Joey Ladouceur - Rick Young Photo
Akwesasne, NY — September 18, 2010 – By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing Northeast PR Director
Second-generation driver Joey Ladouceur parlayed misfortune into a stroke of good luck as he scored his second victory of the season in the Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock ‘SUNY Canton 30’ on Saturday at Mohawk Int’l Raceway.
Drawing the worst starting position among a dozen heat race qualifiers, Ladouceur was in position to take over first when leaders Ghislain Valade and Louie Jackson made contact with 10 laps to go. He then rolled away for a convincing win worth $1,000 for the full-fender favorite from Alexandria, Ont.
“A couple restarts before I was third and got totally bottled up, so when a hole opened up after Louie and Ghislain made contact I didn’t need a second invitation and went for it,” exclaimed Ladouceur, 34, following his 15th career (3rd all-time) Series triumph that put him nine points behind Jackson in the battle for Mr. DIRTcar supremacy. “That was the first time somebody was able to stay with the leader all race.”
“I think this points deal is going to come right down to the last race at Brockville. We’re going to be tight all the way but I’m kinda hoping it’s that way. It’s a lot of fun racing all these guys,” said Ladouceur, who captured the overall Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock crown in 2004 and settled for the runner-up spot last autumn.
Syracuse Qualifier Valade held back a high-flying Corey Wheeler for second at the line, with Jackson and Chip Smith Jr. rounding out the top-five in the 30-lap main event that was slowed by a handful of yellow flags with 16 of the 23 starters completing the entire distance.
Despite claiming victory in the third and final qualifying heat, Ladouceur chose ‘12’ in the traditional pre-race draw to join Jackson in row six for the start. Yet before the 23-car starting field could even take the initial green flag, a turn four scramble brought on the caution lights with a half-dozen cars forced to the rear after their early race altercation.
Coming off his recent tour win at Mohawk on Sept., P.J. Peters secured the pole-position and jumped out to an early advantage back under green flag conditions. When David Papineau ‘s mount came to halt high in turn three to cause another slowdown on lap four, Valade and fellow Frenchman Jocelyn Roy quickly moved in to chase Peters with Ladouceur teetering in the top-10.
Consecutive green flag laps continued to click off with Valade finally surging past Peters as they rounded turn four on lap nine. Wheeler followed suit to grab the number two spot and with 10 laps in the books Roy and Ladouceur joined in the top-five
Valade and Wheeler ran tight together at the front of the pack at the lap 10 mark with Roy and Ladouceur filling out the top-five. Ladouceur found the needed traction two laps later and charged from fifth to third on the back chute before setting his sights on the lead duo.
At the halfway point the trio of Valade, Wheeler and Ladouceur stretched out their advantage while a fast-moving Jackson darted past Roy for fourth. Back-to-back caution periods for a spinning Stephane Lebrun (lap 16) on the back straightway and a three-car tangle between Jody Swamp, Guy Viens and Lebrun (lap 17) in turn three slowed the action with Jackson advancing into the runner-up slot at the same time.
Turn one contact between Dave Bissonnette and Ryan Stabler incurred the fifth and final setback and on the lap 21 restart Ladouceur put his no. 92 Coffrage 20-20-Minimax Express/Cadillac STS entry ahead to stay with a bold three-wide maneuver heading out of turn two.
“I’d like to tip my hat to Jeremie (Corcoran, MIR Promoter) and the whole crew on preparing the track today,” added Ladouceur, who was recently crowned high point man at Cornwall (Ont.) Motor Speedway for a fifth season. “After last night I was definitely worried.”
“Considering the circumstances (record rainfall), the track was just awesome. It could’ve been a real smashfest out there with a lot of torn up equipment but that just never happened. Tonight we even had to make a choice between setting up for tacky or dry and slick as there were some sticky patches around the track. So we went halfway and it worked out great for us,” Ladouceur said.
The 2010 Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Series point chasers get only one week off from tour competition before making their way back to Central New York and Rolling Wheels Raceway on Sept. 25 for round #7 in DIRTcar Northeast’s backyard.
Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship Series Race #6 – Mohawk Int’l Raceway, September 18, 2010 ‘SUNY Canton 30’ Event Summary
Feature
FIN ST CAR# DRIVER / HOMETOWN
1 12 92 Joey Ladouceur/Alexandria,ONT ($1,000)
2 2 99 Ghislain Valade/N.Lancaster,ONT
3 6 47s Corey Wheeler/Cornwall,ONT
4 11 18 Louie Jackson/Akwesasne,NY
5 8 116s Chip Smith Jr./Durham,NY
6 5 7 Rob Yetman/Castleton,NY
7 10 10 Buddy Hencke/Sand Lake,NY
8 3 05 Jocelyn Roy/St-Helene,QUE
9 4 2 Pete Stefanski/Wheatfield,NY
10 9 69 Jody Swamp /Hogansburg,NY
11 7 47 Dave Bissonnette/Apple Hill,ONT
12 1 73 P.J. Peters/Akwesasne,QUE
13 16 48 Dion Oakes/Akwesasne,NY
14 14 7e Ryan Stabler/Cornwall,ONT
15 19 7d Eugene Tarbell/Hogansburg,NY
16 13 88 Allen Peters/Westville,NY
17 18 66 William Adams/Snye,QUE
18 22 30 Thunder Anderson/Hogansburg,NY
19 17 15 Guy Viens/St-Hubert,QUE®
20 15 1r Ricky Thompson/Hogansburg,NY
21 20 6 Stephane Lebrun/Gatineau,QUE
22 21 188 David Papineau/Akwesasne,NY
23 23 4 Roch Aubin/Alexandria,ONT
LAP LEADERS: PJ Peters (1-8), Valade (9-20), Ladouceur (21-30).
CAUTIONS: 5 (lap 1, lap 4, lap 16, lap 17, lap 21).
HEAT WINNERS: Valade, Smith, Ladouceur.
SYRACUSE QUALIFIER: Ghislain Valade.
HALFWAY LEADER: Ghislain Valade.
CARS ENTERED: 23
NEXT EVENT: Rolling Wheels Raceway Park – Sept. 25, 2010.
QUALIFYING
Heat Races (8 laps, all transferred to feature; top 4 redrew)
#1: Valade, Stefanski, PJ Peters, Yetman, A.Peters, Oakes, Tarbell, Anderson.
#2: Smith, Wheeler, Swamp, Hencke, Stabler, Viens, Lebrun, Aubin.
#3: Ladouceur, Bissonnette, Jackson, Roy, Thompson, Adams, Papineau.
Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship Series Point Standings (Sept. 18)
Rank No. Driver Total Series Bonus Diff Wins Top 5 Top 10 Starts
1 18 Louie Jackson 1,457 472 985 0 0 4 5 6
2 92 Joey Ladouceur 1,448 448 1000 -9 2 2 5 6
3 47s Corey Wheeler 1,435 450 985 -22 0 4 4 6
4 05 Jocelyn Roy 1,428 428 1000 -29 1 2 4 6
5 116s Chip Smith Jr. 1,410 455 955 -47 0 4 5 6
6 47 Dave Bissonnette 1,410 435 975 -47 0 2 4 6
7 10 Buddy Hencke 1,383 398 985 -74 0 1 4 6
8 7 Rob Yetman 1,348 393 955 -109 1 2 5 5
9 1r Ricky Thompson 1,346 346 1000 -111 0 1 4 5
10 73 P.J. Peters 1,308 373 935 -149 1 1 1 6
11 48 Dion Oakes 1,264 299 965 -193 0 0 0 6
12 6 Stephane Lebrun 1,242 287 955 -215 0 0 0 6
13 88 Allen Peters 1,216 290 926 -241 0 0 0 6
14 15 Guy Viens 1,205 265 940 -252 0 0 0 6
15 188 David Papineau 1,189 249 940 -268 0 0 0 5
16 99 Ghislain Valade 1,186 231 955 -271 0 1 2 3
17 115 Stephane Lemire 1,169 184 985 -288 0 0 2 3
18 33 Bruno Cyr 1,153 153 1000 -304 0 0 0 3
19 17T Rod Tarbell 1,130 185 945 -327 0 0 0 4
20 79 Rocky Warner 1,114 114 1000 -343 0 0 1 2
21 8 Jay Corbin 1,085 85 1000 -372 0 1 1 1
22 97 Roland Hebert 1,075 110 965 -382 0 0 0 2
23 48 Francois Lareau 1,073 118 955 -384 0 0 0 2
24 0 Francois Adam 1,068 93 975 -389 0 0 0 2
25 69 Jody Swamp 1,060 130 930 -397 0 0 2 2
26 23 Chuck Towslee 1,047 62 985 -410 0 0 1 1
27 7e Ryan Stabler 1,036 104 932 -421 0 0 0 2
28 7d Claudia Tarbell 1,028 96 932 -429 0 0 0 2
29 243 Victor Hopkins 1,027 72 955 -430 0 0 1 1
30 08 Richard Bertrand 1,026 81 945 -431 0 0 0 2
31 12 Alain Brochu 1,025 40 985 -432 0 0 0 1
32 3 Norman Voghell 1,021 86 935 -436 0 0 0 2
33 47 Mario Gagnon 1,020 80 940 -437 0 0 0 2
34 24 Robbie Speed 1,015 40 975 -442 0 0 0 1
35 315 Jon Routhier 1,005 40 965 -452 0 0 0 1
36 24 Jacques Robert 991 46 945 -466 0 0 0 1
37 8m Marc Lalonde 986 58 928 -471 0 0 0 1
38 55 George Renaud 986 41 945 -471 0 0 0 1
39 49 Ivan Joslin 985 0 985 -472 0 0 0 0
40 10 Cale Kneer 978 46 932 -479 0 0 0 1
41 50 Scott Kocher 976 48 928 -481 0 0 0 1
42 27 Nick Stone 975 0 975 -482 0 0 0 0
43 27 Jerremy Pitts 975 0 975 -482 0 0 0 0
44 311 Brian Keough 974 44 930 -483 0 0 0 1
45 22 Frederic Lussier 972 40 932 -485 0 0 0 1
46 17 Joceyln Chicoine 970 40 930 -487 0 0 0 1
47 16 Jean-Pierre Labelle 966 42 924 -491 0 0 0 1
48 TWO Luke Horning 965 0 965 -492 0 0 0 0
49 41 Bill Smith IV 965 0 965 -492 0 0 0 0
50 14 Chris Tremblay 964 40 924 -493 0 0 0 1
51 55 Donald Provencher 962 40 922 -495 0 0 0 1
52 20 Francis Landerville 960 40 920 -497 0 0 0 1
53 324 Jason Casey 945 0 945 -512 0 0 0 0
54 87 Walt Brownell 945 0 945 -512 0 0 0 0
55 78 Paul LaRochelle 940 0 940 -517 0 0 0 0
56 322 Jay Casey 935 0 935 -522 0 0 0 0
57 55 Emilien Foster 932 0 932 -525 0 0 0 0
58 118 Jeff Kelmel 928 0 928 -529 0 0 0 0
59 80 Bob Camilli 926 0 926 -531 0 0 0 0
60 52 Tom O’Connor 924 0 924 -533 0 0 0 0
DIRTcar Pro Stock Entries – Sept. 18 (23)
CAR# DRIVER / HOMETOWN TEAM (Sponsor / Make-Model / Chassis)
0 Francois Adam/St-Pie,QUE Adam Racing Motorsport/Cadillac STS/Cannizzaro
05 Jocelyn Roy/St-Helene,QUE Remorcage 05-Lettrage Lucy/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/CRT
1r Rick Thompson/Hogansburg,NY Brass Horse Grill-Fatty Cats-S&L Construction/Chevy Monte Carlo/Cannizzaro
2 Pete Stefanski/Wheatfield,NY Sunrise Racing-San Ter Sewing-PJ NFB Auto Sales/Chevy Monte Carlo/JACR
4 Roch Aubin/Alexandria,ONT Home Hardware-Mr. Sew & Sew/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Cannizzaro
6 Stephane Lebrun/Gatineau,QUE Patio Vidal Restaurant-United Auto Parts(UAP)/Pontiac Grand Prix/Wild Thing
7 Rob Yetman/Castleton,NY Lazzaro’s Auto Body-Madsen Overhead Door/Pontiac Grand Prix/JACR
7d Eugene Tarbell/Hogansburg,NY D&D Constr. & Excavation-Lonewolf Racing/Chevy Monte Carlo/Black Widow
7e Ryan Stabler/Cornwall,ONT RSI Industrial Supply-C&D Trucking/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/CSC
10 Buddy Hencke/Sand Lake,NY Stinger X/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Stinger X
15 Guy Viens/St-Hubert,QUE® Donald Viens & Sons General Mechanical/Chevrolet Impala SS/Stinger
18 Louie Jackson/Akwesasne,NY Adams Marina-Keegan Smoke Shop/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Black Widow
30 Thunder Anderson/Hogansburg,NY Anderson Racing/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Cannizzaro
47 Dave Bissonnette/Apple Hill,ONT Totem Pole Novelties-Sweet Dreams/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Cannizzaro
47s Corey Wheeler/Cornwall,ONT Valade Backhoe-RSI Industrial Supply-PM Promotions/Cadillac ETS/Cannizzaro
48 Dion Oakes/Akwesasne,NY Oakes Racing-Noah King Family-Akwesasne Gas/Chevolet Impala/Cannizzaro
66 William Adams/Snye,QUE Adams Construction/Ford Fusion/Kenyon
69 Jody Swamp /Hogansburg,NY Smokin Arrows-Native Pride Dog Food/Chevrolet Impala SS/HRD
73p P.J. Peters/Akwesasne,QUE Sunrise Racing-Hair Secrets Salon/Chevrolet Impala/JACR
88 Allen Peters/Westville,NY Sunrise Racing-PJ NFB Auto Sales-JACR Chassis/Chevrolet Monte Carlo/JACR
92 Joey Ladouceur/Alexandria,ONT Coffrage 20-20-Minimax Express/Cadillac STS/Stinger X
99 Ghislain Valade/N.Lancaster,ONT Gerry Prieur Garage-Glengarry Tire/Chevolet Monte Carlo SS/Cannizzaro
116s Chip Smith Jr./Durham,NY Cricketdale Farm/Pontiac Grand Prix/Cannizzaro
188 David Papineau/Akwesasne,NY D&D Constr.-Totem Pole Novelties-Team Papi/Chevy Monte Carlo/Cannizzaro
UPCOMING EVENT
Full-fender title contenders have just one more series event in September, with Rolling Wheels Raceway Park (Sept. 25) concluding the first month of autumn.
2010 Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship Series Schedule
*All events subject to change.
DAY-DATE TRACK WINNER/LOCATION
Sun-May 23 Cornwall Motor Speedway Joey Ladouceur
Fri-Jun 25 Autodrome Granby *Rob Yetman
Sat-Jun 26 Autodrome Drummond Jocelyn Roy
Wed-Sep 1 Mohawk International Raceway P.J. Peters
Sat-Sep 11 Lebanon Valley Speedway Rob Yetman
Sat-Sep 18 Mohawk International Raceway Joey Ladouceur
Sat-Sep 25 Rolling Wheels Raceway Park Elbridge,NY
Sun-Oct 10 New York State Fairgrounds Syracuse,NY
Fri-Oct 15 Brockville Ontario Speedway Brockville,ONT
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, VP Racing Fuels www.vpracingfuels.com and GM Performance Parts www.gmperformanceparts.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.
