2008 Street Stock Points
Weedsport, NY — December 16, 2008 – By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing Northeast PR Director
Consistency took on the lead role in crowning Nathan Peckham as the 2008 Mr. DIRTcar Street Stock Champion after he ended the post-season points trail with all top-10 finishes and three in the front-four. The Seneca Falls, New York chauffeur notched back-to-back runner-up showings in October at Fulton Speedway and Cayuga County Fair Speedway during Super DIRT Week to grab a lead he would never relinquish. A three-time feature winner during the regular-season, Peckham was a weekend warrior at both Cayuga County Fair Speedway, 7th in points (2 wins), and Canandaigua Speedway where he finished 15th in points steering his no. 90 Industrial Services of Rochester-Seneca Falls Auto Value Chevrolet Camaro entry.
In search of the elusive entry-level title in the Street Stocks second year following a championship format, Mike Welch settled for runner-up honors after the five-race series was decided by a single point. The two-time reigning Canandaigua points king from Lyons, New York put his no. 00 Parts Plus-Mark’s Garage-Mack’s Body Shop/Chevrolet Camaro in victory lane at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park, then finished fourth in the grueling 100-lap finale at Black Rock Speedway to create the narrowest margin. Welch ended the season second on the Northeast circuit win list with eight.
Full-fender favorite Nick Rizzo finished third in points despite kicking off the ’08 tour campaign in September with a win at Canandaigua then becoming the only driver to repeat after capturing the second annual Super DIRT Week showdown at Cayuga County in October. Parking his no. 115 Dr. Pugh Dentistry-A-Verdi Storage Containers-BMG Enterprises/Chevrolet Lumina entry in victory lane at Cayuga County during the summer, the Wolcott, New York pilot went on to garner his second straight points title at the home of DIRTcar Racing Northeast in Weedsport.
Setting a series standard with four feature wins posted in last year’s tour inauguration, Adam DePuy registered two front-five finishes and four in the Top-10 to place fourth on the final 2008 Mr. DIRTcar points chart. The Macedon, New York driver reached the winner’s circle at both Canandaigua and Cayuga County during the regular-season yet his best tour runs were made at Rolling Wheels (3rd) and Fulton Speedway (5th) strapped into the black no. 99 Heluva Good-Nance’s Sharp & Creamy Mustard-Fisk/Virts Motorsports/Chevrolet Camaro machine.
Veteran Ron Hawker tallied a trio of front-five finishes to complete the Top-Five on the series points chart and secure the final point fund payoff position in the ’08 Mr. DIRTcar standings. Buckled in behind the wheel of his no. 14 Tom’s Auto-Town Mechanical inc.-Premier Yankee Windows/Chevrolet Camaro mount, the Jordan, New York runner copped one win at Thunder Alley Speedpark and a pair at Fulton where he earned hometrack bonus points towards the overall Street Stock Championship.
2008 Overall Hoosier Tire Mr. DIRTcar Street Stock Championship Series
Point Standings (FINAL)
Rank No. Driver Points Series Track Diff. Wins T-5 T-10 Starts
1 90 Nate Peckham 690 408 282 0 0 3 5 5
2 00 Mike Welch 689 389 300 -1 1 2 4 5
3 115 Nick Rizzo 658 374 284 -32 2 2 4 5
4 99 Adam DePuy 649 361 288 -41 0 2 4 5
5 14 Ron Hawker 642 354 288 -48 0 3 3 5
6 33 Andy Fisk 639 347 292 -51 0 3 3 5
7 57B Frank Burnell,Jr 626 334 292 -64 0 2 3 5
8 37 Chris Fisher 606 314 292 -84 0 0 3 5
9 8 Dave Mannise 557 257 300 -133 0 0 2 4
10 75 Scott Smith 450 226 224 -240 0 2 2 3
11 11 Mike Vaughn 441 217 224 -249 0 0 2 4
12 2 Steve Woodworth 416 160 256 -274 0 0 0 3
13 93 Jared Hill 378 112 266 -312 0 0 0 2
14 27 Dave Pope 373 85 288 -317 0 0 0 2
15 07 Leroy Lewis 372 108 264 -318 0 0 0 2
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 and Sunoco Race Fuels. Promotional partners include AMB i.t., Rite Aid Corporation and the University of Northwestern Ohio and the contingency sponsors are Bert Transmission, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Crane Cams, Integra Shocks, MSD Ignitions, Motorsports Safety Systems, Penske Shocks and Wrisco Industries.
