Rich Talada - Alex Bruce Photo
Dundee, NY — November 8, 2008- By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing NorthEast PR Director
The curtain dropped on the DIRTcar Racing NorthEast season Saturday night at Black Rock Speedway with track regular Rich Talada out-distancing first-time invader Shane Wolf to capture the biggest win of his career in the 4th Annual World 100 and pocket the lucrative $2,000 top prize.
An hour after the checkered flag flew Nathan Peckham was officially declared the 2008 overall Hoosier Tire Mr. DIRTcar Street Stock Champion as the customary post-race inspection disclosed a carburetor infraction with the third-place car of Mike Wilbur while fourth-place finisher Andy Fisk was penalized for an undercut motor valve.
Reigning Mr. DIRTcar points king Scott Smith was elevated into third position in the final finish, followed by defending World 100 champion Mike Welch and tour traveler Frank Burnell Jr.
“The track doesn’t change all that much, you just have to be more patient in this kind of race,” remarked Talada, after pulling away from Pennsylvanian Wolf on the last restart with five laps to go to score his fourth win of the year at Black Rock. The Chemung, New York native finished seventh in the final track point standings steering his no. OH7 Rob’s Rentals-Peters Contracting Chevrolet Monte Carlo. “As long as you can save your equipment you’ll be okay and that’s why I like longer races.”
“I didn’t try to force anything all night and knew that the stop in the middle of the race would hurt me because we were a lot better on longer runs. A big part was just being able to run at a steady pace and keep the car straight to save on tires. I’ve been good here all year and was confident we had a top-five car, but still you never know if everything wil stay together until the end,” added Talada, who was a contender last autumn (finished 10th) in the World 100 before suffering a broken transmission line to put him a lap down to the leaders.
With Fisk’s top-five finish and Peckham crossing the line 10th, the initial points tally ended with both drivers dead-locked atop the final Mr. DIRTcar standings with 684. Yet following the post-race review, Peckham improved to eighth-place and Welch was moved to fourth settling the count at Peckham with 690 markers and Welch totaling 689.
“I never worry about points, there’s just too much that can go wrong that you have no control over,” figured Peckham, 38, employed by Peter Koch Collision Center in his hometown of Seneca Falls, New York during the week, a weekend warrior at short tracks throughout the summer and a volunteer firefighter in between. “And in a long race like this nothing was ever certain.”
“Still, I almost sealed my own deal at the end. On that last restart I just screwed up and caught (Dave) Mannise in the quarter-panel. The cars always slide up in the turns, this time they all checked up in front of me and I didn’t,” said Peckham, after ending the five-race championship trail with all top-10 finishes and three in the front-four. Back-to-back runner-up showings in October at Fulton Speedway and Cayuga County Fair Speedway during Super DIRT Week vaulted him into a lead that he never relinquished.
Six heat races and three consolation rounds were needed to build the 32-car starting grid for the big Black Rock finale on a cool fall day in Yates County. Wolf was the best out of 62 entries in single-lap qualifying, circling the ultra-moist 4/10-miler in a time of 19.033 seconds (75.658 mph) to earn pole-position for the first heat. But it was local favorite and five-time feature winner Rich Sharpsteen Sr. from nearby Waverly that copped the preliminary race win, dropping Wolf to seventh in the line-up using a standard ‘heads-up’ start format.
Frank Guererri Jr. out-dragged Sharpsteen when the initial green flag flew and the talented 21 year-old refused to yield despite Talada charging from 12th to challenge for the top spot by lap 30. A handful of cautions for minor miscues kept the field in check during the first half of the race before a mandatory red flag was thrown at the midway mark to allow teams to refuel and repair.
Guererri and Talada maintained the top positions halfway through the century grind followed by Smith, Wolf and Fisk, with Wilbur, Jared Hill, Butch Green, Brian Knowles and Adam DePuy filling out the top-10. Mr. DIRTcar candidates Welch (12th), Nick Rizzo (14th), Peckham (15th) and Ron Hawker (20th) were among 21 cars on the lead lap with three others remaining trackside.
The field went green once more on lap 52 but a new wheel mounted on Guererri’s machine during the break proved to be his demise as he limped pitside on lap 55 handing the lead over to Wolf, who had bolted past Smith on the restart and stole second from Talada the previous lap. Yet the longest green flag run (69-89) of the race was just what Talada was looking for as he ducked under Wolf by a nose to forge the final lead change on lap 76 and staved off every challenge the remainder of the way.
While the leaders were banging bumpers out front, the battle for Mr. DIRTcar supremacy raged on a straightaway behind as Fisk was shadowed by Welch as Peckham hovered further back. When Hill slid over the turn three bank to incur the seventh and final caution period on lap 90, Fisk held down fifth one spot ahead of Welch and Peckham retained 10th in the last car scored on the lead lap.
Peckham’s hopes for the elusive crown were seemingly dashed on the ensuing lap 95 restart as he looped his no. 90 Industrial Services of Rochester-Seneca Falls Auto Value Chevrolet Camaro in turn one, yet was able to complete the 360-degree turn and keep running. While Talada opened up a 15 car-length margin ahead of Wolf at the stripe, Fisk waited until the last lap to overtake Smith for an apparent fourth-place finish and secure a short-lived tie with Peckham at the top of the Mr. DIRTcar points chart.
“I led the Mr. DIRT points for a little bit, probably thought about it too much,” said Fisk, before he learned of the post-race penalty imposed after tech officials went under the hood of his no. 33 Fremouw & Son Fruit Farms Chevrolet Monte Carlo. “I just tried to get as many spots as I could at the end. I didn’t really know where everybody was so that’s all I could do.”
Under Peckham and Welch in the final 2008 series standings are two-time race winner Rizzo (658 points), DePuy (649), Hawker (642), Fisk (639), Frank Burnell Jr. (626), Chris Fisher (606), Dave Mannise (557) and ’07 champ Smith (450).
Full-Fender Footnotes
While Peckham escaped with a narrow one-point advantage over Welch for the 2nd-ever Mr. DIRTcar Championship, the UMP Street Stockers had one of the most competitive series of the season with four drivers ahead in the standings at one point — Nick Rizzo after Canandaigua, inaugural ’06 World 100 winner Ron Hawker after Rolling Wheels, Fisk after Fulton, and Peckham following Cayuga County…..Peckham began the season sporting a DIRTcar Sportsman Modified ride yet parked the car for good in June after suffering a wreck at Canandaigua Speedway, where he finished 15th in points although he placed 7th on Cayuga County’s chart to earn valuable bonus points toward the title run…..An all-star cast of 62 drivers filled the Black Rock pits with seven laying claim to a total of eight track point titles in 2008: Dave Mannise (Fulton, Thunder Alley), Welch (Canandaigua), Rizzo (Cayuga County), Chris Fisher (Black Rock), Mike Wilbur (Thunder Mountain), Shane Wolf (Five Mile Point) and Butch Green (Penn Can)…..Local runner Rich Sharpsteen Jr. steered the first truck-bodied entry to qualify for a Street Stock Series main, starting 15th in the 32-car field before ending up 7th aboard his sleek purple & yellow no. 93Q Chevrolet Silverado ride.
Mr. DIRTcar Street Stock Championship Series Race #5 – Black Rock Speedway, November 8, 2008 ‘World 100’ Event Summary
Feature
FIN ST CAR# DRIVER / HOMETOWN
1 12 oh7 Rich Talada/Chemung,NY($2000)
2 7 34g Shane Wolf/Susquehanna,PA
3 14 75s Scott Smith/Rushville,NY
4 17 00 Mike Welch/Lyons,NY
5 27 57b Frank Burnell Jr./Waterloo,NY
6 18 8a Dave Mannise/Fulton,NY
7 15 93Q Rich Sharpsteen Jr./Dundee,NY
8 23 90 Nathan Peckham/Seneca Falls,NY
9 32 16 Mike Schultz/Naples,NY
10 21 115 Nick Rizzo/Wolcott,NY
11 25 4p George Parker/Elmira,NY
12 24 99 Adam DePuy/Macedon,NY
13 6 93 Jared Hill/Dundee,NY
14 11 2ez Earl Zimmer/Newark Valley,NY
15 10 7 Brian Knowles/Corning,NY
16 20 56 Butch Green/Maine,NY
17 30 3L Kevin Boynton/Newfield,NY
18 3 10x Douglas Stack/Athens,NY
19 2 113jr. Frank Guererri Jr./Ovid,NY
20 1 5a Rich Sharpsteen Sr./Waverly,NY
21 28 50 Nicole Barzee/Bath,NY
22 22 14 Ron Hawker/Jordan,NY
23 9 71 Dan Hoffman Sr./Hannibal,NY
24 5 89 Frank Chapman Jr./Waverly,NY
25 19 41 Darryl Krebs/Port Byron,NY
26 31 55 Larry Fenton Jr./Lowman,NY
27 26 37 Chris Fisher/Penn Yan,NY
28 29 27 Dave Pope/Taberg,NY
29 4 7x Gene Sharpsteen/Waverly,NY
*DSQ 13 6 Mike Wilbur/Spencer,NY
+DSQ 8 33 Andy Fisk/Williamson,NY
DNS 16 5x Darl Ellis Sr./Binghamton,NY
*Penalized points & earnings for carburetor infraction;
+Penalized points & earnings for valve infraction.
DID NOT QUALIFY(30)
05-Ross Lurcock/Ovid,NY
07-Jeremy Denton/Bergen,NY
09-Lance Palmer/Eldred,NY
2-Jason Babbitt/Pavilion,NY
4g-Josh Parker/Lowman,NY
4x-Mark Shipman/Barton,NY
5-Steve Sharpsteen/Waverly,NY
7j-Josh Smallidge/Gates,NY
seven-Donald Russell Jr./Owego,NY
8x-Carl Cleveland/Dundee,NY
8d-Daniel Giboo/Franklinville,NY
10-Jon Carpenter/New Milford,PA
11x-Rob Parker/Horseheads,NY
12-John Giles/Arkport,NY
17-Daniel Mazzarese/Chemung,NY
18d-Brandon Sherwood/Sanborn,NY
20-Matthew Pfalzer/Alexander,NY
21-Dave Bruno/Rome,NY
25b-Mike Minutolo/Newark,NY
35-Rich Green/Birkshire,NY
43-Ed Coast/Duke Center,PA
48-Mike Williams/Woodhull,NY
55b-Blane Smith/Canandaigua,NY
66-Dan Gordon/Wellsville,NY
oh69-Matt Palmer/Rixford,PA
70-Dave Fultz/Dundee,NY
72-A.Jay Potrzebowski/Elmira,NY
73-Kevin Morrison/Wellsburg,NY
75-Steve Austin/Bergen,NY
99m-Brett Marlatt/Canisteo,NY
EVENT SUMMARY:
LAP LEADERS: Guererri (1-54), Wolf (55-75), Talada (76-100).
CAUTIONS: 7 (lap 9, lap 22, lap 37, lap 45, lap 57, lap 62, lap 90); 1 RED FLAG-Mandatory (lap 51).
HEAT WINNERS: R.Sharpsteen Sr., Guererri, Stack, G.Sharpsteen, Chapman, Hill.
CONSI WINNERS: Krebs, B.Green, Rizzo.
HOLLEY HARD LUCK: Frank Guererri Jr.
FAST TIMER: Shane Wolf (19.033sec/75.658mph).
CARS ENTERED: 62.
QUALIFYING
FAST AVE
TIME MPH CAR# DRIVER
1 19.033 75.658 34g Shane Wolf/Susquehanna,PA
2 19.051 75.587 113jr. Frank Guererri/Ovid,NY
3 19.151 75.192 37 Chris Fisher/Penn Yan,NY
4 19.194 75.023 7x Gene Sharpsteen/Waverly,NY
5 19.364 74.365 89 Frank Chapman Jr./Waverly,NY
6 19.367 74.353 93 Jared Hill/Dundee,NY
7 19.419 74.154 5a Rich Sharpsteen Sr./Waverly,NY
8 19.471 73.956 33 Andy Fisk/Williamson,NY
9 19.496 73.861 10x Douglas Stack/Athens,NY
10 19.515 73.789 7 Brian Knowles/Corning,NY
11 19.556 73.635 2ez Earl Zimmer/Newark Valley,NY
12 19.557 73.631 57b Frank Burnell Jr./Waterloo,NY
13 19.613 73.421 35 Rich Green/Birkshire,NY
14 19.635 73.338 75s Scott Smith/Rushville,NY
15 19.660 73.245 5x Darl Ellis Sr./Binghamton,NY
19.660 73.245 27 Dave Pope/Taberg,NY
17 19.678 73.178 00 Mike Welch/Lyons,NY
18 19.690 73.134 oh7 Rich Talada/Chemung,NY
19 19.737 72.959 6 Mike Wilbur Jr./Spencer,NY
20 19.775 72.819 41 Darryl Krebs/Port Byron,NY
21 19.806 72.705 93Q Rich Sharpsteen Jr./Dundee,NY
22 19.811 72.687 90 Nathan Peckham/Seneca Falls,NY
23 19.871 72.467 4g Josh Parker/Lowman,NY
24 19.883 72.424 70 Dave Fultz/Dundee,NY
25 19.893 72.387 09 Lance Palmer/Eldred,NY
26 19.896 72.376 66 Dan Gordon/Wellsville,NY
27 19.900 72.362 56 Butch Green/Maine,NY
28 19.902 72.355 21 Dave Bruno/Rome,NY
29 19.923 72.278 115 Nick Rizzo/Wolcott,NY
30 19.929 72.257 17 Daniel Mazzarese/Chemung,NY
31 19.971 72.105 14 Ron Hawker/Jordan,NY
32 19.990 72.036 10 Jon Carpenter/New Milford,PA
33 20.017 71.939 72 A.Jay Potrzebowski/Elmira,NY
34 20.087 71.688 55 Larry Fenton Jr./Lowman,NY
35 20.093 71.667 8 Carl Cleveland/Dundee,NY
36 20.137 71.510 05 Ross Lurcock/Ovid,NY
37 20.159 71.432 20 Matthew Pfalzer/Alexander,NY
38 20.162 71.421 50 Nicole Barzee/Bath,NY
20.162 71.421 oh69 Matt Palmer/Rixford,PA
40 20.164 71.414 99m Brett Marlatt/Canisteo,NY
41 20.178 71.365 55b Blane Smith/Canandaigua,NY
42 20.191 71.319 8x Dave Mannise/Fulton,NY
43 20.264 71.062 11x Rob Parker/Horseheads,NY
44 20.313 70.891 3L Kevin Boynton/Newfield,NY
45 20.334 70.817 71 Dan Hoffman Sr./Hannibal,NY
46 20.393 70.612 seven Donald Russell Jr./Owego,NY
47 20.443 70.440 16 Mike Schultz/Naples,NY
48 20.467 70.357 73 Kevin Morrison/Wellsburg,NY
49 20.529 70.145 48 Mike Williams/Woodhull,NY
50 20.572 69.998 4p George Parker/Elmira,NY
51 20.591 69.933 4x Mark Shipman/Barton,NY
52 20.679 69.636 12 John Giles/Arkport,NY
53 20.682 69.626 99 Adam DePuy/Macedon,NY
54 20.708 69.538 5 Steve Sharpsteen/Waverly,NY
55 20.732 69.458 25b Mike Minutolo/Newark,NY
56 21.222 67.854 07 Jeremy Denton/Bergen,NY
57 21.355 67.432 43 Ed Coast/Duke Center,PA
58 21.500 66.977 2 Jason Babbitt/Pavilion,NY
59 21.563 66.781 75 Steve Austin/Bergen,NY
60 21.616 66.617 18d Brandon Sherwood/Sanborn,NY
61 25.811 55.790 7j Josh Smallidge/Gates,NY
62 -NT- —– 8d Daniel Giboo/Franklinville,NY
Heat Races (8 laps, 3 transferred to feature)
#1: R.Sharpsteen Sr., Wolfe, Wilbur, R.Green, Hawker, L.Palmer, R.Parker, Williams, Pfalzer, Smallidge, Minutolo.
#2: Guererri, Fisk, S.Smith, Gordon, Boynton, Krebs, Barzee, G.Parker, Carpenter, Denton, Giboo (DNS).
#3: Stack, Hoffman, R.Sharpsteen Jr., B.Green, M.Palmer, Fisher, Shipman, Coast, Pope, Potrzebowski.
#4: G.Sharpsteen, Knowles, Ellis, Fenton, Peckham, Bruno, Russell, Marlatt, Babbitt, Giles.
#5: Chapman, Zimmer, Welch, Rizzo, J.Parker, Cleveland, Schultz, B.Smith, DePuy, Austin.
#6: Hill, Talada, Mannise, Lurcock, Mazzarese, Morrison, S.Sharpsteen, Sherwood, Burnell, Fultz.
Consis (8 laps, 2 transferred to feature)
#1: Krebs, Hawker, Boynton, Pfalzer, Williams, Carpenter, Minutolo, Denton, R.Parker, R.Green, G.Parker, Smallidge, Gordon, L.Palmer, Barzee (DNS), Giboo (DNS).
#2: B.Green, Peckham, Fenton, Pope, Marlatt, Coast, Babbitt, Shipman, M.Palmer, Fisher, Russell, Potrzebowski, Bruno (DNS), Giles (DNS).
#3: Rizzo, DePuy, Schultz, B.Smith, Cleveland, Morrison, S.Sharpsteen, Mazzarese, J.Parker, Fultz, Burnell, Lurcock, Austin, Sherwood (DNS).
Guarantees: G.Parker, Fisher, Burnell, Barzee.
Provisionals: Pope, Boynton, Fenton, Schultz.
Mr. DIRTcar Street Stock Championship Series Point Standings (Nov. 8)
Rank No. Driver Points Bonus Diff Wins Top-5 Top-10 Starts
1 90 Nate Peckham 690 282 0 0 3 5 5
2 00 Mike Welch 689 300 -1 1 2 4 5
3 115 Nick Rizzo 658 284 -32 2 2 4 5
4 99 Adam DePuy 649 288 -41 0 2 4 5
5 14 Ron Hawker 642 288 -48 0 3 3 5
6 33 Andy Fisk 639 292 -51 0 3 3 5
7 57B Frank Burnell 626 292 -64 0 2 3 5
8 37 Chris Fisher 606 292 -84 0 0 3 5
9 8 Dave Mannise 557 300 -133 0 0 2 4
10 75 Scott Smith 450 224 -240 0 2 2 3
11 11 Mike Vaughn 441 224 -249 0 0 2 4
12 2 Steve Woodworth 416 256 -274 0 0 0 3
13 93 Jared Hill 378 266 -312 0 0 0 2
14 27 Dave Pope 373 288 -317 0 0 0 2
15 07 Leroy Lewis 372 264 -318 0 0 0 2
16 10 Todd Raabe 322 264 -368 0 0 0 1
17 18 Wayne Ellison 304 260 -386 0 0 0 1
18 19 Emerson Cargain 300 300 -390 0 0 0 0
19 38 John Aumick 300 300 -390 0 0 0 0
20 14NY Phillip Walker 300 300 -390 0 0 0 0
21 50 Nicole Barzee 291 248 -399 0 0 0 1
22 63 Jay Pepin 288 288 -402 0 0 0 0
23 7 Tim McCarthy 288 288 -402 0 0 0 0
24 ws7 Ray Smith 272 206 -418 0 0 0 1
25 44 John Dore 264 264 -426 0 0 0 0
26 00r Mike Rasbeck 248 248 -442 0 0 0 0
27 41 Daryl Krebs 246 206 -444 0 0 0 1
28 16 Stan Vishinskir. 228 228 -462 0 0 0 0
29 23 Eddie Wright 226 226 -464 0 0 0 0
30 113 Frank Guererri Jr. 225 180 -465 0 0 0 1
31 33 Jay Pepin Jr. 224 224 -466 0 0 0 0
32 4 Mike Durham 216 216 -474 0 0 0 0
33 45R Scott Kocher 212 212 -478 0 0 0 0
34 6x Deb Whalen 206 206 -484 0 0 0 0
35 78 Buck Barrett 202 202 -488 0 0 0 0
UPCOMING EVENT:
The 33rd annual DIRTcar Racing NorthEast ‘Night of Champions’ Banquet is scheduled for Saturday, November 15 at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York. The banquet will honor the 2008 series champions in the Advance Auto Parts Big-Block Modified, 358-Modified, Sportsman Modified, UMP Pro Stock and UMP Street Stock divisions. Track promoters and operators will convene on Friday, November 14 for the annual DIRTcar track meetings at the Turning Stone entertainment complex, ranked among the top-five largest tourist attractions in New York State and drawing over 4.5 million visitors annually.
2008 Mr. DIRTcar Street Stock Championship Series Schedule
*All events subject to change.
DAY-DATE TRACK WINNER
Fri-Sep 19 Canandaigua Speedway Nick Rizzo
Fri-Sep 27 Rolling Wheels Raceway Park Mike Welch
Fri-Oct 4 Fulton Speedway Shawn Frost
Fri-Oct 10 Cayuga County Fair Speedway Nick Rizzo
Sat-Nov 8 Black Rock Speedway Rich Talada
2008 Mr. DIRTcar Series Champion: Nathan Peckham.
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 and Hoosier Racing Tire. Rite Aid Corporation is a promotional partner and the contingency sponsors are Bars Leaks, Bert Transmission, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Crane Cams, Dig Safely New York, Holley HP Carburetors, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, KSE Racing Products, Motorsports Safety Systems, Penske Shocks, Rislone Oil Stabilizer and Wrisco Industries.
