Don Barnes - Bill Moore Photo
Elbridge, NY — July 3, 2008 – By Joe Johnson, DIRTcar Racing NorthEast Series Correspondent
Tour traveler Don Barnes from Gasport, New York captured his first career Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship Series win at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park on Thursday evening. The race was the second in the 2008 Series.
Former Pro Stock Series champion Joey Ladouceur and Dick Parkhurst brought the 26-car field down to starter Matt Burdick’s green flag with Parkhurst grabbing the early lead. Afternoon showers left the track heavy and rough which would make passing difficult.
Ladouceur soon found out that the infield was still quite wet when Parkhurst crowded him on the front stretch as the pair battled for the lead. Ladouceur spun and collected a couple of cars and Parkhurst was sent to the rear of the field.
On the ensuing restart, Barnes inherited the lead with Billy Woodward Jr., Roch Aubin, Don Carlson and Bill Pascual rounding out the front-five. Barnes moved out to a good advantage while Carlson charged into second in his number 26. The Lebanon Valley regular soon began to put pressure on Barnes for the top spot but Steve Johnston brought out the second yellow flag of the race with a spin in turn four. Series points leader Louie Jackson —by virtue of his opening day win at Can-Am— headed pitside during the caution period and did not return, the victim of mechanical problems.
When racing resumed Barnes led Carlson, Woodward, Aubin and Pascual but quickly charging from the back was the 92.1 of Ladouceur as he moved back into ninth by lap four, then by lap seven was into sixth. Defending Mr. DIRTcar Champion Pete Stefanski was also on the move after problems in his heat forced him to start at the back and a quick trip to the pits put him back there yet again during the race.
The top two began to pull away with Carlson all over the Barnes’ no. 28 machine but was unable to find a way by. Fonda Speedway regular Dean Charbonneau brought out the yellow on lap nine after contact with Woodward in the 49. Charbonneau tried to keep going to negate the yellow but got stuck in the mud, and the no. 49 car was subsequently put to the rear of the field where he was none too happy.
On the restart Pascual made a move for third while Ladouceur sped into fifth with the no. 2 of Stefanski not far behind. Hogansburg’s Ricky Thompson brought out the yellow on lap 11 after spinning and making contact with the inside wall in turn four and his no. 37 mountwas towed to the infield, done for the evening.
Ladouceur continued his charge to the front on the restart moving into fourth, while Stefanski jumped into seventh at the same instance. The top-three ran right together for several laps until Woodward spun the 49 on the outside of turn two on lap 17.
Following the restart, a wild battle ensued between the 92.1 of Ladouceur, Stefanski in the 2 and the 73 of PJ Peters, with the three Pro Stock veterans trading fourth, fifth and sixth several times a lap. Eventually Stefanski prevailed and set sail after Pascual for third. He reached Pascual on lap 23 and hit him hard in turn three to get the spot.
Charbonneau brought out one more yellow on lap 24 setting up a one lap dash to the finish. Barnes held off Carlson for the win with Stefanski, Pascual and Peters rounding out the top-five. Ladouceur settled for sixth but put on a great show.
Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship Series Race #2 – Rolling Wheels Raceway Park, July 3, 2008 Summit Buick Pontiac GMC Ford Dodge-Spano Companies-Army National Guard Event Summary
FEATURE (25-laps): 1. 28-DON BARNES ($1,000), 2. 26-Don Carlson, 3. 2-Pete Stefanski, 4. 3-Bill Pascual, 5. 73-PJ Peters, 6. 92-Joey Ladouceur, 7. 72-Denis Gauvreau, 8. 88-Allen Peters, 9. 4R-Roch Aubin, 10. 6-Stephane Lebrun, 11. 05-Jocelyn Roy, 12. 71-Scott Gribben, 13. 188-David Papineau, 14. 33-Bruno Cyr
15. 48-Dion Oakes, 16. 99S-Rob Seavey, 17. 93-Dick Parkhurst, 18. ba98-Steve Johnston, 19. 2M-Brett Martin, 20. 4c-Dean Charbonneau, 21. 49-Bill Woodward
22. 11-Mike Vaughn, 23. 37W-Ricky Thompson, 24. 98-Jack Terrell, 25. 12G-Eric Greenlief, 26. 18-Louie Jackson, 99-Mike Martin (DNS).
SYRACUSE QUALIFIER: Don Barnes.
HOLLEY HARD LUCK: Joey Ladouceur.
QUALIFYING
Heat Races
#1: Pascual, Barnes, Ladouceur, Woodward, Jackson, Seavey, Gribben, Roy, Vaughn.
#2: Gauvreau, Charbonneau, Johnston, Parkhurst, Greenlief, Terrell, Thompson, Papineau, B.Martin.
#3: Carlson, PJ Peters, A.Peters, Aubin, Lebrun, Oakes, Cyr, Stefanski.
Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship Series Point Standings (July 3)
Rank No. Driver Total Series Bonus Diff Wins Top-5 Top-10 Starts
1 2 Pete Stefanski 180 180 0 0 0 2 2 2
2 26 Don Carlson 171 171 0 -9 0 1 2 2
3 72 Denis Gauvreau167 167 0 -13 0 1 2 2
4 73 PJ Peters 165 165 0 -15 0 2 2 2
5 11 Don Barnes 150 150 0 -30 1 1 1 2
6 4 Roch Aubin 145 145 0 -35 0 1 2 2
7 92 Joey Ladouceur 144 144 0 -36 0 0 2 2
8 18 Louie Jackson 140 140 0 -40 1 1 1 2
9 6 Stephanie LeBrun134 134 0 -46 0 0 2 2
10 05 Jocelyn Roy 118 118 0 -62 0 0 0 2
11 71 Scott Gribben 114 114 0 -66 0 0 0 2
12 48 Dion Oakes 114 114 0 -66 0 0 1 2
13 33 Bruno Cyr 106 106 0 -74 0 0 0 2
14 ba98 Steve Johnston 100 100 0 -80 0 0 0 2
15 49 Bill Woodward, Jr. 91 91 0 -89 0 0 0 2
16 3 Bill Pascual 85 85 0 -95 0 1 1 1
17 88 Allen Peters 78 78 0 -102 0 0 1 1
18 14 Mitchell Jock 65 65 0 -115 0 0 1 1
19 6z Butch Zimmerman 60 60 0 -120 0 0 0 1
20 188 David Papineau 56 56 0 -124 0 0 0 1
21 37 Ricky Thompson 51 51 0 -129 0 0 0 1
22 99s Rob Seavey 50 50 0 -130 0 0 0 1
23 93 Dick Parkhurst 48 48 0 -132 0 0 0 1
24 69 Jody Swamp 46 46 0 -134 0 0 0 1
25 2m Brett Martin 45 45 0 -135 0 0 0 1
26 27 Gilles Godard 45 45 0 -135 0 0 0 1
27 4 Dean Charbonneau 44 44 0 -136 0 0 0 1
28 09 Robert Rowe 44 44 0 -136 0 0 0 1
29 99 Mike Martin 43 43 0 -137 0 0 0 1
30 11 Mike Vaughn 42 42 0 -138 0 0 0 1
31 98T Jack Terrell 40 40 0 -140 0 0 0 1
32 12g Eric Greenlief 40 40 0 -140 0 0 0 1
Rolling Wheels Roster
05-Jocelyn Roy/St-Helene,QUE
2-Pete Stefanski/Wheatfield,NY
2m-Brett Martin/Burt, NY
3-Bill Pascual/Crompond, NY
4-Roch Aubin/Alexandria,ONT
4c-Dean Charbonneau/Clifton Park, NY
6-Stephane Lebrun/Gatineau,QUE
11-Mike Vaughn/Jordan, NY
12g-Eric Greenlief/Gasport, NY
18-Louie Jackson/Akwesasne,NY
26-Don Carlson/Richfield,CT
28-Don Barnes/Gasport,NY
33-Bruno Cyr/Carignan,QUE
37west-Ricky Thompson/Hogansburg,NY
48-Dion Oakes/Akwesasne,NY
49-Bill Woodward Jr./ Norwood , NY
71-Scott Gribben/Royalton,NY
72-Denis Gauvreau/Gatineau,QUE
73-P.J. Peters/Akwesasne,QUE
88-Allen Peters/Massena,NY
92-Joey Ladouceur/Alexandria,ONT
93-Dick Parkhurst/Fulton, NY
ba98-Steve Johnston/Ingelside,ONT
98t-Jack Terrell/Jamesville, NY
99s-Rob Seavey/Holland Patent, NY
188-David Papineau/Akwesasne, NY
UPCOMING EVENT:
Racing in the Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Series returns in one more month when Genesee Speedway hosts round three on Saturday, August 2. Three extra-distance events remain before track bonus points are issued after Labor Day with the 2008 overall Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Champion crowned for the second straight year at Orange County Fair Speedway in October.
2008 Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Series Championship Schedule
*All events subject to change.
DAY-DATE LAPS TRACK LOCATION/WINNER
Sat-Apr 19 25 Can-Am Motorsports Park Louie Jackson
Thr-Jul 3 25 Rolling Wheels Raceway Don Barnes
Sat-Aug 2 30 Genesee Speedway Batavia,NY
Fri-Aug 22 30 Thunder Alley Speedpark Evans Mills,NY
Sat-Aug 23 30 Autodrome Drummond Drummondville,QUE
Sun-Aug 31 50 Cornwall Motor Speedway Cornwall,ONT
Fri-Sep 5 100 Autodrome Edelweiss Hull,QUE
Sat-Sep 6 30 Mohawk Int’l Raceway Hogansburg,NY
Sat-Sep 20 30 Canandaigua Speedway Canandaigua,NY
Sat-Sep 27 30 Rolling Wheels Raceway Elbridge,NY
Fri-Oct 3 30 Fulton Speedway Fulton,NY
Sun-Oct 12 25 New York State Fairgrnds Syracuse,NY
Sun-Oct 19 25 Orange Co Fair Speedway Middletown,NY
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 and Hoosier Racing Tire. Rite Aid Corporation is a promotional partner and the contingency sponsors are Bars Leaks, Bert Transmission, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Crane Cams, Dig Safely New York, Holley HP Carburetors, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, KSE Racing Products, Motorsports Safety Systems, Penske Shocks, Rislone Oil Stabilizer and Wrisco Industries.
