Danny Johnson sweeps Brockville’s Fall Nationals, winning Saturday’s Super DIRTcar Series 100-lapper
Billy Decker finishes third to cling to a narrow point lead over Matt Sheppard
BROCKVILLE, ONTARIO – October 18, 2014 – “The Doctor” Danny Johnson made history Saturday night, becoming the first Modified driver to sweep Brockville Ontario Speedway’s DIRTcar Fall Nationals presented by 1000 Islands RV Centre. Johnson wheeled the Traction Grabber No. 27J to victory lane Friday night in the 100-lap DIRTcar 358-Modified Series feature race, and followed it up the next night with a win in the Super DIRTcar Big Block Modified Series feature event.
“It’s a fantastic track for us. It’s really working really well for us,” said Johnson, whose victory Saturday was his fourth Super DIRTcar Series win of 2014. “I just had a great hot rod. The car is two years old and it’s just a great running car for us.”
The Rochester, N.Y., driver started on the pole, but it was local runner Brian MacDonald, of Cornwall, Ontario, who took the lead at the green flag. Johnson stayed at his tail and reclaimed the position off a lap-29 restart. MacDonald refused to let up, staying at Johnson’s rear bumper the remaining 71 laps, but wasn’t able to make the pass.
“There was no way he was going to let me by him,” said MacDonald, who tried every groove of Brockville’s oval to try to get around the No. 27J. “We ended up on the front stretch wall, we ended up off the track, we got pushed everywhere. But that’s racing I guess.”
Johnson had a few close calls midrace as a series of cautions kept him from building up momentum. MacDonald seemed to have enough power to get around Johnson off double-file restarts in laps 46 and 62, putting himself wheel-to-wheel with the leader, but Johnson was always able to speed away before MacDonald could pull ahead.
“We were both trying to protect our lines and it got a little rough in there,” Johnson recalled of a particularly close restart. “I thought he had me on that last restart, but I was able to get by him.”
MacDonald finished second after a hard battle with one of the region’s most formidable racers, and he was pleased with a strong finish.
“This was a great race,” said McDonald, who finished fourth in Friday’s DIRTcar 358-Modified Series race. “The car was great – real good tonight, real good last night – you couldn’t ask for a better way to finish off the year.”
Super DIRTcar Series point leader Billy Decker finished third, strengthening his lead over Matt Sheppard, who finished fifth. The Sidney, N.Y., pilot of the Gypsum Express/LJL Racing No. 91 started out fourth, but got the advantage over Billy Dunn at the initial green and charged to third. However, early race cautions put him in a bind. Billy VanInwegen slowed in lap 5 to bring the first yellow, and both Dunn and 2014 DIRTcar 358-Modified Series Champion Erick Rudolph were strong enough off the lap-9 restart to get by Decker.
Decker fell out of the top-five for several laps, but returned after a strong restart in lap 62. Sheppard, who started fifth and lost positions early in the race, worked his way ahead midrace, battling Decker, Phelps, Rudolph and ultimately Carey Terrance for spot in the top-five.
“It was an okay run for us; tough sledding out there tonight. I was back to eighth at one point there, we just did some outside restarts to get to where we needed to be,” Decker said. “We said before the race that there’s 600 points left, and we just need to get all we can get.”
Decker’s third-place finish expanded his narrow point lead over Sheppard, but with Sheppard finishing fifth the margin is still small – just 23 points – as the series moves on to its final races of the season.
Brett Hearn, of Sussex, N.J., rolled into Brockville as third in point standings, made fast time and started the race in eighth. However, an error in lap 1 launched the Madsen Overhead Doors No. 20 off the track in the backstretch, causing the eight-time series champion to fall to 23rd place. Hearn faced mechanical issues causing him to pit under yellow in lap 41. After he returned to the race, he charged from a spot at the tail of the field to a 14th-place finish. While not in the top-ten, Hearn’s finish kept him third in the series, 85 points behind Decker and 62 points behind Sheppard.
Rudolph finished fourth after starting fifth and keeping the Page Trucking No. 7z in the top 5 for most of the race. Rounding out the top ten are Dale Planck in sixth, Danny O’Brien in seventh, Jimmy Phelps eighth, Gary Tomkins ninth and Yan Bussiere tenth.
The Super DIRTcar Big Block Modified Series travels south for one of its most historic events, the Eastern States 200 at Orange County Fair Speedway. Series racers hit the track Friday, Oct. 24, for qualifying rounds and race Sunday, Oct. 26, in the fabled Eastern States 200.
For more information and the latest updates about the Super DIRTcar Big Block Modified Series, click www.superdirtcarseries.com, follow @SuperDIRTcar on Twitter or “like” the DIRTcar Racing Facebook page, www.facebook.com/DIRTcar.
A-Main (100 laps)
Pos. – No. – Driver / Hometown [Start]
1. 27J Danny Johnson / Rochester, N.Y. [1]
2. 151KB Brian McDonald / Cornwall, Ontario [2]
3. 91 Billy Decker / Sidney, N.Y. [4]
4. 7z Erick Rudolph / Ransomville, N.Y. [5]
5. 9H Matt Sheppard / Waterloo, N.Y. [12]
6. 66x Dale Planck / Homer, N.Y. [13]
7. M96 Danny O’Brien / Kingston, Ontario [15]
8. 98H Jimmy Phelps / Baldwinsville, N.Y. [6]
9. 84 Gary Tomkins / Clifton Springs, N.Y. [21]
10. 21 Yan Bussiere / Drummondville, Quebec [25]
11. 99A Mike Adderley / Charlotte, N.C. [16]
12. 74M Matt Billings / Brockville, N.Y. [28]
13. 9J Jordan McCreadie / Watertown, N.Y. [23]
14. 20 Brett Hearn / Sussex, N.J. [8]
15. 43 Keith Flach / Ravena, N.Y. [19]
16. 07 Tim Kerr / Picton, Ontario [26]
17. 42P Pat Ward / Genoa, N.Y. [10]
18. 21A Peter Britten / Brisbane, Queensland, Australia [29]
19. 3H Justin Haers / Phelps, N.Y. [7]
20. 88 Chris Herbison / Brockville, Ontario [24]
21. 99L Larry Wight / Altmar, N.Y. [20]
22. 124 Pierre Dagenais / L’Ange Guardien, Quebec [30]
23. 22C Mario Clair / Drummondville, Quebec [22]
24. 115 Stephane LaFrance / St. Albert, Quebec [11]
25. 8 Rich Scagliotta / Hillsborough, N.J. [24]
26. 23 Billy Dunn / Watertown, N.Y. [3]
27. 9 Jason Riddell / Cardinal, Ontario [18]
28. R70 Ryan Arbuthnot / Renfrew, Ontario [17]
29. 54 Steve Bernard / Granby, Quebec [14]
30. 10v Billy VanInwegen / Sparrowbush, N.Y. [9]
Did Not Start:
55 Dexter Stacey / Kahnawake, Quebec
97 Michel Chicoine / St-Cecile-de-Milton, Quebec
75J Bernie Banks
66 Kyle Dingwall / Morrisburg, Ontario
94 J.F. Corriveau / Granby, Quebec
13 Kevin Hamel / Sorel, Quebec
24B Roger Levesque / Napanee, Ontario
16W Lance Willix II / Theresa, N.Y.
15AW April Wilson / Joycevelle, Ontario
99 Bruno Lepage / Maple Grove, Quebec
66W Wallace Stacey / Kahnawake, Quebec
Contingency Awards:
VP Race Fuels: Jimmy Phelps ($50 cash)
ASI Racewear: Danny O’Brien ($50 cash)
Pole Position Raceway Fast Qualifier Award: Brett Hearn ($100 cash)
Bilstein Fast Qualifier Award: Steve Bernard ($50 cash)
Bicknell Racing Products: Danny Johnson ($100 product certificate)
Cometic Gasket: Matt Billings ($50 cash)
Comp Cams: Matt Billings ($50 cash), Danny Johnson ($50 product certificate)
Edelbrock: Gary Tomkins ($50 cash)
Fox Shocks: Erick Rudolph ($50 cash)
JE Pistons: Matt Sheppard ($50 cash), Tim Kerr and Larry Wight (product valued at appr. $285 per recipient)
KSE Hard Charger Award: Matt Billings ($50 product certificate)
MSD: Danny Johnson ($50 cash), Steve Bernard ($25 cash)
Mobil 1: Erick Rudolph ($50 cash), Larry Wight (20% prooduct discount)
SuperFlow: Tim Kerr ($50 cash)
Wrisco Aluminum: Danny Johnson (product valued at appr. $200)
B-Main 1: 1. Tomkins [2], 2. McCreadie [1], 3. Bussiere [3], 4. Herbison [5], 5. Dingwall [4], 6. Corriveau [6], 7. Britten [7], 8. Hamel [8], 9. D. Stacey [9], 10. Banks [11], 11. Levesque [10]
B-Main 2: 1. Clair [1], 2. Scagliotta [4], 3. Kerr [2], 4. Billings [3], 5. Chicoine [7], 6. Willix [5], 7. Dagenais [9], 8. Lepage [6], 9. W. Stacey [10], 10. Wilson [8]
Qualifying Heats (Top 5 transfer, top 3 redraw)
Heat 1: 1. Phelps [1], 2. Ward [2], 3. Johnson [3], 4. Planck [4], 5. Arbuthnot [6], 6. McCreadie [8], 7. Bussiere [9], 8. Herbison [7], 9. Chicoine [5], 10. D. Stacey [10], 11. Banks [11]
Heat 2: 1. Hearn [1], 2. VanInwegen [2], 3. LaFrance [5], 4. Bernard [3], 5. Riddell [6], 6. Tomkins [4], 7. Dingwall [7], 8. Corriveau [10], 9. Hamel [8], 10. Levesque [9]
Heat 3: 1. Hears [1], 2. Rudolph [2], 3. Dunn [4], 4. O’Brien [3], 5. Flach [6], 6. Clair [5], 7. Billings [8], 8. Willix [10], 9. Britten [7], 10. Dagenais [9]
Heat 4: 1. Decker [2], 2. Sheppard [3], 3. MacDonald [5], 4. Adderley [6], 5. Wight [1], 6. Kerr, 7. Scagliotta [4], 8. Lepage [8], 9. Wilson [9], 10. W. Stacey [10]
Time Trials
Time Trials, Group 1: 1. Phelps 14.287, 2. Ward 14.385, 3. Johnson 14.596, 4. Planck 14.720, 5. Chicoine 14.814, 6. Arbuthnot 14.831, 7. Herbison 14.852, 8. McCreadie 15.017, 9. Bussiere 15.020, 10. D. Stacey 15.383, 11. Banks 16.629
Time Trials, Group 2: 1. Hearn 14.163, 2. VanInwegen 14.370, 3. Bernard 14.594, 4. Tomkins 14.710, 5. LaFrance 14.796, 6. Riddell 14.816, 7. Dingwall 14.884, 8. Hamel 15.065, 9. Levesque 15.217, 10. Correveau 15.271
Time Trials, Group 3: 1. Haers 14.294, 2. Rudolph 1.368, 3. O’Brien 14.539, 4. Dunn 14.565, 5. Clair 14.627, 6. Flach 14.657, 7. Britten 14.719, 8. Billings 14.752, 9. Dagenais 14.800, 10. Willix 15.562
Time Trials, Group 4: 1. Wight 14.387, 2. Decker 14.440, 3. Sheppard 14.471, 4. Scagliotta 14.851, 5. McDonald 15.034, 6. Adderley 15.088, 7. Kerr 15.093, 8. Lepage 15.242, 9. Wilson 15.808, 10. W. Stacey 15.998
The Super DIRTcar Series and DIRTcar Racing in the Northeast Region is brought to fans by several sponsors and partners including Hoosier Racing Tire, VP Racing Fuels, Chevy Performance Parts, NAPA Auto Parts, and Safety-Kleen. Contingency partners include the University of Northwestern Ohio, ASI, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix, ButlerBuilt, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, KSE Racing Products, Mobil 1, Motorsports Safety Systems, MSD LLC, Fox Shocks, Pole Position Raceway, Racing Electronics, Superflow and Wrisco Industries.
