BRIAN MCDONALD WINS FROGTOWN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY 358 MODIFIED TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP
Brian McDonald of Cornwall, Ontario won the 2002 358 Modified track championship in style this past Saturday night not only winning the Frogtown International Race of Champions Syracuse Qualifier but staging one of the biggest come backs to win a track championship in Frogtown history.
McDonald and Bill Cook started on the front row of the Wolfclan Truck Stop / Frogtown Race of Champions with McDonald grabbing the early lead followed by Cook, Leon Gonyo, George "Boomer" McIntyre and Mike Perrotte. By lap #8, the leaders were already into traffic as McDonald began to put some distance and cars between he and second place runner Bill Cook. On lap #14 the caution came out for a car stalled on the backstretch which once again tightened up the field.
On the restart, Mike Perrotte made his move quickly to get by Bill Cook to get a clear shot at McDonald. "Boomer" McIntyre was also able to get by Cook and had moved into third. Points leader Mark Hitchcock who started 9th in the field was trying desperately to work his way to the front knowing that he could not let the leaders get lost in lap traffic and get too far ahead if he was to have any chance at the Frogtown title.
At the halfway mark of the race, McDonald still had the lead followed closely by Mike Perrotte, George "Boomer" McIntyre, Leon Gonyo and Dave Heaslip. McDonald began to pull away in his #151 West Front Construction sponsored car but Perrotte was not about to give up that easy. McDonald and Perrotte now both had pulled away from third place runner McIntyre and the two set the stage for the final run to the checkered flag for the win and the championship. In lap #45 McDonald began to pull away from the three time track champion Perrotte for good and as McDonald crossed the line the winner of the Race of Champions, the crowd erupted into a huge cheer as Brian McDonald took the 2002 track championship in style with a win in a major race and also won the track title in the process. Mike Perrotte finished second and again the crowd knew that Mike had given it his best shot at the fourth track title but just fell short. George "Boomer" McIntyre picked up the third spot and looks to be a force to be reckoned with in 2003 if McIntyre decides to compete at Frogtown on a regular basis. Dave Heaslip finished fourth after a great run with Laurent Ladouceur of Alexandria, Ontario who finished 5th.
In the Pro Stock division it was Dave Bissonnette taking the win and the track championship for 2002. Casey Swamp and Ttravis Back started on the front row and at the drop of the green, Back grabbed the early lead only to have mechanical problems send him to the pits early.
On the restart Dave Bissonnette grabbed the lead followed by Joey Ladouceur and John Lazore. Mitchell Jock who started dead last in the race came storming up through the field and by lap #9 found himself locked in a battle with the always consistent #50 of Scott Kocher. Louie Jackson had also joined the hunt and made it a great four car battle for the lead. In lap #17 Jackson made his move and was able to get by both Jock and Kocher and set his sights on Bissonnette but the "Bulldog" was to determined to take the win and the track title and fought off Jackson to do just that. Jackson finished second with Mitchell Jock, Scott Kocher and Gilles Godard rounding out the top five.
In the Semi Pro feature it was Pete Backus taking home the win and the track championship. Creig Donnelly grabbed the early lead only to have last weeks feature winner, Tom Chubb, come from his third starting spot and take it away from Donnelly on lap #6. Pete Backus was able to get by Donnelly as well on lap #8 setting up the battle for the lead between Backus and Chubb. On lap #11 Backus saw an opening and went on for the win. Tom Chubb dropped out in lap #12 moving Steven Brand and Chris Rabideau up a spot with Rabideau passing Brand for second on the final lap. Steven Brand settled for third with Mike Allen and Scott Sharpe rounding out the top five.
In the Bandit division it was Roch Aubin picking up the win and Kevin Mere picking up the 2002 track championship. Aubin fought off repeated challenges from Kevin Fetterly, Jr. and Mere for the top spot. Fetterly finished in second with Kevin Mere, Billy Woodward, Jr. and Alex Thompson rounding out the top five.
In the action packed Enduro class it was Al Jacobs picking up the big win with Ernie Cree picking up the track championship by 10 points over Owen White.
Frogtown International Speedway's staff and management would like to congratulate all of the 2002 track champions and thank everyone including our sponsor Woldclan Truck Stop for a great evening of racing. One more show remains on the schedule and that is the CKON 97.3 FM Iron Man Slic Track Enduro 100 to be held on Sunday, September 15th at 2:00 p.m. Also on the card will be the First Time Winners Classic for the Pro Stock, Semi Pro and Bandit cars. Any car that has not won a feature in 2002 and has competed at least once at the speedway is eligible to race in this event.
Frogtown International Speedway is located on Frogtown road just off Route 37 in Hogansburg, New York. You can visit us at our webside at www.frogtownspeedway.com. SEE YOU AT THE FROG!
Modified: Brian McDonald, Mike Perrotte, Boomer McIntyre, Dave Heaslip, Laurent Ladouceur, Leon Gonyo, Bill Cook, Doug Fuller, Kyle Jacobs, Mark Hitchcock, Kevin Fetterly, Jeff Sykes, Delbert LeGrow, Dan Douville, Lee Ladouceur, Tom Jock, Jr., Perry Francis, Sandy Roberts, Dan Jalbert, Bill Woodward, Jim Lazore, Mike Reyell, Greg Monica, Matt Gonyo, Mark Smoke, Bruce Sawyer, Tom Gonyo, Jeff Marshall and Jim Ryan.
Pro Stock: Dave Bissonnette, Louie Jackson, Mitchell Jock, Scott Kocher, Gilles Godard, John Lazore, Tim Allen, PJ Peters, Casey Swamp, Jody Swamp, Brad Winters, Melvin Rush, William Adams, Bryan Loeb, Travis Back and Joey Ladouceur. DNS: Clint Middlemiss.
Semi Pro: Pete Backus, Chris Rabideau, Steven Brand, Mike Allen, Scott Sharpe, Brad Foster, Creig Donnelly, Kevin Mayville, Duane Brainard, Andrew Bordeau, Neal Provost II, Tom Chubb, Brian McGinley, Doug Haldane, Mike McDonald, Lee Morrison, Jamie Martin, Dick Planty and Mike Mitchell. DNS: Paul Czyz.
Bandit: Roch Aubin, Kevin Fetterly, Jr., Kevin Mere, Billy Woodward, Jr., Alex Thompson, Joey Foster, Danielle Legault, Trevor White, Ron Sharlow, Scott Mere, Jim Webb, Craig Reyell, Nick Mallette, Steve Jeffery, Jr., Robert Bolia, Trevor Jones, Chris LaVair and #926.
Enduro: Al Jacobs, Ernie Cree, Ricky Thompson,, Steven Bushey, Owen White, Dillon Cole, Ryan Phillips, Tim Webb, Steven Green, Dion Oakes, Kevin Clement, Daniel Webb, Alex Thompson, Jr., #AA, #7, Sam Thompson, Bryan Herne, Rock Niles, Kevin Thompson, Tom Square, Vern Benware, Andrea Lazore, Tom Wilson, Brandon Snyder #17, Quincy Viau and #7 1/2. DNS: Jim Murray and Leon Delormier.