Free Advance Auto Series Race Tickets Available At Eckerd Pharmacies
New York Mills, NY – June 26, 2007 – American Marketing & Motorsports Group PR

Driver appearances and ticket giveaways will be at the Eckerd Pharmacies in Auburn, N.Y. and Lockport, N.Y., now owned by Rite Aid. The appearances and giveaways are in conjunction with the upcoming Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series/Eckerd 200 Qualifier races at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park and Ransomville Speedway.
All-time Advance Auto Parts Series winner Brett Hearn will be appearing at both the pharmacy at 153 Grant Ave. Auburn, N.Y. on Tuesday, July 3 from noon to 2:00 pm and later in the week at the pharmacy at 459 South Transit Rd. in Lockport on Friday, July 6 from Noon to 2:00 pm. Posing beside his mighty Big-Block Modified race car, Hearn will be available to meet the fans, sign autographs and pass out special Autograph cards.
The first 90 fans at each store, beginning at noon, will receive a free ticket to the respective Advance Auto Parts Super DIRT car Series/Eckerd 200 Qualifier at Rolling Wheels Raceway and Ransomville Speedway scheduled for later those same days.
The popular program is part of the promotion for the Eckerd 200 race on Sunday of Super DIRT Week XXXVI, Oct. 2-7, in Syracuse, N.Y. Promotions are scheduled throughout the season at pharmacies located across the Northeast. Each pharmacy promotion will feature DIRTcar driver appearances, race cars, the unique Eckerd “cut-away” Modified, free autograph cards and free tickets to Advance Auto Parts Super DIRT car Series/Eckerd 200 Qualifier races.
Eckerd, which was recently acquired by Rite Aid, has been a major sponsor of DIRTcar racing and the headline Eckerd 200 race during Super DIRT Week at the New York State Fairgrounds since 1997. The 2007 season kicked off with promotions in the Carolinas and sponsorship of the Eckerd Outlaw Showdown World of Outlaws Spring Car Series race at the Dirt Track @ Lowes Motor Speedway on May 25.
For additional information, please contact the American Marketing and Motorsports Group by phone (315/736-8834) or fax (315/768-3046), or e-mail: r.stoppiello@adelphia.net.

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Fulton Hosts Return Of ‘Five-Star’ Series For DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds

Weedsport, NY – June 24, 2007 - By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing NorthEast PR Director
DIRTcar Big-Block Modified veteran Pat Ward will be looking for his second straight win when Fulton Speedway hosts round #2 of the F.X. Caprara Car Companies-Dig Safely New York ‘Five-Star’ Series on Saturday, June 30.
Ward, already a winner of eight DIRTcar Big-Block features at Fulton during the past three seasons, got off to a fast start by capturing the 5* opener at Can-Am Motorsports Park on June 2.
With his lead-off victory, Ward is first in line to collect the top prize in the season-ending ‘Five-Star’ Series points fund that awards the winner $1,000 with the top-10 sharing in the $3,025 total pot. Points are maintained using the traditional DIRTcar NorthEast championship race format figuring in 100 points to win and 40 points to start each featured event.
Ward led the entire 35-lap distance at Can-Am, taking the checkered flag ahead of Gary Tomkins to pocket $2,000 from the $8,700 total purse. Pat O’Brien, Danny Johnson, Tim O’Brien, Steve Paine, Vic Coffey, Justin Haers, Frankie Caprara and Scott Parliament filled out the top-10 feature finishers to head the current point standings.
Canandaigua Speedway hosts race number three on July 21 while Rolling Wheels Raceway Park (July 22) and Cayuga County Fair Speedway (August 19) close out the inaugural ‘Five-Star’ schedule. Double points are on the line for Big-Block Modified teams competing at Cayuga County on Aug. 19 as the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series Hall of Fame Classic rained out on May 27 will now be the F.X. Caprara -Dig Safely NY ‘Five-Star’ Series finale at The Port.
The show at Canandaigua runs on Saturday with Rolling Wheels and Cayuga County specials held on Sundays. When the series arrives at one of the three Saturday sites, Big-Blocks are not scheduled to run at either of the other two, providing a great opportunity for track regulars to visit other facilities and take on their best.
Contact the DIRTcar Racing NorthEast Office (315/834-6606) during normal business hours for additional information about the ‘Five-Star’ series and be sure to log into the DIRT homepage at www.superdirtcarseries.com to find out more about the entire circuit.

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Phelps’ Future Is Now On DIRTcar Racing Big-Block Modified Circuit
Weedsport, NY – June 21, 2007 – By Tom Skibinski, Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series PR Director

Look behind Danny Johnson. Move over Brett Hearn. Step aside Alan Johnson.
Take notice race fans. Jimmy Phelps is heading to the front fast and the 2007 DIRTcar Racing summer season is just getting underway in the Northeast.
“It’s a nice feeling to be recognized for what our team has done lately but still a little strange being mentioned with this group since I’m still a big fan of Danny,” admitted Phelps, 32, who recently vaulted to the top of DIRT NorthEast’s Big-Block Modified winner’s list with five. Only Danny Johnson (6) ranks higher while perennial favorites Hearn (3), the all-time Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series win leader, and Alan Johnson (2), DIRTcar NE’s winningest Big-Block Modified driver, lurk in the shadows.
“DIRT is made up of a rare breed of racer unlike most others, the drivers just seem to get better with age and experience plays such a big role in almost every outcome. There’s so much going on from the start of a night to the finish and the learning curve just never seems to end,” said Phelps, who owned nine DIRT BB feature wins when the season started and has already more than doubled his career total in less than two months.
Just last summer Phelps was an up-and-coming driver in the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series, loaded with potential and chasing that elusive victory in his first full season following DIRTcar NorthEast’s premier Modified tour. Then lightning struck. And when it hit again he was suddenly thrust into the spotlight.
Phelps steered the H&H Motorsports no. 98H Mohawk Northeast-New England Race Fuels/Troyer machine to dramatic Advance Auto Parts SDS victory at Brewerton (NY) Speedway in August and followed up with a convincing 101-lap tour triumph at Williams Grove (PA) Speedway in October. He charged from 26th starting position to overtake Alan Johnson with just 6 laps left in Brewerton’s century grind, then led the final 77 circuits to top the Williams Grove field.
“It’s a heck of a lot of fun right now, and ultimately that’s why you do it --- to win,” figured Phelps, the low key campaigner from Baldwinsville, N.Y. who has been high strung so far on the Central New York circuit in ’07. He copped the season-opener at Brewerton and has since posted a pair of wins at both Fulton (NY) Speedway and Cayuga County Fair (NY) Speedway to get off to the best start in his 17-year career that began at Brewerton in the 4-Cylinder Super Stock division.
“But this isn’t something that just happened overnight, we’ve been knocking on the door for awhile and everything is finally starting to pan out. Awhile back we used to be happy with some top-10s and then it got to the point where it was frustrating not finishing in the top-5 more consistently. Our team really started to gel at the end of last season and our confidence has been building ever since but there’s still a ways to go to get where I want to be in the (Advance Auto Parts) Series,” said Phelps, who stands eighth in AAP points with a pair of top-five finishes in four events. He is now regarded among the favorites to win as soon as he buckles into his no. 99J J&B Installations/Troyer mount for weekend activity, leading the point standings at Cayuga County and Fulton, where he swept the Father’s Day feature races run last Saturday and Sunday.
“Our goals starting out were to win races and stay closer to home where we can afford to keep the program going strong all season. Some of the teams are running other tracks weekly but when the green flag drops it doesn’t matter who you’re racing against, we feel our team is good enough to be successful. We felt we could be in contention in the Series, and we haven’t lost touch with that goal, yet the biggest hurdle remains the lack of track experience. We’re getting closer and I truly believe now that being out on the road has helped out tremendously in what we’ve been able to accomplish on the local circuit. We’ve only been out of the top-2 once (6 races) at Cayuga County and I’m very comfortable having a car that can move around the entire track now,” Phelps added.
Phelps first joined the H&H Motorsports team in time for the Advance Auto Parts stop at Lernerville (PA) Speedway in June of 2005. He was fast right out of the gate with the 4th-best time recorded before rain postponed the event for another two months. Up to that time, the only tour events outside of his CNY neighborhood were run at Hagerstown Speedway and Lowe's Dirt Track with the most Series races attended in one season just a half-dozen.
“When I was younger I always hoped to get a shot at the tour but over the years I became content and wasn't really pushing to be a part. With the family business ---Barr Transportation in Auburn, NY--- I get a little break with the flexible schedule. My dad (Andy Phelps) still runs it, my uncle (Doug Phelps) is in charge of the maintenance shop and I’m the general manager. This has turned into a solid deal as I've had a good relationship with Billy (Colton, Troyer,Inc. owner) for awhile now and more recently with Randy (Kisacky, crew chief), together we've had great success. I’ve always seemed to have a Troyer in my garage and with Billy’s work ethic never changing from day one we finally feel we’re in the driver’s seat.”
For additional information about the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series, log into http://www.superdirtcarseries.com or contact the DIRTcar Racing NorthEast Office (315/834-6606) in Weedsport, N.Y. during regular weekday hours. Check out www.jimmyphelps.com for a complete driver profile or e-mail jimmy@jimmyphelps.com to find out more about his race plans in 2007.

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DIRTcar NorthEast Regional Point Chases Close On All Fronts
Weedsport, NY – June 14, 2007 – By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing NorthEast PR Director

DIRTcar Racing NorthEast teams continue to collect valuable points towards the lucrative DIRTcar Regional Championships as the second full month of open-wheel action reaches the midway mark.

Respective regional titles in the Big-Block Modified, 358-Modified and Sportsman Modified divisions run through Labor Day Weekend with Regional points officially ending on Monday, September 3. In each of the Regional Championships in all three classes, points will be awarded for the best finishes in DIRTcar-sanctioned feature races with events held at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park counting toward any region in all divisions.

In 2007, DIRTcar-sanctioned tracks hosting Big-Block Modifieds, 358-Modifieds and/or Sportsman Modifieds have been divided into three regions with top-15 teams sharing lucrative cash and memberships rewards in each classification: Mod-$20,175; 358 Mod-$14,175; Spt Mod-$10,800. Regional points will be kept separately and have no direct bearing on any individual track points race.

Currently heading the DIRTcar regional ranks are Jimmy Phelps (Central), Matt Sheppard (Eastern) and Del Rougeux Jr. (Western) in the Big-Blocks, 358-Modified stalwarts Dave Heaslip (Northern), Chuck McKee (Eastern) and Pete Bicknell (Western), and Chris Higgins (Northern), Tim Currier (Central) and Tyler MacPherson (Western) in Sportsman Modifieds.

For further questions regarding the 2007 DIRTcar Regional Racing Series format, please contact Cory Reed in the DIRTcar Racing NorthEast Office (315/834-6606) during normal business hours or log into the DIRT homepage at www.dirtmotorsports.com to find out more about the entire circuit.

DIRTcar Big-Block Modified Regions
*Events held at Rolling Wheels count toward any region.
East (best 12 finishes): Lebanon Valley, New Egypt, Orange County, Drummond (July 9), Airborne (July 24;
Central (best 20 finishes): Brewerton, Can-Am, Canandaigua, Cayuga County, Fulton, Thunder Alley, Cornwall (July 8), Brockville (July 10), Oswego (Aug. 22);
West (best 15 finishes): Lernerville, Tri-City, Ransomville (July 6), Merrittville (Aug. 6), BRP Modified Tour events.

DIRTcar 358-Modified Regions
*Events held at Rolling Wheels count toward any region.
East (best 10 finishes): Lebanon Valley, Orange County;
North (best 15 finishes): Brockville, Cornwall, Drummond, Edelweiss, Frogtown, Granby, Thunder Alley, Lucas Canadian DIRT Series events (Granby-July 13, Drummond-July 14, Edelweiss-July 27, Brockville-July 28, Cornwall-July 29);
West (best 12 finishes): Merrittville, Ransomville, Lucas West DIRT Series events (Ransomville-May 25, Genesee-June 23, Merrittville-July 14, Humberstone-July 22, Ohsweken-August 3).

DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Regions
*Events held at Rolling Wheels count toward any region.
Central (best 15 finishes): Black Rock, Brewerton, Canandaigua, Cayuga County, Fulton, Orange County;
North (best 12 finishes): Brockville, Can-Am, Thunder Alley;
West (best 15 finishes): Genesee, Humberstone, Merrittville, Ohsweken, Ransomville, Lucas West DIRT Series events (Humberstone-May 27, Genesee-June 16, Ohsweken-June 22, Merrittville-July 21, Ransomville-August 10).

2007 BIG-BLOCK MODIFIED REGIONAL POINTS As of: 6/11/07
CENTRAL
Pos. Driver Points
1 Jimmy Phelps 699
2 Chuck Bower 652
3 Steve Paine 635
4 Danny Johnson 615
5 Justin Haers 612
6 Vic Coffey 582
7 Alan Johnson 532
8 Russ Hefti [R] 503
9 Kevin Bates 486
10 Derrick Podsiadlo 463
11 Billy Dunn 460
12 Chad Homan 452
13 Ryan Bartlett 439
14 Dave Rauscher 417
15 Ken Stafford 397

EASTERN
Pos. Driver Points
1 Matt Sheppard 562
2 Frank Cozze 486
3 Ryan Godown 481
4 Keith Hoffman 447
5 Jimmy Horton 441
6 Brian Godown 412
7 Brett Hearn 384
8 J.R. Heffner 374
9 Eddie Marshall 368
10 Bob Drayton 365
11 Tad Cox 360
12 Tim Tanner Jr. 355
13 Sam Martz 354
14 Ron Jon Koczon 352
15 Tom Carberry 350

WESTERN
Pos. Driver Points
1 Del Rougeux Jr. 590
2 Kevin Bolland 574
3 Jeremiah Shingledecker 545
4 Brian Swartzlander 530
5 Dave Murdick 493
6 Carl Murdick 432
7 Mike Turner 422
8 Skip Moore 411
9 J.R. McGinley 370
10 Jim Weller Jr. 342
11 Russell King 312
12 Tom Winkle 309
13 Andy Priest 300
14 Steve Feder 287
15 Rex King 280

2007 358-MODIFIED REGIONAL POINTS As of: 6/11/07
NORTHERN
Pos. Driver Points
1 Dave Heaslip 544
2 Clément Therrien 526
3 Yan Bussière 508
4 Mario Clair 484
5 David Hébert 483
6 Sébsatien Gougeon 446
7 Gino Clair 434
8 Steve Bernard 410
9 Kayle Robidoux 375
10 Mark Hitchcock 368
11 Dany Bilodeau 367
12 Claude Brouillard 352
13 Frédéric Gamache 345
14 Brian McDonald 327
14 Éric Landry 327

EASTERN
Pos. Driver Points
1 Chuck McKee 248
2 Tim Hindley 224
3 Craig Mitchell 212
4 Brett Hearn 206
5 David VanHorn 203
6 Dom Roselli 202
7 Randy Sherlock 198
8 Chris Shultz 194
9 Tommy Meier 179
10 Jeremy Markle 173
11 Jerry Higbie 168
12 John Guarino 165
13 Kirk Horton 158
14 Jim Finley 145
15 Joe Barbagallo Jr. 137

WESTERN
Pos. Driver Points
1 Pete Bicknell 600
2 Chad Brachmann 514
3 Robbie Krull 505
4 Rick Richner 487
5 Rich Vinson 459
6 Scott Wood 430
7 Boyd MacTavish 326
8 Adam Ferri 324
9 Larry Lampman Jr. 317
10 Ken Cosgrove 304
11 Chris Steele 303
12 Todd Gordon 301
13 Dan Miller 292
14 Todd Burley 262
15 Derek Lemyre 260

2007 SPORTSMAN MODIFIED REGIONAL POINTS As of: 6/11/07
NORTHERN
Pos. Driver Points
1 Chris Higgins 564
2 Bill Eisele 472
3 Adam Turner 427
4 Larry Wight 420
5 Jordan Bennett 415
6 Tyler Rand 408
7 Brandon Sweet 396
8 Chris Raabe 373
9 Josh Van Brocklin 366
10 Joe Williams 346
11 Jack Meeks 342
12 Scott Goodrich 290
13 Jeff Stevenson 270
14 Mike Mandigo 269
15 Christine Martin 252

CENTRAL
Pos. Driver Points
1 Tim Currier 720
2 Jeremy Pitcher 687
3 Daryl Hilkert 680
4 Loren Lincoln 677
5 Shawn Donath 648
6 Kevin Ridley 534
7 Greg Hixson 517
8 Mike Entwistle 493
9 Eric Gugiere 484
10 Paul Guererri 437
11 Bill Coleman 424
12 Joe Williams 412
13 Anthony Steiner 406
14 Chris Hile 397
15 Brady Fultz 386

WESTERN
Pos. Driver Points
1 Tyler MacPherson 677
2 Bill Bleich 582
3 Rob Pratt 570
4 Steve Schumacher 557
5 Tom Flannigan 557
6 Don Spatorico 540
7 Wayne Conn Jr. 522
8 Nick Cupolo 501
9 John Panattoni 438
10 Rob Knapp 437
11 Travis Braun 430
12 Mat Williamson 419
13 Mike Bowman 418
14 Darren Zumpe 414
15 Chad Chevalier 377

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A.J. Slides To Advance Auto Parts ‘Showdown At Sundown’ Win At Fulton
Fulton, NY – June 9, 2007 – By Tom Skibinski, Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series PR Director

Home turf was at stake in the Saturday night special and when it counted most defending Mr. DIRTcar Big-Modified Champion Alan Johnson rose to the occasion in defense to capture the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series ‘Showdown At Sundown 100’ presented by Ferris Industries at Fulton Speedway. ‘A.J. Slideways’ collected the $6,000 top prize for his first tour win of the season and also received an automatic starting berth in the prestigious Eckerd 200 Championship race on Oct. 7 of Super DIRT Week XXXVI at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse.

“I had home track advantage tonight but the car was just awesome,” beamed Johnson, 49, DIRTcar Racing NorthEast’s winningest Big-Block Modified driver now with 346 feature victories. His 46th career Advance Auto Parts SDS triumph was the first-ever at Fulton where he has taken a dozen checkered flags in Big-Block competition. “We’ve been struggling in the series and to finally run up front feels real good. The starting spot helped out a lot with this field of cars but the key was still the guys that worked on the car, they just had everything perfect.”

DIRTcar veterans Pat Ward and Brett Hearn chased Johnson most of the way while tour regular Jimmy Phelps and Advance Auto Parts Series points leader Tim Fuller closed out the top-five. Local runner Chad Phelps finished 13th and was the last to be scored on the lead lap.

Matt Sheppard kicked off the card by setting a new track tour record in covering the high-banked 3/8-miler with a time of 16.574 sec. (81.453 mph) during Integra Shocks Time Trials, surpassing Gary Tomkins’ mark of 16.920 sec. set the last time the series visited Fulton in 2000. Johnson was clocked 15th fastest in the field of 42 open-wheel entries. After the customary pre-race draw, pole-winner Fuller and Johnson shared the front row to start the century grind with provisional Danny Johnson and promoter’s choice Dan Vauter extending the grid to 32 cars strong.

Tied atop Fulton’s DIRTcar BB win list with Johnson at 11, two-time (2004-05) track champion Fuller out-dragged Johnson to the initial green flag with Steve Paine falling in behind. Ward followed a high line to grab the third position on lap three and wasted little time overtaking Johnson for the number two slot the following circuit. With just five laps scored, the cream had already risen to the top as Fuller, Ward, Johnson, Paine, Phelps and Hearn were locked down in a torrid battle. Ward edged Fuller for the front spot on lap 10 yet Fuller regained the point the next time around while Johnson shadowed the lead duo as traffic became an early factor on lap 15.

Billy Decker caught the inside turn four tire barrier and sat parked inside his front-end damaged no. 91 Gypsum Gypsum Wholesalers-Stadium Int'l-Quality Hardwoods mount to force out the first yellow flag on lap 19. With cautions counting after the 25th circuit, the scoreboard remained frozen as Fuller, Johnson, Ward, Hearn and Paine jockeyed among the front-five. Disposing of nearly half the field in the early going, Danny Johnson had already charged into 16th position using the same lane up top that Hearn followed to challenge the top-three.

Alan Johnson moved high around Fuller exiting turn four to take his first lead and Hearn went even higher two laps later to slingshot into first place. While the frontrunners seemed to settle in somewhat, Danny Johnson was not so complacent as he cracked the top-10 and the ‘Doctor’ still had 70 laps left and plenty of room to operate on the ultra-wide and smooth Fulton oval. With three and four-wide racing the norm all around the track, A.J. forged what would result in the final change on lap 32 as he ducked under Hearn across the line.

Recent Orange County Fair Speedway series winner Frank Cozze suffered a shredded right rear tire on lap 44 to bring out a second slowdown. On the ensuing restart five laps later, Sheppard sustained a broken right rear wheel after turn two contact with Danny Johnson which sent Justin Haers bouncing along the back stretch wall to send the yellow lights flashing once again. At the halfway point Johnson and Hearn continued to pace the star-studded cast while Ward, Paine, Fuller, Phelps and D.J. kept pace further back.

Alan Johnson opened up some breathing room ahead of Hearn with 40 laps to go before Ward secured runner-up honors for good less than five laps later. Danny Johnson swept past Fuller for fifth on lap 62 and overpowered Paine for fourth on lap 65 with the order remaining intact over the next 20 circuits. Phelps ducked under Danny for fourth-place on lap 88 and just two laps later Johnson had a left rear tire go down to take him out of contention for the last 10 circuits. Billy Dunn slowed exiting turn four with 95 showing on the scoreboard to incur the sixth and final caution period and set up green-white-checkered flag finish.

“I just have to thank all the guys, they worked on the tires, they worked on the shocks and got everything perfect,” said Johnson, has steered Wallace Stacey’s no. 14J Bully's Truck Stop-CFF,Inc./Bicknell entry across the line a car-length ahead of Ward to become the fourth different winner in four Advance Auto Parts SDS events. “They worked their butts off on tires and adjusted the shocks and got them right where we needed them and everything was right. I didn’t know which way to go as I didn’t have anybody signaling me up there like I needed. I didn’t know where run so I just went where I felt comfortable. There seemed to be sweet spot in the middle of the banking so that’s just where I kept it.”

After challenging Johnson for the first-place trophy over the final 35 circuits, three-time series race winner Ward settled for runner-up laurels in his first Advance Auto Parts event of the season away from the Florida DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia (Fla.) Speedway Park in February. “I didn’t want to see the yellows out there at the end, we were really strong on the longer greens,” said Ward, 50, who captured an ‘open’ feature a couple weeks back at Fulton and followed up last Saturday with a first round victory in the F.X. Caprara Car Companies-Dig Safely New York ‘Five-Star’ Series for DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds held at Can-Am Motorsports Park. “Alan is so good at moving around this track and keeping his momentum up. We had a good race, wish it would’ve been 200 laps, it was a whole lot of fun. We’re good on slippery tracks like all the Gypsum guys, and these longer races it gets this way and I’ve always liked this place. Thanks to John, Laura and Larry (Wight, owners), this car has been super all year, so we’ll take second and try to get ‘em next time.”

Leading his first laps of the ’07 Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series, Hearn scored his second top-three finish of the tour after placing second in the March lid-lifter at Hagerstown. “It felt good from the beginning to go up (high) and let it unwind, we really pounded on the right rear but we were able to stay close and I can be happy with that kind of run,” said Hearn, 48, the all-time Advance Auto Parts SDS win leader with 91 at 28 different tracks around the Northeast. Fulton has remained a black cat as he is yet to reach the winner’s circle at the ‘Home of the Victoria 200’ despite a dozen appearances at the storied Oswego County oval. “It’s still a little bit early in the season for points but you gotta think about it every race. Every one is important, getting to be here on the front straight and get those points and keep on going. There weren’t too many people in the lane that I was in so I wasn’t really too concerned about getting blocked. I kept on hoping those guys would get blocked a little bit and I could get a run up top because I was able to hang pretty close to them so in the end it worked out the way it did. I have to thank everybody at Madsen Motorsports, these guys give me all the equipment I need to get the job done. Don Kruger, PPG and Wentworth Construction are the primary sponsors that keep me going throughout the year.”

In three more weeks the Advance Auto Parts Big-Block Modifieds are back in action in Central New York at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park on Tuesday, July with the ‘Fast Track’ hosting Twin 50s, each paying $3,000 to win and offering points towards the overall Hoosier Tire-Sunoco Race Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship.

Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series Race #4 – Fulton Speedway, May 31, 2007 Ferris Industries presents ‘Showdown At Sundown' Big-Block Modified Event Summary

FIN STR CAR# DRIVER
1 2 14j Alan Johnson/Middlesex,NY ($6,000)
2 4 42p Pat Ward/Genoa,NY
3 7 20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
4 6 98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY
5 1 19 Tim Fuller/Edwards, NY
6 3 7x Steve Paine/Waterloo,NY
7 9 6 Pat O'Brien/Kingston,ONT
8 13 32c Vic Coffey/Leicester,NY
9 15 42b Kevin Bates/Lake Ariel,PA
10 21 62s Tom Sears Jr./Clay,NY
11 *14 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
12 5 22g Mitch Gibbs/North Norwich,NY
13 18 X Chad Phelps/Mexico,NY
14 28 60 Kenny Stafford/Homer,NY
15 8 44s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY
16 20 84 Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY
17 17 44 Frank Cozze/Wind Gap,PA
18 12 7j Jeff Isabell/Pennellville,NY
19 22 02 Roy Bresnahan/Palermo,NY
20 31 27j Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY
21 29 48too Dave Rauscher/Waterloo,NY
22 25 46 Jeremy Smith/Whitney Point,NY
23 27 56 Vince Vitale/Phoenix,NY
24 24 49 Billy Dunn/Watertown,NY
25 11 3 Justin Haers/Phelps,NY
26 23 99 Ryan Phelps/Fulton,NY
27 16 13 Brett Tonkin/Carbondale,PA
28 26 47 Scott Prentice/Central Square,NY
29 30 24 Jim Witko Jr./Clarks Summit,PA
30 19 1a Brian Weaver/Windsor,NY
31 10 91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY
32 32 85 Dan Vauter/Forest City,PA

*Planck started at rear of field in back-up no. 27J Thompson Motorsports/Troyer car
LAP LEADERS: Fuller (1-9), Ward (10), Fuller (11-19), A.Johnson (20-21), Hearn (22-31), A.Johnson 32-100).
CAUTIONS: 6 for 20 laps.
ECKERD 200 QUALIFIER: Alan Johnson(G).
DID NOT QUALIFY(10)
09-Kyle Lewis/Pennellville,NY
1-Darwin Greene/Susquehanna,PA
12-John Barker Jr./Fulton,NY
16-Mike Bowman/Baldwinsville,NY
18-Sean Beardsley/Central Square,NY
25r-John Ramsey/Rome,NY
61-Jamie Christian/West Winfield,NY
66w-Wallace Stacey/Kahnawake,QUE
83x-Tim Sears/Central Square,NY
160-Johnny Hill/Hastings,NY

QUALIFYING
FAST AVE
TIME MPH CAR# DRIVER
1 16.574 81.453 44s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY
*$100 Integra Shocks Fast Qualifier Award
2 16.644 81.110 19 Tim Fuller/Edwards, NY
3 16.689 80.892 7x Steve Paine/Waterloo,NY
4 16.691 80.882 91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY
5 16.712 80.780 44 Frank Cozze/Wind Gap,PA
6 16.730 80.693 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
7 16.735 80.669 42b Kevin Bates/Lake Ariel,PA
8 16.749 80.602 42p Pat Ward/Genoa,NY
9 16.793 80.391 6 Pat O'Brien/Kingston,ONT
10 16.803 80.343 20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
11 16.855 80.095 98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY
12 16.868 80.033 22g Mitch Gibbs/North Norwich,NY
13 16.892 79.919 7j Jeff Isabell/Pennellville,NY
14 16.901 79.877 3 Justin Haers/Phelps,NY
15 16.907 79.849 14j Alan Johnson/Middlesex,NY
16 16.952 79.637 13 Brett Tonkin/Carbondale,PA
17 16.957 79.613 32c Vic Coffey/Leicester,NY
18 17.042 79.216 X Chad Phelps/Mexico,NY
19 17.066 79.105 1a Brian Weaver/Windsor,NY
20 17.093 78.980 25r John Ramsey/Rome,NY
21 17.105 78.924 46 Jeremy Smith/Whitney Point,NY
22 17.130 78.809 16 Mike Bowman/Baldwinsville,NY
23 17.133 78.795 09 Kyle Lewis/Pennellville,NY
24 17.134 78.791 84 Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY
25 17.135 78.786 27j Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY
26 17.146 78.736 56 Vince Vitale/Phoenix,NY
27 17.149 78.722 02 Roy Bresnahan/Palermo,NY
28 17.152 78.708 60 Kenny Stafford/Homer,NY
29 17.269 78.175 99 Ryan Phelps/Fulton,NY
30 17.321 77.940 85 Dan Vauter/Forest City,PA
31 17.334 77.882 12 John Barker Jr./Fulton,NY
32 17.363 77.752 24 Jim Witko Jr./Clarks Summit,PA
33 17.390 77.631 83x Tim Sears/Central Square,NY
34 17.401 77.582 48too Dave Rauscher/Waterloo,NY
35 17.503 77.130 49 Billy Dunn/Watertown,NY
36 17.509 77.103 47 Scott Prentice/Central Square,NY
37 17.530 77.011 62s Tom Sears Jr./Clay,NY
38 17.546 76.941 61 Jamie Christian/West Winfield,NY
39 17.564 76.862 66w Wallace Stacey/Kahnawake,QUE
40 17.566 76.853 18 Sean Beardsley/Central Square,NY
41 17.604 76.687 160 Johnny Hill/Hastings,NY
42 18.418 73.298 1 Darwin Greene/Susquehanna,PA

Heat Races (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to feature, top 3 went to re-draw)
#1: O’Brien, Sheppard, Isabell, Coffey, Cozze, D.Johnson, Ti.Sears, To.Sears, Smith, R.Phelps, Hill.
#2: Haers, Hearn, Fuller, Planck, C.Phelps, Rauscher, Christian, Bowman, Vitale, Vauter, Greene.
#3: J.Phelps, A.Johnson, Paine, Bates, Weaver, Bresnahan, Barker, Stacey, Dunn, Lewis.
#4: Ward, Gibbs, Decker, Tonkin, Tomkins, Prentice, Stafford, Ramsey, Witko, Beardsley.

Consolation Round (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to feature)
#1: To.Sears, R.Phelps, Smith, Vitale, Rauscher, D.Johnson, Christian, Vauter, Bowman, Greene, Hill, Ti.Sears (DNS).
#2: Bresnahan, Dunn, Prentice, Stafford, Witko, Beardsley, Ramsey, Lewis, Barker, Stacey.

Provisional: D.Johnson.
Promoter’s Option: Vauter.

Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series Point Standings (Through June 9, 2007)
Rank No. Driver Points Diff Money Wins Top 5 Top 10 Starts
1 19 Tim Fuller 342 0 $10,500 1 3 4 4
2 44S Matt Sheppard 325 -17 $9,500 0 2 3 4
3 44 Frank Cozze 305 -37 $8,700 1 1 3 4
4 20 Brett Hearn 304 -38 $7,900 0 2 3 4
5 7x Steve Paine 299 -43 $5,400 0 1 3 4
6 77x Dale Planck 278 -64 $4,500 0 1 2 4
7 27J Danny Johnson 275 -67 $8,000 1 1 2 4
8 98H Jimmy Phelps 274 -68 $4,400 0 2 2 4
9 91 Billy Decker 267 -75 $4,700 0 2 2 4
10 14J Alan Johnson 260 -82 $7,800 1 1 2 4
11 84 Gary Tomkins 245 -97 $3,900 0 1 2 4
12 3 Justin Haers 231 -111 $2,800 0 0 2 4
13 1a Brian Weaver 208 -134 $1,700 0 0 1 4
14 60 Kenny Stafford 188 -154 $1,325 0 0 0 4
15 32C Vic Coffey 178 -164 $2,000 0 0 2 3
16 14 Rick Laubach 131 -211 $2,200 0 1 1 2
17 13 Brett Tonkin 122 -220 $1,000 0 0 0 3
18 42B Kevin Bates 121 -221 $1,150 0 0 1 2
19 55 Mitch Gibbs 119 -223 $800 0 0 0 2
20 83 B.Swartzlander 108 -234 $750 0 0 0 2
21 48T Dave Rauscher 102 -240 $725 0 0 0 2
22 66W Wall. Stacey® 102 -240 $700 0 0 0 2
23 42P Pat Ward 100 -242 $4,000 0 1 1 1
24 49 Billy Dunn 96 -246 $700 0 0 0 2
25 R2 Rusty Smith 92 -250 $700 0 0 0 2
26 33.3 Tommy Meier 88 -254 $600 0 0 0 2
27 T21 Roger Chrysler® 88 -254 $700 0 0 0 2
28 37x Tom Scheetz® 86 -256 $700 0 0 0 2
29 1R Mike Ricci 83 -259 $1,700 0 1 1 1
30 6 Pat O'Brien 77 -265 $1,200 0 0 1 1
31 5 Chuck McKee 65 -277 $600 0 0 1 1
32 62S Tommy Sears Jr. 62 -280 $600 0 0 1 1
33 1 Darwin Greene® 61 -281 $400 0 0 0 1
34 118 Mike DePalma 61 -281 $350 0 0 0 1
35 47 Jerry Higbie 60 -282 $500 0 0 0 1
36 X Chad Phelps 56 -286 $350 0 0 0 1
37 32 Cliff Ehrmann 55 -287 $325 0 0 0 1
38 Z Butch Tittle 55 -287 $400 0 0 0 1
39 0 Russ Hefti® 54 -288 $325 0 0 0 1
40 71 David VanHorn 52 -290 $300 0 0 0 1
41 98 Kenny Wallace 52 -290 $400 0 0 0 1
42 73 Rick Mills 50 -292 $300 0 0 0 1
43 91D John Willman 50 -292 $400 0 0 0 1
44 115 Kenny Tremont 50 -292 $300 0 0 0 1
45 24 Chris Shultz 49 -293 $300 0 0 0 1
46 7J Jeff Isabell 47 -295 $300 0 0 0 1
47 02 Roy Bresnahan 45 -297 $300 0 0 0 1
48 28 Ric Hill 45 -297 $300 0 0 0 1
49 66 Jeff Heotzler 44 -298 $300 0 0 0 1
50 39W Chuck Tucker 44 -298 $400 0 0 0 1
51 25 Mike Kolka 43 -299 $300 0 0 0 1
52 M40 Mark Forte 43 -299 $400 0 0 0 1
53 14R Ryan Odasz 43 -299 $300 0 0 0 1
54 42 Jimmy Horton 43 -299 $300 0 0 0 1
55 46 Jeremy Smith 42 -300 $300 0 0 0 1
56 10 Richie Eurich 42 -300 $300 0 0 0 1
57 21 Clinton Mills® 42 -300 $300 0 0 0 1
58 56 Vince Vitale 41 -301 $300 0 0 0 1
59 673 Joe Morel® 41 -301 $300 0 0 0 1
60 55 Tim McCreadie 41 -301 $400 0 0 0 1
61 99 Ryan Phelps 40 -302 $300 0 0 0 1
62 85 Dan Vauter 40 -302 $300 0 0 0 1
63 24 Jim Witko Jr. 40 -302 $300 0 0 0 1
64 47 Scott Prentice 40 -302 $300 0 0 0 1
65 53 Dave Franek 40 -302 $300 0 0 0 1
66 J66 Jared Petruska 40 -302 $300 0 0 0 1
67 00 Dave Reutimann40 -302 $300 0 0 0 1
68 53e Carl Edwards 40 -302 $300 0 0 0 1
69 45 Wayne Jelley 40 -302 $400 0 0 0 1
70 93 Ryan Bartlett 40 -302 $400 0 0 0 1
71 117 Kevin Hirthler 40 -302 $300 0 0 0 1
72 25 Mike Kolka 40 -302 $300 0 0 0 1
73 44B Jim Bobbitt 20 -322 $0 0 0 0 0
74 25R John Ramsey 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
75 16 Mike Bowman 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
76 09 Kyle Lewis 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
77 12 John Barker 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
78 83 Tim Sears 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
79 61 Jamie Christian 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
80 18 Sean Beardsley 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
81 160 Johnny Hill 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
82 88 Steve Dodd 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
83 17J Jeff Heotzler Jr. 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
84 79 Jeremy Markle 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
85 8 F.Jashembowski 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
86 OBs Gary Edwards Jr 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
87 21M Bob McGannon 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
88 923 Colin Jackson 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
89 704 Allan Kellogg 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
90 11 Dan Creeden 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
91 7 Donnie Wilson 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
92 59 Bruce Kline 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
93 82P Jimmy Johnson 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
94 1 Dave Werber 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
95 224 Chris Whitehead 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
96 17 Brian Krummel 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
97 7x1 Bill Wilson 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
98 93x Craig Mitchell 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
99 10S Randy Sherrlock 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
100 7K Kirk Horton 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
101 92 Dave Reynolds 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
102 16 A.J. Romano 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
103 98Hx John Pfeffer 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0
104 1W Billy Pauch 10 -332 $0 0 0 0 0

Advance Auto Parts DIRTcar Modified Entries – June 9 (42)
CAR# DRIVER / HOMETOWN TEAM (Sponsor / Chassis / Engine)
X Chad Phelps/Mexico,NY Haun Welding Supply-New Haven Building Supply/Bicknell/Morrison
02 Roy Bresnahan/Palermo,NY Gypsum Express-RJ's Excavating/Bicknell/Enders
09 Kyle Lewis/Pennellville,NY Stadium International-Piluso's Service/Bicknell/Enders
1 Darwin Greene/Susquehanna,PA Greene Quality Bluestone-Big Diamond Tools-TJ's NAPA/Bicknell/Morden
1a Brian Weaver/Windsor,NY RD Home Remodeling-Field's Used Furniture/Bicknell/Wally Fiehl
3 Justin Haers/Phelps,NY Phelps Cement Products-SMV Motorsports-Jeff Jolly Masonry/Bicknell/Finger Lakes
6 Pat O'Brien/Kingston,ONT 730 Truck Stop-Gypsum Logistics-Newells Garage/Bicknell/Enders
7j Jeff Isabell/Pennellville,NY JIR Motorsports/TEO/Morrison
7x Steve Paine/Waterloo,NY Tallmadge Tire-Terrell's Potato Chips-Swarthout Recycling/Troyer/Finger Lakes
12 John Barker Jr./Fulton,NY Shapiro Motor Sales-Barker Racing/Troyer/Morrison
13 Brett Tonkin/Carbondale,PA Grimm Construction-G&G Towing/TEO/Wally Fiehl
14j Alan Johnson/Middlesex,NY Bully's Truck Stop-CFF,Inc./Bicknell/RL Performance
16 Mike Bowman/Baldwinsville,NY Klaben Nursery-Fulton Springs/Bicknell/Finger Lakes-Bowman
18 Sean Beardsley/Central Square,NY Town Mechanical,Inc-Bradco Supply-Pipeco Pros/Troyer/Moshier
19 Tim Fuller/Edwards, NY JL Motorsports-Chiefs Tobacco & Gas-G&R Auto Parts/TEO/Enders
20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ Madsen Mtrsports-Wentworth Custom Homes-Kruger-WLR/TEO/Enders
22g Mitch Gibbs/North Norwich,NY Cossitt Concrete Products-Kenyon Motorsports/Bicknell/Enders
24 Jim Witko Jr./Clarks Summit,PA Brenzel Construction-Bruce's Speed Shop/Bicknell/Finger Lakes
25r John Ramsey/Rome,NY J.M. Uvanni Motors-RTD Manufacturing/Bicknell/John Grant
27j Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY Thompson Motorsports-Chiefs Tobacco & Gas/Troyer/Kevlar
32c Vic Coffey/Leicester,NY Sweeteners Plus-CME,Inc./Bicknell/C.C. Performance
42b Kevin Bates/Lake Ariel,PA Blaise & Son Racing-The Ulster 4-Locklin's Bottled Gas/Bicknell/Murray
42p Pat Ward/Genoa,NY Gypsum Express,Ltd.-Stadium International/Bicknell/Enders
44 Frank Cozze/Wind Gap,PA Waite's General Contractors-Carquest-Bert Transmission/PMC/Feil-M2 Power
44s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY Currier Plastics-Magee Transport-Adam Ross/Bicknell/Finger Lakes
46 Jeremy Smith/Whitney Point,NY Express Mart-Smith Companies/Bicknell/Finger Lakes
47 Scott Prentice/Central Square,NY Bennett's Auto Care-Watson's Funeral Parlor/Bicknell/Enders
48too Dave Rauscher/Waterloo,NY Magee Transportation Services-Monadnock Disposal Service/Bicknell/Morrison
49 Billy Dunn/Watertown,NY Number One Speed-Fast Lube of Watertown/Bicknell/Finger Lakes
56 Vince Vitale/Phoenix,NY Vitale Father & Son Racing/Troyer/Vince Vitale Sr.
60 Kenny Stafford/Homer,NY HS Edinger Trucking-Upstate Auto Center-Amsoil-Fast Line Performance/Troyer/JPM
61 Jamie Christian/West Winfield,NY Upstate Spray Foam Insulation/Christian/Precision
62s Tom Sears Jr./Clay,NY Mullen Industrial Handling Corp.-Commercial Roofing/Bicknell/JanCen
66w Wallace Stacey/Kahnawake,QUE Bully's Truck Stop-CFF,Inc./Bicknell/RL Performance
77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY East End Auto Parts & Construction-Jacob's Excavation/Bicknell/Kevlar
83x Tim Sears/Central Square,NY Total Site Development-Stevens Masonry-Commercial Roofing/Bicknell/Bleskoski
84 Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY Honeoye Auto Parts-Red Parker & Son Excavating/Bicknell/Mastin
85 Dan Vauter/Forest City,PA Vauter Motorsports/TEO/Enders
91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY Gypsum Wholesalers-Stadium Int'l-Quality Hardwoods/Bicknell/Enders
98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY Mohawk Northeast-New England Race Fuels/Troyer/Bruneau
99 Ryan Phelps/Fulton,NY Big Red Towing-Dave Miller Auto Body/Bicknell/Enders
160 Johnny Hill/Hastings,NY LandandCamps.com-Little Dominic's Family Restaurant/TEO/R&D-Enders

SKIDMARKS
2007 Tour Travelers: For the third straight year tour officials have once again signed up the best Big-Block Modified teams in the Northeast to compete in every Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series show. The star-studded group of drivers accepting contract extensions ---those finishing among the top-12 in the final overall 2007 Hoosier Tire-Sunoco Race Fuels Mr. DIRT Championship point standings--- are reigning Mr. DIRT points king and winningest Big-Block Modified driver Alan Johnson, current Advance Auto Parts SDS points leader Matt Sheppard, ‘05 Mr. DIRT champion Tim Fuller, all-time Advance Auto Parts Series race winner Brett Hearn, ‘04 Mr. DIRT titlist Gary Tomkins, third-year tour follower Jimmy Phelps, DIRT NorthEast’s winningest ’07 driver Danny Johnson, Canandaigua Speedway record-setter Steve Paine, full-time tour follower Dale Planck and Keystone State open-wheel veteran Frank Cozze.

‘Race In’ Extended To July: With the current list of contracted drivers 10 strong, a ‘race in’ for the final two spots was originally put into effect through mid-June which included races at Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway (May 3), Cayuga County Fair Speedway (May 27), Orange County Fair Speedway (May 31), Fulton Speedway (June 9) and Susquehanna Speedway (June 14). With the recent rain-out at Cayuga County and Susquehanna postponed, the opportunity to fill the final two positions has been extended into July to maintain the five race criteria and give all contending drivers a fair shake. After events at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park (July 3) and Ransomville Speedway (July 6), the top two drivers in points not yet signed up will be offered the chance to join those already making a commitment to follow the remainder of the series. Waiting in the wings to fill the final two positions are no less than a half-dozen hopefuls that qualified for the Advance Auto Parts SDS events already run at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway, Virginia Motor Speedway, Orange County Fair (NY) Speedway and Fulton, including Billy Decker (9th in pts), Justin Haers (12th), Brian Weaver (13th), Kenny Stafford (14th), Vic Coffey (15th), Rick Laubach (16th) and Brett Tonkin (17th). Each of the contracted drivers owns provisional starting positions in the 2007 Advance Auto Parts SDS and are guaranteed to take home no less than $500 in winnings every time out.

Saturday Screen Test: All the cars and stars from the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series were out in full force as Fulton Speedway hosted the fourth event on DIRTcar NorthEast’s premier tour for Big-Block Modifieds. The significance of the event came in its Saturday slot prior to Labor Day, something only before tried out-of-state when Eldora Speedway staged a tour event last August. The experiment paid off as the biggest crowd of the season at Fulton witnessed the fullest pit area with an action-packed main event on a super surface that kept the conversation going long after the checkered flag flew. “This is an experimental year for the Advance Auto Parts Series as far as Saturday shows are concerned,” said DIRTcar Director of Competition & Track Sanctioning Cory Reed. “Saturday night is made for racing and we want to see how the weekend works out for our fans and race teams during the regular season.” The 2007 Advance Auto Parts SDS reaches into six states and two Canadian provinces, with Lebanon Valley Speedway (Aug. 11) and Can-Am (Aug. 18) the only other tracks set to stage Big-Block Modified tour shows on Saturday during the summer months.

Fulton Favorites: With the Advance Auto Parts SDS return to Fulton after seven years away, 16 drivers signed in for tour competition for the first time this season. Making the feature race line-up in their initial attempt were Tom Sears Jr. (finished 10th), Chad Phelps (13th), Jeff Isabell (18th), Roy Bresnahan (19th), Jeremy Smith (22nd), Ryan Phelps (26th), Scott Prentice (28th), Jim Witko Jr. (29th) and Dan Vauter (32nd).

Bates Built For Speed: Another track regular, Kevin Bates, had a stellar run completing the entire 100-lap distance after starting 15th. Just three weeks ago the 21 year-old talent added another feather to his cap as he won his first-ever DIRTcar Modified feature, overtaking fellow Pennsylvanian Dan Vauter with just two laps to go to score the dramatic Big-Block victory at Brewerton Speedway. Since then he had been waiting anxiously for the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series to come into town to take on the touring pros at one of his favorite tracks, Fulton Speedway. “Its been a tough year around here, my only hope was to get the track back to being racy,” said Bates, who finished 13th (started 20th) in his only SDS start this season at Hagerstown Speedway in March. He was stationed pitside prepping for Cayuga County’s Hall of Fame Classic in May before rain cancelled the Memorial Day special. “I’ve always been confident coming to Fulton, like everybody else I’m here to win. I don’t really set any goals, just here to run and keep getting more experience. That’s the biggest difference when you get to run a few times every week, it really adds up. Our equipment is just as good yet the guys that run all the time know what to do and when to do it, which is something you can’t beat.”

The Lake Ariel, Pa. traveler began his career back in 1996 racing go-karts near home at Hamlin Speedway and won track titles in both the Briggs Light and Medium Light classes. He set his sights on the open-wheel DIRTcar Sportsman division and finally made his racing debut at the now defunct Lake Moc-a-Tek (Pa.) Speedway in 2002. The following season he captured his first ever track title at Penn-Can Speedway. Accompanied by his ever-present parents, Gary and Joanne, he then ventured north and befriended all-time DIRTcar Big-Block Modified feature winner Alan Johnson, learning the ropes in the pit area with every experience providing him important lessons on set-up as well as driving an open-wheel race car. The Keystone State pilot took on the tough Central New York competition found at both Fulton Speedway and Cayuga County Fair Speedway, wearing both track Sportsman crowns in 2005 and placing 2nd in the overall Hoosier Tire-Sunoco Race Fuels Mr. DIRT standings competing against the best in the Northeast. Last year he ranked 19th in the final Mr. DIRTcar Big-Block standings as a rookie contender, with his idol ‘A.J. Slideways’ earning the coveted title for the fifth time in his career. “In the 100-lapper here I think I can run better than a lot of the locals but not as good as the series regulars. Still, I’ve never run 100 laps here except for the Vic and that’s a whole different deal in a small-block when the track gets black.”

Autograph Seekers: Even before the mighty Big-Block Modifieds roared on to Fulton’s high-banked 3/8-miler to qualify for the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series ‘Showdown at Sundown’ presented by Ferris Industries, the touring stars participated in a special “Meet and Greet” Autograph Session behind the turn four grandstands from 5-5:40 p.m. The head table included Advance Auto Parts tour contract drivers Frank Cozze, Tim Fuller, Brett Hearn, Alan Johnson, Danny Johnson, Steve Paine, Jimmy Phelps, Dale Planck, Matt Sheppard and Gary Tomkins, plus DIRTcar veteran Pat Ward.

Pot Holes: After relinquishing his position in charge of track prep just two weeks into the 2006 season, former driver Jeremie Corcoran was back at the helm on Sunday re-working the track in time for the ‘Showdown at Sundown’ super Saturday extravaganza. He expects to find out in the coming days whether this was a one-shot deal or if his services will be required for the remainder of the ’07 season…..Top-3 finishers Alan Johnson, Pat Ward and Brett Hearn used their experience ---92 years--- to the fullest, with Johnson and Ward (Late Model 1973-74) both beginning their short-track career in 1973 while Hearn made his trackside debut in the Sportsman (small-block) division at Orange County in 1976…..His third top-five tally in four SDS events propelled Tim Fuller past Matt Sheppard and back into the points lead with Frank Cozze, Brett Hearn and Steve Paine in close pursuit. “I had a 2nd-place car tonight but lost the front brakes about halfway through,” Paine divulged. “That made it tough setting up for the corners so 6th is probably the best we could do considering”…..Reigning overall Hoosier-Sunoco Mr. DIRTcar Modified points king Alan Johnson finally cracked the top-three in a SDS event this year, finishing second in his heat race before copping the main event. Meanwhile, younger brother Danny Johnson, so far the winningest DIRTcar Big-Block Modified driver this season, found the competition even tougher in qualifying as he was the lone contracted pilot not to make the feature field through his own heat and was later added after missing by one spot in the consi…..Dale Planck rallied from last to finish 11th steering the Thompson Motorsports back-up no. 27J Troyer car normally saved for first-string team driver Danny Johnson. The no. 77x East End Auto Parts & Construction-Jacob's Excavation/Bicknell ride that Planck normally drives experienced a broken rocker stud in the motor during heat race qualifying. Planck’s charge earned him the Bert ‘Hard Charger’ award…..Look for Brett Hearn to venture to New Egypt (NJ) Speedway in his homestate on Saturday nights during the summer months as the $3,000 first-place prize is enough to lure DIRTcar Racing NorthEast’s winningest Modified driver.

Get Out The Word First: RACEceiver is the Official Driver Communicator of DIRTcar Racing. A compact radio receiver that conveniently fits into a driver’s pocket, a RACEceiver allows each driver to hear directions from series officials, which greatly enhances the safety and timeliness of events. A similar version available to fans will allow RACEceiver users to hear what information series officials are relaying to the drivers. For more information about RACEceiver, visit www.raceceiver.com, call 866/301-7223, or look for their sales trailers at select events.

Tracks Know The Score: In the ongoing effort to assist every sanctioned track with presenting the best possible race programs, DIRTcar has teamed with AMB i.t. which continues to be recognized as the Official Timing System of DIRTcar racing. AMB i.t. is the world’s leader in automatic race timing and scoring systems and the DIRT organization is proud to retain the company as a valued partner in the timing and scoring of all DIRTcar Racing events.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Following the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series Saturday night showdown at Fulton, Big-Block Modified teams get a three-week break from tour competition. Yet once the Independence Day holiday arrives, five extra-distance events in eight days will test both man and machinery in early July. Twin 50s at Rolling Wheels and the third century grind at Ransomville kick off the month in the states before teams cross the Canadian border for back-to-back-to-back 100-lap series stops at Cornwall, Drummond and Brockville in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

*NOTE: Reminder that the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series event for Big-Block Modifieds scheduled at Susquehanna Speedway on June 14 has been postponed indefinitely following a mutual agreement reached between both DIRTcar Racing NorthEast and Susquehanna Speedway Park officials. Speedway owners Todd and Rhonda Fisher recently reorganized the remainder of the 2007 racing events schedule at Susquehanna and a new date for the Advance Auto Parts SDS show is pending at this time. The Fishers have scaled back to one night of weekly racing along with special events throughout the season. Further details regarding the status of the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series event will be released in the coming weeks.

2007 Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series Schedule
NP=Non-Point event.
Day-Date Laps Track Winner/Eckerd 200 Qualifier (Location)
Wed-Feb 14 30-NP Volusia Speedway Park Danny Johnson
Thr-Feb 15 30-NP Volusia Speedway Park -rain-
Fri-Feb 16 30-NP Volusia Speedway Park Tim Fuller
Sat-Feb 17 50-NP Volusia Speedway Park Danny Johnson
Sat-Mar 31 100 Hagerstown Speedway Tim Fuller(G)
Thr-May 3 60 Virginia Motor Speedway Danny Johnson(G)
Sun-May 27 2-53 Cayuga Co Fair Speedway -rain-
Thr-May 31 75 Orange Co Fair Speedway Frank Cozze(G)
Sat-Jun 9 100 Fulton Speedway Alan Johnson(G)
Thr-Jun 14 100 Susquehanna Speedway -postponed-
Tue-Jul 3 2-50 Rolling Wheels Raceway Elbridge, NY
Fri-Jul 6 100 Ransomville Speedway Ransomville, NY
Sun-Jul 8 100 Cornwall Motor Speedway Cornwall, ONT
Mon-Jul 9 100 Autodrome Drummond Drummondville, QUE
Tue-Jul 10 100 Brockville Ont Speedway Brockville, ONT
Wed-Jul 18 100 Grandview Speedway Bechtelsville, PA
Fri-Aug 3 100 Brewerton Speedway Brewerton, NY
Mon-Aug 6 100 Merrittville Speedway Thorold, ONT
Thr-Aug 9 2-50 Canandaigua Speedway Canandaigua, NY
Sat-Aug 11 100 Lebanon Valley Speedway West Lebanon, NY
Wed-Aug 15 60 New Egypt Speedway New Egypt, NJ
Sat-Aug 18 2-50 Can-Am Motorsports Park LaFargeville, NY
Sun-Sep 2 2-53 Cayuga Co Fair Speedway Weedsport,NY
Mon-Sep 3 2-50 Rolling Wheels Raceway Elbridge,NY
Sat-Sep 8 200 Lebanon Valley Speedway West Lebanon,NY
Sat-Sep 22 3-50 Rolling Wheels Raceway Elbridge,NY
Sun-Oct 7 200 New York State Fairgrnds Syracuse,NY
Sat-Oct 13 2-60 New Egypt Speedway New Egypt, NJ
Sun-Oct 21 200 Orange Co Fair Speedway Middletown,NY
*All events subject to change.

---

358-Modified Qualifiers Underway For Super DIRT Week Showdown In October
Weedsport, NY – June 8, 2007 - By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing NorthEast PR Director

The qualifying trail leading up to the Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship on Oct. 6 of Super DIRT Week XXXVI in Syracuse, N.Y. continues with 20 tracks currently staging nearly 60 events in 2007. The present-day format guarantees that automatic starting berths for Syracuse will be earned by drivers at only DIRTcar member tracks, while time trials will remain open to any driver issued a DIRT License.

Last season Danny Johnson captured his second career ITT Industries-Goulds Pumps 150-lap ‘Salute to the Troops’ 358-Modified victory in dramatic fashion on Saturday afternoon at the New York State Fairgrounds. Leader Rick Laubach ran out of gas to give Johnson his first lead of the day with only seven miles remaining and that was easily enough for the Rochester, N.Y. wheelman as he cruised home to the lucrative $20,000 payday.

The 2007 Syracuse 358-Modified Championship qualifying procedure includes time trials for all DIRT members as well as those already holding guaranteed starter status through the summer qualifying races and three DIRTcar 358-Modified Regional Championships. The top-8 non-guaranteed drivers will make Friday's Twin 20s starting grids via time trials.

All full-sanctioned tracks at which DIRTcar recognizes a 358-Modified points champion is afforded no less than (3) qualifying events, with at least (1) position awarded in a non-Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship Series event. Every Mr. DIRT-car 358 Series race held prior to Super DIRT Week is a qualifier.

The summer-long qualifying trail culminates with the 28th running of the 150-lap 358-Modified Championship held Super DIRT Week. Activity begins Thursday, Oct. 4 with afternoon time trials locking in the front-three rows; the same times will be used to line up the Twin 20s on Friday.

Guaranteed starters will be added from Super DIRT Week qualifiers at Can-Am Motorsports Park (Oct. 3), Brewerton Speedway (Oct. 4) and Rolling Wheels Raceway Park (Oct. 5) with the current top-12 in overall Hoosier Tire-Sunoco Race Fuels Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified point standings and provisionals filling out the field.

For additional information, please contact the DIRTcar Racing NorthEast Office (315/834-6606) during normal business hours or log into www.superdirtcarseries.com anytime to find out more about the entire circuit.

2007 358-MODIFIED SYRACUSE CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIERS
(+)-denotes Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship Series event.
DAY-DATE TRACK LOCATION WINNER/QUALIFIER
Sat-Apr 21 Orange County Fair Speedway Middletown,NY Brett Hearn
Sat-Apr 28 Orange County Fair Speedway Middletown,NY Dom Roselli
Fri-May 25 Ransomville Speedway Ransomville,NY Scott Kerwin
Fri-May 25 Autodrome Granby Granby,QUE Sebastien Gougeon
Sat-May 26 Lebanon Valley Speedway W.Lebanon,NY J.R. Heffner
Sat-May 26 Frogtown Int'l Speedway Hogansburg,NY Danny Johnson
Thr-May 31 Orange County Fair Speedway Middletown,NY Tim Hindley
Sat-Jun 2 Orange County Fair Speedway Middletown,NY Chuck McKee
Sat-Jun 2 Autodrome Drummond Drummondville,QUE Mario Clair
Sat-Jun 9 Orange County Fair Speedway Middletown,NY
Sat-Jun 23 Orange County Fair Speedway Middletown,NY
Sat-Jun 23 Lebanon Valley Speedway West Lebanon,NY
Sat-Jun 23 Genesee Speedway Batavia,NY
Wed-Jun 27 Frogtown Int'l Speedway Hogansburg,NY
Wed-Jun 27 New Egypt Speedway New Egypt,NJ
Fri-Jun 29 Autodrome Edelweiss Hull,QUE
Sat-Jun 30 Orange County Fair Speedway Middletown,NY
Fri-Jul 6 Ransomville Speedway Ransomville,NY
Sun-Jul 8 Cornwall Motor Speedway Cornwall,ONT
Mon-Jul 9 Autodrome Drummond Drummondville,QUE
Tue-Jul 10 Brockville Ontario Speedway Brockville,ONT
Fri-Jul 13 Autodrome Granby Granby,QUE
Sat-Jul 14 Lebanon Valley Speedway West Lebanon,NY
Sat-Jul 14 Merrittville Speedway Thorold,ONT
Sat-Jul 14 Autodrome Drummond Drummondville,QUE
Sat-Jul 21 Canandaigua Speedway Canandaigua,NY
Sun-Jul 22 Lebanon Valley Speedway West Lebanon,NY
Sun-Jul 22 Humberstone Speedway Port Colborne,ONT
Fri-Jul 27 Autodrome Edelweiss Hull,QUE
Sat-Jul 28 Brockville Ontario Speedway Brockville,ONT
Sun-Jul 29 Cornwall Motor Speedway Cornwall,ONT
Fri-Aug 3 Ohsweken Speedway Ohsweken,ONT
Sat-Aug 4 Orange County Fair Speedway Middletown,NY
Sat-Aug 4 Lebanon Valley Speedway West Lebanon,NY
Mon-Aug 6 Merrittville Speedway Thorold,ONT
Tue-Aug 7 Ransomville Speedway Ransomville,NY
Sat-Aug 18 Orange County Fair Speedway Middletown,NY
Sat-Aug 18 Lebanon Valley Speedway West Lebanon,NY
Sun-Aug 19 Cayuga County Fair Speedway Weedsport,NY
Mon-Aug 20+ Autodrome Drummond Drummondville,QUE
Tue-Aug 21+ Autodrome Granby Granby,QUE
Fri-Aug 31 Ransomville Speedway Ransomville,NY
Sat-Sep 1 Orange County Fair Speedway Middletown,NY
Sat-Sep 1 Frogtown Int'l Speedway Hogansburg,NY
Sat-Sep 1 Merrittville Speedway Thorold,ONT
Sat-Sep 1 Autodrome Drummond Drummondville,QUE
Sun-Sep 2+ Cornwall Motor Speedway Cornwall,ONT
Sun-Sep 2 Northern Region Champion DIRT NorthEast
Sun-Sep 2 Eastern Region Champion DIRT NorthEast
Sun-Sep 2 Western Region Champion DIRT NorthEast
Fri-Sep 7+ Autodrome Edelweiss Hull,QUE
Sat-Sep 8+ Lebanon Valley Speedway(3) West Lebanon,NY
Fri-Sep 14+ Can-Am Motorsports Park LaFargeville,NY
Sat-Sep 15+ Brockville Ontario Speedway Brockville,ONT
Fri-Sep 21+ Rolling Wheels Raceway(3) Elbridge,NY
Wed-Sep 26 Orange County Fair Speedway Middletown,NY (Rescheduled after May 19 rain)
Sat-Sep 29 Fulton Speedway Fulton,NY
Wed-Oct 3+ Can-Am Motorsports Park LaFargeville,NY
Thr-Oct 4+ Brewerton Speedway Brewerton,NY
Fri-Oct 5+ Rolling Wheels Raceway Elbridge,NY
Sat-Oct 6+ New York State Fairgrounds Syracuse,NY

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AAP Super DIRTcar Series Postponed At Susquehanna Speedway Park
Weedsport, NY – June 5, 2007 - By Tom Skibinski, Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series PR Director

Both DIRTcar Racing NorthEast and Susquehanna Speedway Park officials reached a mutual agreement today to postpone the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series event for Big-Block Modifieds scheduled on June 14 at the Newberrytown, Pa. oval.

Speedway owners Todd and Rhonda Fisher recently reorganized the remainder of the 2007 racing events schedule at Susquehanna and a new date for the Advance Auto Parts SDS show is pending at this time.

“On the heels of Susquehanna’s schedule being restructured, we’ve decided to put the event on hold until we can find a better suited date,” said DIRTcar Director of Competition & Track Sanctioning Cory Reed. “We’re looking forward to working with Todd as he has supported DIRT 100% since day one and wants the Big-Blocks back at his track in the very near future.”

Racing will continue at the 54 year-old speedway, although it has been scaled back to one night of weekly racing along with special events throughout the season. Further details regarding Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series event will be released in the coming weeks.

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Cozze Flag-To-Flag Winner In Advance Auto Parts ‘Cedar Ridge 75’ At OCFS
Middletown, NY – May 31, 2007 – By Tom Skibinski, Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series PR Director

The front row is the place to start when the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series comes to Middletown for the annual tour stop at Orange County Fair Speedway. DIRTcar Big-Block Modified veteran Frank Cozze from Wind Gap. Pa. proved it for the second straight year as he led flag-to-flag to capture the Cedar Ridge RV Center 75 in convincing fashion.

“I got a really good starting spot tonight and figured if I kept it straight the only guy that was going to beat me was me,” said Cozze, 51, who won the first qualifying heat, drew the pole then proceeded to hold off runner-up Matt Sheppard for the entire 75-lap distance around the 5/8-mile ‘Hard Clay’ oval. He mirrored last year’s performance staged by Billy Decker who led all 100 laps to collect the $6,000 top prize and guaranteed starting spot in the headline Eckerd 200 during Super DIRT Week, Oct. 3-7, at the New York State Fairgrounds in October.

Waterloo, N.Y. chauffeur Sheppard settled for second-place a half-dozen car-lengths behind Cozze under the checkered flag, with another Waterloo pilot Steve Paine, Integra Shocks Fast Timer Decker and Mike Ricci filling out the front-five. Sheppard’s second straight runner-up finish vaulted past Tim Fuller and into the Advance Auto Parts SDS points lead after three events with Cozze moving into third ahead of Danny Johnson and Decker.

In less than two weeks the Advance Auto Parts Big-Block Modifieds are back in action at Fulton Speedway on Saturday, June 9 with a second 100-lap title event slated for Susquehanna Speedway paying $6,000 to win and offering points towards the overall Hoosier Tire-Sunoco Race Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship.

Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series Race #3 – Orange County Fair Speedway, May 31, 2007 '35th Cedar Ridge RV Center 75' Big-Block Modified Event Summary

FIN STR CAR# DRIVER
1 1 44 Frank Cozze/Wind Gap,PA ($6,000)
2 2 44s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY
3 3 7x Steve Paine/Waterloo,NY
4 5 91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY
5 4 1r Mike Ricci/Rosendale,NY
6 8 27j Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY
7 9 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
8 12 20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
9 11 19 Tim Fuller/Edwards, NY
10 6 5 Chuck McKee/Middletown,NY
11 13 47 Jerry Higbie/Slate Hill,NY
12 19 55 Mitch Gibbs/North Norwich,NY
13 10 118 Mike DePalma/Wallkill,NY
14 16 32 Cliff Ehrmann/Mahwah,NJ
15 20 71 David VanHorn/Phillipsburg,NJ
16 21 73 Rick Mill/New Windsor,NY
17 17 24 Chris Shultz/Pawling,NY
18 22 33-1/3 Tommy Meier/Waldwick,NJ
19 32 14j Alan Johnson/Middlesex,NY
20 29 66 Jeff Heotzler/Wallkill,NY
21 25 25 Mike Kolka/Circleville,NY
22 23 10 Rich Eurich/Warwick,NY
23 14 21 Clinton Mills/Middletown,NY
24 30 84 Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY
25 18 673 Joe Morel/Boonton,NJ
26 24 53 Dave Franek/Wantage,NJ
27 31 3 Justin Haers/Phelps,NY
28 33 60 Kenny Stafford/Homer,NY
29 28 1a Brian Weaver/Windsor,NY
30 26 j66 Jared Petruska/Wayne,NJ
31 27 98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY
32 15 20L Rick Laubach/Quakertown,PA
33 7 28 Ric Hill/Lafayette,NJ
34 35 00 David Reutimann/Zephyrhills,FL
35 34 53e Carl Edwards/Columbia,MO

LAP LEADER: Cozze (1-75).
CAUTIONS: 2 (lap 61, lap 66).
ECKERD 200 QUALIFIER: Frank Cozze(G).
DID NOT QUALIFY(23)
Z-Butch Tittle/Saylorsburg,PA
OB's-Gary Edwards,Jr./Bloomingburg,NY
1-Dave Werber/Brewster,NY
r2-Rusty Smith/Bethlehem,PA
7-Donnie Wilson/Ramsey,NJ
7k-Kirk Horton/Eldred,NY
7x1-Don Wilson/Mahwah,NJ
8-Frank Jashembowski/Middletown,NY
10s-Randy Sherlock/Milford,PA
11-Danny Creeden/Middletown,NY
17-Brian Krummel/Middletown,NY
17jr.-Jeff Heotzler,Jr./Wallkill,NY
21m-Bob McGannon/Garnerville,NY
44b-Jim Bobbitt/Phillipsburg,NJ
49-Billy Dunn/Watertown,NY
59-Bruce Kline/Bangor,PA
79-Jeremy Markle/Port Jervis,NY
82p-Jimmy Johnson/Bloomingburg,NY
88-Steve Dodd/Middletown,NY
93x-Craig Mitchell/Wappingers Falls,NY
244-Chris Whitehead/Sussex,NJ
704-Allan Kellogg/Mt.Cobb,PA
923-Colin Jackson/Peckville,PA

QUALIFYING
FAST AVE
TIME MPH CAR# DRIVER
1 21.522 104.544 91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY
*$100 Integra Shocks Fast Qualifier Award
2 21.524 104.534 20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
3 21.550 104.408 19 Tim Fuller/Edwards, NY
4 21.570 104.312 28 Ric Hill/Lafayette,NJ
5 21.607 104.133 27j Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY
6 21.662 103.869 118 Mike DePalma/Wallkill,NY
7 21.666 103.849 44 Frank Cozze/Wind Gap,PA
8 21.685 103.758 55 Mitch Gibbs/North Norwich,NY
9 21.731 103.539 44s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY
10 21.737 103.510 7x Steve Paine/Waterloo,NY
11 21.740 103.496 24 Chris Shultz/Pawling,NY
12 21.742 103.486 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
13 21.745 103.472 47 Jerry Higbie/Slate Hill,NY
14 21.766 103.372 5 Chuck McKee/Middletown,NY
15 21.770 103.353 20L Rick Laubach/Quakertown,PA
16 21.787 103.273 10 Rich Eurich/Warwick,NY
17 21.800 103.211 1r Mike Ricci/Rosendale,NY
18 21.807 103.178 673 Joe Morel/Boonton,NJ
19 21.818 103.126 60 Kenny Stafford/Homer,NY
20 21.828 103.079 21 Clinton Mills/Middletown,NY
21 21.839 103.027 71 David VanHorn/Phillipsburg,NJ
22 21.861 102.923 32 Cliff Ehrmann/Mahwah,NJ
23 21.867 102.895 73 Rick Mill/New Windsor,NY
24 21.901 102.735 53 Dave Franek/Wantage,NJ
25 21.907 102.707 Z Butch Tittle/Saylorsburg,PA
26 21.938 102.562 49 Billy Dunn/Watertown,NY
27 21.939 102.557 OB's Gary Edwards,Jr./Bloomingburg,NY
28 21.941 102.548 11 Danny Creeden/Middletown,NY
29 21.969 102.417 7k Kirk Horton/Eldred,NY
30 22.009 102.231 3 Justin Haers/Phelps,NY
31 22.021 102.175 88 Steve Dodd/Middletown,NY
32 22.044 102.069 25 Mike Kolka/Circleville,NY
33 22.059 101.999 21m Bob McGannon/Garnerville,NY
34 22.066 101.967 79 Jeremy Markle/Port Jervis,NY
35 22.080 101.902 244 Chris Whitehead/Sussex,NJ
36 22.082 101.893 98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY
37 22.097 101.824 33-1/3 Tommy Meier/Waldwick,NJ
38 22.105 101.787 14j Alan Johnson/Middlesex,NY
39 22.114 101.746 17 Brian Krummel/Middletown,NY
40 22.134 101.654 59 Bruce Kline/Bangor,PA
41 22.153 101.566 7x1 Don Wilson/Mahwah,NJ
42 22.177 101.456 10s Randy Sherlock/Milford,PA
43 22.190 101.397 1a Brian Weaver/Windsor,NY
44 22.231 101.210 8 Frank Jashembowski/Middletown,NY
45 22.236 101.187 923 Colin Jackson/Peckville,PA
46 22.237 101.183 7 Donnie Wilson/Ramsey,NJ
47 22.266 101.051 84 Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY
48 22.313 100.838 93x Craig Mitchell/Wappingers Falls,NY
49 22.324 100.788 17jr. Jeff Heotzler,Jr./Wallkill,NY
50 22.340 100.716 66 Jeff Heotzler/Wallkill,NY
51 22.341 100.712 704 Allan Kellogg/Mt.Cobb,PA
52 22.362 100.617 1 Dave Werber/Brewster,NY
53 22.489 100.049 00 David Reutimann/Zephyrhills,FL
54 22.568 99.699 j66 Jared Petruska/Wayne,NJ
55 22.717 99.045 44b Jim Bobbitt/Phillipsburg,NJ
56 22.758 98.866 53e Carl Edwards/Columbia,MO
57 22.782 98.762 r2 Rusty Smith/Bethlehem,PA
58 23.320 96.484 82p Jimmy Johnson/Bloomingburg,NY

Heat Races (10 laps, top 3 finishers transferred to feature, top 2 went to re-draw)
#1: Cozze, Decker, Higbie, Dodd, Meier, Tittle, Stafford, Weaver, Heotzler Jr.
#2: Hearn, McKee, Mills, Gibbs, Dunn, A.Johnson, Kolka, Heotzler Sr., Jashembowski, C.Edwards.
#3: Fuller, Sheppard, Laubach, VanHorn, G.Edwards Jr., McGannon, Krummel, Jackson, Smith, Kellogg (DNS).
#4: Hill, Paine, Ehrmann, Eurich, Creeden, D.Wilson Jr., Markle, Kline, J.Johnson, Werber (DNS).
#5: D.Johnson, Ricci, Shultz, Mill, Whitehead, Horton, Tomkins, D.Wilson Sr., Reutimann.
#6: DePalma, Planck, Morel, Franek, Haers, Mitchell, Petruska, Phelps, Sherlock.

Consolation Round (10 laps, top 2 finishers transferred to feature)
#1: Gibbs, Meier, Dodd, Dunn, Tittle, Markle, Stafford, C.Edwards, Jashembowski, Weaver, Heotzler Jr., Bobbitt, Heotzler Sr., A.Johnson (DNS).
#2: VanHorn, Eurich, G.Edwards Jr., Creeden, D.Wilson Jr., Kolka, McGannon, Kline, Smith, J.Johnson, Tomkins, Jackson, Kellogg (DNS), Werber (DNS).
#3: Mill, Franek, Whitehead, Mitchell, Horton, Petruska, Krummel, Phelps, Reutimann, D.Wilson Sr., Hears, Sherlock (DNS).

Guaranteed Starters: Kolka, Petruska, Phelps, Weaver, Heotzler Sr., Tomkins, Haers, A.Johnson.
Provisionals: Stafford, C.Edwards, Reutimann.

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16th DIRT NE Hall Of Fame Inductions Welcome Class Of ‘07
Weedsport, NY – May 27, 2007 – By Tom Skibinski, Cayuga County Fair Speedway PR Director

Despite the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series Hall of Fame Classic being curtailed due to inclement weather on Sunday evening, the 16th Annual DIRT Hall of Fame NorthEast Induction ceremonies staged earlier in the afternoon went off in celebratory fashion.
Canadian veteran Dave Heaslip, New Jersey standout Billy Osmun and transplanted New Yorker Dick May were inducted into the Hall of Fame to headline the Class of ’07, with each unveiling their own Wall of Fame portrait to the delight of the crowd that gathered for the May 27 holiday festivities.
Also receiving special recognition on Hall of Fame Sunday were Leonard J. Sammons Jr. Outstanding Contributions to Auto Racing Award winners Ron Morin and the late Aaron Freshman, Gene DeWitt Outstanding Car Owner Award recipient Jeff Rudalavage and Mechanic of the Year Mike Burdick. Co-recipients of the sixth annual Gater Racing News Outstanding Woman in Racing Award are Annette Lutz and Helen Martin.
Veteran DIRT P.A. Announcer Joe Marotta and the voice of the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series Shane Andrews emceed the historic event, while DIRT NE’s Canadian connection Gaston Salvas accepted the award on behalf of Morin and Ann Freshman came up to the podium in place of her late father. Anthony Ferraiuolo IV offered words commemorating Osmun’s successful career while Michael Perry paid tribute to May, his long-time racing hero growing up in New York State’s Adirondack Region. Midstate Vintage Stock Car Club racer Jeff Ackerman joined in by presenting May with a model replica of his famous red no. b28 Coupe that carried him into the hearts of many north country fans four decades earlier.
Still active today steering his signature no. 84 Modified machines, Smiths Falls, Ontario legend Heaslip continues to be competitive in his fifth decade of open-wheel racing. Beginning is driving career at the old Kingston (Ont.) Speedway in 1962, the “Slip” has collected over 300 checkered flags behind the wheel, with 125 feature wins and nine track titles registered on the DIRTcar circuit and is the only driver to win at least one Small-Block main event every season since the first Mr. DIRT 358-Modified champion was crowned in 1983.
Recognized behind the wheel of such acclaimed open-wheel entries as the Norcia #81, Statewide #3 and Ferraiuolo Bros. #73 during a stellar stock car racing career, Osmun scored his first career victory on home soil aboard his own #333 coupe in 1969 at East Windsor (NJ) Speedway. ‘Billy O’ won the prestigious Eckerd 200 (then known as the Schaefer 100) for the Statewide Team in the first rain-shortened event held in 1974 and collected the first of three straight New York State Fair Labor Day Championships on the Syracuse Mile in 1978 driving the Ferraiuolo mount with teammate Gary Balough.
As the Pioneer Committee's selection for 2007, May spent 18 years racing in New York’s north country before moving down south where he spent another 15 seasons following the Grand National (today’s Nextel Cup) circuit. The popular Brownville, NY pilot collected his only track championship trophy at Watertown Speedway in 1962 and later relocated to North Carolina where he posting eight career top-10 finishes in NASCAR's top series and his best finish in the point standings was 15th in 1978.
With Cornwall (Ont.) Motor Speedway facing closure at the time, former Mini Stock and Street Stock driver Morin came to the rescue, leasing the facility for a couple years before securing the track deed in 1982. The following year Morin gained membership within the Weedsport, N.Y.-based DIRTcar organization with the Small-Block Modifieds taking center stage ever since.
Known fondly as “Chief” on the DIRT of Central New York circuit, the Camillus, N.Y. resident already held strong ties with group founder Glenn Donnelly when DIRT MotorSports was established in 1976. As Donnelly’s DIRT empire grew, so did corporate sponsorship as Freshman landed many major accounts that included today’s partnership with Big-Block Modified Series supporter Advance Auto Parts. Freshman passed away at age 84 on December 28, 2006 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
A respected driver/owner for nearly two decades, Gene DeWitt Outstanding Car Owner award recipient Rudalavage from Olyphant, Pennsylvania teamed up with veteran New Yorker Alan Johnson in 2005 and the combination clicked like no other the following season with an overall Hoosier Tire-Sunoco Race Fuels Mr. DIRT Championship the end result. Johnson also captured ’06 season point titles for Team Rudalavage at Brewerton, Cayuga County Fair and Fulton speedways
Burdick received the Mechanic of the Year Award after spearheading the late-season resurgence of Modified superstar Danny Johnson on the DIRTcar NorthEast circuit in 2006. Johnson’s high-dollar win streak in Dave Thompson’s no. 27J Troyer entry began with a $20,000 triumph in the Victoria 200 at Fulton Speedway in September and followed up with a rare Super DIRT Week sweep with a $50,000 victory in the headline Eckerd 200 coming on the heels of another $20,000 win in the headline ITT Industries-Goulds Pumps 150-lap ‘Salute to the Troops’ Mr. DIRT 358-Modified Series showdown.
Lutz was the right-hand ‘woman’ serving behind the scenes alongside DIRTcar president and founder Glenn Donnelly. While Donnelly was busy on the road promoting the fledgling organization to fans and officials throughout the Northeast, Annette made sure the business functioned closer to home at the Weedsport, NY base as she stayed actively involved in maintaining sponsorship accounts, handling media affairs and serving as handicapper at founding member tracks Cayuga County Fair (Weedsport) and Canandaigua Speedway on race day.
Since opening in the fall of 1967, Lernerville evolved into one of the most revered weekly dirt tracks in the country under the care and guidance of the Martin family. Voted national "Promoter of the Year,” Don passed away in 1993 and his wife Helen took over the reins continuing to promote the top three classes of cars recognized throughout the country ---Sprints, Late Models and Big-Block Modifieds--- on the traditional Friday night card.

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Annette Lutz 2007 'Woman In Racing' DIRT HoF Award Winner
Weedsport, NY – May 23, 2007 – By Andy Fusco, HoF Selection Committee

Annette Lutz joins Helen Martin as a co-recipient of the sixth annual Gater Racing News "Outstanding Woman in Racing" award during the 2007 DIRT NorthEast Hall of Fame Induction ceremonies Sunday, May 27 on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds in conjunction with the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series event at the adjacent speedway.

When DIRTcar Racing was formed in 1976, Mrs. Lutz was the company’s office manager and administrative assistant. She had been the secretary at Cayuga County Fair Speedway ---then named Weedsport Speedway--- before the founding of the DIRT organization.

Annette, the late Jack Burgess and the late Bill McNabb were DIRT founder Glenn Donnelly’s first “outside” hires in the racing business. Glenn’s initial office manager had been his wife Kay. But after a year or so in the Weedsport Speedway office Kay re-enrolled in college to obtain her teaching degree and Annette was hired in her place. Mrs. Lutz ended up holding the position for more than 20 years.

“It was simply amazing just how much the small Weedsport office staff accomplished in the early years of Glenn’s racing career,” recalled long-time DIRT announcer Joe Marotta. “It was basically just Glenn and Annette and Bill and Jack doing everything. And they were selling snowmobiles and running a tavern at Weedsport, promoting the races.”

Mrs. Lutz’s duties included running the office, selling all of the member licenses and season tickets, typing all the correspondence, selling ads in the rulebooks, programs, and calendars, and running the pit sign-in shack on race-day. And this was before the days of computers, when everything had to be done by hand. Twelve-hour work days during the racing season were the norm at DIRT for Mrs. Lutz, whose life-long nickname, “Chickie” was bestowed upon her by family members when she was a youngster. Annette’s sole diversion during those tediously long work days at DIRT were personal calls from friends. The banter would drive Donnelly up the wall, and he’d constantly chide Annett by saying “No personal calls at work, Chickie.”

When the series of qualifying races for Super DIRT week in Syracuse was being created, it was Mrs. Lutz who planned out and scheduled the various promoter’s meetings for the series. As a result, she established lasting friendships with legendary promoters like Jerry Fried, Paul Kuhl and Lindy Vicari. When Donnelly and Vicari had their infamous feud in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Annette was caught somewhat in the middle. Even at the most heated height of the war between the two men, Vicari would still telephone DIRT’s Weedsport office from time to time. Not to speak to Glenn, of course, but to catch up on old times with Annette. She was also a confidante to rival racing wives, who couldn’t agree on anything else other than they liked Chickie. Everybody in racing, in fact, seemed to like Annette Lutz.

Mrs. Lutz left DIRT’s employ in the early 1990s to take the office manager’s position at Corky Stockham’s “National Parts Peddler” newspaper. She returned to DIRT periodically thereafter, however, when the Weedsport office became short-staffed in a pinch.

Today she works as a site co-ordinator for St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse. Mrs. Lutz has two grown children, a daughter Kristin Sheaks, who owns Alphonso’s Restaurant in Syracuse, and a son, Bob, who owns and operates the Jeff Gordon Racing Experience in Charlotte, N.C., and Mario Andretti’s Open Wheel Racing 101 in Las Vegas, NV.

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Helen Martin Garners Gater News 'Woman In Racing' DIRT HoF Award
Weedsport, NY – May 22, 2007 – By Patty Martin & Jean Lynch

Helen Martin joins Annette Lutz as a co-recipient of the sixth annual Gater Racing News "Outstanding Woman in Racing" award during the 2007 DIRT NorthEast Hall of Fame Induction ceremonies Sunday, May 27 on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds in conjunction with the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series event at the adjacent speedway.

This special award was initiated in 2002 to recognize outstanding contributions made by women in auto racing during a customary time of tribute to the legendary male drivers in our sport.

Helen Martin’s introduction to racing came when her husband Don bought a race car in the ‘60’s and then in1967 bought property where they built a quarter-mile dirt track and named it Lernerville Speedway. The track was just up the road from their other business, Don Martin Trucking, a company where they had worked tirelessly, side by side, for years to make it a successful operation.

For the early lean years, Lernerville was kept afloat by resources they had from the trucking company. As the track became more successful, there were two expansions, the first to a 1/3-mile track and then to its present size of 3/8-mile. Always with the competitors in mind, they had one of the most forgiving tracks for racers with no walls with the exception of the front straightaway.

The Martins became industry leaders and innovators, when they did away with a set intermission time running their show straight through. This resulted in shorter lines at the concession stands allowing the fans to buy even more. With most tracks racing Saturday night, they decided on a Friday night operation and they prided themselves on serving qualify food at reasonable prices. They knew that people would be coming straight from work and count on the food at the refreshment stands for their supper.

Together, Helen and Don developed other industry trends and were always good neighbors in the community providing display areas and stands for local fund raisers, donations of money, equipment and free sky boxes for organizations. Baseball fields were built and maintained on track grounds for youth teams.

The promotional pair set standards at Lernerville that ranked them at the top of other dirt tracks. With the fans in mind, they presented a weekly show with the top three classes ---Sprint, Late Model and Big-Block Modified--- plus entry level Pure Stocks. Fillers or gimmicks were never part of the show. To do bike races or school bus races, they devoted one or two Tuesdays for that type of entertainment. The one big thing they do for “Fan Appreciation Night” is a huge fireworks display close to the July Fourth holiday.

When other area tracks were paying purses based on a percentage of the gate, Helen and Don were the first to have a guaranteed purse. One night in 1988 there was what appeared to be a “dead-heat” finish to a feature so both drivers received first-place money and points. Years ago, World of Outlaws sprint series founder Ted Johnson came to them with his problem of getting travelers to commit to their big swing in the East starting with Lernerville. Johnson said he could get at least 10 drives to come East if they could be guaranteed $100 each. Helen and Don agreed and from that point on, the rest of the tracks had to pay what is known today as “tow money.” Helen was also in charge of authorizing ‘one-time’ free track passes for race fans as well as booking complimentary hotel rooms for racers and car owners. In keeping with the long-standing relationship, the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup remains a World of Outlaws-sanctioned event and one of the most popular events at Lernerville.

Helen spent many Fridays listening to the weather forecast, but she and Don never cancelled unless the track surface itself was lost to rain. She was part of Lernerville’s tradition of starting the races on time – 7:30PM sharp! Over the years she signed countless complimentary one-time passes and Don would go to other tracks and give away jackets and the passes mostly to fans who had never been to Lernerville before, believing that if fans came one time, they would like Lernerville’s show and come again.

Helen took over the leadership role at Lernerville with Don’s passing in l992. She continued to own and manage daily operations including many facility improvements. She had Musco lights installed for what was to be the first “Live WoO television show” at the track. She had a complete TV deck built above the main concession stand to accommodate the many camera crews. The event never happened because of rain and was cancelled at 9:00PM that night. She was truly a “hands-on” operator, answering phones, talking with customers, sponsors and competitors. She kept a dedicated staff of over 60 workers on race night to make sure fans were served in a way that they would keep coming back.

As a result of their innovative ideas, Don was voted 1983 RPM Promoter of the Year and was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2001. Numerous other Sports Hall of Fame, Racing Clubs and Community organizations have rewarded Helen and Don for their efforts over the years.

Under Helen’s guidance, the speedway continued to prosper by increasing its seating capacity, maintaining its excellent condition and continuing to provide one of the “greatest shows on dirt.” Today, the speedway continues to carry on many of the Martin traditions under the DIRTcar Racing banner and the only one in the country to showcase the three top paying divisions on a weekly basis.

For Don, Lernerville’s success was a dream come true because he was a fan at heart. For Helen, it was the many memorable experiences that made her into a race fan for a lifetime.

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Former DIRT Official Jayne Doust Recovering In Syracuse
Weedsport, NY — May 22, 2007

Long-time DIRTcar Racing official Jayne Doust is recovering at the University Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y. after undergoing emergency open-heart surgery on Monday, May 21. While her son Greg Doust competed trackside in the Sportsman Modified division, for two decades Jayne served as DIRT NorthEast’s Advance Sale Ticket Supervisor and issued DIRT Licenses from the main headquarters in Weedsport, N.Y.

The prognosis is good for Jayne although she is expected to remain in the University Hospital for up to seven days. Cards and letters of encouragement can be sent to: Jayne Doust, c/o University Hospital, 750 East Adams Street, Syracuse, NY 13210. Please keep Jayne and the Doust Family in your prayers as we approach this Hall of Fame weekend of racing around the entire DIRT circuit.

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DIRTcar Racing Licenses Mandatory To Collect NorthEast Circuit Awards
Weedsport, NY – May 21, 2007 - By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing NorthEast PR Director

A reminder to all racers and team members competing on the DIRTcar NorthEast circuit that DIRT Licenses must be owned to collect awards posted for Big-Block Modified, 358-Modified, Sportsman Modified, Pro Stock and Street Stock divisions in 2007.

“In the past a driver was required to purchase a DIRT License by July to be eligible for any championship series or member track money handed out at season’s end,” said Gary Spaid, DIRTcar NE handicapper and chief points keeper. "With the DIRT regional point chases already underway, it’s now mandatory that licenses be bought at the start of the season to insure contending drivers can use all their best finishes towards these same awards programs.”

An Official Licensing Application remains available on-line. For DIRTcar Racing NorthEast teams, the required form can be printed from the website (www.superdirtcarseries.com) by selecting ‘DOWNLOAD’ from the list on top of the home page and clicking the ‘2007 Membership Application’ option. The DIRTcar Licensing Department will make every effort to complete the process within a week of an application being approved.

Benefits of an official DIRTcar NorthEast Membership in 2007 include: reduced pit admission at all DIRT NE-sanctioned events, substantial savings on Super DIRT Week XXXVI pit admission, automatic eligibility to earn bonus points and share in major series point fund awards, instant $50,000 insurance coverage, receipt of a free DIRT rulebook and up-to-date mailings. A DIRT NE Membership can be purchased in U.S. funds for $125 (Big-Block Modified/358-Modified combined) or $100 (Sportsman), while the cost of a DIRT Associate Membership is $100. Full-fender DIRT Licenses are $75 for Pro Stock, Street Stock, Pure Stock, 4-Cylinder Stock/Enduro/BattleKarz as well as Mod Lites.

For additional information, please contact the DIRTcar Racing NorthEast Office (315/834-6606) or log into www.superdirtcarseries.com to find out more about the entire circuit.

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Jeff Rudalavage Earns DIRT NE Hall Of Fame DeWitt Car Owner Award
Weedsport, NY - May 21, 2007 - By J.R. Kennerup, Southern Tier Historian (*Bill Moore Photo attachment)

Successful Olyphant, Pennsylvania businessman Jeff Rudalavage will receive the DIRT MotorSports NorthEast Hall of Fame 'Gene DeWitt Outstanding Car Owner' Award in 2007. The 16th annual induction ceremonies are scheduled for Sunday, May 27 on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds in conjunction with the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series event at the adjacent speedway.

Rudalavage was the car owner in 2006 for overall Mr. DIRTcar Big-Block Modified titlist Alan Johnson and this same team also won the 2005 Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship. The former driver who is back behind the wheel of his self-owned machinery in 2007 brought his hard work ethic to make the Rudalavage/Johnson duo one of the toughest teams to beat. The success of the championship winning 2005 and 2006 seasons couldn’t have been done without a loyal and dedicated volunteer crew along with excellent sponsors.

Jeff, who says he started racing seriously in 1990 at Moc-A-Tek, Penn-Can and at Five Mile Point speedways, stayed racing in his local area until making the move to Fulton Speedway in 1999. “We just got talking in the pits,” recalled Jeff on how he and Alan got hooked up. “When we went to Fulton we got a rude awakening as the boys put a spanking on us. Alan parked next to us gave us some tips to get us in the ballpark. We came back in 2000 and did better and in 2001 we won a couple of races at Fulton and finished consistently in the top-five. We got clicking with Alan as a couple of times he needed to borrow our spare car. Then in 2003 we went to Hagerstown with Alan as the driver and he won the first time with our car and finished second the other time down there.”

The potential of this combination being a powerful team on the DIRT circuit led Jeff to say something to Alan a few years later. “When Alan left the Troyer car in 2005 he had a big-block deal and I told him that I would be interested in doing the small-block along with Friday and Saturday nights.”

The success was immediate recalled Jeff. “We won the Brewerton track championship and should have won the Fulton track title but we’re dockec due to weight on opening night. We went on to win the Mr. DIRT 358 Modified championship in 2005 and then came back to win the Mr. DIRT Modified title last year. We probably should have won the Mr. DIRT 358 Modified title last year but got hurt with the regional points deal.”

“Not really” answered Jeff if he ever thought about being inducted into the DIRT Motorsports Hall of Fame as a car owner. “I remember back a few years ago thinking in the shower and laughing to myself about if I would ever get a chance and go out on the road and do a deal on the Series. Go to tracks up in Canada that we’ve never been at. “

Alan’s keen knowledge of how to get around a track was proven on the 2005 trip to Autodrome Edelweis for a Mr. DIRT 358-Modified Series event. “We got to the track early and jumped over the fence and there were two rottweilers there barking. Alan walked over to the track and looked it over, did a couple of laps in his mind and that night he almost lapped the entire field. Alan reran a couple of laps in his mind so that he remembered what he had to do to get around the track quickly and that was it.”

“I’ll tell you one thing and that is I really feel bad for the crew because they didn’t get any recognition for the accomplishments that this team achieved,” Jeff stated. “The last two years they gave up their whole summer, lived in the toter home when they were on the road, ate off a grill every night, and they worked outside for those two years at Brewerton and Fulton. Those guys should be ‘Crew of the Year,’ I was in there working with them. They (crew) are the ones who put in the countless hours and after thinking about it I realized we couldn’t have had any of our success without the crew. I think Alan sees and understands that now, what a really good crew he had the past two years. “

Jeff continued on with a statement from 2003 DIRT Hall of Fame car owner Randy Kisacky. “I was talking to Randy when he was on his way to Virginia and he said to me that I was the best car owner Alan ever had. You gave Alan what he wanted, if Alan wanted a different motor combination you took the motor out and got a motor in that Alan wanted.” Jeff added his own statement, “We worked as a team and that is why we really clicked.”

Jeff spoke of his crew. “John Beckage was the crew chief, Jeff Rolinski, Bruce Kavalinuskas, Tom Yarosh. Everybody had nicknames … Beck, Little Jeff, Twan, me. Then we had the ‘B’ Team when we went to Big Diamond and Penn-Can … Beach Ball, Bob Frazier, Jeff Ball and Brandon Buck. I remember when we were racing at The Point the B Team was back at the shop working on the car for a tour race at Williams Grove. Everybody helped from the Bicknells (chassis designer) to the Morrisons (motor builder). It’s not just the car owner and his team, there are so many people behind the scenes. When you go and do this you don’t realize all the help needed when you’re out on the road racing.”

After getting back behind the wheel this year, Rudalavage had some time to reflect on his last two successful seasons. “Number one, I never ever think I could do it again. Number two, I don’t think I ever want to do it again as it’s just far too much work. I did it all, washed the cars and had things ready when the guys got there to work on the cars. If that was my full-time job it would have been different, but I had my business to tend to also.”

Jeff spoke about his driver Alan Johnson. “He’s easily one of the best if not THE best wheelman out there. At times Alan is a little rough around the edges and anybody will tell you that. But he is one hell of a racecar driver and when you go and race you might as well have the best in the business driving for you. He proved that the last two years.”

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DIRT NorthEast Hall Of Fame Honors Outstanding Contributions By Morin
Weedsport, NY – May 18, 2007 – Tom Skibinski, HoF Selection Committee

DIRT track promoter Ron Morin has been named as a co-recipient of the 2007 Leonard J. Sammons Jr. Memorial Award which recognizes outstanding contributions to auto racing. Morin will be honored when the 16th annual DIRT MotorSports NorthEast Hall of Fame induction ceremonies take place Sunday, May 27 on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds in conjunction with the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series event at the adjacent speedway.

Widely considered among the premier promoters of DIRT racing in the Northeast, Morin’s love of motorsports took hold of him at an early age. Born in 1945 in Cornwall, Ontario, by his early 20’s he was running regular races in a street stock car at whatever track he could find in Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec and Northern New York. Morin piled up a number of wins over some tough Canadian competition at tracks in Cornwall, Kingston, Granby and Edelweiss and as a far away as Vermont and Binghamton, New York.

It was in 1981 that Morin would find his true calling in racing as he purchased the Cornwall Motor Speedway from Ralf Hurley. While Cornwall was recognized on the DIRT circuit, it was just another oval for drivers to ply their trade. By 1985, Morin began to build a solid local fan base by changing the way the track was promoted. He discovered that fans wanted to be entertained, not only by the racing taking place on the ¼-mile DIRT oval but also by the entire presentation of the program, from start to finish.

With massive upgrades and renovations in the mid 1980s, Morin gave Cornwall Motor Speedway the look and feel of a “big time” track. The fan base began to grow to its current size and so did the number of classes of racing. Cornwall now boasts DIRT 358-Modifieds, Pro Stocks, Sprints, Semi-Pro and Rookie classes, with Big Block Modified specials in the mix. Weekly shows now attract between 3,000 to 5,000 fans every week of the summer between Victoria Day and Labor Day. It’s now the single largest sporting attraction in the entire Seaway Valley, week after week. A number of other DIRT tracks have molded their product to mirror Cornwall Motor Speedway.

Morin was the guiding force behind one of the more popular classes, Pro Stock. He took this full-fender division, which used to be a slight upgrade from the “Duke Stock” class, and encouraged other tracks to embrace and nurture it, always believing that fans would fall in love with that type of racing. He was right. The Pro Stock series has grown to the point where there are events at many tracks.

Under Morin’s ownership, Cornwall Motor Speedway has won awards such as Most Improved Track and Business of the Year. Morin continues to be a hands-on owner with the speedway. He grooms the track before, during and after weekly events. And he’s kept the business in the family as three of Morin’s four children work at Cornwall Motor Speedway.

Morin is assuring that the sport of racing continues to grow in Eastern Ontario. The 3rd season of Tuesday night Karting at Cornwall Motor Speedway begins this spring. It’s a chance for kids as young as 8 years-old to learn first hand about the fun and excitement of racing. Morin built the Kart oval just off turns three and four of the ‘big’ track to encourage youngsters. The field of drivers and fans that watch has also grown to the point where more stands may be needed in the near future to house those that watch the kids.

Ron Morin recently celebrated his 25th year as owner of Cornwall Motor Speedway by winning the 2006 Jacques Richard Memorial Award as the Cornwall area’s top sports personality (past recipients include Olympic Gold Medallist Lori Dupuis and Hockey Hall of Fame Member Dale Hawerchuk. Morin was also enshrined into the Cornwall Sports Hall of Fame, class of ‘06.

All these accolades and he still plans on promoting one of, if not the, most revered DIRT race tracks. Ron Morin is the reason Cornwall Motor Speedway is the success it is but don’t ask him about it. He continues to help drivers and several race teams with career advice, emotionally and financially. Morin has helped guide some of the areas top racers at various points in their career and he is a great addition to the nationally recognized DIRT Motorsports Hall of Fame.

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Family Of Aaron Freshman To Accept DIRT NE Hall Of Fame Award
Weedsport, NY – May 17, 2007 – By Andy Fusco, HoF Selection Committee

The late Aaron Freshman has been named as a co-recipient of the 2007 Leonard J. Sammons Jr. Memorial Award which recognizes outstanding contributions to auto racing. With his daughter Ann on hand to accept, Freshman will be honored when the 16th annual DIRT MotorSports NorthEast Hall of Fame induction ceremonies take place Sunday, May 27 on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds in conjunction with the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series event at the adjacent speedway.

For more than three decades, Freshman was a significant behind-the-scenes player in marketing, commercial sales, and sponsorships for the DIRT organization. “Aaron was a great door opener,” noted DIRTcar Competition Director Cory Reed. “He knew everybody and was constantly working deals to get mainstream companies into DIRT racing.”

Freshman’s business roots were in retail sales, mostly in the home interior sector. He met and befriended Glenn Donnelly even before DIRT Motorsports was formed in 1976. Their mutual interest wasn’t auto racing, but a love for Syracuse University varsity football and basketball. They also had a business association. Before Donnelly was an account executive with General Electric. Freshman, who sold home appliances, was one of Glenn’s customers. As Donnelly’s fledgling racing empire grew, Glenn networked with his contacts from the worlds of business and stick and ball sports in seeking sponsorships. Freshman, widely known as ‘Chief,’ was one of Donnelly’s earliest go-to-guys.

“When I started out,” recalled Glenn, “the only sponsors I could get were track suppliers. It was ‘Chief’ who was able to get us involved with retail chains, like grocery stores, pharmacies, and convenience stores.” The ‘Chief’ was Glenn’s pet nickname for Freshman and the moniker caught on like wild fire. There were literally hundreds of people in racing who knew ‘Chief,’ yet probably didn’t know his real name.

Freshman was a constant fixture at the Carrier Dome. Always attired in a sports jacket and tie, Freshman made a point of getting to know anybody who was underwriting Syracuse University athletics. It was only a matter of time before he’d be urging his new “find” to add DIRT racing to the advertising portfolio. Freshman also was a fixture in the officials’ tower at Central New York’s DIRT ovals, although he was candid in admitting that he didn’t grasp the subtle intricacies of racing like he did with football and basketball.

In the late 1990s, Freshman retired from retail sales and formed a full-time motorsports marketing agency called “Chief Sales.” From his office near Syracuse’s Carousel Mall, Freshman worked the phones to bring a steady stream of new sponsors and advertisers to auto racing. Besides DIRT, his list of clients included Oswego Speedway. Another prominent executive in the office building where Freshman worked was DIRT track announcer Joe Marotta, who operated a snack food brokerage from an office down the hall. Marotta and Freshman were close friends.

When Glenn Donnelly left dirt racing three years ago, so did Freshman. He and his wife Marge relocated from Camillus, New York to North Carolina. Then this winter, Aaron was injured in a slip and fall accident and passed away on December 28, 2006. He was age 82. He is interned in Fort Hill Cemetery, Auburn, New York, the community where Chief resided in his younger years.

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Grand National Driver Dick May Earns Spot In DIRT NorthEast Hall Of Fame
Weedsport, NY – May 16, 2007 – By Gary Rowe, HoF Selection Committee (*Jeff Ackerman photo collection)

New York’s north country legend Dick May has been named a 2007 'pioneer' selection for the DIRT Motorsports Hall of Fame. Induction ceremonies are scheduled for Sunday, May 27 on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds in conjunction with the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series event at the adjacent speedway.

One of the few Empire State drivers ever to achieve a measure of success in the NEXTEL Cup Ranks, then called the Grand National Ranks, was Richard S. (Dick) May. Born in New York City in 1930, the son of Frederick and Margaret May, Dick later moved with his family to Ithaca, N.Y. There he was living when he joined the Army which eventually stationed him at was called at the time Pine Camp, NY and now is know as Fort Drum, home of the Army’s 10 Mountain Division. It was while stationed at Pine Camp that Dick was first introduced to racing 1950 and when he first got behind the wheel of a race car at the old Canton Speedway in Canton, N.Y.

His first car was owned by Ernie Buskirk and a Sgt. Petty, who Dick had befriended while on duty as a Fireman at Pine Camp. Dick later switched his racing venues to the now closed Edgewood Speedway in Alexandria Bay, N.Y. and Watertown Speedway. It was during this period when an opportunity came along for him to be a fireman full time but he turned it down because he would have had to work weekends. "I don't know to this day if I did right or wrong,” Dick later recalled. “That would have been a great career. I would have been a heck of a fireman. I enjoyed it, it was fun. Besides, very few firemen get fired until they do something really bad". So he became an over the road truck driver instead.

Up until 1956 Dick went through a series of car owners then built his own car. In 1960 he picked up another ride, this time with car owner Bob Hayslett, a match up that established Dick as one of the premier modified drivers. Originally the car’s number was 29. But one year, when the team went to the annual Labor Day race at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, NY, which they entered every year from 1960 to 1966, there was another car entered with the number 29. Officials then designated Dick’s car as B29 and the number remained with him until he moved on to NASCAR’s top division. During his Modified career Dick scored over 70 wins but the highlights came in 1962 when he won seven features and the track championship at Watertown Speedway and in 1966 when he started on the front row at the New York State Championship race and finished third in the event.

Dick’s outgoing personality made him extremely popular with fans and with his fellow competitors who respected his clean driving style. Watertown Speedway co- promoter Howard Rowe, who was inducted into the DIRT Hall of Fame in 1996, remembered that “Dick always took an active interest in helping anywhere he could. On some occasions, if we were short-handed and he was not entered in a race, he would help officiate. He was also very helpful in settling down some overly aggressive drivers.” In 1967 Dick, along with a crew made up his fellow competitors and officials from the Watertown Speedway, entered a car that Dick had purchased. The same car once driven by Marvin Panch for the Wood Brothers in the ARCA 250 and the Permatex 300 during Speedweeks at the Daytona International Speedway.

It was Dick’s first introduction to big league racing and he just fell in love with it. In 1970 he made the big jump to NASCAR by moving from Watertown to Charlotte, North Carolina to compete full-time in the Grand National ranks.

Dick’s Grand National and Winston Cup career will never be remembered for the number of wins but for being a prolific qualifier and relief driver. Car owners liked him because he was so good in time trials and getting a car qualified. And when it came time to get a back-up driver for their cars, owners loved to tap Dick because he had an ability to avoid wrecks and to make sure the car was running at the end of the day. Because of the way he could handle the cars he became the top relief driver in Winston Cup history during the '70s and early '80s.

May's feat of driving five cars in one race will probably be in the history books for a long time. Dick was officially credited for driving five different cars for five different owners during the 1975 Mason Dixon 500 at Dover Downs International Speedway. But he never did finish that race because the throttle linkage broke when he was five laps from the finish line while driving the fifth car of the day.

At one time, Dick qualified six different cars for the same Grand National race. Something you can't do any longer. The late Bill Gazaway, then NASCAR’s director of competition, put a stop to that practice when Dick qualified three different cars for the Daytona 500. May’s triple duty effort came to Gazaway’s attention and by the time Martinsville, Va., rolled around, Gazaway was ready for May, requesting that May stay with him in the tower during qualifying where he could keep Dick under his watchful eye. "I don't know how many cars I was supposed to qualify at Martinsville that day, but I didn't qualify any of them," May later said. "Bill pretty much put an end to it then and for the rest of NASCAR."

“But don't let May fool you when it comes to his driving talent, even though he never won a Grand National or a Cup race,” Jack Flowers wrote in the April 11, 2007 edition of National Speed Sport News on Dick’s election into the 2007 Class of the DIRT Hall of Fame. "Our job was not to win races but make sure we got the car in the race and then not abuse it," said May. "We didn't have a lot of new tires. A lot of times, we just completed one lap and parked the car.” A legendary story-teller, Dick jokingly recalled a race at Talladega, Ala., where, after a caution flag, he found himself leading the race. "On the restart," said May, "I was going so slow they gave me the green flag and the move-over flag at the same time.”

Another time he was driving for Richard Childress ---who another native of Watertown, Tim McCreadie, signed with in January of 2007--- in the Pocono 500. “When the engine blew an oil fire started,” May recalled. “Richard was driving another of his cars and had dropped out of the race with mechanical problems and was in the men’s room at the time. When the fire started I spun the car out and got out of it as quick as possible. When Richard came out of the rest room he had two cars out of the race. That was a big deal to him because we were unsponsored at the time and Richard was counting on me finishing the race so he would have enough money to go to the next race in Michigan.”

Dick retired at the end of the 1985 season with 185 career starts and $282,831 in career earnings. His best finish in the Winston Cup point standings came in 1978 with 15th-place after starting the season by taking 18th in the Daytona 500. “In that year I drove in 28 of the 30 races scheduled,” Dick recounted. “I earned $65, 291 that year but none of those cars were mine. So when the IRS got my 1099 I had a heck of a time because they thought I had collected all the money myself.”

Two years later Dick had another memorable event happen at the 1980 National 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway when he knocked Richard Petty out of the first-day qualifying with a spectacular run. “I was the last of 65 cars to qualify on that first day,” Dick reminisced. “Most fans had already left the track. Heck, even the announcer said over the PA that ‘This car owned by Norman Negre and driven by Dick May isn’t going to do anything.’ I got 15th fastest at 161.315 mph and knocked Richard Petty out of the field on the first day. This was a time when Richard was at the peak of this career and always qualified well. I remember that I had great fun teasing Richard on that run and knocking back to second day qualifying.”

After retiring Dick worked for NASCAR as well as for Companies like STP, Sears and R.J. Reynold's Tobacco Co. Dick was a man of all seasons, if something needed to get done, people knew who to call.

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‘Billy O’ Adds Name To DIRT NorthEast Hall Of Fame Wall
Weedsport, NY – May 15, 2007 – By Ken Kuhlman, Motorsports Historian (*Ace Lane photo attachment)

Garden State standout Billy Osmun has been selected as a 2007 inductee into the DIRT MotorSports Hall of Fame. Induction ceremonies are scheduled for Sunday, May 27 on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds and are held in conjunction with the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series event at the adjacent speedway.

It was Sunday and it was raining but that day the dirt track Modified stock car racing world belonged to Bloomsbury, NJ’s Billy Osmun. For him there was sunshine. Osmun had just won the biggest event held in those ranks, the Schaefer International 100 at the New York State Fairgrounds “Moody Mile” in Syracuse back in 1974. Those dark clouds billowing overhead couldn’t darken the smile on his face.

This was certainly a glorious day for Billy Osmun, maybe the most significant in a long and noteworthy career spanning over 25 years. And if the rain that shortened that event by five laps had dampened the crowds at Super DIRT Week III, it certainly had no effect on the spirit of victory. Many witnessing that superb performance that day at Syracuse had watched Billy Osmun’s career unfold and knew well that success for him had come the hard way. They recalled when he was 21 years old and “green”—with only four years of experience in drag racing—when he decided to give stock car racing a try.

Billy O showed up one night at the Flemington, NJ Fair Speedway with his own Modified creation. The car, as he now recalls, cost him $3,500 to build. He bought the body, chassis and wheels from a friend and named it “The Barnyard Special.” Undaunted, off he went with his home-built race car and absolutely no idea of what it was like to drive on dirt. Even today, Osmun recalls that first Flemington performance as if it happened yesterday.

“I can still see that night,” Osmun reminisced. “They had guardrails on the inside and outside. All the time I felt like I was getting claustrophobia. I kept going faster and faster and never realized I was running on the edge. Then, coming out of turn two, I ended up taking a couple of cartwheels.” It was apparently a lesson well learned. After the first night, he seldom ever flipped another race car.

In the meantime, Billy Osmun turned into one of the premier dirt track racers in the east, running up 19 and 20 win seasons with the John and Tony Norica backed no. 81 Black Horse Racing Team. These days jumping into a Modified and zipping around a fast dirt track is hardly a way to get started. People have a tendency to look at you funny as though you aren’t playing with a full deck.

Even back in 1965 when Osmun took the plunge, it was considered a big step to begin within the Modified ranks. Of course, Osmun didn’t exactly go looking for advice on how to do things the right way. In fact, when he began racing, he kept it hidden from his parents. Or at least he tried to. “That was in the days before drivers wore uniforms,” Osmun recollects. “All we wore were T-shirts and dungarees and after that first night wreck at Flemington I had belt burns down my back, on my neck, and everywhere. It wasn’t long before Mom and Dad found out.”

And it wasn’t long, either, before Billy Osmun began to show up at the front of the pack. In fact, it was while he was still running “The Barnyard Special” that he almost won his first feature. The key word is almost. A funny thing happened on the way to victory lane.

It happened at the Don Jones promoted East Windsor, NJ Speedway. Osmun was leading and quite obviously closing in on his first-ever feature race win. Imagine the anticipation: corner after corner, lap after lap, the hard charging Osmun edged nearer to his initial triumph. He blazed around the track one last time, with victory in sight. Suddenly.there it was: the flag! The white flag. Today a sheepish Osmun remembers, “I mistook the white flag for the checker, and I ended up finishing second. You can bet that never happened again.”

That evasive fist career win eventually came his way on September 12, 1969 at East Windsor. Osmun would go on to record 27 career Modified victories at this historic site to end up fifth on the all-time Modified winners list there. At the Flemington Fair Speedway he even bettered the East Windsor mark by capturing 33 feature race wins. The first one came on August 7, 1971 and from there he proceeded to finish among the top-10 winners ever at Flemington. Add to these impressive tallies six firsts at the spacious Bridgeport (NJ) Speedway and three wins at the famed Reading (PA) Fairgrounds half-mile along with triumphs in the Syracuse Labor Day events. It all sure marked a storied career.

Osmun also came within a whisker of adding yet another Super DIRT Week Schaefer 100 headliner at Syracuse, NY to this resume back in 1975. Making a late race pit stop for fuel he executed an absolute remarkable comeback to finish inches behind eventual winner, the late great Dick “Toby” Tobias.

Simply put, Billy Osmun developed a reputation of being a charger with the ability to do well in anything he drove including a fifth-place finish in an asphalt Modified at the Daytona (FL) Int’l Speedway and a win in a Midget race car. Such noted race car owners as Jay Stong, Pete Chesson, John and Tony Norcia, Sonny Dornberger, George Smith, Anthony and Ronnie Ferraiuolo among others would fully attest to that as Osmun wheeled there race cars with much success.

Though he no longer drivers, Osmun says he still loves racing. When he’s not watching his son Willie race a small-block Modified he simply enjoys talking racing. He knows very well what it’s like to be a winner. He was a winner as a driver, and there’s a lot of the winner still left in the manner in which he carries himself today: calm, confident and in charge of what he is doing.

Osmun always knew how to win a Modified stock car race. He hopes it carries over to his son. But he knows there are some things that cannot be taught. Talent is one of them. It is an individual thing. “I never really got psyched up before a race,” Osmun recalled. “It’s something that comes naturally. You just set a goal: winning. Everything after that comes natural. Once you’re out on the race track, you have no friends. Winning is all there is.”

In his day, there were few racers as tough on dirt racks in the New Jersey area as Billy Osmun. That will definitely be recognized Memorial Day weekend this year as the highly regarded DIRT organization inducts him into its Hall Of Fame.

One of the car owners that he experienced many an outstanding moment with, Tony Ferraiuolo, himself also deservingly in DIRT’s Hall Of Fame, summed it up best. “Billy Osmun was a great driver and deserves everything good that comes his way. Probably most will quickly recall the many exploits that Gary Balough had with our team. To me, though, the two years Billy Osmun ran for me were some of my most enjoyable times in the sport. It’s a well justified honor for him, long overdue.”

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‘Mr. October’ Dave Heaslip To Enter DIRT NorthEast Hall Of Fame
Weedsport, NY – May 14, 2007 – By Gary Rowe, HoF Selection Committee

Modified veteran Dave Heaslip has been selected as a 2007 inductee into the DIRT MotorSports NorthEast Hall of Fame. Induction ceremonies are scheduled for Sunday, May 27 on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds in conjunction with the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series event at the adjacent speedway.

Forty-Seven years. That almost covers the entire post-World War II history of motorsports; a time when returning GI’s were cutting up pre-War cars and taking them to tracks located in fairgrounds all across the U.S. and Canada to today’s ground pounding manufactured cars and engines. Dave Heaslip is one of the few still active drivers that has not only traded paint with many of the best drivers in Modified racing history ---many during their prime years--- but competed successfully against them.

Beginning his driving career at the old Kingston (Ont.) Speedway in 1962, Dave has collected over 300 checkered flags behind the wheel of a race car. Including 121 DIRTcar-sanctioned 358-Modified feature victories and 4 DIRTcar Big-Block Modified wins, Heaslip has registered nine track titles on the DIRTcar circuit having won season championships at Cornwall Motor Speedway (1983, 1984, 1995), Autodrome Edelweiss (1995, 1996, 2003), Can-Am (1993) and Frogtown (1998, 2004). While chasing track titles has always been important and a prime motivator to his career, the father of five grown children and a grandfather has never really chased the small block series except in 1983 and 1984 when he placed third each year in the Mr. DIRT 358 title hunts. The “Slip” is also the only driver to win at least one Small-Block main event every season since the first Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified champion was crowned in 1983 (and already copped the ’07 Edelweiss opener to extend the streak to 25 straight years!).

Dave got his start in motorsports in 1954 when as a 9-year old he accompanied his father Ken to the old Edgewood Speedway in Alexandria Bay, NY. While never a driver himself, Ken Heaslip fielded a car that was driven by Doug Battams and numbered “GO”, for Gananoque, Ont., where the family home was then located. While never a big name team and scoring no wins at either Edgewood on Sunday afternoons or on an occasional Friday night foray to Kingston, Ont. Speedway, the experience did whet the appetite of Dave who started his own driving career in 1960 at ripe young age of 15 piloting an old Pontiac Coupe at the now closed ¼-mile Kingston oval.

Friday nights at Kingston and Saturday nights at Watertown (NY) Speedway comprised a two-track circuit that featured the toughest competition on either side of the St. Lawrence River. Dave cut his teeth competing against such area legends as Woody VanOrder, Tony Blake, Freddy Gibson, who was inducted into the Greater Kingston Hall of Fame in 2005, and DIRTcar Hall of Fame charter member Frank Andre; all drivers who scored hundreds of wins and garnered dozens of track championships during their careers.

Painting his father’s car number of “GO” on the door of that first car, Dave surprisingly doesn’t remember much about his first win although it came at the Kingston Speedway sometime in the 1960’s. By the 1970’s, as he started racking up wins on both sides of the St. Lawrence River, Dave’s car number changed to R-70. Owning his own auto recycling center,