Weedsport, NY — April 30, 2010 – From Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing Northeast PR Director
DIRTcar Racing officials will now permit the use of “pump” gasoline in the DIRTcar Sportsman Modified and Pro Stock classes throughout the 2010 season.
Pump gasoline will be permitted in addition to the VP Racing Fuel D-99 and D-98 brands. The maximum octane of the pump gasoline is just as it reads on the gasoline pumps at your local filling station—“94 octane, R+M/2”.
“We have reviewed the Sportsman and Pro Stock fuel program and feel we have the tools in place to monitor fuel and pump gasoline sufficiently to allow the pump gasoline to return to the options,” said Joe Skotnicki, DIRTcar Northeast Region of Series & Sanctioning. “The unleaded challenge in Canada and the current inflation in the price of fuel contributed to the decision, in the past six weeks alone the price of fuel has risen significantly.”
DIRTcar has not abandoned the D98 and D99 specified fuel program and will continue to inspect fuel on a regular basis. The VP D-98 will remain on schedule to be phased out in 2010.
“It was our intention to offer an affordable program for the DIRTcar Sportsman and Pro Stock competitors,” stated Jim Kelly, VP’s Manager of Eastern Operations stated. “But since we reached agreement with DIRTcar many months ago all of our costs have increased dramatically and it was clear a change had to be made. For racers who see value running D-98 or D-99 over pump gas it’s still readily available through our trackside vendor network.
Local tracks, in addition to DIRTcar and VP inspectors, will be taking fuel and gasoline samples to monitor and inspect to ensure the integrity of the program. The availability of further testing and chemical analysis will be an added resource for sanctioned DIRTcar tracks as the program moves forward. Specialized fuels of any type, other than the specified D-99 or D-98, will not be permitted. The VP Race Fuels will remain available for purchase through trackside vendors.
To be eligible for VP Awards at the conclusion of the season, racers who have utilized only the VP fuel eligible in the program will need to maintain their records, as well as trackside vendors as purchases will need to be verified for eligible recipients to receive the end-of-year awards.
VP Racing Fuels’ Research & Development specialist Fred Turza (302/521-1767) can be contacted for tech support while additional information can be obtained on-line by writing ovaltracktech@vpracingfuels.com. Competition Director Joe Skotnicki can be reached via cell (704/796-4566) to answer further questions.
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.
