Weedsport, NY — September 10, 2008 – By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing NorthEast PR Director
The history of Autodrome Drummond dates back to its official opening for “organized” stock car racing in 1951. Recognized as a far more professional entity in the entertainment business today, racers have been gearing up all summer for the biggest event in the past 57 years at the now modernized banked oval located one hour east of Montreal on the St-Francois River.
“This will definitely be the most significant motorsports event ever held at Drummond,” confirmed Gaston Salvas, who along with wife Rachel have officiated DIRTcar Series events in Canada for more than 30 years, presiding over all Drummond tour events and heading the current Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Series in it’s infant years.
“The race has been well publicized all season and talked about just as long. The purse is nearly $50,000 and with $1,000 for 10th-place it should attract one of the best fields ever. And that will be a real treat for our weekly fans as well as many of the first time visitors expected from the states,” Salvas added.
Drummond has played host to six Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship Series shows in the past yet the lucky seventh edition scheduled for Saturday, September 13 is certain to be the most memorable. Small-Block stars on both sides of the border will be chasing a $15,000 top-prize in 150-laps of open-wheel competition, with a mandatory break slated in between to guarantee 60 miles of green flag racing on the spacious 4/10-miler.
The group of top touring stars headlining the ‘Race Mania 4’ romp around Drummond will be led by current overall Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified points leader Pete Bicknell and his closest challengers Todd Burley, Danny O’Brien, Chad Brachmann plus 15 year-old rookie sensation Larry Wight. Talented north country point chasers Carey Terrance, Mark Smoke, Lance Willix II and John Lazore will be in contention along with first-year Small-Block tour followers Tommy Flannigan and Jessica Zemken.
Also planning to make the haul from Waterloo, New York is former Mr. DIRTcar 358 titlist Steve Paine, who captured the Series event at Drummond in 2000. Paine will get a jump on the competition as he has penciled in a stop at Brockville Ontario Speedway for the rain-delayed Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship trail race on Friday.
Any trip across the border will be met head on by a host of hungry Frenchmen, including reigning overall Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified points king Mario Clair, who placed third in the 2008 Drummond standings behind champion David Hebert (4 wins) and Kayle Robidoux (3). Ranking fourth on the points chart is racing promoter Yan Bussiere, who has leased the speedway from owners Alain Poirier and Jacques Constant since 2005, the same year DIRTcar 358-Modifieds were named the headline division at Drummond.
Activity gets underway at Autodrome Drummond on Saturday with pit gates opening at 12 noon and the first green flag thrown for practice at 3:30 p.m. Small-Block Time Trials will start at 4 o’clock.
For additional information, please contact 358-Modified Series Director Gaston Salvas (450/655-5022 or 514/817-2270; e-mail gastonsalvas@hotmail.com) or DIRTcar NE Director of Competition Cory Reed at the Weedsport office (315/834-6606) during normal business hours. In the meantime, log into the homepage at www.dirtcar.com to find out more about the Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Series as well as the entire circuit.
Speedway information can be found on-line at http://www.autodrome-drummond.com or by contacting the track at 819/474-2222. Drummond can be reached by traveling Auto Route 20 to exit 177, then going 1.2-miles west on Route 143.
Autodrome Drummond Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Top-5 Finishers
YEAR LAPS FIRST – SECOND – THIRD – FOURTH – FIFTH
8/20/07 100 Brett Hearn – David Hebert – Kayle Robidoux – Mario Clair – Todd Stone
8/11/03 106 Dale Planck – Alan Johnson – Todd Burley – Chad Brachmann – Alex Hoag
8/12/02 100 Brett Hearn – Steve Paine – Vic Coffey – David Hebert – Frankie Caprara
8/13/01 100 Vic Coffey – Danny Johnson – Steve Paine – Matt Sheppard – Brett Hearn
8/14/00 100 Steve Paine – Danny Johnson – Vic Coffey – Keith Hoffman – Mario Clair
8/16/99 99 Tim Fuller – Luke Plante – Steve Paine – Alain Boisvert – Mike Perrotte
To follow all the DIRTcar Racing NE Series standings as the point races unfold, log into www.dirtcar.com and select ‘Driver Points’ listed on the left side of the homepage, then choose any of the five Northeast touring divisions and click on to view the current point leaders. *NOTE: Pro Stocks are listed in the UMP Sportsman category.
Mr. DIRTcar Championship trail results/reports are available on www.dirtcar.com by selecting ‘Series’ at the top then choosing Mr. DIRTcar Series (#7) and hit ‘GO’ on right (all releases are also posted in the NEWS category). More specific information about the Advance Series can be found at www.superdirtcarseries.com. Bookmark each selection for quick review at a later time.
2008 MR. DIRTcar CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES POINT STANDINGS (thru Sept. 7)
DIRTcar 358-Modified
Rank No. Driver Total Series Bonus Diff Wins T-5 T-10 Starts
1 42 Pete Bicknell 605 309 296 0 0 2 4 4
2 5 Todd Burley 593 293 300 -12 1 2 3 4
3 17d Danny O’Brien 553 253 300 -52 1 2 2 4
4 3b Chad Brachmann 548 272 276 -57 0 1 2 4
5 99 Larry Wight® 526 226 300 -79 0 1 1 4
6 66x Carey Terrance 498 214 284 -107 0 0 1 4
7 9s Mark Smoke 461 169 292 -144 0 0 0 4
8 16 Lance Willix II 444 168 276 -161 0 0 0 4
9 19L John Lazore 438 146 292 -167 0 0 1 3
10 28 Scott Kerwin 429 155 274 -176 0 1 1 2
11 72 Tommy Flannigan® 418 194 224 -187 0 0 1 4
12 23 Laurent Ladouceur 414 130 284 -191 0 1 1 2
19z Jessica Zemken® 414 134 280 -191 0 1 1 2
14 123 Robbie Krull 394 120 274 -211 0 1 1 2
15 38 Scott Wood 394 102 292 -211 0 0 1 2
16 22c Mario Clair 390 126 264 -215 1 1 2 3
17 26 Rick Richner 388 134 254 -217 0 0 2 2
18 80 Chris Steele 383 161 222 -222 0 0 1 3
19 96 Kyle Dingwall 375 95 280 -230 0 1 1 1
20 22e Eric Gauvreau 368 80 288 -237 0 0 0 2
21 124 Pierre Dagenais 360 80 280 -245 0 1 1 1
22 80 Jeff Marshall 358 72 286 -247 0 0 1 1
23 23L Larry Lampman Jr. 354 78 276 -251 0 0 1 1
24 007 Roy Tarbell 353 103 250 -252 0 0 0 2
25 1h David Hebert 352 56 296 -253 0 0 0 1
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 Sunoco Race Fuels. Promotional partners include AMB i.t., Rite Aid Corporation and the University of Northwestern Ohio and the contingency sponsors are Bert Transmission, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Crane Cams, Integra Shocks, MSD Ignitions, Motorsports Safety Systems, Penske Shocks and Wrisco Industries.
