BRETT HEARN DOMINATES TRI-CITY SPEEDWAY SUPER DIRT SERIES 100;
DARRELL BOSSARD WINS DETROIT IRON SERIES STOCK CAR RACE
by Brian Spaid
photos by Jim Balentine
FRANKLIN, PA ... Brett Hearn of Sussex, N.J., was as hot as the weather on Sunday night at Tri-City Speedway as he won the Oil Heritage Region Classic 100 for the Advance Auto Parts Modified Super DIRT Series (SDS) collecting $6,000 for the win. In other action, Darrell Bossard of Centerville, Pa., won the 20-lap Anderson Bldg. Detroit Iron Stock Car Series race for the E.F. Rogers Plumbing & Heating Stock Cars.
Hearn took the lead on the fourth lap of the 100-lap DIRT Modified main and raced to a dominating victory. The win was Hearn's second at the track as he won the SDS race in 1998.
Running a blistering pace after setting fast time early in the night, no one was a match for the defending Mr. DIRT Modified champion as he collected his fifth SDS win of the season. The race was slowed by only three cautions, but Hearn's Budweiser Teo No. 3 was the dominant car.
"This is a fun track to race on," said Hearn. "Our car could go anywhere. I'd like to thank the track crew for their job tonight. I don't think we'll catch Alan Johnson for the series point lead though if he keeps on finishing in the top five."
Tim McCreadie moved into the runnerup position on the 31st lap and maintained it to the end. He was no match for Hearn despite a caution flag with only 10 laps remaining. When the race restarted on the 94th circuit, Hearn simply pulled away from McCreadie and won by 2.292 seconds.
"We had nothing for Brett tonight," said McCreadie. "This is my third second place finish at Tri-City. So, if we keep running well, and taking money out of here, I'm happy."
Alan Johnson wound up third after a late race charge to the front. Defending Eckerd Syracuse 200 winner Billy Decker and Kenny Tremont Jr. rounded out the top five. With his finish, Tremont earned the guaranteed starting spot for this year's Eckerd Syracuse 200 in October.
Pat Ward and Kevin Bolland started on the front row of the race and Bolland jumped out to an early lead. Hearn started sixth and immediately charged to the front. On the fourth lap, Hearn dove under Bolland in turn two and raced him side-by-side into the third and fourth corners. Drifting high in turn four, Hearn finally assumed command and was unchallenged from there.
Bolland thrilled the crowd with his performance. After Hearn passed him for the lead, Bolland held onto second until McCreadie moved by him on the 31st lap. Then, he had a strong duel with Ron Smoker for a number of laps before Smoker faded. On the 56th lap, Decker raced under Bolland for third.
At that point, it appeared that the 1985 and 2000 track champion might score an upset run. On the 75th lap, Bolland was in fourth, but Johnson, Tremont and Steve Paine were hot on his trail. On the 77th circuit, Johnson worked under Bolland in the second turn for fourth. Then, on the 89th circuit, amidst lapped traffic, both Tremont and Paine zipped by Bolland for fifth and sixth in a three-wide move. Tremont fended off Paine in the move.
After a caution on the 90th lap for Gary Tomkins, who spun in turn one, the final rundown changed when the race restarted four laps later. First, Bolland worked back around Paine for sixth. Up front, all eyes were on Decker and Johnson. With Hearn and McCreadie clearly out front, Johnson fought with Decker for show honors. With two laps to go, Johnson grabbed third from Decker in turn three with an inside move.
In the end, the crowd was thrilled with Bolland's run. His sixth place finish was a career best in this event. Paine, Pete Bicknell, Smoker and Tomkins rounded out the top ten finishers.
"We're real happy with our race tonight," said Bolland. "We raced well against these guys, and we learned a lot. The crew worked real hard for this finish, and they deserve it."
At the start of the night, Hearn set the fast time with a lap of 19.382 seconds, which equated to 92.870 mph on the Venango County half-mile oval. Bicknell, Bolland, Johnson and Smoker won the heat races. Todd Burley and Brian Swartzlander captured the B mains for the 44-car field.
Darrell Bossard scored his second win of the season in the 20-lap Stock Car main. Bossard passed early leader Bobby Whitling on the ninth lap and continued on to win the third Detroit Iron Stock Car Series race of the season. It was his second career win at the track after a victory on June 9th in his Bossard Crawford GM Store Chevrolet No. 22B.
In the winner's circle, Bossard's thoughts were with Mike Horton of Pierpont, Ohio, who suffered second and third degree burns in an accident Friday night at Raceway 7 in Conneaut, Ohio. Horton remains in critical condition in a Cleveland hospital.
"I'd like everyone to say a prayer for Mike," said Bossard. "He's a good guy and a friend of mine, and that was one of the worst things we've ever seen. We wish Mike the best."
An unusual seven cautions slowed the race, but that didn't faze Bossard.
"I didn't worry too much about the yellows," said Bossard. "I knew some top guys were behind me, and I thought I'd see the noses of their cars, but they never challenged me."
Whitling took the lead at the start from his outside pole position, and Bossard was in second within two laps. As the cautions continued to fly, Bossard worked inside and outside Whitling for several laps. Danny Exley was added to the mix on the third lap. On the seventh circuit, Exley used an outside move to pass Bossard for second. However, Bossard turned on the power and raced back around Exley one lap later, then used an inside pass of Whitling in turn four to take command on the ninth circuit. Three laps later, Exley's fine run ended with mechanical problems.
With Bossard out front, Whitling next had to fend off Jason Reagle and Gary Norman. Lap after lap, Reagle tried to pass Whitling using the outside cushion. At one point, Norman zipped under Reagle for third only to lose the position. In the end, Bossard topped Whitling, who barely held off Reagle on the final lap. Norman finished fourth over Rod Laskey, who scored a best career finish at Tri-City. Whitling, Reagle, Laskey and Bruce Smith won the heats. Mike Miller won the B main.
Next Sunday August 11h, Tri-City Speedway returns with another four-star show of the NorthPointe Automotive Super Sprints, Schwab's Ford DIRT Modifieds, RE/MAX E Mods and E.F. Rogers Plumbing & Heating Stock Cars. In addition, the Venango County 4-H Fair One-on-One Spectator Races will be run, which will allow fans to compete head-to-head in a round robin tournament using their passenger cars and trucks. Gates open at 4 p.m. and racing starts at 6 p.m. Adult grandstand admission is $10.
DIRT MODIFIEDS (100 Laps): 1. BRETT HEARN, 2. Tim McCreadie, 3. Alan Johnson, 4. Billy Decker, 5. Kenny Tremont Jr., 6. Kevin Bolland, 7. Steve Paine, 8. Pete Bicknell, 9. Ron Smoker, 10. Gary Tomkins, 11. Pat Ward, 12. Tim Fuller, 13. Josh Skarzenski, 14. Chuck Bower, 15. Frank Cozze, 16. Todd Burley, 17. Butch Tittle, 18. Jim Weller, 19. Del Rougeux Jr., 20. Dave Murdick, 21. Jim Weller III, 22. Dave Schrader, 23. Brian Swartzlander, 24. Vic Coffey, 25. Kevin Hoffman, 26. Andy Priest, 27. Jim Rasey, 28. Joe Crawford, 29. George Hobaugh, 30. Nick Ritchey, 31. Danny Johnson. DNS: Skip Moore. DNQ: Carl Murdick, Allen Ferry, Jeremiah Shingledecker, Randy Chronister, Alan Dellinger, Steve Barr, Scott Ferry, Dave Reges, John Boyer, Chad Reitz, Lee Miller, Brian Fink.
STOCK CARS (20 Laps): 1. DARRELL BOSSARD, 2. Bobby Whitling, 3. Jason Reagle, 4. Gary Norman, 5. Rod Laskey, 6. Dave Ferringer, 7. Andy Thompson, 8. Jamie Shetler, 9. Jason Johns, 10. Bob Sloss, 11. Bret McCarthy, 12. Lonny Blair, 13. Dave Gadley, 14. Doug Calvert, 15. Danny Exley, 16. Rick Lanigan, 17. Bruce Smith, 18. Scotty Carbaugh, 19. John Sutley, 20. Mike Miller, 21. Bill Lanigan, 22. Doug Iorio Sr., 23. Joe Lockhart, 24. David Atkinson (DISQ). DNQ: Gary Sullivan, Rusty Kellogg, Matt Thomas, Denny Crawford, John Shetler.