Photo by Rick Young, www.rickattheraces.com.
Erick Rudolph crowned DIRTcar 358-Modified Series champion after Friday finale
BROCKVILLE, ONTARIO – Saturday, October 18, 2014 – “The Doctor” Danny Johnson outmaneuvered Modified stars Billy Dunn and Erick Rudolph to claim Friday’s DIRTcar 358-Modified Series victory at Brockville Ontario Speedway.
“We started fourth and we jiggled around back and forth there for a little bit,” said Johnson, who claimed his sixth DIRTcar 358-Modified Series win at Brockville. “Then a couple guys there fell out, and the bottom came in good. My car was really hooked up well on the bottom, it rotated well, and it worked out well for us tonight.”
Johnson started fourth while Dunn and early race leaders Michel Chicoine and Mike Adderley battled for the prime position. However, a fast yet perilous outside groove caused trouble for all three, throwing each, in succession, off the track while leading the field. When Dunn lost control and slid off the backstretch in lap 34, Johnson was left in first place with Rudolph running in second.
“It’s a tough thing – the outside is so fast, it’s easy to fall off the track,” Johnson commented. “Fortunately, it didn’t happen to me, and we were able to get the win.”
Friday’s victory may have earned Johnson the ample $4,000 winner’s share, but it was runner-up Rudolph who took home the biggest prize. The 22-year-old out of Ransomville, N.Y., claimed his second consecutive DIRTcar 358-Modified Series by a margin of just four points over Hogansburg, N.Y.’s Carey Terrance.
“We were fighting for the win,” said Rudolph, who had established a point lead earlier in the season but lost it after Terrance’s impressive run in Syracuse’s Salute the Troops 150. “I knew Terrance was going to do everything he could to win it for himself.”
Rudolph was second in point standings by just 11 points before Friday’s race and started 10th in the 100-lap feature. Terrance started 16th, and both contenders were quick to make their way toward the front of the field. However, Terrance jumped the cushion in lap 19, leaving Rudolph with a strong advantage.
At the halfway point, Johnson, Rudolph and Mario Clair were continually in battle for the best position and Terrance had made his way back to 16th place. Johnson managed to stay ahead of Rudolph by a hair while Brett Hearn, after starting 22nd, battled Ryan Bartlett for fifth place. With just eight laps to go, Johnson was starting to pull away from the rest of the field while Terrance slid into fifth place.
“We were probably faster than Danny about halfway through the race, and then as the race went on he got a little better and at the end of the race I was just holding on for second,” Rudolph recalled.
Indeed, Rudolph clung to second place, fending off persistent challenges from Clair to the very end, winning him enough of a point advantage to surpass Terrance.
“This year we really had to work for it,” Rudolph said of the series championship, with its finale race being just one of many obstacles along the way. “We had some things happen to us in races where we’ve never seen it happen, we’re scratching our heads, we’ve never seen it happen or even heard of it happening. But that didn’t set us back. We kept working hard, bringing a quality car to the track.”
Clair finished third, Brian McDonald was fourth and Terrance fifth.
The 1000 Islands RV Centre DIRTcar Fall Nationals concludes Saturday, Oct. 18, when the Super DIRTcar Big Block Modified Series and DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series take center stage. The 2014 DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series Champion will be crowned after Saturday’s feature race.
For more information about the DIRTcar 358-Modified Series, click www.dirtcar.com, follow @DIRTcarNE on Twitter, or like the Facebook page www.facebook.com/DIRTcar.
DIRTcar 358-Modified Series
1000 Islands RV Centre DIRTcar Fall Nationals
Brockville Ontario Speedway
Friday, October 17, 2014
A-Main (100 laps):
Pos. – No. – Driver / Hometown [Start]
- 27j Danny Johnson / Rochester, N.Y. [4]
- 25 Erick Rudolph / Ransomville, N.Y. [10]
- 22c Mario Clair / Drummondville, Quebec [9]
- 151kb Brian McDonald / Cornwall, Ontario [12]
- 66x Carey Terrance / Hogansburg, N.Y. [16]
- 17D Danny O’Brien / Kingston, Ontario [5]
- 20 Brett Hearn / Sussex, N.J. [22]
- 9j Jordan McCreadie / Watertown, N.Y. [11]
- 66 Kyle Dingwall / Morrisburg, Ontario [26]
- 97 Michel Chicoine / Ste-Cecile-de-Milton, Quebec [1]
- 124 David Hebert / St. Damase, Quebec [30]
- 93 Ryan Bartlett / Watertown, N.Y. [13]
- R70 Ryan Arbuthnot / Renfrew, Ontario [14]
- 16w Lance Willix II / Theresa, N.Y. [28]
- 21 Yan Bussiere / Drummondville, Quebec [24]
- 46 Kayle Robidoux / St-Constant, Quebec [18]
- 13 Kevin Hamel / Sorel, Quebec [25]
- 54 Steve Bernard / Granby, Quebec [7]
- 19 Luke Stewart / Sydenham, Ontario [6]
- 88 Chris Herbison / Mallorytown, Ontario [20]
- 55 Matt Woodruff / Bloomingdale, N.Y. [21]
- 99L Bruno Lepage / Maple Grove, Quebec [15]
- 99A Mike Adderley / Charlotte, N.C. [2]
- 15aw Kyle Wilson / Joyceville, Ontario [19]
- 26 Maxime Viens / St. Cesaire, Quebec [23]
- 94 Jean Francois Corriveau / Granby, Quebec [17]
- 9 Jason Riddell / Cardinal, Ontario [3]
- 23 Billy Dunn / Watertown, N.Y. [8]
- 75j Joseph Banks / Brockville, N.Y. [31]
- 44x Dylan Breen / Kingston, Ontario [27]
- 24b Roger Levesque / Napanee, Ontario [29]
DNS:
115 Stephane Lafrance / St. Albert, Quebec
Lap Leaders:
Chicoine (1-7)
Adderly (8-13, 34-40)
Dunn (14-33)
Johnson (41-100)
Qualifying Heats (Top 3 redraw)
Heat 1: 1. Bernard, 2. McCreadie, 3. Chicoine, 4. Bartlett, 5. Corriveau, 6. Woodruff, 7. Hamel, 8. Levesque
Heat 2: 1. O’Brien, 2. Adderly, 3. Rudolph, 4. Arbuthnot, 5. Robidoux, 6. Hearn, 7. Dingwall, 8. Hebert
Heat 3: 1. Clair, 2. Riddell, 3. Stewart, 4. Lepage, 5. Wilson, 6. Viens, 7. Breen
Heat 4: 1. McDonald, 2. Dunn, 3. Johnson, 4. Terrance, 5. Herbison, 6. Bussiere, 7. Willix, 8. Banks
Time Trials:
Group 1 Time Trials: 1. Bernard 14.305, 2. McCreadie 14.475, 3. Chicoine 14.499, 4. Corriveau 14.511, 5. Bartlett 14.559, 6. Hamel 14.612, 7. Levesque 14.904, 8. Woodruff 15.047
Group 2 Time Trials: 1. O’Brien 13.940, 2. Adderly 14.033, 3. Arbuthnot 14.139, 4. Rudolph 14.230, 5. Robidoux 14.251, 6. Hearn 14.275, 7. Hebert 14.515, 8. Dingwall 14.620
Group 3 Time Trials: 1. Clair 14.250, 2. Riddell 14.362, 3. Lepage 14.424, 4. Stewart 14.426, 5. Wilson 14.645, 6. Breen 14.815, 7. Viens 14.826
Group 4 Time Trials: 1. McDonald 14.078, 2. Dunn 14.185, 3. Johnson 14.202, 4. Bussiere 14.300, 5. Terrance 14.454, 6. Herbison 14.531, 7. Willix 14.661, 8. Banks 14.672
2014 DIRTcar 358-Modified Series Winners
Sun., May 18 Cornwall Speedway Cornwall, Ontario / Mario Clair
Mon., May 19 Merrittville Speedway Thorold, Ontario / Danny Johnson
Tues., July 1 Humberstone Speedway Port Colborne, Ontario / Erick Rudolph
Wed., July 2 Ransomville Speedway Ransomville, NY / Danny Johnson
Sun., Aug. 31 Cornwall Speedway Cornwall, Ontario / Carey Terrance
Fri., Sept. 5 Autodrome Granby Granby, Quebec / David Hebert
Fri., Sept. 12 Mohawk International Raceway Akwesasne, New York / Billy Dunn
Fri., Sept. 19 Le RPM Speedway St-Marcel De Richelieu, QC / David Hebert
Sat., Sept. 20 Brighton Speedway Brighton, Ontario / Erick Rudolph
Wed., Oct. 8 Cayuga County Fairgrounds Speedway Weedsport, NY / Matt Sheppard
Thurs., Oct. 9 Brewerton Speedway Brewerton, NY / Brett Hearn
Sat., Oct. 11 New York State Fairgrounds Syracuse, NY / Brett Hearn
Fri., Oct. 17 Brockville Speedway Brockville, Ontario / Danny Johnson
The Super DIRTcar Series and DIRTcar Racing in the Northeast Region is brought to fans by several sponsors and partners including Hoosier Racing Tire, VP Racing Fuels, Chevy Performance Parts, NAPA Auto Parts, and Safety-Kleen. Contingency partners include the University of Northwestern Ohio, ASI, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix, ButlerBuilt, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, KSE Racing Products, Mobil 1, Motorsports Safety Systems, MSD LLC, Fox Shocks, Pole Position Raceway, Racing Electronics, Superflow and Wrisco Industries.
