Rain-Shortened Event Gives Hearn Record Sixth Triumph In NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week Headliner 17 Years After Last Win

SYRACUSE, NY – Oct. 7, 2012 – By Kevin Kovac/DIRTcar Racing P.R. – Brett Hearn’s long run of big-block Modified misery during NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week is over.

Combining a fleet race car with the good fortune that had seemingly abandoned him at the famed New York State Fairgrounds, Hearn emerged triumphant in Sunday’s rain-shortened VP Small Engine Fuels 200.

Hearn, 54, of Sussex, N.J., captured big-block Modified racing’s most prestigious event for a record sixth time when DIRTcar officials declared the race official after 113 laps due to increasingly heavy precipitation that slickened the one-mile oval. But it was his first win in the race since 1995 – a 17-year span between checkered flags that was filled with frustration and heartbreak and made his return to the spotlight a sweet reward.

“You keep on doing this long enough it’s gotta turn around and come back your way, right?” said Hearn, who has started the VP Small Engine Fuels 200 for 35 consecutive years. “I won the thing five times in 11 years (from 1985-95) and thought, ‘Man, it wasn’t that hard after all.’ And then the next 16 years I realized not only is it hard to win the race, it’s hard to finish the damn race. This puts it all in perspective.” (more…)

Rookie Desjardins Loses it on Last Lap, Letting Warner Take NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week Championship 30

SYRACUSE, N. Y. – Oct. 7, 2012 – NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week 2011 Pro Stock champion Rocky Warner added to his tally another victory, but not in the Pro Stock class. Warner, of Gloversville, N. Y., began running in the Sportsman Modified division last year, and again brought his Sportsman ride to Super DIRT Week and steered it to victory in Sunday’s Sportsman Modified Championship 30.

“It hasn’t really hit me yet,” Warner said. “I told some of the guys to pinch me. It doesn’t seem real yet.”

Warner may have seen victory lane at the New York State Fairgrounds, but never with the competitive 60-car field that attempted to qualify for Sunday’s championship race.

“The Pro Stock class is a tough class, but we’re getting 30 Pro Stocks here, which is pretty much the whole field,” Warner said. “For Sportsman there are 60 or 61 cars that registered here, and it’s not just 60 cars, there are 30 or 40 of the best of them, so it’s one of those deals where it makes you feel a little better.” (more…)

Runner-Up Ladouceur Pleased with Points

SYRACUSE, N. Y. – Oct. 7, 2012 – Pete Stefanski of North Tonawanda, N. Y., captured the Pro Stock Championship 25 presented by BACC-OFF Sunday at NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week XLI, becoming a two-time winner of the event.

“It’s pretty awesome,” said Stefanski, who previously topped the race in 2009. “Anytime you win at Syracuse it’s good to be in victory lane. It’s a tough place to win at.”

Rocky Warner started in the front row and led at the green flag, but by lap five Stefanski took it from the defending champion. Stefanski continued to build his lead despite unpredictable weather and track conditions at the “Moody Mile,” leaving Warner, Chad Jesseo and Joey Ladouceur to battle for second.

“It’s a big track,” Stefanski said. “You have to be perfect on it with your setup here because someone could be just a hair bit better than you and you wouldn’t even be able to catch them.” (more…)

Moody Mile Newbie’s First Race Will Be the Big One After Locking In a VP 200 Position

ELBRIDGE, N. Y. – Oct. 7, 2012 – Although he has not driven the Moody Mile at the New York State Fairgrounds, Chad Homan has been trying for years to qualify for the VP Small Engine Fuels 200 Sunday during NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week. Instead of participating in time trials and heat races throughout the week, Homan has been working on conquering Rolling Wheels for the Big-Block Modified “Win and You’re In” race, and Saturday he finally made it.

“I’ve been trying to win this race for a few years now, but I’ve never won it,” Homan, of Macedon, N. Y., said. “It’s going to be pretty cool to start the 200.”

Homan started third in his heat at Rolling Wheels, beating out competitors to get the top spot and going on to start third in the 25-lap feature. Chad Brachmann, 2011 “Win and You’re In” winner, took the initial lead, but a caution just off the green flag gave Homan the chance to pass on the restart. (more…)