Brad Rouse holds onto DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series point lead
PORT COLBORNE, ONTARIO – Monday, September 8, 2014 – Mathieu Desjardins from Sorel, Quebec won Sunday’s 21st running of the Trevor Wilkens Memorial for the DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series on Cosco Haulage Night at the New Humberstone Speedway.
Jessica Power and 2014 PC Works DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Champion Gary Lindberg led the stout field of DIRTcar Sportsman to the green flag for the 50-lap main event with Lindberg taking over the lead from Power and Mike Maresca, James Michael Friesen and Louie Jackson Jr running in the top five early on. Friesen would go underneath Maresca on lap four to take over second. The field slowed down for the first time on lap six as Mike Stacey spun in turn two. The restart saw Lindberg take off with Friesen taking over second from Power. 2012 Series kingpin Cody McPherson raced his way into fifth.
Current point’s leader and defending DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series Champion Brad Rouse went underneath McPherson to take over fifth on lap 12. Then, just two laps later, Rouse would do the slide job on Maresca to take over fourth place with McPherson going by Maresca to return to the top five. Lindberg would hit lap traffic on lap 17 as he opened up his 2.3 second lead over Friesen. McPherson took over fourth from Rouse on lap 19. Lindberg would continue to show the way on lap 25 over Friesen with Power, McPherson, Rouse in the top five while Mathieu Desjardins, Maresca, Jordan Cosco, Jackson Jr and Scott Wood racing in the top ten.
McPherson used a lapped car to take over third from Power as Mathieu Desjardins passed Rouse to take over fifth. The leaders would hit heavier lapped traffic on lap 31 as Lindberg was leading Friesen by a full straightaway. Chad Brown would spin in turn one on lap 34 to bring out the caution, erasing the lead that Lindberg had over the field. The lap 34 restart saw Lindberg and Friesen battle for the lead as Friesen crossed over Lindberg to take over the top spot. Scott Wood, Shane Pecore and Corey Wheeler spun in the apex of turns three and four to bring out the caution on lap 35. During the lap 35 caution, Cody McPherson went to the pits while running in the top five. The restart saw JMF pull away as Mathieu Desjardins went underneath Friesen and led the field back to the start-finish line. Pat Sonnenberg, Cody McPherson and Gord McIntosh got caught together on the front straightaway on lap 36 to immediately bring back out the yellow flag. McPherson was able to drive away to the pits to the attention of his crew as did McIntosh. Jessica Power, Jordan Cosco, Darrell Farraway and several others got tangled up in turn two on the lap 36 restart.
Desjardins, Friesen, Rouse, Lindberg and Maresca pulled away from the field on the restart as McPherson drove back through the field and was racing Maresca for fifth place. Lindberg and Rouse went side by side for third and Lindberg was able to take over the third spot in the final ten laps. Mathieu Desjardins pulled away from James Michael Friesen to pick up the victory in the Trevor Wilkens Memorial. Lindberg, Rouse and Maresca completed the top five.
The DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series races again next weekend, Saturday, Sept. 13, at Mohawk International Raceway. For more information about the DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series, visit www.dirtcar.com.
DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series Statistical Report
Humberstone Speedway
Sunday, September 7, 2014
A-Main (50 laps): 1. MATHIEU DESJARDINS, 2. James Michael Friesen, 3. Gary Lindberg, 4. Brad Rouse, 5. Mike Maresca, 6. Cody McPherson, 7. Corey Wheeler, 8. Shane Pecore, 9. Austin Wood, 10. Louie Jackson Jr, 11. Darrell Farraway, 12. Jordan Cosco, 13. Jessica Power, 14. Brianna Ladouceur, 15. Joey Mastrioanni, 16. Mike Stacey, 17. Adam Leslie, 18. Chad Brown, 19. Matt Sharpe, 20. Martin Pelletier, 21. Justin Sharp, 22. Gord McIntosh, 23. Pat Sonnenberg, 24. A.J. Lewis.
Qualifying Winners: Mathieu Desjardins, Jessica Power, Austin Wood, Brad Rouse
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, ASI, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix, ButlerBuilt, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, KSE Racing Products, Mobil 1, Motorsports Safety Systems, MSD LLC, Fox Shocks, Pole Position Raceway, Racing Electronics, Superflow and Wrisco Industries.
