Pro Stock Race Leads to Joey Ladouceur’s 99th Career Win; Sportsman Victory a Last-Minute Surprise for Chris Herbison
With contributions from Martin Bélanger, Cornwall Motor Speedway PR Director
CORNWALL, ONTARIO – July 23, 2012 – With back-to-back features Sunday, July 22, the DIRTcar Sportsman Modified and Pro Stock Series proved they were well worth the wait. Rain postponed both series races at Cornwall Motor Speedway on Saturday, June 3, but the delay did nothing to curb the excitement.
DIRTcar Pro Stock Series, Round Three
Defending Pro-Stock DIRTcar Series champion Joey Ladouceur had only one thing on his mind as he entered Cornwall Motor Speedway for round 3: win the 50-lap event. Ladouceur accomplished this in fashion, getting one race closer to win the 100th win mark.
Rob Yetman and François Adam drew the top row of the 23-car field that took the initial green in the Alexandria Home Hardware 50. Yetman led the first lap as several cars got together in turn 4. Yetman got a good jump as Marc Lalonde and Roch Aubin slipped by Adam for the top 3 spots.
Joey Ladouceur quickly got to fourth after starting tenth and challenged Lalonde using the bottom lane. Ghislain Valade hit the wall hard in turn 4 and the yellow lights were back on with 6 laps completed.
Yetman had another strong start as Lalonde got second over Aubin. The Alexandria, Ontario, driver charged back to second on the next lap and pursued the leader with a dozen laps in the books.
Lalonde regained second as the leaders were caught with a slower car with 33 laps to go. Flagman Jason Aikman brought the caution on lap 21. Yetman, from Castleton, NY, was still in the lead on the following green as Joey Ladouceur got 2 spots and took second.
At the halfway point, Yetman, Ladouceur, Lalonde, Aubin and Chip Smith, were the top 5. Lalonde spun in turn 2 of that same lap ,losing his valuable third spot and the field was brought together.
On the restart, Ladouceur found some speed on the top side and got by Yetman on lap 27 as Chip Smith was now running third after having a great restart. Ladouceur started to pull away from the field as Dan Desnoyers stopped in the back stretch and the yellow flag was out on lap 33.
Ladouceur and Yetman were racing together as Aubin passed Smith for third. The leaders preferred the top lane as the first 7 drivers were running on top with 10 laps to go.
Ladouceur led the final circuit to capture his first DIRTcar Series race of 2012 and 99th career win over Yetman, Aubin, Michel Desjardins and Smith rounded out the top 5.
Ladouceur was ecstatic in the winner`s circle.
“It`s fun winning in front of the home crowd,” Ladouceur said, “finishing in front of two times winner Rob Yetman is a bonus.”
The next Pro Stock Series race is Saturday, September 8, at Autodrome Granby.
DIRTcar Pro Stock Series Race #3
Cornwall Motor Speedway, July 22, 2012
Event Summary
A-Main Final: 1. 92 Joey Ladouceur, 2. 7Y Rob Yetman, 3. 4 Rock Aubin, 4. 116s Chip Smith, 5. 73D Michel Desjardins, 6. 7E Ryan Stabler, 7. 01 Francois Adam, 8. 48R Jocelyn Roy, 9. 55 George Renaud, 10. 6 Stephane LeBrun, 101. 48 Dion Oakes, 12. 8 Mark Lalonde, 13. 7 Rosco Garreau, 14. 7x Dave Seguin, 15. 15 Shawn Johnson, 16. BA98 Steve Johnson, 17. 27x Mathieu Bougie, 18. 9M Max Lemire, 19. 64 Daniel Desnoyers, 20. 99 Ghislain Valade, 21. 33 Bruno Cyr, 22. 43 Claude Parisien, 23. 88 Charles David Beauchamp; DNS – Trevor Gaucher
Heat 1: Ladouceur, Stabler, Adam, Lalonde, Shawn Johnson, Lemire, Bougie, Garreau
Heat 2: Valade, LeBrun, Desjardins, Seguin, Cyr, Desnoyers, Steve Johnson, Beauchamp
Heat 3: Aubin, Yetman, Roy, Smith, Parisien, Oakes, Renaud, Gaucher
Time trial results: 92 Joey Ladouceur, 15.087; 55 George Renaud, 15.117; 99 Ghislain Valade, 15.146; 48 Dion Oakes, 15.167; 7e Ryan Stabler, 15.216; 01 Francois Adam, 15.251; 8 Mark Lalonde, 15.356; 4 Rock Aubin, 15.358; 73D Michel Desjardins, 15.415; 6 Stephane LeBrun 15.434; 7x Dave Seguin, 15.441; 7Y Rob Yetman, 15.496; 48R Jocelyn Roy, 15.561; 116s Chip Smith, Jr., 15.571; 15 Shawn Johnson, 15.615; 7 Rosco Garreau, 15.684; 64 Daniel Desnoyers, 15.689; BA98 Steve Johnson, 15.785; 9M Max Lemire, 15.808; 5 Trevor Gaucher, 16.040; 88 Charles David Beauchamps, 16.104; 43 Claude Parisien, 16.528; 33 Bruno Cyr, no time; 27x Mathieu Bougie, no time
DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series, round one
In a sudden and unexpected turn of events, Chris Herbison rose triumphant from Cornwall’s 50-lap DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series opener.
Herbison, who drew the sixth spot in the lineup, quickly broke the top five and spent much of the race maintaining his fourth- or third-place position. Meanwhile, leaders Josh VanBrocklin and Gary Lindberg stole the audience’s attention, fighting mercilessly for the lead.
“I thought we were going to finish third,” Herbison admitted.
However, the battle between frontrunners came to a quick close in lap 40 when both collided with sidetracked No. 7 driven by Cody McPherson. VanBrocklin attempted to continue the race on the restart, but soon returned to the pits, leaving Herbison in his wake.
Although Herbison inherited the lead with just one-fifth of the race left, the final were laps were not smooth cruising. Herbison faced a difficult double-file restart, taking the outside and beating Danny Wiesner to the lead. Wiesner, Martin Pelletier, and Dan Jalbert continued to try to challenge Herbison, but were never able to catch him.
“We’re pretty happy with it. They brought a good car out here for me, so it’s pretty exciting,” Herbison said. “We were good enough to finish the last ten laps. I just got lucky and I tried to hang on the last ten laps and make it through, and I made it.”
For VanBrocklin, on the other hand, the “luck” wore off too quickly. The Watertown, N. Y., driver fared well at first, placing first in his heat to make the redraw and drawing the top spot. Then, some humbling initial laps in the feature saw VanBrocklin falling behind, first to Lindberg, then to Wiesner and Pelletier. In lap 24 he charged to back second, and, maneuvering through heavily lapped traffic, passed then-leader Lindberg in lap 27. The next ten laps VanBrocklin solidified his lead, with only Lindberg close enough to challenge it, until the lap-40 collision took out both.
“I don’t know why that happened, but it damaged the front of the car pretty bad so we had to stay out,” VanBrocklin said. “It’s a good track, we’re happy with what we had, it’s just a little disappointing to finish that way”
Although disappointed with his finish and the damage to his car, VanBrocklin is not discouraged. He looks forward to the next Sportsman series race.
“We’ve got some time,” VanBrocklin said, before the next series event Friday, September 7, at Ransomville Speedway. “Hopefully we can do well out there and we’ll have the car ready to go.”
DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series Race #1
Cornwall Motor Speedway, July 22, 2012
Event Summary
A-Main Final: 1. 63 Chris Herbisson, 2. 92 Martin Pelletier, 3. 1 Dan Jalbert, 4. 66w Danny Wiesner, 5. 24 Justin Lalancette, 6. m1 Dave Marcuccelli, 7. 27G Gilles Godard, 8. 3a Adam Hilton, 9. 06 Brandon Easey, 10. 25* Steve Bernier, 11. 7 Cody McPherson, 12. 47S Corey Wheeler, 13. 18Jr Louie Jackson, Jr., 14. 29J Ronnie Tyo, 15. 30 Brent Kelsey, 16. 83 Steve Billings, 17. 52 Jessica Power, 18. 2 Jenna David, 19. M70 Billy Cook, 20. 80 Steve Barber, 21. 35 Thomas Cook, 22. 3M Mathieu Desjardins, 23. 95 Tammy Jalbert, 24. 10 Josh VanBrocklin, 25. 28 Gary Lindberg, 26. B7 Brian Comeau, 27. 88x Michel Primeau, 28. 27G Guy Ouellette, 29. 66 Tabitha Murphy, 30. 91 Mathieu Laramee, 31. 74 Ryan Arbithnot
Heat 1: Wiesner, Marcuccilli, Ouellette, Lalancette, David, Tyo, Ladouceur, Mills
Heat 2: Pelletier, Barber, Desjardins, Cook, Jalbert, Billings, Godard, Breen
Heat 3: Herbisson, Lindberg, Primeau, Easey, Comeau, Rozon, Stacey, Arbinout
Heat 4: McPherson, Laramee, Cook, Kelsey, Wheeler, Murphy, Hoogwerf, Cote
Heat 5: VanBrocklin, Hilton, Jalbert, Jackson, Winters, Bernier, Power, Dumouchel
B-Main 1: Comeau, David, Billings, Murphy, Mills, Cote, Stacey, Ladouceur, Breen, Winters
B-Main 2: Godard, Wheeler, Bernier, Tyo, Hoogwerf, Power, Rozon, Jalbert, Dumouchel
Time Trials: 66 Dan Wiesner, 14.118; 24 Justin Lalancette, 14.121; 06 Brandon Easey, 14.190; 7 Cody McPherson, 14.253; 63 Chris Herbison, 14.253; 27G Guy Oulette, 14.266; 92 Martin Pelletier, 14.282; 95 Tammy Jalbert, 14.295; R70 Ryan Aribout, 14.328; 10 Josh Van Brocklin, 14.346; 3a Adam Hilton, 14.350; 28 Gary Lindberg, 14.388; m1 Dave Maruccilli, 14.391; 88x Michel Primeau, 14.392; 2 Jenna David, 14.398; 91 Mathieu Laramee, 14.409; 80 Steve Barber, 14.442; 25* Steve Bernier, 14.493; 30 Brent Kelsey, 14.543; 52 Jessica Power, 14.592; 84 John Mills, 14.609; M70 Billy Cook, 14.652; 1 Dan Jalbert, 14.710; B7 Brian Comeau, 14.734; B3, Steve Billings, 14.766; 18Jr Louie Jackson, Jr., 14.815; 44x Dylan Breen, 14.922; 27 Sheldon Hoogwerf, 14.960; 3 Adam Rozon, 14.974; 23 Mike Stacey, 14.999; 66x Steve Cole, 15.107; 3d Pat Dumouchel, 15.161; 29J Ronny Tyo, 15.188; 35 Thomas Cook, 15.236; 74 Terry Ladouceur, 15.399; 47S Corey Wheeler, 15.862; XXX Chris Wilson, no time; 17 Corey Winter, no time; 3M Mathieu Desjardins, light
For the latest news and updates about DIRTcar Racing, like the Facebook page or follow the DIRTcar Northeast Twitter feed, @DIRTcarNE.
It’s not too early to get your annual Super DIRT Week tickets. Super DIRT Week gets underway Wednesday, Oct. 3, and continues through Sunday, Oct. 7, at
the New York State Fairgrounds. For tickets, go to www.DIRTcar.com/tickets or call 315-834-6606.
The Super DIRTcar Series and DIRTcar Racing in the Northeast Region is brought to fans by several sponsors and partners including Hoosier Racing Tire, VP Racing Fuels, Chevy Performance Parts, Gander Mountain, NAPA Auto Parts, Nationwide Insurance, and Safety-Kleen. Promotional partners include the University of Northwestern Ohio. Contingency sponsors are ASI, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix, ButlerBuilt, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Intercomp, JE Pistons, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, KSE Racing Products, Motorsports Safety Systems, MSD Ignition, Penske Shocks, Racing
Electronics, Superflow, Vicci Racing Apparel, WIX Filters, Wrisco Industries, and Xtreme Lubricants.
