Weedsport, NY — August 18, 2010 – By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing Northeast PR Director
Just three weekends remain before Regional point titlists are determined on the DIRTcar Racing Northeast open-wheel circuit while in three more months overall Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Champions will be declared for a 35th straight season.
‘Super Matt’ Sheppard recently overtook weekly rival Jimmy Phelps on the Central Region Big-Block points chart with two more feature wins at Brewerton and Fulton speedways to bolster his division-best count to 16 as these drivers also run 1-2 in the Super DIRTcar Series points chase. On the heels of his fourth victory at Glen Ridge Motorsports Park, Craig Hanson extended his margin in the Eastern Region standings over Brett Hearn while Pennsylvanians Jeremiah Shingledecker and Dave Murdick continued to pace the field on the Western front.
Second-generation standout Stephane LaFrance used his class-high 10th Small-Block win to tie season-long leader Tim O’Brien atop the DIRTcar 358-Modified Northern Region standings with Mohawk mainstay Carey Terrance looming just 10 points back. Niagara Frontier force Pete Bicknell grabbed his first checkered flag of the season at Ransomville Speedway to increase his advantage to 62 over Chad Brachmann in his latest title bid out West.
‘Teenage Tornado’ Chris Raabe retained his stronghold in the Northern Region after a record-tying 24th Sportsman victory of the 2010 campaign while Bodie Bellinger opened up some breathing room in the tightest point race in the Eastern bracket over Tony Farone, D.J. Brundige and Brian Pessolano, who stand knotted in the runner-up slot. The solid trio of Steve Gray, Jeremy Pitcher and Justin Wright ranks highest in the Central Region while veteran Greg Panunte has whittled down the margin to just four points behind Ryan Susice in the Western Region battle for bragging rights.
Mr. DIRTcar Championship Series activity picks up this weekend when the top Pro Stock tour travelers reach Mohawk Int’l Raceway on Aug. 21 headed by points leader Louie Jackson. Big-Block Super DIRTcar Series high-point man Sheppard looks for continued success on the high banks when he chases a $17,500 top prize posted in the ‘Mr. DIRT Track USA’ title event at Lebanon Valley Speedway on Aug. 26
Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Series action resumes Sept. 5 at Cornwall Motor Speedway before Sportsman teams contend three straight nights in both Canada and the U.S. at Ransomville, Merrittville and Humberstone on Sept. 10-12.
To follow the status of your favorite DIRTcar driver during the closing weeks, log into www.dirtcar.com and select ‘Points’ at the top then choose division on the left to view all track, region and series leaders. Complete Championship Series points are also available by clicking ‘Super DIRTcar Series’ on the right, then choosing a specific touring division and opening up using the MS Excel format.
DIRTcar Racing Northeast Point Standings (as of August 16, 2010):
BIG-BLOCK SUPER DIRTcar SERIES POINTS
Pos. Driver Points
1 Matt Sheppard 1,274
2 Jimmy Phelps 1,198
3 Billy Decker 1,179
4 Brett Hearn 1,102
5 Danny Johnson 1,011
6 Dale Planck 936
7 Billy Dunn 863
8 Ryan Phelps 859
9 Tom Sears Jr. 793
10 Steve Paine 785
11 Michael Storms 784
12 Stewart Friesen 722
13 Rich Scagliotta 697
14 Larry Wight 618
15 Pat Ward 589
358-MODIFIED SERIES POINTS
Pos. Driver Points
1 Danny Johnson 190
2 Pete Bicknell 175
3 Mario Clair 149
4 Danny O’Brien 137
5 David Hebert 135
6 Stewart Friesen 128
7 Eric Gauvreau 120
7 Mat Williamson 120
9 Pat O’Brien 116
10 Chad Brachmann 114
11 Dale Planck 102
11 Larry Wight 102
11 Rick Richner 102
14 Brett Hearn 100
15 Tommy Flannigan 98
SPORTSMAN MODIFIED SERIES POINTS
Pos. Driver Points
1 Ryan Susice 270
2 Steve Gray 246
3 Tim Sears Jr. 245
4 Justin Wright 220
5 Dan Wiesner 208
6 Jesse Cotriss 202
7 Chris Raabe 195
8 Mark Dixon 178
8 Shane Pecore 169
10 Loren Lincoln 167
11 Mark Chiddy 154
12 Donnie Lawson 150
13 Eric Giguere 142
14 Christine Martin 138
15 Daryl Hilkert 110
PRO STOCK SERIES POINTS
Pos. Driver Points
1 Louie Jackson 257
2 Jocelyn Roy 252
3 Carl Smith Jr. 236
4 Corey Wheeler 228
5 Joey Ladouceur 227
6 Pete Stefanski 225
7 Buddy Hencke 222
8 Dave Bissonnette 215
9 Stephane Lemire 184
10 P.J. Peters 170
11 Rob Yetman 155
12 David Papineau 154
13 Bruno Cyr 143
14 Stephane Lebrun 141
15 Ricky Thompson 140
BIG-BLOCK MODIFIED REGIONAL POINTS
CENTRAL (Best 15)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Matt Sheppard 888
2 Jimmy Phelps 884
3 Steve Paine 864
4 Billy Decker 822
5 Rob Bellinger 820
6 Billy Dunn 816
7 Pat Ward 788
8 Alan Johnson 762
9 Danny Johnson 756
10 Ryan Phelps 722
11 Vince Vitale 720
12 Michael Storms 704
13 Dale Planck 700
13 Justin Haers 700
15 Tom Sears Jr. 686
EASTERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Craig Hanson 648
2 Brett Hearn 614
3 JaMike Sowle 610
4 Bob Varin 606
4 J.R. Heffner 606
6 Eddie Marshall 596
7 Donnie Corellis 584
8 Andy Bachetti 568
9 Mike Ronca 562
10 Jackie Brown 560
11 Kenny Tremont Jr. 547
12 Brian Berger 518
13 Pep Corrada 514
14 Guy Sheldon 503
15 Jeff Sheely 492
15 Keith Flach 492
WESTERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Jer. Shingledecker 704
2 Dave Murdick 694
3 Kevin Bolland 676
4 Brian Swartzlander 644
5 Del Rougeux Jr. 634
6 Rex King 630
7 Mike Turner 566
8 Brad Rapp 556
9 Dean Pearson 552
10 Kevin Hoffman 534
11 Rex King Jr. 520
12 Carl Murdick 494
13 Steve Feder 466
14 Chris Haines 458
15 Erik Martin 424
358-MODIFIED REGIONAL POINTS
NORTHERN (Best 15)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Tim O’Brien 856
1 Stephane LaFrance 856
3 Carey Terrance 846
4 Kayle Robidoux 844
5 Mario Clair 826
6 Martin Roy 822
7 Danny O’Brien 818
8 Matt Billings 810
9 Pat O’Brien 796
10 Luke Whitteker 794
11 Gage Morin 792
12 David Hébert 776
13 Laurent Ladouceur 770
14 Yan Bussiere 768
15 Todd Stewart 756
WESTERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Pete Bicknell 704
2 Chad Brachmann 642
3 Mat Williamson 620
4 Todd Burley 612
5 Scott Wood 598
6 Mike Bowman 596
7 Todd Gordon 588
8 Tommy Flannigan 578
9 James M. Friesen 576
10 Rick Richner 574
11 Boyd MacTavish 568
12 Fred Carleton 554
13 Chad Chevalier 550
14 Scott Kerwin 540
15 Robbie Krull 538
SPORTSMAN MODIFIED REGIONAL POINTS
NORTHERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Chris Raabe 720
2 Dylan Evoy 680
3 Matt Hulsizer 664
4 Chris Herbison 660
5 Josh Van Brocklin 646
6 Randy Earl 638
7 Sheldon Hoogwerf 632
8 Shane Pecore 626
9 Brad Winters 602
10 Mike Mainse 594
11 Brent Kelsey 592
12 Dana Aikins 580
13 Travis Back 572
14 Beth Schneider 566
15 Adam Turner 548
EASTERN (Best 10)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Bodie Bellinger 520
2 Brian Pessolano 502
2 DJ Brundige 502
2 Tony Farone 502
5 Greg Pessolano 476
5 Justin Boehler 476
7 Chuck Allen 472
7 John Marsh 472
9 Chris Schaffer 450
10 Steve Costantino 446
11 Jack Gentile 426
12 Dave Herrick 362
13 Ricky Quick 335
14 Laudy Hoyenga 321
15 Jim Eaton 281
CENTRAL (Best 15)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Steve Gray 824
2 Jeremy Pitcher 786
3 Justin Wright 760
4 Eric Giguere 734
5 Tim Sears Jr. 692
6 Tom Juhl 684
7 James Spano 674
8 Dan Wiesner 633
9 Adam Hilton 596
10 Tim Schneider 590
11 Ricky Newton 581
12 Paul Guererri 576
13 Dave Marcuccilli 567
14 Greg Mrzywka 561
15 Daryl Hilkert 559
WESTERN (Best 15)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Ryan Susice 836
2 Greg Panunte 832
3 Cody McPherson 820
4 Brad Rouse 790
5 B.J. Willard 766
6 Don Spatorico 762
7 Nick Cupolo 760
8 Justin Wright 734
9 Brandon Easey 716
10 Rick Bellante 702
11 Mark Chiddy 668
12 Adam Leslie 638
13 Rob Murray 616
14 Jim Johnstone 580
15 Mark Dixon 577
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.
