Sheppard Takes Show To The High Banks To Score Victory At The Valley

West Lebanon, NY — June 6, 2009 – By Tom Skibinski, Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series PR Director
*George Smith Photo

‘Super Matt’ Sheppard continued his winning ways Saturday night at Lebanon Valley Speedway, leading flag-to-flag to score his first Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series victory of the season in the headline Abele Tractor & Greylock Federal Credit Union 100 for Big-Block Modifieds.

With track points leader Andy Bachetti in quest of his second straight Advance Series win on the high banks, Sheppard staved off every challenge from the Massachusetts favorite over the final 30 laps to capture his first tour triumph at the valley of speed and earn the $6,000 top prize.

“If it looked like I was comfortable out there, I was anything but after Andy got alongside me a couple times,” remarked Sheppard, 26, after posting his sixth career series win at a fifth different track. “Andy had a better car than me and I could see him under me at the end. I was struggling with some brake issues and I was throwing everything I could at it just trying to hold on.”

After crashing out and finishing dead-last (30th) in the ’09 Advance Series opener at Big Diamond Raceway in April, Sheppard vaulted into second in the point standings behind only third-place finisher Brett Hearn and Central New York standout Jimmy Phelps. Rounding out the top-five at in the Saturday showdown were Lebanon Valley locals Brian Berger and Mark Flach Jr.

Filling up the top-10 were Donnie Corellis, Phelps, Guy Sheldon, Dale Planck and Michael Storms, while Justin Haers climbed to 12th one to garner the Bert/KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award after improving from 25th spot.

“The problem here is when you try to go fast you actually end up getting around slower. And sometimes when you think you’re going slow you turn laps even quicker. Most of the time I ran about three-quarters speed, the rest of the way was as fast as I could make it,” noted Sheppard, who now tops the entire DIRTcar Northeast Modified circuit with seven feature wins, already just one checkered flag shy of matching his single-season best of eight Big-Block victories logged in 2007.

A strong field of 42 racers signed in the first Saturday of the month, requiring four heat races and a pair of consolation rounds to create the 30-car starting grid. Despite time trialing 11th fastest overall, Sheppard was the quickest in his group for the second heat yet settled for a runner-up finish behind Capital District veteran Donnie Ackner. However, luck of the draw put him on the pole for the 100-lap finale while Ackner selected 11th; first time Integra Shocks Fast Time award winner Keith Flach was even less fortunate as the third-generation driver from Ravena, New York lined up outside row six after drawing the highest (12th) position from those locked into the customary pre-race draw.

At the drop of the initial green flag, Sheppard not only put the JB Motorsports no. 9s Xtreme Lubricants-Seneca Auto Sales/Bicknell out front, the Waterloo, New York speedster opened up a six car-length advantage after just a half-mile. Front row partner Berger and Bachetti teammate Steve Hough jockeyed for second ahead of Hearn and Hector Stratton in the early stages, and with just five laps complete all-time Valley winner Kenny Tremont was the first casualty as recurring motor problems sidelined him for the remainder of the night.

Sheppard continued to set a blistering pace, finally reaching traffic on lap 16. Hearn was hoping to gain ground, ducking under third-place runner Hough between turns three and four on lap 13 and following a similar path low in the second corner to overtake Berger at the same time eighth-place starter Bachetti cracked the front-five. Forced to qualifier through the consolation round, defending Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Champion Billy Decker moved from 22nd to 13th through 20 laps as ‘Super Matt’ extended his advantage to three-quarters of a straightaway.

The leaders continued to weave their way around the West Lebanon oval, finally slowing for the first time on lap 45 when Hough slapped the outside wall high in turns three-four. With Sheppard’s comfortable 3.0-second margin suddenly evaporated, Hearn crept up to his bumper under caution and the restart four laps later included Bachetti, Berger and Mark Flach to set up the second half run.

Back under green, it took Bachetti until lap 67 to wrestle second spot from Hearn yet only a half-dozen more circuits to reel in the leader. Sheppard was forced to hit the binders on lap 74 when a two-wide battle between Ackner and Ryan Phelps directly in front stopped his momentum and allowed Bachetti to dramatically close the gap.

Caution lights flashed for the second and final time on lap 79 when the LDL Racing no. 91 Gypsum mount of Decker suffered a shredded right-rear tire. The stage was set for one last showdown, with Bachetti making up ground high in turns three/four and low in turns one/two although Sheppard was able to pull away on both straightaways. Bachetti shadowed Sheppard and with five laps still to go switched lanes to bring his machine alongside low out of turn four. But Sheppard was just as quick to slam the door closed, leaving Bachetti to fall in six car-lengths back as the leaders crossed the stripe.

“I can’t say enough about the car and this team, to come in here and get a win is a pretty big accomplishment,” beamed Sheppard, after becoming the 15th different winner in 48 Advance Series events held at Lebanon Valley since 1980. He registered his first tour triumph at Autodrome Drummond in 2004, sandwiching victories at Canandaigua and New Egypt (2) speedways between his ’08 season-opening win last year at Virginia Motor Speedway. “You probably can’t count the guys that came in that haven’t run here regularly and won a race on two hands.”

“We took notes from the past with Randy (Ross, former car owner) and came here … Jeff (Brownell, current owner) just gives me an awesome race car. Every time I go out I know I’ve got the best of everything underneath me so I can’t thank him enough.”

“Everything just fell our way today. We had some brake trouble early in the night and were able to qualify good enough to get into the redraw. Of course drawing the no. 1 spot is real important out here, and you also have to have a car good enough to stay up there for 100 laps. You know you’re having a good season when you win a bunch of races, you can even come to a place like the Valley and sneak out of here with a win. Things are definitely going our way right now,” added Sheppard, who finished sixth in the overall Mr. DIRTcar points chase last season.

Fresh off his first win of the season at Lebanon the previous Saturday in a regular 30-lapper, Bachetti was in prime position to post his fourth career Advance Series victory on home soil in his potent Albraeda Waste no. 34 Steve Hough Motors-Garrity Asphalt/PMC entry before time ran out in the century grind.

“The car, the motor … this whole team, all the sponsors … everybody that’s part of this deal, they worked real hard for us,” said Bachetti, 33, who owns 18 first-place trophies at Lebanon, with all three series wins taken since 2004. “The car was really, really good tonight.”

“I made a bunch of changes. The (crew) guys kinda looked at me and said ‘ya, let’s do it.’ We didn’t win but I think the best part of the whole night was passing Brett,” smiled Bachetti, a weekly contender against Hearn at both Lebanon Valley and Orange County Fair Speedway for well over a decade.

Despite Hearn charging from fifth to second early on, the ‘Jet’ was unable to keep the Madsen Motorsports no. 20 Wentworth Custom Homes-Kruger-WLR-BPG/TEO machine up front in his attempt for an unprecedented 15th Advance Series win at Lebanon Valley.

“The way Andy went by me I thought for sure he was going to the front,” figured Hearn, 50, who holds a 28-point lead over Phelps in the point standings after the season-opening two series stops. Teammates Sheppard and Jeff Brownell Jr. are more than 40 markers back while Dale Planck ranks fifth on the chart. “We all kinda evened out there a little after that.”

“Not sure, my car’s normally really good the second half of the race. I mean I just lost the grip completely, both front and rear. I don’t really know why, we all had the same tires on. I guess we just missed the set-up a little bit. I had to let the front end go right to the cushion before I could get any side bite. Just did the best I could with what I had. Third-place is still good for the series and points and all that good stuff, our goal is still to win the (Mr. DIRTcar) championship,” stated New Jersey all-star Hearn.

The ground-pounding Advance Auto Parts Series Big-Block Modifieds close out the weekend Sunday with the second half of the dirt-asphalt doubleheader at Airborne Speedway. The winner of the “Battle of Plattsburgh 100” at Airborne stands to collect $6,000 along with valuable points towards the overall Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship.

Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series Race #2 – Lebanon Valley Speedway, June 6, 2009 Abele Tractor & Greylock Federal Credit Union 100 Big-Block Modified Event Summary
FIN STR CAR# DRIVER
1 1 9s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY ($6,000)
2 8 34b Andy Bachetti/Sheffield,MA
3 5 20h Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
4 2 60 Brian Berger/Castleton,NY
5 10 77f Mark Flach Jr./Selkirk,NY
6 9 57 Donnie Corellis/Averill Park,NY
7 18 98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY
8 7 42 Guy Sheldon/Nassau,NY
9 17 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
10 13 4s Michael Storms/Wantage,NJ
11 12 43 Keith Flach/Ravena,NY
12 25 3 Justin Haers/Phelps,NY
13 14 98 Eddie Marshall/Ridgefield,CT
14 11 64 Donnie Ackner/West Sand Lake,NY
15 19 88 Kory Sandstedt/Canaan,NY
16 28 84 Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY
17 20 49 Billy Dunn/Watertown,NY
18 22 91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY
19 16 55 Mike King/Nassau,NY
20 15 29 Jeff Brownell Jr./Waterloo,NY
21 27 99L Larry Wight/Phoenix,NY
22 29 99 Ryan Phelps/Fulton,NY
23 4 87 Hector Stratton/Bennington,VT
24 24 87x Paul Gilardi/Pittsfield,MA
25 23 1h Tim Hindley/Monticello,NY
26 3 34 Steve Hough/East Greenbush,NY
27 26 39 Ryan Larkin/Alford,MA
28 21 66 Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY
29 30 66w Alan Johnson/Middlesex,NY
30 6 115 Kenny Tremont/West Sand Lake,NY
GATER RACING NEWS LAP LEADER: Sheppard (1-100).
CAUTIONS: 2 for 8 laps.
HEAT WINNERS: K.Flach, Hough, Ackner, Bachetti.
DIG SAFELY NEW YORK LAST CHANCE RACE WINNERS: D.Johnson, Decker.
BICKNELL RACING PRODUCTS WINNER AWARD: Matt Sheppard.
RISLONE OIL STABILIZER & TREATMENT WINNER AWARD: Matt Sheppard.
BARS LEAKS RUNNER-UP AWARD: Andy Bachetti.
SYRACUSE RITE AID 200 QUALIFIER: Matt Sheppard.
ALL-STAR WEEKEND EXEMPTION DASH QUALIFIER: Matt Sheppard.
HALFWAY LEADER: Matt Sheppard.
BERT/KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER AWARD: Justin Haers.
XTREME LUBRICANTS SLICK MOVE OF THE RACE AWARD: Andy Bachetti.
PENSKE POWER POSITION AWARD (7th): Jimmy Phelps.
INTEGRA SHOCKS FAST TIME AWARD: Keith Flach (19.765sec/91.070mph).
TOTAL PURSE: $27,750.
CARS ENTERED: 42.
NEXT EVENT: Airborne Speedway “Battle of Plattsburgh 100” – June 7, 2009.
DID NOT QUALIFY(12)
07-Tim Kerr/Picton,ONT
7-John Ruchel/Niverville,NY
8-Rich Scagliotta/Bound Brook,NJ
20-Matt Quinn/New Ashford,MA
21-Kris Bradbury/Roxbury,NH
24s-Rich Salisbury/Averill Park,NY
37x-Tom Scheetz Jr./Boyertown,PA
77j-J.C. Flach/Ravena,NY
87xj-Wayne Jelley/Pittsfield,MA
171-Tom Faxon/Chatham,NY
347-Skippy Fox/Springfield,MA
518-Kyle Sheldon/Schodack,NY

QUALIFYING
FAST AVE
TIME MPH CAR# DRIVER
1 19.765 91.070 43 Keith Flach/Ravena,NY
*$100 Integra Shocks Fast Qualifier Award
2 19.904 90.434 42 Guy Sheldon/Nassau,NY
3 20.029 89.870 34 Steve Hough/East Greenbush,NY
4 20.053 89.762 20h Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
20.053 89.762 98 Eddie Marshall/Ridgefield,CT
6 20.063 89.717 57 Donnie Corellis/Averill Park,NY
7 20.076 89.659 77f Mark Flach Jr./Selkirk,NY
20.076 89.659 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
9 20.080 89.641 98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY
10 20.104 89.534 4s Michael Storms/Wantage,NJ
11 20.107 89.521 9s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY
12 20.108 89.517 64 Donnie Ackner/West Sand Lake,NY
13 20.134 89.401 60 Brian Berger/Castleton,NY
14 20.137 89.388 3 Justin Haers/Phelps,NY
15 20.181 89.193 87 Hector Stratton/Bennington,VT
16 20.190 89.153 34b Andy Bachetti/Sheffield,MA
17 20.206 89.082 87xj Wayne Jelley/Pittsfield,MA
18 20.219 89.025 20 Matt Quinn/New Ashford,MA
19 20.249 88.893 1h Tim Hindley/Monticello,NY
20 20.276 88.775 66 Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY
21 20.301 88.666 07 Tim Kerr/Picton,ONT
22 20.309 88.631 115 Kenny Tremont/West Sand Lake,NY
23 20.362 88.400 49 Billy Dunn/Watertown,NY
24 20.377 88.335 29 Jeff Brownell Jr./Waterloo,NY
25 20.387 88.292 39 Ryan Larkin/Alford,MA
26 20.394 88.261 55 Mike King/Nassau,NY
27 20.417 88.162 99L Larry Wight/Phoenix,NY
28 20.465 87.955 87x Paul Gilardi/Pittsfield,MA
29 20.497 87.818 77j J.C. Flach/Ravena,NY
30 20.498 87.813 66w Alan Johnson/Middlesex,NY
31 20.584 87.447 88 Kory Sandstedt/Canaan,NY
32 20.615 87.315 518 Kyle Sheldon/Schodack,NY
33 20.618 87.302 7 John Ruchel/Niverville,NY
20.618 87.302 84 Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY
35 20.722 86.864 99 Ryan Phelps/Fulton,NY
36 20.836 86.389 171 Tom Faxon/Chatham,NY
37 20.862 86.281 8 Rich Scagliotta/Bound Brook,NJ
38 20.969 85.841 24s Rich Salisbury/Averill Park,NY
39 21.212 84.858 37x Tom Scheetz Jr./Boyertown,PA
40 21.481 83.795 347 Skippy Fox/Springfield,MA
41 -NT- —– 91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY
42 -NT- —– 21 Kris Bradbury/Roxbury,NH

Heat Races (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to feature; top 3 redrew)
#1: K.Flach, G.Sheldon, M.Flach, Storms, Planck, D.Johnson, Jelley, Tomkins, Faxon, Scagliotta.
#2: Hough, Hearn, Corellis, Marshall, J.Phelps, Haers, Hindley, Quinn, Ruchel, Bradbury.
#3: Ackner, Sheppard, Berger, Brownell, Sandstedt, Decker, Gilardi, Larkin, JC Flach, R.Phelps, K.Sheldon.
#4: Bachetti, Stratton, Tremont, King, Dunn, Kerr, Wight, Scheetz, Fox, Salisbury, A.Johnson.
Dig Safely New York Last Chance Races: (10 laps, top 3 finishers transferred to feature)
#1: D.Johnson, Hindley, Haers, Quinn, Jelley, Tomkins, Ruchel, Faxon, Scagliotta, Bradbury(DNS).
#2: Decker, Gilardi, Larkin, Kerr, Wight, K.Sheldon, JC Flach, Fox, R.Phelps, Scheetz, Salisbury(DNS), A.Johnson(DNS).
Guaranteed: Wight, Tomkins, R.Phelps, A.Johnson.

Advance Auto Parts Series Point Standings (Through June 6, 2009)
Rank No. Driver Total Series Diff Wins Top-5 Top-10 Starts
1 20 Brett Hearn 188 188 0 0 2 2 2
2 98H Jimmy Phelps 160 160 -28 0 1 2 2
3 9s Matt Sheppard 143 143 -45 1 1 1 2
4 29 Jeff Brownell Jr. 142 142 -46 0 1 1 2
5 77x Dale Planck 125 125 -63 0 0 1 2
6 99 Ryan Phelps 123 123 -65 0 1 1 2
7 4s Mike Storms 117 117 -71 0 0 1 2
8 84 Gary Tomkins 116 116 -72 0 0 1 2
9 66 Danny Johnson 113 113 -75 0 0 1 2
10 14J Alan Johnson 113 113 -75 0 0 1 2
11 3 Justin Haers 108 108 -80 0 0 0 2
12 4 Duane Howard 105 105 -83 1 1 1 1
13 91 Billy Decker 101 101 -87 0 0 0 2
14 34b Andy Bachetti 100 100 -88 0 1 1 1
15 49 Billy Dunn 96 96 -92 0 0 0 2
16 60 Brian Berger 86 86 -102 0 1 1 1
17 99L Larry Wight 83 83 -105 0 0 0 2
18 77F Mark Flach Jr. 81 81 -107 0 1 1 1
19 57 Donnie Corellis 77 77 -111 0 0 1 1
20 8p Billy Pauch Jr. 76 76 -112 0 0 1 1
21 42 Guy Sheldon 71 71 -117 0 0 1 1
22 43 Keith Flach 70 70 -118 0 0 0 1
23 FX1 Frankie Caprara 62 62 -126 0 0 1 1
24 64 Donnie Ackner 59 59 -129 0 0 0 1
25 62 Tom Sears Jr. 58 58 -130 0 0 0 1
26 98 Eddie Marshall 56 56 -132 0 0 0 1
27 37x Tom Scheetz Jr. 56 56 -132 0 0 0 1
28 88c Rich Laubach 56 56 -132 0 0 0 1
29 74 Tim Fuller 55 55 -133 0 0 0 1
30 88 Kory Sandstedt 52 52 -136 0 0 0 1
31 26 Ryan Godown 47 47 -141 0 0 0 1
32 55 Mike King 45 45 -143 0 0 0 1
33 34 Steve Hough 45 45 -143 0 0 0 1
34 87 Hector Stratton 44 44 -144 0 0 0 1
35 14 Jimmy Horton 43 43 -145 0 0 0 1
36 44 Frank Cozze 42 42 -146 0 0 0 1
37 115 Kenny Tremont Jr. 41 41 -147 0 0 0 1
38 6 Mike McAleer 41 41 -147 0 0 0 1
39 1H Tim Hindley 40 40 -148 0 0 0 1
40 39 Ryan Larkin 40 40 -148 0 0 0 1
41 87x Paul Gilardi 40 40 -148 0 0 0 1
42 28 Richie Pratt Jr. 40 40 -148 0 0 0 1
43 117 Kevin Hirthler 40 40 -148 0 0 0 1
44 126 Billy Pauch 40 40 -148 0 0 0 1
45 33 Ray Swinehart 40 40 -148 0 0 0 1
46 1c Craig VonDohren 40 40 -148 0 0 0 1
47 07 Tim Kerr 20 20 -168 0 0 0 0
48 8 Rich Scagliotta 20 10 -178 0 0 0 0
49 87J Wayne Jelley 10 10 -178 0 0 0 0
50 171 Tom Faxon 10 10 -178 0 0 0 0
51 20 Matt Quinn 10 10 -178 0 0 0 0
52 7 John Ruchel 10 10 -178 0 0 0 0
53 21 Kris Bradbury 10 10 -178 0 0 0 0
54 77J J.C. Flach 10 10 -178 0 0 0 0
55 518 Kyle Sheldon 10 10 -178 0 0 0 0
56 24s Rich Salisbury 10 10 -178 0 0 0 0
57 37x Tom Sheetz Jr. 10 10 -178 0 0 0 0
58 347 Skip Fox 10 10 -178 0 0 0 0
59 69 Bob Trapper 10 10 -178 0 0 0 0
60 6 Pat O’Brien 10 10 -178 0 0 0 0
61 53 Mike Gular 10 10 -178 0 0 0 0
62 00 Doug Manmiller 10 10 -178 0 0 0 0
63 27 Troy Wink 10 10 -178 0 0 0 0
64 41 Jeff Strunk 10 10 -178 0 0 0 0

Advance Auto Parts DIRTcar Modified Entries – June 6 (42)
Car# Driver/Hometown Team (Sponsor / Chassis / Engine)
07 Tim Kerr/Picton,ONT Hubert Kerr Construction-Northwood 2 Construction/Bicknell/Enders
1h Tim Hindley/Monticello,NY Landscape Innovators/Troyer/JPM
3 Justin Haers/Phelps,NY Phelps Cement Products-SMV Motorsports-Jeff Jolly Masonry/Bicknell/Finger Lakes
4s Michael Storms/Wantage,NJ Keizer Aluminum Wheels-Mike Sparta Trckng-Four Star Transmissions/TEO/Morrison
7 John Ruchel/Niverville,NY The Kleeber Agency-Kool-Temp Heating & Cooling/Bicknell/JPM
8 Rich Scagliotta/Bound Brook,NJ Central Jersey Trailer & Hitch Depot-Adamsville Maintenance/Troyer/Feil
9s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY Xtreme Lubricants-Seneca Auto Sales/Bicknell/C.C. Performance
20 Matt Quinn/New Ashford,MA Earthworm Cat Rental-Graphic Impact/PMC/Dan Bedell
20h Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ Madsen Motorsports-Wentworth Custom Homes-Kruger-WLR-BPG/TEO/Enders
21 Kris Bradbury/Roxbury,NH Bradbury Motorsports/Troyer/Enders(358)
24s Rich Salisbury/Averill Park,NY Herrington Farms-Dave Browe Paving/Bicknell/Silly’s Competition
29 Jeff Brownell Jr./Waterloo,NY Xtreme Lubricants-Seneca Auto Sales/Bicknell/C.C. Performance
34 Steve Hough/East Greenbush,NY Steve Hough Motors/PMC/JPM
34b Andy Bachetti/Sheffield,MA Albraeda Waste LLC-Steve Hough Motors-Garrity Asphalt/PMC/Morrison
37x Tom Scheetz Jr./Boyertown,PA TNT Repairs-Jeff D’Ambrosio Dodge/Bicknell/Doug Meyers
39 Ryan Larkin/Alford,MA Coors Light-Steve’s Auto Repair/PMC/Dan Bedell
42 Guy Sheldon/Nassau,NY Heinz Inc.-Judd Construction-Sheldon Oil Services/PMC/Devine
43 Keith Flach/Ravena,NY Flach Crane & Rigging-Gould Erectors & Riggers/Bicknell/Enders
49 Billy Dunn/Watertown,NY Number One Speed-American Traditions-Fast Lube Watertown/Bicknell/Finger Lakes
55 Mike King/Nassau,NY Thoma Tire-A to Z Landscaping-Otterbeck Builders/PMC/Dan Bedell
57 Donnie Corellis/Averill Park,NY Rifenburg Construction-John Ray & Son/Bicknell/Bedell
60 Brian Berger/Castleton,NY Garrity Asphalt-Pittsfield Lawn & Tractor-Williams & Kingsley Auto/PMC/Dan Bedell
64 Donnie Ackner/West Sand Lake,NY Indian Fields Equipment & Contracting/Bicknell/JPM
66 Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY Atlas Paving-Behrent’s Performance Warehouse/TEO/JPM
66w Alan Johnson/Middlesex,NY Bully’s Truck Stop-CFF,Inc.-Unicast Crusher Parts/Bicknell/Morrison
77f Mark Flach Jr./Selkirk,NY Gould Erectors & Riggers-F&M Farms/Troyer/Dan Bedell
77j J.C. Flach/Ravena,NY Flach Crane & Rigging-Gould Erectors & Riggers/Bicknell/Enders
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
87 Hector Stratton/Bennington,VT Big Boy’s Toys-Quality Plumbing & Heating/PMC/AC Performance
87x Paul Gilardi/Pittsfield,MA Fast Loans Greylock Fed.Credit Union-Modular Home Connection/Bicknell/Marollo
87xj Wayne Jelley/Pittsfield,MA Fast Loans Greylock Fed.Credit Union-Modular Home Connection/Bicknell/Gilardi
88 Kory Sandstedt/Canaan,NY Darcy Construction-Bemiss Trucking/PMC/Dan Bedell
91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY Gypsum Wholesalers-Stadium Int’l-Quality Hardwoods/Bicknell/Kevlar
98 Eddie Marshall/Ridgefield,CT Marshall Oil Co.-Advance Water Technologies-R&M Heating & AC/TEO/Enders
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
99L Larry Wight/Phoenix,NY Gypsum Express,Ltd./Bicknell/Kevlar
115 Kenny Tremont/West Sand Lake,NY S&S Asphalt-Rifenburg Construction-Park East Sales/Bicknell/Tremont
171 Tom Faxon/Chatham,NY Faxon Excavation-Mike Visconti General Contractor/Bicknell/Enders(358)
347 Skippy Fox/Springfield,MA Fox Racing/Teo/Fox
518 Kyle Sheldon/Schodack,NY Rifenburg Construction-Sheldon Oil Services/Troyer/Bedell

UPCOMING EVENT
In one of the only mid-week Advance Auto Parts Series events on tap throughout the entire season, THE BIG SHOW presented by veteran racer Brett Hearn at Orange County Fair Speedway arrives on June 17, with racers from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania set to converge on the ‘hard clay’ for the biggest event of the summer in Middletown. With the addition of a B-Main, the list of lap leader awards continues to grow with $2,000 up for grabs to the race-long pace-setters. Hearn is also in the process of securing a halfway bonus to bring the total to nearly $32,000 posted in prize money and contingency awards, with the 100-lap Modified main event paying to $6,000 to win.

2009 Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series 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 Plattsburgh,NY
Wed-Jun 17 Orange Co Fair Speedway Middletown,NY
Fri-Jul 3 Ransomville Speedway Ransomville,NY
Sat-Jul 4 Fulton Speedway Fulton,NY
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
Sat-Jul 18 Cayuga Co Fair Speedway Weedsport,NY
Sun-Jul 19 Cayuga Co Fair Speedway Weedsport,NY ($20,000-to-win)
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 ($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
Sat-Sep 19 -TBA-
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-

DIRTcar Racing Northeast main office is located in Weedsport, New York on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds www.cayugacountyfairspeedway.com, home of the 2009 DIRTcar All-Star Weekend, July 17-19, featuring Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship Series events for Sportsman and Big-Block Modifieds in the richest short-track show of its kind in the nation — the $20,000-to-win Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series “DIRTcar All-Star 100” on Sunday, July 19.