T-Mac’s Coveted Triumph Comes After Hearn’s Fuel Tank Runs Dry With Two Laps Remaining

SYRACUSE, NY – Oct. 6, 2012 – By Kevin Kovac/DIRTcar Racing P.R. – Tim McCreadie can finally call himself a winner at the New York State Fairgrounds.

Erasing a frustrating history of near-misses and bad breaks during NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week, McCreadie inherited the lead when Brett Hearn ran out of fuel with two laps remaining and held on to capture Saturday’s Gander Mountain 358-Modified Championship 150.

McCreadie, 38, of Watertown, N.Y., was clearly overjoyed after scoring a $20,000 triumph at the historic one-mile oval where his father, ‘Barefoot’ Bob McCreadie, won the prestigious big-block Modified VP Small Engine Fuels 200 in 1986. He celebrated by doing doughnuts on the homestretch with his 4-Star Racing Teo-Pro car, pounding on the machine’s roof and posing for pictures on the winner’s stage with a large contingent of friends and family members, including his two-year-old son, Gavin, and legendary father.

“It’s awesome,” McCreadie said when asked to describe what a victory at the Syracuse Mile meant to him. “I can’t believe we did it. I know it’s only the small-block race, but this is an unbelievable feeling for me. I can say it’s probably the most emotional and excited and happy that I’ve ever been in a race car.” (more…)

Mountain 358-Modified Championship 150

SYRACUSE, NY – Oct. 5, 2012 – Billy Decker of Unadilla, N.Y., will begin his quest for an unprecedented fifth consecutive victory in the Gander Mountain 358-Modified Championship 150 from the pole position after registering the fastest lap in Friday afternoon’s qualifying during NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week XLI at the New York State Fairgrounds.

The 47-year-old master of the Syracuse Mile clicked off a circuit of 31.702 seconds early in the 64-car session and it held up to the finish. He bested fellow DIRTcar circuit veteran Danny Johnson of Rochester, N.Y., by 0.187 of a second to earn Gander Mountain 358-Modified Championship 150 fast-time honors for the third year in a row.

“It’s the same car – same everything – from last year,” said Decker, who established a new consecutive-win record for the 358-Modified event when he drove the Gypsum Racing Bicknell/Kevlar combination to the checkered flag in 2011. “This is all a product of being prepared. It shows the depth of this team and the work and dedication that goes into preparing stuff.” (more…)

Series Drivers Build Momentum for Friday’s 358-Modified Time Trials and Twin 20s

ELBRIDGE, N. Y – Oct. 5, 2012 – Second place just wasn’t good enough for Brett Hearn. The Vernon, N. J., native took the runner-up spot at Wednesday’s 358-Modified Series race at Cayuga County Fair Speedway, but Thursday’s 75-lap series race at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park gave him the second chance he needed to make it to victory lane.

“We finished the deal tonight,” said Hearn, who fought hard for first in Weedsport Wednesday, but finished second to World of Outlaws Late Model Series star Tim McCreadie. “We didn’t give it away at the end.”

Despite success in qualifying events, making fast time in time trials and winning his heat, Hearn’s redraw put him in the 11th starting spot. Pole-sitter Lee Gill took the early lead, but Hearn was able to make his way up and challenge Gill in lap 16, passing in lap 18. The two raced neck-and-neck for several laps, Gill getting the chance to reclaim the lead off a double-file restart in lap 35. However, Hearn took the top spot back in lap 48 and sped along “The Fast Track” to build a hefty lead over his follower.

“We had to get through a lot of cars to get to the front,” Hearn said. “I had a little scare there with the 7 car went by me on that one restart, but after my tires got hot again everything was good.” (more…)

Keystone State Star Sweeps World of Outlaws Late Model Series Program In Convincing Fashion

ELBRIDGE, NY – Oct. 4, 2012 – Rick Eckert has figured out Rolling Wheels Raceway Park.

The 46-year-old star from York, Pa., was untouchable in Thursday night’s 50-lap World of Outlaws Late Model Series A-Main, cruising to victory at the five-eighths-mile oval during NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week for the second straight year.

Eckert steered his Team Zero by Bloomquist car past Bub McCool of Vicksburg, Miss., for the lead on lap 11 and never looked back. He had a straightaway-plus advantage wiped out by a lap-35 caution flag but still triumphed by a commanding margin, pulling away over the final circuits to defeat a late-charging Shane Clanton of Fayetteville, Ga., by 5.529 seconds.

“I just love this place,” said Eckert, whose four career WoO LMS starts at Rolling Wheels include two wins (2011 and ’12) and two runner-up finishes (’05 and ’10). “It’s turned into my favorite racetrack in the country.”

Runaway WoO LMS points leader Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., had an relative off night, finishing third despite starting from the pole position. He was outgunned for the lead at the initial green flag by McCool and fell back as far as fourth before passing McCool for third on lap 40. (more…)

Steve Gray Wins Sportsman Modified Series Race at Cayuga County Fair Speedway 

WEEDSPORT, N. Y. – October 3, 2012 – A year away from his small block did no harm to Tim McCreadie’s performance during Wednesday night’s NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week Kickoff presented by FX Caprara. McCreadie qualified well for Wednesday’s 75-lap DIRTcar 358-Modified Series race, starting six, and charged through several early-race cautions to take the lead in lap 5.

“We were fast early. We died a little mid-race, but we picked up at the end,” said McCreadie, a World of Outlaws Late Model Series regular. “Lapped traffic didn’t really seem to help.”

Leaders McCreadie and Brett Hearn reached lapped cars in lap 33, racing two- and three-wide, neck-and-neck, until Hearn slid past McCreadie for the lead in lap 43.

Hearn built a sizable lead over McCreadie, but “T-Mac” overtook him with just a few laps to go.

“We swapped the lead back and forth several times,” said Hearn, who took second at the checkered flag. “I knew where we needed to be at the end of the race, but I just couldn’t get to where we needed to be.” (more…)