Weedsport, NY — July 28, 2010 – By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing Northeast PR Director
Super DIRTcar Series point chasers are ready to resume activity next week at Merrittville (Ont.) Speedway while Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship contenders in the Pro Stock ranks prepare for action later in the month. 358-Modified and Sportsman Modified teams continue tour competition in September.
Waterloo, N.Y. star Matt Sheppard takes his Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block points lead across the border as he looks to defend his victory at Merrittville (Ont.) Speedway in the inaugural Bob St. Amand Memorial 100 on Aug. 2. Billy Decker and Jimmy Phelps remain deadlocked in second heading to Canada for the Civic Holiday happening in Thorold.
Danny Johnson is chased by past Mr. DIRTcar champions Pete Bicknell from St. Catharines, Ont. and Mario Clair from St-Edmond, Que. in the Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified title run as they await the return to Series action the first weekend of September at Cornwall Motor Speedway. Likewise for Ransomville’s own Ryan Susice, who holds his advantage over top Sportsman Series challengers Steve Gray and Tim Sears Jr. with rounds number four, five and six slated for Ransomville, Merrittville and Humberstone speedways, Sept. 10-12.
Pro Stockers return to the north country in late August as points leader Louie Jackson from Akwesasne, N.Y. will be on home soil when Mohawk Int’l Raceway doubles up with a World of Outlaws Late Model Series stop on Aug. 21.
The season-long regional point races continue around the DIRTcar Northeast circuit as open-wheel teams gear up for the second half of the 2010 campaign. All competitors not purchasing a DIRTcar License by the July 15 cut-off date have been dropped from all weekly point tabulations.
Sheppard’s torrid pace as of late has vaulted the second-generation standout into a tie with Jimmy Phelps in the Central Region Big-Block standings. ‘Super Matt’ is listed highest with 12 wins and Phelps sits closest with 11. Craig Hanson is now playing the chaser role as he trails all-time DIRTcar NE Modified winner Brett Hearn in the Eastern Region points chart while Keystone State hotshoe Jeremiah Shingledecker continues to set the pace out West.
No change in the Small-Block ranks as Tim O’Brien heads the DIRTcar 358-Modified Northern Region point standings while Bicknell tops the Western Region chart. Stephane LaFrance and Carey Terrance are the closest challengers to O’Brien while Chad Brachmann and Mat Williamson continue their pursuit of ‘Mr. Small-Block’ in the Niagara Frontier.
‘Teenage Tornado’ Chris Raabe has already locked up at least a share of the Sportsman 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 continue to set the standard 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 26, 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
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 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 576
2 Craig Hanson 563
3 J.R. Heffner 550
4 Eddie Marshall 538
5 Andy Bachetti 534
5 JaMike Sowle 532
7 Donnie Corellis 531
8 Bob Varin 518
9 Kenny Tremont Jr. 508
10 Jackie Brown 471
11 Brian Berger 462
12 Rich Price 460
13 Mike Ronca 459
14 Keith Flach 454
15 Guy Sheldon 433
WESTERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Jer. Shingledecker 694
2 Dave Murdick 662
3 Kevin Bolland 660
4 Rex King 630
5 Brian Swartzlander 602
6 Del Rougeux Jr. 598
7 Mike Turner 558
8 Dean Pearson 540
9 Brad Rapp 532
10 Rex King Jr. 486
11 Kevin Hoffman 471
12 Carl Murdick 468
13 Steve Feder 421
14 Erik Martin 408
15 Shawn Fleeger 406
358-MODIFIED REGIONAL POINTS
NORTHERN (Best 15)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Tim O’Brien 828
2 Stephane LaFrance 812
3 Carey Terrance 806
4 Danny O’Brien 792
5 Luke Whittaker 786
5 Matt Billings 778
7 Mario Clair 776
8 Laurent Ladouceur 766
9 Martin Roy 756
9 Kayle Robidoux 756
11 Gage Morin 742
11 David Hébert 742
13 Yan Bussiere 718
14 Todd Stewart 716
15 Kyle Dingwall 704
WESTERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Pete Bicknell 692
2 Chad Brachmann 634
3 Mat Williamson 598
4 Mike Bowman 586
5 Todd Gordon 584
6 Scott Wood 570
7 James M. Friesen 554
8 Fred Carleton 540
8 Boyd MacTavish 538
10 Chad Chevalier 536
11 Rick Richner 532
11 Robbie Krull 528
13 Rob Pietz 526
14 Tommy Flannigan 510
15 Todd Burley 498
SPORTSMAN MODIFIED REGIONAL POINTS
NORTHERN (Best 12)
Pos. Driver Points
1 Chris Raabe 720
2 Dylan Evoy 668
3 Chris Herbison 652
4 Matt Hulsizer 646
5 Josh Van Brocklin 624
5 Randy Earl 624
7 Sheldon Hoogwerf 618
8 Shane Pecore 598
9 Brent Kelsey 566
10 Brad Winters 562
11 Travis Back 556
12 Adam Turner 538
13 Dana Aikins 536
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 820
2 Greg Panunte 812
3 Cody McPherson 788
4 Brad Rouse 772
5 B.J. Willard 758
6 Nick Cupolo 714
7 Rick Bellante 692
8 Don Spatorico 686
9 Justin Wright 614
10 Mark Chiddy 611
11 Rob Murray 606
12 Adam Leslie 580
13 Brandon Easey 578
14 Mark Dixon 487
15 Jipp Ortiz 486
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.
