HEARN LEADS FLAG-TO-FLAG IN EAST BAY FLORIDA TOUR OPENER
DIRT DIARY: FLORIDA TOUR 2001 - Day #2 (Fri. Feb. 9)
GIBSONTON,FL...DIRT Motorsports kicked off its 26th consecutive season of oval track action at East Bay Raceway on Friday and it was reigning Florida Tour points champion Brett Hearn from Sussex, N.J. leading all 30 laps to score a decisive victory in the 2001 series opener.
Hearn's eighth career Florida Tour triumph was worth $2,000 and improved his DIRT big-block Modified win total to 254. The four-time Hoosier Tire-Sunoco Race Fuels Mr. DIRT champion now stands just one victory shy of all-time Florida Tour winner Kenny Brightbill.
"There's just no better way to start the season than with a win in the first race," said Hearn, 42, following his fourth straight win in the Sunshine State. 'The Jet' captured the final three races last February at Volusia Speedway Park en route to claiming his second Florida Tour points title.
"This win is especially great for the team. We did a lot of homework during the winter and the results really paid off. Sure we started up front but I'm confident we can still work our way through field when the time comes," Hearn added.
Hearn started on the point after winning the first of three qualifying heat races that sorted out the 24 DIRT Modifieds signed in. The heads-up feature format put heat two winner Doug Hoffman from Allentown, Pa. alongside Hearn on the front row with heat three winner Bob McCreadie from Watertown, N.Y. settling in directly behind.
When the green flag dropped Hearn wasted little time showing the way around the tacky one-third miler as East Bay kicked off its 25th Winternationals for the Northeast's mighty modifieds. Hoffman shadowed Hearn early but soon after opened the door for '99 Florida Tour points king Jimmy Horton from Neshanic Station, N.J.
Minor mishaps for Tour rookies Jeremy Markle (lap 3) and Chris Shultz (lap 5) incurred two brief caution periods before Vic Coffey suffered a collapsed front-end to put him in the pits first. On the restart Hoffman caught his wheel high in the turn one wall and did a slow roll to require another yellow flag.
Yellow lights came on for the fifth and final time when Markle slammed the front stretch wall with just 12 laps scored. At the halfway mark Hearn held a narrow advantage over Horton, seventh-place starter Danny Johnson and the father/son duo of Bob and Tim McCreadie, with last year's points runner-up Jamie Mills sitting a solid sixth.
But under green flag conditions for the remaining 18 circuits the chase for the checkers played out as a one man show. In the end Hearn's no. 3 Budweiser Racing/TEO mount lapped up to ninth-place runner J.R. Heffner, with Horton, Johnson, Bob and Tim McCreadie, Dale Planck, Mills and Deron Rust finishing in between.
Tim Fuller, Frankie Caprara and Pat Ward secured top-12 positions in the 22-minute finale to earn starting berths in Saturday's special $1,000-to-win 12-lap Dash-for-Cash at East Bay.
The DIRT Modifieds close out the weekend at East Bay on Sunday when they battle for qualifying spots in the 50-lap championship event. Track president Stanley Kolan has also scheduled a 'Glenn Donnelly Appreciation Dash' as DIRT concludes the three-day swing of open-wheel competition in the Bay Area.
FLORIDA TOUR 2001 RACE RESULTS @ East Bay Raceway - Fri., Feb. 9
DIRT Modified Feature (30L)
FIN
CAR#
DRIVER
TEAM (Sponsor / Chassis / Engine)
1
3
Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
Budweiser Racing-WLR Const-Cavallaro Prod/TEO/Feil-Enders
2
901
Jimmy Horton/Neshanic Station,NJ
Wallace Securities-Miles Concrete/Olsen/Feil
3
27j
Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY
Sweeteners Plus-A&C Speedworld-Prudential Sec./Troyer/C.C. Perf.
4
9
Bob McCreadie/Watertown,NY
Kinney Drugs-Syracuse Frame-F.X. Caprara/Troyer/Morrison
5
56
Tim McCreadie/Watertown,NY
Finch's Trucking-Gypsum Wholesalers-Syr.Frame/TEO/Finger Lakes
6
fx1x
Dale Planck/Homer,NY
Manheim Auto Auction-Auto Value-F.X.Caprara Cars/Troyer/Gor-Den
7
30
Jamie Mills/Milford,DE
I.G.Burton Car Dealrshp-L&W Ins.-Mills Bros.Markets/Troyer/Myers
8
396
Deron Rust/Georgetown,DE
Bodie's Dairy Markets-Heck Masonry/TEO/Beston Automotive
9
74
J.R. Heffner/Averill Park,NY
A.Colarusso & Son/TEO/Raspuzzi
10
m1
Tim Fuller/Edwards,NY
B&F General Machine-Dixon Steel-Afco/TEO/Enders
11
fx1
Frankie Caprara/Watertown,NY
Manheim Auto Auction-Auto Value-F.X.Caprara Cars/Troyer/Gor-Den
12
42p
Pat Ward/Genoa,NY
Gypsum Express,Ltd./TEO/Finger Lakes
13
Z
Butch Tittle/Saylorsburg,PA
Tittle & Sons Motorsports/Troyer/Fiehl
14
8
Rich Scagliotta/Bound Brook,NJ
Central Jersey Trailer & Hitch Depot/Troyer/Enders
15
93
Ryan Bartlett/Adams,NY
D.P. Barlett & Sons Plumbing Heating & AC/Olsen-TEO/Bow-Tie
16
35
Mike Perrotte/Elizabethtown,NY
Adirondack Auto/Troyer/Enders
17
24
Chris Shultz/Holmes,NY
Liberty Rock Crushing-Bicknell Racing Products/TEO/JPM
18
44
Gary Hager/Stewartsville,NJ
Atlantic Towing-Quality Drywall/TEO/Burnett
19
33
Ray Swinehart/Bechtelsville,PA
J & L Speed Supplies/Bicknell/Reinford Racing Engines
20
79
Jeremy Markle/Port Jervis,NY
Len & Jo's Restaurant/Bicknell/Quality Engines
21
30+
Mike Frost/Factoryville,PA
Lartz Industries-Serenity Lodge/Troyer/Frost
22
60
Andy Bachetti/Sheffield,MA
Zoom'N Groom-B&B Auto Sales/Olsen/Feil
23
27
Doug Hoffman/Allentown,PA
J & J Shop-Planned Poultry Renovations/Troyer/Enders
24
32c
Vic Coffey/Leicester,NY
Sweeteners Plus-A&C Speedworld-Prudential Sec./TEO/C.C. Perf.
EVENT SUMMARY:
LAP LEADER: Hearn (1-30).
CAUTIONS: 5 (lap 3, lap 5, lap 8, lap 9, lap 13).
HEAT WINNERS: Hearn, Hoffman, B.McCreadie.
TOTAL PURSE: $10,250.
CARS ENTERED: 24.
FLORIDA TOUR 2001 PIT NOTES
Thr. Feb. 8
*The DIRT Modifieds made their first appearance at East Bay Raceway since 1983 when Merv Treichler and Doug Ingalls scored feature race wins. New Yorkers Jeff Kappesser and Gary Iulg won features the year prior when DIRT made its debut at the Tampa track.
*The 18 DIRT Modifieds ---with drivers representing five Northeastern states--- that practiced on Thursday night during East Bay's 25th Winternationals were offered two sessions, the first at 9 o'clock and the second at midnight. Brett Hearn was the lone DIRT driver to participate in big-block warm-ups the night before.
*New Jersey Modified driver and Jimmy Horton's Florida Tour crewman Scott McClaren ran Horton's blue #901 Olsen entry after he was delayed at the Newark(NJ) airport when the wing of his plane clipped a bus and broke a wing while it taxied down the runaway to take on passengers.
*Frankie Caprara hauled two cars into the pit area, himself scheduled to steer the orange #fx1 big-block while recently hired team crew chief Dale Planck toured the 1/3-mile banked oval in an identical-looking small-block car.
*While 2001 marks DIRT's third-ever trip to East Bay, the Florida State Fair was beginning at the Tampa Fairgrounds located just a dozen miles away for the 97th time. Pennsylvanian Kenny Brightbill captured half of the six main events staged at the State Fairgrounds oval from 1980-81.
*DIRT officials, both past and present, were in attendance to begin the special four-day stint at East Bay. Kenny Marshall, head flagman at Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, N.Y. from 1990-2000, recently relocated to Florida to assume Assistant General Manager/Flagman duties for track president Stanley Kolan. Kenny Sands moved south four years ago after serving as a scorer at both Accord Speedway and Orange County. Former Orange County Sportsman pilot Tom Hall remains east Bay's Vice-President and General Manager ...... The current DIRT staff on hand included Race Director Cory Reed, Pit Steward Whitey Memmelaar, Scorers Gaston and Rachel Salvas, and guest Public Address Announcer Mel Thomas.
FLORIDA TOUR 2001 PIT NOTES
Fri. Feb. 9
*A full-field of DIRT Modifieds that signed in at East Bay for the first night of competition were rewarded with a second straight day of 80-degree plus temperatures on Friday. Despite their early arrival, wet track conditions ---DIRT president Glenn Donnelly even helped groom the surface aboard the track grader--- delayed team practice to 7:30 pm before beginning qualifying heat race runs at 10:10. The 30-lap feature finally took the green flag at 12:35 am.
*Nearly 90 Renegade STARS Racing Series cars participated in time trials, with six heats, three consolation rounds and a pair of dashes run before the 100-lap Late Model finale received the checkered flag at 2:40 am.
*DIRT Modified drivers #27J Danny Johnson and #32C Vic Coffey actually began racing down south in a pair of Late Model entries during the past weekend. In preliminary clockings at Golden Isles Speedway in Waynesville, Ga. on Sat., Feb. 3, Coffey qualified ninth-fastest and Johnson turned in a time 19th-best. Coffey placed fourth in the 50-lap United Dirt Track Racing Association(UDTRA) Late Model A-Main and Johnson ended up 19th. Rain cancelled Golden Isles activity the next day. The two red and yellow Sweeteners Plus/Rocket machines arrived at East Bay on Monday with Johnson finishing 11th (timed 20th) in the 30-lap STARS feature while Coffey was a DNQ after time trialing 66th-best out of 92 cars. Neither driver qualified for STARS and UDTRA feature races over the next four days. "The big thing with these (LM) cars is chassis set-up and we just haven't had much track time to make the adjustments," said Johnson, 40, a regular on the DIRT Modified circuit since 1979. "We both spent about an hour on the Georgia track and it showed in the results."
*Brett Hearn's early arrival for practice on Wednesday and top draw to determine the heat race line-ups on Friday resulted in another dominating performance for the five-time Syracuse Eckerd 200 champion. "This track is definitely different," said Hearn following his first-ever trip to Florida's west coast for racing. "There's a few rough spots but its fast and tacky. We took about 15 laps on Wednesday and got a good feel. The guys tuned in the car even better the next two days and it felt great to start out with a win. We're used to drier tracks up north but now we've got a good combination for this kind of surface."
*DIRT Motorsports Hall of Famer Billy Wimble was in attendance to view the action from high atop the press tower. A DIRT HoF charter member in 1992, Wimble currently resides in nearby Valrico, Fla. with his wife Nancy.