The Doctor Tops Lapco Advance Auto Parts Show At Can Am
LAFRAGEVILLE, NY...Danny Johnson, from Phelps, NY, came home
the $6,000 winner last Thursday during the LAPCO presentation of
the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRT Series Tour 2000 event at Can Am Speedway.
Forty three cars were on hand to time trial to start the
evening off. Lansing NY's Chuck Bower powered his Currier
Plastics machine to a lap of 18.883 seconds, for a speed of
95.324 mph to take the JE Pistons Fast time award. It was bower's
second JE Pistons fast time award of the year.
The start of the 100-lap main event was determined by a
redraw on the front straight that included the children and their
families from the Microd Racing events held earlier that evening
on the small track behind the main grandstands. Tim McCreadie
held the pole with local favorite Pat O'Brien on the outside
pole.
At the drop of the green McCreadie took the lead. In the
third turn, Pat Ward hooked a wheel and flipped high into the
air, landing roof first on the racing surface. Also involved in
the melee were Tim Fuller and Todd Milton. All drivers were
uninjured as the race was red flagged. Milton's car was damaged,
but he was able to continue.
The restart saw McCreadie maintain his lead over Bower,
Danny Johnson, O'Brien and Tom Sears Jr.. Suddenly on lap seven,
O'Brien pulled his car pitside out of the race. Danny Johnson
passed Bower for second on that same lap. He then passed
McCreadie for the front spot on lap eleven.
Lap 12 saw the yellow fly when four cars came together in
the second turn; Ray Bliss Jr., Doug Hoffman, Josh Skarzenski and
Marco Potvin. The restart did not prove much better as Jimmy
Horton slowed in the third turn with a flat tire, forcing the
second yellow flag lap in a row.
Johnson now had Canadian star Steve Poirier tight on his
rear bumper. Poirier drove a magnificent race holding McCreadie,
Steve Paine, Gary Tomkins and Bower at bay.
The yellow flag flew again on lap 26 when Ron Smoker looped
his Bob Burke's Industrial Tire Bicknell in the third turn. Danny
Johnson maintained his lead as Steve Paine pulled into second,
passing Poirier, and began working on the lead.
Johnson was able to build a slight cushion on Paine by the
halfway mark of the race, as lapped traffic helped to hold this
margin. Lap 55 saw the yellow fly as Dominic Dufault stopped in
the fourth turn.
Both Johnson and Paine then pulled away from the pack. Lap
64 slowed the race again as Tim McCreadie limped into the pits
with a flat tire and what seemed to be a broken torsion bar.
McCreadie was running fourth at that time.
Two more yellows, lap 75 and lap 87, both for flat tire
situations, were thrown. Still Johnson maintained his lead over
Paine and Alan Johnson. The battle that now took the fans
attention was for fourth between Bobby Varin and Brett Hearn. Who
ever took fourth would earn the Syracuse spot. In a tight battle
Varin held on for the honors.
Johnson took the victory, and in the process regained the
points lead by two points over Paine, 715 to 713. Alan Johnson's
third place maintained his third place in the points with 707
points.
Heat wins on the evening went to Pat O'Brien, Tim Fuller,
Gary Tomkins and Steve Poirier. Steve Paine won the Exiss Dash.
Mitch Gibbs and Ron Smoker topped the two consolation events.
LAPCO Notes: One of the largest fields of modifieds
participated at Can Am since the inaugural LAPCO promotion...Doug
Hoffman was again given the backup B&F General Machine ride after
his original owner pulled out of the series...Jeremie Corcoran
returned to the race line up after his wicked flipped at Rolling
Wheels on July 4. He was unable to qualify for the LAPCO
show...Both Bill Gill and Frank Caprara, listed to start the
feature, were unable to make the starting grid. Still 30 cars
started the feature.
The next race in the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRT Series
Tour 2000 comes Wednesday at Fulton.
LAPCO presents BUDWEISER AT THE BORDER/ADVANCE AUTO PARTS SUPER
DIRT SERIES TOUR 2000 NIGHT SUMMARY
TIME TRIALS: CHUCK BOWER 18.883, Steve Paine 18.930, Danny
Johnson 18.958, Andy Bachetti 19.007, Tim McCreadie 19.044, Vic
Coffey 19.100, Pat Ward 19.117, Tom Sears Jr. 19.121, Gary
Tomkins 19.133, Alan Johnson 19.177, Pat O'Brien 19.236, Tim
Fuller 19.239, Kenny Tremont 19.259, Steve Poirier 19.269, Billy
Decker 19.284, Marco Potvin 19.334, Pierre Dagenais 19.432, Chuck
Hebing 19.446, Jimmy Horton 19.498, Frankie Caprara 19.554, Todd
Milton 19.602, Brett Hearn 19.621, Bill Gill 19.624, Dominic
Dufault 19.642, Doug Hoffman 19.681, Ron Smoker 19.717, Jim
Gabriel Jr. 19.742, Ray Bliss Jr. 19.856, Bobby Varin 19.883,
Todd Stewart 19.913, Josh Skarzenski 19.931, Mario Clair 20.106,
Ben Tucker 20.179, Bob Bennett 20.211, Jeff Brownell 20.250,
Kevin Fetterly 20.250, Scott Parliament 20.327, Delbert LeGrow
20.454, Butch Tittle 20.492, Mitch Gibbs 20.609, Sandy Roberts
20.691, Dave Surace 20.732, Jeremie Corcoran 21.385.
HEAT 1: P. O'Brien, P. Ward, J. Horton, B. Decker.
HEAT 2: T. Fuller, T. Sears Jr., M. Potvin, F. Caprara.
HEAT 3: G. Tomkins, K. Tremont, T. Milton, B. Varin.
HEAT 4: S. Poirier, A. Johnson, B. Hearn, C. Hebing.
EXISS DASH: Steve Paine, Danny Johnson, Tim McCreadie, Vic
Coffey, Chuck Bower, Andy Bachetti.
CONSI 1: M. Gibbs, J. Skarzenski, J. Gabriel Jr., P. Dagenais.
CONSI 2: R. Smoker, D. Dufault, B. Tittle, R. Bliss Jr.
ADDED: D. Hoffman
FEATURE (100-laps): DANNY JOHNSON, Steve Paine, Alan Johnson,
Bobby Varin, Brett Hearn, Vic Coffey, Steve Poirier, Tom Sears
Jr., Kenny Tremont, Jim Gabriel Jr., Jimmy Horton, Chuck Bower,
Chuck Hebing, Butch Tittle, Todd Milton, Gary Tomkins, Josh
Skarzenski, Pierre Dagenais, Billy Decker, Andy Bachetti, Marco
Potvin, Mitch Gibbs, Ron Smoker, Tim McCreadie, Dominic Dufault,
Ray Bliss Jr., Doug Hoffman, Pat O'Brien, Pat Ward, Tim Fuller.