VARIN AND ALAN JOHNSON TOP GUNS ON EASTERN STATES WEEKEND
Middletown, NY - Bobby Varin of Sharon Springs, NY and Alan Johnson of Phelps, NY were the big winners at the 42nd annual DYNOMAX Eastern States weekend at the Orange County Fair Speedway.
On Friday afternoon, Brett Hearn established a new track record in the Modifieds with a time of 21.345 sec. That replaced the mark of 21.693 held by Steve Paine from 2000. On Sunday, Varin took the lead when Hearn tangled with a lapped car in turn3 and 4 on lap 171. Varin then went on to record his first ever Eastern States triumph beating Orange County regular Chuck McKee to the line at the end of the 200 lap affair.
Steve Paine led the first five laps from his outside pole position before giving way to Hearn on lap 6. Hearn held the point through lap 50 when he pitted for his mandatory pit stop. Tim Fuller assumed command through lap 128 when he headed pitside. Billy Decker, who exited the pits ahead of Hearn on lap 50, swapped positions with Hearn before taking charge on lap 129. Decker led through lap 141 when he retired to the pits with mechanical problems. This turned the lead back over to Hearn who paced the field until tangling with 2nd running Danny Johnson and a lapped car on lap 170. Johnson led lap 170 but he too headed for the pits leaving Varin out front. Varin raced home in front as the event went 207 laps because of several late race cautions. Varin's best finish in this event prior to Sunday was a 17th in the year 2000.
Alan Johnson had already clinched his 2nd consecutive Mr. DIRT Modified title prior to the start of the 200. He finished 6th.
Alan Johnson claimed the 150 lap DYNOMAX 358 modified feature on Saturday afternoon leading every lap to win the event for the first time. Johnson, who had his best finish in this event with a 2nd in 1995, established a new track record on Friday after
noon with a clocking of 21.994 sec. This eclipsed the mark set in 1995 by Randy Sherlock at 22.241. Tim Fuller of Edwards, NY who finished fourth, clinched the Mr. DIRT Small Block title by a mere 5 points over Johnson.
Saturday evening, Stewart Friesen from Niagara On The Lake, Ont. claimed the J&J Auto Maintenance 75 lap DIRT Sportsman championship. A new track record of 23.056 was set by Kenny Stafford from Homer, NY. Stafford's time replaced the mark of 23.506 sec. held by Orange County's Rick Mill from 2001. The DIRT Sportsman title was claimed by Tim Clemons from Gloversville, NY and the Fonda Speedway.
The Kirks Auto and Truck Center 15 lap Pure Stock Invitational on Saturday evening went to Ray Tarantino of Peasant Valley, NY.
Sunday, prior to the running of the 200, Jamie McGannon of Pomona, NY claimed the Five Star Race Bodies 20 lap Expert Pro Stock Invitational. The 18 lap Barmann Equipment Rookie Pro Stock Invitational went to Bob Johnson of Carmel, NY.
Modified Time Trials: 1. Brett Hearn, 2. Steve Paine, 3. Tim McCreadie, 4. Bobby Varin, 5. Billy Decker, 6. Tommy Meier, 7. Tim Fuller, 8. Rich Eurich, 9. Chuck Bower, 10. Dale Planck, 11. Vic Coffey, 12. Steve Dodd
1st Heat- Tim Hindley, Frank Jashembowski,, Ronnie Johnson
2nd Heat- Jack Johnson, Alan Johnson, Jeff Heotzler
3rd Heat- Jerry Higbie, AJ Romano, Frankie Caprara
4th Heat - Matt Shepherd, Chuck McKee, Alan Kellogg
5th Heat- Butch Tittle, Gary Edwards Jr., Dave Werber
6th Heat- Danny Johnson, David Van Horn, Bob McCreadie
7th Heat- Tony Pepcelli, Craig Mitchell, Ryan Phelps
8th Heat - Gary Tomkins, Ken Tremont, Ray Jashembowski
1st Consi- Pat Ward, Chris Shultz
2nd Consi- Mike Depalma, John Ferrier
3rd Consi- Steve Hulsizer, Bill Wilson
4th Consi- Scott Flammer, Ric Hill
DynoMax 200 Finish
358 Modified Time Trials: 1. Alan Johnson, 2. Tim Fuller, 3. Tim McCreadie, 4. Brett Hearn, 5. Tommy Meier, 6. Matt Shepherd
1st Heat- Chris Shultz, Tim Hindley, Craig Hanson
2nd Heat- Mitch Gibbs, Pierre Dagenais, Butch Tittle
3rd Heat Pat Ward[1]., David Van Horn, Rick Mill
4th Heat - Steve Paine, Chuck McKee, Danny Johnson
5th Heat- Dale Planck, Kenny Tremont, Marco Potvin
6th Heat- Vic Coffey, Frank Jashembowski, Frankie Caprara
7th Heat- Tom Greiner, Alan Kellogg, Jason Barney
8th Heat - Stewart Friesen, Bobb Varin, Jeff Heotzler
1st Consi Stan Jablonka, Craig Mitchell, Mike Depalma
2nd Consi- Joey Barbagallo, Elton Payne, Jr., Kevin Duryea
3rd Consi- Eddie Marshall, Lee Gagliardi, Richie Coons
4th Consi Tom Perrego, Jerry Higbie, Donnie Elliott
DYNOMAX 150 - 358 Modifieds Finish
DIRT Sportsman Time Trials: 1. Kenny Stafford, 2. Stewart Friesen, 3. Donnie Wetmore, Jr., 4. Mike Kolka, 5. Tim Clemons, 6. Rick Mill
1st Heat-Jessica Zemken, Paul Carey
2nd Heat- Scott Geoprge, Joe Dunay
3rd Heat- Stan Jablonka, Rich coons
4th Heat- Jeff Harrison, Frank Christiano
5th Heat- Adam Ferri, Al Johns
6th Heat- Bob Sarkisan, Mike Trautschold
7th Heat- John McAuliffe, Tom Perrego
8th Heat- Alan Sturhann, Karl Comfort
1st Consi- Clinton Mills, Tim Sears
2nd Consi- Sam Wescott, Jr., Mark Hufcut
3rd Consi- Mario Page, Jim Secor
4th Consi-Brian Sage, Kevin Duryea
Add: Top 12 in SDS Points: Tim Dwyer, Bill Shantel, Elton Payne, Jr. Provisional: Lance Willix
J&J Auto Maintenance/Luce Family DIRT Sportsman Championship Finish
Expert Pro Stock Feature: Jamie McGannon, Bob McGannon, John Bryson, Bill Pascual, Eric Marin, Bobby Waters, Jr., Rob Rowe, Terry Arnold, Tom Vigh, Dave Barmann
Rookie Pro Stock Feature: Rob Johnson, Pat O'Mara, Dan Kelleher, Mike O'Sullivan, Marty Pender, Chris Adams, Troy Arnold, Jim Hajkowski, Eric Lindahl, Clark Bradford, John Velde
Pure Stock Feature: 1. Ray Tarantino, Don Carlson, Sean Corr, Julius Pepin, Emerson Cargain, Sr., Bob swanson, John Dore, Emerson Cargain, Jr., Mike Vigaletti, Kevin Fill, Nick Bucelli, Jeff Baggatta, Tom Talamino, Les Laska, Kevin Schlossareck, Shawn Maher, Al Tarantino, Morgan