Joey Ladouceur - Rick Young Photo
Brockville, ONT — October 18, 2009 – By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing Northeast PR Director
Second-generation standout Joey Ladouceur finished right where he needed to in capturing the inaugural DIRTcar Northeast Fall Nationals 50-lap Pro stock title race Sunday evening at Brockville Ontario Speedway.
And so did Pete Stefanski as his sixth-place feature finish locked up an unprecedented fourth straight overall Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship in the 2009 full-fender finale.
“Pete’s been tough the past four years, we’ll just have to come back next season and give him another run,” remarked Ladouceur, 33, who offered Stefanski his stiffest competition yet in the new millennium. Despite scoring five wins and posting six fast times in the nine-race championship series, the Alexandria, Ont. pilot still fell 13 points shy of a second title while extending his DIRTcar rule with an eighth top-10 finish. “Its just been a dream year any other way you look at it.”
“I like the slick stuff we had out there today, kinda separates the men from the boys a little bit. For me, I like when you gotta be consistent and smooth. This is a good series we got racing against a solid group of guys. I’m happy to be a part and have some success in it as well,” said the 2004 Mr. DIRTcar champion who now ranks third all-time with 13 series victories.
Veteran Dave Bissonnette was the closest to Ladouceur over 2.3-seconds behind, while ’06 DIRTcar division rookie Dion Oakes, Stephane Lebrun and first-year tour follower Rob Yetman filled out the front-five just ahead of Stefanski.
“We knew Joey would be strong here, just like he has been everywhere else this year,” said Stefanski, 39, who opened the series with a pair of wins to increase his career-high total to 23. Stefanski and Ladouceur also rank 1-2 all-time on the DIRTcar Northeast circuit scoring 88 and 72 Pro Stock wins respectively.
“It just comes down to one or two races, whether you have good luck or bad luck. We both had our share this season, we’re just fortunate to come out on top.”
The pre-race draw among the top-12 heat race qualifiers unfolded just like nearly every event on this year’s Pro Stock tour, with Ladouceur snatching up the pole and Stefanski selecting #2 to join his modern-day rival on the front row. Earlier in the day Ladouceur had set fast time and ran away with his heat while Stefanski won his own qualifier after running 16th-fastest under the clocks in the familiar Sunrise Racing no. 2 San Ter Sewing-PJ NFB Auto Sales/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/EMS.
As soon as the initial green flag dropped down from the starter’s stand Ladouceur was able to open up a commanding lead. And despite nine caution periods slowing the action on the slippery 3/8-miler, he repeatedly pulled away at will on every ensuing restart aboard his sleek Coffrage 20-20 Minimax Express no. 92 Cadillac-STS Stinger X machine.
“It should be good but sometimes its tough starting up front, you can’t see what the other guys are doing behind you,” noted Ladouceur, after extending his DIRTcar Northeast best Pro Stock win total to 15. “Nobody ever showed me anything so we just kept doing what we started and it worked out perfect.”
After suffering a flat tire to bring out a second yellow flag after just two laps around, Bissonnette was able to charge back to second, while Stefanski stayed in his runner-up slot only a few laps before experiencing a gradual descent the remainder of the way.
“I just tried to stay in the top-5 but towards the end of the race we started pushing a bit,” added Stefanski, after the Wheatfield, N.Y. driver finished out of the front-five for just the second time on tour all season. “With all the lapped cars getting up in there they caused a lot of melee that almost took us out.”
“One of the front runners ran into a lapped car and got him sideways, then put him in my lane and he turned back across. It was just rough and we were getting bounced around a little back there. For the most part we were playing a little conservative, when the opportunity was there we were ready to go for it,” Stefanski said.
With the race well in hand for Ladouceur from lap one, the action in his rear-view mirror provided plenty of position swapping among the top-10 racers. At the halfway mark Louie Jackson held down second followed by Oakes, fast-moving Bissonnette and Stefanski, while Yertman and Lebrun looked for room both high and low as the laps dwindled.
The biggest scare for Stefanski came with just eight laps to go as Central New Yorker Jack Terrell got wide exiting turn four right in front of the Wheatfield, N.Y. chauffeur and the resulting front-end contact shuffled him from fourth to sixth. Harvey Arquette stopped high out of turn two to incur the final caution period giving Stefanski ample time to regroup for the lap 47 restart.
Finishing behind Stefanski (1157) and Ladouceur (1144) in the final 2009 Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Series Championship point standings are P.J. Peters (1021), early race casualty Don Carlson (1009), Dion Oakes (956), Rob Yetman (954), Stephane Lebrun (923), Dave Bissonnette (876), Roch Aubin (817) and Sean Corr (805).
Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship Series Race #9 – Brockville Ontario Speedway, October 18, 2009 ‘DIRTcar Northeast Fall Nationals 50’ Event Summary
Feature
FIN ST CAR# DRIVER / HOMETOWN
1 1 92 Joey Ladouceur/Alexandria,ONT($1,000)
2 11 47 Dave Bissonnette/Apple Hill,ONT
3 6 48 Dion Oakes/Akwesasne,NY
4 8 6 Stephane Lebrun/Gatineau,QUE
5 4 7 Rob Yetman/Castleton,NY
6 2 2 Pete Stefanski/Wheatfield,NY
7 14 55 George Renaud/Green Valey,ONT
8 17 73 P.J. Peters/Akwesasne,QUE
9 5 99 Ghislain Valade/N.Lancaster,ONT
10 15 8 Sean Corr/Goshen,NY
11 9 05 Jocelyn Roy/St-Helene,QUE
12 3 44 Gilles Godard/Cornwall,ONT
13 12 26 Don Carlson/Ridgefield,CT
14 23 73d Michel Desjardins/Hawkesbury,ONT
15 25 188 David Papineau/Akwesasne,NY
16 22 16 Roger Levesque/Kingston,ONT
17 19 98t Jack Terrell/Jamesville,NY
18 20 4 Roch Aubin/Alexandria,ONT
19 24 jr7 Harvey Arquette/Akwesasne,NY
20 16 151 Ryan Stabler/Cornwall,ONT
21 10 18 Louie Jackson/Akwesasne,NY
22 18 1 Ricky Thompson/Hogansburg,NY
23 7 47s Corey Wheeler/Cornwall,ONT
24 13 ba98 Steve Johnston/Ingelside,ONT
25 21 14 Chris Tremblay/Long Sault,ONT
DNS 26 88 Allen Peters/Westville,NY
LAP LEADER: Ladouceur (1-50).
CAUTIONS: 9 (lap 2, lap 8, lap 15, lap 17, lap 19, lap 23, lap 25, lap 40, lap 46).
HEAT WINNERS: Yetman, Ladouceur, Stefanski.
NATIONAL PARTS PEDDLER HALFWAY LEADER: Joey Ladouceur.
FAST TIME TRIALER: Joey Ladouceur (17.472sec/77.266mph).
CARS ENTERED: 26.
QUALIFYING
FAST AVE
TIME MPH CAR# DRIVER
1 17.472 77.266 92 Joey Ladouceur/Alexandria,ONT
2 17.535 76.989 44 Gilles Godard/Cornwall,ONT
3 17.731 76.138 4 Roch Aubin/Alexandria,ONT
4 17.748 76.065 18 Louie Jackson/Akwesasne,NY
5 17.786 75.902 7 Rob Yetman/Castleton,NY
6 17.823 75.745 48 Dion Oakes/Akwesasne,NY
7 17.839 75.677 47s Corey Wheeler/Cornwall,ONT
8 17.865 75.567 05 Jocelyn Roy/St-Helene,QUE
9 17.948 75.217 26 Don Carlson/Ridgefield,CT
10 17.970 75.125 47 Dave Bissonnette/Apple Hill,ONT
11 18.011 74.954 73 P.J. Peters/Akwesasne,QUE
12 18.015 74.938 6 Stephane Lebrun/Gatineau,QUE
13 18.043 74.821 73d Michel Desjardins/Hawkesbury,ONT
14 18.095 74.606 55 George Renaud/Green Valey,ONT
15 18.139 74.425 98t Jack Terrell/Jamesville,NY
16 18.284 73.835 2 Pete Stefanski/Wheatfield,NY
17 18.375 73.469 1 Ricky Thompson/Hogansburg,NY
18 18.381 73.445 99 Ghislain Valade/N.Lancaster,ONT
19 18.414 73.314 8 Sean Corr/Goshen,NY
20 18.509 72.937 151 Ryan Stabler/Cornwall,ONT
21 18.535 72.835 16 Roger Levesque/Kingston,ONT
22 18.734 72.061 ba98 Steve Johnston/Ingelside,ONT
23 18.770 71.923 jr7 Harvey Arquette/Akwesasne,NY
24 18.787 71.858 188 David Papineau/Akwesasne,NY
25 18.873 71.531 14 Chris Tremblay/Long Sault,ONT
26 -NT- —– 88 Allen Peters/Westville,NY
Heat Races (8 laps, all transferred to feature; top 3 redrew)
#1: Yetman, Oakes, Jackson, Godard, Johnston, Stabler, Terrell, Levesque.
#2: Ladouceur, Carlson, Bissonnette, Roy, Renaud, PJ Peters, Aubin, Desjardins, A.Peters(DNS).
#3: Stefanski, Lebrun, Wheeler, Valade, Corr, Thompson, Tremblay, Arquette, Papineau.
Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship Series Point Standings (FINAL)
Pos. No. Total Points Bonus Diff Wins Top 5 Top 10 Starts
1 2 Pete Stefanski 1157 797 360 0 3 7 8 9
2 92 Joey Ladouceur 1144 784 360 -13 5 7 7 9
3 73 P.J. Peters 1021 661 360 -136 0 4 7 9
4 26 Don Carlson 1009 649 360 -148 1 4 5 9
5 48 Dion Oakes 956 596 360 -201 0 2 6 9
6 7 Rob Yetman 954 594 360 -203 0 3 5 9
7 6 Stephane Lebrun 923 563 360 -234 0 3 4 9
8 47 Dave Bissonnette 876 516 360 -281 0 3 4 8
9 4 Roch Aubin 817 457 360 -340 0 0 2 9
10 8 Sean Corr 805 445 360 -352 0 1 2 8
11 18 Louie Jackson 782 422 360 -375 0 0 2 8
12 188 David Papineau 751 391 360 -406 0 0 1 8
13 1 Ricky Thompson 741 381 360 -416 0 1 2 7
14 05 Jocelyn Roy 738 378 360 -419 0 1 3 6
15 33 Bruno Cyr 675 315 360 -482 0 0 1 6
16 99 Ghislain Valade 600 240 360 -557 0 2 3 3
17 7Jr Harvey Arquette Jr® 582 222 360 -575 0 0 0 5
18 88 Allen Peters 568 388 180 -589 0 0 3 6
19 69 Jody Swamp 561 201 360 -596 0 1 1 3
20 99 Mike Martin 553 193 360 -604 0 0 0 4
21 98T Jack Terrell 515 155 360 -642 0 0 0 3
22 08 Richard Bertrand 511 151 360 -646 0 0 2 2
23 6x Travis Back 510 150 360 -647 0 1 2 2
24 73 Michel Dejardins ® 508 148 360 -649 0 0 0 3
25 78 William Chubb ® 504 144 360 -653 0 0 0 3
26 24 Robbie Speed 501 141 360 -656 0 0 2 2
27 ba98 Steve Johnston 498 138 360 -659 0 0 0 3
28 55 George Renaud 494 134 360 -663 0 0 2 2
29 8 Jay Corbin 490 130 360 -667 0 1 1 2
30 324 Jason Casey 488 128 360 -669 0 0 1 2
31 6z Butch Zimmerman 462 102 360 -695 0 0 0 2
32 11 John Zimmerman 460 100 360 -697 0 0 0 2
33 62 Andrew Northrup 440 80 360 -717 0 0 0 2
34 78 Paul LaRochelle 440 80 360 -717 0 1 1 1
35 49 Bill Woodward Jr. 428 68 360 -729 0 0 1 1
36 243 Victor Hopkins 422 62 360 -735 0 0 1 1
37 322 Jay Casey 420 60 360 -737 0 0 0 1
38 97 Roland Hebert 420 60 360 -737 0 0 0 1
39 76 Kevin Arnold 418 58 360 -739 0 0 0 1
40 24 Jacques Robert 418 58 360 -739 0 0 0 1
41 48T Rod Tarbell ® 416 56 360 -741 0 0 0 1
42 04 John Yandoh Jr. 414 54 360 -743 0 0 0 1
43 115 Stepane Lemire 412 52 360 -745 0 0 0 1
44 2EZ Mike Arquiette ® 412 52 360 -745 0 0 0 1
45 12s Matt Shadic 410 50 360 -747 0 0 0 1
46 315 Jon Routhier 410 50 360 -747 0 0 0 1
47 35 Rick Dempsey 408 48 360 -749 0 0 0 1
48 94 Carl Poulin 406 46 360 -751 0 0 0 1
49 8 Mark Lalonde 403 43 360 -754 0 0 0 1
50 311 Brian Keough 401 41 360 -756 0 0 0 1
51 29 Daniel Laduc 401 41 360 -756 0 0 0 1
DIRTcar Pro Stock Entries – October 18 (26)
CAR# DRIVER / HOMETOWN TEAM (Sponsor / Make-Model / Chassis)
05 Jocelyn Roy/St-Helene,QUE Remorcage-Lettrage Lucy/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/CRT
1 Ricky Thompson/Hogansburg,NY Brass Horse Grill-Fatty Cats-A&L Enterprise/Chevy Monte Carlo/Cannizzaro
2 Pete Stefanski/Wheatfield,NY Sunrise Racing-San Ter Sewing-PJ NFB Auto Sales/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/EMS
4 Roch Aubin/Alexandria,ONT Home Hardware-OK Tire-Alain Beaupres Constr.Chevy Monte Carlo/Cannizzaro
6 Stephane Lebrun/Gatineau,QUE Patio Vidal Restaurant-United Auto Parts(UAP)/Pontiac Grand Prix/Wild Thing
7 Rob Yetman/Castleton,NY Lazzaro’s Auto Body-Madsen Overhead Door/Pontiac Grand Prix/JACR
jr7 Harvey Arquette/Akwesasne,NY A&L Enterprise/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Cannizzaro
8 Sean Corr/Goshen,NY The Trans Group-Northeast Fabricators/Pontiac Grand Prix/EMS
14 Chris Tremblay/Long Sault,ONT R&C Automotive-McPhee Racing/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Stinger
16 Roger Levesque/Kingston,ONT R.L. Asphalt & Sweeping & Line Painting & Sealing/Pontiac Grand Prix/Sparta
18 Louie Jackson/Akwesasne,NY Adams Marina-Action Race Parts-C&B Enterpr./Chevy Monte Carlo/Black Widow
26 Don Carlson/Ridgefield,CT Benziger Winery-Brute Men’s Care Products/Dodge Charger/EMS
44 Gilles Godard/Cornwall,ONT Alexandria Home Hardware-MisterSew&Sew.com/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/CRT
47 Dave Bissonnette/Apple Hill,ONT Totem Pole Novelties/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Cannizzaro
47s Corey Wheeler/Cornwall,ONT Valade Backhoe-RSI Ind. Supply-PM Prom./Chevy Monte Carlo SS/Cannizzaro
48 Dion Oakes/Akwesasne,NY Oakes Racing-Noah King Family/Chevolet Impala/Cannizzaro
55 George Renaud/Green Valey,ONT Paul’s Auto Body-G.R. Trucking/Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS/Cannizzaro
73 P.J. Peters/Akwesasne,QUE Sunrise Racing-Hair Secrets Salon/Chevrolet Impala/JACR
73d Michel Desjardins/Hawkesbury,ONT Lalonde Forming-Alex Design/Chevrolet Camaro/Black Widow
88 Allen Peters/Westville,NY Sunrise Racing-Relive Health Supplement-Sunoco/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/JACR
92 Joey Ladouceur/Alexandria,ONT Coffrage 20-20-Minimax Express/Cadillac STS/Stinger X
98t Jack Terrell/Jamesville,NY Terrell’s Potato Chips-MJD Assoc.-Robbie T’s Pizza/Chevy Monte Carlo/Slawiak
ba98 Steve Johnston/Ingelside,ONT Swamp’s Performance-Bub’s Auto/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Stinger
99 Ghislain Valade/N.Lancaster,ONT Gerry Prieur Garage-Glengarry Tire/Chevolet Monte Carlo SS/Cannizzaro
151 Ryan Stabler/Cornwall,ONT West Front Construction-RSI Industrial-PM Promotions/Chevy Monte Carlo/CSC
188 David Papineau/Akwesasne,NY D&D Construction-Action Race Parts/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Cannizzaro
UPCOMING EVENTS
The 34th annual DIRTcar Racing Northeast ‘Night of Champions’ Banquet is scheduled for Saturday, November 14 at the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, New York. The banquet will honor the 2009 series champions in the Super DIRTcar Big-Block Modified, 358-Modified, Sportsman and Pro Stock divisions while track promoters and operators will convene on Friday, November 13 for the annual DIRTcar track meetings.
2009 Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Series Championship Schedule
DAY-DATE TRACK WINNER/LOCATION
Sat-Jul 4 Genesee Speedway Pete Stefanski
Fri-Jul 17 Mohawk Int’l Raceway Pete Stefanski
Sat-Aug 22 Autodrome Drummond Joey Ladouceur
Sun-Aug 23 Cornwall Motor Speedway Joey Ladouceur
Fri-Sep 11 Autodrome Edelweiss Joey Ladouceur ($1,500-to-win)
Sat-Sep 12 Lebanon Valley Speedway Don Carlson
Sat-Sep 26 Rolling Wheels Raceway Joey Ladouceur
Sun-Oct 11 New York State Fairgrds Pete Stefanski ($2,000-to-win)
Sun-Oct 18 Brockville Ont. Speedway Joey Ladouceur
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.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 Rite Aid Corporation www.riteaid.com, Dig Safely New York www.digsafelynewyork.com and the University of Northwestern Ohio www.unoh.com and the contingency sponsors are Bars Leaks www.barsproducts.com, Bert Transmission www.berttransmission.com, Bicknell Racing Products www.bicknellracingproducts.com, Bilstein Shocks www.bilstein.com, Brodix Cylinder Heads www.brodix.com, Ferris Industries www.ferrisindustries.com, Integra Shocks www.integrashocksandsprings.com, Intercomp www.intercomp-racing.com, KSE Racing Products www.kse-racing.com, Motorsports Safety Systems www.motorsportssafetysystems.com, Penske Shocks, www.penskeshocks.com, Racing Electronics www.racingelectronics.com, Rislone Oil Stabilizer www.barsproducts.com and Wrisco Industries www.wrisco.com.
