Denis Gauvreau - Al Patrick Photo
Hull, QUE — September 13, 2008 – By Martin Belanger, Autodrome Edelweiss PR
A great afternoon of racing was on tap at Autodrome Edelweiss for the fans as the Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Series was on the schedule after being postponed from September 5. Over $7,000 in purse and a cool $1,500 to the winner was awaiting the 21 Pro Stock drivers signed into the pit area. The best drivers were in town for this event.
PJ Peters and Ricky Thompson were in the front row in the 100-lap Mr. DIRTcar main event and Peters took the lead with Travis Back and Pete Stefanski completing the top 3 on the initial lap. Dion Oakes used the outside lane to grab third and Denis Gauvreau was now in the top 5 with 5 laps in the books.
Oakes used the same lane and passed Back to take second. Steve Johnston brought the first caution on lap 9. Peters stayed in front with Stefanski now in second as Joey Ladouceur made a charge to grab fourth when Don Carlson stopped in turn 2 and the yellow came out on lap 12. Peters managed to keep the top spot with Ladouceur moving into third spot and racing side by side with Stefanski for second.
The top 3 cars built themselves a great lead when the race had reached the 20-lap mark. Ladouceur used the inside lane to pass Stefanski for second as Peters was alone in front while the leaders reached lapped cars. Stefanski began using the inside lane and was making charges to grab the second place with 35 laps done.
Gilles Godard lost control of his car in turn 2 and the yellow came out on lap 37 with Peters still the leader and Gauvreau making a great charge from fourth to second on the restart. Louie Jackson was also having a good run as he took over fourth until problems with his car brought him to a halt in turn 4 on lap 43.
Peters had a good start with Gauvreau right with him and Stefanski back in third yet Godard brought out another caution on lap 44. On the restart, an accident occurred which involved Ladouceur who was running fourth. Peters was strong in front with Gauvreau second and Allen Peters was now third after passing Stefanski.
The race was stopped at the halfway mark for 10 minutes, giving teams the opportunity to put fuel in their cars. The top 5 was made of PJ Peters, Denis Gauvreau, Allen Peters, Pete Stefanski and Dion Oakes after 50 laps.
When the race resumed, Peters was still in front until he went too high in turn 2 and Gauvreau emerged as the new leader. Peters went down to fifth with his mishap. Gauvreau reached lapped cars with 60 laps done before Ricky Thompson had engine issues and stopped in the front stretch on lap 62 to bring out a yellow flag. Gauvreau had a great restart with Stefanski in second and Allen Peters in third.
Daniel Leduc went off the track on lap 70 and caution came out although Gauvreau managed to keep the lead on the following green. Godard lost control in turn 2 and the yellow was back out on lap 77. Gauvreau kept the lead with Stefanski on his back bumper and Allen Peters still in third with less than 20 laps to go.
The Peters brothers were in a tight battle for third when Travis Back stopped in turn 4 on lap 84. Gauvreau had another strong start with Stefanski still in second with 10 laps to go. The leaders were back in the traffic with less than 5 laps to go but Gauvreau held on as he was able to lead the final laps over top 5 runners Stefanski, Allen Peters, PJ Peters and Ladouceur.
“It’s always fun to win a race with the best Pro Stock drivers in town,” a very happy Gauvreau said in his post race interview. “My team worked really hard on the car and I would like to thank them for their work.’’ After winning a series race at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park two years ago, this is probably the most important win in Gauvreau`s career.
The Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship Series returns to action in another week when Canandaigua Speedway hosts the Northeast’s top traveling teams on Saturday, September 20 to close out LaBatt Blue RaceFest ‘08 at the Ontario County Fairgrounds.
Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship Series Race #6 – Autodrome Edelweiss Event Summary
Feature (Unofficial)
DENIS GAUVREAU, Pete Stefanski, Allen Peters, PJ Peters, Joey Ladouceur, Jocelyn Roy, Dion Oakes, Don Carlson, Gilles Godard, Travis Back, Stéphane Lebrun, Ghyslain Valade, Bruno Cyr, Corey Wheeler, Roch Aubin, Chris Wilson, Daniel Leduc, Louie Jackson, Steve Johnston, Ricky Thompson, David Papineau (DNS).
QUALIFYING
Heat Races
#1: Joey Ladouceur, Louie Jackson, Travis Back, Daniel Leduc, Stéphane Lebrun, Roch Aubin, David Papineau.
#2: Dion Oakes, PJ Peters, Jocelyn Roy, Don Carlson, Gilles Godard, Bruno Cyr, Ghyslain Valade.
#3: Denis Gauvreau, Pete Stefanski, Ricky Thompson, Allen Peters, Corey Wheeler, Chris Wilson, Steve Johnston.
2008 Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Series Championship Schedule
*All events subject to change.
DAY-DATE LAPS TRACK LOCATION/WINNER
Sat-Apr 19 25 Can-Am Motorsports Park Louie Jackson
Thr-Jul 3 25 Rolling Wheels Raceway Don Barnes
Sat-Aug 2 35 Genesee Speedway Pete Stefanski
Sat-Aug 23 50 Autodrome Drummond Pete Stefanski
Sun-Aug 31 50 Cornwall Motor Speedway Pete Stefanski
Sat-Sep 6 30 Mohawk Int’l Raceway rain-cancelled
Sat-Sep 13 100 Autodrome Edelweiss Denis Gauvreau
Sat-Sep 20 30 Canandaigua Speedway Canandaigua,NY
Sat-Sep 27 30 Rolling Wheels Raceway Elbridge,NY
Fri-Oct 3 30 Fulton Speedway Fulton,NY
Sun-Oct 12 25 New York State Fairgrnds Syracuse,NY
Sun-Oct 19 25 Orange Co Fair Speedway Middletown,NY
The Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series for Big-Block Modifieds is brought to fans across the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Advance Auto Parts and Hoosier Racing Tire. Rite Aid Corporation is a promotional partner and the contingency sponsors are Bars Leaks, Bert Transmission, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Crane Cams, Dig Safely New York, Holley HP Carburetors, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, KSE Racing Products, Motorsports Safety Systems, Penske Shocks, Rislone Oil Stabilizer and Wrisco Industries.
