Pete Stefanski - Mike Watts Photo
Hogansburg, NY — July 17, 2009 – By Bill Smith, DIRTcar Racing Northeast Series Correspondent
Pete Stefanski made good on his car number, #2, as he scored his second-straight win in the Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship Series by grabbing the win Friday night at Mohawk Int. Raceway beating home track star Jody Swamp, who led the first 47 of the 50-lap SUNY Canton/CKON 97.3 FM “Full Fender Frenzy” event.
Stefanski, from Wheatfield, New York, is the three-time defending DIRTcar Pro Stock champion and he opened the series with a dramatic last lap pass for the win at his home track of Genesee Speedway in Batavia, NY on July 4. Friday night’s win was no less dramatic on the road as he spent much of the first half of the race diving into the pit area during caution periods to fight overheating issues before beginning his march to the front in the closing laps.
“I couldn’t keep the dang thing under 220 degrees…the guys pulled the air dam out from underneath the car…kept cooling it down, kept freeing up the car,” said Stefanski, 38, after scoring his DIRTcar Northeast division-high sixth victory of the season worth a whopping $1,500 and further solidifying his position atop the current Mr. DIRTcar points chart. “No one could run the bottom, we were running the bottom and it just worked awesome.”
Stefanski also gave the completely rebuilt Mohawk Int. Raceway high marks. “What a facility! I mean to come here two years ago and see what it is now–if you ain’t impressed, don’t come back because this is just absolutely unbelievable. Fantasic job by the owners, can’t say enough.”
Swamp used his front row starting spot to grab the lead at the drop of the green flag, with Ricky Thompson and ’08 DIRTcar Rookie of the Year Bruno Cyr close behind in the initial stages. Sean Corr had a fine top-five run going when he shredded a tire on lap 6 and caused the race’s second caution flag — an omen of things to come, as many teams found themselves battling tire and overheating issues throughout the event.
Back under green, Dion Oakes on the move as he powered up to the runner-up spot. Swamp and Oakes tried to pull away, but Roch Aubin made his presence known as he worked his way into the top-three on lap 12. While Oakes diced with Swamp, Aubin found an opening on lap 19 and bypassed Oakes for the runner-up spot and a lap later, Don Carlson worked past Oakes for the third spot.
A lap 22 restart made for a three-wide battle for the runner-up slot as Oakes and Ricky Thompson got good runs to overtake Carlson and challenge Aubin. Oakes prevailed, moving to second, Thompson settled into third and Aubin was shuffled back to fourth spot.
A lap 25 restart again found Oakes and Thompson battling side-by-side for the second spot until Oakes powered ahead, while Swamp continued to lead the way, keeping a comfortable two car-length advantage for several laps. Thompson’s great run was hampered on lap 37 when he slid low coming out of the turn, losing several spots and splashing water across the speedway, requiring another caution flag that tightened up the field.
When the lap counter showed 40 complete, Stefanski, who had so far not been a factor in the race, began his march to the front. Using a low line that no other car could match, Stefanski methodically picked off cars, moving into third spot by lap 45. As Swamp led the field out of turn four on lap 46, he found himself shuffled to the high-side as Dion Oakes moved low and Stefanski found an even lower-groove to make for a three-wide charge down the front-stretch.
As the leaders roared into turn one, something had to give and unfortunately for Oakes, he was the one who came up short. As Stefanski and Swamp continued their battle for the lead, Oakes and Aubin tangled, sending Oakes spinning over the turn one banking, causing a caution and setting up a three-lap dash to the checkered flag.
On the restart, Stefanski made his move, diving low to power underneath Swamp and move his potent Sunrise Racing no. 2 San Ter Sewing-PJ NFB Auto Sales Chevrolet Monte Carlo entry into the top spot. He charged on to record his all-time series-high 22nd career victory followed by Swamp, P.J. Peters, Travis Back and Don Carlson at the line.
Up next for 2009 Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship Series contenders is a twin-bill on Canadian soil, featuring two more 50-lappers at Autodrome Drummond in Quebec on Saturday, August 22 and Cornwall Motor Speedway in the province of Ontario on Sunday, August 23.
Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship Series Race #2 – Mohawk Int’l Raceway, July 17, 2009 SUNY Canton/CKON 97.3 FM Full Fender Frenzy Event Summary
FIN ST CAR# DRIVER / HOMETOWN
1 6 2 Pete Stefanski/Wheatfield,NY($1,500)
2 1 69 Jody Swamp/Akwesasne, NY
3 12 73 P.J. Peters/Akwesasne, NY
4 17 6x Travis Back/Akwesasne, NY
5 9 26 Don Carlson//Ridgefield, CT
6 14 1 Ricky Thompson/Akwesasne, NY
7 5 4 Roch Aubin/Alexandria, ONT
8 24 49 Billy Woodward, Jr./Norwood, NY
9 11 08 Richard Bertrand/Acton Vale, QUE
10 23 7 Rob Yetman/Castleton, NY
11 15 99 Mike Martin/Lockport, NY
12 21 78 William Chubb/Akwesasne, NY
13 22 48T Rod Tarbell/Akwesasne, NY
14 26 04 John Yandoh, Jr./Winthrop, NY
15 25 2EZ Mike Arquiett/Brasher Falls, NY
16 4 48 Dion Oakes/Akwesasne, NY
17 13 6 Stephane LeBrun/Gatineau, QUE
18 2 33 Bruno Cyr/St. Liboire, QUE
19 3 8 Sean Corr/Goshen, NY
20 7 188 Dave Papineau/Akwesasne, NY
21 8 18 Louie Jackson/Akwesasne, NY
22 10 92 Joey Ladouceur/Alexandria, ONT
23 16 7JR Harvey Arquette, Jr./Akwesasne, NY
24 20 47s Corey Wheeler/Cornwall, ONT
25 19 10 Buddy Hencke/Sand Lake, NY
26 27 62 Andrew Northrup/Rochester, NY
27 18 22 William Adams/Akwesasne, NY
DNS:
7D-Gene Tarbell/Akwesasne, NY
44-Gilles Godard/Cornwall, ONT
16Curtis McPhee/Cornwall, ONT
LAP LEADERS: Swamp (1-47), Stefanski (48-50).
CAUTIONS: 8 (lap 2, lap 6, lap 12, lap 22, lap 25, lap 37, lap 41, lap 47)
HEAT RACE RESULTS
#1: Swamp, Papineau, Corr, LeBrun, Martin, Hencke, Chubb, Northrup.
#2: Ladouceur, Aubin, Stefanski, Thompson, Adams, R Tarbell, G.Tarbell, Godard.
#3: Swamp, Carlson, Oakes, Yandoh, Back, Arquiett, Yetman.
#4: Peters, Bertrand, Cyr, Arquette, Wheeler, Woodward, McPhee (DNS).
SYRACUSE QUALIFIER: Jody Swamp.
CARS ENTERED: 30.
NEXT EVENT: Autodrome Drummond – August 22, 2009.
Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship Series Point Standings (July 17)
Rank No. Driver Total Diff Wins Top-5 Top-10 Starts
1 2 Pete Stefanski 200 0 2 2 2 2
2 73 P.J. Peters 162 -38 0 1 2 2
3 26 Don Carlson 156 -44 0 1 2 2
4 69 Jody Swamp 151 -49 0 1 1 2
5 92 Joey Ladouceur 137 -63 0 1 1 2
6 8 Sean Corr 130 -70 0 1 1 2
7 1 Ricky Thompson 124 -76 0 0 1 2
8 4 Roch Aubin 117 -83 0 0 1 2
9 48 Dion Oakes 115 -85 0 0 1 2
10 99 Mike Martin 112 -88 0 0 0 2
11 18 Louie Jackson 111 -89 0 0 1 2
12 78 William Chubb 104 -96 0 0 0 2
13 7 Rob Yetman 102 -98 0 0 1 2
14 10 Buddy Hencke 102 -98 0 0 1 2
15 47 Dave Bissonnette 80 -120 0 1 1 1
16 49 Bill Woodward Jr. 68 -132 0 0 1 1
17 08 Richard Bertrand 65 -135 0 0 1 1
18 6z Butch Zimmerman 60 -140 0 0 0 1
19 71 Scott Gribben 58 -142 0 0 0 1
20 48T Rod Tarbell 56 -144 0 0 0 1
21 04 John Yandoh Jr. 54 -146 0 0 0 1
22 11 John Zimmerman 54 -146 0 0 0 1
23 33 Bruno Cyr 46 -154 0 0 0 1
24 188 David Papineau 44 -156 0 0 0 1
25 98T Jack Terrell 43 -157 0 0 0 1
26 3J John Gagner 42 -158 0 0 0 1
27 1s Scott Stolzenberg 41 -159 0 0 0 1
28 62 Andrew Northrup 40 -160 0 0 0 1
29 7d Gene Tarbell 10 -190 0 0 0 0
30 6 Stephane Lebrun 138 -62 0 1 1 2
31 6x Travis Back 85 -115 0 1 1 1
32 7Jr Harvey Arquette 85 -115 0 0 0 2
33 2EZ Mike Arquiett 52 -148 0 0 0 1
34 8x Jim Burch Jr. 50 -150 0 0 0 1
35 47s Corey Wheeler 40 -160 0 0 0 1
36 22 William Adams 40 -160 0 0 0 1
37 44 Gilles Godard 10 -190 0 0 0 0
38 16 Kurtis McPhee 10 -190 0 0 0 0
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Traveling teams take a month off before returning to tour competition up north in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario. Autodrome Drummond (Que.) and Cornwall (Ont.) Motor Speedway run back-to-back August 22-23 with a pair of 50-lap main events showcasing DIRTcar Northeast’s premier full-fender class.
2009 Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship Series Schedule
*All events subject to change.
DAY-DATE TRACK LOCATION
Sat-Jul 4 Genesee Speedway Pete Stefanski
Fri-Jul 17 Mohawk Int’l Raceway Pete Stefanski
Sat-Aug 22 Autodrome Drummond Drummondville,QUE
Sun-Aug 23 Cornwall Motor Speedway Cornwall,ONT
Fri-Sep 11 Autodrome Edelweiss Hull,QUE ($1,500-to-win)
Sat-Sep 12 Lebanon Valley Speedway West Lebanon,NY
Sat-Sep 19 Canandaigua Speedway Canandaigua,NY
Sat-Sep 26 Rolling Wheels Raceway Elbridge,NY
Sun-Oct 11 New York State Fairgrds Syracuse,NY
DIRTcar Racing Northeast main office is located in Weedsport, New York on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds www.cayugacountyfairspeedway.com, home of the 2009 DIRTcar All-Star Weekend, July 17-19, featuring Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship Series events for Sportsman and Big-Block Modifieds in the richest short-track show of its kind in the nation — the $20,000-to-win Super DIRTcar Series “DIRTcar All-Star 100” on Sunday, July 19.
The Big-Block Modified 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 Rite Aid Corporation www.riteaid.com, Dig Safely New York www.digsafelynewyork.com and the University of Northwestern Ohio www.unoh.com and the contingency sponsors are Bars Leaks www.barsproducts.com, Bert Transmission www.berttransmission.com, Bicknell Racing Products www.bicknellracingproducts.com, Bilstein Shocks www.bilstein.com, Brodix Cylinder Heads www.brodix.com, Ferris Industries www.ferrisindustries.com, Integra Shocks www.integrashocksandsprings.com, Intercomp www.intercomp-racing.com, KSE Racing Products www.kse-racing.com, Motorsports Safety Systems www.motorsportssafetysystems.com, Penske Shocks, www.penskeshocks.com, Racing Electronics www.racingelectronics.com, Rislone Oil Stabilizer www.barsproducts.com and Wrisco Industries www.wrisco.com.
