CORNWALL, ONT—September 25, 2011—After an incredible run of top-5 finishes on the DIRTcar 358-Modified Super DIRTcar Series, Stephane LaFrance finally broke through with his first career Series win on Sunday night at Cornwall.
Showers on September 4 forced the DIRTcar 358-Modified Super DIRTcar Series event from Cornwall to be postponed to September 25 just as time trials concluded for the night.
When feature time arrived, it was Mario Clair and Kayle Robidoux that led the 34-car starting field to the green. Clair would take the early lead, but Yan Bussiére would prove to be a threat early, as he took the lead on lap-4. However, there were two drivers flexing their muscle early.
The 2011 Cornwall Motor Speedway track champion Stephane LaFrance had worked his way into the second position early and was using the outside lane to track down Bussiére, while Danny Johnson was flirting with the top-5 after just 15-laps despite starting 24th.
A lap-35 red flag for a slow-roll by Kayle Robidoux saw 2011 DIRTcar 358-Modified Super DIRTcar Series points leader Danny O’Brien head pitside for adjustments to his struggling racecar, while Danny Johnson would end up pitside as well with a slowly deflating tire. Both drivers would return to the race without losing a lap.
Johnson attempted to charge back towards the front of the field while O’Brien’s uncharacteristic struggles continued. However, Johnson’s day would come to an end as contact with another car collapsed the left-front wheel and ended his night.
Up front it was all Yan Bussiére at the front of the field, while LaFrance, Laurent Ladouceur, and Carey Terrance diced for the second position. The battle for second continued until a lap-54 caution bunched the leaders together.
The ensuing restart saw Yan Bussiére drift wide off of turn-2, allowing Stephane Lafrance to pas both Bussiére and Carey Terrance in turn-3 to take the race lead.
From there, it would be all Stephane Lafrance, as the popular driver cruised to the biggest win of his career. Terrance held on for second over a hard-charging Dale Planck, with Dany Bilodeau and Pat O’Brien rounding out the top-5.
With his second place finish, Carey Terrance heads into the final stretch of the season with a 25-point lead over Danny O’Brien.
Up next is the biggest racing week of them all, Super DIRT Week XL. The DIRTcar 358-Modified Super DIRTcar Series is in action three times next week; Wednesday night at Weedsport Speedway, Thursday night at Rolling Wheels Raceway, and the biggest race of the season is on Saturday afternoon, as the 358-Modifieds battle on the New York State Fairgrounds for 150-laps with the winner collecting $20,000 in the Nationwide Insurance 150.
For more information, visit SuperDIRTWeekOnline.com or DIRTcar.com.
MrDIRTcar 358-Modified Series Race #5—Cornwall Motor Speedway, September 25, 2011 Event Summary
Feature Results: Stéphane LaFrance, Carey Terrance, Dale Planck, Dany Bilodeau, Pat O’Brien, Mario Clair, Laurent Ladouceur, Tim O’Brien, Claude Brouillard, Yan Bussière, Tommy Flannigan, David Hébert, Danny O’Brien, Travis Braun, Mat Williamson, Joel Doiron, Clément Therrien, Clayton Benedict, Kyle Dingwall, Matt Billings, Pierre Dagenais, Jeff Sykes, Pat Cashman, Ron Valade, Marc Therrien, Justin Lalancette, Bruno Lepage, Gage Morin, Brian McDonald, Alex Boisvert, Danny Johnson, Kayle Robidoux, Luke Whitteker, Adam Turner
LAP LEADERS:
M.Clair (1-3)
Bussière (4-63)
Lafrance (64-115)
Heat Races (8 laps, everyone transferred to the feature, top 3 went to redraw)
#1: Billings, Bilodeau, Ladouceur, McDonald, Hébert, Braun, D.O’Brien, Williamson, Boisvert
#2: M.Clair, Morin, P.O’Brien, D.Planck, T.O’Brien, Dagenais, Lalancette, Turner
#3: Doiron, Sykes, Whitteker, Terrance, Flannigan, C.Therrien, Benedict, Cashman, Valade
#4: Robidoux, Lafrance, Bussière, Brouillard, M.Therrien, Johnson, Dingwall, Lepage
Cornwall Motor Speedway MrDIRTcar 358-Modified Series Race #5 Roster (35)
1h David Hebert/St. Damase,QUE
1 Clayton Benedict/Awkesasne, Ny
3 Claude Brouillard/Tracy,QUE
4j Jeff Sykes/Edwards,NY
6 Pat O’Brien/Kingston, ONT
6m Mat Williamson/St.Catharines,ONT
16 Gage Morin/St-Andrews, ONT
17 Marc Therrien/Williamstown, ONT
17D Danny O’Brien/Kingston,ONT
21 Yan Bussiere/Drummondville,QUE
22c Mario Clair/St-Edmond,QUE
23 Laurent Ladouceur/Alexandria, ONT
23b Dany Bilodeau/Victoriaville,QUE
27j Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY
38L Luke Whitteker/Iroquois,ONT
38X Kyle Dingwall/Brockville, ONT
39 Clement Therrien/Victoriaville,QUE
39a Alan Therrien/Victoriaville,QUE
40 Joel Doiron/Alexandria, ONT
46 Kayle Robidoux/St-Constant,QUE
66x Carey Terrance/Akwesasne,NY
72 Tommy Flannigan/St.Catharines,ONT
74 Matt Billings/Brockville, ONT
76 Travis Braun/Jordan Station,ONT
77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
86 Pat Cashman/Cantley, QUE
88 Tim O’Brien/Kingston, ONT
95 Alex Boisvert/Drummondville,QUE
98H Justin Lalancette/Cornwall, Ont
99 Ron Valade/North Lancaster, ONT
99L Bruno Lepage/Maple Grove, QUE
115 Stéphane Lafrance/Casselman, ONT
124 Pierre DagenaisGatineau,QUE
151KB Brian McDonald/Cornwall,ONT
2011 MrDIRTcar 358-Modified Series Schedule
Monday, May 23 Merrittville Speedway Merrittville, ONT 100 – Brett Hearn
Sunday, July 31 Cornwall Speedway Cornwall, ONT 100 – Dale Planck
Friday, Sept. 9 Autodrome Drummond Drummondville, QUE 75 – Danny Johnson
Friday, Sept. 16 Mohawk International Raceway Akwesasne,NY 75 – Billy Decker
Sunday, Sept. 25 Cornwall Speedway Cornwall, ONT 125 – Stéphane Lafrance
Wednesday, Oct. 5 Cayuga County Fair Speedway Weedsport,NY 75
Thursday, Oct. 6 Rolling Wheels Raceway Park Elbridge,NY 75
Saturday, Oct. 8 New York State Fairgrounds Syracuse,NY 150
Saturday, Oct. 15 Brockville Speedway Brockville, ONT 100
DIRTcar Racing in the Northeast Region is brought to fans by several sponsors and partners; including Hoosier Racing Tire; VP Racing Fuels; GM Performance Parts, Nationwide Insurance and Safety-Kleen. Promotional partners include the University of Northwestern Ohio and Chizmark Larson Insurance. Contingency sponsors are ASI; Bert Transmissions; Bicknell Racing Products; Bilstein Shocks; Brodix; ButlerBuilt; Comp Cams; Intercomp; JE Pistons; KSE Racing Products; Motorsports Safety Systems; MSD Ignition; Penske Shocks; Racing Electronics; R2C; Super Flow; Vicci Racing Apparel; WIX Filters; Wrisco Industries; Xtreme Lubricants and Extreme Mufflers.
