Weedsport, NY — April 27, 2010 – By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Northeast PR Director
Big-Block star Billy Decker from Unadilla, N.Y. and open-wheel veteran Steve Gray from Middlesex, N.Y. are miles apart when it comes to post-season awards, yet each occupies the same position after points are tabulated in the early season chase for overall Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar supremacy.
Two-time Mr. DIRTcar Modified champion Decker clings to a narrow one point lead over ‘Super Matt’ Sheppard through two Super DIRTcar Series events while Gray, whose only season championship came at Cayuga County Fair Speedway in 2001, owns a 5-point advantage ahead of two-time reigning Sportsman champion Chris Raabe after just one tour stop.
Decker captured his first career series victory at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway in March and added a runner-up finish on home soil at Fulton (NY) Speedway to edge Hagerstown runner-up Sheppard, who also placed third at Fulton. Gray triumphed in the Sportsman Series lid-lifter at Black Rock (NY) Speedway in April.
With the DIRTcar Northeast Region point battles just getting underway, three-race winner Sheppard, opening-day victors Bobby Varin (Glen Ridge) and Kenny Tremont (Lebanon Valley), and Pennsylvania Hall of Famer Kevin Bolland lead the Big-Block standings; ‘Mr. Small-Block’ Pete Bicknell and second-generation standout Tim O’Brien pace the area 358-Modified fields; and Gray, Raabe, Dave Constantino and Canadian chauffeur Greg Panunte head the Sportsman ranks.
Log into www.dirtcar.com for more information on DIRTcar Racing’s Northeast circuit and follow the points chase for all divisions as the season speeds forward.
DIRTcar Racing Northeast Points Standings (as of April 26, 2010):
BIG-BLOCK MODIFIED SUPER DIRTcar SERIES POINTS
Pos. Driver Points
1 Billy Decker 201
2 Matt Sheppard 200
3 Michael Storms 162
4 Dale Planck 159
5 Pat Ward 159
6 Brett Hearn 158
7 Billy Dunn 145
8 Danny Johnson 131
9 Justin Haers 130
10 Jimmy Phelps 129
11 Stewart Friesen 121
12 Ryan Phelps 121
13 Larry Wight 117
14 Steve Paine 110
15 Gary Tomkins 104
SPORTSMAN MODIFIED SERIES POINTS
Pos. Driver Points
1 Steve Gray 100
2 Chris Raabe 95
3 Donnie Lawson 90
4 Ryan Susice 85
5 Eric Giguere 80
6 Brady Fultz 76
7 Mark Chiddy 72
8 Dan Wiesner 68
8 Loren Lincoln 65
10 Jesse Cotriss 62
11 Shane Pecore 60
12 Fran Hilton 58
13 Daryl Hilkert 56
14 Rob Richmond Jr. 54
15 Mark Dixon 52
BIG-BLOCK MODIFIED REGIONAL POINTS
CENTRAL (Best 15)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Matt Sheppard 202
2 Steve Paine 159
3 Billy Dunn 152
4 Larry Wight 151
5 Jimmy Phelps 144
6 Rob Bellinger 140
7 Justin Haers 136
8 Danny Johnson 136
9 Michael Storms 122
10 Dave Rauscher 113
11 Dale Planck 108
12 Alan Johnson 108
13 Tom Sears Jr. 106
14 Ryan Phelps 104
15 Pat Ward 102
EASTERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Bobby Varin 60
2 Kenny Tremont Jr. 60
3 Jeremy Wilder 56
4 Donnie Corellis 56
5 Craig Hanson 52
5 Mark Flach Jr. 52
7 Rick Ricci 50
8 J.R. Heffner 50
9 Paul Kinney 48
10 Brian Berger 48
11 Mike Ronca 46
12 Kyle Sheldon 46
13 Pep Corrada 44
14 J.C. Flach 44
15 JaMike Sowle 42
15 Eddie Marshall 42
WESTERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Kevin Bolland 116
2 Brian Swartzlander 108
3 Del Rougeux Jr. 104
4 Dave Murdick 102
5 Jere. Shingledecker 96
6 Dean Pearson 86
7 Mike Turner 86
8 Carl Murdick 78
9 Mark Frankhauser 72
10 Kevin Green 66
11 Shawn Fleeger 60
12 Erik Martin 54
13 Steve Feder 54
14 Rex King 52
15 Rex King Jr. 44
358-MODIFIED REGIONAL POINTS
NORTHERN (Best 15)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Tim O’Brien 60
2 Matt Billings 56
3 Andy Howard 52
4 Luke Whitteker 50
5 Bill Gill 48
5 John Lazore 46
7 Kevin Gamble 44
8 Preston Forbes 42
9 Mitch Jock 40
9 Todd Stewart 38
11 Tim Sears Sr. 36
12 Danny O’Brien 34
13 Laurent Ladouceur 32
WESTERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Pete Bicknell 60
2 Chad Brachmann 56
3 Tommy Flannigan 52
4 Bill Bleich 50
5 Mat Williamson 48
6 Boyd MacTavish 46
7 Gary Tomkins 44
8 Adam Ferri 42
8 Scott Wood 40
10 Todd Gordon 38
11 Brian Stevens 36
11 Mark D’Ilario 34
13 Tim Jones 32
14 Mike Bowman 30
15 James Friesen 28
SPORTSMAN MODIFIED REGIONAL POINTS
NORTHERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Chris Raabe 60
2 Shane Pecore 56
3 Josh Van Brocklin 52
4 Matt Hulsizer 50
5 Dylan Evoy 48
6 Brent Kelsey 46
7 Brandon Hagan 44
8 Adam Turner 42
9 Tom Conklin 40
10 Steve Barber 38
11 Alley Amell 36
12 Bob Bennett 34
13 Christine Martin 32
14 Anthony Stockman 30
15 Beth Schneider 28
EASTERN (Best 10)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Dave Costantino 60
2 Chuck Allen 56
3 Greg Pessolano 52
4 Bodie Bellinger 50
5 Brain Pessolano 48
6 Mike Tholin 46
7 Jeremiah Munson 44
8 Dave Herrick 42
8 DJ Brundige 40
10 John Marsh 38
11 Tony Farone 36
12 Leo Sousie 34
13 Chris McCoy 32
14 Chris Schaffer 30
15 Ricky Quick 28
CENTRAL (Best 15)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Steve Gray 146
2 Tom Juhl 110
3 Eric Giguere 108
4 Dan Wiesner 92
5 Brady Fultz 90
6 Jeremy Pitcher 88
7 Mark Chiddy 86
8 Ricky Newton 84
9 Adam Hilton 80
10 Daryl Hilkert 78
11 Rob Richmond Jr. 78
12 Tim Sears Jr. 76
13 Justin Wright 69
14 Loren Lincoln 67
15 Marcus Dinkins 66
WESTERN (Best 15)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Greg Panunte 60
1 Ryan Susice 56
3 Brandon Easey 52
4 BJ Willard 50
5 Ken Cosgrove 48
6 Rick Bellante 46
7 Brad Rouse 44
8 Jim Johnstone 42
9 Jipp Ortiz 40
10 Cody McPherson 38
11 Tyler McPherson 36
12 Mark Dixon 34
13 Joe Middlemiss 32
14 Rob Murray 30
15 Adam Leslie 28
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 annually in October 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.allstar100weekend.com and 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 the University of Northwestern Ohio www.unoh.com and Chizmark & Larson Insurance www.chizmarklarson.com, and contingency sponsors are Bicknell Racing Products www.bicknellracingproducts.com, Bilstein Shocks www.bilstein.com, KSE Racing Products www.kse-racing.com, Motorsports Safety Systems www.motorsportssafetysystems.com, MSD Ignition www.msdignition.com, Penske Shocks, www.penskeshocks.com, Racing Electronics www.racingelectronics.com, Vicci Racing Apparel www.vicci.com and Wrisco Industries www.wrisco.com.
