Weedsport, NY — July 7, 2010 – By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing Northeast PR Director
Temperatures continue to rise early in the summer with Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship Series point chasers hitting their stride midway through the season as the month of July rolls on in the Northeast.
Big-Blocker Billy Decker is now clinging to a narrow lead over runner-up Matt Sheppard even with a tour-best 7th successive Top-5 finish scored at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park on the Fourth of July, while a dramatic charge through the field elevated Autodrome Edelweiss winner Danny Johnson to the top of the 358-Modified Series points chart in the latest Canada Day celebration. The Super DIRTcar Series returns to action July 11 at Cornwall Motor Speedway, where Small-Block championship trail activity also resumes on Sept. 5.
Ryan Susice heads into All-Star Weekend at Cayuga County Fair Speedway on July 17 leading the Sportsman Series points race while Pro Stock pace-setter Louie Jackson returns to tour competition on home soil Aug. 21 when Mohawk Int’l Raceway doubles up with a World of Outlaws Late Model Series stop.
DIRTcar Northeast Regional point leaders remained intact in every open-wheel division for the first time in 2010, with Big-Block, 358-Modified and Sportsman teams looking to establish superiority at their home tracks. Another reminder that drivers must hold a valid 2010 DIRTcar License, purchased by July 15, or be dropped from all weekly point tabulations.
DIRTcar Northeast’s Big-Block feature win leaders with 10 apiece, Series stars Jimmy Phelps and Matt Sheppard continue to lead the way in the Central Region point standings. Notching his third victory of the season at Glen Ridge Motorsports Park, second-generation driver Craig Hanson has extended his margin in the East just as Jeremiah Shingledecker remains in charge out West.
As he has done throughout the first half of the race season, Tim O’Brien heads the DIRTcar 358-Modified Northern Region point standings with division-high six-time race winner Carey Terrance the closest in pursuit. Moving westward to the Niagara Frontier, Pete Bicknell has put a comfortable distance between himself and Chad Brachmann as they challenge for weekly Small-Block supremacy.
Projecting a mirror image of last week’s Sportsman leader board, overall DIRTcar NE feature winner Chris Raabe (17 wins) heads the Northern division chart and fellow Series runner Ryan Susice holds down the top spot in the Western ranks. Hoosier-VP Mr. DIRTcar title contender Steve Gray (central) and Tony Farone (eastern) have command with two more months of regional point events on tap.
To follow the status of your favorite DIRTcar driver throughout the season, 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 July 5, 2010):
BIG-BLOCK SUPER DIRTcar SERIES POINTS
Pos. Driver Points
1 Billy Decker 666
2 Matt Sheppard 653
3 Jimmy Phelps 585
4 Danny Johnson 558
5 Brett Hearn 509
6 Dale Planck 494
7 Billy Dunn 485
8 Michael Storms 458
9 Ryan Phelps 446
10 Tom Sears Jr. 372
11 Steve Paine 354
12 Gary Tomkins 351
13 Rich Scagliotta 326
14 Stewart Friesen 324
15 Lance Willix II 308
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
8 Mat Williamson 120
8 Pat O’Brien 116
10 Chad Brachmann 114
11 Dale Planck 102
12 Larry Wight 102
13 Rick Richner 102
14 Brett Hearn 100
15 Tommy Flannigan 98
SPORTSMAN MODIFIED SERIES POINTS
Pos. Driver Points
1 Ryan Susice 185
2 Steve Gray 156
3 Tim Sears Jr. 150
3 Dan Wiesner 150
3 Donnie Lawson 150
6 Chris Raabe 149
7 Justin Wright 140
8 Mark Dixon 138
8 Jesse Cotriss 137
10 Shane Pecore 128
11 Loren Lincoln 127
12 Christine Martin 98
13 Chris Herbison 95
14 Mark Chiddy 82
15 Steve Bernier 80
15 Eric Giguere 80
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 Jimmy Phelps 864
2 Matt Sheppard 852
3 Steve Paine 830
4 Billy Decker 796
5 Billy Dunn 764
6 Rob Bellinger 748
7 Pat Ward 746
8 Alan Johnson 740
9 Danny Johnson 711
10 Ryan Phelps 674
11 Larry Wight 644
12 Michael Storms 642
13 Vince Vitale 641
14 Tom Sears Jr. 641
15 Dale Planck 602
15 Willy Decker 602
EASTERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Craig Hanson 563
2 JaMike Sowle 532
3 Bob Varin 518
4 Brett Hearn 516
5 Jackie Brown 471
5 Rich Price 460
7 Mike Ronca 459
8 Pep Corrada 431
9 J.R. Heffner 430
10 Jeff Sheely 415
11 Kenny Tremont Jr. 397
12 Bob Vedder 386
13 Donnie Corellis 379
14 John Marsh Sr. 371
15 Eddie Marshall 370
WESTERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Jer. Shingledecker 682
2 Dave Murdick 654
3 Kevin Bolland 632
4 Mike Turner 542
5 Dean Pearson 532
6 Del Rougeux Jr. 525
7 Rex King 522
8 Brian Swartzlander 506
9 Carl Murdick 434
10 Rex King Jr. 430
11 Kevin Hoffman 410
12 Erik Martin 408
13 Brad Rapp 406
14 Steve Feder 367
15 Don Brown 351
358-MODIFIED REGIONAL POINTS
NORTHERN (Best 15)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Tim O’Brien 814
2 Carey Terrance 784
3 Matt Billings 764
4 Danny O’Brien 760
5 Mario Clair 748
5 Luke Whitteker 744
7 Stephane LaFrance 732
8 Kayle Robidoux 728
9 Gage Morin 718
9 Todd Stewart 706
11 David Hébert 698
12 Yan Bussiere 681
13 Martin Roy 678
14 Laurent Ladouceur 657
15 Dave Heaslip 628
WESTERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Pete Bicknell 674
2 Chad Brachmann 624
3 Mat Williamson 584
4 Mike Bowman 530
5 Todd Gordon 514
6 Rick Richner 510
7 Boyd MacTavish 504
8 Robbie Krull 490
8 Rob Pietz 488
10 Fred Carleton 486
11 James M. Friesen 482
11 Adam Ferri 456
13 Tim Jones 455
14 Chad Chevalier 453
15 Scott Wood 441
SPORTSMAN MODIFIED REGIONAL POINTS
NORTHERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Chris Raabe 720
2 Dylan Evoy 648
3 Matt Hulsizer 646
4 Josh Van Brocklin 612
5 Chris Herbison 602
6 Shane Pecore 594
7 Brent Kelsey 566
8 Randy Earl 563
9 Sheldon Hoogwerf 537
10 Brad Winters 536
11 Dana Aikins 520
12 Adam Turner 516
13 Travis Back 496
14 Beth Schneider 488
15 Dillon Sallows 450
EASTERN (Best 10)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Tony Farone 490
2 DJ Brundige 464
3 Bodie Bellinger 460
4 Mike Tholin 452
5 John Marsh 443
6 Greg Pessolano 438
7 Brain Pessolano 434
8 Chuck Allen 430
8 Chris Schaffer 424
10 Justin Boehler 420
11 Jack Gentile 406
12 Steve Costantino 387
13 Ricky Quick 335
14 Dave Herrick 297
15 Laudy Hoyenga 281
CENTRAL (Best 15)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Steve Gray 762
2 Jeremy Pitcher 688
3 Justin Wright 627
4 Tom Juhl 617
5 Eric Giguere 574
6 Ricky Newton 551
7 Dan Wiesner 488
8 Mark Chiddy 482
9 James Spano 470
10 Tim Sears Jr. 443
11 Paul Guererri 440
12 Adam Hilton 420
13 Tim Schneider 404
14 Greg Cool 398
15 Loren Lincoln 389
WESTERN (Best 15)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Ryan Susice 814
2 Greg Panunte 776
3 B.J. Willard 752
4 Brad Rouse 746
5 Cody McPherson 744
6 Rick Bellante 664
7 Nick Cupolo 658
8 Don Spatorico 578
9 Rob Murray 555
10 Justin Wright 524
11 Mark Chiddy 491
12 Adam Leslie 469
13 Brandon Easey 448
14 Jim Johnstone 400
15 Jipp Ortiz 388
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.
