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Season’s best DIRTcar Racing Northeast drivers honored at “Night of Champions” banquet

112313 banquet

Pictured, from left to right: Erick Rudolph, DIRTcar 358-Modified Series Champion and Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Champion; Brett Hearn, Super DIRTcar Series Champion and Mr. DIRTcar Big-Block Modified Champion; Brian Carter, World Racing Group CEO; Brad Rouse, DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series Champion; and Dave Bissonnette, DIRTcar Pro Stock Series Champion. Photo by Rick Young.

 

Hearn, Rudolph, Rouse, Bernier, Bissonnette and Yetman take home championship trophies

LIVERPOOL, N.Y. – November 28, 2013 – Again this year, DIRTcar Racing Northeast drivers, teams, car owners and partners have set the bar higher, and their accomplishments were recognized Saturday, Nov. 23, during the DIRTcar “Night of Champions” at the Holiday Inn Syracuse-Liverpool.

Among the night’s honorees was now eight-time Super DIRTcar Big-Block Modified Champion Brett “the Jet” Hearn, claiming both the series champion and the Mr. DIRTcar Big-Block Modified Championship for his top-16 finishes all season.

“We don’t really get to enjoy the races that we win because we’re always thinking about the next race. This is the only time, the banquet, that we get to celebrate it,” Hearn said. “This time in a week, we’re going to be sitting around and talking about Volusia.”

Hearn hasn’t just been breaking records, he’s been shattering them since his powerful comeback last year. He is the only driver to have claimed eight Super DIRTcar Series Championship titles; the only driver coming close is Jack Johnson with six series championships. With his win in last year’s series finale during the World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, Brett Hearn tied Alan Johnson in all time DIRTcar race wins. This year, he’s claimed an additional nine victories to keep him at the top of the list.

At the same time, Hearn proved his ability to rise to new challenges. He took victory August in his first-ever race at I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Mich., adding Michigan to list of states where he has claimed wins. After his 2014 season, Hearn has won races in a total of nine states and two Canadian provinces.

The legendary driver has also been dabbling in event promotion the past few years, and Brett Hearn’s “The Big Show” continues to grow. Hearn partnered with Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, N. Y., to host the season’s big race night, which featured full shows for the Super DIRTcar Big-Block Modified Series and the DIRTcar Pro Stock Series. This year Hearn accomplished something at his race he hasn’t been able to do in the past – he picked up the win in the Big-Block Modified 100-lapper.

Hearn and his car owner, Brian Madsen of Madsen Motorsports, thanked their entire team, both sponsors and crew members.

“A lot comes with a good crew, a good team,” Madsen said. “The guys that come up at night to the shop, a couple of them, and the ones on the road, it’s really about them.”

Hearn wasn’t the only driver to carry out two trophies from the “Night of Champions” banquet. Erick Rudolph also won the series champion and Mr. DIRTcar championship in his division, the 358-Modifieds.

“This has been a good year for us,” Rudolph said. “This is definitely a career highlight.”

Years of hard work have paid off for other drivers who claimed their first Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels DIRTcar Series Championships. Brad Rouse, of St. Catharines, Ontario, claimed two victories in the DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series to make his way to the championship title. Perhaps the highlight of his season was a win at the Syracuse “Moody Mile” in the NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week XLII Sportsman Modified Championship.

“Ee just went in there to get in the show and take as many points as we could, but you pick up the win that’s really something,” Rouse reflected on Syracuse after pickup up his series championship trophy. “It’s a great honor being there with a lot of the great runners there.”

In the DIRTcar Pro Stock division, Dave Bissonnette, of Cornwall, Ontario, also celebrated his first series championship.

“It feels great,” Bissonnette said, thanking crew members, sponsors and drivers like Joey Ladouceur and Rob Yetman who have given him advice throughout the years.  “I’ve been trying to do this for several years now.”

Yetman took the trophy for Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock points with ten wins throughout the season, one of those wins being during NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week XLII.

“That win at Syracuse really capped it off,” Yetman said. “We’ve been waiting to win that one for ten, fifteen years.”

Steve Bernier was crowned the MR. DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Champion with 12 DIRTcar wins throughout the season.

“I’m really glad to be here with this level of drivers,” Bernier said.

Motorsports Safety Systems rookies of the year were recognized in all four divisions. Byron Westcott claimed the prize in the Pro Stock division, Joey Ladouceur in Sportsman Modifieds, Ryan Arbuthnot in 358-Modifieds, and the Motorsports Safety Systems-Butlerbuilt Big-Block Modified co-rookies of the year were Mat Williamson and Matt Billings.

This year’s Gater Racing News Super DIRTcar Big-Block Modified Series special recognition award went not to a driver, but Brockville Ontario Speedway’s operators Paul and Cheryl Kirkland for their contribution to the sport. Billy Dunn was awarded the Xtreme Slick Move of the Season Award and the KSE Hard Charger Award. Coming up second in Super DIRTcar Series points, Matt Sheppard claimed the Area Auto Racing News Hard Luck Award.

In addition to celebrating a great 2013, DIRTcar drivers, officials and partners looked forward to an even better year of racing in 2014.

“All through the year we’re growing again. We had an incredible Syracuse, an incredible World Finals,” said World Racing Group chairman and CEO Brian Carter. “It only means it’s going to be bigger and better for 2014.”

With Big Diamond Speedway, Brewerton Speedway, Fulton Speedway, Fonda Speedway and Glen Ridge Motorsports Park joining the already-strong DIRTcar Racing Northeast and premier racing facilities across the Northeast Region hosting series events, 2014 is set to be bigger and better than before.

2013 Season in Review – Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels DIRTcar Series

These traveling tours take the best drivers across the region to do battle at some of the Northeast’s premier race tracks.

HOOSIER TIRE-VP RACING FUELS

DIRTcar PRO STOCK SERIES (top 15)

Pos.

Names Wins T-5 T-10 Starts Points

Cash

1

Dave Bissonnette

0

2

4

5

1471

$1,485

2

Rob Yetman

1

2

4

5

1460

$2,695

3

Stephane Lebrun

0

3

3

5

1429

$1,575

4

P.J. Peters

0

2

4

5

1429

$1,435

5

Roch Aubin

1

1

3

5

1402

$1,625

6

Ghislain Valade

0

0

3

5

1359

$895

7

Jocelyn Roy

0

0

3

5

1353

$875

8

Marc Lalonde

1

1

1

5

1295

$1,450

9

Alain Brochu

1

2

2

4

1283

$1,475

10

Dan Desnoyers

0

0

0

4

1218

$460

11

George Renaud

0

1

1

3

1194

$575

12

Francois Adam

0

1

1

2

1179

$600

13

Byron Wescott

1

1

2

2

1151

$1,250

14

Charles-David Beauchamp

0

0

1

3

1150

$340

15

Stephane Lemire

0

1

1

2

1121

$700

 

HOOSIER TIRE-VP RACING FUELS

DIRTcar SPORTSMAN MODIFIED SERIES (top 15)

Pos.

Names Wins T-5 T-10 Starts Points

Cash

1

Brad Rouse

2

4

8

12

2141

$7,285

2

Joey Ladouceur ®

1

4

8

12

2106

$3,500

3

Mathieu Desjardins

0

5

7

12

2033

$2,450

4

Martin Pelletier

0

3

7

12

2013

$2,505

5

Jessica Power

0

2

6

12

1950

$2,245

6

Boyd MacTavish

0

3

4

11

1857

$2,660

7

Cody McPherson

0

3

4

7

1706

$2,270

8

Jenna David

0

0

0

12

1634

$1,300

9

Chris Herbison

1

5

5

5

1610

$2,375

10

Louie Jackson Jr.

0

0

0

10

1575

$1,130

11

Adam Hilton

1

1

4

8

1514

$2,065

12

Justin Sharp

0

0

3

7

1503

$985

13

Gary Lindberg

1

2

3

4

1474

$1,925

14

Shane Pecore

1

2

2

5

1423

$1,725

15

Steve Bernier

2

3

3

5

1409

$2,750

 

HOOSIER TIRE-VP RACING FUELS

DIRTcar 358-MODIFIED SERIES (top 15)

Pos.

Names Wins T-5 T-10 Starts Points

Cash

1

Erick Rudolph

2

3

6

11

2,103

$10,275

2

Mat Williamson

0

3

4

11

1,982

$7,745

3

Mario Clair

1

2

3

11

1,973

$9,005

4

David Hebert

1

3

4

11

1,945

$8,440

5

Carey Terrance

0

3

5

11

1,941

$6,750

6

Ryan Arbuthnot ®

0

0

2

11

1,698

$3,765

7

Brian McDonald

1

0

3

8

1,628

$2,950

8

Danny O’Brien

1

0

2

8

1,616

$2,895

9

Alain Boisvert

0

2

3

5

1,492

$7,670

10

Steve Bernard

1

1

2

5

1,484

$6,470

11

Chris Raabe

0

1

2

6

1,482

$4,020

12

Stephane LaFrance

0

1

3

4

1,381

$4,220

13

Mike Bowman

0

0

1

6

1,371

$2,045

14

Yan Bussiere

0

0

1

5

1,358

$1,595

15

Billy Dunn

0

1

2

5

1,357

$2,770

 

HOOSIER TIRE-VP RACING FUELS

SUPER DIRTcar BIG-BLOCK MODIFIED SERIES (top 15)

Pos.

Names Wins T-5 T-10 Starts Points

Cash

1

Brett Hearn

4

12

13

16

2,750

$68,261

2

Matt Sheppard

3

8

13

16

2,552

$40,360

3

Jimmy Phelps

0

5

11

16

2,444

$21,250

4

Dale Planck

1

5

12

16

2,430

$23,150

5

Billy Dunn

1

6

9

16

2,369

$73,035

6

Gary Tomkins

0

4

6

16

2,156

$17,710

7

Danny Johnson

0

3

8

15

2,091

$20,600

8

Justin Haers

0

2

4

15

2,020

$14,100

9

Pete Britten

0

0

5

15

1,966

$10,225

10

Rich Scagliotta

0

0

1

16

1,867

$7,275

11

Billy VanInwegen

0

0

0

13

1,862

$6,875

12

Matt Billings ®

0

2

5

13

1,832

$11,200

13

Dave Rauscher

0

0

0

14

1,766

$6,400

14

Stewart Friesen

2

5

5

8

1,755

$32,300

15

Tim Currier

0

0

0

13

1,705

$6,100

 

2013 Season in Review – Mr. DIRTcar point fund

In its third year, the Mr. DIRTcar points fund awards points to drivers based on their best 16 finishes in their respective divisions.

MR. DIRTcar PRO-STOCK POINT STANDINGS (top 12)

Pos. Driver Points

Wins

Top 5

Top 10

Starts

1

Rob Yetman

912

10

17

21

22

2

Jay Corbin

876

7

15

17

18

3

Roch Aubin

848

3

14

19

21

4

Jocelyn Roy

830

2

13

18

20

5

Nick Kocuba

818

2

12

16

16

6

Jason Casey

818

1

15

18

18

7

Robbie Speed

814

1

12

16

19

8

A.J. Flick

812

2

12

14

17

9

Kenny Martin

798

3

11

15

16

10

Dan Older

788

2

9

15

16

11

Corey McPherson

787

7

13

13

15

12

Stephane LeBrun

770

2

12

13

17

 

MR. DIRTcar SPORTSMAN  MODIFIED POINT STANDINGS (top 12)

Pos. Driver

Points

Wins

Top 5

Top 10

Starts

1

Steve Bernier

944

12

25

25

27

2

Gary Lindberg

912

8

23

30

30

3

Dylan Evoy

888

6

16

21

24

4

Mathieu Desjardins

874

4

19

23

27

5

Shane Pecore

870

7

14

17

21

6

Cody McPherson

864

4

19

29

33

7

Brad Rouse

864

3

18

27

35

8

Chris Herbison

854

4

17

23

28

9

Corey Wheeler

850

2

17

22

23

10

Greg Panunte

846

1

18

25

28

11

Boyd MacTavish

832

3

12

25

37

12

Joey Ladouceur ®

816

2

11

18

22

 

MR. DIRTcar 358-MODIFIED POINT STANDINGS (top 12)

Pos.

Driver

Points

Wins

Top 5

Top 10

Starts

1

Erick Rudolph

940

12

27

36

39

2

Pete Bicknell

904

4

25

34

35

3

Chris Raabe

904

7

23

26

37

4

David Hébert

890

6

21

26

34

5

Mario Clair

880

4

21

32

42

6

Mat Williamson

876

4

18

23

28

7

Todd Stone

850

7

14

14

16

8

Danny O’Brien

848

6

11

18

24

9

Steve Bernard

842

2

14

20

24

10

Mike Bowman

836

3

14

20

28

11

Chad Brachmann

830

4

12

18

22

12

Brian McDonald

818

2

12

20

27

MR. DIRTCARBIG-BLOCK MODIFIED POINT STANDINGS

 (top 15)

Pos. Driver Points

Wins

Top 5

Top 10

Starts

1

Brett Hearn

932

9

31

39

43

2

Matt Sheppard

924

9

20

24

28

3

Dave Murdick

900

6

20

27

32

4

Mat Williamson

898

7

16

17

18

5

Kenny Tremont Jr.

870

3

18

26

38

6

Billy Dunn

864

3

17

22

27

7

Rex King Jr.

860

5

14

20

30

8

Rex King

858

4

19

25

28

9

Brian Swartzlander

856

5

14

17

19

10

Jeremiah Shingledecker

848

1

17

21

27

11

Jim Weller Jr.

834

3

15

15

16

12

Tim Hindley

828

1

14

17

18

13

Andy Bachetti

824

7

11

16

21

14

Brad Rapp

800

0

12

19

23

15

Jimmy Phelps

790

1

10

22

28

2013 Season in Review – Rookies of the Year and Special Awards

Motorsports Safety Systems Rookies of the Year:

Pro Stocks – Byron Westcott

Sportsman Modifieds – Joey Ladouceur

358 Modified – Ryan Arbuthnot

Motorsports Safety Systems and Butlerbuilt Seats Big-Block Modified Co-rookies of the Year:

                                                Mat Williamson AND Matt Billings

Gater Racing News Super DIRTcar Big-Block Modified Series Special Recognition Award:

Paul and Cheryl Kirkland

Xtreme Slick Move of the Season Award:

Billy Dunn

KSE Hard Charger Award:

Billy Dunn

Area Auto Racing News Hard Luck Award:

Matt Sheppard

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, NAPA Auto Parts, and Safety-Kleen. Contingency partners include the University of Northwestern Ohio, Contingency sponsors are ASI, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix, ButlerBuilt, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, KSE Racing Products, Motorsports Safety Systems, MSD Performance, Penske Shocks, Racing Electronics, Superflow and Wrisco Industries.

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