FULLER SURVIVES TIRE TEST TO TRIUMPH IN VOLUSIA TOUR 2002 OPENER

BARBERVILLE, FL...DIRT Motorsports continued its 27th season of racing on Tuesday night and it was talented New York traveler Tim Fuller taking advantage of a cut tire by the race-long leader with just two laps remaining to triumph in the Volusia Speedway Park opener during Florida Tour 2002.

Fuller's second career Florida Tour victory was worth $2,000 and improved his DIRT big-block Modified total to 20, with his initial wintertime win coming last February on the same Barberville bullring.

"I watched Keith's tire smoke the whole race," said Fuller, who shadowed pole-sitter Keith Hoffman until he inherited the lead at the end of lap 28 when Hoffman's right rear tire finally shredded as the leaders exited turn four. "I just laid back and kept my line, I knew that tire couldn't last all night."

Fuller won the third of four heat race qualifiers to start the 30-lap main event inside row two. The 'heads-up' feature format placed the Edwards, N.Y. pilot third behind front row partners Hoffman from Whitehall, Pa. and Watertown, N.Y. veteran Bob McCreadie, DIRT Motorsports winningest big-block modified driver.

Fuller grabbed second-place at the drop of the opening green flag and there he remained through the first four of five caution periods that slowed the action for minor mishaps.

Hoffman pulled out to a comfortable lead in the experimental no. 45 Cobra Motorsports/Troyer machine until his brother, Doug Hoffman, slowed on the front stretch and Danny Johnson spun in the aftermath with 13 laps complete. At the halfway mark Winston Cup driver Dave Blaney moved in to challenge the lead duo head of J.R. Heffner and McCreadie.

Twentieth-place starter and defending Florida tour points champion Brett Hearn cracked the top-12 by the midway point while Bud Shootout winner Tony Stewart coasted into the pits after a lap 16 yellow flag was brought out by Ray Swinehart for stopping on the back straightaway.

Hoffman retained the lead despite blue tire smoke continuing to billow from the wheel well of the same leaf spring-equipped orange Troyer mount that carried Todd Burley to a third-place finish just four nights earlier at Putnam County Speedway. But exiting turn four to complete lap 28, the hard Hoosier tread finally came apart to send the car slamming against the front stretch cement wall and giving Fuller his first lead of the night moments later.

Tom Sears,Jr. looped his no. 3t TEO car in turn three to force the final caution period with one lap to go yet with all eyes focused on runner-up Blaney, the 'Buckeye Bullet' could get no closer than three car lengths as the black no. m1 B&F General Machine-Dixon Steel/TEO machine sped under the checkers first in front of a capacity crowd.

Heffner, McCreadie and Paine rounded out the top-five ahead of Jamie Mills, Pat Ward, Hearn, Butch Tittle and 23rd-place starter Jason Barney in the 22-minute finale.

Through two of five Florida Tour events, second-place Putnam finisher Fuller (116) tops the point standings followed by Putnam winner Hearn (102), Heffner (100), Paine (92), Ward (86) and Tittle (80).

The DIRT Modifieds are off on Wednesday before returning to Volusia for two more regular programs on Thursday and Friday. The big-blocks battle in the fourth and final round on Saturday as a $5,000-to-win 50-lap championship event is saved for the finale under the lights.

FLORIDA TOUR 2002 PIT NOTES

Tue. Feb. 12

The opening DIRT Modified race at Volusia Speedway Park attracted 34 race teams on Tuesday with a number of veteran pilots spotted in the pits without rides for the 31st Annual Winter Nationals. Pennsylvanian Kenny Brightbill, Canadian Dave Heaslip, Roger Phelps and retired driver Don McGinnis were among the bystanders. Also on the sidelines were New York State upstarts K.C. Goewey and Craig Mitchell, who was dropped from the original Florida Tour roster when a set of headers and carburetor were not shipped in time to field a ride. With both Tony Stewart and Dave Blaney taking off the night before the Daytona 500, Goewey may drive his brother Bryan's no. 20 GE Sealants & Adhesives-Extreme Silicone Technology/TEO entry, used this week by Stewart, while Mitchell indicated the possibility of steering Steve Hasting's no. 74 Smith Bros. Concrete Foundations/TEO machine, so far occupied by Blaney, in the Saturday finale.

Back in action aboard at his own no. 93 D.P. Bartlett & Sons Heating/TEO mount was second-generation driver Ryan Bartlett from Adams, N.Y. A motor vibration forced Bartlett to pick up a ride in John Wight's back-up no. 42p TEO car ---normally saved for Pat Ward--- in the Putnam County opener on Friday where he finished 17th. It was later determined that the crankshaft had been out of balance and a new metal plate was added to the flywheel as a counterweight to offset the problem.

Consistency remains the name of the game for 48 year-old Saylorsburg, Pa. driver Butch Tittle, a veteran of four decades circling the dirt ovals throughout the Northeast. Back in Florida for the fourth straight year aboard his white Tittle & Sons Motorsports/Troyer, the familiar 'Z Car' has so far finished ninth in the two main events held at Volusia and Putnam. Last year Tittle ranked 13th in the final Florida Tour point standings with one top-10, an 11th and four 13th-place finishes. He ended up 11th on the 2000 points chart and settled for 15th in the final '99 standings.

Misfortune once again plagued Sweeteners Plus pilot Vic Coffey from Leicester, N.Y. as he continued to perform double duty in both open-wheel and full-fender divisions headlining the Barberville card. One of 74 entries on the night, Coffey finished a solid second in his Super Late Model heat race but his sleek Rocket racer was declared underweight after the customary post-race trip over the scale. And while holding down a top-10 position in the 30-lap DIRT Modified main, the 30 year-old wheelman fell victim to a dry fuel cell in his no. 32c A&C Speedworld/TEO copy with just one mile left to go.

Despite the lack of any official announcement released from BH Racing Enterprises in Sussex, N.J., pitside chatter indicated that reigning overall Hoosier Tire-Sunoco Race Fuels Mr. DIRT Modified Champion Brett Hearn will regain his status as a Saturday night regular at Lebanon Valley Speedway in 2002. Jody Gable, Hearn's new car owner for his latest assault on the high banks, has reportedly purchased a hauler nearly identical to the one that houses the potent no. 3 Budweiser Racing-Cavallaro Produce machines. In addition, Gable is said to be carrying Hearn's car number and also displaying prominently the 'Jet's' primary sponsors on the side panels of the red TEO entry constructed specifically for the West Lebanon oval, which is set to kick-off its 50th Anniversary season in April. Hearn competed at The Valley from 1996-98, capturing the big-block points title in 1997 before returning to more familiar surroundings at Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, N.Y. where he remains the track's all-time feature winner.

The Gable Motorsports entries have been identified with the number 1 in past seasons at Lebanon Valley with Tim Dwyer (1a) and Rich Ricci,Jr. (1r) finding success behind the wheel of the financially sound machines. Dwyer finished second in Valley points in 1999 while Ricci captured the points crown in 2000 and followed up with a runner-up slot in the standings last season.

While Dwyer finished third in Lebanon Valley's '01 big-block standings steering his own no. 1a Dwyer Trucking/TEO car, he may still bypass the 2002 race season up north unless he secures adequate sponsorship assistance to field what he considers a competitive ride. Dwyer, the 1994 Mr. DIRT Sportsman Champion, scored one feature victory and posted 12 more top-5 finishes last year on the high banks, and more incredible was the fact that he completed every lap in the feature races staged on Saturday night.

After offering wintertime rides to Mike Ricci, J.R. Heffner, nephew Brian Berger and last year Andy Bachetti, long-time Capital District car owner Bruce Berger acquired Dwyer's talents in the Sunshine State this February. The no. 60 Zoom'N Groom-B&B Auto Sales/TEO mount is actually owned by Berger's girlfriend, Kathy Giunipero, who bases her Zoom'N Groom mobile dog grooming operation in Lakeland, Fla., about 100 miles from Volusia. Berger, who made his own trackside debut driving the no. 606 modified in 1969, has signed up Valley mainstays Butch Jelley(#28), Dick Hanson and Mark Quinn(#31) beginning in the 1970s and hopes Dwyer will be the right fit in the new millennium. "Right now we're looking at the Advance Super DIRT Series shows at Hagerstown and Lowe's, and then pick one or two big races a month if the team clicks," said Berger, 55, who has taken the voyage down south the last seven winters before an arthritic condition prompted him to relocate permanently to the Tampa area three years ago. "The bottom line with this team is still having fun so we'll be around as long as all the work doesn't get in the way. Tim has a lot of potential and is a lot of fun to be around and if we can be competitive everything else will take care of itself."

Motorsports television personality Rick Benjamin was in attendance for the big-block opener at Volusia on Tuesday and the respected 'Rush Hour on DIRT' broadcaster even took command of the microphone to announce the 30-lap DIRT Modified main.

FLORIDA TOUR 2002 RACE RESULTS @ Volusia Speedway Park - Tue., Feb. 12

DIRT Modified Feature (30L)

FIN

CAR#

DRIVER

TEAM (Sponsor / Chassis / Engine)

1

m1

Tim Fuller/Edwards,NY

B&F General Machine-Dixon Steel-Afco/TEO/Enders

2

74b

Dave Blaney/Sharon,PA

Smith Bros. Concrete Foundations/TEO/Precision

3

74

J.R. Heffner/Averill Park,NY

A.Colarusso & Son/TEO/Raspuzzi

4

9

Bob McCreadie/Watertown,NY

Kinney Drugs-Syracuse Frame Service-F.X. Caprara Cars/Troyer/Morrison

5

7x

Steve Paine/Waterloo,NY

Sweeteners Plus-A&C Speedworld/TEO/C.C. Performance

6

30

Jamie Mills/Milford,DE

I.G.Burton Car Dealrshp-L&W Ins.-Mills Bros. Markets/Troyer/Myers

7

42p

Pat Ward/Genoa,NY

Gypsum Express,Ltd./TEO/Enders

8

3

Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ

Budweiser Racing-WLR Construction-Cavallaro Produce/TEO/Enders

9

Z

Butch Tittle/Saylorsburg,PA

Tittle & Sons Motorsports/Troyer/Fiehl

10

87

Jason Barney/Constantia,NY

Gypsum Express,Ltd.-Stadium International-Pit Stop/TEO/Enders

11

27

Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY

J & J Shop-Planned Poultry Renovations/Troyer/Morrison

12

35

Mike Perrotte/Elizabethtown,NY

Adirondack Auto/Troyer/Enders

13

93

Ryan Bartlett/Adams,NY

D.P. Bartlett & Sons Plumbing, Heating & AC/TEO/Bow-Tie

14

22

Kevin Jordan/Speedsville,NY

Sprint PCS/Troyer/Rich Seeley

15

3h

Justin Haers/Phelps,NY

Sweeteners Plus-A&C Speedworld-Phelps Cement/TEO/C.C. Performance

16

32c

Vic Coffey/Leicester,NY

Sweeteners Plus-A&C Speedworld/TEO/C.C. Performance

17

3t

Tom Sears,Jr./Clay,NY

Tracey Equip-Freightliner SelecTrucks-Sterling Trucks Syr./TEO/Moshier

18

45

Keith Hoffman/Whitehall,PA

Cobra Trailers-Mohawk Northeast-New Eng. Race Fuels/Troyer/Morrison

19

93L

Rick Laubach/Quakertown,PA

Auger Manufacturing Specialists/TEO/Dave George

20

60

Tim Dwyer/Gloversville,NY

Zoom'N Groom-B&B Auto Sales/TEO/D.Williams

21

33

Ray Swinehart/Bechtelsville,PA

J & L Speed Supplies/Bicknell/Reinford Racing Engines

22

20

Tony Stewart/Rushville,IN

GE Sealants & Adhesive-Extreme Silicone Technology/TEO/Enders

23

27z

Ray Bliss,Jr./Warsaw,NY

Home & Garden Center-Bliss Logging & Firewood/Troyer/Campbell

24

56

Tim McCreadie/Watertown,NY

Finch's Trucking-Syracuse Frame Service-F.X. Caprara/TEO/Finger Lakes

25

396

Deron Rust/Georgetown,DE

Rust Motorsports-J&S Utility Trailers-B&K Woods/TEO/Beston Automotive

26

60over

Doug Hoffman/Allentown,PA

C.Harrell Trucking-Lincoln Auto Body/Troyer/Morrison

DNQ

32

Jim Rasey/Southington,OH

Twin Oaks Services South-Victory 1 Performance/Troyer/Rasey

DNQ

29

A.J. Romano/Johnstown,NY

Advanced Lubrication Specialties/TEO/Finger Lakes

DNQ

57

Pete Simpson/Hubbard,OH

Bulldog Graffix-Hine Racing Engines/Bicknell/Hine

DNQ

2

Craig Mullins/Bridgeville,DE

Gene's Auto Sales-John Lynch Custom Homes/Speed Palace/Enders

DNQ

79

Jeremy Markle/Port Jervis,NY

Len & Jo's Restaurant/Bicknell/Precision

DNQ

7jr.

Jimmy Reppert/Hamburg,PA

Harmony Hill Assisted Living/Troyer/CMS

DNQ

27m

'Chic' Chandler/Charlton,MA

Diversified Sign-Atlantic Coast Trailer Sales/Bicknell/AC Performance

DNQ

4

Mike Hughes/Riegelsville,PA

Art's Radiator-K&D Contractors-B&M Body Supply/Speed Palace/Coffey

EVENT SUMMARY:

LAP LEADERS: K.Hoffman(1-27), Fuller (28-30).

CAUTIONS: 5 (lap 14, lap 14, lap 16, lap 28, lap 30).

HEAT WINNERS: K.Hoffman, B.McCreadie, Fuller, D.Hoffman.

CONSI WINNERS: Mills, Paine.

TOTAL PURSE: $10,250.

CARS ENTERED: 34.