Category: News

By TIM BALTZ

BROCKVILLE, ONT – A packed house was on hand this past Friday night as day 1 of the 1000 Islands RV DirtCar Northeast Fall Nationals was ready for action. The 358 Modified Super DirtCar Series Go Nuclear Late Models and a special 30 lap Street Stock Invitational highlighted the night. With titles on the line in the Modified and Late Model divisions it was get up and go time for all drivers.

The 358 Modified Super DirtCar Series was set for their 100 lap season finale and Chris Raabe was looking to maintain a 95 point advantage on David Hebert in an attempt to claim his first ever series title.

Ryan Arbuthnot and Bud Light 200 champion Stewart Friesen led the field of 30 cars to the green flag with Arbuthnot getting the top spot away over Friesen, Carey Terrance, Gage Morin and Dany Bilodeau. The top 3 drivers would have their way with the field until lap 11 when Brian McDonald spun in turn bring out the first caution of the race.

On the restart Arbuthnot continued his great run but Stewart Friesen, aboard the JF Corriveau owned ride, made his way by Arbuthnot on lap 16 and began to put on a driving clinic. Friesen would pull away from the field by over 2 seconds as behind him Carey Terrance and Mike Maresca were in a battle for the 3rd spot. Maresca would hold the spot and try his best to run down the top 2 drivers.

On lap 30 Danny O’Brien made contact with the wall on the front stretch bringing out the caution. When the green flew it was once again Friesen out in front but Arbuthnot and Maresca were on the move. On lap 33 Maresca would lose the handle in turn 4 while running 3rd and the yellow flew for a 3rd time.

When the green came back out Stewart Friesen would be the dominant force as he once again pulled away to a huge lead and would maintain that big lead for the next 11 laps until the red flew for Bobby Herrington who flipped his car in turn 2. Herrington would climb out uninjured but the car was heavily damaged. It appeared as if Friesen was going to keep his Super Dirt Week momentum going on this night until lap 58 when he slipped up in turn 2 allowing Terrance to get by for the lead bringing Kyle Dingwall, Erick Rudolph, Ryan Arbuthnot and Danny Johnson to the top 5. Friesen would fall to 6th but would not slow his charge.

The championship battle was still a good one as Raabe was doing all he could do running just inside the top 10 the entire night while David Hebert knew he needed some help in order to grab the championship. Hebert would lose the handle on his machine ending his great run as the title began to slip away.

At the front Carey Terrance was looking for his first ever series win but Erick Rudolph was on the charge as he slipped by Dingwall for 2nd and closed in on the leader Carey Terrance. The top 2 drivers were charging hard and Terrance was trying to hold on to a race car that began to loosen up on him. On lap 97 Rudolph made the move on the high side in turn 4 to take over the lead. Despite several attempts to get back by Carey Terrance would fall 1 spot short as Erick Rudolph marched on to his 4th tour win of the year over Terrance who finished 2nd once again followed by Dingwall, Ryan Arbuthnot and David Hebert who rallied back to finish 5th.

358 Modified Super DirtCar Series(100 laps)
ERICK RUDOLPH, Carey Terrance, Kyle Dingwall, Ryan Arbuthnot, David Hebert, Danny Johnson, Dale Planck, Mario Clair, Randy Chrysler, Gary Lindberg, Chris Raabe, Jordan McCreadie, Steve Bernier, Brian McDonald, JF Corriveau, Stephane Lafrance, Chris Herbison, Joey Ladouceur, Luke Stewart, Dany Bilodeau, Yan Bussiere, Stewart Friesen, Kevin Hamel, Michael Maresca, Gage Morin, Lance Willix, Bobby Herrington, Roger Levesque, Danny O’Brien, Corey Wheeler

http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/NewPress/?p=27175

By MIKE MALLETT

Erick Rudolph should have left Oswego Speedway with two top five finishes. A possible podium finish in the Bud Lite 200 and maybe even a win in the Riccelli Northern Salute the Troops 150. Instead the Ransomville, N.Y., driver ended the weekend with two disappointing finishes not reflective of the strong cars he had. He finished 17th in both events. Mechanical issues sidelined him in both races.

“Everyone was having lots of problems keeping their cars together, especially in the big-block race,” stated Rudolph. “We ended up throwing the driveshaft out of the car. Then, in the small-block race, we were going for the lead there and our right rear tire blew up.”

It was tough conclusion for Rudolph at Super DIRT Week XLV as he had cars capable of getting the job done only to have issues arise that took him out of the events.

“I was disappointed, but I was still really proud of the team and the way the cars ran,” said Rudolph. “It wasn’t for lack of effort or lack of preparation. It is just one of them things. The tire blew out and you can’t anticipate that happening. The deal with the big-block, everyone was having the same sort of problems. We just fell victim to the track.”

Rudolph lost the tire on his No. 62 going for the lead. He was working the inside lane of the speedway while race leader Tim Fuller was running the outside as was second place running Stewart Friesen.

“With the big-block car, had we finished the race I feel like we could have been second or third,” cited Rudolph. “I don’t think we had anything for Stewy (Friesen) that day. In the small-block I felt like we had a chance at a win.”

By virtue of competing on Sunday, Rudolph was forced to forgo a shot at the Short Track Super Series North Region championship. The Short Track Supernationals was postponed from Saturday to Sunday by weather which put Rudolph in a position to choose between a shot at the title or running the high dollar races at Oswego.

“We would have liked to do both but we would have given up two races to go to I-88 (Speedway),” commented Rudolph. “It’s a shame people in the positions of power can’t, especially for a big event like this, find a way to not run against each other. When you run a series there is always going to be conflicts. That is the nature of it, but it would be nice if they could see eye to eye on premier events like that.”

Going forward Rudolph plans to be in action this coming weekend at the Brockville Ontario Speedway before heading to the Outlaw Speedway the following weekend.

http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/SDWLIVE2/?p=1211