Danny Johnson - Bill Moore Photo
Elbridge, NY — Oct. 8, 2010 – By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing Northeast PR Director
For those fans making an early departure from Rolling Wheels Raceway Park on Friday night while Brett Hearn was leading the first 74 laps of the Pullen’s Truck Center 75 — shame on you.
Especially with Danny Johnson hot on Hearn’s trail and $4,000 on the line for the winner of the annual Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship Series event scheduled in autumn during Super DIRT Week.
Taking advantage of two lapped cars sandwiching Hearn entering turn three on the final lap, Johnson suddenly dove low looking for an opening and swept past all three to pull off a dramatic win for owner Mike Payne in his Honeoye Auto Parts no. 7z Currier Plastics-Waste Management/Bicknell ride.
“We hung with him the whole race and tried to get underneath and he moved to the bottom” began Johnson, 50, as he recounted the final lap in his latest addition to the 2010 season highlight reel. “When you get to lapped traffic you don’t know what to do, unfortunately he got the two of them. He got the road blocked and I managed to get a hold on the bottom and go by both of them.”
“The car was really good down low the whole race but I had to hit it just right. If I went in too hard I slid, getting it just right was tough to do. This is a great win, hopefully it will get the guys spirits back up for when we go to Syracuse,” added Johnson, following his second Series win of the year.
Finishing a ways back behind Johnson and Hearn in the Super DIRT Week thriller were Pennsylvania invader Frank Cozze, current Mr. DIRTcar 358 points leader Danny O’Brien and older brother Alan Johnson, the winningest Big-Block driver on the DIRTcar Northeast circuit.
Luck of the draw among the top-10 heat race qualifiers put Hearn on the pole to begin the 75-lap Modified main with Johnson filing into ninth on the 30-car starting grid. Six yellow flags slowed the action during the first half of the race, yet it was the final 30 that went non-stop as Johnson was able to chip away at Hearn’s once seemingly insurmountable lead.
After shadowing Hearn over the last dozen circuits, Johnson actually nosed past his chief rival’s Madsen Motorsports no. 20 Wentworth Custom Homes-Fox Hill Campgrounds/TEO machine exiting turn two on lap 74 but couldn’t pull off the pass with still over a lap to go. However, his perseverance paid big dividends over the final half-mile as the ‘Doctor’ stayed glued to Hearn’s rear bumper and when the hole opened up he filled it with no hesitation before crossing the line with a surprising sixcar-length win in Rolling Wheels next to last event.
There is little time to relax as teams chasing points towards the overall Hoosier-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship get right back to action the next day when the Syracuse Mile plays host to the ‘Salute To The Troops 150’ at the State Fairgrounds.
Now following O’Brien (1605) on the points chart through eight events are Danny Johnson (1595), Pete Bicknell (1590), David Hebert (1514), Mario Clair (1501), Pat O’Brien (1454), Mat Williamson (1433), Carey Terrance (1369), Luke Whitteker (1360), Eric Gauvreau (1357), Jeremy Wilder (1357), and defending overall Mr. DIRT car 358-Modified champion Dale Planck (1313). The 2010 Mr. DIRTcar champion will be crowned at Brockville Ontario Speedway next weekend when the BOS stages it 2nd Annual DIRTcar Fall Nationals outside the city of the Thousand Islands.
Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship Series Race #8 – Rolling Wheels Raceway Park, Oct. 8, 2010 ‘Pullen’s Truck Center 75’ Event Summary
FEATURE
FIN STR CAR# DRIVER
1 9 7z Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY ($4,000)
2 1 20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
3 8 90 Frank Cozze/Wind Gap,PA
4 13 7* Danny O’Brien/Kingston,ONT
5 4 Deuce Alan Johnson/Middlesex,NY
6 18 42 Pete Bicknell/St.Catharines,ONT
7 29 124h David Hebert/St. Damase,QUE
8 10 4* Tim McCreadie/Watertown,NY
9 17 7f Tim Fuller/Edwards,NY
10 7 33 Mike Mahaney/King Ferry,NY
11 22 3b Chad Brachmann/Sanborn,NY
12 11 99b Chuck Bower/Lansing,NY
13 16 38 Luke Whitteker/Iroquois,ONT
14 21 4j Jeff Sykes/Edwards,NY
15 26 6m Mat Williamson/St.Catharines,ONT
16 30 26 Rick Richner/Niagara Falls,NY
17 19 28 Todd Gordon/St.Catharines,ONT
18 12 22 Eric Gauvreau/Chelsea,QUE
19 6 1x Todd Stone/Middlebury,VT
20 15 6* Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY
21 20 71 Mike Bowman/St.Catharines,ONT
22 2 9s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY
23 5 6 Pat O’Brien/Kingston,ONT
24 25 38r Ryan Susice/Ransomville,NY
25 3 93 Rich Vinson/Sanborn,NY
26 28 22j Jeremy Wilder/Fort Plain,NY
27 14 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
28 24 37s Boyd MacTavish/Ransomville,NY
29 23 22c Mario Clair/St-Edmond,QUE
30 27 66x Carey Terrance/Akwesasne,NY
GATER NEWS LAP LEADERS: Hearn (1-74), D.Johnson (75).
CAUTIONS: 6 (lap 5, lap 9, lap 16, lap 23, lap 43, lap 45).
HEAT WINNERS: P.O’Brien, Stone, A.Johnson, Vinson, Hearn.
CONSI WINNERS: Sykes, Brachmann, Clair.
BICKNELL RACING PRODUCTS WINNER AWARD: Danny Johnson.
SYRACUSE 150 QUALIFIER: Frank Cozze.
HALFWAY LEADER: Brett Hearn.
BERT HARD CHARGER: David Hebert.
PENSKE POWER POSITION (21st): Mike Bowman.
BILSTEIN SHOCKS FAST TIME AWARD: Matt Sheppard (20.456sec/109.992mph).
TOTAL PURSE: $19,325
CARS ENTERED: 56.
NEXT EVENT: New York State Fairgrounds “Salute To The Troops 150” – October 9, 2010.
DID NOT QUALIFY(26)
X-Dan Mazy/Alburtis,PA
007-Roy Tarbell/Hogansburg,NY
3d-Kevin Bates/Lake Ariel,PA
6h-Josh Hohenforst/Gloversille,NY
8s-Justin Sharp/St.Catharines,ONT
12-Brian Sage/Brockport,NY
15j-Tim Jones/Sanborn,NY
17c-Pete Cosco/St.Catharines,ONT
17x-Chris Steele/Fenwick,ONT
21k-Randy Chrysler/Lewiston,NY
t21-Roger Chrysler/Lewiston,NY
31-Tom Jock Jr./Hogansburg,NY
45m-Mike Ward/Genoa,NY
56-Steve Schumacher/North Tonawanda,NY
66w-Wallace Stacey/Kahnawake,QUE
72-Tommy Flannigan/St.Catharines,ONT
72g-Denis Gauvreau/Alymer,QUE
72s-Todd Stewart/Bath,ONT
96-Fred Carleton/Niagara-o-t-Lake,ONT
97-Michel Chicoine/Ste-Cecile de Milton,QUE
98h-Erick Rudolph/Ransomville,NY
99$-Anthony Rizzardo/Jordan Station,ONT
108-Bill Bleich/Port Robinson,ONT
117-Alex Tonkin/Carbondale,PA
124-Pierre DagenaisGatineau,QUE
397-Jean Francois Tessier/St. Damase,QUE
QUALIFYING
FAST AVE
TIME MPH CAR# DRIVER
1 20.456 109.992 9s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY
$100 Bilstein Shocks Fast Qualifier Award
2 20.592 109.266 4* Tim McCreadie/Watertown,NY
3 20.747 108.449 6 Pat O’Brien/Kingston,ONT
4 20.823 108.054 7f Tim Fuller/Edwards,NY
5 20.861 107.857 42 Pete Bicknell/St.Catharines,ONT
6 20.928 107.511 1x Todd Stone/Middlebury,VT
7 20.938 107.460 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
8 20.956 107.368 Deuce Alan Johnson/Middlesex,NY
20.956 107.368 20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
10 20.990 107.194 99b Chuck Bower/Lansing,NY
11 21.006 107.112 4j Jeff Sykes/Edwards,NY
12 21.041 106.934 7* Danny O’Brien/Kingston,ONT
13 21.115 106.559 93 Rich Vinson/Sanborn,NY
14 21.124 106.514 33 Mike Mahaney/King Ferry,NY
15 21.171 106.277 38 Luke Whitteker/Iroquois,ONT
16 21.182 106.222 22c Mario Clair/St-Edmond,QUE
17 21.192 106.172 66x Carey Terrance/Akwesasne,NY
18 21.196 106.152 98h Erick Rudolph/Ransomville,NY
19 21.204 106.112 6* Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY
20 21.210 106.082 37s Boyd MacTavish/Ransomville,NY
21 21.216 106.052 22 Eric Gauvreau/Chelsea,QUE
22 21.223 106.017 72g Denis Gauvreau/Alymer,QUE
23 21.229 105.987 3b Chad Brachmann/Sanborn,NY
24 21.242 105.922 71 Mike Bowman/St.Catharines,ONT
25 21.308 105.594 17c Pete Cosco/St.Catharines,ONT
26 21.314 105.564 17x Chris Steele/Fenwick,ONT
27 21.334 105.465 90 Frank Cozze/Wind Gap,PA
28 21.351 105.381 117 Alex Tonkin/Carbondale,PA
29 21.391 105.184 7z Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY
30 21.407 105.106 99$ Anthony Rizzardo/Jordan Station,ONT
31 21.427 105.008 007 Roy Tarbell/Hogansburg,NY
32 21.454 104.876 28 Todd Gordon/St.Catharines,ONT
33 21.482 104.739 12 Brian Sage/Brockport,NY
34 21.485 104.724 108 Bill Bleich/Port Robinson,ONT
35 21.489 104.705 22j Jeremy Wilder/Fort Plain,NY
36 21.491 104.695 124h David Hebert/St. Damase,QUE
37 21.517 104.568 72 Tommy Flannigan/St.Catharines,ONT
38 21.527 104.520 38r Ryan Susice/Ransomville,NY
39 21.541 104.452 21k Randy Chrysler/Lewiston,NY
40 21.545 104.433 15j Tim Jones/Sanborn,NY
41 21.571 104.307 124 Pierre DagenaisGatineau,QUE
42 21.590 104.215 3d Kevin Bates/Lake Ariel,PA
43 21.596 104.186 97 Michel Chicoine/Ste-Cecile de Milton,QUE
44 21.635 103.998 96 Fred Carleton/Niagara-o-t-Lake,ONT
45 21.641 103.969 X Dan Mazy/Alburtis,PA
46 21.700 103.687 66w Wallace Stacey/Kahnawake,QUE
47 21.729 103.548 26 Rick Richner/Niagara Falls,NY
48 21.796 103.230 6m Mat Williamson/St.Catharines,ONT
49 21.809 103.168 t21 Roger Chrysler/Lewiston,NY
50 21.897 102.754 45m Mike Ward/Genoa,NY
51 21.986 102.338 72s Todd Stewart/Bath,ONT
52 22.007 102.240 8s Justin Sharp/St.Catharines,ONT
53 22.083 101.888 397 Jean Francois Tessier/St. Damase,QUE
54 23.030 97.699 31 Tom Jock Jr./Hogansburg,NY
55 -NT- —– 6h Josh Hohenforst/Gloversille,NY
56 -NT- —– 56 Steve Schumacher/North Tonawanda,NY
Heat Races (8 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to feature, top 2 went to re-draw)
#1: P.O’Brien, Sheppard, Bower, Whitteker, Steele, D.Gauvreau, Cosco, Tonkin, Ra.Chrysler, Schumacher, Stewart (DNS).
#2: Stone, Mahaney, E.Gauvreau, Fuller, Brachmann, Tarbell, Williamson, Rizzardo, Hebert, Ro.Chrysler, Ward.
#3: A.Johnson, McCreadie, D.O’Brien, Bicknell, Clair, Terrance, Sykes, Rudolph, Dagenais, Sage, Richner.
#4: Vinson, Cozze, Planck, Gordon, Bleich, Bates, Jones, Flannigan, Wilder, Chicoine, Mazy.
#5: Hearn, D.Johnson, Tomkins, Bowman, Susice, MacTavish, Carleton, Stacey, Hohenforst, Sharp, Tessier, Jock,
Consolation Round (top 2 finishers transferred to feature)
#1: Sykes, MacTavish, Hohenforst, Bleich, Mazy, Schumacher, Hebert, Steele, Tonkin, Sage, Tarbell, Flannigan.
#2: Brachmann, Susice, Terrance, Cosco, Rizzardo, Dagenais, Stacey, Ward, Tessier, Chicoine, Ra.Chrysler.
#3: Clair, Williamson, Bates, D.Gauvreau, Wilder, Rudolph, Sharp, Richner, Ro.Chrysler, Jock, Stewart, Carleton.
Guaranteed: Terrance, Wilder, Hebert, Richner.
2010 358-MODIFIED SYRACUSE CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIERS
(+)-denotes Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship Series event.
DAY-DATE TRACK WINNER/QUALIFIER
Fri-Apr 23 Brewerton Speedway Jimmy Phelps/Pat O’Brien(9th)
Sat-May 1 Airborne Speedway Patrick Dupree
Fri-May 14 Autodrome Edelweiss Luke Whitteker
Sat-May 15 Brockville Ontario Speedway Gage Morin
Sat-May 15 Lebanon Valley Speedway Brett Hearn
Sun-May 16 Cornwall Motor Speedway Matt Billings & Kayle Robidoux
Sun-May 23 Cornwall Motor Speedway B.Hearn/Clement Therrien(2nd)
Mon-May 24+ Merrittville Speedway B.Hearn/Jimmy Phelps(2nd)
Fri-May 28 Ransomville Speedway Stewart Friesen
Sun-May 30 Cayuga County Fair Speedway Matt Sheppard/Larry Wight(12th)
Fri-Jun 4 Autodrome Edelweiss Stephane LaFrance
Sat-Jun 12 Autodrome Drummond Mario Clair
Tue-Jun 15 Grandview Speedway Craig VonDohren
Wed-Jun 23 Mohawk Int’l Raceway J.Phelps/Todd Stone(16th)
Sat-Jun 26 Lebanon Valley Speedway Tom Faxon
Thr-Jul 1+ Autodrome Edelweiss Danny Johnson
Fri-Jul 2 Ransomville Speedway D.Johnson/Pete Bicknell(3rd)
Sun-Jul 11 Cornwall Motor Speedway B.Hearn/Carey Terrance(10th)
Mon-Jul 12 Can-Am Motorsports Park Billy Dunn
Thr-Jul 15 Brewerton Speedway M.Sheppard/Tim McCreadie(15th)
Fri-July 16 Autodrome Granby K.Robidoux/David Hebert(2nd)
Sat-Jul 17 Cayuga County Fair Speedway M.Sheppard/Chad Brachmann(14th)
Mon-Jul 19 Autodrome Granby B.Hearn/Frederic Gamache(10th)
Tue-Jul 20 Autodrome Drummond D.Johnson/Martin Roy(7th)
Sun-Jul 25 Humberstone Speedway James M. Friesen
Sun-Jul 25 Lebanon Valley Speedway Andy Bachetti
Fri-Jul 30 Mohawk Int’l Speedway Danny O’Brien
Fri-Jul 30 Autodrome Edelweiss S.LaFrance/Eric Gauvreau(2nd)
Sat-Jul 31 Autodrome Drummond Yan Bussiere
Sun-Aug 1 Cornwall Motor Speedway B.Hearn/Dale Planck(3rd)
Mon-Aug 2 Merrittville Speedway M.Sheppard/Mike Bowman(8th)
Fri-Aug 6 Ransomville Speedway S.Friesen/Rick Richner(4th)
Wed-Aug 11 Airborne Speedway M.Roy/Don Scarborough(4th)
Sat-Aug 14 Lebanon Valley Speedway Wayne Jelley
Sat-Aug 14 Canandaigua Speedway Rob Bellinger/Ron Cartwright,Jr.(17th)
Fri-Aug 27 Autodrome Edelweiss D.Hebert/Steve Bernard(3rd)
Sat-Aug 28 Brockville Ontario Speedway D.Hebert/Alex Fortier(6th)
Sun-Aug 29 Humberstone Speedway M.Bowman/Robbie Krull(2nd)
Sun-Aug 29 Cayuga County Fair Speedway R.Bellinger/Mike Mahaney(11th),Tony Steiner(19th)
Sat-Sep 4 Airborne Speedway P.Dupree/George Foley(2nd)
Sat-Sep 4 Autodrome Drummond S.Bernard/Dominic Dufault(7th)
Sat-Sep 4 Lebanon Valley Speedway B.Hearn/Kyle Hoffman(2nd)
Sun-Sep 5+ Cornwall Motor Speedway D.O’Brien/Erick Rudolph(5th)
Mon-Sep 6 Northern Region Champion Stephane LaFrance & Tim O’Brien
Mon-Sep 6 Western Region Champion Pete Bicknell
Fri-Sep 10+ Autodrome Granby S.Bernard/Mat Williamson(5th)
Sat-Sep 11+ Autodrome Drummond B.Hearn/Michel Dusseault(8th)
Sun-Sep 12 Airborne Speedway P.Dupree/Kenny Tremont(3rd)
Fri-Sep 17+ Mohawk Int’l Raceway Matt Sheppard
Sat-Sep 18 Mohawk Int’l Raceway M.Sheppard/Roy Tarbell(18th)
Sat-Sep 18 Little Valley Speedway Todd Burley/Billy VanPelt(3rd)
Sat-Sep 25 Brighton Speedway P.Bicknell/Chad Chevalier(7th)
Sat-Oct 2 Fulton Speedway B.Hearn/Billy Decker(2nd)
Thr-Oct 7+ Brewerton Speedway J.Phelps/Alan Johnson(8th)
Fri-Oct 8+ Rolling Wheels Raceway Park D.Johnson/Frank Cozze(3rd)
Sat-Oct 9+ New York State Fairgrounds Syracuse,NY
2010 Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship Series Schedule
*All events subject to change.
DAY-DATE TRACK WINNER/LOCATION
Mon-May 24 Merrittville Speedway Brett Hearn
Thr-Jul 1 Autodrome Edelweiss Danny Johnson
Sun-Sep 5 Cornwall Motor Speedway Danny O’Brien
Fri-Sep 10 Autodrome Granby Steve Bernard
Sat-Sep 11 Autodrome Drummond Brett Hearn ($10,000 to win)
Fri-Sep 17 Mohawk International Raceway Matt Sheppard
Sun-Sep 26 Rolling Wheels Raceway Park -cancelled-
Wed-Oct 6 Can-Am Motorsports Park -cancelled-
Thr-Oct 7 Brewerton Speedway Jimmy Phelps
Fri-Oct 8 Rolling Wheels Raceway Park Danny Johnson
Sat-Oct 9 New York State Fairgrounds Syracuse,NY ($20,000 to win)
Sat-Oct 16 Brockville Ontario Speedway Brockville,ONT
DIRTcar Racing Northeast main office is located in Weedsport, New York on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds, home of DIRTcar All-Star Weekend in July. DIRTcar Northeast’s crown jewel event —Super DIRT Week at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse runs annually in October featuring Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship Series events for Big-Block Modified, 358-Modified, Sportsman and Pro Stock divisions. Ticket and schedule information is available by contacting the Weedsport office (315/834-6606) during the day or logging into www.allstar100weekend.com and www.superdirtweekonline.com anytime.
The Big-Block Super DIRTcar Series is brought to fans across the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Hoosier Racing Tire www.hoosiertire.com, VP Racing Fuels www.vpracingfuels.com and GM Performance Parts www.gmperformanceparts.com. Promotional partners include the University of Northwestern Ohio www.unoh.com and Chizmark & Larson Insurance www.chizmarklarson.com, and contingency sponsors are Bicknell Racing Products www.bicknellracingproducts.com, Bilstein Shocks www.bilstein.com, KSE Racing Products www.kse-racing.com, Motorsports Safety Systems www.motorsportssafetysystems.com, MSD Ignition www.msdignition.com, Penske Shocks, www.penskeshocks.com, Racing Electronics www.racingelectronics.com, Vicci Racing Apparel www.vicci.com and Wrisco Industries www.wrisco.com.
