Chris Raabe - Alex Bruce Photo
Port Colborne, ONT — September 12, 2010 – By Dave Roberts, DIRTcar Racing Northeast Series Correspondent
It was exactly one year ago when Chris Raabe won the Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Series event at Humberstone Speedway. The race helped set up Raabe’s second consecutive overall Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Championship run as the young racing star has become a tough competitor among his peers in the DIRTcar Sportsman class.
The 2010 season has seen Raabe win 28 feature events but the ‘Teenage Tornado’ from Napanee, Ont. had to wait until this past Sunday to pick up his first tour triumph of the season with another win scored at Humberstone in the Trevor Wilkens Memorial 50. Raabe came into Humberstone 92 points behind leader Tim Sears Jr and didn’t gain much as Sears finished third in an incredible run from the rear of the field.
Rabbe took the lead after a huge battle with early race leader Justin Wright on lap 25 and had control for the remainder of the event.
“The car started off real good tonight,” said Raabe, following victory lane ceremonies. “I could feel the car lose its potential as the race was coming down to the end, yet the cautions that we had late in the race really helped me keep the car under control.”
“We’ve had the pole position for the last two nights (Ransomville and Merrittville) and we didn’t do anything with it. Maybe we should stay off the front row from now on,” laughed Raabe.
While Raabe’s win was huge for his race team, the story of the night might’ve been points leader Sears. The 18 year-old racing star from Clay, N.Y. has been on a tear ever since heading into the Western New York/Southern Ontario region on Friday when the weekend started off at Ransomville Speedway, where he dominated the 50 lap event. He matched the performance on Saturday at Merrittville to grab his first Series points lead.
On Sunday night at Humberstone, Sears started ninth but didn’t move at all as the race was in its early stages. On lap 19, Sears was up against the inside fourth turn wall to bring out the caution. Two laps later, the yellow came out again with Sears over turn one. He went to the pits and returned to the track dead-last.
Following the lap 25 mark, Sears began to make his move. He charged through the field and got fourth on lap 45 then took over third on lap 48 and finished up the weekend as the fastest driver on the track when the checkered flag flew.
Early season Series points leader Ryan Susice and Justin Wright shared the front row when the feature event began. Wright led the first lap while Susice had to fend off fourth-place starter Raabe. On lap six Raabe moved into second and began a side by side battle with Wright for the next eight circuits. On lap 14, Wright got the edge over Raabe again as Raabe got behind heavy lapped traffic.
The first yellow of the night appeared on lap 19 for Sears.
On a lap 22 restart, Wright and Raabe resumed their side by side battle once again. At the halfway point, Rabbe had the lead with Wright, Paul Gaboury, Greg Panunte and Cody McPherson rounding out the top-five.
Off a lap 28 restart, Gaboury had second and three laps later Jesse Cotriss moved into third with Steve Gray grabbing fourth on lap 34. Cottris then began to challenge Gaboury for second while Sears began to make his presence felt at the front of the pack.
On lap 42, Sears got ahead of Gray into fourth and moved into third on lap 48. Raabe was having little difficulty in going on to the win. Gaboury held on for second followed closely by Sears. Fourth was Cotriss ahead of McPherson in fifth. Rounding out the Top-10 were Steve Gray, Mark Chiddy, Nick Cupolo, Ryan Susice and Greg Panunte.
The margin of victory for Raabe was 1.176 seconds and the average speed was 31.751mph. Heat race winners were Raabe, Cotriss, Brad Rouse and Shane Pecore. The consi winner was James Bronschidle.
Sportsman Series action picks up next weekend with a return trip slated for New York State’s northern corridor at Mohawk Int’l Raceway on Friday, September 17, then closing out the month with the first of two stops at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park on Sept. 25.
Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series Race #6– Humberstone Speedway, Sept. 12, 2010 ‘Cosco Haulage LTD presents Trevor Wilkens Memorial 50’ Event Summary
FEATURE (50 laps): 01-CHRIS RAABE, 9-Paul Gaboury, 83x-Tim Sears Jr., 55c-Jesse Cotriss, 7-Cody McPherson, 29g-Steve Gray, 54 – Mark Chiddy, 99c-Nick Cupolo, 38-Ryan Susice, 99p-Greg Panunte, 21jj-Jim Johnstone, 26h-Luke Carleton, 5s-Kevin Sharpe, 1m-Rob Murray, 67s-Dave Small, 5d-Dave Dykstra, 77-B.J. Willard, 12a-Jeff Armstrong, 00-Jesse Penner, 6v-Aaron Vassas, 15-Adam Leslie, 15p-Shane Pecore, 113-James Bronschidle, 53-Darrell Farraway, 140-Mark Dixon, 19w-Justin Wright, 18r-Brad Rouse, 33-Brad Rouscher, 81-Christine Martin, 20j-Bill Gill.
DNQs: 5h-Ray Hockridge, 20k-Rick St.Pierre, 29-Doug Banner, 73g-Gordon Hermanson.
QUALIFYING
Time Trials:
9 Paul Gaboury 16.241/73.813mph; 55C Jesse Cotriss 16.309/73.505mph; 18r Brad Rouse 16.324/73.438mph; 19w Justin Wright 16.322/73.477mph; 01 Chris Rabbe 16.402/73.089mph; 38 Ryan Susice 16.406/73.071mph; 21JJ Jim Johnstone 16.413/73.040mph; 99C Greg Panunte 16.416/73.026; 83 Tim Sears Jr 16.472/72.778mph; 81 Christine Martin 16.490/72.669mph; 95 Len Dignard 16.510/72.661mph; 15 Shane Pecore 16.511/72.606mph; 29G Steve Gray 16.515/72.589; 33 Greg Rauscher 16.526/72540mph; 5s Kevin Sharpe 16.541/72.474mph; Nick Cupolo 16.551/72.431mph; 1M Rob Murray 16.579/72.308mph; 26H Luke Carleton 16.595/72.239mph; 12A Jeff Armstrong 16.607/72.230mph; 15 Adam Leslie 16.638/72.052mph; 67s Dave Small 16.638/72.052mph; 54 Mark Chiddy 16.646/72.017mph; 113 James Bronchidle 16.646/72.017mph; 7 Cody McPherson 16.671/71.909mph; 140 Mark Dixon 16.686/71.845mph; 5D Doug Walsh 16.973/70.630mph; 53 Darrell Farraway 16.783/71.428mph; 6V Aaron Vassas 16.874/71.044mph; 29 Doug Banner 16.933/70.797mph; 73G Gordy Hermanson 17.331/69.171mph; 20J Bill Gill 17.409/68.861mph; Ray Hockridge 18.073/66.331mph.
Heat Races
#1: JESSE COTRISS, Justin Wright, Jim Johnstone, Nick Cupolo, Greg Rauscher, Mark Chiddy, Jeff Armstrong, Mark Dixon, Rick St. Pierre.
#2: CHRIS RAABE, Tim Sears Jr, Ryan Susice, Kevin Sharpe, Jesse Penner, Bill Gill, Dave Dykstra.
#3: BRAD ROUSE, Paul Gaboury, Greg Panunte, Christine Martin, Rob Murray, Aaron Vassas, BJ Willard, Doug Banner.
#4: SHANE PECORE, Steve Gray, Luke Carleton, Cody McPherson, Adam Leslie, Dave Small, James Bronschidle, Gordy Hermanson, Ray Hockridge.
Consolation Round
#1: JAMES BRONSCHIDLE, Dave Dykstra, BJ Willard, Jeff Armstrong, Darrell Farraway, Mark Dixon.
Mr. DIRTcar Series Sportsman Point Standings (Thru Sept. 12, 2010)
Rank No Driver Total Series Bonus Diff Wins Top 5 Top 10 Starts
1 83 Tim Sears Jr. 1520 535 985 0 3 5 5 6
2 38 Ryan Susice 1479 479 1000 -41 0 3 6 6
3 29g Steve Gray 1443 443 1000 -77 1 2 4 6
4 01 Chris Raabe 1438 438 1000 -82 1 3 3 6
5 11Jr Justin Wright 1368 393 975 -152 0 3 3 6
6 55c Jesse Cotriss 1344 389 955 -176 0 1 5 6
7 54 Mark Chiddy 1291 326 965 -229 0 0 3 5
8 15 Shane Pecore 1276 301 975 -244 0 0 0 6
9 140 Mark Dixon 1241 301 940 -279 0 0 1 6
10 99p Greg Panunte 1222 222 1000 -298 0 2 3 3
11 7 Cody McPherson 1191 216 975 -329 0 1 2 3
12 66 Dan Wiesner 1173 208 965 -347 0 0 2 3
13 77JR BJ Willard 1159 184 975 -361 0 0 2 3
14 81 Christine Martin 1156 232 924 -364 0 0 0 5
15 0 Jipp Ortiz 1146 218 928 -374 0 1 2 3
16 67 Eric Giguere 1142 142 1000 -378 0 1 2 2
17 m1 Dave Marcuccilli 1106 141 965 -414 1 1 1 2
18 2 Loren Lincoln 1099 167 932 -421 0 0 1 3
19 9 Paul Gaboury 1089 157 932 -431 0 1 2 2
20 6 Brandon Easey 1080 95 985 -440 0 1 1 1
21 63 Chris Herbison 1080 95 985 -440 0 1 1 1
22 20k Dave Dykstra 1074 152 922 -446 0 0 1 3
23 11n Ricky Newton 1069 124 945 -451 0 0 0 3
24 55 Matt Hulsizer 1068 68 1000 -452 0 0 1 1
25 4 Daryl Hilkert 1065 110 955 -455 0 0 0 2
26 99c Nick Cupolo 1063 118 945 -457 0 0 1 2
27 18r Brad Rouse 1061 96 965 -459 0 0 0 2
28 5 Don Spatorico 1061 76 985 -459 0 0 1 1
29 67 James Henry 1047 107 940 -473 0 0 1 2
30 30 Brent Kelesy® 1045 70 975 -475 0 0 0 1
31 14 Jeremy Pitcher 1043 43 1000 -477 0 0 0 1
32 3a Adam Hilton® 1038 106 932 -482 0 0 0 2
33 21JJ Jim Johnstone 1035 100 935 -485 0 0 0 2
34 1 Travis Back® 1033 78 955 -487 0 0 1 1
35 6r Nate Reynolds 1030 95 935 -490 0 1 1 1
36 17J Jamie Platt 1030 95 935 -490 0 0 0 2
37 18f Darrell Farraway 1021 86 935 -499 0 0 0 2
38 76 Rob Bussey 1020 80 940 -500 0 0 0 2
39 15 Adam Leslie 1015 83 932 -505 0 0 0 2
40 20 Randy Earl 1015 40 975 -505 0 0 0 1
41 25 Steve Bernier 1015 80 935 -505 0 1 1 1
42 2K Rob Knapp 1014 90 924 -506 0 1 1 1
43 83 Dylan Evoy 1010 10 1000 -510 0 0 0 0
44 4 Jeff Phillips 1005 50 955 -515 0 0 0 1
45 69 Jesse Penner 1001 85 916 -519 0 0 0 2
46 1 Jim Spano 1000 60 940 -520 0 0 0 1
47 18 Bodie Bellinger 1000 0 1000 -520 0 0 0 0
48 13s Derek Smith 999 54 945 -521 0 0 0 1
49 04 Greg Mrzywka 995 40 955 -525 0 0 0 1
50 2 Jenna David® 995 50 945 -525 0 0 0 1
2010 Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series Schedule
*All events subject to change.
DAY-DATE TRACK WINNER/LOCATION
Sat-Apr 10 Black Rock Speedway Steve Gray
Sun-Jun 13 Cornwall Motor Speedway Tim Sears Jr.
Sat-Jul 17 Cayuga County Fair Speedway Dave Marcuccilli
Fri-Sep 10 Ransomville Speedway Tim Sears Jr.
Sat-Sep 11 Merrittville Speedway Tim Sears Jr.
Sun-Sep 12 Humberstone Speedway Chris Raabe
Fri-Sep 17 Mohawk International Raceway Akwesasne,NY
Sat-Sep 25 Rolling Wheels Raceway Park Elbridge,NY
Fri-Oct 1 Fulton Speedway Fulton,NY
Wed-Oct 6 Can-Am Motorsports Park LaFargeville,NY
Fri-Oct 8 Rolling Wheels Raceway Park Elbridge,NY
Sat-Oct 9 New York State Fairgrounds Syracuse,NY
Sat-Oct 16 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.
