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Contact: DIRTcar Racing
Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing
Northeast Public Relations Director
One Speedway
Drive
-
Weedsport,
NY
13166
Phone: (315) 834-6606 x226
Cell: (585) 350-8997
E-Mail:
tskibinski@dirtcar.com
Thorold,
ONT – May 18, 2009 –
By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing Northeast PR Director
It took three extra weeks to
find a winner in the Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship
Series opener at Merrittville Speedway, and still one additional
lap before officials could finally bestow the coveted crown on
Monday.
That was just enough time for
local favorite Larry Lampman Jr. to charge past American invader
Jimmy Phelps and roll on to capture his first career tour
triumph in the ‘Spring Sizzler 50’ to begin his own Victoria Day
celebration.
Not only is Lampman the current
points leader at the storied Thorold, Ontario third-miler, the
two-time Merrittville champion now stands atop the standings
after round one of the 2009 Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified
Championship Series.
“Racing here every week
definitely helps,” stated Lampman, 33, who stole the lead from
Phelps just before the yellow lights flashed for the fifth and
final time to produce a green-white-checkered flag finish. “And
the lapped traffic definitely helped out tonight.”
“Phelps, Planck, Bicknell and
Brachmann … all these guys are some of the best short-track
racers in the country. And its always an honor to race against
them. Jimmy got me on that one restart high, it was a good race
for him. The track was pretty slippery so some of my experience
certainly paid off at the end,” remarked Lampman, who finished
eighth in this same race last spring after starting at the rear
of the field in the borrowed ride of owner Dan Miller’s Players
Athletic Lager Co./Bicknell entry.
This time around recognized as
the first-string driver in Miller’s yellow no. 22 CMH Leasing/BRP
mount, Lampman remained up front throughout the race, overtaking
front row partner Phelps on the second circuit and swapping the
point four more times before warming the capacity crowd with a
dramatic story-book finish. Phelps settled for runner-up honors
followed by last year’s race winner Dale Planck, hard charger
Stewart Friesen and all-time Merrittville winner Pete Bicknell,
who was placed fifth after Frenchman David Hebert was penalized
from jumping on the last restart.
Fifty-five 358-Modifieds signed
in at Merrittville on April 25 before rain intervened to delay
the show until the Canadian holiday. Finishing second in his
heat to co-fast time trialer Robbie Krull, Lampman took
advantage of the customary pre-race draw to select the pole. He
joined Phelps on the front row when activity resumed three weeks
later with still 41 cars making the tow to the fan-friendly
Highway 50 facility.
While Lampman and Phelps paced
the 32-car starting field for the duration, top-10 positions
fluctuated behind them as smooth track conditions prevailed to
provide plenty of side-by-side battles in every corner. Veteran
drivers mired deep in the all-star line-up were among the
biggest movers on the day with no less than a half-dozen of the
most seasoned chauffeurs improving at least 16 positions in the
33-minute main.
While 20th starter
Planck broke the top-10 with 20 laps scored, third-generation
standout Friesen made his way from 26th into the
first 10 spots by the halfway point. Lampman and Phelps held a
commanding lead ahead of Scott Wood ---fresh off his recent
Saturday night victory at Merrittville--- and Hebert while
Planck powered his way into the front-five with 30 laps
complete.
Just as Lampman had ducked
under Phelps for first-place on an earlier lap 13 restart,
Phelps nearly mirrored the move on the lap 32 restart yet after
just one more lap around the Baldwinsville,
New York speedster
was out front for the third time. Planck and Wood traded paint
in pursuit of the show position while Bicknell and Friesen
dialed in their mounts as the final laps clicked off.
The same green flag conditions
that allowed Phelps to build up a seemingly comfortable lead
with 10 laps to go proved to be the deciding factor as traffic
grew thicker in the closing stages. Phelps made a bold move
splitting the machines of New Yorker Lance Willix and New
Jerseyman Rich Scagliotta on lap 42 to find some room, yet with
five laps still to go Lampman was back in his shadow in pursuit
of his second win of the season at Merrittville.
With the white flag ready to
drop on the lead duo as they exited turn four, Lampman got the
needed bite and nosed ahead across the line just as Wood’s day
came to an abrupt with a spin out of the third corner to force
out the final yellow. The two-lap dash to the checkers was
hardly enough for Phelps to challenge the Port Colborne, Ontario
pilot with Lampman opening up a two car-length advantage as he
crossed the stripe to collect the $4,000 top prize.
“The track definitely fooled us
a little bit tonight,” admitted Phelps, who registered his first
career 358-Modified Series win last September at Canandaigua (NY)
Speedway after
dominating the Big-Block tour stop at Merrittville just one
month prior. “We should’ve tightened it up for this deal.”
“It was a fun race out there,
could’ve went either way. Larry did a helluva job, he kept
digging on those restarts. He just jumped out there on that last
one and I couldn’t stay with him. He had the best car and did a
great job so congratulations, he deserves it,” added Phelps,
after leading 21 laps aboard the potent no. 99J J&B
Installations-Town Mechanical/Troyer entry.
Returning to Merrittville after
lapping up to the runner-up car of Danny O’Brien in last year’s
100-lap romp, Planck settled for the show position steering the
RezX Racing no. 77X Grow It Hydroseeding/TEO mount.
“We knocked out the pan-hard
bar and after that all we could do was just hang on for the
ride,” noted Planck, who owns four victories on DIRTcar Racing
Northeast’s premier tour for Small-Block Modifieds. “So I’m
really happy just to be here.”
“The track was super and
slickened up which was good because we raced at
Cornwall (Ont.) last
night and left in the same set-up. We didn’t get any hot laps
tonight so its hard to complain about the way things went for
us,’ Planck added.
Racing in the
Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Series
continues back in the states later
in the summer when Ransomville (NY)
Speedway hosts round
#2 of the premier Small-Block Modified tour in the Northeast on
Friday, July 31. Coors Light and Hard Copy Wholesale present the
25th Alex Friesen Summer Nationals with $4,000 on the
line for the 100-lap feature winner.
SKIDMARKS
Lampman’s second feature win in
three outings this year at Merrittville also guaranteed him an
automatic starting berth in the 358-Modified Championship on
October 10 of Super DIRT Week XXXVIII at he New York State
Fairgrounds … Pat O’Brien and Larry Wight were the only two
qualified drivers from April 25 that failed to return in May.
O’Brien was sidelined after a bone-jarring crash in the Advance
Series Big-Block lid-lifter held April 26 at Big Diamond Raceway
in Pennsylvania while a late departure for the Gypsum Express
curtailed the best laid plans on Monday by Wight, the ’08
358-Modified rookie of the year, who copped the first consi run
in April … The 2009 Mr. DIRTcar 358 Series began with two
consecutive rain-outs in April. While Merrittville returned on
may 18, the tour stop knocked out by precipitation on April 18
at
Can-Am
Motorsports
Park has
been rescheduled for Friday, September 18.
Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship Series Race #1 –
Merrittville
Speedway, May 18, 2009 2nd
Annual ‘Spring Sizzler 100’ Event Summary
Feature
FIN STR CAR# DRIVER
1 1 22
Larry Lampman,Jr./Port
Colborne,ONT ($4,000)
2 2 99j
Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville, NY
3 20 77x
Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
4 26 55
Stewart Friesen/Niagara-o-t-Lake,ONT
5 9 42
Pete Bicknell/St.Catharines,ONT
6 22 7*
Danny O'Brien/Kingston,ONT
7 4
1 David Hebert/St. Damase,QUE
8 24 28
Scott Kerwin/Newfane,NY
9 27 44
Brian Stevens/St.Catharines,ONT
10 11 80
Chris Steele/Fenwick,ONT
11 28 66x
Carey Terrance/Akwesasne,NY
12 18 25
Bobby Herrington/Elginburg,ONT
13 7 23
Laurent Ladouceur/Alexandria,ONT
14 14 6m Mat
Williamson/St.Catharines,ONT
15 19 26r
Rick Richner/Niagara Falls,NY
16 12 69
Rob Pietz/Gasline,ONT
17 3 17c
Bobby Davidson Jr/St.Catharines,ONT
18 23 76
Travis Braun/Jordan Station,ONT
19 13 22c
Mario Clair/St-Edmond,QUE
20 25 52
James Friesen/St.Catharines,ONT
21 30 72
Tommy Flannigan/St.Catharines,ONT
22 16 55p
Perry Francis/Akwesasne,NY
23 29 16w
Lance Willix II/Theresa,NY
24 15 8
Rich Scagliotta/Bound
Brook,NJ
25 31 9
Mark Smoke/Akwesasne,NY
26 6 38
Scott Wood/Thorold,ONT
27 33 96
Fred Carleton/Niagara-o-t-Lake,ONT
28 34 5*
Tim Jones/Sanborn,NY
29 5 123
Robbie Krull/Cambria,NY
30 32 71
Mike Bowman/St.Catharines,ONT
31 10 3b
Chad
Brachmann/Sanborn,NY
32 17 08
Mark D'Ilario/Smithville,ONT
DNS *8 6
Pat O'Brien/Kingston,ONT
DNS *21 99L Larry
Wight/Phoenix,NY
*Did not return after
qualifying on April 25.
GATER NEWS LAP LEADERS:
Phelps (1), Lampman (2-8), Phelps (9-12), Lampman (13-32),
Phelps (33-48), Lampman (49-51).
CAUTIONS: 5 (lap 9, lap 13,
lap 24, lap 32, lap 50).
HEAT WINNERS: Wood, Krull,
Bicknell, P.O'Brien, Brachmann (run 4/25).
CONSI WINNERS: Wight,
D.O'Brien, Braun (1st race run
4//25).
BICKNELL RACING PRODUCTS WINNER
AWARD: Larry Lampman Jr.
SYRACUSE
SUPER DIRT WEEK QUALIFIER: Larry Lampman Jr.
HALFWAY LEADER: Larry Lampman
Jr.
BERT HARD CHARGER: Stewart
Friesen.
PENSKE POWER POSITION (17th):
Bobby Davidson Jr.
FAST TIME TRIALERS: Robbie
Krull & Pete Bicknell (16.017sec/74.920mph) *run
4/25.
TOTAL PURSE:
$23,025.
CARS ENTERED:
55.
NEXT EVENT: Ransomville
Speedway - July 31,
2009.
DID NOT QUALIFY(21)
xXx-Todd Gordon/St.Catharines,ONT
8s-Justin Sharp/St.Catharines,ONT
13-Tony Steiner/Jamesville,NY
14-Mitchell Jock/Akwesasne,NY
22e-Eric Gauvreau/Chelsea,QUE
22j-Jeremy Wilder/Fort
Plain,NY
26h-Luke Carleton/Port
Colborne,ONT
33-Mike Mahaney/King Ferry,NY
37s-Wayne
Conn Jr./St.Catharines,ONT
40-Joel Doiron/Alexandria,ONT
47-Simon Harvey-Perreault/Longueuil,QUE
m70-Billy Cook/Akwesasne,NY
72g-Denis Gauvreau/Gatineau,QUE
72t-Todd Stewart/Kingston,ONT
75-Boyd MacTavish/Ransomville,NY
82-Ken Winfield/Fort
Erie,ONT
91-Travis Cunningham/Grimsby,ONT
95-Alex Boisvert/Drummondville,QUE
95x-Philippe Desgranges/La
Presentation,QUE
97-Michel Chicoine/Ste-Cecile
de Milton,QUE
108-Bill Bleich/Port
Robinson,ONT
QUALIFYING
(run April 25)
FAST
AVE
TIME MPH CAR#
DRIVER
1 16.017
74.920 123
Robbie Krull
16.017
74.920 42
Pete Bicknell
3 16.037
74.827 99j Jimmy Phelps
4 16.090
74.580 3b
Chad
Brachmann
5 16.149
74.308 17c Bobby Davidson
6 16.221
73.978 23 Laurent Ladouceur
7 16.232
73.928 38 Scott Wood
8 16.250
73.846 6
Pat O'Brien
9 16.284
73.692 80x Chris Steele
10 16.299
73.624 99L Larry Wight
11 16.302
73.611 55 Stewart Friesen
12 16.326
73.502 1 David Hebert
13 16.356
73.368 26r Rick Richner
14 16.370
73.305 6m Mat Williamson
15 16.381
73.256 22e Eric Gauvreau
16 16.432
73.028 91 Travis Cunningham
17 16.440
72.993 08 Mark D'Ilario
16.440
72.993 8 Rich Scagliotta
19 16.442
72.984 22 Larry Lampman Jr.
20 16.451
72.944 44 Brian Stevens
21 16.458
72.913 25 Bobby Herrington
22 16.462
72.895 7* Danny O'Brien
23 16.464
72.886 69 Rob Pietz
24 16.465
72.882 55p Perry Francis
25 16.470
72.860 33 Mike Mahaney
26 16.481
72.811 76 Travis Braun
27 16.497
72.740 66 Dale Planck
28 16.535
72.573 66x Carey Terrance
29 16.566
72.438 40 Joel Doiron
30 16.573
72.407 28 Scott Kerwin
31 16.579
72.381 22c Mario Clair
32 16.625
72.180 72 Tommy Flannigan
33 16.659
72.033 72t Todd Stewart
34 16.681
71.938 95 Alex Boisvert
35 16.696
71.874 97 Michel Chicoine
36 16.709
71.818 108 Bill Bleich
37 16.719
71.775 8s Justin Sharp
38 16.726
71.745 16w Lance Willix II
39 16.736
71.702 96 Fred Carleton
40 16.843
71.246 xXx Todd Gordon
41 16.852
71.208 88 Boyd MacTavish
42 16.866
71.149 13 Tony Steiner
43 16.927
70.893 82 Ken Winfield
44 16.942
70.830 5* Tim Jones
45 16.952
70.788 22j Jeremy Wilder
46 16.966
70.730 26h Luke Carleton
47 16.970
70.713 72g Denis Gauvreau
48 17.026
70.480 m70 Billy Cook
49 17.140
70.012 14 Mitchell Jock
50 17.766
67.545 47 Simon Harvey-Perreault
51 40.267
29.801 71 Mike Bowman
52 -NT-
----- 95x Philippe Desgranges
53 -NT-
----- 52 James M. Friesen
54 -NT-
----- 9 Mark Smoke
55 -NT-
----- 37s Wayne Conn Jr.
Heat Races
(8
laps, top 4 finishers transferred to feature, top 2 went to
re-draw) *run April 25
#1: Wood, J.Phelps, Steele,
Francis, Kerwin, Doiron, F.Carleton, Bowman, Flannigan,
MacTavish, Desgranges.
#2: Krull, Lampman, Pietz,
D’Ilario, D.O’Brien, Mahaney, Chicoine, Willix, Sharp,
L.Carleton, Harvey-Perreault.
#3: Bicknell, Hebert, Clair,
Herrington, Braun, J.Friesen,
Conn, Jones, Jock,
D.Gauvreau, Smoke (DNS).
#4: P.O’Brien, Ladouceur,
Williamson, Richner, Wight, S.Friesen, E.Gauvreau, Bleich,
Steiner, Gordon, Cook.
#5: Brachmann, Davidson,
Scagliotta, Planck, Cunningham, Stevens, Terrance, Stewart,
Wilder, Winfield, Boisvert.
Consolation Round
(8
laps, top 2 finishers transferred to feature)
#1: Wight, Kerwin, Bowman,
Stevens, Mahaney, Bleich, Sharp, Wilder, D.Gauvreau, Cook,
Desgranges,
Conn (run April
25).
#2: D.O’Brien, J.Friesen,
F.Carleton, Willix, Cunningham, Gordon, MacTavish, Smoke,
E.Gauvreau (NS), Stewart (NS), Jock (NS), Harvey-Perreault (NS),
Boisvert (NS).
#3: Braun, S.Friesen, Jones,
Terrance, Flannigan, Chicoine, Winfield, L.Carleton, Doiron
(NS), Steiner (NS).
Provisionals:
Stevens, Terrance, Willix, Flannigan, Smoke, Bowman, F.Carleton,
Jones.
Mr. DIRTcar
358-Modified Championship Series Point Standings (May 18)
Rank No. Driver
Points Series Diff Wins Top-5 Top-10
Starts
1 22 Larry
Lampman Jr. 100 100 0 1 1
1 1
2 99J Jimmy
Phelps 95 95 -5 0
1 1 1
3 66 Dale
Planck 90 90 -10 0
1 1 1
4 55 Stewart
Friesen 85 85 -15 0
1 1 1
5 42 Pete
Bicknell 80 80 -20 0
1 1 1
6 7* Danny
O'Brien 76 76 -24 0
0 1 1
7 1 David
Hebert 72 72 -28 0
0 1 1
8 28 Scott
Kerwin 68 68 -32 0
0 1 1
9 44 Brian
Stevens 65 65 -35 0
0 1 1
10 80x Chris
Steele 62 62 -38 0
0 1 1
11 66x Carey
Terrance 60 60 -40 0
0 0 1
12 25 Bobby
Herrington 58 58 -42 0 0
0 1
13 23 Laurent
Ladouceur 56 56 -44 0 0
0 1
14 6m Mat
Williamson 54 54 -46 0
0 0 1
15 26R Rick Richner
52 52 -48 0 0
0 1
16 69 Rob Pietz
50 50 -50 0 0
0 1
17 17c Bobby
Davidson 48 48 -52 0 0
0 1
18 76 Travis
Braun 46 46 -54 0
0 0 1
19 22c Mario
Clair 45 45 -55 0
0 0 1
20 52 James M.
Friesen 44 44 -56 0 0
0 1
21 72 Tommy
Flannigan 43 43 -57 0 0
0 1
22 55p Perry
Francis 42 42 -58 0
0 0 1
23 16w Lance Willix
II 41 41 -59 0 0
0 1
24 38 Scott
Wood 40 40 -60 0
0 0 1
25 96 Fred
Carleton 40 40 -60 0
0 0 1
26 71 Mike
Bowman 40 40 -60 0
0 0 1
27 123 Robbie Krull
40 40 -60 0 0
0 1
28 08 Mark
D'Ilario 40 40 -60 0
0 0 1
29 5* Tim
Jones 40 40 -60 0
0 0 1
30 9 Mark
Smoke 40 40 -60 0
0 0 1
31 3b
Chad
Brachmann 40 40 -60 0 0
0 1
32 8 Rich
Scagliotta 40 40 -60 0
0 0 1
33 40 Joel Doiron
10 10 -90 0 0
0 0
34 88 Boyd
MacTavish 10 10 -90 0
0 0 0
35
95X
Philippe
Desgranges
10 10 -90 0 0 0 0
36 33 Mike
Mahaney 10 10 -90 0
0 0 0
37 97 Michel
Chicone 10 10 -90 0
0 0 0
38 8s Justin
Sharp 10 10 -90 0
0 0 0
39 26h Luke
Carleton 10 10 -90 0
0 0 0
40
47
Simon Harvey-Perreault
10 10 -90 0 0 0 0
41 72g Denis
Gauvreau 10 10 -90 0 0
0 0
42 14 Mitchell
Jock 10 10 -90 0
0 0 0
43 37s
Wayne Conn
10 10 -90 0 0 0 0
44 6
Pat O'Brien
10 10 -90 0 0
0 0
45 99L Larry
Wight 10 10 -90 0
0 0 0
46 22e Eric Gauvreau
10 10 -90 0 0 0 0
47 108 Bill Bleich
10 10 -90 0 0
0 0
48 XXX Todd Gordon
10 10 -90 0 0
0 0
49 13 Tony
Steiner 10 10 -90 0
0 0 0
50 M70 Billy
Cook 10 10 -90 0
0 0 0
51 91 Travis
Cunningham10 10 -90 0 0
0 0
52 72T Todd Stewart
10 10 -90 0 0
0 0
53 95 Alex
Boisvert 10 10 -90 0
0 0 0
54 82 Ken
Winfield 10 10 -90 0
0 0 0
55 22J Jeremy
Wilder 10 10 -90 0
0 0 0
2009 Mr.
DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship Series Schedule
*All events
subject to change.
DAY-DATE LAPS
TRACK LOCATION/WINNER
Mon-May 18 Merrittville
Speedway
Larry Lampman Jr.
Fri-Jul 31 Ransomville
Speedway
Ransomville,NY
Sun-Sep 6
Cornwall Motor
Speedway
Cornwall,ONT
Fri-Sep 11 Mohawk
International Raceway
Akwesasne,NY
Sat-Sep 12
Brockville
Ontario
Speedway
Brockville,ONT
Sun-Sep 13
Autodrome Granby Granby,QUE
($10,000 to
win)
Fri-Sep 18
Can-Am
Motorsports
Park
LaFargeville,NY
Sat-Sep 19
Autodrome Drummond Drummondville,QUE
($10,000 to
win)
Fri-Sep 25 Rolling
Wheels
Raceway
Park
Elbridge,NY
Wed-Oct 7
Can-Am
Motorsports
Park
LaFargeville,NY
Thr-Oct 8 Brewerton
Speedway
Brewerton,NY
Fri-Oct 9 Rolling
Wheels
Raceway
Park
Elbridge,NY
Sat-Oct 10
New York State Fairgrounds Syracuse,NY
($20,000 to
win)
Sat-Oct 17 -TBA-
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 Advance
Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series “DIRTcar
All-Star 100” on Sunday, July 19.
Headquartered in
Roanoke,
Va., Advance Auto Parts, a
leading automotive aftermarket retailer of parts, accessories,
batteries, and maintenance items in the
United States,
serves both the do-it-yourself and professional installer
markets As of April 19, 2008, the Company operated 3,291 stores
in 40 states, Puerto Rico, and the
Virgin Islands. Additional
information about the Company, employment opportunities,
customer services, and on-line shopping for parts and
accessories can be found on the Company's web site at
www.advanceautoparts.com.
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, 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 |
