Justin Sharp picks up DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series feature win
RANSOMVILLE, N.Y. — July 3, 2014 — After a suspenseful night of racing, at Ransomville Speedway Wednesday, July 2, Justin Sharp and “The Doctor” Danny Johnson claimed hard-fought victories.
Modified star Johnson, out of Rochester, N.Y., picked up the win Wednesday in the DIRTcar 358-Modified Series 75-lapper after a tense battle with Stewart Friesen, of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, for the lead
“The Doctor,” a regular racer on Ransomville’s 3/8-mile, was fast from the get-go, powering from fourth to second at the green flag. Polesitter Jeff McGinnis took the initial lead.
A flat right rear tire on the No. 72 of Tommy Flannigan brought the race’s first caution. When the race restarted, it was Friesen who sped ahead at the green flag and caught up with the leaders. He pulled up between McGinnis and Johnson for a three-wide attempt for the lead, but lap-8 caution slowed his advance.
Johnson found a little extra speed off the double-file restart that followed and grabbed the lead from McGinnis. Th e speedway was under yellow flag conditions again soon thereafter due to a collision in the backstretch between the No. 22c of Mario Clair and the No. 28 of Todd Gordon.
When the race continued, a three-wide battle ensued between Friesen, McGinnis and defending DIRTcar 358-Modified Series Champion Erick Rudolph. Friesen charged ahead, gained momentum over several laps, and by lap 18 was closing in on leader Johnson.
The leaders raced through heavy traffic in lap 23, and Friesen again went three-wide for a pass, this tie with Johnson and a lapped car. In turn 2 of lap 24 he cleared both cars and claimed the lead.
Friesen was soon pulling away from the field, deftly maneuvering through lapped cars as he did so. It was a caution in lap 44 that sealed Friesen’s fate; he chose the inside on the restart and Johnson, fast on the high side, charged ahead of the No. 44 and never looked back.
“The outside was really good, Johnson said. “I knew, when he went to the bottom, that that was my chance, and I gave it all I got.”
Friesen finished a strong second, followed by Erick Rudolph in third, Ryan Susice fourth and Pete Bicknell fifth.
“It’s always fun coming back to Ransomville,” Friesen said. “It’s always fun racing my favorite driver, too. He’s top-notch. Running second to him is never a bad thing.”
The DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series 30-lap feature that night was just as much a nailbiter, with Justin Sharp fending off late race charges of James M. Friesen. Andrew Smith had the initial race lead, but he spun in lap 14 soon after being passed by Shane Pecore. Sharp was fast on the next restart, and raced three-wide with Pecore and Friesen until he pulled ahead for the lead in lap 17.
In a green-white-checkered finish, Friesen, then second, had one last opportunity to challenge the leader. He plunged deep to the low side of the track in turns 3 and 4, but his efforts were not enough to pass the leader before the checkered flag and Sharp took the win.
“The restarts were tough,” Sharp said in Victory Lane that night. “I had thee jump a little bit going into (turn) 3.”
The DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series heads to Quebec for a Monday, July 21, feature race at Autodrome Granby followed by the next round Tuesday, July 22, at Autodrome Drummond. The DIRTcar 358-Modified Series pickS back up Sunday, Aug. 31, at Cornwall Motor Speedway.
DIRTcar 358-Modified Series Statistical Report
Ransomville Speedway
Wednesday, July 2
A-Main (75 laps): 1. 27J Danny Johnson ($5,000), 2. 44 Stewart Friesen, 3. 25 Erick Rudolph, 4. 38 Ryan Susice, 5. 42 Pete Bicknell, 6. 1R Jeff McGinnis, 7. 7 Tim McCreadie, 8. 123 Robbie Krull, 9. 37s Alan Johnson, 10. 38R Billy VanPelt, 11. 7SC Scott Kerwin, 12. 22 James M. Friesen, 13. 3 Chad Brachmann, 14. R70 Ryan Arbuthnot, 15. x22 Chuck Hosfeld, 16. 21k Randy Chrysler, 17. 16 Lance Willix II, 18. 28 Todd Gordon, 19. 777 Tyler McPherson, 20. 72 Tommy Flannigan, 21. 26 Rick Richner, 22. 678 John Smith, 23. 22c Mario Clair, 24. 74 Dave Flannigan, 25. 06 Brandon Easey 26. 66x Carey Terrance, 27. 35 Chad Chevalier, 28. 56 Steve Schumacher, 29. 27 Ray Bliss. DNS:7s Sam Crogan, 12j Nick Joy
B-Main: D. Flannigan, Arbuthnot, Smith, Willix, Hosfeld, Chevalier, Bliss, Terrance, Schumacher
Heat 1: D. Johnson, Gordon, McPherson, Brachmann, A. Johnson, D. Flannigan, Crogan, Arbuthnot
Heat 2: Susice, Kerwin, McGinnis, VanPelt, Clair, Chevalier, Smith, Bliss
Heat 3: Rudolph, Bicknell, Easey, Chrysler, Richner, Schumacher, Joy, Terrance
Heat 4: McCreadie, S. Friesen, T. Flannigan, J. Friesen, Krull, Willix, Hosfeld
Time Trials: 1. Gordon 17.165, 2. Rudolph 17.191, 3. McCreadie 17.215, 4. Susice 17.306, 5. Bicknell 17.319, 6. D. Johnson 17.340, 7. S. Friesen 17.346, 8. Easey 17.401, 9. Brachmann 17.426, 10. McPherson 17.428, 11. Terrance 17.476, 12. Clair 17.479, 13. T. Flannigan 17.500, 14. Chrysler 17.540, 15. J. Friesen 17.548, 16. McGinnis 17.564, 17. A. Johnson 17.648, 18. Crogan 17.653, 19. Kerwin 17.684, 20. Joy 17.689, 21. Krull 17.706, 22. Chevalier 17.721, 23. VanPelt 17.759, 24. Schumacher 17.853, 25. Hosfeld 17.904, 26. Smith 17.954, 27. D. Flannigan 18.005, 28. Bliss 18.024, 29. Richner 18.063, 30. Arbuthnot 18.092, 31. Willix 18.237
DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series Statistical Report
Ransomville Speedway
Wednesday, July 2
A-Main(30 laps): 1. 8s Justin Sharp ($1,000), 2. 52 James M. Friesen, 3. 0 Shane Pecore, 4. 28 Gary Lindberg, 5. 7 Cody McPherson, 6. 26 Scott George, 7. 55H Jesse Cotriss, 8. 51 Kevin Wills, 9. 7f Matt Farnham, 10. 18R Brad Rouse, 11. 3m Mathieu Desjardins, 12. 21 James Henry, 13. 25 Derrick Borkenhagen, 14. 18jr Louie Jackson, Jr., 15. 6m Nate Reynolds, 16. 10 Brett Martin, 17. 92p Martin Pelletier, 18. 15 Adam Leslie, 19. 3a Adam Hilton, 20. 23 Mike Stacey, 21. 47 Phil Vigneri, 22. 40sL Sean Letts, 23. 92 Joey Ladouceur, 24. 52 Jessica Power, 25. 4 Greg Martin, 26.1 Andrew Smith, 27. 92c Billy Coleman – Ransomville, N.Y., 28. 7 Mike Maresca, 29. 31 Boyd MacTavish, 30.19c Rob Clark. DNS:5 Don Spatorico, 18w Jim Harbison, 94 Chris Burek111 Alan Wills
B-Main 1: Farnham, Power, Clark, Pelletier, A. Wills, Spatorico, Rouse
B-Main 2: Stacey, Maresca, MacTavish, Letts, Hilton, Harbison, Burek
Heat 1: McPherson, Sharp, G. Martin, Desjardins, Jackson, Farnham, Clark, Spatorico, A. Wills
Heat 2: Vigneri, Smith, Reynolds, Coleman, Borkenhagen, Power, Rouse, Pelletier, Letts
Heat 3: Lindberg, B. Martin, Cotriss, Ladouceur, Leslie, Stacey, Burek, Harbison
Heat 4: George, Pecore, Friesen, K. Wills, Henry, Maresca, MacTavish, Hilton
Time Trials: 1. George 18.455, 2. Lindberg 18.358, 3. Pecore 18.372, 4. J. Friesen 18.387, 5. K. Wills 18.388, 6. McPherson 18.411, 7. Vigneri 18.413, 8. B. Martin 18.418, 9. Cotriss 18.425, 10. Smith 18.428, 11. Sharp 18.443, 12. G. Martin 18.462, 13. Desjardins 18.497, 14. Henry 18.505, 15. Farnham 18.522, 16. Maresca 18.533, 17. Hilton 18.536, 18. Clark 18.538, 19. Ladouceur 18.543, 20. Burke 18.581, 21. Pelletier 18.584, 22. Borkenhagen 18.638, 23. Coleman 18.660, 24. Reynolds 18.669, 25. Power 18.673, 26. Leslie 18.674, 27. MacTavish 18.712, 28. Rouse 18.866, 29. Jackson 18.890, 30. Harbison 18.915, 31. Spatorico 18.944, 32. A. Wills 18.950, 33. Stacey 18.969, 34. Letts 19.003
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