Ward & Welch Kick Off 21^st Rolling Wheels Weekend In Victory Lane

 

Elbridge, NY – September 21, 2007 –Rolling Wheels Raceway Park PR

 

The 21^st Annual World Series of DIRT Track Racing Weekend took center stage on Friday at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park and it was Pat Ward and Mike Welch capturing opening night honors in the Hoosier-Sunoco Mr. DIRTcar Series Championship doubleheader. Ward won the 75-lap 358-Modified main presented by the 99.3 The Wall and Welch claimed the Caprara Bros. Outdoor Toy Store Mr. DIRTcar Street Stock Super Series Pullens Truck Center 25 finale.

 

Ward survived a massive 15-car pile-up, then put a big heap of hurt on the rest of the field as he went on to score his first Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Series victory of the season in convincing fashion. The Genoa, N.Y. veteran led the second half of the race to post his second career Small-Block tour victory at Rolling Wheels, out-distancing runner-up John Lazore, Vic Coffey, Jimmy Phelps and Pete Bicknell in the 99.3 The Wall World Series 75.

 

“I was told a long time ago that if you can’t draw good, you better be able to drive good,” recalled Ward after collecting $3,000 for his fifth career Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified tour triumph steering the LJL Racing no. 42p Gypsum Express, Ltd./Bicknell entry. “I knew it was going to be tough tonight after a poor draw but fortunately things worked out. It was too bad that accident knocked out a lot of guys, but even before that we were coming on pretty strong.”

 

Outside pole-sitter Coffey out-dragged front row partner Lazore to lead the opening circuit on the fast 5/8-miler before Lazore found the high side to his liking and the Hogansburg, N.Y. pilot inched by Coffey to assume his first lead on lap seven. North country runner Bill Gill slowed in turn two to cause the first yellow to fly on lap 20 and just three more times around the caution lights reappeared when Sheppard’s no. 44s  Magee Transportation Special suffered a broken drive-shaft to end his night.

 

On the second race restart, Brett Hearn attempted to thread the needle between high-running Billy Decker and Coffey on the low side, yet contact with Decker midway down the back chute broke the rear-end assembly on the Vinny Salerno-owned no. 4 Four Star-WLR Construction-Kruger/TEO ride and sent Decker back across the track directly in front of the on-rushing pack. Car after car then came together in turn three and by the time the mangled machinery was untangled more than a dozen cars were accounted for sitting sideways, backwards and up and down with Rookie John Guarino and Capital District chauffeur Ronnie Johnson eventually pointing skyward.

 

The track safety crew required 45 minutes to clear up the biggest Series wreck of the new millennium, and back under green flag conditions Lazore once again showed the way with Coffey, Ward, Paine and Pat O’Brien in tow. Gill stopped for a second time in turn two and with caution laps now counting, Ward nosed ahead high around Lazore as the leaders completed lap 36 and proceeded to open a comfortable lead the rest of the way.

 

Hearn turned the fast time in trials with a one-lap best clocking of 20.778 seconds (108.288 mph) while the top four drivers of Ward, Lazore, Coffey and Phelps earned guaranteed starting positions in the ITT Corporation-Goulds Pumps 358-Modified Championship scheduled for Oct. 6 of Super DIRT Week XXXVI at the NYS Fairgrounds.

 

Welch from Lyons, NY took over the lead on lap 17 and then held off heavy pressure from tour points leader Scott Smith to win the Street Stock Series main at Rolling Wheels.

 

"That was a hard earned win, there were a lot of good guys up front and it took awhile to get by Kevin Smith and that 21 car (Dave Bruno), that was tough," said Welch, after exiting his double-zero car from victory lane for the second time. The 2007 Canandaigua Speedway points champion won for the first time at his home track in July.

 

Welch had to the play the waiting game from his 10^th-place starting position as the race ahead of him was sometimes two and three-wide as the top contenders on the Series battled for the front spots. Slowing progress down for many of the drivers were numerous yellow flags that affected the first half of the 25-lap race.

 

The first part of the race featured a battle of team cars driven by brothers Kevin and Blane Smith as Kevin was able to use the outside on restarts to build up enough speed to maintain the lead on restarts. From third on back, positions changed on every lap as the top-eight cars ran in a tight pack.

 

On lap 16 Bruno made a banzai move to the extreme top of the speedway in turns one and two trying to grab the lead, yet in doing so he was forced over the cushion and lost four spots. Kevin Smith, who led over half the race, began showing smoke and retired to the pits on lap 18.

 

While Adam DePuy and Bruno battled for second, Welch was able to open up a half-dozen car-length advantage over his closest pursuers. Scott Smith, who ran in the top-five all night, was able to be find enough speed and get by both DePuy and Bruno for the runner-up spot. Coming out of turn four heading for the checkers Smith was able to pull up to the door of the Welch car, but couldn’t find enough to get by as Smith pushed the Welch machine across the finish line. DePuy, Bruno and Ron Hawker completed the top-five.

 

World Series Weekend ’07 concludes Sunday at Rolling Wheels with a big Budweiser DIRTcar tripleheader for Big-Block Modified, Sportsman Modified and Pro Stockers on Saturday, Sept. 22 with Pits opening at 1 p.m. and practice beginning at 3:50 p.m. for all divisions. Integra Shocks Modified Time Trials run off at 4:25 p.m. followed by heat races. The Advance Auto Parts Modified Series Triple 50s will be mixed in among the Mr. DIRTcar Championship twin 30-lappers for Sportsman and Pro Stock divisions.

 

Rolling Wheels Raceway Park returns to action during Super DIRT Week XXXVI when the ‘Fast Track’ hosts a Mr. DIRTcar twin-bill for 358-Modifieds and Sportsman on Friday, October 5 and comes right back the following night with the traditional Sprint Car Challenge featuring all the top winged warriors from the URC, ESS and ASCS Patriot groups.

 

For more information regarding Rolling Wheels, contact DIRTcar Racing NorthEast Headquarters during the week at 315/834-6606, call RWR (315/689-7809) on raceday or visit www.rollingwheelsraceway.com on the internet anytime.

 

99.3 WALL RADIO/PULLENS TRUCK CENTER WORLD SERIES OF DIRT TRACK RACING EVENT SUMMARY

UMP/DIRTcar STREET STOCK

FEATURE (25-Laps) – 00-MIKE WELCH, 75-Scott Smith, 99-Adam DePuy, 21-Dave Bruno, 14-Ron Hawker, 16-Mike Schultz, 272t-Tiger Chapman, 8-Dave Mannise, 115-Nick Rizzo, m1-Dave Marcuccilli, 40sl-Sean Letts, 90-Nathan Peckham, 711-Russ Marsden, 88x-Chuck Thomas, 55k-Kevin Smith, 55b-Blane Smith, 22n-Webbie Nashwinter, 31t-Bill Thomas, 14h-Frank Hyatt, 9-Phil Norman, 22t-Eric Chapman, 57b-Frank Burnell Jr., 19-Chuck Cushman, 3d-Doug Smith, 02-Steve Crouse, w7-Jim Wallace, 33-Andy Fisk.

HEATS

#1: K.Smith, Bruno, Hawker, Welch, Fisk, Peckham, Nashwinter, Wallace(DNS), Hyatt (DNS).

#2: B.Smith, S.Smith, Burnell, Marcuccilli, DePuy, Schultz, Norman, B.Thomas, E.Chapman.

#3: T.Chapman, Rizzo, D.Smith, Crouse, Cushman, Marsden, Mannise, Letts, C.Thomas.

 

DIRTcar 358-MODIFIED

FEATURE (75-Laps) - 42p-Pat Ward, 19-John Lazore, 7c-Vic Coffey, 99j-Jimmy Phelps, 42-Pete Bicknell, 6-Pat O'Brien, 1t-Danny Johnson, 7x-Steve Paine, 42b-Kevin Bates, 26-Rick Richner, 99-Mike Adderley, 124-Pierre Dagenais, 17d-Danny O'Brien, 77g-Robbie Grant, 9s-Mark Smoke, 22-Mario Clair, 23-Larry Lampman,Jr., 85-Dan Vauter, 10-Alan Johnson, 17j-Tom Juhl, 60-Bill Gill, 91-Billy Decker, 4*-Brett Hearn, 16-Lance Willix II, 007-Roy Tarbell, 2-Ronnie Johnson, 44s-Matt Sheppard, 66x-Carey Terrance, 9-Johnny Guarino, 93-Rich Vinson.

HEATS

#1: Hearn, P.O’Brien, Paine, Vauter, R.Johnson, Smoke, Hefti, Guarino, Wills, LeGrow.

#2: Sheppard, Ward, Coffey, Richner, Vinson, Terrance, Rauscher, A.Johnson, Perera, Ro.Chrysler, Cook.

#3: D.Johnson, Lazore, Phelps, D.O’Brien, Clair, Adderley, Steele, LaRock, Willix, Ra.Chrysler.

#4: Decker, Bicknell, Tarbell, Dagenais, Lampman, Gill, Juhl, Bates, Isabell, Grant, Sage.

CONSOLATIONS

#1: Smoke, Terrance, A.Johnson, Guarino, Rauscher, Perera, Wills, Sage, Ro.Chrysler, Cook, LeGrow, Hefti.

#2: Gill, Adderley, Juhl, Bates, Isabell, Steele, Ra.Chrysler, Willix, LaRock, Grant.

 

The Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series for Big-Block Modifieds 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., F.X. Caprara Car Companies, Rite Aid Corporation and the University of Northwestern Ohio and the contingency sponsors are Bert Transmission, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Integra Shocks, MSD Ignitions, Miller Electric Manufacturing Company, Motorsports Safety Systems, Penske Shocks and Wrisco Industries.