“The Jet” conquers his Orange County Fair Speedway for 9th career Eastern States 200 win

MIDDLETOWN, N. Y. – Oct. 22, 2012 – With another big Super DIRTcar Series win, Brett Hearn is on a roll.

This year’s VP Small Engine Fuels 200 champion took the fast time Saturday during qualifying events at Orange County Fair Speedway, locking in the top starting position for Sunday’s Eastern States 200. He wrapped up the night with 358-Modified win, and came back the next day to take home the Eastern States 200 trophy.

“After coming off the big win at Syracuse, and to come here and have a dream weekend, dominating everything from the qualifying events on, I don’t’ know what to say,” said Hearn, of Sussex, N. J. “Somebody’s on my side and i’m loving every minute of it.”

Hearn, whose experience at “The Hard Clay” at Orange County Fair Speedway includes eight prior Big-Block Modified Eastern States 200 victories, took the lead at the initial green. He pulled aside for a well-timed pit stop in lap 60 under yellow conditions, making his way back up to third by lap 90. At that point, neither then-leader Tim Fuller nor Kenny Tremont, then in second, had made the mandatory post-lap-60 pit stop requiring drivers to fuel up. (more…)

Dunn, Phelps, Higbie, Bachetti, and McCreadie round out first three rows for Sunday’s lineup

MIDDLETOWN, N. Y. – Oct. 20, 2012 – The 51^st Annual Eastern States Weekend got off to a wet start, with rain pushing Friday’s scheduled Super DIRTcar Series qualifying events to today, but the delay did not hamper eight-time Eastern States 200 champion Brett Hearn’s qualifying efforts.

Hearn, just coming off a successful week in Syracuse finding victory in the VP Small Engine Fuels 200, won the pole starting position for the Sunday’s Eastern States 200 with the fast time, a 21.260-second lap in time trials.

“It’s exactly what we wanted to do today because it makes tomorrow a whole lot easier,” Hearn said. “Now we can dictate the pace and hopefully get in the pits and get a nice clean stop, but anything can happen.”

The fastest six cars in time trials earn starting positions in the front three rows for Sunday’s race. For Saturday’s time trials at the Orange County Fair Speedway, drivers could enter more than one car in time trials, and both Hearn’s entries scored in the top six. His backup car registered a 22.019-second lap, placing fifth overall.

“Track position is very important here, so that puts a lot of emphasis on how you qualify. You don’t want to be trying to dig from the back of the pack if you don’t have to.” (more…)

Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modifieds take on Orange County’s Hard Clay for 51st Annual Eastern States 200 Oct. 21

MIDDLETOWN, N. Y. – Oct. 16, 2012 – Just coming off NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week XLI, the Big-Block Modifieds of the Super DIRTcar Series head south for another historic event, the 51^st Annual Eastern States Weekend presented by Arkel Motors at Orange County Fair Speedway.

Eastern States Weekend, an action-packed three days of racing set for Friday, Oct. 19, through Sunday, Oct. 21, hosts the Super DIRTcar Series for the weekend’s finale, the 51^st Annual Eastern States 200 Modified Championship race on Sunday, Oct. 21. For this year’s winner of VP Small Engine Fuels 200 at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, Brett Hearn, the long-running Eastern States 200 brings back childhood memories.

“As a kid, I grew up sitting in the stands at 11 and 12 years old and watching the Eastern States 200,” said Hearn, of Vernon, N. J., whose shop is located just 30 minutes from the speedway in Middletown. “It’s got a lot of history, a lot of prestige. I remember going there before I ever drove a stock car, sitting in the stands during the Eastern States races.” 

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. (more…)

Reigning champ Ladouceur takes another title, his last before moving to Sportsman division

BROCKVILLE, ONTARIO – Oct. 13, 2012 – Friday’s Pro Stock Series 50-lap finale at Brockville Ontario Speedway took Stephane LeBrun to Victory Lane and brought Joey Ladouceur his third series championship title, his last before moving on to the Sportsman division.

LeBrun, of Gatineau, Quebec, started second in the grid and charged ahead at the green flag, maintaining his lead through four cautions and fending off challenges from Ladouceur and Ghislain Valade.

“I feel very happy,” the French-speaking LeBrun said through a translator. “The car was running good, I thank my pit crew and my family for everything, and Brockville for having this.”

But as far as the series was concerned, LeBrun’s win was no match for Ladouceur’s ample point lead and, finishing second, Ladouceur was able to stay ahead of the pack. Rob Yetman, who trailed Ladouceur by 35 points, finished seventh, and Jocelyn Roy, 97 points behind the leader, finished ninth. (more…)

Series Competitors Prepare for Short Track after Tackling Syracuse’s “Moody Mile”

BROCKVILLE, ONTARIO – Oct. 11, 2012 – The Thousand Islands RV Fall Nationals gets ready to roll this weekend, Friday, Oct. 12, through Sunday, Oct. 14, at Brockville Ontario Speedway, as three DIRTcar Northeast traveling tours come to a close, and one, the Super DIRTcar Series, gears up for Peak Motor Oil World of Outlaws World Finals Presented by NAPA Auto Parts in November.

The Pro Stock Series takes to Brockville’s quarter-mile Friday, the 358-Modified Series Saturday, and the Sportsman Modified and Super DIRTcar Series Sunday. Just coming off of NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week in Syracuse, competitors in all four series are ramping up their short-track game after just having spent a week on the longest track they will face this season, the “Moody Mile” at the New York State Fairgrounds.

“We went from the biggest track we run on all year to probably one of the smallest,” said Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modified driver Jimmy Phelps, currently second in points for the series. “We’re going to have to try and get ourselves into the short track mode again in a hurry.” (more…)

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…)