{"id":20134,"date":"2013-10-11T18:55:00","date_gmt":"2013-10-11T18:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/?p=20134"},"modified":"2013-10-11T19:04:37","modified_gmt":"2013-10-11T19:04:37","slug":"danny-johnson-roars-forward-from-26th-starting-spot-to-capture-dirtcar-358-modified-series-hurricane-100-at-brewerton-speedway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/front-page-news\/danny-johnson-roars-forward-from-26th-starting-spot-to-capture-dirtcar-358-modified-series-hurricane-100-at-brewerton-speedway\/","title":{"rendered":"Danny Johnson Captures DIRTcar \u2018Hurricane 100\u2019 at Brewerton Speedway"},"content":{"rendered":"

Packed House Watches Veteran Star Earn $10,000 Top Prize For Spectacular Drive<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\"101013_BrewertonVL\"BREWERTON, NY \u2013 Oct. 10, 2013 \u2013 Danny Johnson turned a moribund night into an unforgettable evening\u00a0on Thursday\u00a0at Brewerton Speedway.<\/p>\n

Recovering from a poor qualifying effort that had him pining to leave the one-third-mile oval, Johnson charged forward from the 26th<\/sup>\u00a0starting spot to capture the DIRTcar 358-Modified SUNY-Canton \u2018Hurricane 100.\u2019<\/p>\n

Johnson, 53, of Phelps, N.Y., pocketed $10,000 for his convincing march to victory, which he clinched by passing Matt Sheppard of Waterloo, N.Y., for the lead on lap 79. The DIRTcar Northeast superstar cruised away from the pack over the remaining distance to top a wildly competitive race that featured six changes among five drivers and a battle for second place that wasn\u2019t decided until the checkered flag.<\/p>\n

Pat Ward of Genoa, N.Y., finished in that runner-up spot, nipping Sheppard by a couple car lengths at the finish line after his late-race charge saw him overtake Sheppard at the white flag. Sheppard, who led la 60 and 66-78, settled for third place, falling short of repeating his triumph in the previous night\u2019s DIRTcar 358-Modified Series 75-lapper at Weedsport (N.Y.) Speedway.<\/p>\n

Australian Peter Britten advanced from the 16th<\/sup>\u00a0starting spot to place fourth and Dale Planck of Homer, N.Y., finished fifth after starting third and leading twice at mid-race (laps 59, 61-65).<\/p>\n

The story of the evening was Johnson, who looked nothing like a potential winner when he plummeted backward in his heat race and barely made the cut in the second consolation.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnbelievable,\u201d Johnson said in Victory Lane when asked to describe his vintage come-from-behind performance in front of a standing-room-only crowd. \u201cI qualified last in the consie (actually the next-to-last transfer position) and I was ready to pack it in and go home because we just weren\u2019t going good. We were having a bad night.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just can\u2019t believe how it turned around and came our way.\u201d
\nDespite making no changes to his Bicknell machine before the 100 \u2013 noting that \u201cafter the consolation we just kind of filled it up with gas and came out\u201d \u2013 Johnson had the perfect setup for the conditions at the D-shaped Dirt Demon.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just came our way,\u201d said Johnson. \u201cAs the track widened up, our car got good. I don\u2019t how I got so good. The track just got to where it needed to be for me. I\u2019m just a lucky boy I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson steadily cut through the field, reaching the edge of the top 10 by the time the race\u2019s second caution flag flew on lap 32 and moving up to ninth when the next yellow flag came on lap 44. He was sixth when Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., who started second and led laps 1-35 before fading from contention, slowed on lap 61 and then really turned up the wick.<\/p>\n

In short order Johnson completed his run to the front, overtaking Ward for fourth on lap 67; his older brother Alan Johnson of Phelps, N.Y., for third on lap 71; Planck for second on lap 76; and finally Sheppard for the lead with an inside move off turn four on lap 79.<\/p>\n

Johnson went on to cross the finish line 3.267 seconds \u2013 a full straightaway \u2013 ahead of Ward\u2019s Gypsum Racing Bicknell car.<\/p>\n

The triumph was Johnson\u2019s first in a half-dozen starts behind the wheel of the orange No. 27J fielded by Canadian Lisa Maroney, whose father Mike enjoyed great success as a car owner in the past with Alan Johnson.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel real fortunate to have Lisa put this deal together for me,\u201d said Johnson. \u201cIt was all put together between Lisa, (crewman) Dave Botsford and Bicknell Racing Products. They got the hot rod together for me and here we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ward, who started 13th<\/sup>, was the big mover in the race\u2019s late stages. He fell out of the top five after a lap-65 restart but gained new life when the fifth and final caution flag flew on lap 81.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe lost a bunch of spots on that one restart and I got the tires too hot,\u201d said Ward. \u201cThen a yellow come back out and we cooled the left rear down and were pretty good after that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheppard, meanwhile, saw his hopes for a fifth win in six DIRTcar 358-Modified Series starts this season dashed by Johnson.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a pretty good car, but I could tell early that we were pretty tight,\u201d said Sheppard, who started fifth. \u201cWe were eventually able to battle our way to the lead and I didn\u2019t feel too bad, but I\u2019ll tell you what \u2013 Danny was really rolling tonight. You can never count him out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alan Johnson, who led laps 36-58, slipped to sixth place in the order of finish. Vic Coffey of Caledonia, N.Y., quietly advanced from the 19th<\/sup>\u00a0starting spot to battle for a top-five finish before settling for seventh. Jimmy Phelps of Baldwinsville, N.Y., placed eighth after briefly cracking the top five midway through the race; Matt DeLorenzo of Cropseyville, N.Y., was ninth; and Mike Mahaney of King Ferry, N.Y., rounded out the top 10.<\/p>\n

Erick Rudolph of Ransomville, N.Y., finished 11th<\/sup>\u00a0to maintain his lead in the overall DIRTcar 358-Modified points standings with just two series events remaining in 2013.<\/p>\n

Fifty DIRTcar 358-Modifieds were signed in for the event.<\/p>\n

Quebec\u2019s Mario Clair turned the overall fastest lap of the evening\u2019s group qualifying session at 14.291 seconds. Other group fast-timers were Planck (14.310), DeLorenzo (14.508), Danny O\u2019Brien of Kingston, Ont. (14.487) and McCreadie (14.639).<\/p>\n

Heat winners were Planck, DeLorenzo, Clair, O\u2019Brien and Sheppard. The consolations were captured by Phelps and Ryan Godown of Ringoes, N.J.<\/p>\n

NAPA Super DIRT Week continues\u00a0on Friday\u00a0(Oct. 11) with the running of the S-T-R Trailer Repair \u2018Friday\u00a0Night Lights\u2019 program at the New York State Fairgrounds. The card includes triple 20-lap big-block Modifieds heats, twin 20-lap 358-Modified heats and triple 10-lap Sportsman heats. The qualifying races are scheduled to begin at\u00a07:05 p.m.<\/p>\n

For more information on NAPA Super DIRT Week, log on towww.SuperDIRTWeekOnline.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

DIRTcar 358-Modified Series \u2018Hurricane 100\u2019 Finish: 1. Danny Johnson, 2. Pat Ward, 3. Matt Sheppard, 4. Peter Britten, 5. Dale Planck, 6. Alan Johnson, 7. Vic Coffey, 8. Jimmy Phelps, 9. Matt DeLorenzo, 10. Mike Mahaney, 11. Erick Rudolph, 12. Danny O\u2019Brien, 13. Mario Clair, 14. Mat Williamson, 15. Mike Bowman, 16. Mark D\u2019Ilario, 17. Brett Hearn, 18. Ryan Susice, 19. Kyle Weiss, 20. Carey Terrance, 21. Kevin Bates, 22. David Hebert, 23. Stewart Friesen, 24. Billy Decker, 25. Tim McCreadie, 26. Brandon Easey, 27. Ryan Godown, 28. Lee Gill, 29. Ryan Arbithnot, 30. Shawn Donath<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders: McCreadie (1-35); A. Johnson (36-58); Planck (59); Sheppard (60); Planck (61-65); Sheppard (66-78); D. Johnson (79-100)<\/p>\n

Caution Flags: 5 for 15 laps<\/p>\n

Provisional Starters: Terrance (series); Bates (special event winner)<\/p>\n

Heat No. 1 Finish (8 laps\/top 4 transfer to feature): 1. Dale Planck, 2. Stewart Friesen, 3. Billy Decker, 4. Peter Britten, 5. Randy Chrysler, 6. Tyler Dippel, 7. Ryan Susice, 8. Katelyn Kane, 9. Justin Wright, 10. Gilles Godard<\/p>\n

Heat No. 2 Finish (8 laps\/top 4 transfer to feature): 1. Matt DeLorenzo, 2. Alan Johnson, 3. Ryan Arbithnot, 4. Shawn Donath, 5. David Hebert, 6. Jordan McCreadie, 7. Jeff McGinnis, 8. Pierre Dagenais, 9. Carey Terrance, 10. Yan Bussiere<\/p>\n

Heat No. 3 Finish (8 laps\/top 4 transfer to feature): 1. Mario Clair, 2. Brandon Easey, 3. Pat Ward, 4. Mike Mahaney, 5. Jimmy Phelps, 6. Danny Johnson, 7. Larry Wight, 8. Alan Therrien, 9. Justin Haers, 10. Roger Levesque<\/p>\n

Heat No. 4 Finish (8 laps\/top 4 transfer to feature): 1. Danny O\u2019Brien, 2. Brett Hearn, 3. Erick Rudolph, 4. Vic Coffey, 5. Ryan Godown, 6. Mike Bowman, 7. Roy Bresnahan, 8. Kyle Weiss, 9. Shane Donath, 10. Kevin Bates<\/p>\n

Heat No. 5 Finish (8 laps\/top 4 transfer to feature): 1. Matt Sheppard, 2. Tim McCreadie, 3. Mat Williamson, 4. Mark D\u2019Ilario, 5. Pat O\u2019Brien, 6. Lee Gill, 7. Chad Brachmann, 8. Chad Chevalier, 9. Bill Mullin, 10. C.G. Morey<\/p>\n

Consolation No. 1 Finish (10 laps\/top 4 transfer to feature): 1. Jimmy Phelps, 2. Mike Bowman, 3. Ryan Susice, 4. Kyle Weiss, 5. Chad Brachmann, 6. Jordan McCreadie, 7. Yan Bussiere, 8. Pierre Dagenias, 9. Justin Wright, 10. Kevin Bates, 11. Bill Mullin, 12. Pat O\u2019Brien (DQ \u2013 carburetor) Randy Chrysler<\/p>\n

Consolation No. 2 Finish (10 laps\/top 4 transfer to feature): 1. Ryan Godown, 2. David Hebert, 3. Danny Johnson, 4. Lee Gill, 5. Tyler Dippel, 6. Alan Therrien, 7. Katelyn Kane, 8. Justin Haers, 9. Jeff McGinnis, 10. Gilles Godard, 11. C.G. Morey, 12. Roger Levesque, 13. Shane Donath, 14. Roy Bresnahan, 15. Carey Terrance, 16. Chad Chevalier<\/p>\n

The Super DIRTcar Series and DIRTcar Racing in the Northeast Region is brought to fans by several sponsors and partners including Hoosier Racing Tire, VP Racing Fuels, Chevy Performance Parts, NAPA Auto Parts, and Safety-Kleen. Contingency sponsors are ASI, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix, ButlerBuilt, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, KSE Racing Products, Motorsports Safety Systems, MSD Performance, Penske Shocks, Racing Electronics, Superflow and Wrisco Industries. Super DIRT Week sponsors include: Beyea Headers, Draco Springs, Fast Shafts, Fluidampr, FK Rod Ends, Fox Shocks, Pro Fabrication and Turbostart. Lighting for Super DIRT Week is brought to you by Musco Lighting<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Packed House Watches Veteran Star Earn $10,000 Top Prize For Spectacular Drive BREWERTON, NY \u2013 Oct. 10, 2013 \u2013 Danny Johnson turned a moribund night […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"publish_to_discourse":"","publish_post_category":"","wpdc_auto_publish_overridden":"","wpdc_topic_tags":"","wpdc_pin_topic":"","wpdc_pin_until":"","discourse_post_id":"","discourse_permalink":"","wpdc_publishing_response":"","wpdc_publishing_error":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22,3,4,70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-front-page-news","category-race-results","category-super-dirtcar-series"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20134"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20138,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20134\/revisions\/20138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}