DECKER GETS 'FIRED UP' FOR FIRST-EVER FLORIDA TOUR VICTORY
BARBERVILLE, FL.....The mighty DIRT Modifieds returned to action at Volusia Speedway Park and it was a recharged Billy Decker taking advantage of his front row start to score the convincing 30-lap victory.
Decker's flag-to-flag triumph on Thursday of Race Weeks '04 was the first of his career in Florida, with his last trip taken to the spacious half-mile clay oval in 1993.
"The car was just as fast the first night but we had ignition trouble and couldn't really get started," said Decker, 39, who was among a dozen drivers selected to compete in a special "invitational" 11 years ago when the DIRT Motorsports organization teamed with Sunoco in testing unleaded fuel on high-compression motors. The Unadilla, N.Y. open-wheel veteran posted fifth, eighth and sixth-place finishes in the 25-lap events.
Decker won his qualifying heat on opening night but required a push start to join the rear of the field. He later failed to fire on a lap four restart and was rammed from behind to end his debut for car owner John Wight and relegate him to 24th on the final scoresheet.
The no. 91 Gypsum Wholesalers-Stadium International/Bicknell entry was rewired on Thursday and Decker again won his heat race qualifier. This time the Kevin Enders prepared powerplant fired up and he was able to fill the outside pole starting position on his own.
"With guys like Brett (Hearn) chasing you it wasn't as easy as it looked staying out front the whole time," said Decker, after pocketing $2,000 for his 116th DIRT Modified feature race win. "You just can't afford to make any mistakes. I had to do everything I could to stay ahead. I tried to keep my line consistent and was fortunate to hold the lead even through traffic."
Decker sprinted ahead of front row partner Ron Dwyer on the initial start with opening night winner Hearn moving into second just as fast. Veterans Doug Hoffman, Alan Johnson and Pat Ward joined in the chase as three and four-wide action shuffled the 26-car field in the early stages.
The leader reached traffic on lap 10 allowing Hearn to make up ground under green flag conditions. The front-five remained intact at the halfway mark while Bucky Kell, Dwyer, Danny Johnson, Jimmy Horton and reigning Florida Tour points king Tim Fuller trailed in the top-10.
The lone yellow flag finally flew on lap 19 when big-block rookie Jim Scherer looped his no. 4tj Pleasant View Landscaping/Troyer entry as he rounded turn three. While Hearn had caught up to Decker's bumper before the caution period, the 'Jet' was no match for the Gypsum Express over the final dozen circuits run caution-free.
"I'm usually busy at home this time of year but John (Wight) called me up hoping to work out some of the bugs in Florida," said Decker, as he and crew chief Scott Jeffery recently relocated their efforts to Wight's shop in Central New York following a lengthy tenure with Albany-based car owner Randy Ross. "This is a super opportunity for us and I'm looking forward to a lot more success. We had a great ride with Randy but it was just a matter of making some kind of change, hopefully for the better."
Runner-up Hearn failed in his attempt for a second straight triumph, crossing the finish line five car-lengths behind Decker as the checkers waved. Hoffman finished third followed by Alan Johnson and Horton, who rallied Dieter Schmidt's no. 5 Lincoln Auto Body/TEO machine from the 20th starting spot to post his second fifth-place finish.
Danny Johnson crossed the line sixth ahead of Kell, with Ward, J.R. Heffner and pole-sitter Dwyer placing among the top-10.
Through two of four races run, four-time points champion Hearn (116) tops the Florida Tour standings followed by Doug Hoffman (102), Pat Ward (98), Horton (96), Heffner (84) and Decker (80).
Open-wheel action continues Friday at Volusia with a 30-lap DIRT Modified main headlining round number three in the 33rd Annual Winter Nationals program.
DIRT Diary:
The most violent incident of the Florida Tour was witnessed during the second consolation race when New Jersey driver Rich Scagliotta demolished his no. 8 Central Jersey Trailer & Hitch Depot mount in a frontstretch crash. Race leader Jamie Mills introduced a new version of the 'Delaware Start' as he slowed the pace exiting turn three and never picked it back up until he left turn four on a restart leaving the field to bunch up behind. Scagliotta swerved low under Butch Tittle and Pierre Dagenais coming out of the final turn, eventually catching Tittle's left front end as the trio reached the starter's stand. The contact quickly vaulted Scagliotta's machine into the air and following five end-over-end flips his Troyer machine lay piled in a heap upside down alongside Tittle and Ray Swinehart. Scagliotta staggered away on his own and later was transported to the Florida Hospital in nearby Deland where he was treated for a severe bruise of his orbital (eye) socket bone.
Despite installing a Finger Lakes motor transported from New York on Wednesday, Dale Planck suffered fuel pump problems to run only one lap in both his heat and consi. Although this is Planck's first-ever visit to Volusia, the open-wheel standout from Cortland, N.Y. finished sixth at East Bay Raceway in 2001 steering Frankie Caprara's back-up small-block mount. Despite the car being left overnight on patrolled grounds, the outside body was stolen and Planck has not competed since .....Pennsylvanian Ray Swinehart was back in action after a worn head gasket knocked him out after hot laps on Tuesday.....Looking to improve one position from his runner-up tally on Tuesday, Pat Ward's effort was foiled by a faulty brake rotor that dropped him into eighth-place on Thursday.....Deron Rust and Rex King each experienced motor trouble after qualifying in their heat forcing Rust to start the feature last aboard Tittle's 'Z Car' and King to start in the rear in his son Russell's car, although his own #65 side panel identified the car on the scoresheets.
The 2004 Florida Tour DIRT Modified roster includes a dozen drivers that had never competed in the Sunshine State until this week. Half of that number has direct ties to New Egypt Speedway in New Jersey. At 35 years, Tom Apgar is the veteran of the group. He's joined by Jim Scherer (31) and 22 year-olds G.R. Smith, Tommy Beamer and Dominick Buffalino.
Scherer has helped Troyer, Inc. mainstay Billy Colton and driver Keith Hoffman the past two years at Volusia and has run a Sportsman car those same seasons. Smith's resume includes Sportsman point championships at New Egypt (2002) and Bridgeport (NJ) Speedway. He was New Egypt's 2003 Modified rookie of the year, winning a feature there in only his second time out in a big-block. Beamer has competed in the Sportsman division the past two seasons and last summer qualified for Busch Grand National North main events at Lime Rock (CT) and Watkins Glen (NY), where he recorded a top-10 finish. Sportsman graduate Buffalino also competed the past three seasons at New Egypt yet as the new teammate to Jimmy Horton will compete at Bridgeport in one of owner Dieter Schmidt's yellow no. 5 big-block mounts. 2004 will be Apgar's third year in the Sportsman class and he divulged that his trip to Volusia is "a chance of a lifetime" to run with such an elite group of drivers.
Also making their initial runs at Volusia are Ron Dwyer, Richie Pratt,Jr., Colin Jackson, Dan Vauter, Russell King, Grant Hilfiger and Patrick Dupree. Former CVRA follower Dwyer (38 yrs) from Bennington, Vt. embarks on his second season at Lebanon Valley (NY) Speedway and hopes to follow some of the Advance Auto Parts Modified Super DIRT Series. Second-generation pilot Pratt (27) ran Sportsman at Bridgeport and plans to enter many Turning Stone Casino 358-Modified Super DIRT Series shows as well as a number of promoter Bob Miller's DIRT Southeast Tour events. Jackson (25) will return to Orange County Fair (NY) Speedway for both big and small-block competition after running regularly only at Afton Speedway in 2003. Pete Bicknell has already offered hands-on help during his big-block debut at Volusia. Vauter (18) and King (14) are the youngest drivers in the field although Vauter captured the 358-Modified points title at Five Mile Point (NY) Speedway last summer. This year the "Iceman" will concentrate on a small-block effort at Afton and hopes to enter some mid-week big-block tour events. The son of open-wheel veteran Rex King, Russ expects to join his father pitside at Tri-City (PA) Speedway, the only area track allowing him to compete due to his age. Prior to his Volusia voyage, King's only in-car experience was up and down the driveway at his Bristolville, Ohio home. Opening night efforts for Hilfiger (blown motor) and Dupree (bent frame in crash) were disastrous as both wheelmen already headed home to prepare for the upcoming season up north.
SUMMARY EVENT NO. 2
HEAT 1: Dwyer, A.Johnson, Fuller, Hindley, Heffner.
HEAT 2: Decker, Ward, Clair, D.Johnson, Vauter.
HEAT 3: Hearn, Rust, Smith, King, Buffalino.
HEAT 4: D.Hoffman, Kell, McCreadie, Rasey, Horton.
CONSI 1: K.Hoffman, Laubach, Jackson.
CONSI 2: Mills, Scherer, Dagenais.
FEATURE(30ď·“LAPS): BILLY DECKER, Brett Hearn, Doug Hoffman, Alan Johnson, Jimmy Horton, Danny Johnson, Bucky Kell, Pat Ward, J.R. Heffner, Ron Dwyer, Dominick Buffalino, G.R. Smith, Jim Rasey, Jamie Mills, Rex King, Pierre Dagenais, Colin Jackson, Tim Fuller, Mario Clair, Jim Scherer, Tim Hindley, Rick Laubach, Dan Vauter, Keith Hoffman, Deron Rust, Tim McCreadie.
FLORIDA TOUR DIRT MODIFIED POINT STANDINGS (Top-10): 116-Brett Hearn, 102-Doug Hoffman, 98-Pat Ward, 96-Jimmy Horton, 84-J.R. Heffner, 80-Billy Decker, 72-Keith Hoffman, 72-Alan Johnson, 71-Tim Fuller, 68-Jim Rasey, 68-G.R. Smith, 68-Ron Dwyer.