O'Brien Upsets Series Stars At The BOS

Posted Tuesday, Jul 10, 2007


Brockville, ONT — July 10, 2007 – By Tom Skibinski, Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series PR Director

Local favorite Pat O’Brien is no stranger to victory lane on Canadian soil nor taking on the best competition in the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series. On Tuesday night he was among the most familiar before, hungriest during and easily the most popular after he chased down current tour points leader Tim Fuller in traffic with a dozen laps to go on his way to winning the headline Coca-Cola/BOB FM 100 at Brockville Ontario Speedway.

(Click here to hear from Winner Pat O'Brien, second place Tim Fuller, and third place finisher, Billy Decker.)

“I felt most of the race we were as good as Tim, just needed the right opportunity to come along and fortunately it did,” understated O’Brien, 42, following his second career Advance Auto Parts tour triumph, his first coming at Can-Am Motorsports Park 17 years ago in July of 1990. Can-Am was also the site of O’Brien’s only other DIRTcar Big-Block win this season while his opening day checkered flag at Brockville marked his lone trip to victory lane this year in 358-Modified competition. “Some places the car was better than his and others he got better. All in all, the track was pretty equal tonight.”

Race-long leader Fuller was forced to settle for runner-up laurels six car-lengths back while contracted drivers Billy Decker, Jimmy Phelps and Brett Hearn filled out the front-five at the finish.

“I got boned by a lapped car, that’s all there is to it,” remarked a dejected Fuller, despite increasing his advantage in the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series point standings. He was looking for his second Series win of the season, instead wound up with a tour-best sixth top-five finish in eight main events. “It was very uncharacteristic of the driver, but that’s the way it goes.”

Fuller was fast from the time his no. 19 JL Motorsports-Chiefs Tobacco & Gas-G&R Auto Parts/TEO machine turned trackside, circling the fast quarter-mile clay oval in a new race record clocking of 13.994 secs. (64.313 mph) to collect the $100 Integra Shocks Fast Time Award. Pierre Berthiaume turned in a single-lap best clocking of 14.475 sec. on the Fourth of July last summer. O’Brien was clocked 11th quickest out of the 37 cars entered with Fuller copping the initial heat while O’Brien settled for third in the third qualifier. Fuller continued to force the hand, drawing pole-position to begin first in the 100-lap finale as O’Brien filled in outside row two on the 30-car starting grid.

Fuller had no problem out-dragging front row partner Billy Dunn when the initial green flag flew as O’Brien moved in to challenge the leader with five circuits complete. Joining the fray up front through the opening 15 laps were tour mainstays Dale Planck, Decker, Hearn, Phelps and Matt Sheppard. Defending race winner Alan Johnson had quietly improved from 21st to 17th, this year steering owner Wallace Stacey’s no. 14j Bully's Truck Stop-CFF,Inc./Bicknell mount in the BOS Big-Block showdown.

Brockville regular Adam Moore stopped in turn one on lap 18 to incur the first yellow flag and slowdowns by Kenny Stafford (lap 20) and Danny Johnson (lap 23) for a broken hub accounted for two more. A turn one tangle involving young Bobby Herrington and Chris Jones in the Kerr Racing no. 07 ride carried with it a another brief setback on lap 24 and the next time around Jason Potter looped his no. 5 Dick's Auto Specialties-Fat Nancy's Tackle Shop/Bicknell and faced the wrong way coming out of turn three. A quarter of the way through, Fuller paced the quartet of O’Brien, Phelps, Decker and Sheppard, with Gary Tomkins rolling from 20th to 11th in the early stages.

Series traveler Frank Cozze found the outside lane to his liking, blasting from ninth to fourth 30 laps into the century grind while leaders Fuller and O’Brien continued to set a torrid pace ahead of Decker. Cozze rode as high as third by lap 36 yet that’s as high as he could get before beginning to fade by the midway point.

With traffic a major obstacle throughout on the racy quarter-miler, Fuller and O’Brien managed to negotiate skillfully through the back of the pack lap after lap. Second-generation area pilot Kyle Dingwall lost a wheel and looped his mount on the back chute to send out the final yellow flag on lap 46 with Cozze, Decker and Phelps given a final chance to hunt down the lead duo. But by lap 50, the powerful pair had once again pulled away at will leaving the remainder of the field to jockey among the top-10.

Cozze dropped to fifth as the second half of the race unfolded yet was able to regroup
soonafter and grab one spot back with a pass of Phelps for fourth. Any chance for the Pennsylvanian to improve was lost when he jumped the turn four cushion on lap 62 to fall to ninth. His tires appeared to seal over on the ever-blackening Brockville surface and he continued his descent to 12th just five laps later, this time sliding off turn two.

Alan Johnson was a man on the move through the middle stages yet a broken front end on lap 81 ended any chance to repeat as he charged as high as eighth before retiring to the infield. Starting 23rd on the grid, 2004 Brockville Big-Block points champion Steve Paine maneuvered into a top-10 position but could get no further than seventh in the late stages.

As the race continued non-stop under green flag conditions, lapped car traffic ultimately emerged as the deciding factor. What was once a comfortable 6-8 car-length advantage for Fuller soon turned into a bumper-to-bumper battle with O’Brien as the top-two tracked down Cozze ---the last car on the lad lap--- with 20 circuits still remaining. The leaders scrambled for position behind Cozze until Fuller finally followed him high out of turn four on lap 89. And that was all O’Brien needed as he shot down low in his red 730 Truck Stop-Gypsum Logistics-Newells Garage mount to forge the only lead change when it counted most.

“Last year we lost it with about 10 laps to go so it was nice to get it back this time,” beamed O’Brien after climbing atop the roof of his no. 6 Bicknell machine in a much deserved victory lane celebration in front of the adoring crowd. “I was pretty cautious in the race after running hard early last time and not having anything for the end. I’ve been real close to winning at both Cornwall (3rd in ’06) and Brockille (2nd) so we really focused the past couple weeks and even took time off hoping we’d have a good showing. I came here when Brockville first ran Big-Blocks and was terrible but with the help of John (Wight, engine supplier) we’ve gained on it steadily ever since.

“Tim looked a little tight but he’s so fluid and just doesn’t make any mistakes. The lapped cars just took away the room he needed to make the turn and I was lucky to be there. It was really luck all night, I wasn’t even going to qualify (for the re-draw) in the heat because it was kind of one lane. Luckily we had a restart and I was on the outside and got past Pat Ward. Everything’s gotta go your way to win one of these races, these guys are so good. They don’t make many mistakes so you gotta be there to capitalize on them. This (win) is great especially for all the guys … we all work hard … it’s a hot day … a lot of time away from their families. This is nice to finally win.”

O’Brien’s jubilation was equaled by the dismay of Fuller as he reluctantly settled for second-place in Brockville’s biggest event of the year. The same race the Edwards, N.Y. chauffeur finished third in last summer behind winner Alan Johnson and O’Brien.

“This car was really good all night but it was still tough lapping cars,” said Fuller, 39, who increased his Advance Auto Parts Series points lead to 55 over fifth-place finisher Hearn his in quest for a second overall Mr. DIRTcar Modified Championship in the Big-Block ranks, his first coming in 2005. “But most …most of the cars would give a little. You run into some that don’t give, and they’ll usually come around. Congratulations to Pat O’Brien and his whole crew, he’s a great runner and having him come here its somewhat of his hometrack. He grew up here and he runs good so its nice to see him get a Series win.”

Riding in the shadows of the frontrunners most of the night, Decker posted his second straight top-three SDS finish aboard the LJL Racing no. 91 Gypsum Wholesalers-Stadium Int'l-Quality Hardwoods/Bicknell entry. “The car was pretty good, but just flat out too tight to run with the leaders so we were really fortunate to finish where we did tonight,” said Decker, 42, who is still in search of his first tour victory of ’07 despite being the fastest on three occasions in Integra Shocks Time Trials. “We had a couple good restarts, the last double-file start put us on the outside so we had a good roll into third and I was able to maintain it and just carry the momentum.

“We just had to make the most of it tonight, had to use the top side banking to plant the right front a little bit and hopefully rotate around it. We were definitely struggling, probably a 3rd or 4th-place car, and got away with a finish as good as the car was,” added Decker, the 1998 overall Mr. DIRTcar Modified Champion with 35 Advance Auto Parts Series wins (5th all-time) and 29 Integra Shocks Fast Time awards (2nd) to his credit.

Advance Auto Parts Big-Block Modified teams have a week off before they’re back in action when Grandview Speedway hosts Bob Miller's popular 'Thunder on the Hill Traffic Jam 100’ promotion in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, July 18. To close out the month the mighty Modifieds return to Canada for a big make-up twin-bill north of the border. The 13th Annual Akwesasne Mohawk Casino International 100 at Cornwall has been rescheduled to run Sunday, July 22 before Drummond closes out the DIRTcar Big-Block Modified doubleheader on Monday, July 23 with the 30th Annual Hyundai 100. All three main events pay $6,000 to win and offer valuable points towards the overall Hoosier Tire-Sunoco Race Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship that’s up for grabs along with guaranteed starting spots in the Eckerd 200 at Syracuse during Super DIRT Week XXXVI on Oct. 7.

Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series Race #8 – Brockville Ontario Speedway, July 10, 2007 Coca-Cola/BOB FM 100 Big-Block Modified Event Summary
FIN STR CAR# DRIVER
1 4 6 Pat O'Brien/Kingston,ONT($6,000)
2 1 19 Tim Fuller/Edwards, NY
3 8 91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY
4 10 98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY
5 7 20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
6 5 44s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY
7 23 7x Steve Paine/Waterloo,NY
8 6 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
9 2 49 Billy Dunn/Watertown,NY
10 20 84 Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY
11 9 44 Frank Cozze/Wind Gap,PA
12 16 21 Yan Bussiere/Drummondville,QUE
13 17 1 Jeff Sykes/Edwards,NY
14 11 3 Justin Haers/Phelps,NY
15 25 99 Ryan Phelps/Fulton,NY
16 30 99a Mike Adderley/Watertown,NY
17 12 27j Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY
18 21 14j Alan Johnson/Middlesex,NY
19 28 60 Kenny Stafford/Homer,NY
20 14 66 Kyle Dingwall/Morrisburg,ONT
21 15 42p Pat Ward/Genoa,NY
22 13 1a Brian Weaver/Windsor,NY
23 26 5 Jason Potter/Pulaski,NY
24 3 07 Chris Jones/Picton,ONT
25 24 25 Bobby Herrington/Kingston,ONT
26 19 95 Mark Hitchcock/Kingston,ONT
27 27 115 Stephane LaFrance/Morrisburg,ONT
28 18 35 Adam Moore/Elgin,ONT
29 22 61 Bryan Rogers/Kingston,ONT
30 29 60x Bill Gill/Plessis,NY
LAP LEADERS: Fuller (1-88), P.O’Brien (89-100).
CAUTIONS: 6 (lap 18, lap 20, lap 23, lap 24, lap 25, lap 46).
ECKERD 200 QUALIFIER: Pat O’Brien (G).
DID NOT QUALIFY(7)
00-Ryan Poole/Kingston,ONT
2-Todd Stewart/Kingston,ONT
8-Danny O'Brien/Kingston,ONT
12-John Mulder/Spencerville,ONT
x31-Andy Lloyd/Kingston,ONT
66w-Wallace Stacey/Kahnawake,QUE
86-Chris King/Seeleys Bay,ONT

QUALIFYING
FAST AVE
TIME MPH CAR# DRIVER
1 13.994 64.313 19 Tim Fuller/Edwards, NY
*NEW TRACK RECORD *$100 Integra Shocks Fast Qualifier Award
2 14.084 63.902 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
3 14.180 63.470 44s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY
4 14.294 62.963 49 Billy Dunn/Watertown,NY
5 14.296 62.955 44 Frank Cozze/Wind Gap,PA
6 14.323 62.836 98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY
7 14.335 62.783 20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
8 14.384 62.570 91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY
9 14.390 62.543 1a Brian Weaver/Windsor,NY
10 14.400 62.500 66 Kyle Dingwall/Morrisburg,ONT
11 14.436 62.344 6 Pat O'Brien/Kingston,ONT
12 14.438 62.336 21 Yan Bussiere/Drummondville,QUE
13 14.445 62.305 27j Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY
14 14.447 62.297 8 Danny O'Brien/Kingston,ONT
15 14.514 62.009 42p Pat Ward/Genoa,NY
16 14.516 62.001 3 Justin Haers/Phelps,NY
17 14.537 61.911 7x Steve Paine/Waterloo,NY
18 14.544 61.881 07 Chris Jones/Picton,ONT
19 14.553 61.843 95 Mark Hitchcock/Kingston,ONT
20 14.577 61.741 84 Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY
21 14.588 61.695 99 Ryan Phelps/Fulton,NY
22 14.589 61.690 14j Alan Johnson/Middlesex,NY
23 14.591 61.682 2 Todd Stewart/Kingston,ONT
24 14.623 61.547 99a Mike Adderley/Watertown,NY
25 14.674 61.333 1 Jeff Sykes/Edwards,NY
26 14.712 61.175 35 Adam Moore/Elgin,ONT
27 14.717 61.154 25 Bobby Herrington/Kingston,ONT
28 14.797 60.823 61 Bryan Rogers/Kingston,ONT
29 14.846 60.622 115 Stephane LaFrance/Morrisburg,ONT
30 14.870 60.525 60 Kenny Stafford/Homer,NY
14.870 60.525 60x Bill Gill/Plessis,NY
32 14.886 60.459 5 Jason Potter/Pulaski,NY
33 15.015 59.940 00 Ryan Poole/Kingston,ONT
34 15.097 59.614 66w Wallace Stacey/Kahnawake,QUE
35 15.175 59.308 x31 Andy Lloyd/Kingston,ONT
36 15.448 58.260 12 John Mulder/Spencerville,ONT
37 15.685 57.380 86 Chris King/Seeleys Bay,ONT

Heat Races (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to feature, top 3 went to re-draw)
#1: Fuller, Cozze, D.Johnson, Weaver, Sykes, Paine, LaFrance, R.Phelps, King, Poole.
#2: Planck, J.Phelps, Jones, Dingwall, Moore, A.Johnson, Stacey, Gill, D.O’Brien(DNS).
#3: Sheppard, Hearn, P.O’Brien, Ward, Hitchcock, Herrington, Stewart, Stafford, Lloyd.
#4: Decker, Dunn, Haers, Bussiere, Tomkins, Rogers, Adderley, Potter, Mulder.
Consolation Round (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to feature)
#1: A.Johnson, Paine, R.Phelps, LaFrance, Gill, King, Stacey, D.O’Brien(DNS), Poole(DNS).
#2: Rogers, Herrington, Potter, Stafford, Adderley, Stewart, Lloyd, Mulder.

Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series Point Standings (Through July 10, 2007)
Rank No. Driver Points Diff Money Wins Top-5 Top-10 Starts
1 19 Tim Fuller 636 0 $18,350 1 6 8 8
2 20 Brett Hearn 581 -55 $15,150 1 6 7 8
3 44s Matt Sheppard 558 -78 $12,550 0 3 6 8
4 98h Jimmy Phelps 539 -97 $10,450 0 5 6 8
5 77x Dale Planck 533 -103 $9,100 0 2 6 8
6 27j Danny Johnson 520 -116 $16,475 2 3 4 8
7 91 Billy Decker 518 -118 $11,500 0 4 4 8
8 7x Steve Paine 515 -121 $8,060 0 1 6 8
9 44 Frank Cozze 487 -149 $10,900 1 1 4 8
10 84 Gary Tomkins 462 -174 $8,150 1 2 4 8
11 14j Alan Johnson 433 -203 $8,900 1 1 2 8
12 3 Justin Haers 398 -238 $4,000 0 0 3 8
13 60 Kenny Stafford 326 -310 $2,225 0 0 0 8
14 32c Vic Coffey 316 -320 $3,700 0 1 4 6
15 49 Billy Dunn 269 -367 $2,100 0 0 1 6
16 1a Brian Weaver 250 -386 $2,000 0 0 1 5
17 42p Pat Ward 236 -400 $5,800 0 2 3 4
18 42b Kevin Bates 229 -407 $1,810 0 0 1 5
19 6 Pat O'Brien 178 -458 $7,200 1 1 2 2
20 22g Mitch Gibbs 164 -472 $1,100 0 0 0 4
21 3b Chad Brachmann 161 -475 $2,200 0 0 3 3
22 48too Dave Rauscher 150 -486 $1,025 0 0 0 4
23 14 Rick Laubach 131 -505 $2,200 0 1 1 2
24 66w Wallace Stacey® 122 -514 $700 0 0 0 2
25 13 Brett Tonkin 122 -514 $1,000 0 0 0 3
26 t21 Roger Chrysler® 108 -528 $700 0 0 0 2
27 83 Brian Swartzlander 108 -528 $750 0 0 0 2
28 99 Ryan Phelps 102 -534 $600 0 0 0 2
29 X Chad Phelps 101 -535 $650 0 0 0 3
30 99a Mike Adderley 92 -544 $600 0 0 0 3
31 71 David VanHorn 92 -544 $600 0 0 0 3
32 r2 Rusty Smith 92 -544 $700 0 0 0 2
33 33.3 Tommy Meier 88 -548 $600 0 0 0 2
34 37x Tom Scheetz® 86 -550 $700 0 0 0 2
35 56 Vince Vitale 85 -551 $600 0 0 0 3
36 1r Mike Ricci 83 -553 $1,700 0 1 1 1
37 0 Russ Hefti® 79 -557 $475 0 0 0 2
38 42 Pete Bicknell 68 -568 $1,000 0 0 1 1
39 5 Chuck McKee 65 -571 $600 0 0 1 1
40 62s Tommy Sears Jr. 62 -574 $600 0 0 1 1
41 1 Darwin Greene® 61 -575 $400 0 0 0 1
42 118 Mike DePalma 61 -575 $350 0 0 0 1
43 47 Jerry Higbie 60 -576 $500 0 0 0 1
44 21 Yan Bussiere 58 -578 $400 0 0 0 1
45 1 Jeff Sykes 56 -580 $350 0 0 0 1
46 18 Sean Beardsley 56 -580 $300 0 0 0 2
47 32 Cliff Ehrmann 55 -581 $325 0 0 0 1
48 Z Butch Tittle 55 -581 $400 0 0 0 1
49 777 Kevin Bolland 54 -582 $325 0 0 0 1
50 99b Chuck Bower 54 -582 $300 0 0 0 2
51 14r Ryan Odasz 53 -583 $300 0 0 0 1
52 98 Kenny Wallace 52 -584 $400 0 0 0 1
53 7 Sam Crogan 50 -586 $300 0 0 0 1
54 16 Mike Bowman 50 -586 $300 0 0 0 2
55 73 Rick Mills 50 -586 $300 0 0 0 1
56 91d John Willman 50 -586 $400 0 0 0 1
57 115 Kenny Tremont 50 -586 $300 0 0 0 1
58 24 Chris Shultz 49 -587 $300 0 0 0 1
59 26 Rick Richner 48 -588 $300 0 0 0 1
60 7J Jeff Isabell 47 -589 $300 0 0 0 1
61 89b Todd Burley 46 -590 $300 0 0 0 1
62 88 Steve Hulsizer 45 -591 $300 0 0 0 2
63 02 Roy Bresnahan 45 -591 $300 0 0 0 1
64 28 Ric Hill 45 -591 $300 0 0 0 1
65 66 Kyle Dingwall 44 -592 $300 0 0 0 1
66 66 Jeff Heotzler 44 -592 $300 0 0 0 1
67 39w Chuck Tucker 44 -592 $400 0 0 0 1
68 25 Mike Kolka 43 -593 $300 0 0 0 1
69 m40 Mark Forte 43 -593 $400 0 0 0 1
70 42 Jimmy Horton 43 -593 $300 0 0 0 1
71 7k Scott Kerwin 42 -594 $300 0 0 0 1
72 46 Jeremy Smith 42 -594 $300 0 0 0 1
73 10 Richie Eurich 42 -594 $300 0 0 0 1
74 21 Clinton Mills® 42 -594 $300 0 0 0 1
75 07 Chris Jones 41 -595 $300 0 0 0 1
76 111 Kevin Wills 41 -595 $300 0 0 0 1
77 44 Shannon Whaley 41 -595 $300 0 0 0 2
78 673 Joe Morel® 41 -595 $300 0 0 0 1
79 55 Tim McCreadie 41 -595 $400 0 0 0 1
80 5 Jason Potter 40 -595 $300 0 0 0 1
81 35 Adam Moore 40 -596 $300 0 0 0 1
82 61 Brian Rogers 40 -596 $300 0 0 0 1
83 25 Bobby Herrington 40 -596 $300 0 0 0 1
84 95 Mark Hitchcock 40 -596 $300 0 0 0 1
85 115 Stephane LaFrance 40 -596 $300 0 0 0 1
86 60x Bill Gill 40 -596 $300 0 0 0 1
87 20 Jeff McGinnis 40 -596 $300 0 0 0 1
88 54j Dave Just 40 -596 $300 0 0 0 1
89 123 Robbie Krull 40 -596 $300 0 0 0 1
90 xXx Todd Gordon 40 -596 $300 0 0 0 1
91 93 Richie Vinson 40 -596 $300 0 0 0 1
92 19k Joe Kubinec 40 -596 $300 0 0 0 1
93 85 Dan Vauter 40 -596 $300 0 0 0 1
94 24 Jim Witko Jr. 40 -596 $300 0 0 0 1
95 47 Scott Prentice 40 -596 $300 0 0 0 1
96 53 Dave Franek 40 -596 $300 0 0 0 1
97 j66 Jared Petruska 40 -596 $300 0 0 0 1
98 00 David Reutimann 40 -596 $300 0 0 0 1
99 53e Carl Edwards 40 -596 $300 0 0 0 1
100 45 Wayne Jelley 40 -596 $400 0 0 0 1
101 93 Ryan Bartlett 40 -596 $400 0 0 0 1
102 117 Kevin Hirthler 40 -596 $300 0 0 0 1
103 25 Mike Kolka 40 -596 $300 0 0 0 1

Advance Auto Parts DIRTcar Modified Entries – July 10 (37)
CAR# DRIVER / HOMETOWN TEAM (Sponsor / Chassis / Engine)
3 Justin Haers/Phelps,NY Phelps Cement Products-SMV Motorsports-Jeff Jolly Masonry/Bicknell/Finger Lakes
00 Ryan Poole/Kingston,ONT Murdock Cement Finishes-Brockville Motor Sales/Bicknell/Mike Blok (Eng. Research)
07 Chris Jones/Picton,ONT Saxony-Bronskill&Coe-Grenbush Elec.-Hubert Kerr Const./Bicknell/Enders
1 Jeff Sykes/Edwards,NY Leaf Racewear-C&B Boating Adventures/Troyer/Morrison
1a Brian Weaver/Windsor,NY RD Home Remodeling-Field's Used Furniture/Bicknell/Wally Fiehl
2 Todd Stewart/Kingston,ONT Martin Electric-T&G Speed & Custom/Bicknell/DSE1
3 Justin Haers/Phelps,NY Phelps Cement Products-SMV Motorsports-Jeff Jolly Masonry/Bicknell/Finger Lakes
5 Jason Potter/Pulaski,NY Dick's Auto Specialties-Fat Nancy's Tackle Shop/Bicknell/Feil
6 Pat O'Brien/Kingston,ONT 730 Truck Stop-Gypsum Logistics-Newells Garage/Bicknell/Enders
8 Danny O'Brien/Kingston,ONT 1000 Islands RV Centers-Pat's Radiator-Corcoran Excavating/Bicknell/Morrison
7x Steve Paine/Waterloo,NY Tallmadge Tire-Terrell's Potato Chips-Swarthout Recycling/Troyer/Finger Lakes
12 John Mulder/Spencerville,ONT Splash Well Drilling-Polite Sand & Gravel/Bicknell/Mike Blok (Eng. Research)
14j Alan Johnson/Middlesex,NY Bully's Truck Stop-CFF,Inc./Bicknell/RL Performance
19 Tim Fuller/Edwards, NY JL Motorsports-Chiefs Tobacco & Gas-G&R Auto Parts/TEO/Enders
20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ Madsen Mtrsports-Wentworth Custom Homes-Kruger-WLR/TEO/Enders
21 Yan Bussiere/Drummondville,QUE Mike Telus Mobilite-Budweiser/TEO/RL Racing Engines
25 Bobby Herrington/Kingston,ONT Stover Bus Lines-Sunshine Canyon/Bicknell/DSE1
27j Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY Thompson Motorsports-Chiefs Tobacco & Gas/Troyer/Kevlar
x31 Andy Lloyd/Kingston,ONT Home Town Realty-Collins Trucking-Sean Binkley Mortgage/Bicknell/Lloyd
35 Adam Moore/Elgin,ONT Four-O-One Electric-E&A Welding-Taylor Auto Mall/Bicknell/Engines Extra
42p Pat Ward/Genoa,NY Gypsum Express,Ltd.-Stadium International/Bicknell/Enders
44 Frank Cozze/Wind Gap,PA Waite's General Contractors-Carquest-Bert Transmission/PMC/Feil-M2 Power
44s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY Currier Plastics-Magee Transport-Adam Ross/Bicknell/Finger Lakes
49 Billy Dunn/Watertown,NY Number One Speed-Fast Lube of Watertown/Bicknell/Finger Lakes
60 Kenny Stafford/Homer,NY HS Edinger Trucking-Upstate Auto Center-Amsoil-Fast Line Performance/Troyer/JPM
60x Bill Gill/Plessis,NY Signtech-Bennett's Car Care-Gill Propeller/TEO/BowTie
61 Bryan Rogers/Kingston,ONT J.Harrison Excavation & Pipeline-Tony K/Bicknell/JR Engines
66 Kyle Dingwall/Morrisburg,ONT Eastern Ontario Millwrighting-Harlenvino Transportation/Bicknell/Mike Blok(Eng.Res.)
66w Wallace Stacey/Kahnawake,QUE Bully's Truck Stop-CFF,Inc./Bicknell/RL Performance
77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY East End Auto Parts & Construction-Jacob's Excavation/Bicknell/Kevlar
84 Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY Honeoye Auto Parts-Red Parker & Son Excavating/Bicknell/Mastin
86 Chris King/Seeleys Bay,ONT Country Auto Parts-Pro Lab-Scott's Flooring/Troyer/King
91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY Gypsum Wholesalers-Stadium Int'l-Quality Hardwoods/Bicknell/Enders
95 Mark Hitchcock/Kingston,ONT Jim's Performance Plus-SG Wells Ford-Cruickshank/TEO/Jim's Performance Ford
98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY Mohawk Northeast-New England Race Fuels/Troyer/Bruneau
99 Ryan Phelps/Fulton,NY Big Red Towing-Dave Miller Auto Body/Bicknell/Enders
99a Mike Adderley/Watertown,NY T.J. Clement Construction-Atomic Sign Works/TEO/Morrison
115 Stephane LaFrance/Morrisburg,ONT Trick Race Parts-Groupe Richer-730 Truck Stop/Troyer/Kevlar

SKIDMARKS
2007 Tour Travelers: For the third straight year tour officials once again signed up the best Big-Block Modified teams in the Northeast to compete in every Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series show. The star-studded group of drivers accepting contract extensions ---those finishing among the top-12 in the final overall 2007 Hoosier Tire-Sunoco Race Fuels Mr. DIRT Championship point standings--- are reigning Mr. DIRT points king and winningest Big-Block Modified driver Alan Johnson, current Advance Auto Parts SDS points leader Matt Sheppard, ‘05 Mr. DIRT champion Tim Fuller, all-time Advance Auto Parts Series race winner Brett Hearn, ‘04 Mr. DIRT titlist Gary Tomkins, third-year tour follower Jimmy Phelps, DIRT NorthEast’s winningest ’07 driver Danny Johnson, Canandaigua Speedway record-setter Steve Paine, full-time tour follower Dale Planck and Keystone State open-wheel veteran Frank Cozze.

Decker & Haers Join The Club: With Cornwall and Drummond series shows falling to rain, the stop at Brockville marked the official ’07 debut of Billy Decker (7th in pts) and Justin Haers (12th) as contracted drivers in the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series. Each of the 12 contracted drivers owns provisional starting positions in the 2007 Advance Auto Parts Series events and are guaranteed to take home no less than $500 in winnings every time out. “Things have been getting pretty tight lately so this is good for our team,” said Decker, a four-time Eckerd 200 champion on the Syracuse Mile, prior to the show on Brockville’s quarter-mile bullring. “It’s not the size of track that matters, its if there’s room and you can pass, then the fastest car can win.” Added Haers, who was a contracted driver after three tour races held in 2005 and during the first half of last season, “We’ll just take every race one at a time and see how things go, it’s a big commitment to follow the whole tour nowadays.”

Border Debuts: The Coca-Cola/BOB FM 100 at Brockville attracted a good number new teams ---mostly Small-Blocks--- in their ‘07 Advance Auto Parts Series debut. Making the feature race line-up in their initial attempt were Autodrome Drummond promoter Yan Bussiere, (finished 12th), Jeff Sykes (13th), Kyle Dingwall (20th), Jason Potter (23rd), Chris Jones (24th), Bobby Herrington (25th), Mark Hitchcock (26th), Stephane LaFrance (27th) Adam Moore (28th), Bryan Rogers (29th) and Bill Gill (30th). Bussiere, Potter, Jones and Gill utilized Big-Block powerplants on this night; Potter actually signed in at Cayuga County on May 27 before rain delayed the Hall of Fame Classic until August. The BOS event was Jones’ first-ever showing in a Big-Block as he steered Picton, Ontario neighbor Tim Kerr’s Bicknell ride, while Gill was fresh off a 40-lap DIRTcar Big-Block feature win at Can-Am on Saturday. At 16 years of age and a high school junior to be, DIRTcar Sportsman division graduate Herrington was one of the youngest drivers ever to qualify for an Advance Auto Parts Series race. Sykes was aboard a brand-new experimental ‘4-coil’ Troyer chassis owned by Dave Thompson, a long-time supporter of Jeff Marshall (#80) who teams with Sykes (#81) at Frogtown Int’l Speedway on Saturdays during the regular season. Second-generation standout LaFrance was third in the track standings entering the event that awarded Small-Block show-up points, was just eight markers behind leader Danny O’Brien with Mark Hitchcock sandwiched in between. O’Brien time trialed in his younger brother Tim’s Big-Block car to stay atop the BOS points chart. Despite not qualifying, the Brockville special marked the Modified debut of Ryan Poole, who opened the season with his regular Sportsman ride. Another DNQ was Chris King, who filled in the vacant pit row stall left by his uncle Steve Bilow, a 35-year veteran on the Canadian circuit.

Rainy Day Ramblings: With back-to-back rain-outs leading off the Canadian swing at Cornwall and Drummond, many DIRTcar Big-Block teams already across the border were spread out between Drummondville and Brockville. “We’ve got the car all done so other than watching the all-star home run derby on TV we just sat around and did nothing,” said Gary Tomkins, who was one of the tour regulars to cross the border first on Saturday night. “We’re all bored out of our minds right now and just want to race.” Early cancellations allowed Steve Paine and Justin Haers to stay home in Central New York on Sunday and the tour stars followed a similar path on Monday. “In two days we only made it as far as Pulaski (NY),” Haers noted. Sophomore Big-Blocker Kenny Stafford was less fortunate as his team made the long trek into Drummondville before driving rain forced a late-day turnaround to Brockville ….. Brian Weav

---