Jocelyn Roy - Sylvain Buisson Photo
Drummondville, QUE — June 26, 2010 – By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing Northeast PR Director
The 3rd Annual Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Pro Stock Championship Series event Saturday night at Autodrome Drummond was building up to be a rubber match between international rivals Pete Stefanski and Joey Ladouceur on foreign soil.
That was until track points leader Jocelyn Roy drew a front row starting position, then proceeded to lead flag-to-flag and register the biggest victory of his career in the ‘Next Design 50’ full-fender finale.
The score now stands tied at one apiece with Stefanski capturing the first series stop at Drummond in 2008 and Ladouceur winning last summer, while with his most recent win Roy became only the second true Frenchmen to triumph in tour competition since its inception in 1995.
“I’ve won two titles here and some features, but always was missing a major victory,” exclaimed an emotional and teary-eyed winner as the grandstand crowd erupted in applause upon departure from his car on the front stretch stage. “Now I finally have something I always wanted.”
“It’s been very, very tough keeping together my own team and racing every weekend. This is like a dream and shows that it is always possible to win races even without a very big budget,” remarked Roy, as translated by the track publicist, following his fourth victory of the year at Drummond.
First-year full-time series points chaser Corey Wheeler from Cornwall, Ont. overtook Granby series winner Rob Yetman for second on the final circuit, with fellow Eastern New Yorker Buddy Hencke and Chip Smith filling out the front five. Of the 29 starters, 17 completed the entire 50-lap distance while 26 remained trackside to see the final checkered flag in a race slowed by four cautions.
Following a solid third-place tally the previous night at Autodrome Granby, Roy mirrored his success by setting a second straight fast time and claiming a second consecutive qualifying heat race victory. The St-Helene, Que. pilot even drew a front row starting spot for the second show in a row, yet more importantly never relinquished the lead once out front in what amounted to the biggest race of his career in home territory.
Seeming to match their proficiency from the night before, the Northeast’s top Pro Stockers opened the main event stringing together a lengthy amount of green flag laps to the delight of the highly partisan crowd. Roy and Louie Jackson swapped the lead before the first yellow flag flew on lap 24 at Granby, while an initial caution period slowed the action on lap 29 with Roy aboard the green Remorcage 05-Lettrage Lucy/Chevrolet Monte Carlo in control from the outset at Drummond.
Fate seemed to step in on Saturday when just as Yetman passed by Roy on lap 29, that first yellow flag unfurled with the mount of Stefanski slowing for a brief moment exiting turn one. Instead of moving to the head of the pack for a second successive night, Yetman returned to the runner-up post as the field reverted to the previous lap enabling Roy to pull ahead quickly on the ensuing restart.
This time not even one more lap could be counted under green as Dion Oakes looped his Noah King Family no. 48 Akwesasne Gas/Chevrolet Impala in turn, collecting Stefanski in the mishap as misfortune continued to plague the four-time defending Mr. DIRTcar Champion.
Minor slowdowns by Frenchmen Stephane Lemire (lap 34) and Richard Bertrand (lap 49) incurred the final two caution flags but they were too little, too late as Roy was up to the challenge on both remaining restarts, ultimately edging hard charging Wheeler by two car-lengths at the stripe.
“We got good starts the past two races but I’m confident the end would be the same even beginning farther back,” added Roy, who began his career in the amateur Street Stock ranks in 1992 and elevated his status by garnering DIRTcar Pro Stock Rookie of the Year honors in 2007.
Runner-up Wheeler was not quite that sure, convincing himself a couple more laps might have produced a different outcome, one providing him with his own first-place trophy for the initial time in his blossoming career.
“I was pretty much just waiting around, a lot like the night before when we had a brake problem,” remarked Wheeler, 37, who ran out of laps in the bid for his own first-ever victory on DIRTcar Northeast’s premier full-fender traveling group. “I’ve got a lot of seconds back home (Cornwall) and this is easily my best on tour.”
“This is such a great surface to race on, plenty of room and easy on equipment. I ran hard at the end and my tires weren’t even hot. Wish I would’ve started (rally) arlier, think I could’ve given the leader a little challenge and make things interesting at the end,” added Wheeler, who remains in search of his first feature win anywhere in the Pro Stock ranks.
The 2010 Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Series point chasers have the month of July to regroup before returning to action at Mohawk Int’l raceway on August 21. Stefanski rallied last season to score the victory at the completely refurbished 4/10-miler that recently hosted its first Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block event in 15 years.
SKIDMARKS
The first-ever Quebec series swing for Pro Stockers attracted 36 different teams over the weekend with Granby on Friday signing in 33 cars while three new faces appeared Saturday at Drummond … Of the 46 Pro Stockers registered during the initial three events, the third annual trip to Drummond was highlight by the first female in competition this season. Claudia Tarbell from Hogansburg, N.Y. qualified the family owned #7D Lonewolf Racing/Chevrolet Monte Carlo and went on to finish 26th in her DIRTcar Series debut two laps down …Immediately following his memorable tour victory, Roy was already contemplating an early retirement from the cockpit. A foreman at a local farm animal slaughter house, Roy estimated in the vicinity of 80 feature wins during a stellar career that has spanned nearly 20 seasons … Granby winner Rob Yetman more than redeemed himself at Drummond, finishing 3rd on Saturday after an illegally modified Rev Limiter box from the night before took away a $1,000 payday plus 100 points toward the coveted Mr. DIRTcar title. Yetman was as much embarrassed as surprised when he was slapped with the stiff penalty after Friday’s thorough inspection, noting that he pickd up a pair of used MSD boxes for $75 in a post-season swap meet, while the cost of a new one averages around $145 … Pete Stefanski got lost following racing buddy P.J. Peters through the city of Montreal en route to Granby on Friday, so the next day his trip across town to Drummondville ended at the track in midafternoon as the Western New Yorker got back to coverin familiar ground …. Sophomore series chauffeur Corey Wheeler rebounded after suffering a seized brake caliper at Granby to score improve to second at Drummond solidifying a Top-5 position in the point standings behind Louie Jackson and Jocelyn Roy after three events. Recently recruited Wheeler teammate Chuck serves as the chief maintenance man for the Cornwall, Onatrio fire department and has also been a season ticket-holder at Cornwall Motor Speedway for the past 27 years.
Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship Series Race #3 – Autodrome Drummond, June 26, 2010 ‘Next Design 50’ Event Summary
Feature
FIN ST CAR# DRIVER / HOMETOWN
1 2 05 Jocelyn Roy/St-Helene,QUE ($1,000)
2 8 47s Corey Wheeler/Cornwall,ONT
3 6 7 Rob Yetman/Castleton,NY
4 5 10 Buddy Hencke/Sand Lake,NY
5 3 116s Chip Smith Jr./Durham,NY
6 12 47b Dave Bissonnette/Apple Hill,ONT
7 15 18 Louie Jackson/Akwesasne,NY
8 16 1r Ricky Thompson/Hogansburg,NY
9 10 92 Joey Ladouceur/Alexandria,ONT
10 9 2 Pete Stefanski/Wheatfield,NY
11 11 73p P.J. Peters/Akwesasne,QUE
12 4 48 Francois Lareau/Farnham,QUE
13 19 188 David Papineau/Akwesasne,NY
14 21 88 Allen Peters/Westville,NY
15 7 97 Roland Hebert/St-Dominique,QUE
16 18 48d Dion Oakes/Akwesasne,NY
17 17 6 Stephane Lebrun/Gatineau,QUE
18 22 24 Jacques Robert/Thetford Mines,QUE
19 29 15 Guy Viens/St-Hubert,QUE®
20 20 7jr Harvey Arquette/Akwesasne,NY
21 23 0 Francois Adam/St-Pie,QUE
22 24 33 Bruno Cyr/St.Liboire,QUE
23 25 17 Rod Tarbell/Akwesasne,NY
24 13 3 Normand Voghell/Granby,QUE
25 28 73 Serge Lemieux/St-Cyrille,QUE
26 26 7d Claudia Tarbell/Hogansburg,NY
27 1 08 Richard Bertrand/Acton Vale,QUE
28 14 115 Stephane Lemire/Drummondville,QUE
29 27 47 Mario Gagnon/Lawrenceville,QUE
LAP LEADER: Roy (1-50).
CAUTIONS: 4 (lap 29, lap 29, lap 34, 49).
HEAT WINNERS: Roy, Yetman, Ladouceur.
CONSI WINNER: Thompson.
SYRACUSE QUALIFIER: Jocelyn Roy.
HALFWAY LEADER: Jocelyn Roy.
FAST TIMER: Jocelyn Roy (20.277sec/71.016mph).
CARS ENTERED: 29
NEXT EVENT: Mohawk Int’l Raceway – August 21, 2010.
QUALIFYING
FAST AVE
TIME MPH CAR# DRIVER
1 20.277 71.016 05 Jocelyn Roy/St-Helene,QUE
2 20.494 70.264 92 Joey Ladouceur/Alexandria,ONT
3 20.514 70.196 116s Chip Smith Jr./Durham,NY
4 20.549 70.076 7 Rob Yetman/Castleton,NY
5 20.597 69.913 47s Corey Wheeler/Cornwall,ONT
6 20.609 69.872 47b Dave Bissonnette/Apple Hill,ONT
7 20.633 69.791 10 Buddy Hencke/Sand Lake,NY
8 20.689 69.602 88 Allen Peters/Westville,NY
9 20.743 69.421 73p P.J. Peters/Akwesasne,QUE
10 20.755 69.381 08 Richard Bertrand/Acton Vale,QUE
11 20.773 69.321 115 Stephane Lemire/Drummondville,QUE
12 20.788 69.271 2 Pete Stefanski/Wheatfield,NY
13 20.812 69.191 48 Francois Lareau/Farnham,QUE
14 20.938 68.774 48d Dion Oakes/Akwesasne,NY
15 20.948 68.742 6 Stephane Lebrun/Gatineau,QUE
16 20.949 68.738 1r Ricky Thompson/Hogansburg,NY
17 21.103 68.237 97 Roland Hebert/St-Dominique,QUE
18 21.179 67.992 3 Normand Voghell/Granby,QUE
19 21.183 67.979 18 Louie Jackson/Akwesasne,NY
20 21.301 67.602 188 David Papineau/Akwesasne,NY
21 21.316 67.555 0 Francois Adam/St-Pie,QUE
22 21.458 67.108 73 Serge Lemieux/St-Cyrille,QUE
23 21.492 67.002 17 Rod Tarbell/Akwesasne,NY
24 21.685 66.405 7jr Harvey Arquette/Akwesasne,NY
25 21.687 66.399 15 Guy Viens/St-Hubert,QUE®
26 21.805 66.040 24 Jacques Robert/Thetford Mines,QUE
27 21.997 65.463 33 Bruno Cyr/St.Liboire,QUE
28 22.170 64.953 7d Claudia Tarbell/Hogansburg,NY
29 22.218 64.812 47 Mario Gagnon/Lawrenceville,QUE
Heat Races (8 laps, Top-5 transfer to feature; top 4 redraw)
#1: Roy, Hencke, Stefanski, Lareau, Voghell, Papineau, Thompson, R.Tarbell, Gagnon, A.Peters.
#2: Yetman, Wheeler, Bissonnette, Betrand, Lemire. Oakes, Robert, Cyr, Lemieux.
#3: Ladouceur, Smith, PJ Peters, Hebert, Jackson, Lebrun, Arquette, Viens, Adam, C.Tarbell.
Consolation Race: (10 laps, all finishers transferred to feature)
#1: Thompson, Lebrun, Oakes, Papineau, Arquette, A.Peters, Robert, Adam, Cyr, R.Tarbell, C.Tarbell, Gagnon, Lemieux, Viens.
Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship Series Point Standings (June 26)
Rank No. Driver Total Diff Wins Top-5 Top-10 Starts
1 18 Louie Jackson 257 0 0 2 3 3
2 05 Jocelyn Roy 252 -5 1 2 3 3
3 116s Carl Smith Jr. 236 -21 0 2 3 3
4 47s Corey Wheeler 228 -29 0 2 2 3
5 92 Joey Ladouceur 227 -30 1 1 3 3
6 2 Pete Stefanski 225 -32 0 1 3 3
7 10 Buddy Hencke 222 -35 0 1 3 3
8 47 Dave Bissonnette 215 -42 0 1 2 3
9 115 Stephane Lemire 184 -73 0 0 2 3
10 73 P.J. Peters 170 -87 0 0 0 3
11 7 Rob Yetman 155 -102 0 1 2 2
12 188 David Papineau 154 -103 0 0 0 3
13 33 Bruno Cyr 143 -114 0 0 0 3
14 6 Stephane Lebrun 141 -116 0 0 0 3
15 1r Ricky Thompson 140 -117 0 0 2 2
16 88 Allen Peters 138 -119 0 0 0 3
17 15 Guy Viens 138 -119 0 0 0 3
18 48 Dion Oakes 135 -122 0 0 0 3
19 17 Rod Tarbell 133 -124 0 0 0 3
20 48 Francois Lareau 118 -139 0 0 0 2
21 97 Roland Hebert 110 -147 0 0 0 2
22 7jr. Harvey Arquette 88 -169 0 0 0 2
23 3 Norman Voghell 86 -171 0 0 0 2
24 0 Francois Adam 83 -174 0 0 0 2
25 08 Richard Bertrand 81 -176 0 0 0 2
26 47 Mario Gagnon 80 -177 0 0 0 2
27 73 Serge Lemieux 80 -177 0 0 0 2
28 99 Ghislain Valade 60 -197 0 0 0 1
29 8m Marc Lalonde 58 -199 0 0 0 1
30 73L Normand Lemire 48 -209 0 0 0 1
31 24 Jacques Robert 46 -211 0 0 0 1
32 16 Jean-Pierre Labelle 42 -215 0 0 0 1
33 28 Marco Lalonde 42 -215 0 0 0 1
34 55 George Renaud 41 -216 0 0 0 1
35 7d Claudia Tarbell 40 -217 0 0 0 1
36 12 Alain Brochu 40 -217 0 0 0 1
37 14 Marc Dumont 40 -217 0 0 0 1
38 22 Frederic Lussier 40 -217 0 0 0 1
39 20 Francis Landerville 40 -217 0 0 0 1
40 55 Donald Provencher 40 -217 0 0 0 1
41 17 Joceyln Chicoine 40 -217 0 0 0 1
42 7e Ryan Stabler 40 -217 0 0 0 1
43 73d Michel Desjardins 40 -217 0 0 0 1
44 27 Gilles Godard 40 -217 0 0 0 1
45 ba98 Steve Johnston 40 -217 0 0 0 1
46 14 Chris Tremblay 40 -217 0 0 0 1
DIRTcar Pro Stock Entries – June 26 (29)
CAR# DRIVER / HOMETOWN TEAM (Sponsor / Make-Model / Chassis)
0 Francois Adam/St-Pie,QUE Adam Racing Motorsport/Cadillac STS/Cannizzaro
05 Jocelyn Roy/St-Helene,QUE Remorcage 05-Lettrage Lucy/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/CRT
08 Richard Bertrand/Acton Vale,QUE Garage Lariviere-B.L. Auto Electric/Toyota Camry/EMS
1r Ricky Thompson/Hogansburg,NY Brass Horse Grill-Fatty Cats-S&L Construct./Chevy Monte Carlo/Cannizzaro
2 Pete Stefanski/Wheatfield,NY Sunrise Racing-San Ter Sewing-PJ NFB Auto Sales/Chevy Monte Carlo/JACR
3 Normand Voghell/Granby,QUE AuCoq-Le Nouveau Hyundai Granby-TPR Inc./Chevrolet Impala SS/Voghell
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
7d Claudia Tarbell/Hogansburg,NY Lonewolf Racing/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Black Widow
7jr Harvey Arquette/Akwesasne,NY A&L Enterprise-Brass Horse Grill/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Cannizzaro
10 Buddy Hencke/Sand Lake,NY Stinger X/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Stinger X
15 Guy Viens/St-Hubert,QUE® Donald Viens & Sons General Mechanical/Chevrolet Impala SS/Stinger
17 Rod Tarbell/Akwesasne,NY Akwesasne Gas-Log Cabin Smoke Shop/Chevrolet Impala SS/Cannizzaro
18 Louie Jackson/Akwesasne,NY Adams Marina-Keegan Smoke Shop/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Black Widow
24 Jacques Robert/Thetford Mines,QUE Castrol-CJG Transport/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/EMS
33 Bruno Cyr/St.Liboire,QUE Concept Syma-Remorquage Longueuil/Chevrolet Impala/Stinger
47 Dave Bissonnette/Apple Hill,ONT Totem Pole Novelties-Sweet Dreams/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Cannizzaro
47 Mario Gagnon/Lawrenceville,QUE www.Set47.com-Synergie Construction/Dodge Charger/Gagnon
47s Corey Wheeler/Cornwall,ONT Valade Backhoe-RSI Industrial Supply-PM Promotions/Cadillac ETS/Cannizzaro
48 Dion Oakes/Akwesasne,NY Oakes Racing-Noah King Family-Akwesasne Gas/Chevrolet Impala/Cannizzaro
48 Francois Lareau/Farnham,QUE NAPA-Galerie d’art l’Artiste-Propane du Suroit/Chevrolet Impala SS/KRP
73 Serge Lemieux/St-Cyrille,QUE Pavage V.L. Inc.-V.R. Drummond-Michel Auto/Toyota Camry/Black Widow
73p P.J. Peters/Akwesasne,QUE Sunrise Racing-Hair Secrets Salon/Chevrolet Impala/JACR
88 Allen Peters/Westville,NY Sunrise Racing-PJ NFB Auto Sales-JACR Chassis/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/JACR
92 Joey Ladouceur/Alexandria,ONT Coffrage 20-20-Minimax Express/Cadillac STS/Stinger X
97 Roland Hebert/St-Dominique,QUE Metaux A.D. Picard-Nor-Do Consept Unic/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Hebert
115 Stephane Lemire/Drummondville,QUE Michel Auto-Peinture Prefontaine/Toyota Camry/Stinger X
116s Chip Smith Jr./Durham,NY Cricketdale Farm/Pontiac Grand Prix/Cannizzaro
188 David Papineau/Akwesasne,NY D&D Construction-Totem Pole Noveltiesi/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Cannizzaro
UPCOMING EVENT
In two more months traveling teams return to competition in the 2010 Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Series, with Mohawk Int’l Raceway hosting round four in the 10-race tour. A DIRTcar Northeast staple featuring weekly Pro Stock racing every Friday night, Mohawk presents a big 50-lapper on Saturday, August 21 as part of an historic full-fender doubleheader paired with the nationally touring World of Outlaws Late Model Series.
2010 Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship Series Schedule
*All events subject to change.
DAY-DATE TRACK WINNER/LOCATION
Sun-May 23 Cornwall Motor Speedway Joey Ladouceur
Fri-Jun 25 Autodrome Granby *Rob Yetman
Sat-Jun 26 Autodrome Drummond Jocelyn Roy
Sat-Aug 21 Mohawk International Raceway Akwesasne,NY
Sat-Sep 11 Lebanon Valley Speedway West Lebanon,NY
Sun-Sep 12 Glen Ridge Motorsports Park Fultonville,NY
Sat-Sep 18 Canandaigua Speedway Canandaigua,NY
Sat-Sep 25 Rolling Wheels Raceway Park Elbridge,NY
Sun-Oct 10 New York State Fairgrounds Syracuse,NY
Sun-Oct 17 Brockville Ontario Speedway Brockville,ONT
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.
