Weedsport, NY — May 25, 2010 – By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing Northeast PR Director
As DIRTcar racers make plans for the Memorial Day Weekend around the Northeast, 24 weekly tracks will be in action with all four overall Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship Series now underway.
Among the 20 ovals offering regional points in Big-Block, 358-Modified and Sportsman Modified classes, Brewerton, Can-Am, Edelweiss, Glen Ridge, Granby, Lernerville, Mohawk, Ransomville, Thunder Mountain operate on Friday; Saturday night hangouts include Airborne, Brockville, Canandaigua, Drummond, Fulton, Lebanon Valley and Merrittville; with Cayuga County, Cornwall, Humberstone and Tri-City comprising the Sunday sites.
Brett Hearn (358-Mod) and Joe Ladouceur (Pro Stock) sped off to victory lane in their respective tour openers during the past weekend, joining Billy Decker (Big-Block) and Steve Gray (Sportsman) atop the early season Mr. DIRTcar point standings entering the final week of May.
On the regional front, every leader remained intact in all three open-wheel DIRTcar divisions, with both the biggest and smallest point differentials found in the Sportsman ranks.
DIRTcar Northeast’s Central Region for Big-Blocks continues to be paced by 5-time feature winner Matt Sheppard, with Bobby Varin (2 wins) ahead in the East and Jeremiah Shingledecker the class of Western Pa. with three wins in a row at Tri-City Speedway.
Tim O’Brien is the youngest in the racing family although the quickest to rack up points so far in the 358-Modified Northern Region while out West its Chad Brachmann climbing to the highest rung in Niagara Frontier Small-Block action.
With two more checkered flags taken, teenage sensation Chris Raabe holds a commanding 174-point advantage in the Sportsman Northern division, while only a dozen markers separate leader D.J. Brundige from nearest competitor Bodie Bellinger in the Eastern Region. Steve Gray (Central) and Ryan Susice (Western) are yet to stumble in their respective area point battles as they continue to follow a weekly path of consistency throught the DIRTcar NE circuit.
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 rolls on.
DIRTcar Racing Northeast Point Standings (as of May 24, 2010):
BIG-BLOCK 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
358-MODIFIED SERIES POINTS
Pos. Driver Points
1 Brett Hearn 100
2 Jimmy Phelps 95
3 Danny Johnson 90
4 Pete Bicknell 85
5 Stewart Friesen 80
6 Mat Williamson 76
7 Chad Brachmann 72
8 Fred Carleton 68
9 Danny O’Brien 65
10 Rick Richner 62
11 Adam Ferri 60
12 Tommy Flannigan 58
13 Pat O’Brien 56
14 Mario Clair 54
15 Erick Rudolph 52
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
PRO STOCK SERIES POINTS
Pos. Driver Points
1 Joey Ladouceur 100
2 Pete Stefanski 95
3 Louie Jackson 90
4 Corey Wheeler 85
5 Carl Smith Jr. 76
6 Buddy Hencke 72
7 Stephane Lemire 68
8 Rob Yetman 65
9 Jocelyn Roy 62
10 Ghislain Valade 60
11 Marc Lalonde 58
12 P.J. Peters 56
13 Dave Bissonnette 54
14 Rod Tarbell 52
15 Guy Viens 50
BIG-BLOCK MODIFIED REGIONAL POINTS
CENTRAL (Best 15)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Matt Sheppard 691
2 Jimmy Phelps 628
3 Steve Paine 552
4 Alan Johnson 506
5 Rob Bellinger 490
6 Billy Decker 470
7 Larry Wight 462
8 Billy Dunn 456
9 Ryan Phelps 447
10 Danny Johnson 383
11 Tom Sears Jr. 382
12 Michael Storms 375
13 Pat Ward 362
14 Mike Mahaney 361
15 Willy Decker 330
EASTERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Bob Varin 266
2 Craig Hanson 243
3 Mike Ronca 230
4 JaMike Sowle 226
5 Paul Kinney 217
5 Jackie Brown 207
7 Jerremy Wilder 205
8 Kenny Tremont Jr. 202
9 Rich Price 194
9 Andy Bachetti 194
11 Jim Davis 179
12 Mark Flach Jr. 176
13 Pep Corrada 174
14 Donnie Corellis 172
14 Brett Hearn 172
WESTERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Jer. Shingledecker 406
2 Mike Turner 354
3 Dave Murdick 344
4 Dean Pearson 337
5 Kevin Bolland 300
6 Brian Swartzlander 268
7 Rex King 264
8 Carl Murdick 246
9 Del Rougeux Jr. 227
10 Rex King Jr. 222
11 Brad Rapp 192
12 Chris Haines 190
13 Erik Martin 186
14 Don Brown 184
15 Kevin Hoffman 176
358-MODIFIED REGIONAL POINTS
NORTHERN (Best 15)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Tim O’Brien 444
2 Matt Billings 427
3 Luke Whitteker 386
4 Brian McDonald 376
5 Kayle Robidoux 372
5 Dave Heaslip 328
7 Carey Terrance 325
8 Todd Stewart 307
9 Laurent Ladouceur 285
10 Eric Gauvreau 284
11 Gage Morin 277
12 John Lazore 268
13 Martin Roy 262
14 Perry Francis 258
15 Mario Clair 248
WESTERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Chad Brachmann 374
2 Todd Gordon 336
3 Mat Williamson 330
4 Pete Bicknell 298
5 Tommy Flannigan 261
6 Robbie Krull 256
7 James M. Friesen 254
8 Boyd MacTavish 240
8 Rick Richner 224
10 Richie Vinson 210
11 Scott Wood 206
11 Mike Bowman 202
13 Bill Bleich 198
13 Rob Pietz 198
15 Jeff McGinnis 195
SPORTSMAN MODIFIED REGIONAL POINTS
NORTHERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Chris Raabe 550
2 Shane Pecore 376
3 Dylan Evoy 344
4 Adam Turner 304
5 Brent Kelsey 302
6 Dillon Sallows 240
7 Josh VanBrocklin 234
8 Randy Earl 218
9 Christine Martin 215
10 Matt Hulsizer 214
11 Brad Winters 204
12 Steve Barber 193
12 Dana Aikins 193
14 Chris Herbison 182
15 Jenna David 181
EASTERN (Best 10)
Pos. Driver Points
1 D.J. Brundige 238
2 Bodie Bellinger 226
3 Chuck Allen 222
4 Chris Schaffer 214
5 John Marsh 209
6 Justin Boehler 205
7 Greg Pessolano 204
7 Tony Farone 204
9 Brain Pessolano 203
10 Ricky Quick 171
11 Mike Tholin 158
12 Jack Gentile 156
13 Mike Burdo 155
14 Kory Wilder 146
15 Leo Sousie 137
CENTRAL (Best 15)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Steve Gray 372
2 Tom Juhl 358
3 Jeremy Pitcher 296
4 Justin Wright 279
5 Eric Giguere 250
6 Tim Sears Jr. 248
7 James Spano 238
8 Earl Rudy 234
9 Adam Hilton 217
10 Dan Wiesner 202
11 Ricky Newton 199
12 Mark Chiddy 192
13 Paul Guererri 190
14 Rob Humpreys 188
15 Tim Schneider 157
15 John Juhl 157
WESTERN (Best 15)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Ryan Susice 477
2 Brad Rouse 415
3 Greg Panunte 366
4 B.J. Willard 326
5 Rick Bellante 322
6 Cody McPherson 306
7 Don Spatorico 296
8 Nick Cupolo 274
9 Rob Murray 248
10 Adam Leslie 235
11 Mark Dixon 216
12 Justin Wright 196
13 Brandon Easey 190
14 Curtis Freisen 174
15 Jipp Ortiz 167
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.
