Tim Sears, Jr - Mike Johnson Photo
Brewerton, NY — July 3, 2009 – By Dave Medler, DIRTcar Racing Northeast Series Correspondent
One season ago 17 year-old Timmy Sears Jr. was getting his first experience in an open-wheel dirt car in the Novice Sportsman class at the Fulton Speedway. Friday night Sears bested a field of 42-Sportsman entries that signed in the Brewerton Speedway pits, picking up his first ever Mr DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series feature win.
Although Sears led the entire 40-lap distance, it was anything but easy as he had to fend off race-long pressure from ’09 tour opening day winner Sammy Reakes IV and a late-race charge from Mark Olmstead Jr. to land in victory lane.
“It wasn’t easy, it was really rough over in three and four,” said an ecstatic Sears, after exiting his Total Site Development No.83x Bicknell machine. “I don’t know how I did it. This is the biggest win of my career.”
On the initial start of the main event the yellow quickly flew for an incident involving Earl Rudy and James Spano. Spano saw his night end before a lap was completed while Rudy rejoined the field at the tail.
With the field back in their original starting spots, defending Mr. DIRTcar and current Series points leader Chris Raabe and Sears brought the 30-car field down to the green flag, with Sears grabbing the early advantage.
On lap five Sears and Reakes set the pace running nose to tail, as Raabe, Olmstead and Ryan Susice showed in the top-five running order.
The yellow flew on lap 11 for a three-car tangle in turn two with Dan Weisner suffering the worst damage as he was towed to the pits ending his run.
Just as the field got back up to speed on lap 12, one lap later, a wild shuffle happened in turn one. Involved were Brandon Sweet, Dave Marcuccilli, Matt Hulsizer, Jipp Ortiz, Jeremy Pitcher and Justin Wright. After some work by the safety and tow truck crews, all cars rejoined the race.
When the race reached lap 15, Sears, Reakes and Susice ran bumper-to-bumper a few car lengths back with Olmstead and Raabe trying to close the gap. At the halfway point the top-four stayed the same with Jordan Bennett moving into a top-five spot.
Out of turn four a uke tire found it’s way onto the racing surface bringing out another caution on lap 22. Two more yellow flags would fly on the same lap restart, first for a spinning Claude Hutchings jr., then another spin for Kevin Ridley.
When the field resumed once more only two laps could be run before another caution period. Marcus Dinkins slowed exiting turn two causing the field to scatter. Everyone made it by except for Jeremy Pitcher, who clipped the Dinkins machine causing severe front end-damage.
Points leader Raabe brought out the final caution of the race on lap 28 for a flat, yet returned to the laps down finishing twenty-second.
Over the last 12 laps Sears put it in overdrive out -runnning Olmstead to the checkers. Greg Panunte (Hard Charger Of The Race) came from 21st to finish third while Reakes and Suscie rounded out the top-five.
When asked how he got so good so young, Sears responded, “It must be in my genes.” Sears Father, Timmy Sears is a Big-Block Modified driver and his Uncle Tommy Sears is the 2008 Fulton Speedway Big-Block Modified Champion.
The Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Series continues its hectic holiday pace with two more stops at Brockville Ontario Speedway and Cornwall Motor Speedway to close out the festive Fourth of July Weekend in Canada.
Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series Race #3 – Brewerton Speedway, July 3, 2009 Event Summary
Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Series (40-laps): TIMMY SEARS Jr., Mark Olmstead Jr., Greg Panunte, Sammy Reakes IV, Ryan Susice, Jordan Bennett, Eric Giguere, Alan Fink, Mike Fowler, Jim Johnstone, Adam Turner, Mark Chiddy, Jipp Ortiz, Brandon Sweet, Dave Marcuccilli, Matt Billings, Matt Hulsizer, Luke Whittaker, Justin Wright, Claude Hutchings Jr., Earl Rudy, Chris Raabe, B.J. Willard, Marcus Dinkins, Jeremy Pitcher, Kevin Ridley, Ben Wheeler, Dan Weisner, A.J Kingsley, Jim Spano. (DNQ)- John Pietrowicz, Gregg Kimball, Beth Schneider, Chuck DeMott, Andrew Ferguson, John Wilbur, Joe Gwilt, Rich Townsend, Chris Hile, Dana Aikens, Rick Rogala, Jon Tesoriero.
Lap Leader: Timmy Sears Jr. (1-40).
Cautions: 8 (Lap-1, Lap-11, Lap-12, Lap-22, Lap-22, Lap-22, Lap-24, Lap-28).
Heats
#1: Sammy Reakes IV, Ryan Susice, Earl Rudy, Jipp Ortiz, A.J. Kingsley, John Pietrowicz, Gregg Kimball, Chuck DeMott, Beth Schneider.
#2: Tim Sears Jr., James Spano, Jordan Bennett, Matt Hulsizer, Ben Wheeler, Mark Chiddy, Adam Turner, Dana Akins, Rick Rogala.
#3: Brandon Sweet, Claude Hutchings Jr., Justin Wright, B.J. Willard, Andrew Ferguson, Joe Gwilt, John Wilbur, Kevin Ridley.
#4: Mark Olmstead Jr., Chris Raabe, Alan Fink, Matt Billings, Jeremy Pitcher, Marcus Dinkins, Mike Fowler, Jon Tesoriero.
Consis
#1: Greg Panunte, Luke Whittaker, A.J. Kingsley, Mark Chiddy, Adam Turner, Rich Townsend, Dana Aikens, Andrew Ferguson, Joe Gwilt, Rick Rogala, John Wilbur (DNS).
#2: Jeremy Pitcher, Ben Wheeler, Marcus Dinkins, Kevin Ridley, Mike Fowler, Gregg Kimball, Jon Tesoriero, Beth Schnieder, Chuck DeMott, John Pietrowicz, (DNS) – Chris Hile.
Time Trials:
Pos No. Name Time
1 k38 Ryan Susice 15.891
2 17k Sammy Reakes, IV 15.957
3 m1 Dave Marcuccilli 16.051
4 16 Earl Rudy 16.117
5 1s Jim Spano 16.135
6 0 Jipp Ortiz 16.137
7 85 John Pietrowicz 16.146
8 11j Justin Wright 16.157
9 67g Eric Giguere 16.165
10 83x Timmy Sears Jr. 16.172
11 66 Dan Weisner 16.176
12 51 Rich Townsend 16.196
13 5h Chris Hile 16.205
14 01 Chris Raabe 16.227
15 83k A.J. Kingsley 16.244
16 59 Greg Kimball 16.250
17 21jj Jim Johnstone 16.258
18 24 Brandon Sweet 16.277
19 06j Jordan Bennett 16.278
20 74 Matt Billings 16.288
21 99p Greg Panute 16.319
22 20 Kevin Ridley 16.325
23 9m Mark Olmstead Jr. 16.339
24 84 Claude Hutchings Jr. 16.360
25 14 Jeremy Pitcher 16.371
26 11 Ben Wheeler 16.380
27 54 Mark Chiddy 16.380
28 57s Beth Schneider 16.383
29 55 Matt Hulsizer 16.387
30 410 Mike Fowler 16.409
31 17 Marcus Dinkins 16.488
32 38 Luke Whittaker 16.494
33 77 B.J. Willard 16.534
34 14x Chuck DeMott 16.538
35 12a Andrew Ferguson 16.579
36 2m Jon Tesoriero 16.587
37 92 Adam Turner 16.738
38 8a Dana Aikens 17.206
39 29j John Wilbur 18.097
UPCOMING EVENTS
The 20th Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Series is back in action right away with the big ‘4th of July’ holiday quadrupleheader continuing to attract the top tour travelers in Canada. Title contenders make their way to Weedsport on July 18 for the inaugural DIRTcar All-Star Weekend before participating in a rare mid-week special at Canandaigua Speedway on July 21. Tour activity resumes on Labor Day in September, 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 WINNER/LOCATION
Sun-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 Rain-Cancelled
Fri-Jul 3 40 Brewerton Speedway Tim Sears Jr.
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 24 50 Black Rock Speedway Dundee,NY
@Driver’s (2) worst finishes dropped through September; last (5) 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 Super DIRTcar Series “DIRTcar All-Star 100” on Sunday, July 19.
The Super DIRTcar Series for Big-Block Modifieds 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.
