Steve Gray Wins Sportsman Modified Series Race at Cayuga County Fair Speedway
WEEDSPORT, N. Y. – October 3, 2012 – A year away from his small block did no harm to Tim McCreadie’s performance during Wednesday night’s NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week Kickoff presented by FX Caprara. McCreadie qualified well for Wednesday’s 75-lap DIRTcar 358-Modified Series race, starting six, and charged through several early-race cautions to take the lead in lap 5.
“We were fast early. We died a little mid-race, but we picked up at the end,” said McCreadie, a World of Outlaws Late Model Series regular. “Lapped traffic didn’t really seem to help.”
Leaders McCreadie and Brett Hearn reached lapped cars in lap 33, racing two- and three-wide, neck-and-neck, until Hearn slid past McCreadie for the lead in lap 43.
Hearn built a sizable lead over McCreadie, but “T-Mac” overtook him with just a few laps to go.
“We swapped the lead back and forth several times,” said Hearn, who took second at the checkered flag. “I knew where we needed to be at the end of the race, but I just couldn’t get to where we needed to be.”
Two-time defending Super DIRTcar Series champion Matt Sheppard started 18th in the grid, but powered off the early-race restarts and kept up momentum for the third-place finish. Danny Johnson finished fourth and defending VP Small Engine Fuels 200 champion Stewart Friesen finished fifth. Point leader Dale Planck pitted early in the race after a collision with Danny O’Brien’s 17d, but was able to reenter later in the race for a tenth place finish.
The DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series feature that followed went caution-free for all 30 laps, allowing outside pole sitter Steve Gray to speed to victory, unhampered by yellow flags. The race may have seemed short to onlookers in the packed Cayuga County Fair Speedway grandstands, but for Gray, leading most of the race, it was a long 30 laps.
“When you’re out front, it feels longer,” Gray said. “You’ve got Dave Marcuccilli and a lot of those other guys that run fast.”
Although he expected the race to be his last of the season, Wednesday’s victory inspired Gray to consider running his 29g in the Sportsman division competitions at the New York State Fairgrounds during NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week XLI.
“Cosmetically, it’s not Syracuse-ready,” Gray said, pointing to the machine that took him to victory on Weedsport’s 3/8-mile oval. But Gray is undaunted. “Regardless of whether the car is ready or not, I am, and I’m ready to be in another show.
Rounding out the top five are Martin Pelletier in second, Greg Martin in third, Don Spatorico in fourth, and Dave Marcuccilli in fifth.
NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week continues Thursday with the “Media Day” press conference at noon and DIRTcar Futures practice and qualifying events following at 1 p.m. The afternoon continues with 358-Modified time trials and Big-Block Modified time trials as teams compete for spots in Saturday’s Gander Mountain 150 for the 358-Modified Series and Sunday’s VP Small Engine Fuels 200 for the Big-Block Modifieds of the Super DIRTcar Series.
Thursday’s satellite event at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park keeps the engines running into the evening with DIRTcar 358-Modified Series and the World of Outlaws Late Model Series.
Follow @SuperDIRTWeek on Twitter or “like” the Super DIRT Week Facebook page for the latest news and updates about NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week XLI, including up-to-the minute race results. For more information about NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week, visit www.superdirtweekonline.com.
358-Modified Series, Round 9 – Statistical Report
October 3, 2012 – Cayuga County Fair Speedway
A-Main (75 laps): 1. 4* Tim McCreadie, 2. 20 Brett Hearn, 3. 9s Matt Sheppard, 4. 27J Danny Johnson, 5. 7F Stewart Friesen, 6. 25R Erick Rudolph, 7. 22c Mario Clair, 8. 38 Ryan Susice, 9. 66x Carey Terrance, 10. 77x Dale Planck, 11. 26 Rick Richner, 12. 55x Frank Caprara, 13. 33 Mike Mahaney, 14. 37s Tom Flannigan, 15. 71 Mike Bowman, 16. 53 Shawn Donath, 17. 12Y Yannick Ledoux, 18. 03 Zach Aubertine, 19. 93 Richie Vinson, 20. 74 Matt Billings, 21. 21k Randy Chrysler, 22. 12 Chad Chevalier, 23. 45 Mike Ward, 24. 113 Eldon Payne, 25. 114 John Venuto, 26. 15J Tim Jones, 27. 117 Alex Tonkin, 28. 17d Danny O’Brien, 29. 6m Mat Williamson, 124 Pierre Dagenais
Heat 1: 1. 93 Richie Vinson, 2. 27J Danny Johnson, 3. 7F Stewart Freisen, 4. 15J Tim Jones, 5. 66x Carey Terrance, 6. 21k Randy Chrysler, 7. 007 Roy Tarbell, 8. 38 Ryan Susice, 188 David Papineau
Heat 2: 1. 20 Brett Hearn, 2. 117 Alex Tonkin, 3. 26 Rick Richner, 4. 12 Chad Chevalier, 5. 03 Zach Aubertine, 6. 114 John Venuto, 7. 70 Ron White, 8. T21 Roger Chrysler, 9. 8 Scott Flammer
Heat 3: 1. 77x Dale Planck, 2. 17d Danny O’Brien, 3. 53 Shawn Donath, 4. 9s Matt Sheppard, 5. 12. Yannick Ledoux, 6. 71 Mike Bowman, 7. 1R Jeff McGinnis, 8. 3b Chad Brachmann
Heat 4: 1. 4* Tim McCreadie, 2. 6m Mat Williamson, 3. 37s Tom Flannigan, 4. 124 Pierre Dagenais, 5. 113 Eldon Payne, 6. 89b Todd Burley, 7. 99J Jimmy Phelps, 8. 55 Perry Francis, 9. 48T Dave Rauscher
Heat 5: 1. 22c Mario Clair, 2. 25R Erick Rudolph, 3. 33 Mike Mahaney, 4. 45 Mike Ward, 5. 74 Matt Billings, 6. 66 Kyle Dingwall, 7. 7 Lee Gill, 8. 82s Roy Shields
B-Main 1: 1. 55x Frank Caprara, 2. 66x Carey Terrance, 3. 21k Randy Chrysler, 4. 114 John Venuto, 5. 89b Toddy Burley, 6. 007 Roy Tarbell, 7. 71 Mike Bowman, 8. 3b Chad Brachmann, 9. 7 Lee Gill, 10. T21 Roger Chrysler, 11. 55 Perry Francis, 12. 188 David Papineau
B-Main 2: 1. 113 Eldon Payne, 2. 38 Ryan Susice, 3. 03 Zach Aubertine, 4. 12 Yannick Ledoux, 5. 99J Jimmy Phelps, 6. 66 Kyle Dingwall, 7. 74 Matt Billings, 8. 70 Ron White, 9. 8 John Smith, 10. 1R Jeff McGinnis, 11. 82s Roy Shields
Time Trials: 1. 7f Stewart Freisen, 16.165; 2. 20 Brett Hearn, 16.196; 3. 17d Danny O’Brien, 16.345; 4. 93 Richie Vinson, 16.396; 5. 4* Tim McCreadie, 16.417; 6. 22c Mario Clair, 16.427; 7. 25R Erick Rudolph; 8. 38 Ryan Susice, 16.477; 9. 77x Dale Planck, 16.552; 10. 6m Mat Williamson, 16.563; 11. 117 Alex Tonkin, 16.568; 12. 71 Mike Bowman, 16.575; 13. 27J Danny Johnson, 16.608; 53 Shawn Donath, 16.615; 15. 55x Frank Caprara, 16.621; 16. 26 Rick Richner, 16.633; 17. 21k Randy Chrysler, 16.639; 18. 3b Chad Brachmann, 16.654; 19. 12 Chad Chevalier, 16.666; 20. 99J Jimmy Phelps, 16.670; 21. 66x Carey Terrance, 16.670; 22. 9s Matt Sheppard, 16.711; 23. 33 Mike Mahaney, 16.824; 24. 37s Tom Flannigan, 16.849; 25. 45 Mike Ward (16.868); 26. 89b Todd Burley, 16.897; 27. 15J Tim Jones, 16.899; 28. 124 Pierre Dagenais, 16.920; 29. 55 Perry Francis, 16.951; 30. 48T Dave Rauscher, 16.969; 31. 1R Jeff McGinnis, 16.977; 32. 74 Matt Billings, 16.996; 33. 007 Roy Tarbell, 17.002; 34. 66 Kyle Dingwall, 17.004; 35. 7 Lee Gill, 17.131; 36. 03 Zach Aubertine, 17.139; 37. 82s Roy Shields, 17.140; 38. 114 John Venuto, 17.188; 39. 70 Ron White, 17.199; 40. 188 David Papineau, 17.248; 41. T21 Roger Chrysler, 17.256; 42. 113 Eldon Payne, 17.845; 43. 8 Scott Flammer, —
Sportsman Modified Series, Round 7 – Statistical Report
October 3, 2012 – Cayuga County Fair Speedway
A-Main (30 laps): 1. 29g Steve Gray, 2. 92 Martin Pelletier, 3. 4 Greg Martin, 4. 5 Don Spatorico, 5. M1 Dave Marcuccilli, 6. R70 Ryan Arbithnot, 7. 32R Ron Davis III, 8. 7 Cody McPherson, 9. 3m Mathieu Desjardins, 10. 18r Brad Rouse, 11. 54 Mark Chiddy, 12. 79 Rocky Warner, 13. 8s Justin Sharp, 14. 06 Brandon Easey, 15. 55c Jesse Cotriss, 16. 1 Tyler Dippel, 17. 11 Ben Wheeler, 18. 21 Taylor Caprara, 19. 1F A. J. Lloyd, 20. 6 Gary Lindberg, 21. 1s Jim Spano, 22. 34 Andrew Ferguson, 23. 954 Justin Thompson, 24. 92c Billy Coleman, 25. 86 Tony Finch II, 26. 18Jr Louie Jackson Jr., 27. 27 Corey Wheeler, 28. 52 Jessica Power, 29. 63 Chris Herbison, 30. 15 Adam Leslie
Heat 1: 1. 32R Rob Davis III, 2. 06 Brandon Easey, 3. 55c Jesse Cotriss, 4. 954 Justin Thompson, 5. 15 Adam Leslie, 6. 44c John Garnier, 7. 17 Alan Fink. DNS: 18JR Louis Jackson
Heat 2: 1. 1 Tyler Dippel, 2. 28g Steve Gray, 3. 5 Don Spatorico, 4. 11 Ben Wheeler, 5. 27 Corey Wheeler, 6. 92c Billy Coleman, 7. 16 Earl Rudy, 8. 4m Tim Murphy
Heat 3: 1. R70 Ryan Arbithnot, 2. 92 Martin Pelletier, 3. 54 Mark Chiddy, 4. 1F A. J. Lloyd, 5. 79 Rocky Warner, 6. 86 Tony Finch II, 7. 11F Kyle Fink
Heat 4: 1. M1 Dave Marcuccilli, 2. 3m Mathieu Desjardins, 3. 18r Brad Rouse, 4. 8s Justin Sharp, 6. 21 Taylor Caprara, 6. 31 Kane Bristol, 7. 19J Joe Kline, 8. 17J Josh Livinston
Heat 5: 1. 4 Greg Martin, 2. 63 Chris Herbison, 3. 7 Cody McPherson, 4. 6 Gary Lindberg, 5. 34 Andrew Ferguson, 6. 1s Jim Spano, 7. 58L Jim LaRock, 8. 2 Jenna David
B-Main 1: 1. 79 Rocky Warner, 2. 15 Adam Leslie, 3. 1 Tyler Dippel, 4. 34 Andrew Ferguson, 5. 31 Kane Bristol, 6. 11F Kyle Fink, 7. 58L Jim LaRock, 8. 16 Earl Rudy, 9. 17 Alan Fink
B-Main 2: 1. 21 Taylor Caprara, 2. 92c Billy Coteman, 3. 86 Tony Finch II, 4. 1s Jim Spano, 5. 44c John Garner, 6. 19J Joe Kline, 7. 2 Jenna David, 8. 4m Tim Murphy, 9. 52 Jessica Power
Time Trials: 1. 29g Steve Gray, 17.199; 2. M1 Dave Marcuccilli, 17.207; 3. 4 Greg Martin, 17.258; 4. 63 Chris Herbison, 17.279; 5. 92 Martin Pelletier, 17.291; 6. 3md Mathieu Desjardins, 17.322; 7. 1 Tyler Dippel, 17.330; 8. 32R Ron Davis III, 17.386; 9. 7 Cody McPherson, 17.405; 10. 954 Justin Thompson, 17.445; 11. R70 Ryan Arbithnot, 17.447; 12. 5 Don Spatorico, 17.448; 13. 6 Gary Lindberg, 17.458; 14. 34 Andrew Ferguson, 17.470; 15. 21 Taylor Caprara, 17.490; 16. 18r Brad Rouse, 17.508; 17. 54 Mark Chiddy, 17.518; 18. 86 Tony Finch II, 17.525; 19. Justin Sharp, 17.537; 20. 1F A. J. Lloyd, 17.540; 21. 55c Jesse Cotriss, 17.555; 22. 06 Brandon Easey, 17.573; 23. 2. Jenna David, 17.602; 24. 18Jr Louie Jackson, 17.622; 25. 79 Rocky Warner, 17.634; 26. 15 Adam Leslie, 17.649; 27. 11 Ben Wheeler, 17.691; 28. 44c John Garnier, 17.705; 29. 27 Corey Wheeler, 17.708; 30. 16 Earl Rudy, 17.710; 31. 11F Kyle Fink, 17.723; 32. 17J Josh Livingston, 17.743; 33. 17 Alan Fink, 17.768; 34. 31 Kane Bristol, 17.798; 35. 92c Billy Coleman, 17.810; 36. 52 Jessica Power, 17.821; 37. 1s Jim Spano, 17.907; 38. 4m Tim Murphy, 18.001; 39. 19J Joe Kline, 18.081; 40. 58L Jim LaRock, 18.142
