Don Carlson - Mark Brown Photo
West Lebanon, NY — September 12, 2009 – By Ed Biittig Jr., DIRTcar Racing Northeast Series Correspondent
Don Carlson bested the top names in the Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship Series 30-lap feature Saturday night at Lebanon Valley Speedway. A huge field of 40 Pro Stocks was on hand for this event.
“This is awesome to get our first win of the season here at Lebanon,” said Carlson, after scoring his the third career series win. “I wasn’t able to get a win here earlier this year and this makes up for it.”
Chad Jeseo and Carlson brought the field down to flagger Rodney Rescott’s green flag with Jeseo grabbing the early advantage. The first of seven caution periods began on lap four. The top three had begun to pull away from the rest of the pack by lap six, but a caution on that lap bunched the field back up. Contact between Jeseo and Pete Stefanski as the field slowed for the caution sent the Jeseo machine pit side for a flat tire. On the restart, Stefanski’s tire went soft as well and the point leader heading into this event was forced to pit for new rubber.
This handed the lead back over to pole-sitter Carlson. Joey Ladouceur came into the event on a tear winning the last three Mr. DIRTcar series events. He started the race in 10th and was up to fourth on lap nine.
At the halfway point of the race it was Carlson, Paul LaRochelle, Ladouceur, Dave Papineau and Robbie Speed in the top-five. Stefanski was making steady progress back to the front and was up to 12th by lap 15.
Ladouceur made his way past LaRochelle into second on lap 16. Just before the caution flew on lap 18, Carlson had opened a huge advantage over Ladouceur. While the lead duo began to open up distance on the pack all eyes were on Stefanski as he continued his charge to the front. Tough break for Papineau late in the race as he got upside down in turn four while running in the top-five. This set up an eight-lap dash to the finish.
Ladouceur’s best opportunity for the win came with three to go as he was able to get alongside Carlson coming off turn two, but a lapped car exiting the pits forced Ladouceur to check up.
From there on out Carlson was able to cruise to victory. A tired, but happy Carlson commented on the night. “I knew these guys weren’t going to give it to me. It helped when Jeseo and Stefanski had issues early. I don’t know how Joey and I made it around that lapped car.”
Ladouceur’s second place finish propelled him into the point lead by one marker over Stefanski. “I like the new surface here, this place is so tough to race. Its like a chess match. One wrong move can cost you a bunch here.”
Rob Yetman came home a happy, but tired third as many of the teams had raced some six plus hours away at Autodrome Edelweiss in Quebec on Friday. “We had a good race. I got a little frustrated at the beginning, but we finished good.”
Stefanski was able to salvage a fourth-place finish after his early race misfortune. ”We had a really strong car tonight. I used up the brakes coming from the back. It has been so long since I was at Lebanon Valley that I got lost getting to the track.”
2009 Lebanon Valley pro stock champion Robbie Speed set fast time in warm-ups and finished third in his heat. Don Carlson was the leader at the halfway point and pocketed the National Parts Peddler Halfway Bonus.
The 2009 Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Series takes two weeks off before returning to action at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park on Sept. 26 as part of World Series Weekend in Elbridge, N.Y.
Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship Series Race #6 – Lebanon Valley Speedway, September 12, 2009 Event Summary
Feature
Finish Start Car # DRIVER / HOMETOWN
1 2 26 Don Carlson/Ridgefield,CT
2 10 92 Joey Ladouceur/Alexandria,ONT
3 17 7 Rob Yetman/Castleton,NY
4 4 2 Pete Stefanski/Wheatfield,NY
5 7 78 Paul LaRochelle
6 8 24 Robbie Speed
7 6 23 Chuck Towslee
8 13 324 Jason Casey
9 5 41 Rich Colesanti
10 21 243 Victor Hopkins
11 16 88 Allen Peters/Westville,NY
12 22 33 Bruno Cyr/St.Liboire,QUE
13 27 73 P.J. Peters/Akwesasne,QUE
14 23 5 Jocelyn Roy/St-Helene,QUE
15 28 48 Dion Oakes/Akwesasne,NY
16 20 322 Jay Casey
17 11 76 Kevin Arnold
18 12 14J Johnny Rivers
19 9 10 Buddy Hencke
20 25 4 Roch Aubin/Alexandria,ONT
21 30 6 Stephane Lebrun/Gatineau,QUE
22 26 23 Cord Becker
23 15 311 Brian Keough
24 29 1r Ricky Thompson/Hogansburg,NY
25 18 47 Dave Bissonnette/Apple Hill,ONT
26 3 188 David Papineau/Akwesasne,NY
27 24 77 Paul Rogers
28 1 25 Chad Jeseo
29 14 8 Jay Corbin
30 19 4 Danny Burl
Heat Races
#1: Don Carlson, Joey Ladouceur, Robbie Speed, Jason Casey, Rob Yetman, Stephan Lebrun, Roch Aubin, Paul Rogers, Paul Engwer, Gary Ashley
#2: Rich Colesanti, David Papineau, Chuck Towslee, Jay Corbin, Dave Bissonnette, Matt Shadic, Jocelyn Roy, Sean Corr, John Santolin
#3: Kevin Arnold, Pete Stefanski, Buddy Hencke, Brian Keough, Danny Burl, Victor Hopkins, P.J. Peters, Dion Oakes, Ron Zagata
#4: Paul LaRochelle, Chad Jeseo, Johnny Rivers, Allen Peters, Jay Casey, Bruno Cyr, Dean Charbonneau, Ricky Thompson, Cord Becher, Allen Tarantino
Consi: Victor Hopkins, Bruno Cyr, Jocelyn Roy, Paul Rogers, Roch Aubin, Cord Becher, P.J. Peters, Dion Oakes, Ricky Thompson, John Santolin, Paul Engwer, Dean Charbonneau, Gary Ashley, Matt Shadic, Ron Zagata, Jon Routhier, Stephan Lebrun.
2009 MR. DIRTcar SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP
DIRTcar Pro Stock Entries-Lebanon Valley Speedway September 12
CAR# DRIVER / HOMETOWN TEAM (SPONSORS / MAKE-MODEL / CHASSIS)
4 Roch Aubin/Alexandria,ONT Home Hardware-OK Tire-Alain Beaupres Constr.Chevy Monte Carlo/Cannizzaro
4 Danny Burl/Nassau, NY Loyalty Construction-J&M/Grand Prix/Cannizzaro
6 Stephane Lebrun/Gatineau,QUE Patio Vidal Restaurant-United Auto Parts(UAP)/Pontiac Grand Prix/Wild Thing
6 John Santolin/Pittsfield, Mass J&J Lock-Berkshire Fence/Pontiac/Langenback
7 Rob Yetman/Castleton,NY Lazzaro’s Auto Body-Madsen Overhead Door/Pontiac Grand Prix/JACR
8 Sean Corr/Goshen,NY The Trans Group-Northeast Fabricators/Pontiac Grand Prix/EMS
8 Jay Corbin/Rensselaer,NY J&M Auto Repair-Tinkers Premium Power/Chevrolet MonteCarlo/Cannizzaro
10 Buddy Hencke/Sand Lake,NY Stinger X/Monte Carlo/Stinger
17 Nick Hilt Jr./Averill Park,NY N&L Auto Body/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Cannizzaro
23 Chuck Towslee/Manchester, VT Adventure Fun Park/Grand Prix/Cannizzaro
23 Cord Becher/Winsted, CT Grandma/Monte Carlo/ZLink
25 Chad Jeseo/Averill Park,NY Hankle Trucking-Snap On Tools/Pontiac Grand-Am/EMS
26 Don Carlson/Ridgefield,CT Benziger Winery-Kleer Trim Board/Dodge Charger/EMS
33 Bruno Cyr/St.Liboire,QUE Concept Syma-Remorquage Longueuil/Chevrolet Impala/Stinger
34 Paul Engwer/East Greenbush Dan Engwer Wholesale Florist-County Auto/Homebuilt
47 Dave Bissonnette/Apple Hill,ONT
48 Dion Oakes/Akwesasne,NY Oakes Racing-Noah King Family/Chevolet Impala/Cannizzaro
73 P.J. Peters/Akwesasne,QUE Sunrise Racing-Hair Secrets Salon/Chevrolet Impala/JACR
77 Paul Rogers/Averill Park, NY Silly’s Competition Motors-Marks Graphics/Homebuilt
78 Paul LaRochelle/Dalton, Mass Aladco Linen Service/Monte Carlo/Homebuilt
81 Gary Ashley/West Sand Lake, NY Keilens Body Shop/Lavoy
81 Allen Tarantino/Hyde Park, NY Glen Larsen-Stalen Landscapes/Monte Carlo
88 Allen Peters/Westville,NY Sunrise Racing-PJ NFB Auto Sales/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Cannizzaro
92 Joey Ladouceur/Alexandria,ONT Coffrage 20-20-Minimax Express/Cadillac STS/Stinger X
188 David Papineau/Akwesasne,NY D&D Constr.-Action Race Parts-Team Papi/Chevy Monte Carlo/Cannizzaro
243 Victor Hopkins/Lee, Mass Lee Power Equipment/Monte Carlo/Chevy
311 Brian Keough/Menands, NY M. Keneston Corp/Monte Carlo/Stinger
315 Jonathon Routhier/Canaan,CT Canaan Auto Supply/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Stinger
322 Jay Casey/Canaan,CT Jay’s Lawn Care-Dave’s Tire/Pontiac Grand Prix/EMS
324 Jason Casey/Canaan,CT Jay’s Lawn Care-Dave’s Tire/Pontiac Grand Prix/EMS
05 Jocelyn Roy/St-Helene,QUE Roy Racing Products-Lettrage Lucy/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/CRT
12s Matt Shadic/Craryville,NY Paul’s Lawn & Landscape-Jim’s Auto/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Shadic
14j Johnny Rivers/Castleton, NY Rivers Recovery/Grand Prix/Cannizzaro
2 Pete Stefanski/Wheatfield,NY Sunrise Racing-San Ter Sewing-PJ NFB Auto Sales/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/EMS
24 Robbie Speed/Mellenville,NY Speed’s Garage-Morgan RV Resorts-UPS Stores/Pontiac Grand Prix/EMS
41 Rich Colesanti/Hopewell Junction,NY Carmine Labriola Contracting Corp./Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Stinger
1r Ricky Thompson/Hogansburg,NY Brass Horse Grill-Fatty Cats-A&L Enterprise/Chevy Monte Carlo/Cannizzaro
4c Dean Charbonneau/Clifton Park,NY Grennon Project-RER Firewood-Jay’s Auto/Pontiac Grand Prix/Cannizzaro
76 Kevin Arnold/Averill Park,NY Snap-On Tools-Renaissance Furniture Repair/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Stinger
o14 Ron Zagata/Adams, Mass SCS Chassis
UPCOMING EVENT:
Rolling Wheels Raceway is back on the agenda Sept 26 as the biggest month of DIRTcar Racing in Northeast reaches the halfway mark. Valuable track bonus points have been issued and now it is up to three more events to determine an overall Mr. DIRTcar Champion for a 15th consecutive year.
2009 Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Series Championship Schedule
*All events subject to change.
DAY-DATE TRACK WINNER/LOCATION
Sat-Jul 4 Genesee Speedway Pete Stefanski
Fri-Jul 17 Mohawk Int’l Raceway Pete Stefanski
Sat-Aug 22 Autodrome Drummond Joey Ladouceur
Sun-Aug 23 Cornwall Motor Speedway Joey Ladouceur
Fri-Sep 11 Autodrome Edelweiss ($1,500-to-win)
Sat-Sep 12 Lebanon Valley Speedway Don Carlson
Sat-Sep 26 Rolling Wheels Raceway Elbridge,NY
Sun-Oct 11 New York State Fairgrds Syracuse,NY
Sun-Oct 18 Brockville Ont Speedway Brockville,ONT
DIRTcar Racing Northeast main office is located in Weedsport, New York on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds, home of DIRTcar All-Star Weekend in July. DIRTcar Northeast’s crown jewel event —Super DIRT Week at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse— runs October 7-11, 2009 featuring Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship Series events for Big-Block Modified, 358-Modified, Sportsman and Pro Stock divisions. Ticket and schedule information is available by contacting the Weedsport office (315/834-6606) during the day or logging into www.superdirtweekonline.com anytime.
The Big-Block Super DIRTcar Series is brought to fans across the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Hoosier Racing Tire www.hoosiertire.com and VP Racing Fuels www.vpracingfuels.com. Promotional partners include Dig Safely New York www.digsafelynewyork.com and the University of Northwestern Ohio www.unoh.com and the contingency sponsors are Bars Leaks www.barsproducts.com, Bert Transmission www.berttransmission.com, Bicknell Racing Products www.bicknellracingproducts.com, Bilstein Shocks www.bilstein.com, Brodix Cylinder Heads www.brodix.com, Ferris Industries www.ferrisindustries.com, Integra Shocks www.integrashocksandsprings.com, Intercomp www.intercomp-racing.com, KSE Racing Products www.kse-racing.com, Motorsports Safety Systems www.motorsportssafetysystems.com, Penske Shocks, www.penskeshocks.com, Racing Electronics www.racingelectronics.com, Rislone Oil Stabilizer www.barsproducts.com and Wrisco Industries www.wrisco.com.
