{"id":3850,"date":"2009-07-16T08:42:49","date_gmt":"2009-07-16T13:42:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/100.24.212.105\/?p=3850"},"modified":"2010-11-12T08:44:46","modified_gmt":"2010-11-12T14:44:46","slug":"gray-on-defense-in-dirtcar-sportsman-series-doubleheader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dirtcar.com\/dirtcar-ne\/sportsman-modifieds\/gray-on-defense-in-dirtcar-sportsman-series-doubleheader\/","title":{"rendered":"Gray On Defense In DIRTcar Sportsman Series Doubleheader"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Steve Gray - Alex Bruce Photo<\/p><\/div>\n
Weedsport, NY<\/strong> \u2014 July 16, 2009 \u2013 By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing Northeast PR Director \n<\/strong><\/p>\n
The Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series is back in the spotlight with its last two extra-distance events of the month scheduled at DIRTcar Racing Northeast charter member tracks Cayuga County Fair Speedway and Canandaigua Speedway.<\/p>\n
Steve Gray will be anchoring the defense when he joins in the DIRTcar All-Star Weekend activity at Cayuga County on Saturday, July 18 before competing closer to home at Canandaigua on Tuesday, July 21 as part of the 166th Ontario County Fair.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe travelers definitely come prepared but I\u2019m confident they\u2019ll be chasing the 17, 19 and 29 cars when its all over at Weedsport,\u201d remarked Gray, 33, the current Cayuga County points leader, referring to top challengers Tom Juhl (#17D), Justin Wright (#19W) and the no. 29G Fox\u2019s Auto-Dar\u2019s Auto-JSB Graphics-Beck\u2019s Recycling\/Bicknell machine that he steers weekly for owner Tom Fox. \u201cIf we don\u2019t have any scrapes, the way we run there I\u2019m really expecting to win on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I get to the track I don\u2019t really worry too much about anyone else anyway. We just take every race one at a time and focus on our own program. Championships are nice to look back on when its all over but right now winning races is our biggest goal,\u201d said Gray, who has already scored a pair of feature wins at CCFS and another checkered flag at Canandaigua has carried him to sixth in the track point standings.<\/p>\n
Stiffer competition will face the Middlesex, New York chauffeur when he straps in for rounds five and six on the 2009 Sportsman champ trail. And most entries are almost guaranteed to have fresher equipment than the \u201901 Cayuga County points champion.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a four year-old car and (GM Crate) motor and the oil pump pick-up even fell off last year,\u201d noted Gray, now with 20 DIRTcar Sportsman wins to his credit, including 13 at Canandaigua and five at Cayuga County, aside from making his first trip to victory lane at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park last season. \u201cIts basically all the same equipment when Scott (Schrader) used to drive for Tom, I\u2019m just having fun this time around.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut after chasing the set-up we threw something really odd at it and now the car sticks just like glue on the black stuff. After running Street Stocks, my first ride was an \u201988 Show Car so I went back to using a lot of those same ideas. I talked about the changes with the crew and guys like Steve (Paine) and Eldon (Payne Jr.) and they agreed they\u2019re pretty much off the wall. The car looks the same as all the others, we\u2019re just using some strange weight percentages, things you don\u2019t normally see nowadays. But if we keep winning, we\u2019ll keep going with it, just change the oil and plugs this week,\u201d said Gray, who has won the last two shows at CCFS and captured the Fourth of July special at Canandaigua to carry a three-race win streak into All-Star Weekend at Weedsport.<\/p>\n
Current Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Series points leader and defending tour champion Chris Raabe from Napanee, Ontario won\u2019t mind upsetting the American\u2019s apple cart on Saturday, especially when there\u2019s a first-place prize of $1,000 waiting for the winner of the 30-lap main event. Joining Raabe and Gray on the race day roster will be top-five tour point-getters Sammy Reakes IV, Greg Panunte, Brandon Sweet and Jipp Ortiz, along with Cayuga County kingpins Alan Fink, Dave Marcuccilli, Juhl and Wright.<\/p>\n
Including a complete Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Series points program and DIRTcar Pro Late Model debut at The Port, the Saturday special is highlighted by a $3,000-to-win, 50-lap Super DIRTcar Series preliminary event, with a dozen Big-Block qualifiers also contending in a unique \u2018Exemption Dash.\u2019 Pit gates open at 2 p.m., grandstand seating and Infield Park & Thrill begins at 3 p.m. and racing starts at 7 o\u2019clock following practice and Big-Block time trials.<\/p>\n
Joining the Sportsman at Canandaigua will be a Parts Plus Big Six Street Stock Series event with rare appearances made by the Midstate Vintage Stock Car Club and New York Modified Midgets. Pits open at 4pm, grandstands at 5pm with qualifying rounds beginning promptly at 7 o\u2019clock.<\/p>\n