Barberville, FL — February 13, 2009 – By Tom Skibinski, Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series PR Director
*Bob Armbruster Photo
Following two straight days of misfortune in the 38th Annual Alltel DIRTcar Nationals By UNOH, Friday the 13th was a blessing for Jamie Mills as he outlasted a late-race charge by Billy Decker to claim a narrow victory at Volusia Speedway Park.
Mills’ third career Advance Auto Parts Big-Block Modified feature win at the popular Barberville, Florida speedplant was worth $2,000 for the Blue Hen Racing team.
“I tell you what, our guys worked their butts off today and they really deserve this win,” exclaimed Mills, 38, who charged from 20th into the front-five on Wednesday before fading to sixth at the line while running on six cylinders. A turn one crash after completing just a dozen circuits dropped him to 25th on Thursday forcing his team to set the alarm for an early wake-up call on Friday morning.
“Tonight I even lost the power steering about the 20th lap. Hate to brag but I think I could’ve probably lapped most …..I don’t know who was behind me, that last 7 or 8 laps I figured I’m gonna wrestle this thing and it was a gorilla but we got it done. It’s either feast or famine for us here lately, we had two bad nights so hopefully we can turn it around and get that $5 grand tomorrow night,” added Mills, who last reached victory lane at Volusia in 2005, with his first checkered flag in Florida taken in 2000.
Over the final five laps Decker cut a half straightaway deficit to just three car-lengths at the stripe to secure runner-up honors in his ’09 Alltel DIRTcar Nationals Big-Block debut. Dale Planck settled into third for his second climb up the podium this week while Thursday night runner-up Matt Sheppard and opening night third-place finisher Andy Bachetti rounded out the front-five in the 30-lap finale.
Early race leader Jimmy Horton, second-generation upstart Rex King Jr., pole-sitter Randy Chrysler, two-time Florida Tour ’09 winner and points leader Pat Ward, and 2008 DIRTcar Racing Northeast Motorsports Safety Systems/G-FORCE Big-Block Modified Rookie of the Year By ButlerBuilt Larry Wight filled out the final top-10.
Luck of the draw among the top-two qualifiers in each heat put Chrysler on the point yet outside pole-sitter Horton carried the momentum high out of turn four to lead the 26-car pack around the fast half-miler. A turn one-two jam-up sent Guy Sheldon and Rich Scagliotta into the pits with just one lap complete, while Brad Trice and Wight rejoined the field and Jeremy Markle returned to the track two laps down. With the yellow lights still on, Ward made an unexpected trip down pit row to change a left-rear tire.
Back under green flag conditions, Horton was only able to hold back Mills for just one more lap as the Delaware driver blasted from sixth aboard the no. 30 I.G. Burton Car Dealership/Bicknell machine and forged the final lead change on lap three in a bold three-wide maneuver down the back stretch that disposed of both Horton and Chrysler.
In one of the most dramatic incidents of Race Weeks ’09 —definitely the most serious in three days of Big-Block racing— veteran Alan Johnson slammed into the parked vehicle of Jeff Brown between turns three and four to force out a rare red flag. ‘A.J. Slideways’ was uninjured after the spectacular spill yet owner Bob Schneider’s wadded up Troyer mount was scraped off the track and loaded into the hauler to begin an early trip back up north.
With a pair of caution periods also slowing the initial two feature races, the second yellow flag flew on lap six in Friday’s main when Keith Flach slowed low exiting the first turn. Ward was once again involved in the early race mishap that turned out to be the last break in the action as the final 25 laps were run off caution-free with an unexpectedly close finish filling the bill.
“I just thought the lapped cars were holding (Jamie) up a little bit, he was really hooked up I’ll tell you,” remarked Decker, 44, crowned the overall Hoosier Tire Mr. DIRTcar Big-Block Modified Champion in 2008, after the LJL Racing no. 91 Gypsum Wholesalers/Bicknell mount fell just a half-second short of Mills at the line. “Obviously, something happened because we closed on him pretty fast right at the end.”
“Our car was pretty good, too. I was having a fun time dicing it out with Dale, I’d miss a turn and he’d sneak it up in there. I was just roughing it up there on the cushion at the end and had a lot of fun doing it,” Decker added.
With non-stop action circling the entire track in the latter stages, the battle for position carried on as 15th-place starting Planck and 13th starter Sheppard crowded the top-five before the halfway mark. Horton was the last to be left out with a handful of laps to go as Bachetti dropped him from the front-five as the last laps clicked off.
“This place is really a lot of fun,” offereed Planck, 38, after pulling to within eight points of ninth-place finisher Ward in the Alltel DIRTcar Nationals standings with just one more show on the docket. “Last night we just missed the set-up totally. I had a good car in the heat race (Thursday), changed everything around and I shouldn’t have changed a thing.”
“Tonight we didn’t have so good a heat race, changed stuff around and it was better. I seem to go from one extreme to another, either last or first. But as long as the car turns ….. its gotta be able to turn here. We’ve got one more chance tomorrow, maybe its our turn finally to have it all fall into place,” Planck said.
Planck and the rest of the field will get one more chance to catch Ward as the Advance Auto Parts Modifieds return to Volusia for their last appearance this weekend. DIRTcar Racing Northeast’s Big-Block stars battle in the fourth and final round on Saturday, February 14 as a $5,000-to-win 50-lap championship event determines the 2009 Alltel DIRTcar Nationals By UNOH points champion.
Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series – Volusia Speedway Park, February 13, 2009
38th Annual Alltel DIRTcar Nationals By UNOH Event #3
BIG-BLOCK MODIFIED FEATURE
FIN STR CAR# DRIVER/HOMETOWN
1 6 30 Jamie Mills/Milford,DE($2,000)
2 9 91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY
3 15 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
4 13 9s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY
5 22 34 Andy Bachetti/Sheffield,MA
6 2 5 Jimmy Horton/Neshanic Station,NJ
7 10 165 Rex King Jr./Bristolville,OH
8 1 88k Randy Chrysler/Lewiston,NY
9 16 42p Pat Ward/Genoa,NY
10 23 99L Larry Wight/Phoenix,NY
11 7 20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
12 17 22c Mario Clair/St-Edmond,QUE
13 4 85 Dan Vauter/Forest City,PA
14 20 26 Dave Camara/Poultney,VT
15 3 52 James Friesen/St.Catharines,ONT
16 24 33t Brad Trice/Parsonsburg,MD
17 12 17 Sean Beardsley/Central Square,NY
18 18 79 Jeremy Markle/Port Jervis,NY
19 25 1 Darwin Greene/Susquehanna,PA
20 19 43 Keith Flach/Ravena,NY
21 26 32 Jim Rasey/Southington,OH
22 5 62 Matt Jester/Lincoln,DE
23 8 29 Jeff Brownell Jr./Waterloo,NY
24 11 14j Alan Johnson/Middlesex,NY
25 14 8 Rich Scagliotta/Bound Brook,NJ
26 21 42 Guy Sheldon/Nassau,NY
DID NOT QUALIFY(6)
07-Tim Kerr/Picton,ONT
5b-Brian Sadler/Erie,PA
9-Jeff Brown/Parsonsburg,MD
t21-Roger Chrysler/Lewiston,NY
48too-Dave Rauscher/Waterloo,NY
97-Michel Chicoine/Ste-Cecile de Milton,QUE
Lap Leaders: Horton (1-2), Mills (3-30).
Cautions: 2 (lap 2, lap 6) ; 1 RED FLAG (lap 4).
QUALIFYING
Heat Races (10 laps, top 7 finishers transferred to feature)
#1: Mills, Jester, Hearn, King, Sheppard, Ward, Flach, Bachetti, Rauscher, Wight, J.Johnson (spec), Rasey.
#2: Friesen, Horton, Brownell, A.Johnson, Scagliotta, Clair, Camara, Trice, Kerr, Sadler, Brown.
#3: Ra.Chrysler, Vauter, Decker, Beardsley, Planck, Markle, Sheldon, Greene, Ro.Chrysler, Chicoine.
Consolation Round (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to feature)
#1: Bachetti, Wight, Trice, Greene, Rasey, Kerr, Rauscher, Chicoine, Ro.Chrysler, Sadler, Brian Carter (spec), Brown (DNS).
Alltel DIRTcar Nationals Point Standings (through Feb. 13, 2009)
PTS CAR# DRIVER / HOMETOWN
160 42p Pat Ward/Genoa,NY
152 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
146 34 Andy Bachetti/Sheffield,MA
136 20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
126 30 Jamie Mills/Milford,DE
114 29 Jeff Brownell Jr./Waterloo,NY
111 43 Keith Flach/Ravena,NY
109 85 Dan Vauter/Forest City,PA
105 9s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY
104 26 Dave Camara/Poultney,VT
102 5 Jimmy Horton/Neshanic Station,NJ
95 62 Matt Jester/Lincoln,DE
92 14j Alan Johnson/Middlesex,NY
92 165 Rex King Jr./Bristolville,OH
85 32 Jim Rasey/Southington,OH
84 88k Randy Chrysler/Lewiston,NY
82 99L Larry Wight/Phoenix,NY
80 22c Mario Clair/St-Edmond,QUE
74 33t Brad Trice/Parsonsburg,MD
73 1 Darwin Greene/Susquehanna,PA
70 8 Rich Scagliotta/Bound Brook,NJ
67 17 Sean Beardsley/Central Square,NY
66 91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY
64 07 Tim Kerr/Picton,ONT
60 48too Dave Rauscher/Waterloo,NY
60 79 Jeremy Markle/Port Jervis,NY
54 42 Guy Sheldon/Nassau,NY
48 52 James Friesen/St.Catharines,ONT
43 97 Michel Chicoine/Ste-Cecile,QUE
42 9 Jeff Brown/Parsonsburg,MD
40 33 Ray Swinehart/Bechtelsville,PA
30 5b Brian Sadler/Erie,PA
30 t21 Roger Chrysler/Lewiston,NY
10 923 Colin Jackson/Peckville,PA
2009 Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modified Roster (33)
Car# Driver/Hometown Team (Sponsor / Chassis / Engine)
07 Tim Kerr/Picton,ONT Bronskill & Coe-Greenbush Electric-Kerr Construction/Bicknell/Enders
1 Darwin Greene/Susquehanna,PA Greene Quality Bluestone-Blue Diamond Tools-TJ’s NAPA/Bicknell/Jensen Tech
3g Jimmy Johnson/Bloomingburg,NY Budweiser (LaRusse Distributing)-Valvoline-Lajoie Seats/TEO/GM
5 Jimmy Horton/Neshanic Station,NJ Lincoln Auto Body-Schmidt Racing/Troyer/JPM
5b Brian Sadler/Erie,PA McLallen Construction-Perkins Law Group/Bicknell/Honest Abe
8 Rich Scagliotta/Bound Brook,NJ Central Jersey Trailer & Hitch Depot-Adamsville Maintenance/Troyer/Feil
9 Jeff Brown/Parsonsburg,MD Chesapeake Paving/Bicknell/JB Auto & Machine
9s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY Xtreme Lubricants-Seneca Auto Sales/Bicknell/C.C. Performance
14j Alan Johnson/Middlesex,NY Thompson Road Tavern-Circle S Stables/Troyer/Kevlar
17 Sean Beardsley/Central Square,NY Behron Auto Glass-Town Mechanical-JIR Motorsports/Troyer/Moshier
20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ Madsen Motorsports-Wentworth Custom Homes-Kruger-WLR-BPG/TEO/Enders
t21 Roger Chrysler/Lewiston,NY Iroquois Water-Randy’s Smoke Shop-Joey’s Sneaks/Bicknell/JanCen
22c Mario Clair/St-Edmond,QUE Bully’s Truck Stop-Bert Transmission-Batiments JDL/Bicknell/Morrison
26 Dave Camara/Poultney,VT Camara Slate Products/TEO/Finger Lakes
29 Jeff Brownell Jr./Waterloo,NY Xtreme Lubricants-Seneca Auto Sales/Bicknell/C.C. Performance
30 Jamie Mills/Milford,DE I.G.Burton Car Dealership-ReMax Realtor-L&W Ins./Bicknell/DDE
32 Jim Rasey/Southington,OH Twin Oaks Services South-Alcon Mechanical/Dirt Wheels/Minors Performance
33t Brad Trice/Parsonsburg,MD Chesapeake Paving-Delmarva Improvement Services/Troyer/JB Auto & Machine
34 Andy Bachetti/Sheffield,MA Steve Hough Motors/PMC/JPM
42 Guy Sheldon/Nassau,NY Judd Construction-Heinz Inc./PMC/42 Racing
42p Pat Ward/Genoa,NY Gypsum Express,Ltd./Bicknell/Chevrolet
43 Keith Flach/Ravena,NY Flach Crane & Rigging-Gould Erectors & Riggers/TEO/Enders
48too Dave Rauscher/Waterloo,NY Magee Transportation Services-Monadnock Disposal Service/Bicknell/Morrison
52 James Friesen/St.Catharines,ONT Blue Moon Potatoes-New Generation Racing Engines/Bicknell/Al Blanchard(NG)
62 Matt Jester/Lincoln,DE Clearview Forms-Smith Concrete/TEO/Dan Denny(DDE)
77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY RezX Racing-Grow It Hydroseeding-Action Race Parts-Teo Fab./TEO/Kevlar
79 Jeremy Markle/Port Jervis,NY Len & Jo’s Restaurant-Advance Recovery/Bicknell/Precision
85 Dan Vauter/Forest City,PA Sportsburg.com-Community Bank & Trust/Troyer/Enders
88k Randy Chrysler/Lewiston,NY Signal Cigarettes-Randy’s Smoke Shop-Jacobs Tobacco Co./Bicknell/JanCen
91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY Gypsum Wholesalers-Stadium Int’l-Quality Hardwoods/Bicknell/Chevrolet
97 Michel Chicoine/Ste-Cecile de Milton,QUE GMCI Express-E.Beaudry Enterprises/Bicknell/Enders
99L Larry Wight/Phoenix,NY Gypsum Express,Ltd./Bicknell/Chevrolet
165 Rex King Jr./Bristolville,OH Jim Brown Seed Sales-Meander Homes-Reese Services/Bicknell/Jim Bailey
FLORIDA TOUR 2009 PIT NOTES
Friday – February 13
*Mills Joins Alltel All-Star Traveling Team…Round number three of the Alltel DIRTcar Nationals By UNOH at Volusia for Big-Blocks is over and Advance Series DIRTcar Big-Block racer Jamie Mills has thrown his name in the hat for fans to vote as he is now in the running for the lucrative $10,000 top prize awarded to just one winning driver. “I think some should go to charity,” remarked Mills about why fans should choose him as the Alltel All-Star. “It’s like free money, it’s like hitting the lottery so make sure it goes to good use. It really brings professionalism to dirt track racing. They’ve got a Jumbo-tron up there. I was watching the consi while we were waiting to draw and it’s just awesome what they’ve done here to make it fan friendly. We need fans all over the United States to make this work and Alltel has made it great.” The Alltel All-Star candidates and their text message Letter Codes include: Big-Block Modifieds – Pat Ward (i), Jamie Mills (L); Sprint Cars – Donny Schatz (b); Stevie Smith (d); Joey Saldana (f); UMP DIRTcar Modifieds – Jared Landers (a), Austin Dillon (c), Randy Hall (e); UMP DIRTcar Super Late Models – Darren Miller (g), Earl Pearson Jr. (h), Dan Schlieper (j); World of Outlaws Late Models – Josh Richards (k). Fans can vote by visiting www.AlltelAllStar.com or texting their drivers code to 247253.
*Vauter Trades Clubs For Cars…His family business is golf although his personal passion is motorsports, and when its winter time up north Dan Vauter finds a way to head south when there’s racing on tap at Volusia Speedway Park. Fresh off one of his most productive seasons highlighted by three feature wins and 2nd in points at Penn-Can, the Forest City, Pennsylvania pilot has a pair of Bicknell rides and the Troyer car used in Florida at his disposal in 2009. “We’d like to follow more of the Advance Series but our location and lack of a weekly home track for points makes it tough for us to be a regular,” noted Vauter, 23, whose grandfather Paul Vauter converted the family-owned Meadow Breeze Farm into Panorama Golf Course in the early 1960s, with the former dairy barn renovated to become the clubhouse upon opening in 1964. “We led for the first time down here on Wednesday and 4th-place was almost like a feature win, but I think we can still do more before the week is over. We’re getting more confidence with every race.”
*Maryland Modifieds…Of the eight states and two Canadian provinces represented by Big-Block Modified teams in the Alltel DIRTcar Nationals, Jeff Brown and brother in-law Brad Trice are the lone contenders carrying Maryland on their shoulders for the week of speed in Florida. First visiting Volusia in 2007, Brown failed to qualify in two attempts and turned the wheel of his no. 9 Chesapeake Paving/Bicknell mount over to Brad with the same outcome. A division rookie in 2003, last summer marked Brown’s first full season in a Big-block and he finished 10th in points at Delaware Int’l Speedway posting a 2nd-place feature race best. “We were really green in ’07 and coming back there’s a lot more experience to draw from,” said Brown, 42, who suffered through steering issues on Wednesday (finished 21st) before a broken driveshaft sidelined him the next night in qualifying. “We’d love to finish in the top-10 but you have to be on the track at the end to do that.” Employed as an equipment operator under Chesapeake Paving & Excavating owner Brown, Trice qualified for his first-ever Big-Block main in the opener (18th) and added 21st and 16th-place tallies since. Team Troyer mainstay and Northeast Modified Hall of Fame award winning mechanic Randy Kisacky has served as his crew chief throughout the week. “I’ve learned so much from Randy already and there’s a long way to still to go,” said Trice, 26, son of former Georgetown Speedway points champion Gary Trice, who began racing go-carts at age 12, plans to run Delaware all year and hit the specials at Georgetown in between. “What it comes down to now is getting a good start in the heat, qualifying and starting up front. I’d love to come away with a top-10.”
*Greene Between Rocks & Hard Places…Pennsylvanian Darwin Green arrived in Barberville for qualifying on Wednesday already having four races under his belt in the Sunshine State. Following a unique schedule of events, Greene steered a Modified for owner Terry Zacharias on the asphalt at New Smyrna Speedway before unloading his Greene Quality Bluestone no. 1 Blue Diamond Tools/Bicknell mount ready to throw the clay at Volusia. “8 races in 10 days, now that’s a dream vacation,” beamed Greene, 38, who posted a 10th-place best at New Smyrna and made the first three shows at VSP, opening in 17th on Wednesday. The highly motivated driver from Susquehanna, Pa. captured his first career Modified win at Penn-Can last summer and as a record-setting cross-country runner in high school, lap after lap jogged around his car in victory lane in one of the most popular wins of the season. “Racing is something I think about every day and take to bed with me every night. I grew up a few minutes from ‘The Can’ and heard the motors revving every weekend. When you play the game, imagining every scenario and what you would do when you get that first win, I just did what came natural. Now I’m living that dream every time I buckle in,” remarked Greene, who mines bluestone quarries throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania primarily during the summer months, leaving the winter, spring and fall to indulge his appetite for dueling on the dirt.
*Rauscher Racing Again…In a reversal of fortune —married for the past 27 years and traveling to Florida annually for the last 26 winters— Dave Rauscher is contending in his third straight February at Volusia. His no. 48too Monadnock Disposal Service/Bicknell entry carried him to 14th on Thursday for the best ride of his short career on the ultra-fast half-miler. “Coming to Florida has always been about having fun, and now that the family is grown up I’m just moving that aspect from the stands to the pits,” said Rauscher, 53, manager of Magee Transportation Services by day, who scored no better than 21st the two years prior. “Things feel a lot better this week, we’re not only qualifying, we’re actually getting in some laps and finishing races. And when you’re out their racing you can’t help but have fun. We’ll keep coming back as long as things stay that way.”
*Vacation Plans On Hold…An annual traveler to Volusia for the wintertime bash throughout the new millennium, Rich Scagliotta is still in search of his first top-10 feature finish after 20 main events. He opened the ’09 Alltel DIRTcar Nationals with a 14th-place tally aboard his no. 8 Central Jersey Trailer & Hitch Depot-Adamsville Maintenance/Troyer entry although a first lap tangle on Friday forced him pitside with just one lap to his credit. “This is our vacation, not working our regular job and putting all the time into racing at the track. We’ll watch the Daytona 500 on Sunday then head home, all the guys have to get back to work next week. Volusia is always a challenge, its kinda like Hagerstown out there, you have to start up front or get by the guys ahead of you early. The track is so heavy and everybody is fast, the longer things go the harder it is for us to make a move.”
*Three Times A Charm For Friesen…In his Advance Series Big-Block Modified debut this week at Volusia, third-generation chauffeur James Michael Friesen needed three days to make the starting grid but it was well worth the wait for the rising star with his racing roots firmly entrenched in the city of St. Catharines, Ontario. Two successive DNQs were quickly forgotten as Friesen outlasted Jimmy Horton to take a checkered flag in the second qualifying heat and place 15th in the 30-lap main event on Friday. “We’ve just been doing a lot of learning trying to get comfortable and chasing away the nerves, racing out here against my heroes has certainly been a real treat,” remarked Friesen, 24, who only logged about a dozen laps the first two days, crashing on the frontstretch on day two resulting in heavy front-end damage to the no 52 Blue Moon Special powered by an Al Blanchard-prepared New Generation Racing Engine. “Despite the limited track time, this has still been a great experience and I’ll do my damndest to come back here next year and every year I can after that.”
2009 Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series Schedule
NP=Non-Point event; SP=Show-Up point event;
TBA=To Be Announced; TBD=To Be Determined.
DAY-DATE TRACK LOCATION/WINNER
Wed-Feb 11 Volusia Speedway Park Pat Ward
Thr-Feb 12 Volusia Speedway Park Pat Ward
Fri-Feb 13 Volusia Speedway Park Jamie Mills
Sat-Feb 14 Volusia Speedway Park Barberville,FL
Sat-Mar 28 Hagerstown Speedway Hagerstown,MD
Sun-May 24 -TBA-
Sat-Jun 6 Lebanon Valley Speedway West Lebanon,NY
Sun-Jun 7 Airborne Speedway Plattsburgh,NY
Sat-Jun 13 Fulton Speedway Fulton,NY
Fri-Jul 3 Ransomville Speedway Ransomville,NY
*** GREAT CANADIAN TOUR ***
Thr-Jul 9 Brockville Ont. Speedway Brockville,ONT
Fri-Jul 10 Autodrome Granby Granby,QUE
Sat-Jul 11 Autodrome Drummond Drummondville,QUE
Sun-Jul 12 Cornwall Motor Speedway Cornwall,ONT
Mon-Aug 3 Merrittville Speedway Thorold,ONT
Fri-Aug 7 Brewerton Speedway Brewerton,NY
Sat-Aug 8 Canandaigua Speedway Canandaigua,NY
Fri-Aug 21 Can-Am Motorsports Park LaFargeville,NY
Thr-Aug 27 Lebanon Valley Speedway West Lebanon,NY
Sun-Sep 6 Cayuga Co.Fair Speedway Weedsport,NY
Mon-Sep 7 Rolling Wheels Raceway Elbridge,NY
Fri-Sep 18 Lernerville Speedway Sarver,PA
Sat-Sep 19 -TBA-
Sat-Sep 26 Rolling Wheels Raceway Elbridge,NY
Sun-Oct 11 New York State Fairgrnds Syracuse,NY
-TBA- Orange Co.Fair Speedway Middletown,NY
-TBD- Big Diamond Raceway Minersville,PA
-TBD- Cayuga Co.Fair Speedway Weedsport,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 www.advanceautoparts.com.
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, Hoosier Racing Tire and VP Racing Fuels. Promotional partners include Rite Aid Corporation, Dig Safely New York and the University of Northwestern Ohio and the contingency sponsors are Bars Leaks, Bert Transmission, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Crane Cams, Ferris Industries, Holley HP Carburetors, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, KSE Racing Products, Motorsports Safety Systems, Penske Shocks, Racing Electronics, Rislone Oil Stabilizer and Wrisco Industries.
