BRETT HEARN JETS TO MR. DIRT 100 WIN AT NEW UTICA-ROME
Vernon, NY.... The final show of the 1999 racing season at the New Utica-Rome Speedway was spectacular to say the least. Along with a Mr. DIRT Championship Trail 100 lap race, there also were the Pro Stocks, Pure Stocks, a Demolition Derby, and a Motorcycle Jump of the Infield Pond by stuntman Sky Lungston. Brett Hearn was the winner of the Mr. DIRT 358 Modified feature, while Tom Denton won the Pro Stocks and Chuck Cushman won the Pure Stocks.
Tim Fuller and Andy Bachetti led the starting field down to the flags of Starter Chip Burdick, and Bachetti grabbed the initial lead. However, in turn three, Brett Hearn took over the top spot to lead the first lap. On the move were track regulars Dale Planck and Mitch Gibbs, along with Pete Bicknell.
On lap 15, the first caution came out when J.J. Michaels slowed on the backstretch. During the caution, Gibbs also fell out, when he pulled into the infield. On the lap 16 restart, Ron Holmes moved into fifth over Bicknell, but Bicknell returned the favor a lap later. Then, on lap 22, Holmes slowed with a flat tire. He returned after a quick pitstop without loosing a lap.
On the restart, Bicknell, Bobby Varin, and Tim Fuller went three-wide for position, but their battle was for naught as Jerry Higbie spun and caused a yellow. A few laps after the restart, Bicknell moved into fourth by passing Varin. Then, Steve Paine moved into fourth after taking the spot away from Bobby Varin.
On a restart just after lap 40, Andy Bachetti made a high move on Brett Hearn, and took the lead. At the halfway point, the top five was Bachetti, Hearn, Bicknell, Steve Paine, and Tim Fuller.
Right around lap 60, Fuller moved from fifth to the third spot. A few laps later, Hearn was catching the leader, Bachetti, in heavy lapped traffic. Using the lapped car of Pierre Daganais as a pick, Hearn took the lead around lap 65 and pulled away.
About 20 laps later, Bachetti closed in on Hearn, while Tim Fuller took third. On lap 96, Fuller took second from Bachetti. One lap later, Vic Coffey slowed to bring out a caution period. The last three laps of the race had to finish under the green, so the race was going to go past 100 laps. The race continued, and Bobby Varin spun on lap 101. The race resumed for the final time, and Hearn kept his lead. On the last lap, contact between Bachetti and Fuller sent Fuller over the first turn banking, but he regained his momentum.
At the checkers on lap 104, it was Hearn the winner, followed by Steve Paine in second, Danny Johnson in third, Andy Bachetti in fourth, and Tim Fuller in fifth.
Afterwards, Hearn commented, "It was a big win for the Brioschi team, and it will definitely give us momentum in the next few races. It took us two other times of racing here this year to get the right setup for the track. I took care of my tires, and as a result, the car went better as the race went on." The win for Hearn, who was a former track champion in the Big Blocks and 358's, was his first 358 win at New Utica-Rome since 1986.
Tim Fuller, Andy Bachetti, Danny O'Brien, Brett Hearn, and Tim Hindley won the 358 Modified heat races. Modified consolation races were won by Jeff Walton, Pat Ward, and Tom Kinsella.
1999 Pro Stock Track Champion, Tom Denton, grabbed the early lead in the Pro Stock feature and never looked back. Denton was the winner over Jason Rood, a fast-closing Steve Welch, Bret Belden, and Wayne Archer.
Denton won the Pro Stock heat race.
The always exciting Pure Stock division has put on some great shows this year, and this one was no exception. Jeff Pastorella took the early lead in the race, while Chuck Cushman and Jim Thomas were waging a battle for the second position. On the final lap in turn four, Pastorella spun, giving the win to Cushman. Second was Jim Thomas, third was Rob Seavy, fourth was Doug Grimaldi, and fifth was Jay Finch.
The Pure Stock heats were won by Jeff Pastorella and Chad Ray.
After the consi races were completed, Motorcycle Stuntman Sky Lungston performed his long awaited jump of the infield pond. Sky was successful in the highly publicized jump even though he took a slight spill after the second jump.
The Demolition Derby, which had nearly 30 cars in it, was very entertaining to the race fans. Bryan Thompkins was the winner of the $500 to win event full of smashing and crashing.
Notes... 51 DIRT 358 Modifieds, 13 DIRT Pro Stocks, and 20 Pro Stocks filled the pit area and attempted to qualify. Another great crowd jam-packed the grandstands. Rain showers tried to put a damper on the festivities, but both times the rain fell, the track was dried off and racing was resumed in a timely manner, enough to have everything over by around 11pm. The staff and management would like to thank everyone for a highly successful 1999 racing season. News about the season-ending banquet will be forthcoming.
NEW UTICA-ROME SPEEDWAY RACE SUMMARY
RACE DATE: FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 24TH, 1999
Mr. DIRT 358 Modified Championship (104 Laps - 1)BRETT HEARN, 2) Steve Paine, 3)Danny Johnson, 4)Andy Bachetti, 5)Tim Fuller, 6)Pete Bicknell, 7)Danny O'Brien, 8)Pat O'Brien, 9)Dale Planck, 10)Jim Rothwell, 11)John Barker, Jr., 12)Pat Ward, 13)Tim Hindley, 14)Bobby Varin, 15)Ted Lamb, Jr., 16)Vic Coffey, 17)Frank Caprara, 18)Pierre Daganais, 19)Bob Vedder, 20)Jeff Walton, 21)Mike Perrotte, 22)Rich Price, 23)Roger Phelps, 24)Ron Holmes, 25)Gus Schmidt, 26)Tom Kinsella, 27)Andy Romano, 28)Jerry Higbie, Jr., 29)Mitch Gibbs, 30)J.J. Michaels, 31)Steve Hulsizer.
DNQ Modifieds - Billy Gray, Mike Ward, Ryan Baye, Matt Quinn, Jeff Kotary, Jeremy Smith, Todd Burley, Rick Miller, Willy Decker, Joel Thomas, Paul Kinney, John Ramsey, Jason Barney, Dave Reilly, Steve Walsh, Bill Mullin, Roy Shields, Mike Gillette, Brian McDonald, Todd Ryan.
DIRT Pro Stocks (12 Laps) - 1)TOM DENTON, 2)Jason Rood, 3)Steve Welch, 4)Bret Belden, 5)Wayne Archer, 6)John Roese, 7)Gerry Newman, 8)Mark Lighthall, 9)Dave Rodgers, 10)Chuck McSpirit, 11)Dave Moyer, 12)Bill Shantel, Jr. DNS - John Kiskiel.
Pure Stocks (12 Laps) - 1)CHUCK CUSHMAN, 2)Jim Thomas, 3)Rob Seavy, 4)Doug Grimaldi, 5)Jay Finch, 6)Stan Clark, 7)Chad Ray, 8)Art Newman, Jr., 9)Bill Mason, 10)Dave Arbes, 11)Les Lewis, 12)George Wright, 13)Joe Reeves, 14)Dan Hatch, 15)Jeff Pastorella, 16)Don Decker, 17)Joe Bono, 18)Bill Gibson, 19)Neil Dixon, 20)Mark Effner.
Demolition Derby - BRYAN THOMPKINS.