Weedsport, NY — August 25, 2010 – By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing Northeast PR Director
Only two weeks remain in the regional and track point races on the DIRTcar Northeast open-wheel circuit, with Big-Block, 358-Modified, Sportsman Modified and Pro Stock teams also being issued Track Bonus Points after the Labor Day show at Rolling Wheels Raceway (Sept. 6). Overall Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Champions will be determined for 358, Sportsman and Pro Stock classes at Brockville Ontario Speedway in late October while the 35th Mr. DIRTcar Big-Block titlist will be crowned at the Dirt Track at Charlotte in November.
Current Cayuga County Fair Speedway leader Matt Sheppard ranks ahead of Brewerton and Fulton front-runner Jimmy Phelps on the Central Region Big-Block points chart as this prolific pair also tops the win column with 17 and 13 feature victories while pacing the summer-long Super DIRTcar Series. Second-generation hotshoe Craig Hanson heads runner-ups Brett Hearn and JaMike Sowle in the Eastern standings while just four markers separate season-long leader Jeremiah Shingledecker and Dave Murdick out West in the closest Big-Block battle.
Can-Am Motorsports Park high-point man Tim O’Brien trails Autodrome Edelweiss top dog Stephane LaFrance for the first time this season in the DIRTcar 358-Modified Northern Region standings. LaFrance leads O’Brien 10-1 in feature wins although a mere two markers are the only difference on the regional level. Merrittville (Ont.) Speedway mainstay Pete Bicknell retains a comfortable advantage over Western Region foes Chad Brachmann and Mat Williamson heading down the stretch.
New DIRTcar single-season Sportsman record-holder Chris Raabe is a cinch to capture another Northern Region title as the Cornwall and Mohawk Int’l points leader has already racked up 25 feature wins in 2010. In search of his first regional championship, Bodie Bellinger holds a narrow lead over open-wheel veteran Tony Farone on the Eastern front while Ryan Susice clings to a precarious four-point margin ahead of seasoned Sportsman pilot Greg Panunte out West. Steve Gray, Jeremy Pitcher and Justin Wright continue to stay strong in the Central Region with just two weekends left to earn bragging rights.
‘Super Matt’ leads the Mr. DIRTcar Championship Series Big-Block contenders back into action this week at Lebanon Valley Speedway, with a whopping $17,500 first-place prize on the line for the ‘Mr. DIRT Track USA’ winner Aug. 26. Led by tour points leader Louie Jackson, top Pro Stock travelers return to Mohawk Int’l Raceway on Sept. 1 after rain knocked out the initial effort on Aug. 21. Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Series activity picks up on Sept. 5 at Cornwall Motor Speedway, with Sportsman teams going at it for three consecutive nights, Sept. 10-12, at Ransomville, Merrittville and Humberstone speedways.
To follow the success of your favorite DIRTcar driver during the final weeks, log into www.dirtcar.com and select ‘Points’ at the top then choose division on the left to view all track, region and series leaders. Complete Championship Series points are also available by clicking ‘Super DIRTcar Series’ on the right, then choosing a specific touring division and opening up using the MS Excel format.
DIRTcar Racing Northeast Point Standings (as of August 23, 2010):
BIG-BLOCK SUPER DIRTcar SERIES POINTS
Pos. Driver Points
1 Matt Sheppard 1,274
2 Jimmy Phelps 1,198
3 Billy Decker 1,179
4 Brett Hearn 1,102
5 Danny Johnson 1,011
6 Dale Planck 936
7 Billy Dunn 863
8 Ryan Phelps 859
9 Tom Sears Jr. 793
10 Steve Paine 785
11 Michael Storms 784
12 Stewart Friesen 722
13 Rich Scagliotta 697
14 Larry Wight 618
15 Pat Ward 589
358-MODIFIED SERIES POINTS
Pos. Driver Points
1 Danny Johnson 190
2 Pete Bicknell 175
3 Mario Clair 149
4 Danny O’Brien 137
5 David Hebert 135
6 Stewart Friesen 128
7 Eric Gauvreau 120
7 Mat Williamson 120
9 Pat O’Brien 116
10 Chad Brachmann 114
11 Dale Planck 102
11 Larry Wight 102
11 Rick Richner 102
14 Brett Hearn 100
15 Tommy Flannigan 98
SPORTSMAN MODIFIED SERIES POINTS
Pos. Driver Points
1 Ryan Susice 270
2 Steve Gray 246
3 Tim Sears Jr. 245
4 Justin Wright 220
5 Dan Wiesner 208
6 Jesse Cotriss 202
7 Chris Raabe 195
8 Mark Dixon 178
8 Shane Pecore 169
10 Loren Lincoln 167
11 Mark Chiddy 154
12 Donnie Lawson 150
13 Eric Giguere 142
14 Christine Martin 138
15 Daryl Hilkert 110
PRO STOCK SERIES POINTS
Pos. Driver Points
1 Louie Jackson 257
2 Jocelyn Roy 252
3 Carl Smith Jr. 236
4 Corey Wheeler 228
5 Joey Ladouceur 227
6 Pete Stefanski 225
7 Buddy Hencke 222
8 Dave Bissonnette 215
9 Stephane Lemire 184
10 P.J. Peters 170
11 Rob Yetman 155
12 David Papineau 154
13 Bruno Cyr 143
14 Stephane Lebrun 141
15 Ricky Thompson 140
BIG-BLOCK MODIFIED REGIONAL POINTS
CENTRAL (Best 15)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Matt Sheppard 892
2 Jimmy Phelps 884
3 Steve Paine 864
4 Billy Decker 822
5 Rob Bellinger 820
6 Billy Dunn 816
7 Pat Ward 788
8 Danny Johnson 776
9 Alan Johnson 762
10 Ryan Phelps 722
11 Vince Vitale 720
12 Justin Haers 714
13 Michael Storms 704
14 Dale Planck 700
15 Tom Sears Jr. 686
EASTERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Craig Hanson 648
2 JaMike Sowle 626
2 Brett Hearn 626
4 Bob Varin 620
5 J.R. Heffner 616
6 Andy Bachetti 602
7 Donnie Corellis 596
7 Eddie Marshall 596
9 Mike Ronca 576
10 Jackie Brown 572
11 Kenny Tremont Jr. 547
12 Brian Berger 532
13 Pep Corrada 520
14 Guy Sheldon 512
15 Jeff Sheely 500
WESTERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Jer. Shingledecker 704
2 Dave Murdick 700
3 Kevin Bolland 676
4 Brian Swartzlander 656
5 Del Rougeux Jr. 636
6 Rex King 630
7 Mike Turner 568
8 Brad Rapp 556
9 Dean Pearson 552
10 Kevin Hoffman 534
11 Rex King Jr. 520
12 Carl Murdick 500
13 Steve Feder 476
14 Chris Haines 458
15 Shawn Fleeger 432
358-MODIFIED REGIONAL POINTS
NORTHERN (Best 15)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Stephane LaFrance 858
2 Tim O’Brien 856
3 Carey Terrance 846
4 Kayle Robidoux 844
5 Martin Roy 838
6 Mario Clair 834
7 Danny O’Brien 826
8 Matt Billings 824
9 Luke Whittaker 802
10 Pat O’Brien 796
11 Gage Morin 792
12 David Hébert 776
13 Laurent Ladouceur 770
14 Yan Bussiere 768
15 Todd Stewart 756
WESTERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Pete Bicknell 704
2 Chad Brachmann 642
3 Mat Williamson 620
4 Todd Burley 612
5 Scott Wood 598
6 Mike Bowman 596
7 Todd Gordon 588
8 Tommy Flannigan 582
9 James M. Friesen 576
10 Rick Richner 574
11 Boyd MacTavish 568
12 Robbie Krull 558
13 Scott Kerwin 556
14 Fred Carleton 554
15 Chad Chevalier 550
SPORTSMAN MODIFIED REGIONAL POINTS
NORTHERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Chris Raabe 720
2 Dylan Evoy 680
3 Matt Hulsizer 664
4 Chris Herbison 660
5 Josh Van Brocklin 650
6 Randy Earl 638
7 Sheldon Hoogwerf 632
8 Shane Pecore 626
9 Brad Winters 602
10 Brent Kelsey 598
11 Mike Mainse 594
12 Dana Aikins 580
13 Travis Back 572
14 Brandon Hagan 568
15 Beth Schneider 566
EASTERN (Best 10)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Bodie Bellinger 522
2 Tony Farone 508
3 Brain Pessolano 502
3 DJ Brundige 502
5 Greg Pessolano 490
6 John Marsh 482
7 Justin Boehler 476
8 Chuck Allen 474
9 Steve Costantino 452
10 Chris Schaffer 450
11 Jack Gentile 426
12 Dave Herrick 371
13 Ricky Quick 335
14 Laudy Hoyenga 328
15 Jim Eaton 317
CENTRAL (Best 15)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Steve Gray 824
2 Jeremy Pitcher 786
3 Justin Wright 760
4 Eric Giguere 746
5 James Spano 702
6 Tim Sears Jr. 692
7 Tom Juhl 688
8 Dan Wiesner 662
9 Dave Marcuccilli 649
10 Adam Hilton 629
11 Paul Guererri 628
12 Greg Mrzywka 603
13 Daryl Hilkert 597
14 Greg Cool 592
15 Tim Schneider 590
WESTERN (Best 15)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Ryan Susice 836
2 Greg Panunte 832
3 Cody McPherson 820
4 Brad Rouse 790
5 B.J. Willard 766
6 Don Spatorico 762
7 Nick Cupolo 760
8 Justin Wright 740
9 Brandon Easey 716
10 Rick Bellante 702
11 Mark Chiddy 676
12 Jipp Ortiz 643
13 Adam Leslie 638
14 Rob Murray 616
15 Jesse Cotriss 614
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.allstar100weekend.com and 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 the University of Northwestern Ohio www.unoh.com and Chizmark & Larson Insurance www.chizmarklarson.com, and contingency sponsors are Bicknell Racing Products www.bicknellracingproducts.com, Bilstein Shocks www.bilstein.com, KSE Racing Products www.kse-racing.com, Motorsports Safety Systems www.motorsportssafetysystems.com, MSD Ignition www.msdignition.com, Penske Shocks, www.penskeshocks.com, Racing Electronics www.racingelectronics.com, Vicci Racing Apparel www.vicci.com and Wrisco Industries www.wrisco.com.
