2004 TRACK CHAMPIONS CROWNED AT FROGTOWN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
(PERROTTE WINS ROC SYRACUSE QUALIFIER)
HOGANSBURG, NY ... Mike Perrotte of Morrisonville, New York had his car hooked up perfectly at Frogtown International Speedway this past Saturday night and took home a very decisive victory plus picked up a spot for the 358 Modified Super DIRT week race at Syracuse in October.
Dave Heaslip and Mike Perrotte started on the front row of the event. At the start of the evening, the 2004 track championship had come down to Heaslip and Mark Hitchcock with just a handful of points separating the two veteran drivers for the championship. With Heaslip basically sitting in the cat bird seat by starting on the pole, Hitchcock who started 5th on the grid knew he had to get busy quickly and stay close to Dave so he did not "Slip" away.
Perrotte grabbed the early lead with Heaslip close behind followed by Jeff Sykes, Jim Lazore and Mike Arquiett. By lap #6, Hitchcock had moved right in behind Heaslip and the battle was on. It was pretty clear to everyone that the former track champion Mike Perrotte was not to be denied on this night as he began to pull away from the rest of the field. Back in the pack, things were getting interesting. Alan Jacobs who started 16th in the field and Dan Jalbert who started 7th were on their way to the front and setting a torrid pace to get there. Even though cautions bunched up the field a number of times, Perrotte still seemed to have the edge on the restarts over the crafty veteran Heaslip. Then the drama began to unfold. On lap #26, Hitchcock exited to the pits with a broken distributor gear and Heaslip who was sitting second at the time looked like he was a shoe in for the championship. At that point, Perrotte continued to lead the "Wolfclan Truck Stop 50 lap Race of Champions" event followed by Dave Heaslip, Jimmy Lazore, Alan Jacobs and Dan Jalbert.
When it looked like Mike Perrotte was on his way to Syracuse and Heaslip was on his way to a track championship, Hitchcock came flying out on to the speedway on lap #35. This changed everything as it now came down to whether or not Hitchcock could finish 10th or better with only 15 laps left in the event. Perrotte remained the leader and continued on for the victory in a very convincing fashion picking up his first ROC at Frogtown and a guaranteed starting spot at Syracuse. Dave Heaslip finished second with Dan Jalbert, Alan Jacobs and Jimmy Lazore rounding out the top five. The crowd waited patiently as the final finish was determined. Then the announcement finally came as the popular Smith Falls, Ontario native Dave Heaslip became the 2004 Frogtown International Speedway track champion in the DIRT 358 Modified division.
In the DIRT Pro Stock division, two championships were up for grabs. PJ Peters and Jody Swamp had only a handful of points separating them for a track championship as well. There was also the Coors Light Pro Stock Mini Series to be decided on this night too. William Adams of Akwesasne though was not to be denied a piece of the spotlight as he drove a tremendous race to win the event.
Tim Allen and Casey Swamp started on the front row with Casey grabbing the lead. Adams who started 10th on the grid made short work of things early and after five laps found himself in second. After a short battle with Jody Swamp, Adams grabbed the lead. Mitchell Jock who was coming on strong as well moved into second and the two staged a great battle until lap #26 of the 30 lap event when mechanical problems sent the #14 out of contention.
Jody Swamp had moved into second spot followed by Clayton Benedict, Roy Delormier and Aaron Day. Swamp continued along with Benedict to keep the pressure on Adams but William remained steady and went on for the win. Jody Swamp finished second with Clayton Benedict, Roy Delormier and Aaron Day rounding out the top five. PJ Peters finished 6th in the field but it was enough for him to take home the 2004 DIRT Pro Stock Frogtown Track Championship. Jody Swap still managed to clinch the Coors Light Championship though by virtue of his second place finish.
In the Wolfclan Truck Stop 15 lap Semi Pro main event, it was Steven Brand who fought off a very determined Jack Johnson for the win and in the process, picked up the 2004 Track Championship as well.
Johnson who started on the pole of the event grabbed the early lead, but by lap #10 Brand had come flying up through the field from his 10th starting spot and passed Johnson and went on for the win. Jack had to settle for second with Brandon Snyder, Greg Ezard and Ghislain Valade rounding out the top five.
It was a nail biter for the 2004 track championship in the Bandit division as it came down to two tough competitors, Billy Woodward, Jr. and Trevor White. Bob Ray though wanted part of the Frogtown spotlight too as he managed to out last Joey Foster for the victory. Ray made an incredible run starting 16th in the field and taking the lead from Foster on lap #5. Joey Foster finished second with Trevor White, Josh Poste and Ryan Foley rounding out the top five. Billy Woodward, Jr. managed to finish 6th but it was just enough to win the track championship by one point over Trevor White. WOW!
In the Enduro class, it was all Rock Niles as he came home the winner by edging out Corey Castell for the victory. "The Rock" also picked up the 2004 Enduro Track Championship. Donald Delormier, Matt Langdon and Donald Delormier, Sr. rounded out the top five.
Frogtown International Speedway would like to thank Wolfclan Truck Stop for sponsoring the events and feature winners in each class would like to thank the sponsor for that little extra surprise they received in victory lane from the good folks at Wolfclan as well.
Frogtown International Speedway will be closed on September 11th but will reopen for one more show on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. on September 19th when the main event will be the 16th running of the Iron Man 100 for the Enduro cars. A full card or Dirt Pro Stocks, Semi Pros and Bandits will also be on the card sponsored by CKON Radio and Oionkwaonwe Enterprises.
Frogtown International Speedway is located on Frogtown Road just off Route 37 in Akwesasne (Hogansburg), New York. Visit us on the World Wide Web at www.frogtownspeedway.net for more information. SEE YOU AT THE FROG!
Modified: Mike Perrotte, Dave Heaslip, Dan Jalbert, Alan Jacobs, Jim Lazore, Jeff Sykes, Kevin Fetterly, George Foley, Perry Francis, Mike Reyell, Tammy Jalbert, Mike Arquiett, Delbert LeGrow, Chris Jones, Mark Hitchcock, Bill Cook, Craig Reyell, Brian McDonald, Leon Gonyo, Doug Haldane, Patrick Dupree, Andy Lloyd and Paul Pekkonen. DNS: Roy Tarbell.
Pro Stock: William Adams, Jody Swamp, Clayton Benedict, Roy Delormier, Aaron Day, PJ Peters, Craig Paquin, Casey Swamp, Mitchell Jock, Tim Allen, Travis Back, Bryan Loeb, Joel Herne and Jason Fetterly. DNS: Adam Bandy and Ricky Thompson.
Semi Pro: Steven Brand, Jack Johnson, Brandon Snyder, Greg Ezard, Ghislain Valade, Dick Planty, Kevin Fetterly, Jr., Chad Vallance, Corey Jalbert, Carey Terrance, Dion Oakes, Scott Mere, Robbie Grant, Kevin Clement and Mike Allen. DNS: Mike McDonald.
Bandits: Bob Ray, Joey Foster, Trevor White, Josh Poste, Ryan Foley, Billy Woodward, Jr., Claudia Tarbell, Roy Weaver, Jr., Eric Mossow, Jeb Beeson, Stuart Mossow, Leonard Duval, Shannon Gray, Robert Bolia, Chris Cooke, Jason Bressett and Gerry Oszczakiewicz.
Enduro: Rock Niles, Corey Castell, Donald Delormier, Matt Langdon, Donald Delormier, Sr., Matt Jacobs, Steve Green, Corey McClain, Tom Square, Doug Jock, Ronnie Gibson, Ryan Helm, Mike Lazore, Ron Cook, Rick Brainard, Kevin Thompson, Corey Helm, Charles Thompson, Ricky Fitzsimmons, Dillon Cole and Mitch Square. DNS: Konkie Lazore, Jeff Riley, Bennett White, Jason Downer, Kevin Bush, Michael Bush, Chris Garrand, Keith Helm, Nathan Francis and Chase Sunday.