Todd Town Photo by Bill Moore
Elbridge, NY — July 3, 2008 – By Dave Medler, DIRTcar Racing NorthEast Series Correspondent
Even Mother nature wasn’t about to stop the Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Super DIRTcar Series showdown on Thursday at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park. Over 40 of the best Sportsman drivers filled the pits July 3 and when the curtain finally dropped it was worth the wait as Mark D’Ilario out of Smithville, Ontario and Todd Town from Jordan, New York picked up their first-ever tour checkers with a pair of 20-lap feature wins. The special holiday program was sponsored by Summit Auto Group, Army National Guard and the Spano Companies.
With heavy rain that did its best to the stop the action, a tip of the hat goes out to the dedicated track crew and all the drivers in the pits, as they got the speedway in racing condition quicker than those in attendance thought could happen.
In the first feature, D’Ilario in his No.08 Bicknell entry tried to make it an all Canadian sweep as he crossed the finish line ahead of Mat Williamson out of St. Catharines, Ontario. Rookie driver Jason Parkhurst finished third ahead of Jim Spano with one of the hottest drivers in Sportsman Modified racing, Chris Raabe, out of Napanee, Ontario rounded out the top five.
“It was tough out there tonight (track conditions) yet the crew made the changes we needed,” D’Ilario said after his win. “Anytime you can get a win against competition like this on the tour it makes it very special. Things are going great right now but there is still a lot of racing yet to do.”
In the 20-lap nightcap, Town in his Town Mechanical no.17T mount, showed that his first career feature win at Cayuga County Fair Speedway on June 21st was no fluke. Town, who has been fast all season but always seemed to find hard luck, wasn’t to be stopped on Thursday Night.
Loren Lincoln a weekly regular at both Black Rock and Canandaigua speedways, chased Town across the line with Raabe and Williamson picking up their second top-five finishes on the night. Series points leader Dan Wiesner crossed the line fifth to extend his advantage in the standings through the initial four races.
Town was almost as relieved as was happy after his first tour win. “That was as tough a track as I have ever driven on,” Town declared. “It was only a lane and a half wide, and if you got out of that, there was a huge cushion. I didn’t want to see all those yellows. I’ve been up front before and had something go wrong on the restarts. When that last yellow flag came out I felt pretty confident.”
In the customary post-race inspections that followed each main event, both D’Ilario and Town lost half their points and were fined half their earnings for minor technical infractions.
The ‘D-Shaped Dirt Demon’ attracts the top Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Series challengers on Independence Day as the celebration swings into full gear on Friday, July 4 at Brewerton Speedway with a $1,000-to-win 30-lap tour special showcasing the holiday card.
Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series Races #3 & #4 – Rolling Wheels Raceway Park, July 3, 2008 Summit Buick Pontiac GMC Ford Dodge-Spano Companies-Army National Guard Event Summary
FEATURE #1 (20-laps): 1. 08-MARK D’ILARIO ($500), 2. 6-Mat Williamson, 3. 38P-Jason Parkhurst, 4. 1S-James Spano, 5. 01-Chris Raabe, 6. 17T-Todd Town, 7. 2-Loren Lincoln, 8. 777-Tyler McPherson, 9. 2K-Rob Knapp, 10. 12C-Chad Chevalier, 11. 66-Dan Wiesner, 12. 38W-Luke Whitteker, 13. 25G-Nick Guererri, 14. 4-Daryl Hilkert, 15. 99P-Greg Panunte, 16. 10-Tim Currier, 17. 16-Earl Rudy, 18. 12S-Dan Sellen, 19. 19W-Justin Wright, 20. 67G-Eric Giguere, 21. M1-Dave Marcuccilli, 22. 85-John Pietrowicz, 23. 54X-Jeremey Pitcher, 24. 3-Fran Hilton, 25. 18H-Todd Henderson, 26. 33-Mike Ruggiero, 27. 140-Mark Dixon, 28. 84-Rick Quick, 29. 17K-Sammy Reakes IV, 30. 51-Mike Bowman, 31. 20X-Kevin Ridley, 32. 1F-Steve Gray, 33. 26H-Luke Carleton.
FEATURE #2 (20-laps): 1. 17T-TODD TOWN ($500), 2. 2-Loren Lincoln, 3. 01-Chris Raabe, 4. 6-Mat Williamson, 5. 66-Dan Wiesner, 6. 99P-Greg Panunte, 7. 1F-Steve Gray, 8. 85-John Pietrowicz, 9. 25G-Nick Guererri, 10. 12S-Dan Sellen, 11. 38W-Luke Whitteker, 12. 10-Tim Currier, 13. 4-Daryl Hilkert, 14. 08-Mark D’Ilario, 15. 54X-Jeremey Pitcher, 16. 26H-Luke Carleton, 17. 3-Fran Hilton, 18. 19W-Justin Wright, 19. 67G-Eric Giguere, 20. 20X-Kevin Ridley, 21. M1-Dave Marcuccilli, 22. 51-Mike Bowman, 23. 777-Tyler McPherson, 24. 1S-James Spano, 25. 38P-Jason Parkhurst, 26. 17K-Sammy Reakes IV, 27. 12C-Chad Chevalier, 28. 2K-Rob Knapp, 29. 16-Earl Rudy, 30. 21- Mark Dixon, 33-Mike Ruggiero (DNS), 18- Todd Henderson (DNS), 84-Rick Quick (DNS).
DID NOT QUALIFY(13)
1-Matt Smith
11-Ben Wheeler
17-Marcus Dinkins
17d-Tom Juhl
21jj-Jim Johnstone
24-Brandon Sweet
51-Josh Hefti
54x-Stewart Garrison
57s-Beth Schneider
71-Jim Bowman
74-Matt Billings
99-Billy Clark
172-Brian Davis
SYRACUSE TOWN MECHANICAL 30 QUALIFIERS: Mark D’Ilario, Todd Town.
HOLLEY HARD LUCK: Mike Ruggiero, Tyler McPherson.
CARS ENTERED: 46.
NEXT EVENT: Brewerton Speedway – July 4, 2008.
QUALIFYING
Heat Races
#1: Ridley, Spano, McPherson, Raabe, Davis, Wiesner, Pitcher, Wheeler, Juhl.
#2: Ruggiero, Giguere, Whitteker, Hilton, Chevalier, Wright, Dixon, Clark, Bowman.
#3: Parkhurst, Rudy, Guererri, Panunte, Reakes, Quick, Hilkert, Smith, Sweet.
#4: Williamson, D’Ilario, Lincoln, Knapp, Gray, Currier, Schneider, Garrison, Johnstone.
#5: Henderson, Marcuccilli, Sellen, Town, Carleton, Hefti, Billings, Pietrowicz, Dinkins.
B-Mains
#1: Reakes, Wright, Carleton, Pitcher, Currier, Hilkert, Johnstone, Davis, Billings, Garrison, Clark, Bowman (DNS).
#2: Gray, Wiesner, Chevalier, Quick, Dixon, Pietrowicz, Wheeler, Schneider, Dinkins, Smith, Sweet, Juhl, Hefti.
Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Series Point Standings (Through July 3, 2008)
Rank No Driver Total Series Diff Wins Top 5 Top 10 Starts
1 66 Dan Wiesner 225 225 0 1 2 2 4
2 6 Mat Williamson 218 218 -7 0 2 2 4
3 14 Jeremy Pitcher 205 205 -20 0 1 2 4
4 99p Greg Panunte 190 190 -35 0 0 2 4
5 85 John Pietrowicz 188 188 -37 0 1 2 4
6 67g Eric Giguere 187 187 -38 0 1 1 4
7 01 Chris Raabe 178 178 -47 0 2 3 3
8 17T Todd Town 176 176 -49 1 2 3 3
9 71 Mike Bowman 176 176 -49 0 1 1 4
10 777 Tyler McPherson 167 167 -58 0 0 2 4
11 4 Daryl Hilkert 164 164 -61 0 0 0 4
12 19w Justin Wright 161 161 -64 0 0 0 4
13 08 Mark D’Ilario 159 159 -66 1 1 1 4
14 2x Rob Knapp 154 154 -71 0 0 1 4
15 10 Tim Currier 153 153 -72 0 0 0 4
16 12 Chad Chevalier 152 152 -73 0 0 1 4
17 2L Loren Lincoln 143 143 -82 0 1 2 3
18 140 Mark Dixon 127 127 -98 0 0 1 3
19 70 Brady Fultz 109 109 -116 0 0 1 2
20 20x Kevin Ridley 105 105 -120 0 0 1 3
21 58 Steve Gray 104 104 -121 0 0 1 3
22 99 Larry Wight 100 100 -125 1 1 1 1
23 18h Todd Henderson 98 98 -127 0 0 0 3
24 52 James Friesen 98 98 -127 0 0 0 2
25 17k Sammy Reakes IV 86 86 -139 0 0 0 3
26 21JJ Jimmy Johnstone 86 86 -139 0 0 1 1
27 410 Chris Hile 85 85 -140 0 0 0 2
28 25g Nick Guererri 82 82 -143 0 0 1 2
29 vs1 Jim Spano 80 80 -145 0 1 1 2
30 21h Don Spatorico 80 80 -145 0 1 1 1
31 17b Scott Prentice 80 80 -145 0 1 1 1
32 12x Dan Sellen 73 73 -152 0 0 1 2
33 38p Jason Parkhurst 72 72 -153 0 1 1 2
34 12z Ray Bliss 72 72 -153 0 0 1 1
35 38w Luke Whitteker 70 70 -155 0 0 0 2
36 24 Brandon Sweet 68 68 -157 0 0 0 1
37 26h Luke Carleton 67 67 -158 0 0 0 2
38 3a Fran Hilton 66 66 -159 0 0 0 2
39 00 Boyd MacTavish 65 65 -160 0 0 1 1
40 p38 Rob Pratt 60 60 -165 0 0 0 1
41 51 Josh Hefti 56 56 -169 0 0 0 1
42 M1 Dave Marcuccilli 54 54 -171 0 0 0 2
43 3k A.J. Kingley 50 50 -175 0 0 0 1
44 8s Justin Sharp 50 50 -175 0 0 0 1
45 11 Mike Mandigo 50 50 -175 0 0 0 1
46 62 Rick Bellante 50 50 -175 0 0 0 1
47 16 Earl Rudy 46 46 -179 0 0 0 2
48 84 Rick Quick 45 45 -180 0 0 0 1
49 1H Bill Hallett 43 43 -182 0 0 0 1
50 77x Brandon Planck 42 42 -183 0 0 0 1
51 11x Donnie Lawson 42 42 -183 0 0 0 1
52 06 Jordan Bennett 40 40 -185 0 0 0 1
53 m93 Mike Entwistle 40 40 -185 0 0 0 1
54 0 Jipp Ortiz 40 40 -185 0 0 0 1
55 14s Brian Swarthout 40 40 -185 0 0 0 1
56 1 Matt Smith 30 30 -195 0 0 0 0
57 17 Marcus Dinkins 30 30 -195 0 0 0 0
58 19J Tom Juhl 30 30 -195 0 0 0 0
59 33 Mike Ruggiero 25 25 -200 0 0 0 1
60 57s Beth Scheinder 20 20 -205 0 0 0 0
61 74 Matt Billings 20 20 -205 0 0 0 0
62 38 Ryan Susice 20 20 -205 0 0 0 0
63 172 Brian Davis 10 10 -215 0 0 0 0
64 54x Stewart Garrison 10 10 -215 0 0 0 0
65 99 Billy Clark Jr. 10 10 -215 0 0 0 0
66 71 Jim Bowman 10 10 -215 0 0 0 0
67 11 Ben Wheeler 10 10 -215 0 0 0 0
68 55 Matt Hulsizer 10 10 -215 0 0 0 0
69 8 Joe Cook Jr. 10 10 -215 0 0 0 0
70 76 Rob Bussey 10 10 -215 0 0 0 0
71 12 Brandon Hagen 10 10 -215 0 0 0 0
72 51x Cody McPherson 10 10 -215 0 0 0 0
73 74x Jim Evans 10 10 -215 0 0 0 0
74 9R Tyler Rand 10 10 -215 0 0 0 0
75 1J Joe Dgien 10 10 -215 0 0 0 0
76 2k Mike Button 10 10 -215 0 0 0 0
77 3 Laslow Hollyfeld 10 10 -215 0 0 0 0
78 7x Tom Flannigan 10 10 -215 0 0 0 0
79 19 Dave Yehl 10 10 -215 0 0 0 0
80 20J Tony Cowell 10 10 -215 0 0 0 0
81 44 Russ Hefti 10 10 -215 0 0 0 0
82 83x Tim Sears Jr. 10 10 -215 0 0 0 0
83 92 Adam Turner 10 10 -215 0 0 0 0
Get Out The Word First: RACEceiver is the Official Driver Communicator of DIRTcar Racing NorthEast. A compact radio receiver that conveniently fits into a driver’s pocket, a RACEceiver allows each driver to hear directions from series officials, which greatly enhances the safety and timeliness of events. A similar version available to fans will allow RACEceiver users to hear what information series officials are relaying to the drivers. For more information about RACEceiver, visit www.raceceiver.com, call 866-301-7223, or look for their sales trailers at various events.
Tracks Know The Score: In DIRTcar Racing’s ongoing effort to assist every member track affiliate with presenting the best possible race programs, World Racing Group has teamed with AMB i.t. which continues to be recognized as the Official Timing System of DIRTcar NorthEast. AMB i.t. is the world’s leader in automatic race timing and scoring systems and WRG is proud to retain the company as a valued partner in the timing and scoring of all sanctioned events.
UPCOMING EVENT
Round number four of the 19th Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Series is slated for the Fourth of July at Brewerton Speedway to highlight the festive Independence Day Holiday with the ‘D-Shaped Dirt Demon’ 30-lap finale offering valuable points towards the overall Hoosier Tire Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Championship as well as guaranteed starter status for the Super DIRT Week main event in October.
2008 Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series Schedule
*All events subject to change.
DAY-DATE LAPS TRACK LOCATION/WINNER
Sat-Apr 5 50 Black Rock Speedway Larry Wight
Mon-May 26 30 Rolling Wheels Raceway Dan Wiesner
Thr-Jul 3 20 Rolling Wheels Raceway Mark D’Ilario
Thr-Jul 3 20 Rolling Wheels Raceway Todd Town
Fri-Jul 4 30 Brewerton Speedway Brewerton,NY
Thr-Jul 10 30 Brockville Ont. Speedway Brockville,ONT
Mon-Sep 1 30 Rolling Wheels Raceway Elbridge,NY
Fri-Sep 5 50 Ransomville Speedway Ransomville,NY
Sat-Sep 6 50 Merrittville Speedway Thorold,ONT
Sun-Sep 7 50 Humberstone Speedway Pt.Colborne,ONT
Sat-Sep 13 30 Genesee Speedway Batavia,NY
Sat-Sep 20 45 Canandaigua Speedway Canandaigua,NY
Sat-Sep 27 30 Rolling Wheels Raceway Elbridge,NY
Fri-Oct 3 30 Fulton Speedway Fulton,NY
Wed-Oct 8 30 Can-Am Motorsports Park LaFargeville,NY
Fri-Oct 10 30 Rolling Wheels Raceway Elbridge,NY
Sat-Oct 11 30 New York State Fairgrounds Syracuse,NY
Sat-Oct 18 50 Orange Co. Fair Speedway Middletown,NY
The Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series for Big-Block Modifieds is brought to fans across the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Advance Auto Parts and Hoosier Racing Tire. Rite Aid Corporation is a promotional partner and the contingency sponsors are Bars Leaks, Bert Transmission, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Crane Cams, Dig Safely New York, Holley HP Carburetors, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, KSE Racing Products, Motorsports Safety Systems, Penske Shocks, Rislone Oil Stabilizer and Wrisco Industries.
