Weedsport, NY — July 22, 2010 – By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing Northeast PR Director
Super DIRTcar Series point chasers get a much deserved two week break from tour competition while Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship contenders in the 358-Modified, Sportsman Modified and Pro Stock ranks get a much longer time off.
Two wins and a pair of seconds by Matt Sheppard during a six-day stretch vaulted the Waterloo, N.Y. driver to the top of the SDS points chart for the second time this season, leaving Billy Decker and Jimmy Phelps tied for second following All-Star Week in Central New York and the ‘Great Canadian Tour’ of Quebec at autodromes Granby and Drummond. A return to Canada and Merrittville Speedway in the province of Ontario highlights the next Series stop when the 18th Annual Bob St. Amand Sr. Memorial 100 takes center stage Aug. 2.
While Dave Marcuccilli captured the ‘All-Star 30’ Sportsman title event at Cayuga County Fair Speedway last weekend, a fourth-place tally by Ransomville’s Ryan Susice extended his lead over top challengers Steve Gray (3rd at CCFS) and Tim Sears Jr. (2nd). The talented trio gets back on track for rounds number four, five and six at Ransomville Speedway, Merrittville Speedway and Humberstone Speedway, Sept. 10-12.
Two races into the 2010 tour, American Danny Johnson leads past Mr. DIRTcar champions Pete Bicknell from St. Catharines, Ont. and Mario Clair from St-Edmond, Que. as they await the return to Series action the first weekend of September at Cornwall Motor Speedway.
Pro Stockers resume activity in late August and points leader Louie Jackson is looking to put his hometrack advantage to good use when Mohawk Int’l Raceway doubles up with a World of Outlaws Late Model Series stop on Aug. 21.
The season-long regional point chases continue around the DIRTcar Northeast circuit as open-wheel teams gear up for the second half of the 2010 campaign. A note that any competitor not purchasing a DIRTcar License by the July 15 cut-off date has been dropped from all weekly point tabulations.
‘Super Matt’ Sheppard’s recent success has elevated the second-generation standout into a tie with Jimmy Phelps in the Central Region standings, as Sheppard is now listed highest with 12 wins and Phelps is right behind with 11. All-time DIRTcar NE Modified winner Brett Hearn tops the Eastern Region points chart while perennial BRP title contender Jeremiah Shingledecker, who ventured north for All-Star Weekend II in Weedsport, continues to set the pace out West.
The Small-Block ranks have shown the most stability during the year with Tim O’Brien heading the DIRTcar 358-Modified Northern Region point standings and Pete Bicknell topping the Western Region chart. Stephane LaFrance has used a division-high seven wins to close the gap on O’Brien while Bicknell remains in command ahead of Chad Brachmann, the only other regional leader in the Niagara Frontier this season.
Enjoying his most productive year to date, Sportsman sensation Chris Raabe has locked up at least a share of the Northern division points crown with a DIRTcar NE best count of 19 feature wins. Tony Farone leads D.J. Brundige in the Eastern standings while top touring prospects Ryan Susice (Western) and Steve Gray (Central) in the overall Hoosier-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship set the pace in their own weekend title bids.
To follow the status of your favorite DIRTcar driver throughout the season, 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 July 20, 2010):
BIG-BLOCK SUPER DIRTcar SERIES POINTS
Pos. Driver Points
1 Matt Sheppard 1,171
2 Billy Decker 1,112
3 Jimmy Phelps 1,112
4 Brett Hearn 1,019
5 Danny Johnson 926
6 Dale Planck 843
7 Billy Dunn 823
8 Ryan Phelps 808
9 Steve Paine 744
9 Michael Storms 744
11 Tom Sears Jr. 740
12 Rich Scagliotta 640
13 Stewart Friesen 626
14 Larry Wight 553
15 Gary Tomkins 536
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
8 Mat Williamson 120
8 Pat O’Brien 116
10 Chad Brachmann 114
11 Dale Planck 102
12 Larry Wight 102
13 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 Jimmy Phelps 876
1 Matt Sheppard 876
3 Steve Paine 846
4 Billy Decker 810
5 Billy Dunn 776
6 Pat Ward 774
7 Rob Bellinger 760
8 Alan Johnson 746
9 Danny Johnson 730
10 Ryan Phelps 690
11 Michael Storms 682
12 Tom Sears Jr. 678
13 Larry Wight 658
14 Justin Haers 652
15 Dale Planck 648
EASTERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Brett Hearn 566
2 Craig Hanson 563
3 JaMike Sowle 532
4 Bob Varin 518
5 Eddie Marshall 490
5 Kenny Tremont Jr. 487
7 Donnie Corellis 481
8 Andy Bachetti 474
9 Jackie Brown 471
10 Rich Price 460
11 Mike Ronca 459
12 Keith Flach 416
13 Jeff Sheely 415
14 Guy Sheldon 413
15 Brian Berger 410
WESTERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Jer. Shingledecker 684
2 Dave Murdick 662
3 Kevin Bolland 656
4 Rex King 630
5 Del Rougeux Jr. 570
6 Brian Swartzlander 562
7 Mike Turner 552
8 Dean Pearson 532
9 Brad Rapp 476
10 Rex King Jr. 473
11 Kevin Hoffman 471
12 Carl Murdick 454
13 Steve Feder 417
14 Erik Martin 408
15 Shawn Fleeger 387
358-MODIFIED REGIONAL POINTS
NORTHERN (Best 15)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Tim O’Brien 824
2 Stephane LaFrance 802
3 Carey Terrance 784
4 Matt Billings 778
5 Danny O’Brien 778
5 Mario Clair 776
7 Luke Whittaker 772
8 Kayle Robidoux 754
9 Martin Roy 746
9 Gage Morin 742
11 David Hébert 742
12 Laurent Ladouceur 728
13 Yan Bussiere 718
14 Todd Stewart 716
15 Pat O’Brien 681
WESTERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Pete Bicknell 684
2 Chad Brachmann 634
3 Mat Williamson 586
4 Mike Bowman 576
5 Todd Gordon 564
6 Scott Wood 538
7 James M. Friesen 528
8 Rob Pietz 526
8 Robbie Krull 520
10 Boyd MacTavish 518
11 Fred Carleton 516
11 Rick Richner 510
13 Tommy Flannigan 494
14 Chad Chevalier 492
15 Tim Jones 474
SPORTSMAN MODIFIED REGIONAL POINTS
NORTHERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Chris Raabe 720
2 Dylan Evoy 666
3 Matt Hulsizer 646
4 Chris Herbison 640
5 Josh Van Brocklin 624
6 Sheldon Hoogwerf 600
7 Shane Pecore 596
8 Randy Earl 593
9 Brent Kelsey 566
10 Brad Winters 562
11 Travis Back 546
12 Dana Aikins 536
13 Adam Turner 530
14 Beth Schneider 514
15 Brandon Hagan 504
EASTERN (Best 10)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Tony Farone 490
2 DJ Brundige 464
3 Bodie Bellinger 460
4 John Marsh 443
5 Greg Pessolano 438
6 Brain Pessolano 434
7 Chuck Allen 430
8 Chris Schaffer 424
8 Justin Boehler 420
10 Jack Gentile 406
11 Ricky Quick 335
12 Dave Herrick 297
13 Laudy Hoyenga 281
14 Kory Wilder 279
15 Jim Eaton 258
CENTRAL (Best 15)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Steve Gray 810
2 Jeremy Pitcher 748
3 Justin Wright 726
4 Eric Giguere 700
5 Tom Juhl 653
6 James Spano 596
7 Ricky Newton 571
8 Dan Wiesner 562
9 Adam Hilton 552
10 Dave Marcuccilli 543
11 Mark Chiddy 526
12 Tim Sears Jr. 522
13 Greg Mrzywka 483
14 Loren Lincoln 475
15 Paul Guererri 474
WESTERN (Best 15)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Ryan Susice 814
2 Greg Panunte 784
3 Cody McPherson 780
4 Brad Rouse 756
5 B.J. Willard 752
6 Rick Bellante 682
7 Nick Cupolo 672
8 Don Spatorico 626
9 Rob Murray 567
10 Mark Chiddy 565
11 Justin Wright 564
12 Adam Leslie 549
13 Brandon Easey 528
14 Jipp Ortiz 448
15 Jim Johnstone 424
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.
