Pete Stefanski - Michelle Mullen Photo
Batavia, NY — July 4, 2009 – By Rich Vleck, DIRTcar Racing Northeast Series Correspondent
Last year Pete Stefanski used a final corner “bump-and-run” to capture the win. In this year’s Jack Veach Memorial, the defending Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Champion had everyone thinking that was his move, and then went sailing around on the final lap to claim a thrilling victory.
Stefanski, of Wheatfield, NY, took advantage of a restart on a one-lap shootout to the finish to drive around Joey Ladouceur and continue his dominance both at Genesee and of the full-fendered tour.
Stefanski jumped out in front early on in the 40-lap feature, taking the lead on lap six. By lap 17 though, Ladouceur had begun to flex his muscle and on the ensuing restart drove around the No. 2.
After the No. 92 jumped into the lead, Stefanski found himself searching for a way back by for the next 22 laps.
With just one lap remaining, Mike Martin spun while inside the top-10 and set up a one-lap restart. In the circuits leading up to that final yellow flag period, Stefanski had begun to lean on his buddy from Alexandria, Ont., but he had other ideas on the restart.
“I knew we had a better car than Joey tonight, but he got the lead from us when he caught me snoozing,” noted Stefanski in Victory Lane. “I got into him a few times on the bottom when he would check up, and I knew the top was the only place to go for the win.”
Despite the inside line of the 1/3-mile Genesee County Fairgrounds oval being the prevailing groove, Stefanski dared to the use the top line.
“My car was pretty good in turn one and two, and I got a good run,” said a jubilated Stefanski after the race.
As they entered the backstretch though, the top-two were still even heading into the final set of corners. With the bottom of turn four the best line Stefanski gave himself plenty of cushion up on the top of the track as he dove deep into turn three on the top and had two car lengths through the middle of the turn.
As expected, Ladouceur got a major run off the bottom of the corner, but would come up about 18 inches short at the line. It was an extraordinary finish to cap off a night in memory of a great official.
Behind those elite two were Stephane LeBrun, who hung with the top-two for the entire second half of the feature. Sean Corr ran up to fourth while Dave Bissonette made his Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock return count as he rounded out the top-five after starting 20th.
Traveling teams return to competition in the 2009 Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Series, with Mohawk International Raceway hosting the second tour event of the month on Friday, July 17. SUNY Canton presents a ‘Full Fender Frenzy’ highlighted by a 50-lap Pro Stock main awarding the winner a $1,500 top prize.
Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship Series Race #1 – Genesee Speedway, July 4, 2009 Jack Veach Memorial Event Summary
FIN ST CAR# DRIVER / HOMETOWN
1 1 2 Pete Stefanski/Wheatfield,NY($1,000)
2 7 92 Joey Ladouceur/Alexandria,ONT
3 8 6 Stephane Lebrun/Gatineau,QUE
4 12 8 Sean Corr/Goshen, NY
5 20 47 Dave Bissionette/Apple Hill, ONT
6 21 26 Don Carlson/Richfield,CT
7 9 73 P.J. Peters/Akwesasne,QUE
8 22 18 Louie Jackson/Akwesasne,NY
9 10 48 Dion Oakes/Akwesasne,NY
10 2 10 Buddy Hencke/Sand Lake,NY
11 23 6z Butch Zimmerman/Burt,NY
12 16 71 Scott Gribben/Royalton,NY
13 24 69 Jody Swamp/Hogansburg, NY
14 0 11 John Zimmerman/Burt, NY
15 5 99 Mike Martin/Lockport,NY
16 15 8x Jim Burch Jr./Irondequoit, NY
17 1 1 Ricky Thompson/Hogansburg,NY
18 14 78 William Chubb/
19 13 4 Roch Aubin/Alexandria,ONT
20 17 7jr Harvey Arquette/Hogansburg, NY
21 6 98t Jack Terrell/Syracuse, NY
22 3 3j John Gagner/Mt.Morris, NY
23 19 1s Scott Stolzenberg/Lockport,NY
24 18 7 Rob Yetman/Castleton, NY
LAP LEADERS: Thompson (1), Gagner (2-5), Stefanski (6-17), Ladouceur (18-39), Stefanski (40).
CAUTIONS: 8 (lap 5, lap 5, lap 15, lap 17, lap 20, lap 25, lap 28, lap 39)
HEAT WINNERS: Stefanski, Martin, Ladouceur.
SYRACUSE QUALIFIER: Pete Stefanski.
NATIONAL PARTS PEDDLER HALF WAY LEADER- Ladouceur
CARS ENTERED: 24.
NEXT EVENT: Mohawk International Raceway – July 17, 2009.
UPCOMING EVENT:
Just two weeks stand until traveling teams return to competition in the 2009 Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Series, with Mohawk Int’l Raceway hosting a big 50-lap, $1,500-to-win feature for DIRTcar Northeast’s top full-fender tour.
2009 Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship Series Schedule
*All events subject to change.
DAY-DATE TRACK LOCATION
Sat-Jul 4 Genesee Speedway Pete Stefanski
Fri-Jul 17 Mohawk Int’l Raceway Akwesasne,NY ($1,500-to-win)
Sat-Aug 22 Autodrome Drummond Drummondville,QUE
Sun-Aug 23 Cornwall Motor Speedway Cornwall,ONT
Fri-Sep 11 Autodrome Edelweiss Hull,QUE ($1,500-to-win)
Sat-Sep 12 Lebanon Valley Speedway West Lebanon,NY
Sat-Sep 19 Canandaigua Speedway Canandaigua,NY
Sat-Sep 26 Rolling Wheels Raceway Elbridge,NY
Sun-Oct 11 New York State Fairgrds Syracuse,NY
DIRTcar Racing Northeast main office is located in Weedsport, New York on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds www.cayugacountyfairspeedway.com, home of the 2009 DIRTcar All-Star Weekend, July 17-19, featuring Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship Series events for Sportsman and Big-Block Modifieds in the richest short-track show of its kind in the nation — the $20,000-to-win Super DIRTcar Series “DIRTcar All-Star 100” on Sunday, July 19.
The Big-Block Modified 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.
