Mohawk Modified Track Champion Defends Reigns Supreme
AKWESASNE, N.Y. – Saturday, September 13, 2014 – Billy Dunn didn’t just pick up the win Friday night at Mohawk International Raceway; he left his competition in the dust. Dunn, a three-time Modified track champion at Mohawk, raced his way from sixth place to first place in the 75-lap DIRTcar 358-Modified Series feature Friday, Sept. 12, lapping all but the top eight cars.
“We’ve just been really good here all year. We’ve really hit on a package that, when the track gets slick here, our car really comes to life,” said the Watertown, N.Y. chauffeur of the Mr. Radiator Auto Service No. 23. “I was a little worried when we started the race, I thought the track wasn’t going to come to us, but right around lap 20 it did. I knew if I could at least get to the front, I would have a good shot at winning.”
After making the fastest lap in time trials and winning his heat, Dunn redrew the sixth starting spot. Luke Whetteker, of Iroquois, Ontario, and Pete Britten, of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, started on the front row. Britten was faster at the green flag and claimed the lead within the first lap. Matt Sheppard, of Waterloo, N.Y., also snuck by Whitteker in lap 1, claiming second.
Dunn was advancing quickly, in fourth place by the completion lap 2, and successfully passing Whitteker in third in lap 3. The leaders quickly reached traffic on Mohawk’s 4/10-mile oval, and Dunn made his move around Sheppard, who was slowed by a lapped car, in lap 11. By lap 18, Dunn was racing wheel-to-wheel with Britten for the lead. He made the pass just as the yellow flag waved and restarted on the pole.
Keeping the top spot off the first and only restart of the race, Dunn charged ahead and never looked back. Sheppard battled Britten for second, taking the spot off the restart, but losing it to Britten in lap 31. Ahead of them, Dunn raced through lapped traffic and continually built on his lead. By the completion of lap 75, Dunn had a 6-second lead over runner-up Britten. Thanks to more than 50 green laps and Dunn’s unmatched speed on the track, only the top eight cars remained on the lead lap at the conclusion of the race.
“It was an awesome race,” Dunn said. “We didn’t really start where we wanted to, but we just picked our way on through and had a really good car that could go wherever we needed it to. Luckily, there weren’t a lot of cautions, and we just cruised to the win.”
Britten stayed ahead of Sheppard to claim second place in the DIRTcar 358-Modified Series feature race.
“It was fun,” Britten said of his mid-race battle with Sheppard for second. “It was good to actually come out ahead of Matt (Sheppard) for once. He passed me, and I was just trying to hang with him and Billy. I started to find my rhythm and I was able to get by him.”
Rounding out the top five are Mario Clair, of St. Edmond, Quebec, in third, Sheppard in fourth, and defending DIRTcar 358-Modified Series Champion Erick Rudolph in fifth.
Mohawk Nationals Weekend concludes Saturday, Sept. 13, at Mohawk International Raceway, featuring the Super DIRTcar Big Block Modified Series.
Dunn, whose Big Block Modified success includes last year’s Syracuse 200 victory during NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week, said he expects the weekend’s Super DIRTcar Series race to be drastically different from Friday’s small block race.
“That’s a whole different ball game,” said Dunn, who expects significant changes to track conditions as well as car handling. “We’ll enjoy this one tonight, and we’ll think about the Big Block race tomorrow.”
Britten, who is also hoping to race in Mohawk’s scheduled Super DIRTcar Series race, said he grateful to put some laps on the track, even if conditions change for the next race.
“Laps on the track gets you in a rhythm,” said Britten, who hopes a strong finish Friday bodes well for Saturday. “It’s definitely a confidence boost. Whenever you have a good run it helps.”
For more information about the DIRTcar 358-Modified Series, visit www.dirtcar.com.
DIRTcar 358-Modified Series Statistical Report
Mohawk International Raceway
Friday, September 12, 2014
A-Main (75 laps):
(Finish Position/Car Number/Driver/Hometown/Start Position)
- 23 Billy Dunn – Watertown, N.Y. [6] ($4,000)
- 21a Pete Britten – Brisbane, Queensland, Australia [2]
- 22c Mario Clair – St. Edmond, Quebec [5]
- 9h Matt Sheppard – Waterloo, N.Y. [3]
- 25 Erick Rudolph – Ransomville, N.Y. [7]
- m96 Danny O’Brien – Kingston, Ontario [9]
- 37 David Hebert – St. Damase, Quebec [18]
- 99j Jimmy Phelps – Baldwinsville, N.Y. [17]
- 66x Carey Terrance – Hogansburg, N.Y. [21]
- 42p Pat Ward – Genoa, N.Y. [13]
- 6m Mat Williamson – St. Catharines, Ontario [14]
- 9J Jordan McCreadie – Watertown, N.Y. [26]
- 29 Tom Conklin – Gouverneur, N.Y. [12]
- 22d Danny Johnson – Rochester, N.Y. [15]
- 115 Stephane LaFrance – St. Albert, Quebec [10]
- 12 John Mulder – Brockville, Ontario [8]
- 66 Kyle Dingwall – Morrisburg, Ontario [20]
- 777 Tyler McPherson – St. Catharines, Ontario [23]
- 08 Mark D’Ilario – Smithville, Ontario [31]
- 124 Mathieu Desjardins – Sorel, Quebec [32]
- 66w Dexter Stacey – Kahnawake, Quebec [29]
- 44 Casey Swamp – Akwesasne, N.Y. [33]
- 188 David Papineau – Akwesasne, N.Y. [34]
- 26 Maxime Viens – St. Cesaire, Quebec [30]
- 99 Bruno Lepage – Maple Grove, Quebec [28]
- 151 Brian McDonald – Cornwall, Ontario [22]
- 16m Gage Morin – St. Andrews West, Ontario [25]
- 73 Alain Boisvert – Pointe-Claire, Quebec [11]
- 16w Lance Willix – Theresa, N.Y. [24]
- 21 Yan Bussiere – Drummondville, Quebec [4]
- 55j Alan Johnson – Middlesex, N.Y. [27]
- 3m Bill Mullin – Iroquois, Ontario [16]
- 38 Luke Whitteker – Iroquois, Ontario [1]
- 55 Matt Woodruff – Bloomingdale, N.Y. [19]
DNS: 99L Larry Wight – Altmar, N.Y.
Dash: 1. LaFrance [1], 2. Bussiere [2], 3. Britten [4], 4. Dunn 3, 5. Conklin [7], 6. Whittaker [5], 7. Clair [6], 8. Boisvert [8]
B-Main 1 (10 laps): 1. Terrance [1], 2. McPherson [2], 3. Morin [4], 4. A. Johnson [3], 5. Stacey [7], 6. D’Ilario [6], 7. Swamp [5], 8. Papineau [8]
B-Main 2 (10 laps): 1. McDonald [1], 2. Willix [5], 3. McCreadie [4], 4. LePage [2], 5. Viens [6], 6. Desjardins [7]. DNS: Wight [3]
Qualifying Heats (8 laps, top 5 qualify, top 3 redraw)
Finish-Driver-[Starting Position]
Heat 1: 1. LaFrance [1], 2. Whittaker [2], 3. Mulder [3], 4. Ward [6], 5. Phelps [5], 6. Terrance [4], 7. A. Johnson [8], 8. Swamp [7], 9. Stacey [9]
Heat 2: 1. Bussiere [1], 2. Clair [2], 3. O’Brien [3], 4. Williamson [4], 5. Hebert [6], 6. McPherson [5], 7. Morin [9], 8. D’Ilario [7], 9. Papineau [8]
Heat 3: 1. Dunn [1], 2. Conklin [2], 3. Sheppard [5], 4. D. Johnson [3], 5. Woodruff [6], 6. McDonald [7], 7. Wight [4], 8. Willix [8]
Heat 4: 1. Britten [1], 2. Boisvert [3], 3. Rudolph [4], 4. Mullin [2], 5. Dingwall [5], 6. Lepage [6], 7. McCreadie [8], 8. Viens [7], 9. Desjardins [9]
Time Trials: 1. Dunn 16.042, 2. Bussiere 16.076, 3. LaFrance 16.092, 4. Conklin 16.112, 5. Whitteker 16.116, 6. Mulder 16.122, 7. D. Johnson 16.172, 8. Clair 16.174, 9. Terrance 16.175, 10. Britten 16.235, 11. Mullin 16.247, 12. Boisvert 16.248, 13. Wight 16.253, 14. Phelps 16.253, 15. Ward 16.327, 16. Sheppard 16.338, 17. O’Brien 16.339, 18. Rudolph 16.379, 19. Woodruff 16.586, 20. McDonald 16.406, 21. Williamson 16.420, 22. Dingwall 16.451, 23. McPherson 16.473, 24. Lepage 16.477, 25. Swamp 16.493, 26. A. Johnson 16.508, 27. Stacey 16.660, 28. Viens 16.730, 29. Hebert 16.779, 30. McCreadie 16.800, 31. D’Ilario 16.811, 32. Papineau 16.821, 33. Desjardins 16.824, 34. Morin 17.131, 35. Willix 17.511
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.
