Alan Johnson Rolls To 3rd Tour Triumph In 'Traffic Jam 100'At Grandview

Wed - July 19, 2006 -- Grandview Speedway

Bechtelsville, PA

Author: Tom Skibinski, DIRT NorthEast PR Director

DIRT MotorSports NorthEast’s all-time winningest big-block Modified driver Alan Johnson added another entry in the recordbook as he captured his first career feature win at Grandview Speedway on Wednesday night in the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRT Series ‘Traffic Jam 100.’ Johnson’s third tour triumph of the season came in the 13th appearance made by DIRT NE’s premier Modified traveling tour at Bruce and Theresa Rogers’ popular Bechtelsville, Pa. oval.

“I think I had a second-place once before at Grandview just not many top-fives here before tonight,” figured Johnson, 48, after he parked the Jeff Rudalavage/Tony Laughing-owned no. 14J NativePoker.Com-WPC Associates,Inc.-Pine Line Auto Sales/Bicknell in victory lane for a DIRT-best ninth time this season. His 42nd career Advance Auto Parts SDS victory gives him 338 big-block feature wins since DIRT was established in 1976. “Its good to finally win one here, I’ve had a few chances lately. It’s a racy track and once you hit the right set-up you can make it to the front if you can stay out of trouble.”

Johnson lost the lead to Steve Paine on lap 35 but stayed out of trouble long enough to be in position to return to the point when Paine’s open-wheel machine encountered motor trouble just past the halfway mark in the 100-lap big-block finale. ‘A.J. Slideways’ easily held on the rest of the way despite three caution periods to cruise home for an eight car-length advantage over runner-up Billy Decker, who he now leads by eight points in the AAP Series which culminates with the crowing of the overall Hoosier Tire-Sunoco Race Fuels Mr. DIRT Champion in October. All-time Advance Auto Parts Series winner Brett Hearn, Gary Tomkins and reigning Mr. DIRT Modified Champion Tim Fuller filled out the front-five. Johnson collected $6,000 after joining Decker as the only other three-time winner on the ’06 Advance Auto Parts Modified tour while the guaranteed starting berth in the Eckerd 200 Championship during Super DIRT Week XXXV, Oct. 4-8, at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse went to seventh-place finisher Jimmy Phelps.

Fuller, last year’s Grandview race winner, opened the ninth annual running of Bob Miller’s ‘Thunder On The Hill’ promotion by besting the field of 34 open-wheel entries with a time of 15.032 sec. (79.830 mph) around the fast one-third miler to earn the Integra Shocks Fast Time Award. Comdial Communications sweetened the pot with an additional $200 bonus paid out to the Edwards, N.Y. pilot. Fuller wasn’t as fortunate in the pre-race draw for position as selected the Frisbee numbered nine to start inside row five alongside New Jersey invader Ryan Gowdown. Heat one winner Jimmy Horton was the first to draw and he grabbed the pole to begin the century grind while Johnson uncovered the ‘three’ to file in row two directly behind.

Horton had already claimed an Advance Auto Parts victory at Susquehanna (Pa) Speedway in mid-June and was an early favourite to repeat following his number one selection. But outside front row partner Jeff Strunk had other ideas as he swept around the New Jersey veteran to lead the initial circuit with Johnson, Tomkins and fifth-place starter Paine jockeying early for valuable positions. Johnson blasted by Strunk on lap six and needed just two more times around to move past Horton for the top spot with eight laps complete. The leaders reached traffic before 10 laps were scored and three-wide racing kept the pack shuffling as cars searched for the fastest way around. By lap 15 Paine had charged into second and set his sights on Johnson a dozen car-lengths ahead.

Paine tracked down Johnson in heavy traffic on lap 28 and needed seven more laps to take over first as the leader got bottled up in his bid to hold the point. With the action non-stop around the entire track, the first of five yellow flags finally flew on lap 37 when Rick Laubach’s Alpha Mills mount came to a stop high between turns one and two. Rookie contender Ryan Jacobs came to a stop to force a second slowdown just five laps later and with half the race over Paine and Johnson ran 1-2 followed by 11th-place starter Decker, Horton and Tomkins. Hearn, Fuller, Dale Planck, Pat Ward and Jimmy Phelps rounded out the top-10 with 20 cars still scored on the lead lap.

A potential triumph turned into tragedy as a cloud of smoke suddenly billowed from Paine’s no. 7x Tallmadge Tire-Terrell’s Potato Chips-Geneva Homes- J&M Roofers/TEO ride, with the Waterloo, NY veteran quickly pulled to the infield at the expense of a brand new Finger Lakes powerplant supplied by Jake Marine. Paine’s unexpected departure set up a head-to-head confrontation between the 2006 tour’s top-two point-earners yet despite three brief caution periods over the final 40 laps, Johnson was no match for Decker as the Phelps, NY went on to score a 1.7-second victory in the 40-minute main event.

“It was a tough break with Steve having motor problems, it didn’t look like he was going to fade once he got out front,” said Johnson, following the decisive win in front of the Keystone State crowd. “It still would have been good racing later on in traffic. I figured Billy was good at the end and saw the cameras flashing so I knew he was pretty close. I probably wasn’t as careful as I should’ve been with the lapped cars but things happened pretty quick and there’s not a lot of time to second-guess yourself.”

Decker entered Grandview trailing Johnson by just a single marker on the Advance Auto Parts SDS points chart. Despite a solid runner-up tally, the Unadilla, NY pilot dropped another seven through 12 point races and the next event not coming until August. “Alan was just flat out better than us tonight,” said Decker, who topped the tour field at Grandview in August of 2003. “I would’ve needed a big break in traffic to have any chance of getting past him. I tried the high side and found that wasn’t the hot set-up and with Alan a master running down low I just had to settle in with him being about three to four-tenths faster at the end.”

Hearn crossed the line third as the top-five finishers were also ranked among the front-five in the current AAP Series point standings. “Podium finishes are always good in a Super DIRT Series race with the amount of talent and top-shelf equipment running out here today,” said Hearn, who joins Danny Johnson and Tim McCreadie as the only two-time Series race winners at Grandview with his first coming in Bob Miller’s inaugural Traffic Jam production staged in 1998. “The tires were really good early on then we faded and finally made it back up through near the end. It was a strange race out there, for a while I thought I was fast then I almost dropped out of the top-10. So getting back up to third is really good considering where we came from.”

Advance Auto Parts Super DIRT Series Race #12 –Grandview Speedway, July 19, 2006 ‘Traffic Jam 100’ Modified Event Summary

FIN STR CAR# DRIVER

1 3 14j Alan Johnson/Phelps,NY ($6,000)

2 11 91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY

3 7 20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ

4 4 1 Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY

5 9 19 Tim Fuller/Edwards, NY

6 13 27j Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY

7 17 98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY

8 6 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY

9 8 44 Frank Cozze/Wind Gap,PA

10 28 44s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY

11 18 42p Pat Ward/Genoa,NY

12 10 26 Ryan Godown/Ringoes,NJ

13 14 117 Kevin Hirthler/Perkiomenville,PA

14 23 4 Duane Howard/Oley,PA

15 19 19b Kenny Brightbill/Sinking Spring,PA

16 22 72 Ray Swinehart/Bechtelsville,PA

17 15 42b Kevin Bates/Lake Ariel,PA

18 26 r2z2 Butch Tittle/Saylorsburg,PA

19 21 14w Ryan Watt/Pottstown,PA

20 27 r2 Rusty Smith/Bethlehem,PA

21 20 81 Rich Rutski/Somerville,NJ

22 30 73 Ryan Jacobs/Hogansburg,NY

23 1 42 Jimmy Horton/Neshanic Station,NJ

24 2 126 Jeff Strunk/Bethel,PA

25 25 8j Tom Sears,Jr./Clay,NY

26 5 7x Steve Paine/Waterloo,NY

27 29 15 Brett Tonkin/Carbondale,PA

28 12 357 Billy Pauch/Frenchtown,NJ

29 16 77 Bob Trapper/Scranton,PA

30 24 14 Rick Laubach/Quakertown,PA

LAP LEADERS: Strunk (1-7), A.Johnson (8-34), Paine (35-55), A.Johnson (56-100).

CAUTIONS: 5 for 11 laps.

ECKERD 200 QUALIFIER: Jimmy Phelps.

DID NOT QUALIFY(4)

00-Doug Manmiller/Wyomissing,PA

11-Kyle Jacobs/Hogansburg,NY

66-Vince Gagliardo Jr./Shillington,PA

118-Sean Merkel/Gilbertsville,PA

QUALIFYING

FAST AVE

TIME MPH CAR# DRIVER

1 15.032 79.830 19 Tim Fuller/Edwards, NY

*$100 Integra Shocks Fast Qualifier Award

*$200 Comdial Communications Award

2 15.091 79.518 357 Billy Pauch/Frenchtown,NJ

3 15.163 79.140 44 Frank Cozze/Wind Gap,PA

4 15.177 79.067 1 Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY

5 15.236 78.761 42 Jimmy Horton/Neshanic Station,NJ

6 15.245 78.714 14j Alan Johnson/Phelps,NY

15.245 78.714 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY

8 15.247 78.704 20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ

9 15.268 78.596 26 Ryan Godown/Ringoes,NJ

10 15.280 78.534 126 Jeff Strunk/Bethel,PA

11 15.301 78.426 42b Kevin Bates/Lake Ariel,PA

12 15.307 78.396 7x Steve Paine/Waterloo,NY

13 15.308 78.390 98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY

14 15.319 78.334 117 Kevin Hirthler/Perkiomenville,PA

15 15.349 78.181 91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY

16 15.353 78.161 81 Rich Rutski/Somerville,NJ

17 15.382 78.013 14 Rick Laubach/Quakertown,PA

18 15.388 77.983 8j Tom Sears,Jr./Clay,NY

19 15.399 77.927 72 Ray Swinehart/Bechtelsville,PA

20 15.433 77.755 44s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY

21 15.459 77.625 14w Ryan Watt/Pottstown,PA

22 15.500 77.419 42p Pat Ward/Genoa,NY

23 15.508 77.379 19b Kenny Brightbill/Sinking Spring,PA

24 15.512 77.359 77 Bob Trapper/Scranton,PA

25 15.562 77.111 27j Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY

26 15.594 76.953 11 Kyle Jacobs/Hogansburg,NY

15.594 76.953 73 Ryan Jacobs/Hogansburg,NY

28 15.610 76.874 4 Duane Howard/Oley,PA

29 15.631 76.771 15 Brett Tonkin/Carbondale,PA

30 15.776 76.065 r2z2 Butch Tittle/Saylorsburg,PA

31 15.829 75.810 r2 Rusty Smith/Bethlehem,PA

32 15.895 75.495 66 Vince Gagliardo Jr./Shillington,PA

33 16.010 74.953 118 Sean Merkel/Gilbertsville,PA

34 -NT- ----- 00 Doug Manmiller/Wyomissing,PA

Heat Races (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to feature, top 3 went to re-draw)

#1: Horton, Fuller, Godown, D.Johnson, Phelps, Watt, Laubach, Tonkin, Merkel.

#2: Pauch, Strunk, Planck, Hirthler, Ward, Sears, Tittle, R.Jacobs.

#3: Cozze, A.Johnson, Decker, Bates, Brightbill, Swinehart, Smith, K.Jacobs.

#4: Hearn, Tomkins, Paine, Trapper, Rutski, Howard, Gagliardo, Sheppard, Manmiller (DNS).

Consolation Round (10 laps, top 10 finishers transferred to feature)

#1: Watt, Swinehart, Howard, Laubach, Sears, Tittle, Smith, Sheppard, Tonkin, R.Jacobs, Gagliardo, K.Jacobs (DNS), Merkel (DNS), Manmiller (DNS).

Advance Auto Parts Super Series Point Standings (through July 19, 2006)

No. Driver Points Diff Money Wins Top-5 Top-10 Starts

1 14J Alan Johnson 935 0 $34,225 3 8 8 12

2 91 Billy Decker 927 (8) $29,925 3 8 9 12

3 19 Tim Fuller 900 (35) $22,300 1 9 9 12

4 20 Brett Hearn 814 (121) $21,950 2 5 7 12

5 1 Gary Tomkins 806 (129) $17,950 0 6 8 12

6 42p Pat Ward 801 (134) $12,100 0 3 9 12

7 27J Danny Johnson 764 (171) $14,850 1 1 7 12

8 98h Jimmy Phelps 741 (194) $11,200 0 2 9 12

9 44s Matt Sheppard 729 (206) $9,825 0 1 7 12

10 77x Dale Planck 699 (236) $14,475 1 2 6 11

11 44c Frank Cozze 693 (242) $7,850 0 2 5 12

12 7x Steve Paine 647 (288) $7,150 0 0 5 12

13 8J Tom Sears Jr. 535 (400) $5,225 0 1 2 11

14 10 Stewart Friesen 519 (416) $3,713 0 0 2 10

15 11 Kyle Jacobs 445 (490) $3,825 0 1 1 9

16 32c Vic Coffey 426 (509) $5,775 0 2 5 7

17 3 Justin Haers 408 (527) $3,400 0 0 2 8

18 Z Butch Tittle 308 (627) $2,100 0 0 0 8

19 39 Tim McCreadie 308 (627) $6,950 0 3 4 5

20 42 Jimmy Horton 255 (680) $7,100 1 1 1 4

21 42B Kevin Bates 200 (735) $1,200 0 0 0 4

22 60 Kenny Stafford 199 (736) $1,200 0 0 0 4

23 73 Ryan Jacobs 197 (738) $900 0 0 0 3

24 6 Pat O’Brien 195 (740) $6,500 0 2 2 2

25 3b Chad Brachmann 188 (747) $2,600 0 1 1 4

26 14 Rick Laubach 166 (769) $900 0 0 0 4

27 90r Martin Roy 156 (779) $1,050 0 0 0 3

28 6J Joe Isabell 151 (784) $600 0 0 0 2

29 22g Mitch Gibbs 149 (786) $963 0 0 0 4

30 99 Ryan Phelps 133 (802) $900 0 0 0 4

31 62 Todd Burley 131 (804) $1,500 0 0 1 2

32 66 Jeff Heotzler 128 (807) $2,300 0 1 1 3

33 33.3 Tommy Meier 120 (815) $500 0 0 0 2

34 66 Kyle Dingwall 115 (820) $800 0 0 0 2

35 21 Yan Bussiere 111 (824) $625 0 0 0 2

36 99b Chuck Bower 109 (826) $600 0 0 0 2

37 R2 Rusty Smith 106 (829) $600 0 0 0 2

38 11 Chris Jones 106 (829) $1,100 0 0 1 2

39 30 Jamie Mills 105 (830) $900 0 0 1 2

40 19B Kenny Brightbill 102 (833) $600 0 0 0 2

41 26 Ryan Godown 100 (835) $700 0 0 0 2

42 88 Jeff Strunk 99 (836) $650 0 0 0 2

43 91d Kevin Hirthler 96 (839) $650 0 0 0 2

44 2 Ronnie Johnson 96 (839) $600 0 0 0 2

45 FX1 Frankie Caprara Jr. 95 (840) $625 0 0 0 3

46 18 Sean Beardsley 95 (840) $600 0 0 0 3

47 00 Doug Manmiller 93 (842) $600 0 0 0 2

48 9 Bob McCreadie 90 (845) $600 0 0 0 3

49 151 Brian McDonald 89 (846) $600 0 0 0 2

50 88 Steve Hulsizer 89 (846) $600 0 0 0 3

51 115 Kenny Tremont Jr. 88 (847) $2,000 0 1 1 1

52 357 Billy Pauch 85 (850) $600 0 0 0 2

53 15 Brett Tonkin 83 (852) $600 0 0 0 3

54 09 Alex Fortier 83 (852) $600 0 0 0 2

55 21 Gary Edwards Jr. 81 (854) $1,000 0 0 1 1

56 95 Mark Hitchcock 81 (854) $600 0 0 0 2

57 22 Mario Clair 80 (855) $600 0 0 0 2

58 47 Jerry Higbie 79 (856) $1,400 0 0 1 1

59 17d Danny O’Brien 77 (858) $1,200 0 0 1 1

60 93x Craig Mitchell 75 (860) $1,200 0 0 1 1

61 2 Frederic Gamache 65 (870) $800 0 0 1 1

62 71 David VanHorn Jr. 62 (873) $300 0 0 0 1

63 46 Kayle Robidoux 62 (873) $600 0 0 1 1

64 72 Ray Swinehart 60 (875) $300 0 0 0 1

65 99 Mike Adderley 59 (876) $400 0 0 0 1

66 777 Kevin Bolland 58 (877) $300 0 0 0 1

67 49 Billy Dunn 58 (877) $300 0 0 0 1

68 42 Pete Bicknell 57 (878) $350 0 0 0 1

69 23x Danny Bilodeau 56 (879) $350 0 0 0 1

70 4 Duane Howard 54 (881) $325 0 0 0 1

71 12J Danny Williams 54 (881) $300 0 0 0 1

72 8 Frk. Jashembowski 53 (882) $300 0 0 0 1

73 8 Rich Scagliotta 53 (882) $300 0 0 0 1

74 39 Clement Therrien 52 (883) $300 0 0 0 1

75 66x Carey Terrance 50 (885) $300 0 0 0 1

76 20D Del Rougeux Jr. 50 (885) $300 0 0 0 1

77 24 Chris Shultz 48 (887) $300 0 0 0 1

78 44sf Sebastian Gougeon 48 (887) $300 0 0 0 1

79 3 Claude Brouillard 46 (889) $300 0 0 0 1

80 14w Ryan Watt 45 (890) $300 0 0 0 1

81 73 Rick Mill 45 (890) $300 0 0 0 1

82 10 Richie Eurich 45 (890) $300 0 0 0 1

83 66w Wallace Stacey 45 (890) $300 0 0 0 1

84 20h David Hebert 45 (890) $300 0 0 0 1

85 118 Mike DePalma 44 (891) $300 0 0 0 1

86 81 Rich Rutski 43 (892) $300 0 0 0 1

87 9 Mike Ketchum 43 (892) $300 0 0 0 1

88 53 Dave Franek 43 (892) $300 0 0 0 1

89 2 Todd Stewart 43 (892) $300 0 0 0 1

90 21k Randy Chrysler 43 (892) $300 0 0 0 1

91 32 Jim Rasey 43 (892) $300 0 0 0 1

92 23 Laurent Ladouceur 42 (893) $300 0 0 0 1

93 79 Jeremy Markle 41 (894) $300 0 0 0 1

94 16 Lance Willix II 41 (894) $300 0 0 0 1

95 X Chad Phelps 41 (894) $300 0 0 0 2

96 77 Bob Trapper 40 (895) $300 0 0 0 1

97 19 Chuck McKee 40 (895) $300 0 0 0 1

98 11 Real LaFrance 40 (895) $300 0 0 0 1

99 72 Alain LaPlante 40 (895) $300 0 0 0 1

100 3 Bill Mullin 40 (895) $300 0 0 0 1

101 5 Dan Jalbert 40 (895) $300 0 0 0 1

102 115 Stephane LaFrance 40 (895) $300 0 0 0 1

103 73a Alain Boisvert 40 (895) $300 0 0 0 1

104 12 John Mulder 40 (895) $300 0 0 0 1

105 7J Jeff Isabell 40 (895) $0 0 0 0 0

106 44w Shannon Whaley 40 (895) $300 0 0 0 1

107 19k Joe Kubiniec 40 (895) $300 0 0 0 1

108 12 Brian Sage 40 (895) $300 0 0 0 1

109 7NY Bill Torissi 40 (895) $300 0 0 0 1

110 XXX Todd Gordon 40 (895) $300 0 0 0 1

111 86 Billy Pauch Jr. 40 (895) $300 0 0 0 1

112 12a Jack Johnson 40 (895) $300 0 0 0 1

113 37md Jer. Shingledecker 40 (895) $300 0 0 0 1

114 31 Jim Weller 40 (895) $300 0 0 0 1

115 2 Mark Flick 40 (895) $300 0 0 0 1

116 83 Brian Swartzlander 40 (895) $300 0 0 0 1

117 23 Jim Weller III 40 (895) $300 0 0 0 1

118 56 Vince Vitale 40 (895) $300 0 0 0 1

119 1H Tim Hindley 40 (895) $300 0 0 0 2

Advance Auto Parts DIRT Modified Entries – July 19 (34)

CAR# DRIVER / HOMETOWN TEAM (Sponsor / Chassis / Engine)

00 Doug Manmiller/Wyomissing,PA GMI First Mechanical Solutions,Inc.-Car Corner Auto Sales/Bicknell/Doug Meyers

1 Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY Honeoye Auto Parts-Pillsbury/Bicknell/Finger Lakes

r2 Rusty Smith/Bethlehem,PA Smith Excavating & Paving-Bourdeau Financial/TEO/David VanHorn,Sr.

r2z2 Butch Tittle/Saylorsburg,PA Smith Excavating & Paving-Bourdeau Financial/TEO/David VanHorn,Sr.

4 Duane Howard/Oley,PA BPG Racing-Alex’s Lemonade Stand-Mavericks/Bicknell/Morrison

7x Steve Paine/Waterloo,NY Tallmadge Tire-Terrell’s Potato Chips-Geneva Homes-J&M Roofers/TEO/Finger Lakes

8j Tom Sears,Jr./Clay,NY JIR Motorsports-Commercial Roofing & Sheet Metal,Inc./TEO/Morrison

11 Kyle Jacobs/Hogansburg,NY Quality Concrete-King Enterprises-Chiefs Tobacco & Gas/Troyer/Kevlar

14 Rick Laubach/Quakertown,PA Alpha Mills-Reiley & Sterner Auto Sales-Werner’s Auto Body/TEO/D.VanHorn,Sr.

14j Alan Johnson/Phelps,NY NativePoker.Com-WPC Associates,Inc.-Pine Line Auto Sales/Bicknell/Morrison

14w Ryan Watt/Pottstown,PA BPG Racing-Alex’s Lemonade Stand-Mavericks/TEO/Feil

15 Brett Tonkin/Carbondale,PA Grimm Construction-G&G Towing/Bicknell/Main

19 Tim Fuller/Edwards, NY JL Motorsports(Native Poker)-Chiefs Tobacco&Gas-G&R Auto Parts/TEO/Enders

19b Kenny Brightbill/Sinking Spring,PA Heavy Business/Bicknell/HG Associates

20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ Madsen Mtrsports-Wentworth Custom Homes-BPG Racing-Kruger-WLR/TEO/Enders

26 Ryan Godown/Ringoes,NJ Stanton Hills Landscaping/Bicknell/Feil

27j Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY JIR Motorsports-Oneidaview Pile Driving/TEO/Morrison

42 Jimmy Horton/Neshanic Station,NJ Millennium Car Wash-Grosso Trucking-Metal Fab Race Pro Shop/Bicknell/Feil

42b Kevin Bates/Lake Ariel,PA Blaise & Son Racing-The Ulster 4-Locklin’s Bottled Gas/Bicknell/Bedell & Murray

42p Pat Ward/Genoa,NY Gypsum Express,Ltd.-Stadium International/Bicknell/Enders

44 Frank Cozze/Wind Gap,PA Waite’s General Contr-Carquest Auto Parts-Bert Transmission/TEO/Feil-M2 Power

44s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY BKS/G-U Hardware-Currier Pastics-Adam Ross Cut Stone/Bicknell/Finger Lakes

66 Vince Gagliardo Jr./Shillington,PA Vince’s Auto Sales-Vince’s Towing/Troyer/Feil

72 Ray Swinehart/Bechtelsville,PA Ebersole Excavating-X/S Waste Transport/Bicknell/Doug Meyers

73 Ryan Jacobs/Hogansburg,NY East End Auto Parts & Construction-Jacob’s Excavation/Bicknell/Enders

77 Bob Trapper/Scranton,PA Fields Used Furniture-Andy’s Auto Sales/TEO/Fiehl

77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY East End Auto Parts & Construction-Jacob’s Excavation/Bicknell/Enders

81 Rich Rutski/Somerville,NJ BRB Construction-Jersey Jerkey-Sheppard Builders/Bicknell/ Feil

91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY Gypsum Wholesalers-Stadium Int’l-Quality Hardwoods/Bicknell/Enders

98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY Mohawk Northeast-New England Race Fuels/Troyer/Bruneau-JanCen

117 Kevin Hirthler/Perkiomenville,PA Green Lane William Penn-Churchville Masonry/Bicknell/Morrison

118 Sean Merkel/Gilbertsville,PA Jr. Schell Trucking-Agliano Bros. TruckingTEO/Feil

126 Jeff Strunk/Bethel,PA Gold Rush Trailers-Touch of Green Landscaping/TEO/Feil

357 Billy Pauch/Frenchtown,NJ Norm’s Save Station-Davis Insurance Group/Bicknell/Doug Meyers

SKIDMARKS

2006 Tour 12 Turnaround: For the second straight year DIRT MotorSports™ has signed up the best big-block Modified teams in the Northeast to compete in every Advance Auto Parts Super DIRT Series show. The list of a dozen contracted drivers (in alphabetical order) initially included past Eckerd 200 champion Vic Coffey, four-time and defending Eckerd 200 titlist Billy Decker, third-generation big-block upstart Stewart Friesen, reigning overall Hoosier Tire-Sunoco Race Fuels Mr. DIRT champion Tim Fuller, ’04 Rookie of the Year Justin Hears, all-time Advance Auto Parts SDS race winner Brett Hearn, DIRT’s winningest big-block Modified driver Alan Johnson, Canandaigua (NY) Speedway record-setter Steve Paine, second-year tour mainstay Jimmy Phelps, rising star Matt Sheppard, former Mr. DIRT champion Gary Tomkins and 30-year open-wheel veteran Pat Ward. In a role reversal from the ’05 campaign, Danny Johnson replaced Haers following the Canadian swing and at the conclusion of the Orange County event Frank Cozze was named to fill in for missing Friesen and Dale Planck moved into the slot recently left vacant by Coffey. At Grandview, Johnson (6th) had the best outcome, finishing ahead of Planck (8th) and one more spot ahead of Cozze (9th) in their contractual debut.

SDS Roster Additions: Five drivers made their first appearance in the 2006 Advance Auto Parts SDS at Grandview on Wednesday. All but Vince Gagliardo Jr. qualified for the century grind with Duane Howard (14th) finishing highest followed by Ryan Watt (19th), Rich Rutski (21st) and Bob Trapper (29th) in their initial attempts.

Feel The Paine: While salvaging just five top-10 finishes in the initial 11 Advance Auto Parts outing, Steve Paine looked to be back in familiar territory as led the all-star line-up with less than 50 laps to go in Wednesday night’s big-block finale. But like so many times before during the ’06 tour campaign, last year’s Grandview runner-up posted another disappointing finish (26th) to keep him ranked 12th in points and farthest down the list of a dozen committed drivers. “Its just been a lot of trial and error lately,” said Paine, who continues to contest for a modern-day DIRT NE record seventh straight track title closer to home at Canandaigua (NY) Speedway. “In the past six weeks we’ve probably made more changes than in the past 10 years combined. Hopefully, we’re getting a little closer to something, its been a lot of work with not much to show for the effort we’ve put behind it.” Paine recently opened and currently operates a new Waterloo Speedway go-cart track, located within a mile of the now defunct Maple Grove Speedway (aka Waterloo Speedway) and just a little further from his Brewer Road residence. The “Hurricane” is also enjoying his growing family with wife Stacey expecting a third child in November to join siblings Billy (3 yrs.) and Tommy (2 yrs.) on the race day roster.

Sponsorship Spotlight: With Bob Miller’s Thunder On The Hill’ event sponsored by BPG Racing and Chad Sinon Motorsports, Sinon was an active onlooker as he also fielded rides for Duane Howard and Ryan Watt, who both qualified for the nightcap. Many-time Grandview feature winner Craig VonDohren was also expected to compete yet his car was not ready due to a crash suffered two weeks at Bridgeport (NJ) Speedway. Sinon was hoping to celebrate a top finish for either of his drivers, the day before he would blow out the candles at his 40h birthday party.

Keystone Combination: Fifteen years ago Jeff Strunk was ready to strap in behind the wheel of a Glenn Hynemann-owned Modified. Then came the rain to cancel the show and that was the last time the pair got together. Already owning nine feature wins in 2006 (5-Grandview, 4-Big Diamond), Strunk got a second chance Wednesday at Grandview and was on his way to successful debut after time trialing 10th quickest and drawing outside-pole to start the feature in the potent Feil-powered no. 126 Gold Rush Trailers-Touch of Green Landscaping/TEO car. The marriage lasted only 65 circuits after Strunk (finished 24th) had faded from the top-10 with little chance of saving the trial separation.

Tough Times On The Hill: Since first utilizing the AMB it Scoring & Timing System in 2000, the latest Advance Auto Parts SDS event marks the first time that the fast time trailer has not cracked the 15-second barrier in their qualifying run. Current track record-holder Matt Sheppard, who posted the best time (14.635 sec./81.995 mph) in August of 2004, was 20th fastest on Wednesday as the Randy Ross-owned no. 44s BKS/G-U Hardware-Currier Pastics-Adam Ross Cut Stone/Bicknell entry was housing a borrowed Finger Lakes motor. After setting his fast time of 15.032 seconds, Fuller noted, “Winning last year doesn’t really mean anything, it’s a whole new ballgame this time around but being fast means you’re still in the hunt. I’m just looking for a good starting spot and hopefully we’ll be there at the end when 100 laps is up.”

Quick Draw: Qualifying heat one winner Jimmy Horton was the first to make a selection in the customary pre-race draw and came out of it with the number one starting spot. Billy Pauch was up next after winning the second heat and chose the highest number 12. The New Jersey stars were both DNF’s on the final scoresheet with Horton (23rd) dropping out after 89 laps and Pauch (28th) making a quicker exit with 41 circuits covered in his second 2006 tour event.

Excavating Toward Eldora: With just a couple weeks remaining before the ground-pounding DIRT big-block Modifieds heat west for a return visit to Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway on Aug. 5, Rusty Smith and Butch Tittle are solidifying plans to make the long haul to the legendary Ohio speedplant. Teamed up in a pair of red no. r2 Smith Excavating & Paving-Bourdeau Financial/TEO entries, the veteran travelers are also outlining plans to compete at Tri-City Speedway (Pa.) on Sunday, Aug. 6 before crossing the border attempting to qualify for the Advance Auto Parts show at Merrittville (Ont.) Speedway on Monday, Aug. 7 --- the first tour visit since 1992.

Homepage Highlights: The Official DIRT MotorSports NorthEast Web site at http://www.dirtmotorsports.com/DirtNE/SDS includes Advance Auto Parts Series driver biographies with individual statistics and pictures, race-by-race statistics, detailed track information and race coverage, series news and team press releases. There are also specific links to the 2006 DIRT MotorSports Media Guide, the Official Rulebook and the 2006 DIRT MotorSports Membership form.

Get Out The Word First: With RACEceiver now recognized as the Official Driver Communicator of DIRT MotorSports™ in 2006, fans, as well as the competing drivers, were able to hear first hand everything that was happening throughout the entire Grandview show. A compact radio receiver that conveniently fits into a driver’s pocket, a RACEceiver allows each driver to hear directions from series officials, which greatly enhances the safety and timeliness of events. A similar version available to fans allows RACEceiver users to hear what information series officials are relaying to the drivers. For more information about RACEceiver, visit www.raceceiver.com, call 866/301-7223, or look for their sales trailers at various events.

Tracks Know The Score: In DIRT MotorSports™ ongoing effort to assist every sanctioned track with presenting the best possible race programs, DMS has teamed with AMB i.t. which continues to be recognized as the Official Timing System of DIRT MotorSports. AMB i.t. is the world’s leader in automatic race timing and scoring systems and the DIRT organization is proud to retain the company as a valued partner in the timing and scoring of all DIRT MotorSports events.

Eckerd Store Specials: Eckerd Pharmacies in New York and Pennsylvania will give away close to 1,000 free tickets for Advance Auto Parts Super DIRT Series/Eckerd 200 Qualifier Races held throughout the 2006 season. The popular Eckerd program is part of the promotion for the Oct. 8 Eckerd 200 Championship race at Super DIRT Week in Syracuse, N.Y. Each Eckerd Pharmacy promotion will feature DIRT driver appearances, race cars, the Eckerd “cut-away” Modified, free autograph cards and free tickets to Advance Auto Parts Super DIRT Series/Eckerd 200 Qualifier Races. Fans can find more information on the Eckerd promotion by visiting Eckerd Pharmacy online at www.eckerd.com. For race information, please visit www.dirtmotorsports.com.

DATE TRACK (PHONE) DRIVER/APPEARANCE ECKERD STORE ADDRESS

Thr-Aug 10 Canandaigua Speedway (585/394-0961) Vic Coffey / 12noon-2:00pm 539 North Main St – Canandaigua, NY

Wed-Aug 30 Brewerton Speedway (315/668-6906) Pat Ward / 12noon-2:00pm 8379 Thompson Road – Cicero, NY

Sun-Sep 3 Cayuga Co. Fair Speedway (315/834-6606) Matt Sheppard / 11:00am-1:00pm 113 Downer Street – Baldwsinville, NY

Mon-sep 4 Rolling Wheels Raceway (315/689-7809) Steve Paine / 11:00am-1:00pm 153 Grant Avenue – Auburn, NY

Sat-sep 9 Lebanon Valley Speedway (518/794-9965) Kenny Tremont / 10:00am-12noon 463 Albany-Shaker Rd – Loudonville, NY

Sat-Sep 30 Fulton Speedway (315/593-6531) Vic Coffey / 9:00am-11:00am 503 South Second St. - Fulton, NY

Mon-Oct 9 Super DIRT Week XXXV WINNER / 10:0am-12noon Eckerd, TBA

Next Events: Advance Auto Parts Super DIRT Series traveling teams take a well-deserved two-week break from mid-week activity before the top Modified chauffeurs in the Northeast head to Rossburg, Ohio for the highly anticipated return to Eldora Speedway on August 5. Just one day off and the mighty DIRT big-block Modifieds return to action for the final time in Canada this season with Merrittville Speedway staging its first Advance Auto Parts SDS shootout since 1992. Each 100-lap main event pays out $6,000 to the winner plus offers valuable points towards the overall Hoosier-Sunoco Mr. DIRT Championship.

2006 Advance Auto Parts Super DIRT Series Schedule

NP=Non-Point event.

DAY-DATE LAPS TRACK WINNER/LOCATION

Wed-Feb 15 30-NP Volusia Speedway Park JIMMY HORTON

Thr-Feb 16 30-NP Volusia Speedway Park TIM FULLER

Fri-Feb 17 30-NP Volusia Speedway Park BRETT HEARN

Sat-Feb 18 50-NP Volusia Speedway Park BRETT HEARN

Sat-Mar 25 100 Hagerstown Speedway BRETT HEARN

Sun-May 7 50 Rolling Wheels Raceway BILLY DECKER

Sun-May 7 50 Rolling Wheels Raceway TIM FULLER

Sun-May 28 100 Cayuga Co Fair Speedway DANNY JOHNSON

Wed-Jun 14 100 Lernerville Speedway BILLY DECKER

Thr-Jun 15 100 Susquehanna Speedway JIMMY HORTON

Wed-Jun 21 100 Ransomville Speedway ALAN JOHNSON

Wed-Jun 28 100 Fulton Speedway Rain-Cancelled

Mon-Jul 3 100 Rolling Wheels Raceway Rain-Cancelled

Tue-Jul 4 100 Brockville Ont Speedway ALAN JOHNSON

Sun-Jul 9 100 Cornwall Motor Speedway DALE PLANCK

Mon-Jul 10 100 Autodrome Drummond BRETT HEARN

Thr-Jul 13 100 Orange Co Fair Speedway BILLY DECKER

Wed-Jul 19 100 Grandview Speedway ALAN JOHNSON

Sat-Aug 5 100 Eldora Speedway Rossburg,OH

Mon-Aug 7 100 Merrittville Speedway Thorold,ONT

Thr-Aug 10 100 Canandaigua Speedway Canandaigua,NY

Wed-Aug 16 100 New Egypt Speedway New Egypt,NJ

Wed-Aug 30 100 Brewerton Speedway Brewerton,NY

Sun-Sep 3 100 Cayuga Co Fair Speedway Weedsport,NY

Mon-Sep 4 100 Rolling Wheels Raceway Elbridge,NY

Sat-Sep 9 200 Lebanon Valley Speedway West Lebanon,NY

Fri-Sep 15 100 Canandaigua Speedway Canandaigua,NY

Sat-Sep 23 200 Rolling Wheels Raceway Elbridge,NY

Sat-Sep 30 200 Fulton Speedway Fulton,NY

Sun-Oct 8 200 New York State Fairgrnds Syracuse,NY

Sun-Oct 15 100 Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg,PA

Sun-Oct 22 200 Orange Co Fair Speedway Middletown,NY

*All events subject to change.

The DIRT MotorSports™ Advance Auto Parts Modified Series is brought to fans across the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Advance Auto Parts, Hoosier Racing Tire and Sunoco Race Fuels. Promotional partners include AMB i.t., DealMaker Auto Group and the University of Northwestern Ohio and the contingency sponsors are Bert Transmission, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix Cylinder Heads, DART Machinery, Holley HP Carburetors, Integra Shocks, MSD Ignitions, Miller Electric Manufacturing Company, Penske Shocks and Wrisco Industries.