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AUTODROME GRANBY WAS STRUCK BY "THE HURRICANE"




GRANBY, Qué., June 26, 2001—On a hot summer night, Autodrome Granby was struck by " The Hurricane ". Stock-car fans will recognize that as being the nickname of the talented Steve Paine who swept everything he could at the occasion of the Chagnon Honda 100, the second race of the DIRT Sunoco/Hoosier Series last Monday night at Autodrome Granby. Two times champion at this Eastern Townships track, Paine showed everybody that he knew also the secrets of this speedplant by winning this race in front of Danny Johnson and Todd Burley, while Steve Poirier was the best Quebecer with a sixth place finish.

The night had well begun for Paine when he clocked the fastest time on this half mile track with a time of 20.647 seconds and 20.860 seconds for Vic Coffey. In those time trials, Réal Lafrance, last driver to go under the 21 second barrier, surprised with the sixth best time. Then in the dash for cash, Paine led the entire six laps to cross the finish line in front of Vic Coffey, Danny Johnson, Matt Sheppard, Brett Hearn and Réal Lafrance.

2nd,1st,3rdSecond in the Chagnon Honda 100 last season, Paine who was sitting 12th on the starting grid, saw Danny Johnson take the lead at the drop of the green flag. Johnson led the race for the first 39 laps while Paine was concentrating to pass the drivers in front of him. It’s on lap 40 that Paine was able to get by Johnson and lead till the end despite five (of eleven) restarts of this race. Johnson concentrated on trying to regain his first place but was never able to do so, even if he was getting closer at the end. At the finish line, Paine had a second advantage on Johnson, the winner of the first race at Utica-Rome Speedway, last May.

If the Paine-Johnson battle was not so spectacular, we can’t say the same about the battle for the three following spots. Pierre Dagenais, Matt Sheppard, Todd Burley, Pete Bicknell, Alan Johnson and Steve Poirier did everything they could to get those places. Fourth at the start, it’s Burley who had the last word for the third step on the podium, even if Matt Sheppard, this young DIRT sensation, had passed him for a few laps on two occasions. Unfortunately for Sheppard, a flat tire on lap 73 when he was fourth, unable him to finish in the top five. He winded up 15th.

Then for the fourth and fifth place, Sheppard, Alan Johnson, Pete Bicknell and Steve Poirier were decided to get those spots. In two occasions, Poirier was able to reach the fourth position but in the 20 last laps, he was passed by Bicknell and Johnson.

From the end of the field

After picking the seventh place at the draw, Brett Hearn, always a favorite at Autodrome Granby, was forced to take the start at the end of the 32-car field because he had decided to take his backup car. Due to that situation and with heavy traffic in front of him, Hearn was never in contention for the honors but managed to finish seventh. He was followed by Ryan Baye, Claude Brouillard and Frankie Caprara.

Many local drivers had their share of problems during that Chagnon Honda 100. Mario Moreau was involved in an accident with Martin Gagné and had to withdraw. Réal Lafrance and Gino Clair were also forced to quit the race due to mechanical problems while Martin Roy and Jocelyn Perreault caused yellow flags by spinning on the speedway.

In the heats, Alan Johnson, Todd Burley, Claude Brouillard, Mike Perrotte, Alan Johnson and Alex Hoag were the winners. After the first one, Alan Johnson was disqualified because his car didn’t make the weight at the balance. He had to win the first consi to be part of this Chagnon Honda 100.

A total of 42 cars were on hand and 32 took the green flag. During this sharp one-hour race, there were 11 yellow flags for a total of 26 laps.

In the support classes, Michel Tessier was the winner in the Late Model, Michel Coderre in the Tourism and Pierre Grondin in the 4 Cylinders.

Chagnon Honda 100 results: 1- 7x, Steve Paine 2- 27, Danny Johnson 3- 89, Todd Burley 4- 1p, Pete Bicknell 5-14J, Alan Johnson 6- 61M, Steve Poirier 7- 20, Brett Hearn 8- 2B, Ryan Baye 9- 3, Claude Brouillard 10- FX1, Frankie Caprara 11- 31, Richard Chauvin 12- 35, Mike Perrotte 13- 46, Kayle Robidoux 14- 2, Clément Therrien 15- 9S, Matt Sheppard 16- 09, Mario Lajoie 17- 7H, Alex Hoag 18- 4, Leon Gonyo 19- 124, Pierre Dagenais 20- 78, Vince Quenneville Jr. 21- 57C, Kevin Fetterly 22- 26, Jocelyn Perreault 23- 90, Martin Roy 24- 95, Dan Jalbert 25- 1, Joel Doiron 26- 66, Martin Gagné 27- 72, Gino Clair 28- 11, Réal Lafrance 29- 5, Mario Moreau 30- 22J, Mario Clair 31- 32C, Vic Coffey 32- 24L, Carl Labonté (dns).

Did not qualify : 06, Francis McNeil – 7NH, Dan Douville – 11J, Jerry Pinnock Jr. – 21, Ian Bussière – 31B, Pierre Berthiaume – 32, Guy Ouellette – 66X, Wallace Stacey – M70, Billy Cook – 91, Michel Pelletier – 172, André Gauthier.