PAINE AND HEARN TOP NORTH CAROLINA SDS VICTORIES
CHARLOTTE, NC...On Wednesday night's RPM2 Night program Brett Hearn predicted he would win at Lowes Dirt Track by raising his hand when asked who would win come Saturday. Hearn's prediction came true as he soared to a somewhat easy victory in the second 50-lapper, part of the Eckerd Drug Stores 100. Steve Paine was also on RPM2 Night , but he didn't raise his hand to indicate he would win. That's the way to bring bad luck, commented Paine. It would seem that Paine's views were also correct as he luckily won the first 50-lap victory.
The first 50-lapper saw Pat Ward, in his Gypsum sponsored number 42p, by virtue of the redraw start on the pole with Danny Johnson, in his Sweeteners Plus Troyer on the outside front row. Johnson used the high line to take the lead at the drop of the green. The third place starter, Danny's older brother Alan, aboard the Mitsubishi Generators number 1, moved into second from his third place starting spot following a battle with Ward and Ricky Elliott. Lapped traffic would play a part in the story as Alan passed Danny for the lead on lap 12. NASCAR Winston Cup star Dave Blaney pulled into the pits with an overheating problem on the seventh lap.
On lap 20 Steve Paine, driving the Junell Corporation TEO, who started fifth, was able to duck under both Alan and Danny by taking a lower line through the third and fourth turns and using traffic to help complete his pass for the lead. The first yellow flew on lap 26 when a car slowed on the front stretch. Chuck Bower also came together with Chuck Hebing, hooking wheels and starting to barrel roll. Jerry Higbie and Vic Coffey were also involved, with Bower slamming down on the back sheet metal of the 32c of Coffey. The remains of Bower's Currier Plastics sponsored number 99b were taken from the track. But Higbie and Coffey returned to the pits and back to the track.
Billy Decker got a good start taking second from Alan Johnson. Hearn was able to pass Danny Johnson for fourth and then one lap later passed Alan for third. The final yellow came on lap 43 when Doug Hoffman slowed exiting the second turn. Hoffman turned pitside and returned to the race just in front of the leaders to remain on the lead lap. At the checkers Paine took the victory followed by Hearn, Decker, Alan Johnson and Ward. Twenty-three cars remained on the lead lap. Paine drew a pill to see how many cars would be inverted for the second 50-lapper. He drew the number four, inverting only the top four cars, giving Alan Johnson the pole and Hearn the outside pole.
The second 50-lapper saw Alan Johnson take the lead at the drop of the green. Only 33 of the 36 original starters were able to answer the call to the green flag. Chuck Bower returned in a backup car. The first driver out of the race was rookie Matt Sheppard, who pulled off the track on lap four. Brett Hearn took command of the race, passing Alan Johnson on lap seven.
Rick Laubach exited the race under caution on lap 21 after slowing on the track. The following long green period allow Hearn to lap traffic and pull away from Johnson. Hearn, aboard his famed Budweiser TEO, would pull out a nearly 2 second victory over Johnson, Paine, Decker and Jimmy Horton. Only nine cars finished on the lead lap. Hearn picked up 116 series points with his first and second place finishes. Paine earned 112 points for his first and third. Billy Decker and Alan Johnson also were big point picker-uppers with two top five finishes each.
A special 15-lap Non-Qualifiers race was run for the first 24 non-qualified cars. Jim Gabriel Jr. passed Frank Caprara with just four laps remaining to claim the victory. Caprara came home second in the caution free race, followed by Tommy Meier, Alain Boisvert and Jeff Hoffman.
Going into the next Advance Auto Parts Super DIRT Series event, the Rolling Wheels 200, April 28, Steve Paine holds a 24 point lead over Brett Hearn, 212 to 188. Alan Johnson sits third with 182 points. Brother Danny Johnson is tied with Jimmy Horton for fourth each with 174 points. Rounding out the top twelve guaranteed drivers for the 200 are: Tim McCreadie 161, Billy Decker 158, Bob McCreadie 146, Jack Johnson and Tim Fuller, each with 138, Kenny Tremont with 126 and Pat Ward with 117 markers.
LOWE'S NOTES: Seventy-six cars entered the Eckerd 100 at Lowes Dirt Track. A crowd of nearly 10,000 fans were on hand with license plates in the parking lot from all over the east coast, with a number of Canadian providences thrown in for good measure...Manager Roger Slack and the Lowes Dirt track crew worked hard at keeping the dust down to a minimum. Track wetting caused somewhat slick conditions for the start of the non-qualifiers race and the start of the second 50-lapper...A full program of Legend cars added to the night of racing....Pastor Wells's famed PT Cruiser came in contact with a packer car while pacing the feature. The Cruiser held up well in the collision...Charlotte Speedway's Lug Nut entertained the crowd all evening long. This mascot is a true credit to the speedway....Long Haul Awards have to go to Steve Poirier, Alain Boisvert and Charles Bisaillon, all based in Quebec....Super DIRT Series regular Bobby Varin blew the motor on his number 93 during Friday night practice and spent the evening looking for a ride...Brett Hearn picked up his first fast timer award with a lap of 15.883 seconds...Dave Farney made the long trip from Syracuse, NY to flag the program. Along with him came the regular DIRT officiating crew of Benny Vitale, John Veech, John Schrader, Bob Dini, Bob Henry, and Jeff Farney was the Pit Steward...The Exiss Dash points show Chuck Bower leading Brett Hearn by 2 points, 15 to 13. Bower and Hearn have also been the only two drivers in the dash and both have set fast times at Series races...Fans should probably look for return trips to Lowes Dirt Track in the future.
ECKERD DRUG STORES presents the ADVANCE AUTO PARTS
SUPER DIRT SERIES 100 AT LOWES DIRT TRACK, CHARLOTTE, NC
TIME TRIALS: Brett Hearn 15.883, Billy Decker 15.908, Tim Fuller 15.943, Tony Stewart 16.046, Chuck Bower 16.182, Scott Prentice 16.233, Danny Johnson 16.248, Steve Paine 16.276, Gary Tomkins 16.348, Alan Johnson 16.381, Pat Ward 16.408, Ricky Elliott 16.430, Bud Christmann 16.458, Frank Cozze 16.462, J.R. Heffner 16.469, Ron Smoker 16.482, Dave Blaney 16.482, Brian Swartzlander 16.507, Doug Hoffman 16.510, Vic Coffey 16.514, Jerry Higbie 16.525, Rick Bishop 16.530, Pete Bicknell 16.540, Jimmy Horton 16.540, Jim Weller 16.543, Jimmy Phelps 16.553, Matt Sheppard 16.560, Tim McCreadie 16.583, Rick Laubach 16.597, Kyle Strickler 16.615, Matt DeLorenzo 16.642, Darryl Ruggles 16.643, Frankie Caprara 16.657, Kenny Tremont 16.672, Bob McCreadie 16.695, Jack Johnson 16.706, Mike Perrotte 16.713, Chuck Hebing 16.726, Willie Osmun 16.735, Eddie Marshall 16.740, Tommy Meier 16.766, Alex Hoag 16.773, Mark Bitner 16.795, Roger Phelps 16.798, Steve Poirier 16.806, Chuck McKee 16.822, Larry McVay 16.845, Jim Gabriel Jr. 16.846, Dale Planck 16.852, Alain Boisvert 16.855, Jim Rasey 16.855, Jeff Hoffman 16.882, Butch Tittle 16.899, Bob Lineman 16.928, Donnie Corellis 16.996, Donnie Wetmore 16.997, Dave Werber 17.015, Andy Bachetti 17.020, Jason Barney 17.035, Mel Schrufer 17.043, Scott Gurdak 17.065, Charles Bisaillon 17.069, Glenn Reed 17.091, Chris Kokosa 17.112, Colin Jackson 17.141, Rusty Smith 17.149, Don Hallowell 17.167, Ryan Baye 17.205, Neil Luce 17.360, Jerry Nadeau 17.377, Dean Pearson 17.521, Art Adams 17.562, Gary Gates 17.650, Gary Napolitano 17.729, Steve Mandell 17.937, Dean Rust NT.
HEAT 1: D. Johnson, D. Hoffman, M. Perrotte.
HEAT 2: S. Paine, C. Hebing, R. Phelps.
HEAT 3: G. Tomkins, J. Higbie, J.R. Heffner.
HEAT 4: A. Johnson, R. Smoker, C. McKee.
HEAT 5: P. Ward, P. Bicknell, D. Blaney.
HEAT 6: R. Elliott, B. Swartzlander, J. Horton.
EXISS DASH: Brett Hearn, Tim Fuller, Chuck Bower, Billy Decker, Scott Prentice, Tony Stewart.
CONSI 1: M. Bitner, V. Coffey.
CONSI 2: M. Sheppard, E. Marshall.
CONSI 3: B. McCreadie, R. Laubach.
ADDED: B. Christmann, K. Tremont, J. Johnson, T. McCreadie, A. Bachetti.
NON-QUALIFIER RACE (15-laps): JIM GABRIEL JR., Frank Caprara, Tommy Meier, Alain Boisvert, Jeff Hoffman, Chris Kokosa, Butch Tittle, Steve Poirier, Darryl Ruggles, Ryan Baye, Donnie Corellis, Jim Rasey, Mel Schrufer, Matt DeLorenzo, Larry McVay, Neil Luce, Don Hallowell, Gary Napolitano, Kyle Strickler, Jason Barney, Willie Osmun, Scott Gurdak, DNS: Frank Cozze, Jimmy Phelps, Jim Weller. Time of Race: 7:22, Margin of Victory 2.249 seconds.
1ST FEATURE (50-laps): STEVE PAINE, Brett Hearn, Billy Decker, Alan Johnson, Pat Ward, Jimmy Horton, Kenny Tremont, Mike Perrotte, Danny Johnson, Bob McCreadie, Tim Fuller, Tim McCreadie, Scott Prentice, Tony Stewart, Chuck Hebing, Ron Smoker, J.R. Heffner, Matt Sheppard, Brian Swartzlander, Ricky Elliott, Roger Phelps, Chuck McKee, Doug Hoffman, Eddie Marshall, Rick Laubach, Jerry Higbie, Jack Johnson, Vic Coffey, Mark Bitner, Pete Bicknell, Jerry Nadeau, Chuck Bower, Bud Christmann, Andy Bachetti, Dave Blaney, DNS: Gary Tomkins. Time of Race: 28:21, Margin of Victory .96 seconds.
2ND FEATURE (50-laps): BRETT HEARN, Alan Johnson, Steve Paine, Billy Decker, Jimmy Horton, Bob McCreadie, Danny Johnson, Tim McCreadie, Ricky Elliott, Kenny Tremont, Ron Smoker, Tim Fuller, Tony Stewart, Jerry Higbie, Chuck McKee, Pat Ward, Scott Prentice, Chuck Hebing, Doug Hoffman, Jack Johnson, Vic Coffey, Brian Swartzlander, Dave Blaney, J.R. Heffner, Roger Phelps, Pete Bicknell, Mark Bitner, Eddie Marshall, Gary Tomkins, Mike Perrotte, Rick Laubach, Chuck Bower, Matt Shepard, DNS: Bud Christmann, Andy Bachetti, Jerry Nadeau. Time of Race: 21:05, Margin of Victory 1.636 seconds.