BICKNELL GETS FROGTOWN SUPERDIRT WIN
HOGANSBURG, NY - Pete Bicknell of St. Catharines, ONT bested a stellar
field of Modifieds to win the A&M Beverage/Advance Auto Parts SuperDIRT 358 Modified 99-lap feature event Tuesday night at the Frogtown International Speedway. Dale Planck of Homer, NY finished second, while Danny O'Brien (Kingston, ONT), Frank Cozze (Wind Gap, PA) and Bill Mullin (Iroqouis, ONT) completed the top five. In other racing action, Denis Gauvreau of Chelsea, QUE bested brother Eric to win the Pro Stocks, while Mike Trombley of Fort Covington won the Semi-Pro and Kurtis McPhee of Cornwall won the 4-Cylinder Bandits.
The SuperDIRT 99-lapper saw Brett Hearn set a fast early pace, with Dan O'Brien and Brian McDonald in tow. O'Brien moved past Hearn for the lead on lap 18. On a lap 27 restart, Hearn's great run came to an end as a tangle saw Hearn spin in front of the field with his car suffering heavy front-end damage; Hearn lost several laps in the pits while repairs were made. On the restart, Pete Bicknell rocketed up to second spot, while Tim Hindley slipped past McDonald for third.
O'Brien and Bicknell speed through the field, putting several contenders a lap down, until the cautiong waved on lap 48. The restart on lap 51 saw a major incident going into turn one, as several of the front-runners tangled and spinning cars blocked the track. When the dust settled, contenders Todd Burley, Steve Pain, Tim Hindley and Pat O'Brien were all shuffled to the back of the field. When action resumed, it was again O'Brien with Bicknell in tow, the lapped car of Brett Hearn and then Frank Cozze, who moved past McDonald for third. Hearn successfully powered past the leaders to regain a lap when the caution waved on lap 67. When racing resumed on lap 71, O'Brien continued to set the pace with Bicknell not far behind; Frank Cozze surrendered third spot to Dale Planck on lap 74, with McDonald fifth and Bill Mullin coming from deep in the field to challenge for the top five.
O'Brien set a steady pace in the race's waning laps, but Pete Bicknell made his move on lap 90, moving past O'Brient to take the top spot. From there on out, Bicknell was not to be challenged as he pulled ahead. Planck moved past O'Brien for the second spot on lap 97, holding that position when the checkers fell. O'Brien, Cozze and Mullin rounded out the top five.
The Pro Stocks again put on a great race, with Eric and Denis Gauvreau and Al Pitts again battling it out for the win. This time, Denis grabbed the win, with brother Eric finishing about three car lengths behind and Pitts another three car lengths behind in third. The Semi-Pro division saw Mike Trombley lead the first five laps but then Duane Brainard of Massena moved to the top spot; Brainard looked like he would easily grab the win when he spun in turn two with just two laps to go. Trombley inherited the lead and held off Plattsburgh's Andy Heywood for the win. In the Bandits, Kurtis McPhee again grabbed the win, but Peter Cename of Ellenburgh hounded him until the checkers waved; Ron Giroux of Cornwall finished a strong third, despite a last lap wreck involving the leaders that saw Giroux's car bound over the top of a stray tire. The wild scramble allowed Ann Pecore to move up to fourth, while Bryan Loeb dropped from third to fifth in the incident.
Next up on the schedule at Frogtown International Speedway is Agway Energy Products night, set for this Saturday, August 21st. In addition to a full show of racing for the 358 Modifieds, Pro Stocks, Semi-Pro, Bandits and Enduro cars, a Demo Derby is on the schedule, with Kids Bike Races and Semi-Pro Autographs set for intermission. Adult admission for the event is $8 ($10 CAN), with Students and Seniors $6 ($8 CAN); as always, kids 12 and under are free, with racing set to start at 7:30 PM.
Frogtown International Speedway is in Hogansburg, NY, one mile east of the International Bridge to Cornwall, ONT. From Route 37, turn south onto Frogtown Road, next to the Mohawk Bingo Palace. For race day weather info, call 518-358-9017.
MODIFIEDS (SuperDIRT 99 Laps): PETE BICKNELL, Dale Planck, Danny O'Brien, Frank Cozze, Bill Mullin, Pat O'Brien, Todd Burley, Brian McDonald, Alan Johnson, Tim Hindley, Ryan Baye, Tim Burnett, Jim Ryan, Peter Mantha, Todd Stewart, Brett Hearn, Steve Paine, Jerry Skebo, Hector Stratton, Dan Miller, Dave Heaslip, Kevin Fetterly, Pierre Dagenais, Jeff Sykes, Tim Fuller, Mike Perrotte, Danny Johnson, Frankie Caprara, Joel Doiron, Leon Gonyo. DNS: Mike Ward, Luc Anger, Del LeGrow, Alain Boisvert, Stephane LaFrance, Jimmie Lazore, Craig Ormsby, Mike Reyell, Roy Tarbell, Buck White, Bill Cook, Francis McNeil, Graham Gorman, Simon Marcoux, Brian Herne.
PRO STOCKS: DENIS GAUVREAU, Eric Gauvreau, Al Pitts, Scott Kocher, Sid Harmer, Mike Allen, Dan Jalbert, Mark Denny, John Greene, Bill Sharrow, Brent Moulton, Billy King, Steve Francis, Adam Chapman, Dave Marshall, Dick Planty, Jody Swamp.
SEMI-PRO: MIKE TROMBLEY, Andy Heywood, Lou Jackson, Keith Coughlin, Gilles Pilon, Scott Sharp, Tim Allen, Steve Johnston, Duane Brainard, Shane Ray, Brian Moulton, Charlie Thompson, Greg Snyder, Pete Backus, Jeb Beeson, Randy LaDue. DNS: Mike Wells.
4-CYLINDER BANDITS: KURTIS MCPHEE, Peter Cename, Ron Giroux, Ann Pecore, Bryan Loeb, Casey Swamp (Truck), Chris Tremblay, Eugene Bushey (Truck), Mark Bordeau (Truck), Kevin Fetterly Jr., Mike McDonald, Jason Fetterly. DNS: Randy Tremblay.