FULTON, NY October 2, 2010 – After coming so close to finding victory in 14 previous SUNY Canton “Outlaw 200” events only to find disappointment, Brett Hearn out of Sussex, NJ finally found victory lane at one of the biggest races in the northeast. Hearn who started 25th took the lead for good on lap 129 from Billy Decker and never looked back. In the second 100 lap segment Hearn was so dominant he lapped up to the 3rd place finishing car at the checkerd flag. The win was worth $20,000 plus for Hearn who piloted his Wentworth Custom Homes, Madsen Overhead Doors, No.20, Teo, small block modified for his historic win.
“I visualized it for about 20 times for the last 20 years and it just never came. I think we did it in a big way coming from the consi cars,” said a smiling Hearn when asked if he ever thought the day would come getting his first ever Fulton Speedway win. Hearn picked the right time to grab that win and finally conquered the one crown jewel in dirt modified racing that was missing from his trophy case.
Stewart Friesen and Billy Decker led the 43 car starting field down to the starters green that saw Friesen grab the early advantage to open the 200 lap grind followed closely by Decker.
With Friesen running the bottom of the speedway and Decker running the top, Decker was able to shoot by Friesen on lap 15 to be scored the new leader.
On lap 18 two of the fan favorites of the race, Danny Johnson and Matt Sheppard made contact in turn one sending Sheppard’s car around. As the cars circulated under yellow Sheppard waited for Johnson, then he made heavy contact with Johnson ending both of their nights early.
On the restart Friesen found the bite and speed he needed as he retook the top-spot on lap 25 to narrowly lead Decker at the stripe.
By lap 35 Friesen and Decker separated themselves from the rest of the field as they battled nose to tail and side by side using every inch of the Fulton high banks. Roy Bresnahan, Steve Paine in a Dave Rauscher backup car and Vic Coffey ran third through fifth.
On lap 50, the halfway point of the first segment, Friesen opened up a few car length’s advantage over Decker. Coffey, Pat Ward and Steve Paine kept the leaders in sight.
Ten laps later Friesen and Decker found themselves mired in heavy traffic with each driver looking for an advantage as they thrilled the fans with the lead in doubt. Coffey, Hearn who started 25th and Ward were in a fight for third through fifth.
On lap 72 the yellow would fly for a spinning Darwin Green giving the drivers a chance to catch their breath from the action that was taking place all over the speedway.
Decker was able to diamond his car off turn four to drive by Friesen to regain the lead on lap 79 as the laps clicked off towards the halfway break.
Still running feet and inches apart, Friesen went to the top of the speedway to once again show the way on lap 85 over Decker just before a yellow for 5th place running Coffey who had a right rear flat.
Friesen would open up a ten car-length advantage over Decker as the teams headed pit-side for the 100 lap break. Hearn, Ward and Frank Cozze would restart third through fifth for the second segment.
“That was a lot fun racing Decker, I just went where he wasn’t,” said Friesen about his battle with Decker as the pair used all of the speedway looking for an advantage. “We’ll just make a few changes, siphon some tires and just see if we can make it better.”
After making changes to his own Gypsum Wholesalers, Stadium International, No.91 Bicknell, Decker bolted out to the lead to start the final 100 laps towards the $20,000 top prize.
While Decker was out front trying to put lapped cars between him and the rest of the field, Hearn moved into 2nd on lap 113 and then set his sights on the leader.
After a quick yellow Hearn was able to dig on the bottom to take the lead for the first time on lap 121. That lead would only last one lap as Decker powered by Hearn to retake the top spot.
On another restart after a caution period and restart, Decker, Hearn and Friesen would go three-wide for the lead with Hearn using the cushion to be shown the leader on the 129th lap.
With 135 laps showing on the lap counter Hearn built up a half a straightaway lead as he looked to run away from the field. Decker and Friesen were in a tight fight for 2nd as Cozze and Ward showed in the top-five.
With 50 laps to go for the checkered, Hearn, after seeing Decker under him for a few laps, changed his line to the bottom trying to slow Decker’s momentum.
By lap 160 Hearn was once again able to put lapped cars between himself and Decker. Friesen ran alone in 3rd with Justin Haers and Ward showing on the scoring tower.
Five laps later Hearn started to slow as lapped cars were running two-wide slowing his momentum. This allowed Decker to close the distance on Hearn for one final push to the finish.
Over the final 25 laps Hearn seemed to get quicker as he ran the speedway with precision pulling away from Decker and lapping up to 3rd place Friesen at the checkers. Decker, Friesen, Haers and Pat Ward rounded out the top-five. Pat O’Brien who started 38th, Steve Paine, Rob Bellinger, Willy Decker and Ryan Phelps completed the top-ten.
“This Madsen Motorsports, Teo car has been our money car all year, and continues to be. It’s just a great handling car and an engine from Kevin Enders. I’ve got to thank George Wentworth for and his support for this small block car. That was the most absolute fun I’ve had since our win at Eldora 10 years ago,” Hearn said from victory lane.
“In the pits,” after the first 100 laps, “we made some small adjustments and not out think ourselves. We think we had a tire that was going soft after the first 100. We were going to put the same tires back on because the car felt so good, but we noticed the right rear was low on air pressure. We changed the right rear and wow.”
“There were a lot of close calls out there. Danny (Johnson) got into Matt (Sheppard) and spun him out, and Jimmy (Phelps) was involved. There were a lot of close calls with lapped cars; there were spots in that race where we were inches from disaster.”
Hearn finished up by saying, “I’ve said it over and over, and this is the one track we have never won at. We’ve been, close, we’ve been close, we’ve been close. It just shows perseverance will finally pay off.”
AMB/Mylaps.com Outlaw 200 Results
(Heat winners) – Frank Cozze Jr., Billy Decker, Darwin Greene, Stewart Friesen, Vic Coffey, Carey Tarrance, Alan Johnson, Roy Bresnahan.
(25th Annual Outlaw 200 Presented By SUNY Canton)- BRETT HEARN, Billy Decker, Stewart Friesen, Justin Haers, Pat Ward, Pat O’Brien, Steve Paine, Rob Bellinger, Willy Decker, Ryan Phelps, Jim Witko Jr., Ryan Odasz, Carey Terrance, Larry Wight, Mike Mahaney, Rich Scagliotta, Jim Mahaney, Roy Bresnahan, Frank Cozze Jr., Chad Phelps, Brian Sage, Paul Kinney, John Willman, Wade Decker, Danny Varin, Frank Cozze, Darwin Greene, Mike Bowman, Gary Tomkins, Tim Fuller, Vic Coffey, Bobby Varin, Chuck Bower, Chris Hile, Dale Planck, Chad Homan, Tom Sears Jr., Shawn Donath, Michael Storms, Matt Sheppard, Danny Johnson, Jimmy Phelps, Alan Johnson. Number One Speed Equipment Hard Charger Award - Pat O'Brien.
Lap leaders - Friesen (1-14) Decker (15-24) Friesen (25-78) Decker (79-84) Friesen (85-101) Decker (102-120) Hearn (121) Decker (122-128) Hearn (129-200)
2010 Outlaw 200 Photo Galleries