Third Time Is A Charm For Tomkins In Advance Auto Parts SDS Win At Rolling Wheels
By Tom Skibinski, DIRT Modified Series Reporter

Elbridge, NY — September 5, 2005 — Last year Gary Tomkins captured his first ever points title at Rolling Wheels Raceway. The reigning overall Hoosier Tire-Sunoco Race Fuels Mr. DIRT champion broke more new ground on Monday night as he garnered his first-ever victory in the Robert N. Petrocci Memorial at the popular Elbridge oval.

"Every win is a big one at Rolling Wheels and this ranks right up there because it was a total team effort," said Tomkins, 39, following his third Advance Auto Parts Super DIRT Series victory of the season in the 34th edition of the annual Labor Day special. Tomkins' 13th open-wheel win of 2005 was worth $6,000 and kept the Elaine James Motorsports Team in the hunt for a fourth straight Mr. DIRT crown; the initial two coming with Alan Johnson in the 2002-03 seasons.

"The crew told me to come in early if the car got too loose and they would take some stagger out. When I was losing ground from the start I pitted for a bigger left rear tire and back out on the track I knew immediately we did the right thing," said Tomkins, following his second late race rally that resulted in a trip to the winner's circle. He overtook Matt Sheppard with seven laps to go to earn his first win at Autodrome Drummond (Que.) in July and Monday night ducked under Billy Decker on lap 86 of the century grind to register his 10th career triumph in Advance Auto Parts SDS competition. The Clifton Springs, N.Y. chauffeur was most dominant in his run to the checkered flag at Canandaigua Speedway in August, leading the final 60 circuits to add his name to the 'Land of Legends' recordbook in the Super DIRT Series section.

With an ultra-tacky and often treacherous racing surface testing equipment throughout the night at Rolling Wheels, the exact order of finish was never certain until 100 laps were up. Front row partners Decker and Series points leader Tim Fuller took turns leading the pack until Tomkins showcased his charge to the front with a move underneath Decker with 14 circuits still to negotiate.

"It was a good race tonight, it's just so hard to pass out there but the number one car sure made it look easy," said Fuller, who claimed victory laurels at the last Rolling Wheels tour stop on the Fourth of July. "Gary was really hooked down on the bottom and his crew really knows their stuff around here. You always come to win but second is still pretty good especially with the caliber of teams we're dealing with every night out."

Team Troyer house car driver Jimmy Phelps set fast time and for the second straight night Decker was second fastest. The difference on the starting grid was evident at Rolling Wheels as Decker drew the pole position after selecting spot number 11 the night prior at Cayuga County. On both occasions Tomkins started outside row three to begin the 100-lap big-block feature race finales.

From the opening green flag Decker showed that he would be a contender throughout the main event. And so did Fuller as he twice slipped past the no. 91 Gypsum Wholesalers-Stadium International/Bicknell entry before the halfway point. Veteran Jack Johnson slowed on lap three to bring out the first yellow flag on lap three and Ryan Phelps forced a second caution period when he slammed the turn one-two outside cement barrier and rolled back on all fours with six laps complete.

Top-three runner Mitch Gibbs was the next casualty and the third yellow flag for his slowing mount proved beneficial to Fuller as he overtook Decker for the lead on the ensuing lap 12 restart. When Ryan Bartlett (turns 1-2) and Dave Rauscher (turns 3-4) looped their machines simultaneously at opposite ends to set off caution lights around the speedway, Tomkins reversed his direction and headed straight for the pits to make the necessary adjustments.

Tomkins had climbed as high as fourth in the early stages before turning pitside at his crew's command to make what would result in the most strategic move of the race. When the no. 1 Pillsbury Collectibles/Bicknell machine returned to the track following a quick tire change, there were 21 cars standing between Tomkins and leader Fuller with 20 laps scored.

Back under green it was second-generation standout Tim McCreadie cracking the top-five by lap 22 and four more times around he bolted from fourth to second on yet another restart. But just as Justin Haers slowed to require a yellow flag on lap 28, McCreadie slid off the track between turns one and two when a power steering fluid leak forced him to evacuate the cockpit before more hot liquid could be released.

Decker took advantage of the lap 31 restart that followed, nipping Fuller at the line when the green lights reappeared around the spacious 5/8-miler. Vince Vitale and Hears slowed to force starter Matt Burdick to display the yellow flag and Fuller got his last look at the lead passing Decker low as the pair crossed the stripe to complete lap 44. Decker rebounded the next circuit and at the halfway mark the Unadilla, N.Y. pilot held off Fuller, Vic Coffey, Brett Hearn and Phelps.

Cayuga County winner Pat Ward was the man on the move as he negotiated traffic to take over fifth-place from Phelps on lap 62. Suddenly, three laps later the right rear tire shredded on the no. 42p Gypsum Express and Ward's chance at scoring back-to-back SDS victories flattened out just as quickly. With 30 laps to go Decker and Fuller still paced the field while Tomkins had raced in to a front-five position with plenty of Finger Lakes power under the hood and fresh rubber to afford him the needed traction.

Tomkins disposed of Hearn then darted past Coffey to secure third-place with three quarters of the race scored. In the meantime Fuller continued to inch deeper underneath Decker between turns three and four while Tomkins loomed in their shadow creeping ever so closer. On lap 84 Tomkins finally sped past Fuller in turn two and needed just two more circuits to forge the final lead change with Decker as the top duo ran side by side own the back straightaway.

The 12th and final yellow flag unfurled on lap 88 when fourth running Coffey drifted off the track high in turns three and four to set up the last dash to the checkers. Fuller was able to steal second from Decker with five to go but Tomkins opened up a dozen car-lengths on the no. m1 MBF Racing-B&F General Machine ride as the hour-long feature came to a close. Chasing Tomkins, Fuller and Decker to the stripe were Phelps and Matt Sheppard while Hearn, Chuck Bower, Ronnie Johnson, Jeff Brownell, Jr., and Sean Beardsley rounded out the top-10.

"I have to also thank Chuck (Bower) for loaning us a steering box for the heat," said Tomkins after claiming his first win of the year at Rolling Wheels and third of his career at the 'Fast Track.' Fuller (2) and Hearn scored the other RWR feature victories this season while Decker returned home still atop the track point standings. "After coming in for the tire change everything seemed to go our way. Especially all those yellow flags, they really helped keep everybody in sight. At the end the car just kept getting better and better while everybody else just stayed on the same pace."

After losing 13 points to Hearn the night before at Cayuga County, Fuller rebounded to finish second and coupled with Hearn's sixth-place tally pushed his Advance Auto Parts SDS lead to 51 points through 16 events. "Gary was in a zone down low tonight and Billy and I both faded at the end," said Fuller, following his tour best 11th top-five finish. The Edwards, N.Y. driver also leads the Series with six feature race wins. "But I'm happy to finish here with the tough track conditions. There was a lot of debris out there from cars losing parts all night but fortunately we have a good shock package to off-set some of that stuff. Still, heading into Lebanon Valley with the lead is good, you always need a big advantage going in when there's so much that can happen in a 200-lapper."

Despite finishing third, Decker led the most laps (65) and held on to his fourth-place position in the Super DIRT Series point standings. "I started out fast the first few laps but just tried to hang on and keep up the momentum after that," said Decker, on the heels of his 12th top-10 tally in tour races this season. "The car was too free, I needed something about a half-lane lower to lean on. It was pretty hard on the right rear tire running up high for so many laps but I just wasn't able to move my line down and keep it working where I should've been."

ADVANCE AUTO PARTS MODIFIED SUPER DIRT SERIES POINT STANDINGS
(through Rolling Wheels – September 5, 2005)
No. Driver Points Diff Money Wins Top 5Top 10Starts
1 M1 Tim Fuller 1,304 0 $55,700 6 11 13 16
2 3 Brett Hearn 1,253 (51)$35,900 2 10 13 16
3 1 Gary Tomkins 1,222 (82)$35,900 3 7 12 16
4 91 Billy Decker 1,209 (95)$30,425 1 6 12 16
5 42p Pat Ward 1,096 (208)$25,675 1 5 9 16
6 44s Matt Sheppard 1,092 (212)$26,125 0 7 10 16
7 7x Steve Paine 1,025 (279)$17,850 0 4 7 16
8 TEN Alan Johnson 947 (357)$17,500 1 2 8 16
9 3h Justin Haers 922 (382)$12,450 0 1 7 16
10 98h Jimmy Phelps 906 (398)$13,425 0 2 6 15
11 3b Chad Brachmann 887 (417) $9,125 0 1 6 16
12 20 Stewart Friesen 846 (458) $7,750 0 0 5 16
13 32c Vic Coffey 763 (541) $7,800 0 1 4 13
14 8J Tom Sears Jr. 670 (634) $6,750 0 0 4 12
15 29B Jeff Brownell Jr. 598 (706) $4,800 0 0 2 12
16 6J Andy Bachetti 573 (731) $7,560 0 1 1 11
17 18 Sean Beardsley 489 (815) $3,075 0 0 1 9
18 9 Bob McCreadie 480 (824) $6,700 0 2 2 9
19 99B Chuck Bower 459 (845) $5,300 0 0 5 7
20 44 Frank Cozze 431 (873) $7,300 0 2 4 7
21 27z Ray Bliss 422 (882) $2,900 0 0 0 9
22 7J Jeff Isabell 417 (887) $2,375 0 0 0 7
23 88 Jeff Strunk 348 (956) $2,900 0 0 2 7
24 27J Danny Johnson 342 (962) $2,975 0 0 1 6
25 39 Tim McCreadie 335 (969) $5,100 0 2 2 6
26 151X Dale Planck 295 (1,009 $3,925 0 1 1 6
27 115 Kenny Tremont Jr. 291 (1,013$10,650 1 2 2 4
28 12a Jack Johnson 279 (1,025 $3,400 0 1 2 5
29 42 Jimmy Horton 276 (1,028 $9,600 0 2 2 4
30 99 Ryan Phelps 234 (1,070 $1,750 0 0 0 5
31 16 A.J. Romano 226 (1,078 $1,550 0 0 0 5
32 1 Billy Pauch 225 (1,079 $8,300 1 2 2 3
33 88h Steve Hulziser 212 (1,092 $1,500 0 0 0 5
34 22g Mitch Gibbs 205 (1,099 $4,000 0 2 2 3
35 85 Dan Vauter 204 (1,100 $1,425 0 0 0 4
36 5 Rick Laubach 181 (1,123 $1,300 0 0 0 4
37 49 Billy Dunn 172 (1,132 $1,000 0 0 0 3
38 86 Kyle Strickler 170 (1,134 $1,400 0 0 0 4
39 X Chad Phelps 166 (1,138 $1,200 0 0 0 4
40 Z Butch Tittle 163 (1,141 $1,200 0 0 0 4
41 56v Vinnie Vitale 152 (1,152 $900 0 0 0 3
42 10 Karl Comfort 150 (1,154 $900 0 0 0 3
43 48T Dave Rausher 149 (1,155 $900 0 0 0 3
44 26 Ryan Godown 146 (1,158 $4,300 0 1 1 2
45 1J Bobby Varin 141 (1,163 $2,300 0 1 1 2
46 58Jr Bucky Kell 140 (1,164 $1,300 0 0 0 3
47 2 Dave Axton 136 (1,168 $900 0 0 0 3
48 R24 Rick Grosso Jr. 133 (1,171 $1,320 0 0 1 2
49 62 Todd Burley 128 (1,176 $1,500 0 0 1 2
50 74 Doug Hoffman 116 (1,188 $1,700 0 0 1 2

Skidmarks: * The Petrocci Memorial has become a staple in area car racing during the past four decades.