QLD, 65, $250, Accident

40^th 77x Dale Planck/Cortland, NY, 62, $250, Tire

41^st 5 Jimmy Horton/Neshanic Station, NY, 57, $250, Mechanical

42^nd 25 Mike Kolka/Circleville, NY, 51, $250, Mechanical

43^rd 39 Dustin DeLaney/Albany, NY, 35, $250, Accident

44^th 1 Stewart Friesen/Niagara-on-the-Lake, ONT, 34, $250, Accident

45^th 93x Craig Mitchell/Poughkeepsie, NY, 29, $250, Driveshaft

46^th 7K Kirk Horton/Eldred, NY, 24, $250, Accident

Bilstein Shocks Fast Time: Michael Storms

Half Way Bonus: Tim Hindley

Provisional Starters: Tim Currier, Tommy Sears, Rich Scagliotta, Bobby Varin

Lap Leaders: Meier 1-66, Hindley 67-85, Guarino 86-89, Hindley, 90-104, Fuller 105-123, Haers 124-135, Johnson 137-200

Did Not Qualify

OB’s Scott Flammer/West Milford, NJ

0 Dan Humes/Canaan, CT

1 Dave Werber/Brewster Heights, NY

1L Bill Lowden Jr/Bath, NY

3 Erik Holmgren/Middletown, NY

3 Bill Pascual/Mohegan Lake, NY

4B Donnie Wilson/Ramsey, NJ

17H Tom Hindley/Monticello, NY

20c Craig Hanson/Tribes Hill, NY

21 Clinton Mills/Middletown, NY

23 Billy VanInwegen/Sparrowbush, NY

27 Corey Ziegler/Mountain Home, NY

41 Jimmy Davis/Ballston Spa, NY

43 Keith Flach/Ravena, NY

43J J.C. Flach/Ravena, NY

44 Brian Krummel/Accord, NY

47 Kurt Hunderland/Middletown, NY

49 Donnie Elliott/Middletown, NY

71D Frank Doty/Middletown, NY

84 Mel Schrufer/Bloomingburg, NY

88 Steve Dodd/Middletown, NY

93c Frank Cozze/Wind Gap, PA

99 Ryan Phelps/Fulton, NY

124 Pierre DaGenais/Gatineau, QUE

213 Steve Walsh/Middletown, NY

280 Justin Holland/White Lake, NY

Super DIRTcar Series Points after the Eastern States 200 (Driver/Points/Difference)

1^st 91 Billy Decker 2272 0

2^nd 9s Matt Sheppard 2219 -53

3^rd 98H Jimmy Phelps 2085 -186

4^th 20 Brett Hearn 2064 -208

5^th 27J Danny Johnson 1996 -176

6^th 3 Justin Haers 1892 -380

7^th 8R Rob Bellinger 1776 -496

8^th 21A Peter Britten 1729 -543

9^th 99L Larry Wight 1696 -576

10^th 62s Tommy Sears 1696 -576

11^th 8 Rich Scagliotta 1674 -598

12^th 10 Tim Currier 1583 -689

13^th 673 Gary Tomkins 1535 -737

14^th 49 Billy Dunn 1339 -933

15^th OB’s Bobby Varin 1282 -990

16^th 115 Kenny Tremont 1281 -991

17^th 99 Ryan Phelps 1225 -1047

18^th 97 Michel Chicoine 1224 -1048

19^th 74 J.R. Heffner 1213 -1059

20^th 33 1/3 Tommy Meier 1208 -1064

DIRTcar Racing in the Northeast Region is brought to fans by several sponsors and partners; including Hoosier Racing Tire; VP Racing Fuels; GM Performance Parts, Nationwide Insurance and Safety-Kleen. Promotional partners include the University of Northwestern Ohio and Chizmark Larson Insurance Agency. Contingency sponsors are ASI; Bert Transmissions; Bicknell Racing Products; Bilstein Shocks; Brodix; ButlerBuilt; Comp Cams; Intercomp; JE Pistons; KSE Racing Products; Motorsports Safety Systems; MSD Ignition; Penske Shocks; Racing Electronics; R2C; Super Flow; Vicci Racing Apparel; WIX Filters; Wrisco Industries; Xtreme Lubricants and Extreme Mufflers.