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By Dave Sully, DIRT MotorSports Correspondent
Thorold, ONT — August 1, 2005 — Driving a car that was so new it sported duct tape
numbers, Phelps, New York open-wheel star Alan Johnson made a late race pass on
Brett Hearn to win the Trevor Wilkens Memorial presented by Pete Cosco Haulage
358-Modified Super Dirt Series event Monday night at Merrittville Speedway. The
50-lap victory was the third straight win in this event for Johnson, who set fast
time earlier in the
evening. DIRT MotorSports' all-time big-block feature winner triumphed by hanging
around near the front in the early going and then, when the track slickened, made
his move to win going away.
The race was run under trying conditions as lightning crackled all around the area,
forcing
officials to change the order of the events and drivers to try different strategies
as the length of the race was also in question from the start. Fortunately, no rain
fell and the large assemblage was treated to a thrilling race, which marked the
opener of the 358 SDS Series as Brockville Ontario Speedway's lid-lifter fell to
showers on June 21.
Randy Chrysler of the Tuscarora Nation (NY) took the lead in his no. 21k Randy's
Smoke Shop Special from the pole, earned by virtue of the customary re-draw, and
showed plenty of power early as he led the first 11 laps. The former Mr. DIRT
Sportsman champion was overtaken by 25 year short-track veteran Fred Carleton, who
claimed the point on lap 12.
Eighteen-time track champion Pete Bicknell, Merrittville's winner on Saturday night,
was on the move from the outset, charging into second on lap 12 after starting 10th
in the 31-car field. Bicknell took the lead on lap 15 after Carleton was forced high
in turn one traffic, but his time in front was short-lived as Brett Hearn drove past
him on lap 17 to take the top spot. Hearn immediately opened up a sizable lead while
seventh-place starter Johnson was beginning his own march to the front, first taking
over third on lap 17.
Hearn, who was having things his own way aboard the potent no. 4 Four Star
Transmissions mount, caught lapped traffic on lap 21 to thicken the plot. As Hearn
navigated through the slower cars, Johnson began hounding Bicknell for second with
both of them able to closed in on Hearn in the process as the lapped cars were
running two wide at times. Hearn observed, “We had to race those guys like they were
racing for position. There was really no way they knew where we were.”
Bicknell got alongside Hearn on the backstretch on lap 33, but the Sussex, NJ,
veteran held him off. A lone yellow flag of the event flew on lap 37 when Chrysler
and Carleton tangled in turn four, tightening the field on the ensuing restart.
Johnson drove around Bicknell exiting turn four to claim back under green flag
conditions and immediately set his sights on high-flying Hearn. Bicknell noted, “I
glazed a tire on that caution and I couldn't get going enough after that. The car
was good as I started tenth and got up front pretty quick. But I wasn’t quite as
good as I should have been after that caution, then I kind of just fell off the
pace. After that I didn’t want to try anything stupid and lose another position. I
knew I wasn’t catching them at that point so I did the best I could to hang on to
what I had.”
Johnson chased after Hearn and quickly caught up to him on lap 39. He measured
Hearn for several laps before sweeping by underneath in turn four on lap 44 to make
the final lead change. From there he pulled away in the no. 14j WPC Associates-Pine
Line Auto Sales machine, leaving Hearn alone in second while Bicknell held third.
Larry Lampman, Jr. made a late race pass on Matt Sheppard to finish fourth with
Sheppard rounding out the top-five at the checkers.
Hearn felt confident when the lap 37 caution flew to eliminate the lapped cars from
consideration, saying “I felt that after I battled through all that lapped traffic,
when the yellow came out I thought I had clear sailing. I thought we were that
good.” He admitted that the car started getting loose and that’s all Johnson
needed. “The car started getting looser and looser there at the end trying to get
back across the black and Alan as
always shines on the black stuff. He was really good on the bottom and was able to
come up and basically have his way with us.”
Johnson echoed that sentiment, explaining, “He (Hearn) had trouble holding it down
in four and my car was really good down there, and that happened to be where we got
him.”
'A.J. Slideways' also described his early race strategy in the brand new Jeff
Rudalavage-owned Bicknell mount, saying “The biggest concern was tires. My tires
didn’t feel too good in the beginning. They took awhile to kick in but once that
happened they were great.”
With lightning flashing all around and the race only 50 laps, Johnson conceded that
he changed his strategy a little bit, noting “You don’t want to try saving any
tires. Obviously, there’s not time to do that. With the lightning you don’t figure
it’s going to last much more than halfway, so when we got in traffic there was no
taking it easy. Everybody had to find or make every hole they could get, but
everything worked out all right.” As to whether he needed the lapped cars to catch
Hearn, he added, “I don’t think so. It took my car a few laps but once we got going
I think we had a little better car than he did tonight.”
Johnson took home $3,000 for the win and since he already had won a Syracuse
qualifier, the spot went to runner-up Hearn who will represent Merrittville in the
Sunoco/Aplus 150 main event for 358-Modifieds at Syracuse on October 8. Long-time
track regular Brian Stevens won the Hard Charger award, finishing ninth after
starting 19th.
With Merrittville standing as the 2005 tour opener, Johnson is the early small-block
SDS points leader following the first of 18 scheduled extra-distance events.
358-Modified Super DIRT Series competition crosses over the border into New York
States for the 21st Alex Friesen Summer Nationals at Ransomville Speedway on Tue.,
Aug. 2. A complete show is on tap leading up to the $3,000-to-win 75-lap small-block
finale.
358-Modified Super DIRT Series – Merrittville Speedway, August 1, 2005 Pete Cosco
Haulage presents Trevor Wilkens Memorial Event Summary [*Official box score posted
on www.dirtmotorsports.com and can be viewed by first selecting 'DIRT NorthEast' on
the corporate homepage then clicking '358-Modified SDS' on homepage]
FEATURE
FIN STR CAR# DRIVER
1 7 14j Alan Johnson/Phelps,NY ($3,000)
2 5 4 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
3 10 42 Pete Bicknell/St.Catharines,ONT
4 8 rp23 Larry Lampman,Jr./Port Colborne,ONT
5 3 28s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY
6 12 62 Todd Burley/Spencerport,NY
7 14 38 Scott Wood/Thorold,ONT
8 15 41 Boyd MacTavish/Fenwick,ONT
9 19 44 Brian Stevens/St.Catharines,ONT
10 2 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
11 9 26 Rick Richner/Niagara Falls,NY
12 18 69 Rob Pietz/Gasline,ONT
13 13 93 Rich Vinson/Sanborn,NY
14 11 22 Dan Miller/Niagara-o-t-Lake,ONT
15 4 96 Fred Carleton/Niagara-o-t-Lake,ONT
16 1 21k Randy Chrysler/Lewiston,NY
17 23 xXx Stewart Friesen/Niagara-o-t-Lake,ONT
18 16 9 Ken Cosgrove/St.Catharines,ONT
19 25 10x Richie Pratt,Jr./Sewell,NJ
20 20 6 Pat O'Brien/Kingston,ONT
21 27 3a Paul Ashton/Fort Erie,ONT
22 21 14 Greg Wilson/Kitchener,ONT
23 17 15j Tim Jones/Sanborn,NY
24 30 37p Francisco Pereira/Etobicoke,ONT
25 29 t21 Roger Chrysler/Lewiston,NY
26 31 3 Donnie Wetmore,Jr./Weedsport,NY
27 24 91 Travis Cunningham/Grimsby,ONT
28 28 55 Perry Francis/Akwesasne,NY
29 26 one23 Robbie Krull/Cambria,NY
30 6 99p Greg Panunte/Port Colborne,ONT
31 22 1f Adam Ferri/Port Colborne,ONT
DNS 32 72 Mike Bliss/Warsaw,NY
DNS 33 48too Dave Rauscher/Waterloo,NY
DID NOT QUALIFY(3)
18r-Brad Rouse/St.Catharines,ONT
37-Kyle Jacobs/Hogansburg,NY
m70-Billy Cook/Akwesasne,NY
Lap leaders: Chrysler (1-11), Carleton (12-14), Bicknell (15-16), Hearn (17-43),
Johnson (44-50).
Bert Hard Charger: Brian Stevens.
QUALIFYING
FAST AVE
TIME MPH CAR# DRIVER
1 15.803 75.935 14j Alan Johnson/Phelps,NY
2 15.841 75.753 4 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
3 15.869 75.619 28s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY
4 15.925 75.353 rp23 Larry Lampman,Jr./Port Colborne,ONT
5 15.987 75.061 96 Fred Carleton/Niagara-o-t-Lake,ONT
6 15.989 75.052 26 Rick Richner/Niagara Falls,NY
7 16.036 74.832 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
8 16.045 74.790 42 Pete Bicknell/St.Catharines,ONT
9 16.058 74.729 10x Richie Pratt,Jr./Sewell,NJ
10 16.064 74.701 69 Rob Pietz/Gasline,ONT
11 16.083 74.613 22 Dan Miller/Niagara-o-t-Lake,ONT
12 16.193 74.106 62 Todd Burley/Spencerport,NY
13 16.210 74.028 99p Greg Panunte/Port Colborne,ONT
14 16.221 73.978 3a Paul Ashton/Fort Erie,ONT
15 16.229 73.942 41 Boyd MacTavish/Fenwick,ONT
16 16.235 73.914 6 Pat O'Brien/Kingston,ONT
17 16.240 73.892 15j Tim Jones/Sanborn,NY
18 16.247 73.860 38 Scott Wood/Thorold,ONT
19 16.253 73.833 44 Brian Stevens/St.Catharines,ONT
20 16.257 73.814 one23 Robbie Krull/Cambria,NY
21 16.329 73.489 14 Greg Wilson/Kitchener,ONT
22 16.337 73.453 21k Randy Chrysler/Lewiston,NY
23 16.340 73.439 48too Dave Rauscher/Waterloo,NY
24 16.345 73.417 xXx Stewart Friesen/Niagara-o-t-Lake,ONT
25 16.361 73.345 93 Rich Vinson/Sanborn,NY
26 16.389 73.220 55 Perry Francis/Akwesasne,NY
27 16.402 73.162 91 Travis Cunningham/Grimsby,ONT
28 16.464 72.886 9 Ken Cosgrove/St.Catharines,ONT
29 16.527 72.608 1f Adam Ferri/Port Colborne,ONT
30 16.568 72.429 37p Francisco Pereira/Etobicoke,ONT
31 16.814 71.369 37 Kyle Jacobs/Hogansburg,NY
32 17.056 70.356 m70 Billy Cook/Akwesasne,NY
33 17.107 70.147 t21 Roger Chrysler/Lewiston,NY
34 18.197 65.945 18r Brad Rouse/St.Catharines,ONT
+DQ 16.226 73.955 3 Donnie Wetmore,Jr./Weedsport,NY
*DQ 16.546 72.525 72 Mike Bliss/Warsaw,NY
@Top-2 locked into pre-race feature draw;
+Time Disallowed due to weight infraction;
*Time Disallowed due to illegal rear spoiler.
Heat Races (8 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to feature, top 2 went to re-draw)
#1: Sheppard, Planck, Miller, MacTavish, Stevens, Rauscher, Cunningham, Wetmore,
Pereira, Jacobs.
#2: Bicknell, Lampman, Burley, Cosgrove, O'Brien, Krull, Friesen, Bliss, Cook.
#3: Carleton, Panunte, Vinson, Jones, Wilson, Ferri, Pratt, Roger Chrysler.
#4: Richner, Randy Chrysler, Wood, Pietz, Ashton (DISQ), Francis, Rouse (DNS).
Consolation Round (8 laps, top 9 finishers transferred to feature)
#1: Ferri, Friesen, Cunningham, Pratt, Krull, Ashton, Francis, Roger Chrysler,
Pereira, Wetmore, Bliss, Rauscher, Cook, Jacobs, Rouse (DNS).
Provisional Starters: Wetmore, Bliss, Rauscher.
Merrittville Memos:
With the race being 50 laps in distance at Merrittville, the top-two time trialers
and only the top-two in each of four heats participated in the redraw, putting a
higher premium on qualifying.
* In an ironic twist, Brett Hearn, who was scheduled to miss the scheduled opener at
Brockville in June, will now be able to run the whole series if he chooses as
Brockville
was rained out, leaving him on equal footing with the rest of the 358 SDS drivers.
* Third-generation pilot and current DIRT Modified 'Elite 11' member Stewart Friesen
drove the no. XXX Blue Moon Potatoes mount of Todd Gordon on this night and will be
entering the no. 22 Desks Plus ride of Dan Miller in the next few 358 SDS events.
"We’re happy to have Stewart on board, he’s a great driver and that’s why we’re
putting him in the car. We feel that he can do a better job than myself. We just
want to see what the car is capable of and how far we can take it," Miller said.
* After not following the tour for several years, four-time overall Hoosier
Tire-Sunoco Race Fuels Mr. DIRT Champion Pat O’Brien has decided to race in all of
the 358 SDS events this year. He explained, “I haven’t had a 358 car the last couple
of years. With the shortened schedule and all the races being condensed in August,
that was the main factor. There are not a whole bunch of races during the summer,
about a half dozen, and I can’t travel through the summer. Then we’re into the
weekends in the fall. That’s the important thing for me.”
* Pete Bicknell has also decided to run the entire tour this season, stating “Right
now we’re planning on traveling the whole tour. As problems arise down the road that
could change. But if everything goes well, we’ll be able to follow the whole
series." As to
whether he might have an advantage at the track he owns, he added “In past years it
hasn’t proven to be an advantage. You never know what’s going to happen. I don’t
prepare the track, so I don’t know how exactly how its done. The track changes from
week
to week and that means a level playing field for everybody. I've just been racing
around here longer than most.”
Joining the list of drivers stating their intentions of following the 358-Modified
Super DIRT Series in '05 are Richie Pratt, Jr., Kyle Jacobs, Perry Francis, Dave
Rauscher, Billy Cook and Rick Richner. Big-block series runners Matt Sheppard,
Stewart Friesen, Hearn and Johnson are planning to attend every show that does not
conflict with the Advance Auto Parts SDS.
Awards Abound
Spearheaded by Nancy Bicknell, Merrittville track management secured numerous
special awards for the annual Trevor Wilkens Memorial presented by Pete Cosco
Haulage. The fast time trialer earned a $75 bonus from L. St.Amand Enterprises, the
highest finishing Merrittville regular collected $300 courtesy of Glen Rolston, the
leader of each lap received $15 while other bonuses were given to third, fifth,
eighth, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th and 30th-place feature finishers and the sixth-place
runner on lap 42 received a unique award.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Following the Niagara Frontier stop at Ransomville Speedway on Aug. 2, the
358-Modified Super DIRT Series opens a three-day swing on Monday, August 8 and
continues through until Wednesday Aug. 10 as open-wheel teams tour New York's North
Country. First, the tour jumps the border for racing action at Brockville, Ontario
Canada in a make-up event that was rained out after time trials in June. The tour
stays overnight and races a 75-lapper at Autodrome Edelweiss in Hull, Quebec before
coming back for a 75-lap main at Hogansburg, NY's Frogtown International Speedway.
Series Update: The 358 SDS race at Canandaigua Speedway originally scheduled for
August 24 has been moved back one day to Tue., Aug. 23, to avoid a conflict with the
Advance Auto Parts big-block Modified tour race scheduled that same day at New Egypt
(NJ) Speedway, allowing drivers who participate in both series to make both events.
Look for all the point chasers, including Johnson, Hearn and Bicknell, to fill out
the 'Land of Legends' field in just three more weeks.
2005 358-MODIFIED SUPER DIRT SERIES SCHEDULE
Day-Date Track (Laps)
Location
Mon-Aug 1 Merrittville Speedway (50L) .............................. ALAN JOHNSON
Tue-Aug 2 Ransomville Speedway (75L) ........................... Ransomville, NY
Mon-Aug 8 Brockville Ontario Speedway (50L) .................. Brockville, ONT
Tue-Aug 9 Autodrome Edelweiss (75L) ............................. Hull, QUE
Wed-Aug 10 Frogtown Int'l Speedway (75L) ......................... Hogansburg, NY
Tue-Aug 23 Canandaigua Speedway (75L) ......................... Canandaigua, NY
Sun-Sep 4 Cornwall Motor Speedway (100L) .................... Cornwall, ONT
Sat-Sep 10 Lebanon Valley Speedway (50L) ..................... West Lebanon, NY
Sun-Sep 11 Can-Am Motorsports Park,Ltd. (2-50L) ............ LaFargeville, NY
Fri-Sep 16 Brockville Ontario Speedway (75L) .................. Brockville, ONT
Sat-Sep 17 Rolling Wheels Raceway (100L) ...................... Elbridge, NY
Sat-Sep 24 Canandaigua Speedway (75L) ........................ Canandaigua, NY
Sat-Oct 1 Fulton Speedway (200L) .................................. Fulton, NY
Wed-Oct 5 Can-Am Motorsports Park,Ltd. (100L) ............. LaFargeville, NY
Thr-Oct 6 Brewerton Speedway (100L) ........................... Brewerton, NY
Fri-Oct 7 Rolling Wheels Raceway (100L) ..................... Elbridge, NY
Sat-Oct 8 New York State Fairgrounds (150L) ................ Syracuse, NY
Sat-Oct 22 Bridgeport Speedway (100L) ........................... Bridgeport, NJ
DIRT MOTORSPORTS 358 SUPER DIRT SERIES SPONSORS
The DIRT MotorSports™ 358-Modified Series is brought to fans across the Northeast by
several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Stacker 2®, Advance Auto
Parts, Hoosier Racing Tire, Sunoco Race Fuels and DART Machinery. Promotional
Partners include AMB i.t., RACEceiver, Zippo Lighters and F.X. Caprara Car Companies
and the contingency sponsors are Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, MSD
Ignitions and Wrisco Industries.