Mario Clair - Rick Young Photo
Brockville, ONT — October 18, 2009 – By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing Northeast PR Director
*Rick Young Photo
Sunday was a day of firsts on the DIRTcar Racing Northeast circuit as Dale Planck clinched his first-ever Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship following the inaugural DIRTcar Northeast Fall Nationals staged over the weekend at Brockville Ontario Speedway.
And in a fitting ending when the first time an overall Mr. DIRTcar champion was crowned on Canadian soil, Frenchman Mario Clair scored a victory in the 100-lap Small-Block finale to collect $4,000 for his initial tour triumph north of the border.
“Beating someone of Dale’s caliber is truly a great honor,” was Clair’s translation in victory lane made by Canadian Series Director Brian Mulligan following the St-Edmond, Quebec driver’s second career win on tour. A weekly runner at autodromes Granby and Drummond during the summer, 2007 Mr. DIRTcar titlist Clair scored his first series win in 2008 at Mohawk Int’l Raceway.
“We’ve been running so many tracks the last few years trying to improve. This is certainly a big win for us with such good drivers in competition. I like coming here and hopefully I can continue to do well following this exciting series,” Clair continued through an interpreter.
Overtaking race-long leader Clair just shy of the halfway mark before giving back the point 30 laps later, Planck held off Clair’s teammate David Hebert for the runner-up spot while the Canadian contingent of Pat O’Brien (Ontario) and Yan Bussiere (Quebec) filled out front-five positions in the Brockville season-finale.
With time trials and qualifying heat races run off the day before, a draw for the top-12 starting positions was held minutes before the first green flag dropped to begin the 100-lap 358-Modified main. Clair was the last man in line finishing third in the fourth heat and waiting for him was the #2 as he joined the youngest of three racing brothers, Tim O’Brien, on the front row to head the 32-car field.
Clair was up to the task from lap one, putting his Resist O no. 22 Batiments JDL-Motel Drummond/Bicknell mount far ahead in the early stages while a shift in second-place status carried through during the first half of the race. Fourth starting Stewart Friesen held down second before Planck used the low lane to take over on lap 21 and set his sights on the French favorite who was successfully navigating the high line around Brockville’s smooth 3/8-miler.
With six caution periods all for minor spins slowing the pace during the first third of the race, Planck kept the RezX Racing no. 77x Grow It Hydroseeding/TEO entry glued to the inside groove waiting patiently for his chance to overtake Clair. That opportunity finally arrived as the veteran open-wheel pilot from Cortland, N.Y. ducked low out of turn four to forge his first lead on lap 48.
At the halfway point Clair remained a solid second followed by Pat O’Brien, Bussiere and Hebert, while Tim O’Brien, Friesen, Planck’s closest contender in points Pete Bicknell, rookie Jeremy Wilder and Pierre Dagenais rounded out the top-10. Two-thirds of the way through, 13 cars remained on the lead lap with fellow Frenchmen Martin Gagne and Clement Therrien, along with popular Port Colborne, Ont. driver Larry Lampman Jr. able to keep the leaders in sight.
The yellow lights flashed for the 12th and final time on lap 74 when Dagenais looped his no. 124 Bicknell machine in turn three to tighten the field for the last restart. And that’s all that Clair needed as he blasted by as soon as the green flag reappeared and only needed to navigate lapped cars as the remaining laps clicked off.
And late race traffic was just what Planck was banking on to provide a final chance to pick up his first series win of the season. With just three laps to go, Clair closed in the quartet of Kyle Dingwall, Bobby Herrington, Dagenais and Therrien as Planck put himself in prime position to take advantage of any sudden miscue. Yet that opening never materialized and Clair actually crossed the finish line pushing Therrien under the checkers as Planck trailed by .25-second at the stripe.
“The fact that David finished third in my other car makes this even more special,” smiled Clair, who celebrated his 37th birthday in victory lane at Brockville after his first career victory at the ‘City of the 1000 Islands’ oval that closed out its own 40th Anniversary season of racing. “After Syracuse I heard he was all done for the season so I gave him my back-up. I only warned him not to pass me, that was good for me today.”
Planck settled for the runner-up position for the fourth time this season in 11 series stops, adding in eight more top-10 finishes to put him on top in the final Hoosier-VP Mr. DIRTcar point standings.
“Mario had a helluva run on the outside, I was just waiting for someone to go up top,” remarked Planck, 39, a winner of six 358-Modified features at Brockville, all in 2000. “I played it kind of safe down there on the bottom most of the way. Just wanted to finish this race in one piece so second is all good.”
“Mario is always fast so I can’t really ask for much more. The track was in great shape , good on the top, bottom and in the middle, so we got to put on a heckuva race. This is a great way to cap off a season, especially here in Canada,” Planck said.
Added Herbert after posting his third top-five finish in just five series events, “I wish I had a few more laps to get a little closer to Dale at the end. Mario gave me a great car, I think I could’ve done better with more time out there.”
Following Dale Planck (1262) in the final 2009 Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Series Championship point standings are Pete Bicknell (1180), Larry Lampman Jr. (1143), Danny O’Brien (1118), Mario Clair (1042), Carey Terrance (1028), Chad Brachmann (1023), Jeremy Wilder (983), Mat Williamson (938) and Lance Willix II (930).
Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship Series Race #11 – Brockville Ontario Speedway, October 18, 2009 ‘DIRTcar Fall Nationals 100’ Event Summary
Feature
FIN STR CAR# DRIVER
1 2 22c Mario Clair/St-Edmond,QUE($4,000)
2 10 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
3 15 22h David Hebert/St. Damase,QUE
4 12 6 Pat O’Brien/Kingston,ONT
5 7 21 Yan Bussiere/Drummondville,QUE
6 4 6* Stewart Friesen/Niagara-o-t-Lake,ONT
7 1 88 Tim O’Brien/Kingston,ONT
8 14 22j Jeremy Wilder/Fort Plain,NY
9 5 42 Pete Bicknell/St.Catharines,ONT
10 11 22L Larry Lampman,Jr./Port Colborne,ONT
11 26 16w Lance Willix II/Theresa,NY
12 3 124 Pierre Dagenais/Gatineau,QUE
13 23 39 Clement Therrien/Victoriaville,QUE
14 27 72 Todd Stewart/Bath,ONT
15 25 23b Dany Bilodeau/Victoriaville,QUE
16 16 96 Kyle Dingwall/Brockville,ONT
17 13 25 Bobby Herrington/Elginburg,ONT
18 17 55 Perry Francis/Akwesasne,NY
19 24 6m Mat Williamson/St.Catharines,ONT
20 29 48 Tim Kerr/Picton,ONT
21 9 72x Denis Gauvreau/Alymer,QUE
22 18 9r Jason Riddell/Cardinal,ONT
23 22 87 Martin Gagne/Granby,QUE
24 32 35 Adam Moore/Elgin,ONT
25 8 99L Larry Wight/Phoenix,NY
26 19 3b Chad Brachmann/Sanborn,NY
27 21 7* Danny O’Brien/Kingston,ONT
28 31 63 Adam Roberts/Watertown,NY
29 6 m96 Brian McDonald/Cornwall,ONT
30 30 14 Mitchell Jock/Akwesasne,NY
31 20 0 Bill Gill/Plessis,NY
32 28 22 Eric Gauvreau/Chelsea,QUE
GATER NEWS LAP LEADERS: Clair (1-47), Planck (48-77), Clair (78-100).
CAUTIONS: 12 for 15 laps.
HEAT WINNERS (run 10/17): Planck, T.O’Brien, Dagenais, P.O’Brien.
CONSI WINNERS: Gagne, Therrien.
DASH (run 10/17): D.O’Brien.
BICKNELL RACING PRODUCTS WINNER AWARD: Mario Clair.
HALFWAY LEADER: Dale Planck.
BERT HARD CHARGER: Lance Willix II.
PENSKE POWER POSITION (12th): Pierre Dagenais.
INTEGRA SHOCKS FAST TIME AWARD (run 10/17): Pat O’Brien (14.290sec/94.472mph).
TOTAL PURSE: $19,575
CARS ENTERED: 43.
DID NOT QUALIFY(11)
7x-Todd Kendrick/London,ONT
8-Rich Scagliotta/Bound Brook,NJ
9-Mark Smoke/Akwesasne,NY
12-Skip MacKenzie/Ottawa,ONT
12k-Kyle Wilson/Joyceville,ONT
17c-Pete Cosco/St.Catharines,ONT
m70-Billy Cook/Hogansburg,NY
73-Dave Austin/Perth Road Village,ONT
75j-Pernie Banks/Portland,ONT
76-Ryan Poole/Charleston Lake,ONT
88L-Eric Lefebvre/St-Cyrille,QUE
QUALIFYING
Consolation Round (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to feature)
#1: Gagne, Williamson, Willix, E.Gauvreau, Jock, Poole, Kendrick, Wilson, Austin, Lefebvre, Scagliotta (DNS).
#2: Therrien, Bilodeau, Stewart, Kerr, Roberts, Cosco, Moore, Cook, Banks, Smoke, MacKenzie (DNS).
Provisional: Moore.
Hoosier-VP Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Point Standings (FINAL)
Pos. No. Driver Total Series Bonus Diff Wins Top 5 Top 10 Starts
1 77x Dale Planck 1262 902 360 0 0 6 8 10
2 42 Pete Bicknell 1180 820 360 -82 0 4 8 11
3 22 Larry Lampman 1143 783 360 -119 1 4 8 11
4 7* Danny O’Brien 1118 758 360 -144 0 2 6 10
5 22c Mario Clair 1042 682 360 -220 1 3 5 10
6 66x Carey Terrance 1028 668 360 -234 0 2 4 9
7 3b Chad Brachmann 1023 663 360 -239 0 2 5 10
8 22J Jeremy Wilder® 983 623 360 -279 0 0 3 10
9 6m Mat Williamson® 938 578 360 -324 0 0 1 11
10 16w Lance Willix II 930 570 360 -332 0 0 1 11
11 6 Pat O’Brien 895 535 360 -367 2 3 5 7
12 08 Mark D’ilario® 791 431 360 -471 0 0 0 8
13 1 David Hebert 735 375 360 -527 0 3 4 5
14 72 Tommy Flannigan® 703 343 360 -559 0 0 0 5
15 25 Bobby Herrington 650 290 360 -612 0 0 0 6
16 23 Laurent Ladouceur 649 289 360 -613 0 0 1 6
17 007 Roy Tarbell 630 270 360 -632 0 0 1 4
18 8 Rich Scagliotta® 601 361 240 -661 0 0 1 7
19 55 Stewart Friesen 598 238 360 -664 0 2 5 5
20 88 Tim O’Brien 592 232 360 -670 0 0 2 4
21 m96 Brian McDonald 592 232 360 -670 0 0 0 4
22 14 Mitchell Jock 590 230 360 -672 0 0 0 2
23 97 Michel Chicoine® 568 208 360 -694 0 0 0 3
24 124 Pierre Dagenais 564 204 360 -698 0 0 0 4
25 21 Yan Bussière 560 200 360 -702 0 1 1 4
26 22e Eric Gauvreau 553 193 360 -709 0 0 1 3
27 39 Clement Therrien 546 186 360 -716 0 0 0 4
28 13 Tony Steiner 532 172 360 -730 0 0 0 2
29 72T Todd Stewart 528 168 360 -734 0 0 0 3
30 33 Mike Mahaney 525 165 360 -737 0 0 0 3
31 96 Kyle Dingwall 522 162 360 -740 0 0 1 3
32 89b Todd Burley 522 162 360 -740 0 1 1 3
33 55p Perry Francis 516 156 360 -746 0 0 0 3
34 90 Martin Roy 513 153 360 -749 0 0 1 2
35 44 Sebastien Gougeon 510 150 360 -752 0 0 0 2
36 80x Chris Steele 510 150 360 -752 0 0 1 3
37 61 Jean Boissonneault 507 147 360 -755 0 0 0 3
38 79 Casey Swamp 502 142 360 -760 0 0 0 1
39 26R Rick Richner 502 142 360 -760 0 0 0 3
40 54 Steve Bernard 502 142 360 -760 0 0 0 3
41 M70 Billy Cook 501 141 360 -761 0 0 0 3
42 46 Kayle Robidoux 501 141 360 -761 0 0 0 3
43 98h Erick Rudolph® 500 140 360 -762 0 0 0 2
44 3 Claude Brouillard 498 138 360 -764 0 0 0 3
45 9 Mark Smoke 495 135 360 -767 0 0 0 2
46 21K Randy Chrysler 489 129 360 -773 0 0 0 3
47 73 Alain Boisvert 476 116 360 -786 0 0 1 2
48 91 Billy Decker 475 475 0 -787 3 4 4 6
49 74 Frederic Gamache 468 108 360 -794 0 0 1 2
50 28 Scott Kerwin 468 108 360 -794 0 0 1 2
DIRTcar 358-Modified Entries – October 17 (43)
CAR# DRIVER / HOMETOWN TEAM (Sponsor / Chassis / Engine)
0 Bill Gill/Plessis,NY Gill Racing/TEO/Morrison
3b Chad Brachmann/Sanborn,NY Mighty Taco/Bicknell/Honest Abe’s
6 Pat O’Brien/Kingston,ONT 730 Truck Stop-Gypsum Logistics-Milestone Concrete/Bicknell/Enders
6m Mat Williamson/St.Catharines,ONT Optional Hose & Hydraulics-Jasen Enterprises/Bicknell/ERD
6* Stewart Friesen/Niagara-o-t-Lake,ONT Global Warranty-Kendrick racing/Bicknell/Jeff Nichols
7* Danny O’Brien/Kingston,ONT Global Warranty-1000 Islands RV-Stover Bus Lines/Bicknell/Morrison
7x Todd Kendrick/London,ONT Global Warranty-1000 Islands RV-Stover Bus Lines/Bicknell/Morrison
8 Rich Scagliotta/Bound Brook,NJ Central Jersey Trailer & Hitch Depot-Adamsville Maintenance/Troyer/Enders
9 Mark Smoke/Akwesasne,NY Smoke’s Construction-Action Race Parts/Bicknell/West Carleton Automotive
9r Jason Riddell/Cardinal,ONT JR Trucking-Ironhorse Transportation/Bicknell/Jim’s Performance
12 Skip MacKenzie/Ottawa,ONT Freedom Harley-Davidson-SMI Innovations/Bicknell/Morrison
12k Kyle Wilson/Joyceville,ONT Freedom Harley-Davidson-SMI Innovations/Bicknell/Morrison
14 Mitchell Jock/Akwesasne,NY Sweet Dreams-Warrior Racing/Bicknell/Dyke Engineering
16w Lance Willix II/Theresa,NY Nor-Shir Construction-TRC-SUNY Canton/Bicknell/Morrison
17c Pete Cosco/St.Catharines,ONT Cosco Haulage-Brian’s Tire-Humberstone Speedway/Bicknell/Fioravanti
21 Yan Bussiere/Drummondville,QUE Bud Lime/TEO/RL Racing Engines
22 Eric Gauvreau/Chelsea,QUE Micheline Richard Home Sales-Gauvreau Top Soil/Troyer/Ovide Doiron
22c Mario Clair/St-Edmond,QUE Resist O-Batiments JDL-Motel Drummond/Bicknell/Morrison
22h David Hebert/St. Damase,QUE Bully’s Truck Stop-Batiments JDL-Motel Drummond/Bicknell/Morrison
22j Jeremy Wilder/Fort Plain,NY James Edgar Co.-Roosevelts/Bicknell/Boyd
22L Larry Lampman,Jr./Port Colborne,ONT CMH Leasing-Turn 4 Collsn-Garden City Auto/Bicknell/CC Performance
23b Dany Bilodeau/Victoriaville,QUE Entrepot Victo-Garage Bilodeau/Troyer/RL Racing Engines
25 Bobby Herrington/Elginburg,ONT Stover Bus Lines-Osprey Stables-Kingston Paint/Bicknell/Enders
35 Adam Moore/Elgin,ONT R.R. Equipment-Four-O-One Electric-E&A Welding/Bicknell/Engines Extra
39 Clement Therrien/Victoriaville,QUE JT Terrassement-Therrien Racing/Bicknell/B.H.P.
42 Pete Bicknell/St.Catharines,ONT Lucas Oil Products-Merrittville Speedway/Bicknell/ERD
48 Tim Kerr/Picton,ONT Calgey Racing-Hubert Kerr Construction-Northwood 2 Constr./Bicknell/Enders
55 Perry Francis/Akwesasne,NY C&B Enterprise-Action Race Parts-Flint Communications Group/TEO/Morrison
63 Adam Roberts/Watertown,NY Roberts Automotive & Sales-SUNY Canton Racing/Bicknell/Steve Roberts
m70 Billy Cook/Hogansburg,NY White’s Construction-MA’s Excavation/Bicknell/Morrison
72 Todd Stewart/Bath,ONT ReMax Realty-Red Line Oil-RWR Electric/TEO/DSE1
72x Denis Gauvreau/Alymer,QUE Micheline Richard Home Sales-Gauvreau Top Soil/Troyer/Ovide Doiron
73 Dave Austin/Perth Road Village,ONT Austin Racing/Bicknell/Engine Extra
75j Pernie Banks/Portland,ONT Willows Agriservices-Dockside Restaurant/Bicknell/CHE(Mopar)
76 Ryan Poole/Charleston Lake,ONT M.A.D.D.-Brockville Motor Sales/Bicknell/Morrison
77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY RezX Racing-Grow It Hydroseeding/TEO/Kevlar
87 Martin Gagne/Granby,QUE Demers Transport-Dooly’s/Troyer/RL Performance
88 Tim O’Brien/Kingston,ONT Jim’s Performance Plus-SG Wells Ford/TEO/Jim’s Performance Ford
88L Eric Lefebvre/St-Cyrille,QUE Hooters-Les Fondations Herve Carpenter/Bicknell/Boomer
96 Kyle Dingwall/Brockville,ONT Eastern Ontario Millwrighting-Harlenvino Transport./Bicknell/Mike Blok(Eng.Res.)
m96 Brian McDonald/Cornwall,ONT Northwood 2 Construction-Kriska Transport/Bicknell/Enders
99L Larry Wight/Phoenix,NY Gypsum Express Ltd-Gypsum Wholesalers-Tracey Road Equip./Bicknell/Kevlar
124 Pierre Dagenais/Gatineau,QUE Carriere Sabliere Dagenais/Bicknell/Ovide Doiron
SKIDMARKS
Owner Appreciation: Ten of the top-11 in Mr. DIRTcar points signed in for the Fall Nationals at BOS with fifth-place runner Carey Terrance the only one missing over the weekend. Terrance was serving as the Best Man at his friend’s wedding at St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands although his teammate Planck more than made up for his absence by capturing the coveted overall crown. Terrance, who turned 29 on Saturday, is also the owner of the RezX Racing no. 77x Grow It Hydroseeding/TEO ride that Planck rode to the 2009 championship, the biggest accomplishment of his DIRTcar career to date.
Rookie Year Gets Wilder: With the overall Mr. DIRTcar Championship going down to the final event, so did the chase for top rookie honors in the 358-Modified Series between 19 year-old racers Jeremy Wilder and Mat Williamson. Wilder edged Williamson by 45 markers in the final rundown, with both first-year Small-Block drivers placing among the top-10 in the final point standings. “I love the travel that goes along with this series, beats one track every weekend,” remarked Wilder, who secured his hometrack bonus points at Glen Ridge Motorsports Park. “I’ll be back in the 358 Series next year, probably mix in a few Big-Block shows along the way as well.”
Successful Inauguration: The first-ever DIRTcar Northeast Fall Nationals at BOS was certainly a successful endeavor with 170 cars (43 Modifieds, 35 Sportsman, 26 Pro Stocks, 38 Street Stocks, 28 Sprints) accounted for in the five star show over the weekend. Promoters Paul and Cheryl Kirkland are already laying the ground work for a return engagement in 2010 which is expected to include a return of the Big-Block Modified Super DIRTcar Series. “We’re pretty happy with how things turned out considering this event never materialized until the end of August,” noted Kirkland, whose plans for next year include the 2nd Annual Fall Nationals without any tour stops scheduled prior to the October date. “We learned a lot this year and with some sponsors already in the works, next year should be bigger and better. Just this weekend the battery died in both the water truck and packer, we ran everything on hydroelectric power today after yesterday’s outage, and I never had to prepare a track that started out frozen until now. Along with building a brand new camping area, getting some new permits and hiring a lot more security, I think we came out okay,” said Kirkland, who was joined by his wife Cheryl in spearheading the inaugural event.
Pot Holes: Part-time 358-Mod tour campaigner Michel Chicoine was one of the missing drivers at Brockville. Chicoine’s mother passed away during Super DIRT Week and he spent Saturday with family attending funeral services…In a rare season where Dale Planck went winless in both Big-Block and Small-Block competition, the Mr. DIRTcar Championship was his biggest ever. “I do have a handful of duffle bags in my room at home for winning some Dig Safely consolation races on the Big-Block tour.” The second-generation driver from the Sourhern Tier was experiencing a mediocre Big-Block campaign before making his decision to follow the 358 Series at the end of August. Ironically, points runner-up Pete Bicknell never planned to follow the entire series until Can-Am’s opener fell to rain and he posted good finishes at home tracks Merrittville and Ransomville speedways to start out the ’09 trail.
UPCOMING EVENTS
The 34th annual DIRTcar Racing Northeast ‘Night of Champions’ Banquet is scheduled for Saturday, November 14 at the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, New York. The banquet will honor the 2009 series champions in the Super DIRTcar Big-Block Modified, 358-Modified, Sportsman and Pro Stock divisions while track promoters and operators will convene on Friday, November 13 for the annual DIRTcar track meetings.
2009 Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship Series Schedule
DAY-DATE LAPS TRACK LOCATION/WINNER
Mon-May 18 Merrittville Speedway Larry Lampman Jr.
Fri-Jul 31 Ransomville Speedway Danny Johnson
Sun-Sep 6 Cornwall Motor Speedway Carey Terrance
Fri-Sep 11 Mohawk International Raceway Pat O’Brien
Sat-Sep 12 Brockville Ontario Speedway Pat O’Brien
Sun-Sep 13 Autodrome Granby Billy Decker ($10,000 to win)
Sat-Sep 19 Autodrome Drummond Jimmy Phelps ($10,000 to win)
Fri-Sep 25 Rolling Wheels Raceway Park Billy Decker
Wed-Oct 7 Can-Am Motorsports Park rain-cancelled
Thr-Oct 8 Brewerton Speedway Tim McCreadie
Fri-Oct 9 Rolling Wheels Raceway Park rain-cancelled
Sat-Oct 10 New York State Fairgrounds Billy Decker ($20,000 to win)
Sun-Oct 18 Brockville Ontario Speedway Mario Clair
DIRTcar Racing Northeast main office is located in Weedsport, New York on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds, home of DIRTcar All-Star Weekend in July. DIRTcar Northeast’s crown jewel event —Super DIRT Week at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse runs annually in October featuring Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship Series events for Big-Block Modified, 358-Modified, Sportsman and Pro Stock divisions. Ticket and schedule information is available by contacting the Weedsport office (315/834-6606) during the day or logging into www.superdirtweekonline.com anytime.
The Big-Block Super DIRTcar Series 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.
