Planck finishes fifth at Brockville Ontario Speedway to garner series championship title

BROCKVILLE, ONTARIO – Oct. 14, 2012 – “The Doctor” Danny Johnson cruised to the front during Saturday’s DIRTcar 358-Modified Series finale at Brockville Ontario Speedway, avoiding several pile-ups and outlasting competition through a challenging 100 laps on his way to his third series win of the season.

“I’m very fortunate to have a great hotrod here at the end of the season,” said Johnson, of Rochester, N. Y. “It’s a phenomenal hotrod, that’s all I can tell you. It’s the same car that we ran here last year and won with, so it’s a proven piece for us.”

Johnson beat off Brett Hearn to take third at the green flag at Saturday’s afternoon 1000 Islands RV Fall Nationals race, but Hearn fought back after a pile-up in lap 3 involving Dexter Stacey, Michel Chicoine and Danny O’Brien brought the yellow. On the restart, Hearn powered ahead to second with Johnson still in third. Stephane LeFrance in the 115 car continued the lead he gained at the start.

By lap 15, LeFrance, Johnson and Hearn were battling through lapped traffic with Johnson finally taking the outside in lap 21 to pass Hearn. Johnson kept his momentum through a lap-22 caution and the ensuing restart to take the lead in lap 27.

Johnson kept his lead, LeFrance in hot pursuit until a blown tire took him out in lap 80, leaving Billy Dunn to fight for the lead. Dunn, the 358-Modified track champion at Mohawk International Raceway, kept the nose of his 23d to the back bumper of Johnson’s 27J through every turn, but was unable to pass before the checkered flag. Dunn finished second, followed by Joel Doiron in third, and Kyle Dingwall in fourth.

Series point leader Dale Planck finished fifth after noticing challenging track conditions and pitting for a tire change in lap 31. Upon returning to the field, he gradually worked his way up, helped by some strong restarts as well as a couple of blown tires in lap 89 that took Hearn, then in fourth, and Mario Clair, then in fifth, to the pits.

“I figured that at at the end least my tires would have 30 less laps on it than everyone else,” said Planck, of Cortland, N. Y. “The restarts were real good, because it seemed like I could get a good start on the outside with the fresh tires. And then at the end I saw myself fifth on the board, and I was just hanging on, just happy to see myself finish fifth with the car in one piece”

As tire wear became an issue for many competitors, Planck’s decision to pit early may have helped him outlast others and greet the checkered flag with a strong finish. However, with a series lead of 100-plus points over runner-up Mat Williamson going into the race, even a blown tire would not cost Planck the championship title.

“The pressure was off after time trials,” said Planck, who has earned six top-five finishes throughout the season. “The rest of the time it was go and have fun.”

 

DIRTcar 358-Modified Series, Round 12 – Statistical Report
Saturday, October 13, 2012 – Brockville Ontario Speedway

A-Main (100 laps): 1. 27J Danny Johnson; 2. 23d Billy Dunn; 3. 40 Joel Doiron; 4. 66 Kyle Dingwall; 5. 77x Dale Planck; 6. 6 Pat O’Brien; 7. 88 Tim O’Brien; 8. 6m Mat Williamson; 9. M96 Brian McDonald; 10. 66x Carey Terrance; 11. 2 Jeff Sykes; 12. 23 Dany Bilodeau; 13. 22c Mario Clair; 14. 21 Yan Bussiere; 15. 21k Randy Chrysler; 16. 17c Chris Steele; 17. 115 Stephane LaFrance; 18. 20H Brett Hearn; 19. 124 Pierre Dagenais; 20. 75J Joseph Banks; 21. 54 Steve Bernard; 22. 99 Bruno LePage; 23. 99F Stewart Friesen; 24. 7 Lee Gill; 25. 74 Matt Billings; 26. 35 Adam Moore; 27. 3d Dexter Stacey; 28. 97 Michel Chicoine; 29. 73 Alain Boisvert; 30. 17d Danny O’Brien

 

Qualifying Heats (8 laps, top 4 transfer to feature, top 2 to redraw)

Heat 1: 1. 27J Danny Johnson; 2. 115 Stephane LeFrance; 3. 124 Pierre Dagenais; 4. 99F Stewart Friesen; 5. 21 Yan Bussiere; 6. 2 Jeff Sykes; 7. 54 Steve Bernard; 8. 93 Jordan McCreadie; 9. 49 Francois Bernier

Heat 2: 1. 20H Brett Hearn; 2. 74 Matt Billings; 3. 23 Dany Bilodeau; 4. 17c Chris Steele; 5. 97 Michel Chicoine; 6. 27T Travis Stacey; 7. 172 Andre Gauthier; 8. 188 David Papineau; 9. 77 Lee Miller

Heat 3: 1. 23d Billy Dunn; 2. 40 Joel Doiron; 3. 7 Lee Gill; 4. 21k Randy Chrysler; 5. 17d Danny O’Brien; 6. 73 Alain Boisvert; 7. 61 Jean Boissoneault; 8. 23 John Mulder

Heat 4: 1. 66 Kyle Dingwall; 2. 6 Pat O’Brien; 3. 66x Carey Terrance; 4. 88 Tim O’Brien; 5. 22c Mario Clair; 6. 99 Bruno LePage; 7. 20 Steve Bilow; 8. 66w Wallace Stacey

Heat 5: 1. 6m Mat Williamson; 2. M96 Brian McDonald; 3. 77x Dale Planck; 4. 35 Adam Moore; 5. 9 Jason Riddell; 6. 75J Joseph Banks; 7. 3d Dexter Stacey; 8. 24b Roger Levesque

B-Main 1 (10 laps, top 4 qualify): 1. 17d Danny O’Brien; 2. 21 Yan Bussiere; 3. 54 Steve Bernard; 4. 99 Bruno LePage; 5. 3d Dexter Stacey; 6. 61 Jean Boissoneault; 7. 49 Francois Bernier; 8. 27T Travis Stacey; 9. 66w Wallace Stacey; 10. 188 David Papineau; 11. 9 Jason Riddell

B-Main 2 (10 laps, top 4 qualify): 1. 73 Alain Boisvert; 2. 22c Mario Clair; 3. 97 Michel Chicoine; 4. 2 Jeff Sykes; 5. 75J Joseph Banks; 6. 12 John Mulder; 7. 93 Jordan McCreadie; 8. 20 Steve Bilow; 9. 24b Roger Levesque; 10. 172 Andre Gauthier