Brett Hearn - Bill Moore Photo
Elbridge, NY — October 10, 2008 – By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing NorthEast PR Director
Brett Hearn continued to rule the DIRTcar kingdom Friday as the Sussex, New Jersey star captured his third checkered flag of the day by dominating the Super DIRT Week special at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park. Hearn collected $4,000 for his first Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship Series race victory of the season, his 13th career tour triumph at the ‘Fast Track’ in Elbridge, New York.
“That’s a pretty good day,” smiled Hearn, after landing his third paycheck of the day after sweeping both Big-Block and Small-Block 20-lap qualifiers held Friday afternoon at the New York State Fairgrounds to balloon the single day total to $9,000. “And we had a little luck at the end. The panhard bar broke with about five laps to go and it lost the brakes. This made up for a little bit of the unluckiness last night, I guess.”
“The track was really slippery tonight, I didn’t feel all that good but when I got up to the cars at the back of the pack I could see how loose they were so it didn’t make me feel so bad. Other than that it was a flawless car both nights, except for the flat tire at Brewerton (while leading). This is the time of year that everything matters, that’s when these teams step up and get the job done. The guys put the effort in and it really shows,” added Hearn, on the heels of his all-time high 67th career Mr. DIRTcar 358 Series win.
While Hearn collected the top prize, fifth-place finisher Stewart Friesen earned the final guaranteed starting position in the 358-Modified Championship scheduled for October 11 of Super DIRT Week XXXVII at the NYS Fairgrounds. Jimmy Phelps, Chad Brachmann and Gary Tomkins chased Hearn across the line to finish out the front-five during Rolling Wheels’ 40th season-finale weekend.
As temperatures continued to plummet around the popular Elbridge oval, Hearn continued his hot streak on the day, charging from the back of the pack to score a victory in the second of five qualifying heats to help sort out the 48-car field. The ‘Jet’ selected five in the customary pre-race draw among the top-10 qualifiers to start inside the third row as 31 cars took the initial green flag to open the big 100-lapper.
Pole-sitter Brian McDonald pulled ahead at the outset yet it took Hearn only five laps around the fast 5/8-miler to take Vinny Salerno’s no. 4 Four Star Transmissions-Kruger-Kosakowski Plumbing/TEO entry to the head of the class. From there, the 2006 overall Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Champion had to outlast 10 caution periods to secure his third DIRTcar Small-Block win of the season.
Runner-up Phelps rallied from 22nd after winning the second of two consolation round events to earn the Bert Hard Charger Award.
“The car’s pretty beat up right now and so am I, the right rear (wheel) filled up with mud with about 40 to go so I’m just glad it didn’t break,” Phelps said. “The thing really pounded to death. We were bad most of the night but ended up really good. I don’t think we could’ve got past Brett but I’d like to think we would’ve been better.”
Added third-place runner Brachmann, “After last night (Brewerton) we really struggled so a top-three is great. Its such a high caliber driver in this division you have to be on your game every night. Unfortunately, we’ve had some bad luck on the series but we’re going to keep plugging away. We’ll go to Eastern States next week at Orange County and see if we can advance and hope for the best.”
The fourth and final leg of the Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship Series held during Super DIRT Week climaxes on Saturday, October 10 with the 29th running of the annual 358-Modified Championship race on the Syracuse Mile.
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Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship Series Race #8 – Rolling Wheels Raceway Park, October 10, 2008 ‘SUNY Canton 100’ Event Summary
Feature
FIN STR CAR# DRIVER
1 5 4* Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ($4,000)
2 22 99j Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville, NY
3 6 3b Chad Brachmann/Sanborn,NY
4 19 84 Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY
5 24 1j Stewart Friesen/Niagara-o-t-Lake,ONT
6 15 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
7 16 42b Kevin Bates/Lake Ariel,PA
8 10 124m Tim McCreadie/Watertown,NY
9 28 17d Danny O’Brien/Kingston,ONT
10 4 42 Pete Bicknell/St.Catharines,ONT
11 26 22 Mario Clair/St-Edmond,QUE
12 25 93 Rich Vinson/Sanborn,NY
13 2 88k Randy Chrysler/Tuscarora,NY
14 31 *19L John Lazore/Hogansburg,NY
15 18 38 Scott Wood/Thorold,ONT
16 1 m96 Brian McDonald/Cornwall,ONT
17 11 74 Frederic Gamache/Granby,QUE
18 27 5 Todd Burley/Spencerport,NY
19 20 14 Brian Swarthout/Beaver Dams,NY
20 30 9s Mark Smoke/Akwesasne,NY
21 9 124 Pierre DagenaisGatineau,QUE
22 14 14m Mitchell Jock/Akwesasne,NY®
23 29 19z Jessica Zemken/Sprakers,NY
24 8 8 Tim O’Brien/Kingston,ONT
25 23 16 Lance Willix II/Theresa,NY
26 13 99L Larry Wight/Phoenix,NY
27 21 66x Carey Terrance/Akwesasne,NY
28 12 16x Danny Creeden/Middletown,NY
29 3 5h Chris Hile/Syracuse,NY
30 7 72 Tommy Flannigan/St.Catharines,ONT®
31 17 15j Tim Jones/Sanborn,NY
DNS 32 007 Roy Tarbell/Hogansburg,NY
*Started at back in 007 Tarbell car.
EVENT SUMMARY:
GATER NEWS LAP LEADERS: McDonald (1-4), Hearn (5-100).
CAUTIONS: 10 for 22 laps.
HEAT WINNERS: Bicknell, Hearn, McDonald, Chrysler, Dagenais.
CONSI WINNERS: Terrance, J.Phelps.
BICKNELL RACING PRODUCTS WINNER AWARD: Brett Hearn.
SYRACUSE 150 QUALIFIER: Stewart Friesen.
HALFWAY LEADER: Brett Hearn
BERT HARD CHARGER: Jimmy Phelps.
HOLLEY HARD LUCK: Carey Terrance.
PENSKE POWER POSITION (21st): Pierre Dagenais.
TOTAL PURSE: $17,365.
CARS ENTERED: 48.
NEXT EVENT: New York State Fairgrounds – October 11, 2008.
DID NOT QUALIFY(16)
b2-Bob Henry Jr./Clay,NY
5r-Rob Hile/Syracuse,NY
5jr.-Travis Braun/Jordan Station,ONT
8jr.-J.R. Crouse/Nazareth,PA
12-Brian Sage/Brockport,NY
13-Greg Monica/North Bangor,NY
17c-Pete Cosco/St.Catharines,ONT
33-John Wilber
55-Perry Francis/Akwesasne,NY
55g-Mitch Gibbs/North Norwich,NY
73-Alain Boisvert/Pointe-Claire,QUE
77-Steve Planck/Cortland,NY
85-Dan Vauter/Forest City,PA
94-Ray Hoard/Granville,NY
97-Michel Chicoine/Ste-Cecile de Milton,QUE
117-Alex Tonkin/Carbondale,PA
Heat Races (10 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to feature, top 2 went to re-draw)
#1: Bicknell, T.O’Brien, Gamache, Bates, Terrance, Vauter, Gibbs, Hoard, S.Planck, R.Hile.
#2: Hearn, Brachmann, Creeden, Jones, Phelps, Vinson, Clair, Cosco, Chicoine, Sage.
#3: McDonald, C.Hile, Wight, Wood, Willix, Tonkin, Zemken, Henry, Lazore, Crouse.
#4: Chrysler, McCreadie, Jock, Tomkins, Braun, Boisvert, Friesen, Francis, Smoke.
#5: Dagenais, Flannigan, D.Planck, Swarthout, Burley, D.O’Brien, Tarbell, Monica.
Consolation Round (10 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to feature)
#1: Terrance, Willix, Vinson, Burley, Gibbs, Zemken, Francis, Cosco, Tarbell, S.Planck, Boisvert, Lazore (DNS), Crouse (DNS), R.Hile (DNS).
#2: Phelps, Friesen, Clair, D.O’Brien, Hoard, Tonkin, Monica, Braun, Vauter, Smoke, Chicoine, Henry (DNS), Sage (DNS), Wilber (DNS).
Guarantees: Zemken, Smoke, Lazore.
Provisionals: Tarbell.
2008 Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship Series Schedule
*All events subject to change.
DAY-DATE LAPS TRACK LOCATION/WINNER
Sat-Apr 26 100 Merrittville Speedway Dale Planck
Fri-Aug 1 68 Ransomville Speedway Todd Burley
Thr-Aug 21 100 Mohawk Int’l Raceway Mario Clair
Sun-Aug 31 100 Cornwall Motor Speedway Danny O’Brien
Sat-Sep 12 75 Brockville Ont Speedway Rain-Cancelled
Sat-Sep 13 152 Autodrome Drummond Danny O’Brien
Fri-Sep 19 75 Canandaigua Speedway Jimmy Phelps
Fri-Sep 26 75 Rolling Wheels Raceway Rain-Cancelled
Wed-Oct 8 75 Can-Am Motorsports Park Rain
Thr-Oct 9 84 Brewerton Speedway Gary Tomkins
Fri-Oct 10 100 Rolling Wheels Raceway Brett Hearn
Sat-Oct 11 150 New York State Fairgrnds Syracuse,NY ($20,000 to win)
Sat-Oct 18 100 Orange Co Fair Speedway Middletown,NY ($7,500 to win)
2008 358-MODIFIED SYRACUSE CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIERS
(+)-denotes Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship Series event.
DAY-DATE TRACK WINNER/QUALIFIER
Sat-Apr 19 Orange County Fair Speedway Brett Hearn
Sat-Apr 26+ Merrittville Speedway Dale Planck
Sat-May 10 Airborne Speedway Patrick Dupree
Fri-May 16 Autodrome Edelweiss Pierre Dagenais
Sat-May 17 Brockville Ontario Speedway Jessica Zemken
Mon-May 19 Merrittville Speedway Larry Lampman Jr.
Fri-May 23 Ransomville Speedway Pete Bicknell
Sat-May 24 Lebanon Valley Speedway Tom Faxon
Sat-May 24 Mohawk Int’l Raceway Tim Fuller
Fri-May 30 Autodrome Granby Kayle Robidoux
Sat-Jun 7 Autodrome Drummond David Hebert
Sat-Jun 21 Lebanon Valley Speedway Kenny Tremont
Sun-Jun 22 Cornwall Motor Speedway Carey Terrance
Sun-Jun 22 Humberstone Speedway Chad Brachmann
Thr-Jul 3 Ransomville Speedway Robbie Krull
Fr-Jul 4 Autodrome Edelweiss Mitchell Jock
Sat-Jul 5 Can-Am Motorsports Park Billy Decker/Larry Wight(9th)
Thr-Jul 10 Brockville Ontario Speedway B.Decker/Danny O’Brien(9th)
Fri-Jul 11 Autodrome Granby B.Hearn/Alain Boisvert(12th)
Sat-Jul 12 Autodrome Drummond D.Planck/Dany Bilodeau(13th)
Sat-Jul 12 Canandaigua Speedway Todd Burley/Rich Vinson(8th)
Sat-Jul 12 Lebanon Valley Speedway J.R. Heffner
Sat-Jul 19 Autodrome Drummond D.Hebert/Clement Therrien(2nd)
Fri-Jul 18 Ransomville Speedway Todd Burley
Sat-Jul 19 Orange County Fair Speedway Craig Mitchell
Thr-Jul 31 Mohawk Int’l Speedway D.Hebert/Joel Doiron(4th)
Fri-Aug 1+ Ransomville Speedway T.Burley/Scott Kerwin(2nd)
Fri-Aug 1 Autodrome Edelweiss Mario Clair
Sun-Aug 3 Cornwall Motor Speedway D.Planck/Yan Bussiere(5th)
Mon-Aug 4 Merrittville Speedway Jimmy Phelps/Scott Wood(10th)
Wed-Aug 6 Airborne Speedway Martin Roy
Fri-Aug 8 Ohsweken Speedway P.Bicknell/Bill Bleich(2nd)
Sat-Aug 9 Lebanon Valley Speedway Matt Quinn
Sat-Aug 9 Autodrome Drummond K.Robidoux/Francois Bernier(2nd)
Sat-Aug 16 Can-Am Motorsports Park Gary Tomkins/Lance Willix II(14th)
Sat-Aug 16 Orange County Fair Speedway Jerry Higbie
Sun-Aug 17 Cornwall Motor Speedway G.Tomkins/Kyle Dingwall(6th)
Sun-Aug 17 Humberstone Speedway C.Brachmann/Brian Stevens(3rd)
Thr-Aug 21+ Mohawk Int’l Raceway M.Clair/Danny Johnson(2nd)
Sat-Aug 23 Lebanon Valley Speedway Andy Bachetti
Fri-Aug 29 Ransomville Speedway T.Burley/Jeff McGinnis(5th)
Sat-Aug 30 Orange County Fair Speedway Tommy Meier
Sat-Aug 30 Merrittville Speedway L.Lampman,Jr./Tim Jones(6th)
Sat-Aug 30 Mohawk Int’l Raceway John Lazore
Sat-Aug 30 Airborne Speedway P.Dupree/Mark Lamberton(2nd)
Sun-Aug 31+ Cornwall Motor Speedway D.O’Brien/Laurent Ladouceur(3rd)
Mon-Sep 1 Northern Region Champion Kayle Robidoux
Mon-Sep 1 Eastern Region Champion Jerry Higbie
Mon-Sep 1 Western Region Champion Pete Bicknell
Fri-Sep 5 Autodrome Granby M.Clair/Frederic Gamache(6th)
Sat-Sep 7 Lebanon Valley Speedway(2) Corey Sandstedt, Ray Hoard(11th)
Sat-Sep 7 Lebanon Valley Speedway(2) Art Collins, Kale Groff(9th)
Sat-Sep 13+ Autodrome Drummond(2) D.O’Brien/Pat O’Brien(2nd), Sebastien Gougeon(3rd)
Fri-Sep 19+ Canandaigua Speedway Jimmy Phelps
Sun-Sep 21 Airborne Speedway K.Tremont/Mike Bruno(2nd)
Sat-Oct 4 Fulton Speedway D.Johnson/Pat Ward(3rd)
Wed-Oct 8+ Can-Am Motorsports Park -rain-
Thr-Oct 9+ Brewerton Speedway Gary Tomkins
Fri-Oct 10+ Rolling Wheels Raceway Park B.Hearn/Stewart Friesen(5th)
Sat-Oct 11+ New York State Fairgrounds Syracuse,NY
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