Chris Raabe - Rebecca Eisele Photo
LaFargeville, NY — April 17, 2009 – By Martin Belanger and Jim Clarke, DIRTcar Racing Northeast Series Correspondents
Can-Am Motorsports Park was the stop for round two of the 2009 Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series. After 49 drivers signed in at Black Rock Speedway for the series opener, a total of 61 cars rolled into the pits on Friday. All the top names of the Sportsman tour were present to do battle on the fast half-mile speedway located in LaFargeville, New York.
Ally Amell and Justin Wright led the 32-car field in the 30-lap main event although it was 2008 Mr. DIRTcar Champion Chris Raabe who took the lead with a great pass down low from his third starting spot. A quick yellow for debris on the track slowed the field with just one lap in, yet Raabe got a good jump on the ensuing restart with Wright in second and Dave Marcuccilli in third.
While Raabe was alone in front, Marcuccilli was putting pressure on Wright with five laps in the books. Brandon Sweet was also with this group trying to make a move for third as Matt Hulsizer and Jipp Ortiz battled for fifth. Raabe had opened nearly a full stretch lead when a three-car crash came in turn three on lap nine to bring out the second caution of the feature. On the restart, Raabe was still the frontrunner with Jordan Bennett challenging Hulsizer for fifth spot.
On lap 12, a car stopped in turn four brought the field back together with Raabe still leading while Brockville, Ontario teen Matt Billings had already moved up to fourth spot after starting seventh. At the halfway point, just three laps later, the top-five included Raabe, Wright, Marcuccilli, Billings and Hulsizer.
Black Rock’s recent tour winner and early points leader Sammy Reakes IV brought out the caution after suffering a right rear flat with 15 laps to go, and frontrunner Ortiz retired to the pits on the same caution. Raabe built himself another comfortable lead as some great fights for position were occurring at the back of the field.
With 10 laps to go, Raabe had a opened up a 1.0-second lead over Wright, while Hulsizer and Billings diced lap after lap for fourth. Hulsizer claimed the spot as the yellow came out in turn turn on lap 24. As the race resumed, Raabe was still the leader with Wright and Marcuccilli running in spots two and three.
The last yellow flag flew on lap 29 to give the pack one last shot at the defending champion, but as starter Matt Burdick displayed the white and green flags together, the ‘Teenage Tornado’ held his line the final circuit to win his first feature of the season. The Napanee, Ontario driver was followed by Wright, Marcuccilli, Hulsizer and Matt Billings in the front-five.
“The track get slick but the track was great tonight, kudos to the Can-Am organization,” remarked Raabe, who led all 30 laps to score his second tour triumph, his first registered last summer at Brockville Ontario Speedway. “I always liked running on dirt and this win confirms it.”
The Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Series takes two and a half months off before teams return for four straight nights of activity at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park, Brewerton Speedway, Brockville Ontario Speedway and Cornwall Motor Speedway to open July.
Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series Race #2 – Can-Am Motorsports Park, April 17, 2009 Event Summary
FIN STR CAR# DRIVER
1 3 01 Chris Raabe/Napanee, ONT
2 2 19w Justin Wright/Piffard, NY
3 4 m1 Dave Marcuccilli/Cayuga, NY
4 5 55 Matt Hulsizer/Bridgeport,NY
5 20 74 Matt Billings/Brockville, ONT
6 9 06j Jordan Bennett/Pennellville,NY
7 10 17d Tom Juhl/Weedsport, NY
8 21 25b Steve Bernier/St-Hyacinthe,QUE
9 6 24 Brandon Sweet/Watertown, NY
10 15 777 Tyler MacPherson/St. Catharines, ONT
11 14 20x Kevin Ridley/Geneva, NY
12 18 14 Jeremy Pitcher/Fulton, NY
13 7 k38 Ryan Susice/Ransomville, NY
14 26 77jr BJ Willard/St. Catharines, ONT
15 31 99p Greg Panunte/Port Colborne, ONT
16 19 85 John Pietrowicz/Phoenix, NY
17 8 0 Jipp Ortiz/Ransomville, NY
18 11 38s Luke Whitteker/Iroquois, ONT
19 30 66 Dan Wiesner/Geneva. NY
20 25 36c Mark Webb/Watertown,NY
21 32 54 Mark Chiddy/Boston, NY
22 13 92 Adam Turner/Picton, ONT
23 17 12 Brandon Hagan/Plessis,NY
24 1 2a Ally Amell/Watertown, NY
25 22 29c Tom Conklin/Gouverneur, NY
26 31 62 Rich Bellante/St. Catharines, ONT
27 29 17k Sammy Reakes IV/Palermo, NY
28 16 83x Tim Sears Jr./Fulton, NY
29 12 10 Josh VanBrocklin/Watertown, NY
30 24 2 Loren Lincoln/South Bristol, NY
31 25 9m Mark Osmstead Jr/Elbridge,NY
32 32 17t Todd Town/Jordan,NY
DID NOT QUALIFY(29)
28-Alan Fink
11-Brian Copp
8a-Dana Aikins
10-Steve Savoie
52-Jessica Power
7-Cody MacPherson
25-Greg Belyea
111-Mark Davison
83-Dylan Evoy
20-Brad Rouse
29J-John Wilber
410-Mark Fowler
92-Brad Winters
37-Ken Bearup
67-Eric Giguere
15-Shane Pecore
K12-Rod McDonald
7g-Kevin Gamble
18-Bill Eisele
81-Christine Martin
07-Verne Harris
80-Ryan Buzzell
6M-Erik Mullikin
17-Marcus Dinkin
22Z-Zach Amo
15-Bob Tefft
3D- Dean Patterson
9-Greg Gould
06-Brandon Easey
SYRACUSE TOWN MECHANICAL 30 QUALIFIER: Chris Raabe.
QUALIFYING
FAST AVE
TIME MPH CAR# DRIVER
1 21.004 85.698 85 John Pietrowicz
Xtreme Lubricants Fast Qualifier Award
2 21.018 85.641 1 Chris Raabe
3 21.205 84.886 55 Matt Hulsizer
4 21.252 84.698 36C Mark Webb
5 21.270 84.626 0 Jipp Ortiz
6 21.293 84.535 92 Adam Turner
7 21.320 84.428 19w Justin Wright
8 21.321 84.424 24 Brandon Sweet
9 21.372 84.222 38k Ryan Susice
10 21.391 84.148 17K Sammy Reakes IV
11 21.427 84.006 10 Josh VanBrocklin
12 21.448 83.924 777 Tyler MacPherson
13 21.457 83.889 83 Dylan Evoy
14 21.465 83.857 20x Kevin Ridley
15 21.470 83.838 M1 Dave Marcuccilli
21.470 83.838 17D Tom Juhl
17 21.523 83.631 54 Mark Chiddy
18 21.572 83.441 28 Alan Fink
19 21.581 83.407 14 Jermey Pitcher
20 21.598 83.341 7 Cody McPherson
21 21.615 83.276 2a Jason Brimmer
22 21.618 83.264 9m Mark Olmstead Jr.
23 21.624 83.241 06J Jordan Bennett
24 21.667 83.076 38s Luke Whittaker
25 21.678 83.033 12 Brandon Hagen
26 21.710 82.911 15 Shane Pecore
27 21.715 82.892 62 Rich Bellante
28 21.751 82.755 10s Steve Savoie
29 21.757 82.732 83x Tim Serars Jr
30 21.778 82.652 8a Dana Atkins
31 21.787 82.618 3d Dean Patterson
32 21.791 82.603 66 Dan Wiesner
33 21.821 82.489 77Jr B.J. Willard
34 21.843 82.406 18 Bill Eisele
35 21.846 82.395 99p Greg Panunte
21.846 82.395 67G Eric Gugiere
37 21.871 82.301 111 Mark Davison
38 21.896 82.207 2L Loren Lincoln
39 21.905 82.173 29c Tom Conklin
40 21.966 81.945 17T Todd Town
41 21.968 81.937 74 Matt Billings
42 21.990 81.855 410 Mark Fowler
43 22.084 81.507 81 Christine Martin
44 22.215 81.026 25B Steve Bernie
45 22.304 80.703 11 Brian Copp
46 22.378 80.436 6m Erik Mullikin
47 22.493 80.025 29J John Wilber Jr.
48 22.552 79.816 92 Brad Winters
49 22.565 79.770 9 Greg Gould
50 22.633 79.530 25 Greg Belyea
51 22.692 79.323 17 Marcus Dinkins
52 22.881 78.668 7 Verne Harris
53 23.159 77.724 37 Ken Bearup
54 23.512 76.557 15 Bob Tefft
55 23.533 76.488 80 Ryan Buzzell
56 23.830 75.535 52 Jessica Power
57 25.031 71.911 2x Ally Amell
58 25.909 69.474 20k Brad Rouse
59 41.322 43.560 k12 Rod McDonald
60 -NT- —– 7g Kevin Gamble
61 -NT- —– 22z Zach Amo
Heat Races (8 laps, top 3 finishers transferred to feature, top 2 went to re-draw)
#1: Matt Hulsizer, Ally Amell, Adam Turner, Tom Conklin, Steve Savoie, Dana Aikins, Brian Copp, Mark Chiddy, Alan Fink.
#2: Justin Wright, Tom Juhl, Kevin Ridley, Sammy Reakes IV, John Pietrowicz, Mark Webb, Greg Belyea, Jessica Power, Cody MacPherson, Greg Gould.
#3: Jipp Ortiz, Chris Raabe, Tyler MacPherson, Mark Omstead Jr, BJ Willard, Dylan Evoy, Mark Davison, Brad Rouse, Mark Fowler, Zach Amo.
#4: Dave Marcuccilli, Brandon Sweet, Tim Sears jr, Matt Billings, Dan Wiesner, Greg Panunte, Dean Patterson, John Wilber, Ken Bearup, Brad Winters.
#5: Jordan Bennett, Luke Whittaker, Brandon Hagen, Loren Lincoln, Todd Town, Rich Bellante, Verne Harris, Bob Tefft, Kevin Gamble, Christine Martin.
#6: Ryan Sucise, Josh VanBrocklin, Jeremy Pitcher, Shane Pecore, Steve Bernier, Eric Giguere, Rod McDonald, Bill Eisele, Erik Mullikin, Ryan Buzzell, Marcus Dinkins.
Consolation Round (8 laps, top 3 finishers transferred to feature)
#1: John Pietrowicz, Tom Conklin, Mark Webb, Sam Reakes IV, Alan Fink, Mark Chiddy, Brian Copp, Dana Aikins, Steve Savoie, Jessica Power, Cody MacPherson, Greg Belyea.
#2: Matt Billings, Mark Osmstead, BJ Willard, Mark Davison, Dylan Evoy, Dan Wiesner, Greg Panunte, Brad Rouse, John Wilber, Mark Fowler, Brad Winters, Ken Bearup.
#3: Steve Bernier, Loren Lincoln, Todd Town, Eric Giguere, Shane Pecore, Rod MacDonald, Rich Bellante, Kevin Gamble, Bill Eisele, Christine Martin, Verne Harris, Ryan Buzzell, Erik Mullikin, Marcus Dinkins.
Guaranteed Starters: Reakes, Wiesner, Bellante, Panunte.
Provisional Starter: Chiddy.
Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Series Point Standings (Through April 17, 2009)
Rank No Driver Total Series Diff Wins Top 5 Top 10 Starts
1 01 Chris Raabe 165 165 0 1 1 2 2
2 11Jr Justin Wright 163 163 -2 0 1 2 2
3 74 Matt Billings 142 142 -23 0 1 2 2
4 17K Sammy Reakes IV 140 140 -25 1 1 1 2
5 M1 Dave Marcuccilli 130 130 -35 0 1 1 2
6 92 Adam Turner 127 127 -38 0 1 1 2
7 66 Dan Wiesner 125 125 -40 0 1 1 2
8 99p Greg Panunte 124 124 -41 0 0 1 2
9 0 Jipp Ortiz 124 124 -41 0 0 1 2
10 24x Brandon Sweet 117 117 -48 0 0 1 2
11 777 Tyler MacPherson 116 116 -49 0 0 1 2
12 17D Tom Juhl 112 112 -53 0 0 1 2
13 20x Kevin Ridley 108 108 -57 0 0 0 2
14 2L Loren Lincoln 100 100 -65 0 0 0 2
15 54 Mark Chiddy 99 99 -66 0 0 0 2
16 14 Jermey Pitcher 98 98 -67 0 0 0 2
17 62 Rich Bellante 98 98 -67 0 0 0 2
18 08 Mark D’Ilario 95 95 -70 0 1 1 1
19 85 John Pietrowicz 94 94 -71 0 0 0 2
20 v28 Billy VanPelt 90 90 -75 0 1 1 1
21 55 Matt Hulsizer 85 85 -80 0 1 1 1
22 06J Jordan Bennett 76 76 -89 0 0 1 1
23 25B Steve Bernier 68 68 -97 0 0 1 1
24 38k Ryan Susice 66 66 -99 0 0 0 1
25 77Jr B.J. Willard 64 64 -101 0 0 0 1
26 38s Luke Whittaker 56 56 -109 0 0 0 1
27 67G Eric Gugiere 52 52 -113 0 0 0 1
28 29c Tom Conklin 50 50 -115 0 0 0 1
29 29g Steve Gray 50 50 -115 0 0 0 1
30 26h Luke Carleton 46 46 -119 0 0 0 1
31 2kH Chris Hile 45 45 -120 0 0 0 1
32 36C Mark Webb 44 44 -121 0 0 0 1
33 3 Fran Hilton 43 43 -122 0 0 0 1
34 12 Brandon Hagan 41 41 -124 0 0 0 1
35 11 Donnie Lawson 41 41 -124 0 0 0 1
36 2a Ally Amell 40 40 -125 0 0 0 1
37 83x Tim Serars Jr 40 40 -125 0 0 0 1
38 10 Josh VanBrocklin 40 40 -125 0 0 0 1
39 9m Mark Olmstead Jr. 40 40 -125 0 0 0 1
40 12z Ray Bliss Jr. 40 40 -125 0 0 0 1
41 2K Rob Knapp 40 40 -125 0 0 0 1
42 4 Darryl Hilkert 40 40 -125 0 0 0 1
43 70 Brady Fultz 40 40 -125 0 0 0 1
44 18H Todd Henderson 40 40 -125 0 0 0 1
45 17 Marcus Dinkins 20 20 -145 0 0 0 0
46 15 Shane Pecore 20 20 -145 0 0 0 0
47 10 Steve Savoie 20 20 -145 0 0 0 0
48 20k Brad Rouse 20 20 -145 0 0 0 0
49 7 Cody McPherson 20 20 -145 0 0 0 0
50 28 Alan Fink 20 20 -145 0 0 0 0
51 8a Dana Atkins 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
52 11 Brian Copp 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
53 2a Jason Brimmer 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
54 9 Greg Gould 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
55 25 Greg Belyea 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
56 52 Jessica Power 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
57 83 Dylan Evoy 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
58 111 Mark Davison 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
59 410 Mark Fowler 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
60 22z Zach Amo 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
61 18 Bill Eisele 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
62 6m Erik Mullikin 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
63 80 Ryan Buzzell 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
64 k12 Rod McDonald 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
65 17T Todd Town 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
66 81 Christine Martin 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
67 7 Verne Harris 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
68 7g Kevin Gamble 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
69 15 Bob Tefft 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
70 29J John Wilber Jr. 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
71 92 Brad Winters 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
72 06 Brandon Easey 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
73 37 Ken Bearup 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
74 3d Dean Patterson 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
75 54x Stewart Garrison 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
76 24 Rick Willsey 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
77 140 Mark Dixon 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
78 244 Jeff Leslie 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
79 111 Allan Wills 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
80 29 Greg Birosh 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
81 85H Robert Humphreys 10 10 -155 0 0 0 0
Pot Holes: A half-dozen qualifying heats were needed to make up the starting grid for the 30-lap finale with Matt Hulsizer, Justin Wright, Jipp Ortiz, Dave Marcuccilli, Jordan Bennett and Ryan Susice the winners. John Pietrowicz, Matt Billings and Steve Bernier won the consolation round races. Pietrowicz was also the fastest in Xtreme Lubricants Time Trials, as the cars took to the track in their heat race groupings to run under the clocks to establish the pre,iminary race line-ups…Smithville, Ontario’s Mark D’llario, who was the fastest time trailer and finished second at Black Rock, will spend the year in a DIRTcar 358-Modified and didn’t make the trip to Can-Am…Geneva, New York’s Dan Wiesner used his status as a guaranteed starter for the second consecutive event…The dominating race win for Raabe was a total reversal of fortune from the opener as the 18 year-old needed to use his guaranteed starting spot at Black Rock. His second top-10 tally vaulted him into the points lead after the initial two stops.
UPCOMING EVENTS
The 20th Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Series waits until summer to resume activity with a big ‘4th of July’ holiday quadrupleheader spread across Central New York and Canada. Cayuga County’s DIRTcar All-Star special and a mid-week showdown at Canandaigua Speedway in July are all that run prior to Labor Day, with every extra-distance affair offering valuable points towards the overall Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Championship as well as guaranteed starter status for the Super DIRT Week main event in October.
2009 Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series Schedule
*All events subject to change.
DAY-DATE LAPS TRACK LOCATION/WINNER
Sat-Apr 5 75 Black Rock Speedway Sammy Reakes IV
Fri-Apr 17 30 Can-Am Motorsports Park Chris Raabe
Thr-Jul 2 25 Rolling Wheels Raceway Park Elbridge,NY
Fri-Jul 3 30 Brewerton Speedway Brewerton,NY
Sat-Jul 4 30 Brockville Ontario Speedway Brockville,ONT
Sun-Jul 5 30 Cornwall Motor Speedway Cornwall,ONT
Sat-Jul 18 30 Cayuga County Fair Speedway Weedsport,NY
Tue-Jul 21 33 Canandaigua Speedway Canandaigua,NY
Mon-Sep 7 25 Rolling Wheels Raceway Park Elbridge,NY
Fri-Sep 11 50 Ransomville Speedway Ransomville,NY
Sat-Sep 12 50 Merrittville Speedway Thorold,ONT
Sun-Sep 13 50 Humberstone Speedway Pt.Colborne,ONT
Fri-Sep 18 33 Canandaigua Speedway Canandaigua,NY
Sat-Sep 19 30 Genesee Speedway Batavia,NY
Sat-Sep 26 25 Rolling Wheels Raceway Park Elbridge,NY
Fri-Oct 2 30 Fulton Speedway Fulton,NY
Wed-Oct 7 30 Can-Am Motorsports Park LaFargeville,NY
Fri-Oct 9 30 Rolling Wheels Raceway Park Elbridge,NY
Sat-Oct 10 30 New York State Fairgrounds Syracuse,NY
Sat-Oct 17 -TBA-
Sat-Oct 24 50 Black Rock Speedway Dundee,NY
@Driver’s (2) worst finishes dropped through September; last (6) events count.
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 Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series “DIRTcar All-Star 100” on Sunday, July 19.
Headquartered in Roanoke, Va., Advance Auto Parts, a leading automotive aftermarket retailer of parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items in the United States, serves both the do-it-yourself and professional installer markets As of April 19, 2008, the Company operated 3,291 stores in 40 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Additional information about the Company, employment opportunities, customer services, and on-line shopping for parts and accessories can be found on the Company’s web site at www.advanceautoparts.com.
The Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series for Big-Block Modifieds is brought to fans across the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Advance Auto Parts, 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.
